Reunion (9 page)

When Patti finally stopped shuddering, she
collapsed on the mattress next to RJ and Grant withdrew from his ass. Without a
word, Grant left the two of them and headed to the bathroom, returning a minute
later without the condom, but with a warm washcloth. With slow, tender strokes,
he cleaned each of them, before returning to the bathroom. This time Grant
emerged wearing a pair of boxers and headed for the door.

“Hey, where are you going?” RJ asked, a pit of
rejection already opening in his gut.

“Shh, no worries, lover. I’ll be right back. I
just want to look in on Annie.”

The effect of the words was like plunging RJ’s
heart into a bucket of ice water.
Fuck. How could he have forgotten Annie?

RJ closed his eyes, forcing his breathing into a
steady, calm pattern. When Patti scooted closer, he relaxed his muscles and
worked hard at imitating sleep. By the time Grant returned to cuddle on the
other side of Patti, she was snoring softly, a gentle purr he remembered so
well. RJ matched her breathing and prayed Grant believed they were both asleep.
   

The next morning, RJ pulled their rental into the
diagonal parking space on the main drag of Sedona, amazed at all the changes
since they’d last been here, ten years previously. For years, Sedona had been a
poorly kept secret hideaway for Phoenicians looking to escape the heat of the
valley. Locals brought their friends, who told their friends, then magazines
like Arizona Highways and National Geographic published photos of the
breathtaking red rock formations. Eventually, more people began to come,
bringing the tourism industry along with them. Not a lot, but enough to change
the original little cluster of shops with polished rocks and Native American
crafted jewelry into a mile long warren of shops, restaurants, and galleries.
From the signs and displays, it looked like you could buy anything from a nickel-sized
piece of rose quartz to a ten-foot tall bronze sculpture of a bucking bronco.

Other parts of Sedona had grown as well, changing
from a quiet retirement destination to a thriving community with schools,
churches, grocery stores, and restaurants. Before hitting the more touristy
shops, they’d stopped for breakfast at Denny’s, because Annie had her heart set
on some bear face pancakes. After she’d finished her breakfast, she’d gone to
work on RJ’s, sharing his hash browns and toast while Grant and Patti huddled
over a shopping list.

“RJ?” Annie asked, looking up with her big hazel
eyes. The color seemed to change with her moods, just like her daddy’s. This
morning they were more green than anything, and seemed to sparkle with
curiosity.

“Yeah, baby girl?” He saw a motion from the other
two, and realized what he’d said. He’d called Annie baby girl—like she was his
or something. He knew he’d flushed, but resisted looking over at Patti or
Grant, just kept his attention focused on the beautiful little girl. 

“Can we go to the sliding rock you showed me on
your computer?”

“It’s okay with me, but it looks like your daddy
and Patti have some shopping for us to do, first. Although I can’t imagine what
else we need with all those groceries in the house.”

“Sure we can, sweetie,” Patti answered. “But
first, we need to get a few things to take with us, okay? Like a swimsuit…”

“Yay! What else do we need?” Without waiting for
Patti’s answer, she tugged at RJ’s hand. “Can we go now?”

“Hmm…apparently RJ has stolen my daughter’s heart.”
Grant sighed theatrically.

Annie giggled and climbed from her booster seat
before crawling across RJ’s lap to get out of the booth. “Oh, Daddy,” she
scolded. Throwing her arms around Grant’s neck, she giggled some more as he
scooped her up.

RJ stood abruptly and tossed some bills on the table
to cover the cost of breakfast. “I’ll meet you at the car,” he said, hoping
others would attribute his hoarse voice to the early morning. He just needed a
few minutes alone to come to terms with the realization he was in love with all
of them. In that moment, he wondered if he was strong enough to risk everything
for that love.

****

Grant sat in the back seat with Annie, chatting
softly, doing anything he could think of in order to keep the girl awake. It
was late enough in the afternoon, that if she slept now, he’d never get her to
sleep at her regular bedtime. Since everything in her life had gone haywire the
last few days, regular sleep and meals were about all he could promise right
now—so having exhausted his admittedly small repertoire of car games, he tried
to entertain her with a mucked up version of Jack and the Beanstalk. She
laughed at his wild gestures and the variety of animal noises, but suddenly he
lost the thread of the story and couldn’t remember why he’d been clucking. Was
there supposed to be a chicken in Jack and the Beanstalk? When he tried to get
back on track, somehow the story morphed into Jack losing his glass slipper on
the way to dance on the rooftop with the chimney sweeps, while the wolf tried
to blow down the house. He glanced forward and caught RJ’s gaze in the rearview
mirror, just before the other man burst into laughter so loud and long Grant
thought they might have to pull over so he could catch his breath.

“Okay, smart ass, you tell it then,” Grant said
when his own laughter subsided enough that he could speak.

