Undercover (19 page)

She bit her lip and nodded. “Daddy, you smell funny. Can I sleep on your arm?”

The bed shifted as Jenny moved, choking down a giggle. She only pretended to sleep, naughty girl. It was probably a wise course of action; if she talked to Lindsay, the girl would stay awake for hours.

He reached out to run his free hand over her hair. “Mommy’s already doing that, so my good sleepy-arm is taken for the night. Why don’t you curl up right behind her?”

The sound of her little feet plodding around the bed made him smile. The mattress moved ever so little as she climbed up, and his heart swelled when Lindsey kissed Jenny’s cheek and whispered, “Goodnight, Mommy. Goodnight, Daddy.”

It was a matter of minutes before she was sound asleep, and Alex whispered, “Thank God tomorrow is a Friday.”

Jenny ran a hand over his chest. “Yes… and maybe we can make it a short Friday? You’re a good dad.”

It didn’t take long for her to return to dreamy-land, but he lay staring up at the ceiling until the alarm went off a couple of hours later. He couldn’t stop thinking about his daughter’s words of a man in the dark wanting to take her.

*****

Jenny opened her eyes to the sound of the alarm clock. It seemed much too loud, and much too early. Alex reached to turn it off, and on the other side, Lindsay yawned and turned over. Her head still rested on his shoulder, and he ran his free hand over his face.

“Have you been awake all night?”

The answer came a little too quickly. “No.”

She always knew when he was lying; she could feel it. “Really?”

He smiled. “Alright, almost all night… I slept an hour, and that’s more than enough, you know.”

She shook her head and mumbled, “Come here.” Behind her, Lindsay exclaimed, “Oooh, Mommy is kissing Daddy.”

Jenny giggled and sat up, pulling the little girl up on her lap. “Yes, you little troll. Mommy likes to kiss Daddy.”

Lindsay giggled too, and almost screamed with laughter when Jenny tickled her.

“You girls are silly.”

Alex shook his head to emphasize just
how
silly they were.

“I’ll go downstairs and take a shower.  I suspect that this bathroom will be filled with girls.”

Lindsay beat Jenny to answering, “That’s right, Daddy. And I’m gonna use Mommy’s mascara.”

Their daughter was just too cute. Alex seemed to agree; he said, “Oh, are you now? The world had better watch out for the two of you today.”

Before Jenny met Alex, she used to sleep to the last second, jump into her clothes, and grab something she could eat in the car. Things had become somewhat more orderly when he moved in, but they still had a very relaxed morning routine. Each day turned into a little adventure, hopefully ending with Lindsay at day-care and the grown-ups at work. She supposed there could be more disciplined ways of doing it, but it wouldn’t be as fun.

By the time she got downstairs, Alex stood in the kitchen, making breakfast. He was making an omlette, and the smell of coffee was irresistible. Jenny hugged him from behind. “Are you tired?”

She could hear him smile as he answered, “Yes…” He was probably pretty hung-over too.

“Wanna stay home today?”

He turned around to be able to hug her back. “Yes, but I have to go to work. I have some things to take care of, and I think you and I will have to play truant next week.”

“Okay… Do you wanna kiss me?”

Behind her, Lindsay hollered unbelievingly, “Are you two kissing again? I don’t know any other parents that kiss as much as you do.”

Jenny mumbled, “Bad for them,” and did it again, ignoring the girl.

*****

They took the aged Chevy to work that morning. It was big and sturdy and gave an illusion of safety. Both Alex and Lindsay slept within minutes, lulled by the sound of the large V8 and the soft movements of the car. Jenny peeked at her husband in the rear view mirror. He lay unlawfully stretched out on his side over the back seat, and she smiled, happy he would at least get a nap.

He woke up when she parked outside the daycare center and looked a little disoriented. “Oh, we’re here.”

She blew him a kiss, jumped down from the high car, and walked around it to unstrap Lindsay from the child seat. “Say goodbye to Daddy.”

The little girl beamed and waved. “Bye Daddy! I love you!”

When they walked hand in hand, Lindsay asked, “Why did Daddy look so tired?”

It impressed Jenny someone so small could notice a thing like that. “He
is
tired, pumpkin. Mommy has been keeping him up at night.”

