Running Away With You (Running #3) (47 page)

“My homework assignment was to do something kind for Evan without getting anything back in return.  The more I thought about it, the more I realized that the happiest I’ve seen Evan was when he got to spend time with his cousin, Cole.  So Callie helped get him down here and delivered him to Adam’s house.  Adam got tickets on the floor to tonight’s Knicks game for the three of them and arranged for a driver to show up at Evan’s house.  The plan was for Adam to go inside and kidnap Evan while Cole waits in the limo to surprise him.”

“And he’ll never know it was you?  Adam gets all the credit?  How is that a good thing?” he asks.

“It’s good for Evan, and frankly, that’s all I care about right now.  Getting Brownie points isn’t part of the equation,” I point out.

For the first time in a long time, I’m able to talk to Auggie about things other than work and the weather. We eat, we drink, and he listens as I bare my soul.  It feels like a purging and I immediately feel lighter.

As Auggie scrubs the pots and pans clean, I check my watch and see that it’s time for the game to start.  I turn on the Knicks game and crank up the volume so I can listen from the kitchen.  I press record on the remote so I don’t miss anything.  Wherever Big Mac goes, the cameras follow, and I’m sure that at some point they’ll find him in the crowd.

Once everything is cleaned and put away, Auggie and I settle in the living room in front of the television.  I curl up on the couch with my Kindle as I keep a watchful eye on the television. 

During half time, the sportscasters are rambling on about the stats from tonight’s game when I’m jarred from my novel by the mention of Evan’s name.  Auggie and I perk up immediately, giving the screen our full attention.

“And sitting courtside on Celebrity Row tonight, we have Evan McGuire, who’s taking a well-deserved break while he prepares for his first playoff game with the Sentinels.  Sitting beside him is a relative newcomer to the world of professional sports, Cole McGuire, a shining star in minor league baseball.  All eyes are on Cole as major league teams try to expand their roster with elite prospects they deem worthy of an early call-up.”

I can see Auggie’s head spin when he catches his first glimpse of Cole.  “Oh my God!  Will you look at that boy?”  Cole is, indeed, hot by anyone’s standards.  He, Evan, and Adam are sure to get tons of female attention at the Garden tonight.  I’m immediately regretting my decision to send them out in public together, wishing instead that I’d opted to send them a catered dinner to be eaten alone at Evan’s beach house.

The camera catches the trio as they get up to greet other notable celebrities at today’s game.  “Um, Auggie, is that ... Phil Collins the boys are talking to?”

“Damn right it is.  Isn’t Evan a huge Genesis fan?” Auggie asks.

“He is,” I tell him.  “Looks like Evan’s having a great night out.  It’s exactly what I was hoping for.”

“Jepetto, it’s me you’re talking to.  You don’t want to see him out there rubbing elbows without you.  Wouldn’t you rather see him rubbing elbows at home with you instead?”

Auggie and I watch the rest of the game, and from time to time the camera pans over to show Evan chatting animatedly with Adam and Cole.  He’s having fun; the dimples and the sparkle in his eye don’t lie.  I’m glad I could be a small part of it.

Hours later, we click off the TV and turn in for the night.  I switch off the light on my bedside table as I hear my phone chime with an incoming text.  I glance at the screen and see it’s from Evan. 

Evan:  thanks for a great nite

Jette:  XO

I wonder if he figured it out or if Adam outed me.  Either way, I’m secretly glad he knows.

Blood, Sweat, & Tears

W
hen I arrive at work the next day, I have a new outlook on life.  My day is now full of promise and I’m looking forward to finding another way to brighten Evan’s day.  I know he’ll be at practice until late as the team prepares for this weekend’s game against the Texans.  I’m sure I can think of something to surprise him with while he’s out of the house.

Unfortunately, my good mood is not shared by the rest of my staff.  Emmy, who is usually the most optimistic and hopeful person I know, is noticeably gloomy and heavy-hearted.  She’s behind the bar with Blaine today, and he can usually brighten anyone’s day with his Aussie accent and smiling face.  When the lunch crowd thins, I drag her into my office for a heart to heart.

