Indemnity: Book Two: Covenant of Trust Series (26 page)

“
So when do I get to be the good parent?” Chuck asked with a smile.

“
Let me get back to you on that,” Bobbi teased. Finishing her coffee, she pushed back from the table. “I am drained. The weekend was intense, and there was no chance to catch up today. I’m going to bed.”

“
Me too. I’ve got to call the case worker tomorrow, and get started on the parenting plan.”

“
Do I have to be involved in that? Legally, I have no relationship to Jack, right?”

“
I want your input.”

“
Yes, but meetings? Do I have to go to any meetings?”

“
Maybe not. I’ll find out for sure.”

“
Please let me win this one,” Bobbi said in mock prayer, looking up at the ceiling. Chuck shook his head at her and turned out the kitchen light.

Wednesday, September 12

From the kitchen table, Bobbi could hear Shannon and Jack chattering in the family room, but she stayed focused on the addition facts homework papers she had to grade. Things went smoothly until she heard Chuck’s voice. “Jack, get your backpack,” he said. “It’s time to go.”

“
I just got here,” Jack protested.

“
Daddy, we’re right in the middle!” Shannon whined.

“
I know, but I have to have Jack home to his mother by eight o’clock,” Chuck said. “It’s not my rule.”

Bobbi joined them in the family room, and helped Jack get his shoes on. “Is it Mom’s rule?” he asked. “’Cause we can talk her out of it.” His shoes on, he tried to inch his way back to the toys.

“
It’s the court’s rule,” Chuck said.

“
Oh.” Jack dragged his backpack toward the doorway.

“
And don’t try to wiggle your way out of your mom’s rules,” Chuck guided him down the hallway to the entry hall.

Bobbi leaned against the doorframe and waved to him. “Bye, Jack. See you at school tomorrow, and here ... next week, I guess.”

“
Mrs. Dad? Can I hug you too, or just my dad?”

“
You can hug just about anybody you want to,” Bobbi answered. She knelt down and held her arms out, just the way Ann had done it. Jack wrapped his arms around her neck and squeezed. “See you next week,” Bobbi whispered. Jack had barely let go of Bobbi when Shannon hugged him tightly, nearly knocking him off his feet.

“
Be back soon,” Chuck said, and kissed Bobbi on the cheek. “Come on, buddy.”

The word instantly stung Bobbi’s heart.
He did it again. “Chuck, can I talk to you just a second before you leave?”

“
Sure,” Chuck answered, following his wife into the study. “What’s the matter?”

“
Please don’t call him that.” She glanced past Chuck to make sure the children weren’t listening. “You called Joel ‘buddy.’”

Chuck rolled his eyes. “This has got to stop, Bobbi. Jack’s here to stay. You’ve got to get a handle on that.”

“
One word, Chuck,” she said holding a finger up close to his face. “All I’m asking for is one word. Call him something else.”

“
He’s not replacing Joel.”

“
Will you try for twenty seconds to ‘get a handle’ on what it does to me when you call Jack ‘buddy?’ Yes, he’s here to stay, but in his own place, not my son’s place.”

“
I’m going to be late,” Chuck said, walking away. “Come on, Jack.” Once he closed the front door behind him, Bobbi slammed her hand against the doorframe.

“
Mommy, are you mad?” Shannon asked.

“
I thought I saw a bug,” Bobbi lied. “Let’s get you in the tub.”

As Chuck backed his car out into the street, he saw Jack’s frown. “Something wrong?” He caught himself before he said buddy.

“
Am I in trouble?” Jack asked

“
No, I am.”

“
I didn’t know dads got in trouble.”

“
Hang around me for a little while.” He turned the exchange with Bobbi over in his mind. Surely, she didn’t believe that he was choosing Jack over Joel. Calling him buddy was just a reflex. He didn’t mean anything by it. She needed to stop taking everything so personally, stop reacting so emotionally.