“Ahhhmmm…Daddy said a bad word,” Annie reported,
sending RJ back into fits of laughter.

“Okay, there is no way I’m equipped to handle
kid’s stories,” RJ admitted when he could speak, his laughter still hovering in
his voice. “Grant, didn’t you go to school to learn those things?”

“Hmm…no story time for high school government
teachers.” The words settled around them like a dark cloud, reminding him of
why they were here. Damn, Grant had hoped to keep things light but there just
was no getting around the facts, and this was one of the memories that would
always touch all of their lives.

The silence seemed to drag Patti’s attention back
from whatever she’d been thinking about as she’d stared out the side window. “Looks
like there’s only a couple of miles until we get to our turn off. How about we
sing? I bet everyone knows this one…”

Her low, rich contralto voice started them on a
chorus of Row, Row, Row Your Boat, and soon they were attempting to sing in a
round, harmonize, and make up their own words.

As quickly as the earlier memory had threatened—it
was gone for now. Suddenly, Grant couldn’t contain the happy that seemed to be
pouring out of him, and he wanted this moment to last forever. It wasn’t about
yesterday or the day before—life was about today. Today had been like a one-day
family vacation. He looked over at Annie’s laughing face, then forward to where
RJ drove, his strong baritone singing the silly lyrics, and sweet, beautiful
Patti who was looking back as she sang with Annie.

This.
This is what families did. Together.
Today was the first of many of the four of them making memories that would last
a lifetime.  

Annie was safe, the man and woman he loved were with
him and seemed willing to make an effort at remaining together. As horrible as
the last few days had been, he finally believed they were going to emerge
stronger than before. Tonight, Grant planned to ask them if they’d move in with
him. Not at his current house, but someplace new. Someplace they could call
their own. Thank God they could put this whole incident behind them

****

Frank sat behind the wheel of his car, staring at
the vacant Sedona vacation home. His fingers tapped on the wheel in time with
the refrain pounding in his head. What to do? What to do? First things first…

He glanced at the glove compartment but forced himself
to leave the gun where it was for now. One great thing about living in
Arizona—as long as you weren’t a felon, you could walk into your neighborhood
survivalist shop and walk out with anything you needed. In his case, it had
been a semi automatic, two boxes of ammunition, a nanny cam, two GPS tracking
devices and receivers, and a detailed map of Arizona. No license required, no
waiting period necessary, no questions asked. 

In the three days since he’d made his purchases, the
devices had more than paid for themselves. Now that he was outside the house
where Annie was staying, he could activate the nanny cam, but there was no
sense in it until after they returned from wherever they’d gone.

The girl and her sperm donor had evidently come up
here to get away while the police finished their investigation of the case.
Which made sense…and honestly, after his near panic the other night, this morning
had brought some clarity to his situation. The papers and news reports all
indicated the investigation was confirming the boys had kidnapped a teacher’s
child in order to interfere with their failing grades in his mandatory class.
No one was coming to interview administrators…why had he panicked?

Yesterday’s plan had worked as smooth as anything.
Dressed for work in a business suit and tie, Frank had simply pulled his car up
behind one of the patrol cars parked in a lose perimeter around the Anderson house
and walked to the young policewoman standing there. Holding out his ID, a
stuffed bear, and some flowers, he waited for her to acknowledge him before he
approached.

“Hello. I’m Dr. Kendrick, from the Scottsdale
Unified School District. Sorry, I didn’t realize the house would still be
cordoned off today.”

She examined his identification—which was quite
genuine—and nodded. “Yes, sir. I’m afraid no one is allowed at the house right
now. Can I help you?”

“Oh, of course, stupid of me. I have some gifts
from the teachers at Mr. Anderson’s school. We at the District just want to
assure him that he is being placed on paid administrative leave for the
remainder of the school year. Uhm…” He’d looked around, as if assessing his
options. “I don’t suppose I could leave these with you?”

The policewoman’s annoyance flashed across her
face for just a moment, then she looked down at the bear and smiled slightly. “Let
me clear it with the sergeant first, Dr. Kendrick. If he says yes, then you can
put them in the back of my patrol car, and I’ll take them up once we have the
all clear.”

Just like that, he’d managed to get the stuffed bear
containing the camera and GPS tracker into the house. Between the information
he’s gotten from the District office, the muffled conversation he’d overheard
from the bear, and the tracker, he’d managed to find this place.

Of course, there’d been no guarantee she’d get the
bear, but she had—and obviously, based on the tracking signal, they’d taken the
bear with them when they’d left. Wasn’t that proof enough he was doing the
right thing? Obviously he was operating on the side of the angels. Maybe Michelle
regretted her last earthly action and was even now guiding his hand to make
things right.

With a little shake of his head, Franklin tried to
push the memories where they belonged. In his past. He could never go back to
his old life, now. Not because he’d used his real identification—that had been
a lucky stroke of genius. No…he could never go back, because once he had Annie,
the two of them would need to disappear forever.