I close the door and sit with her on the couch.  She doesn’t look at me and I can tell she’d rather not have this conversation.  But I have to try.  “Emmy, this isn’t you.  Something’s upsetting you.  It’s written all over your face.  Is there a problem with the baby?  Is it Adam?  Are you not feeling well?  Please talk to me,” I beg her.

“Jette, I can’t,” she tells me. “Please don’t worry about me.  I’ll be fine.  The baby’s fine.  There’s nothing you can do.”  She takes a big breath and lets out a deep sigh.

I take her hand in mine and try to reason with her.  “Sometimes the best thing anyone can do is to just listen.  I’m here.  Talk to me.  Don’t keep it bottled up inside.  Believe me, that’s the worst thing you can do,” I tell her.

“I know you’re right and I guess you’re going to find out soon enough anyway.  Today, Evan and Adam had to report to the court-appointed lab for blood work.  The judge ruled that there’s sufficient evidence to believe that one of them is most likely Kai’s father.  Shea has until the end of the week to get Kai tested too.”

“Oh,” is all I can squeak out.  That wasn’t what I was expecting to hear.  “Isn’t that a good thing though, Emmy?”

“I thought so too.  But I’m afraid.”  She rubs her belly.  “I have time with my little Bean, here.  We can go slowly and I can learn how to be a mom.  All babies do is eat and sleep.  Once I get good at that, they start to move around a little bit.  I can work my way up.”  She jumps up off the couch and paces around the room.  “But a toddler?  I have no idea what I’m doing.”

“Listen, Em – all I can tell you is not to waste your time worrying about something you have no control over.  There’s a pretty good chance that Adam won’t be Kai’s father at all.  I’ve seen it with my own eyes; he’s so much like Evan.”

Emmy turns and looks at me like I have three heads.  “Other than the dimples, Jette, I don’t see it.”

“You’ll see if you get to spend time with him.  It’ll be kind of obvious,” I tell her.

“Oh, we have been spending time together.  Yesterday morning, as a matter of fact, we all went out to breakfast together.  Adam, Evan, and I met Derek, Shea, and Kai at IHOP.  Apparently Kai is crazy for pancakes.  Then Shea let us take him to Chuck E. Cheese for an hour.  You should have seen those two, doting on that little boy and waiting on him hand and foot.  It was adorable.”

I can feel the tears beginning to well up in my eyes.  I’m not going to hide from Emmy or anyone else anymore.  If I’m upset or in pain, I’m going to be brave enough to show it.  “That’s great,” I manage to say in a squeaky high-pitched voice.  I grab a tissue and wipe away the tears.

Emmy rushes over to me. “Oh, honey, I didn’t mean to upset you.  It must be hard for you to hear about it like this.  I shouldn’t have said anything.  I’m so sorry.”

I take a deep breath and steady myself.  “No, Emmy.  I’m glad you told me.  Did it go well?”

She nods, “It did, sort of.  It took Kai a while to warm up to Adam and Evan.  He was pretty shy and quiet most of the time.  Evan tried really hard to get him to laugh and play, but Kai just wanted to watch the other kids for a while before he was brave enough to jump into the ball pit with them.” 

She laughs a little before she goes on.  “It was almost like watching Evan talk to Adam, who’s very cautious and wary of new people.  Evan’s always ready to jump in with both feet, but Adam likes to stand back and assess the situation first, and Kai is the same way.” 

My mind rapidly races back to my first encounter with Adam almost a year ago.  I can picture it like it was yesterday.  He approached me during one of my beach runs and interrogated me.  He didn’t know me, and he certainly didn’t trust me.  It took Adam a while before he accepted my presence in Evan’s life.  I can definitely see a parallel there.

“Are you going to spend more time with Kai?” I ask.

“Definitely.  But Shea won’t let them take him very far unless they learn how to use an EpiPen first.  Apparently Kai has a bad allergy to bees.  Adam tried to explain to her that bees either hibernate or die during the winter and she has nothing to worry about, but she wouldn’t listen.”

“I never thought about it, but Adam’s right.  How does he know so much about bees?  That’s a pretty random thing to know about.”