This seemed to puzzle the girl, and she asked with immutable logic, “Then, why aren’t you tired?”

It was a reasonable question. She was, just not as much. “Well, you see… Daddy feels a lot of responsibility for you and me. Do you know what responsibility is?”

Lindsay leaned her head to the side and frowned. “Yes. It is… when you have to take care of someone. Like a dog.”

This was difficult to explain to a four-year-old. “Yes, that’s right, sweetie. Daddy feels a lot of responsibility for us, and he worries a lot for us, because he loves us both very much.”

The girl frowned. “And then he can’t sleep?”

It made her look so cute so Jenny had to smile. “Yeah, basically. You know, I can explain this in more detail later, but your friends are waiting for you now.”

“Mommy, do you feel a lot of respony… responisility too?”

“Of course I do, pumpkin. That’s why I always make certain we don’t have evil ghosts in the house or monsters in the closets.”

The girl still wasn’t satisfied. “But you sleep at night, don’t you?”

He sure had too much on his plate if even a child this small saw it. “Yes. It’s easier to get rid of monsters than bad people.”

One of Lindsay’s friends inside spotted her and called out her name, and she was finally satisfied. “Okay… Bye, love you, Mommy.”

She started for the door, but Jenny called her back. “Pumpkin, do you remember what to do if you’re approached by a person you don’t recognize?”

Lindsay frowned and nodded, “Yes.”

Jenny flashed her a smile and waved. “Good. I love you.”

Back at the car, Alex tossed the child seat in the back and climbed up front himself. He looked tired, but amused. “She looks a lot like you.”

“Weird. I think she looks like you.”

It didn’t take long until they entered the large office building hand in hand. He kissed her tenderly and disappeared upstairs. She didn’t expect to see him for hours, and was surprised when he entered her office half an hour later. She just cleaned up the mess they made the previous afternoon. They could do it again…

Alex looked very tired, and she wanted to tousle his hair and find a place for him to sleep. “Can I come in?”

Handsome but silly. “Of course.”

He was carried a big mug of coffee. “You want some?”

She gazed into his eyes. How could she be this infatuated with him after all this time? “No, but thanks for asking.”

“Does the offer for kisses in this office still stand?”

“Yes. Yes, it does, but only for you.”

When he pulled free, he whispered, “It didn’t work. I’m still worried.”

“Well, handsome, if you want more than kisses you’ll have to wait until we can regard it lunchtime. Or, perhaps you’d settle for a quickie in the back of the car?”

Just as she hoped, it made him laugh. “You are incorrigible.”

She fluffed her hair. “I know. Isn’t it adorable? Hey, how are you feeling?”

He made a dismissive gesture. “Hung over. I’ll live. I’m serious though, I’m worried.”

The package might be empty. It might be a box of cigars, blueprints, a bomb, or anything. “So, what do you suggest we do?”

“We can run for our lives, this very minute, or, we can go to Italy Monday morning.”

His steady gaze said he’d rather die than let anything happen to her. She wouldn’t let him make that sacrifice, but it was still comforting. “You choose. Either way, I’ll follow.”

Alex rubbed his forehead and sounded worn out when he said, “You put too much faith in me. What if I make the wrong decision?”

She reached for his hand and entwined her fingers with his. It was probably unfair to ask him to choose their future, but she couldn’t. “I have faith in you, and I love you. Whichever way we take, we’ll go there together. Okay?”

She didn’t give the old man’s words of granting him his freedom much thought. She didn’t see even a remote chance of it happening. Still, if it did, and they could live in peace without worrying about things like this…

Alex woke her from her thoughts, “You shouldn’t trust me this much.”

He made a visible effort to shake the mood. “Do you want to go to Italy?”

She nodded. “Okay.”

Alex finished his coffee and ran his hands over his face. He would claim to be okay even if he was dying. “Would you have lunch with me? It’s a nice day. Perhaps we can walk to town?”

Even after all these years, the very idea of walking arm in arm with him made her excited. It was just as much of a treat as the first day they met. “I’ll count down the minutes, handsome. Until then, sneak away somewhere and take a nap.”

During the next hour or so, Jenny had a steady stream of people through her office. Everyone wanted to know what was wrong with Alex, and they had various ways of asking. She managed to get one customer call in, and then Mark stood in her door, leaning his thin shoulder against the doorframe. When she hung up, he entered the room, slumped in the guest chair, and glared. “So, wha’cha done to Alex?”