Where’s the middle ground? Where’s she coming from? What does she want? She always makes a distinction between the boys and Jack, between “her” sons and “Tracy’s” son. She doesn’t want them equated. Why? Does that mean their mothers are equal? Is that it? Was Bobbi that insecure?

“
Hey! Colin’s here!” Jack pointed to a black convertible BMW parked on the street in front of the house.

“
Who’s Colin?”

“
He works with my mom a lot.” Chuck parked behind the BMW, and helped Jack get out of the back seat.

“
But you called him by his first name.”

“
Mom says he’s not a grown-up.” Jack took Chuck’s hand, and pulled him to the porch. “Come on! I want him to meet you!”

Fearing the worst, Chuck cautioned Jack to ring the bell this time.

“
Why?”

“
I don’t want Colin to think I’m rude.” Jack studied Chuck’s face for a moment, then shrugged and rang the bell. As the seconds became minutes, Chuck fought to keep his temper in check. At last, Tracy opened the front door. “Hi Mom! I want Colin to meet my dad,” Jack said opening the door wide.

“
Sure, he’s in the living room.” Tracy stepped back and smiled at Chuck as he walked through the door.

Chuck immediately recognized the after-shave scent from the weekend, but its owner caught him off-guard. A young man, barely out of his twenties, tanned, and tailored with every hair in place stood and smiled as soon as Jack entered the room. His suit jacket lay neatly draped over the arm of a chair with his tie. The sleeves of his shirt were carefully rolled up two turns, signaling that this was hardly an all-business evening.

The young man high-fived Jack. “Hey, I missed you this weekend, buddy.”

Chuck vowed never to use that word again.

“
Chuck, this is Colin Janssen. He’s a colleague of mine at Penner Hewitt. I’m sure you remember what it was like to collaborate on a case.” Tracy smiled at Chuck with a raised eyebrow. “Colin, this is Jack’s dad.” When the younger man shook his hand, Chuck smelled liquor on top of the after-shave.

“
I understand you have your own firm,” Colin said.

“
Benton, Davis and Molinsky,” Chuck answered. “We work mostly with municipalities and small companies that can’t afford their own corporate law department.”

“
We do a little of everything at Penner Hewitt. Even some criminal.”

“
Are you from St. Louis?”

“
Through and through. Went to SLU, then Washington for law school.”

“
Chuck, isn’t your son at Washington?” Tracy asked.

“
No.” Chuck enjoyed seeing the slight furrow of her brow. “See you next Wednesday, Jack.”

“
Bye, Dad!” Jack quickly hugged his father and then ran upstairs.

“
I’ll let myself out,” Chuck said to Tracy. He nodded at Colin and left. There was not a briefcase or a paper in sight. “Collaborating on a case,” Chuck muttered. “A case of poor judgment and lack of restraint maybe.”

Feeling the weight of conviction, not just about his affair, but also about his choice of words to his wife, he made a couple of quick phone calls before turning onto his street. Inside his house, he heard Bobbi still upstairs with Shannon, so he started her coffee for her, and then he slipped into the study and began searching the internet for last minute travel deals. Bobbi needed, deserved a break, if only for a day or two. Intent on his search, he flinched when Bobbi spoke to him.

“
Thanks for starting the coffee.”

“
You’re welcome.” He motioned her over to the computer. “Can you take a look at these? I need an opinion.”

She leaned over his shoulder. “Planning a trip?”

“
Yeah, but I can’t decide where.”

“
This weekend? That’s pretty sudden.” Bobbi sipped her coffee.

“
Something came up.”

“
Oh?”

“
I need to make things right with my wife. She keeps trying to tell me what’s going on with her, and I keep blowing her off. I’m making things even more difficult for her.”

“
I see. So what’s your plan?”

“
Get her out of town for a couple of days. Forget everything.”

Bobbi nodded slowly. “But doesn’t she have a child to take care of?”