“He’s super allergic to bees too,” she tells me. 

“Oh.”  Now I understand what she meant when she said that she sees a strong resemblance between Adam and Kai.

Our conversation is cut short when my cell phone rings.  I check the screen and it’s a number I don’t immediately recognize.  Cautiously, I answer the phone, “Hello?”

“This is Detective Harper calling.  Is this Juliette Fletcher?”  My heart stops for a moment and I cannot immediately get the words out.

“Yes, this is Juliette.  How can I help you, Detective?”  I look at Emmy and she quietly slips out of my office, giving me privacy.  I wish she’d stayed.

“We have a few questions for you about David Jorgenson.  Do you think you could stop down at the police station sometime today?  It shouldn’t take very long.”  His voice is kind, but I won’t be fooled into thinking he’s my friend.  He has a job to do, and it has nothing to do with being my friend or protecting my rights.

“I’m sorry, but I’m going to have to ask you to make that sort of request through my attorney.  I could get you his number if you like.”  Both Evan and Gavin were very clear about me not speaking to the police without Gavin being present.

“No, that won’t be necessary.  We have it on file.  But while I have you on the phone, just out of curiosity, would you be willing to take a lie detector test?  It would certainly help us understand exactly what happened in Indiana that night.”

“I don’t think so,” I told him.  “My attorney has advised me not to speak to you or anyone else without him.”

“I have to say I’m surprised to hear you say that, Miss Fletcher.  If you have nothing to hide, you should be more than willing to help in the investigation.  Refusing to cooperate makes you look like you’re hiding something.  Like maybe you had something to do with it after all.”

“Again, I’m going to have to direct you to speak with Mr. Wolff.  If he thinks it’s a good idea, then we can talk.  Until then, I have nothing to say on the matter.  Have a good day.”  I hang up the phone and try to gather my wits. 

I know the first thing I have to do is to contact Gavin and let him know what’s happening.  His secretary puts me straight through to him.  I’m glad she did, because he’s very calming and reassuring.  “Don’t let him upset you, Juliette.  He’s just trying to get under your skin.”  If that’s true, then he’s doing a great job.  “They’re hitting a brick wall.  Their search didn’t turn up any evidence and they have no clues to go on other than your videos.  If you were in actual trouble, they wouldn’t be wasting their time calling you on the phone and trying to guilt you into making voluntary statements that they can twist and distort to suit their needs.  Say nothing.  Do nothing.  And try not to worry.”

“Do you think they’ll call you to arrange something?” I ask, terrified by the possibility.

“No. If they were serious about wanting to question you properly, they would have called me first.  Go home, pour yourself a glass of wine, and relax,” he tells me.  “When there’s something to worry about, I’ll let you know.”

We hang up and I try to do what he tells me.  I ask Emmy to pour me a glass of Merlot just to calm my frayed nerves.  By the time I’ve emptied the glass, I think it’s starting to work.  But only a little. 

I need something to occupy my mind, and I think I have just the thing – today’s good deed.  Yesterday’s gesture was big, and I know I can’t match it, so there’s no use in even trying.  Today’s token will be small but meaningful.  I know that yesterday I was completely against the idea of sending him flowers, but today I think it would be appropriate, although I don’t want to send him a bouquet.  I’m going to leave one flower whose meaning he can decipher just as I did so many times.

The internet is a wealth of knowledge, so I decide to find asymbol that’s just right for the occasion.  It can’t signify love or forgiveness; that would be against Dr. Falkowski’s rules about doing something for my own gain.  It’s got to be something masculine that signifies Evan’s strengths and upcoming battles – with the court and on the gridiron.

In the search box, I enter the terms,
flower, good luck,
and
man. 
Google returns over six million results.  I scan the descriptions and one in particular catches my eye.  It has all my key words in bold, along with two additional words,
sword,
and
gladiator
.  I click on it and read further.  The more I read about the gladiolus, the more certain I am that I’ve found the right flower.  Symbolically, it means integrity, strong ethics and values, and high moral fiber.  It represents the qualities of a gladiator.  It’s perfect.