Jenny looked quizzically at him, and he elaborated, “He doesn’t look good today. I figured it must be your fault.”

That made her giggle. “Of course it’s my fault. I got him drunk yesterday, and then I kept him up all night.”

Mark nodded as if she made perfect sense. “Sounds reasonable he would feel bad today then. Poor man.”

He laughed and went on his way, and Jenny decided to give up on the notion of working. Her husband would be there in less than fifteen minutes. Maybe she could squeeze in one more person worrying about his health or their relationship in between.

They soon walked towards town arm in arm, just like the first day they met, but in a nicer season. Alex was still pale, but a smile tugged at his lips. “I like walking here. I like how it changes with the season, and I like the trees.”

Jenny gave his arm a little squeeze. “You are so sweet.”

They strolled in silence for a few minutes, but it didn’t take long until Nori and Theresa walked past them. Nori stopped and winked, and exclaimed in a loud voice, clearly meant to carry, “I agree with you, he looks a little pale, but I don’t think they seem to be fighting.”

Jenny laughed and hollered back, “Doesn’t anyone in this company have a life?”

Theresa answered merrily, “Nope.”

That seemed hilarious. “So, you mean that among the two-thousand-something people working here, everyone just worries about us?”

Theresa grinned, “Basically, yes. You’re the most exciting couple.”

Nori added, “We
have
to be interested in you. He’s Russian, that’s exotic. And he came here for you, do you even understand how romantic that is?”

Jenny nodded and exclaimed, “Yes. I’m a lucky girl.”

Theresa interrupted her, “Are you sure you’re not fighting? Not even a little bit? A tiny scandal or something? Nothing has happened for ages.”

Jenny thought, “If you only knew,” and Alex looked amused. The amusement turned to mischief, and he pulled her close, held her hard, and kissed her thoroughly. When he let her go, she leaned her head against his chest and peeked at Nori.

Her friend grinned, “See, they’re not fighting.”

Theresa suggested, “Perhaps it’s make-up sex?”

Nori shook her head. “Not in the middle of the road, I don’t think. Doesn’t seem like their style.”

Theresa lifted an eyebrow and countered, “Why not?”

There was laughter in Alex’s voice when he answered in his wonderful accent, “Trust me, if we were ever to fight, the make-up sex would look quite different. And, you would not be allowed to watch.”

Theresa made a snorting noise. “Hmm, well, aren’t you guys coming?”

Jenny answered, “No way, you two are dangerous. We’d better give you a head start.”

Everyone found that funny, and the girls continued on their way. Jenny wrapped her arms around her husband. “This is so nice.”

He ran his hands over her back. “Yes, it is. Perhaps we should stay here, in case there are more of them. I could just kiss you every time someone walks by.”

Her lips twitched into a smile. “That’s good thinking. Except, I’m a little hungry.”

“Alright, my love. Let’s go get you some food.”

Jenny didn’t move, and when he sent her a quizzical glance, she explained, “I’m sure someone we know is close by. You’d better kiss me again first, just to be on the safe side.”

“All this kissing makes me think I should have taken you up on the offer of a quickie in the car.”

Jenny grinned, “I
know
. But now it’s too far to go back, so we’ll have to go eat first.”

Alex looked deeply into her eyes and ran the back of his fingers over her temple. “Anything you say.”

They went to an Indian restaurant and had curries. The place was empty except for them. How did the owners make a living? Alex mostly poked at his food, and she knew he was trying to eat to make her happy. After a few minutes, he pushed his plate away and leaned back in the hard sofa. “I’m getting too old for this. There was a time when I could drink all night and still stay awake without effort.”

“Just imagine if we had two of them, waking you up at different times every night.”

She went around the table to sit next to him on the sofa. He rested his head against hers. “I can sleep in the barn and you take care of them inside the house. Or, maybe we can get a nanny. That way we could both sleep in the barn.”

“A nanny would be good. But she’d have to be really old and ugly.”

He laughed at that, but soon fell serious again and took her hand. “I just froze inside when she said that thing about the man in the dark. I kept thinking, ‘What if it wasn’t a dream,’ and I couldn’t let it go.”