“
I took care of that. My oldest son is going to stay with his little sister.”

“
What about her Sunday school class? She can’t just not show up.”

“
I took care of that one, too. Got a sub lined up.”

“
You did all this on the way home?”

“
Cell phones are a great invention.” He turned around and faced her. “So can I take you away for the weekend?”

“
I think I’d like that.” Bobbi took a long drink. “You were a real jerk, you know.”

“
I know. I didn’t take you seriously—”

“
Again,” Bobbi added.

“
But I suspect it’s not about Jack and Joel.”

“
Then what’s it about, smart guy?”

“
I think if the boys, all three of them, are equal, then their mothers must be, too.” Bobbi looked away. “Sweetheart, I don’t love Tracy. I don’t want to spend my life with her. I don’t even like to see her. She is not on equal footing with you in any way whatsoever.”

“
She’s very attractive.”

“
Yes, but I’m not attracted to her. There’s a big difference.”

“
But what if her ultimate plan is to get you? What if she came back with her son, your son, to drive a wedge between us?”

“
First of all, nothing can come between us. Second, she has somebody. After-shave Boy, ‘my colleague, Colin Janssen,’ was there this evening.”

“
My colleague?”

“
Yeah. I was just ‘Jack’s dad.’ I don’t have a name.”

“
So is he the new chosen one? Or does she just need somebody until her plans come together?”

“
You’re just a little paranoid,” Chuck said, holding his thumb and forefinger close in front of his eyes.

“
I think it’s justified,” she said leaning down close to him. “So where are we going?”

“
You choose.” He slid his chair back, and pointed to the computer screen.

Bobbi looked at him, then at the computer. She smiled broadly and said, “You can’t read any of them, can you?”

Chuck pressed his lips tightly together, and shook his head slowly. “Not a one.”

Bobbi laughed gently, then took the mouse, and scrolled down the display. “How about Roanoke?”

“
Really?”

“
We’ve never been to Virginia, and I love the mountains.”

“
Fine with me. Now, do you want this to be a complete getaway in which we never mention certain things, or do you want this to be a retreat to hash it all out?”

“
Getaway. We can hash here.”

“
Then I’ll, uh, get my glasses, and finish making the arrangements.”

Her hand lingered on his shoulder. “Chuck, thank you.”

“
You need it, and I need to do it for you.”

Sunday, September 16

“
I am absolutely stuffed,” Bobbi said, pushing her plate aside. The Sunday buffet brunch at their hotel was an unadvertised bonus. “I won’t have to eat again until Tuesday.”

“
Did you get one of those pastry things?” Chuck asked.

“
No, I opted for the caramel apple crepe.”

“
Was the coffee up to your standards?”

“
I don’t have standards for coffee,” Bobbi said, and Chuck raised his eyebrows. “I have discriminating taste, I admit, but I’ll drink anybody’s coffee.”

“
Whatever you say,” Chuck said with a smile. “Listen, I know we said we wouldn’t discuss our situation ...”

“
I’m impressed,” Bobbi teased. “You made it all the way to Sunday morning.”

Chuck pushed his dishes out of the way, and leaned forward, taking his wife’s hand. “Bobbi, I’ve fallen in love with you all over again this weekend. I love being with you. You have the most beautiful smile, and the most gorgeous eyes.” Bobbi blushed.

“
I love your laugh,” Chuck continued, “and I love listening to you talk.” He leaned a little closer. “Honey, I’ve expected you to trust me, but when I question your instincts, it makes it that much more difficult for you to do that. I promised you that I would never, ever, give you a cause to doubt me again. I’m sorry I let it go that far.”

“
My insecurities are not worth hurting that little boy, Chuck.” Bobbi wiped a tear away.

“
That sounds like a mother talking.”

She smiled that smile at him, the one that would make him walk across broken glass if she asked, and she nodded. “Yeah, I guess it does.”