It was time to find a safe place to wait. He put
the car in gear and rolled away, thinking just how fortunate he was. When he’d
placed the bear in the back seat of the police car, he’d known it was a gamble,
but he’d guessed if they checked for anything, it would have been explosives.
Really, they should have known better. He would never hurt his darling Annie.

Patti stood at the kitchen counter, her gaze
drifted from the onion she was chopping to the Candyland game spread out on the
coffee table. Annie chattered happily with the two men, the three of them
smiling, the laughter easy. It was clear that the little girl had completely
wrapped RJ around her little finger. She’d asked for him first thing this
morning and he’d focused his attention on her ever since. He’d patiently
answered endless questions, shared his breakfast, and carried her on his
shoulders when she’d been too tired to walk. He even had scrapes and bruises on
his back and elbows from holding the girl in his lap as they rode the icy water
at Slide Rock State Park.

Attributing the stinging behind her lids to the
onions, Patti returned to slicing vegetables while ground beef sizzled in the
pan on the stove behind her. Spaghetti, garlic bread and a salad. Easy enough.
After a quick but intense debate, it had been decided that she and Grant would
cook dinner on alternating nights. RJ, with his complete lack of culinary
skills volunteered for permanent KP duty, cleaning up after each meal while
Patti and Grant would share bath time with Annie. It was a very domestic
arrangement considering how few days they had left to spend together. Without
knowing how the weekend would work out, she’d combined her regular lieu days
with some annual leave so she could spend the whole week in Phoenix. Just in
case… Now she only had three days left before her rotation started again.

For the first time, she was seriously
contemplating working someplace other than the National Park Service. The
thought caused an ache low in her belly. She’d wanted to be a ranger her whole
life, and although she’d gone from the law enforcement side of the house to her
current position as a supervisory ranger, she’d always played a role in
preserving America’s special treasures. There just weren’t very many NPS
positions in the Phoenix area. Not that anyone had asked her to stay.

As if he heard her thoughts, RJ raised his head
and met her gaze. “Hey, doing okay over there?”

Not trusting herself to speak, Patti forced her
lips into a semblance of a smile and nodded her head.

RJ’s dark brows came together, a little frown
touching his mouth. Then he looked at Grant and then back to her. “I’ve been
waiting to tell you both…well, it’s been a little crazy, so maybe I wasn’t
waiting so much as avoiding the discussion.” He paused to roll the dice, then
move forward two spaces.

Grant grabbed the dice and closed them in a fist. “I
think it’s safe to say we’ve all been a little distracted. What is it, RJ?”

“I…uhm…actually…” He swallowed, looked back and
forth from Patti to Grant then back to Patti, as if he couldn’t decide which of
them would give him the better response. “Remember I said I had a couple of
interviews and moving back to Phoenix would depend on how those went?

Patti nodded and wondered what had RJ so
flustered.

“I actually won’t be returning to Boston. I quit
my job before I left, and I’m working with a realtor to find a place here once
I know where I’m going to be working.”

“But that’s brilliant!” Grant said. “You can stay
with us.”

Patti saw Annie’s eyes go wide as her dad whooped
out a war cry then launched himself at RJ. The force knocked RJ over and the two
men rolled over onto the floor, laughing and thumping each other on the back,
as if the winning touchdown had been scored. Quickly getting into the spirit,
Annie climbed on top, only to be pulled into the pile, giggling and squealing
with delight.

A genuine smile formed as Patti watched the three
of them celebrate, despite the small lump in her throat. She wasn’t going to
pretend there wasn’t a tiny bit of hurt, but deep in her heart, she’d always
known. RJ belonged with Grant. Now the men she loved could finally be together.

Patti picked up her cutting board and turned away
from the scene in the other room. Scooping the rest of the onions and peppers
into the pot, she adjusted the flame, then turned up the heat under the pot of
water. She jumped when arms reached around her waist, pulling her back against
a hard chest.
Grant.
She closed her eyes, savoring the momentary
closeness.

“Hey, sweetheart. Are you okay?”

“Sure, fine. I think dinner will be ready in about
twenty minutes…”

Grant turned her to face him, lifted her chin,
forcing her to look up to meet his gaze. “Don’t shut me out, Patti. You know I
want—”

The ringing of her cell phone was like a lifeline.
She truly was happy for her two best friends, but right now her heart was a
little too tender for conversation. She pressed her palm against his chest,
forcing Grant to take a step back. Snatching her phone from the counter, she
had a second to see the call was from Enwright Security.

“Hello?”

“Patti? Graeme here. We’ve got trouble. It seems the
two boys weren’t working alone.”

*****

Despite his frustration at the interruption when
Patti had answered the phone, Grant had whispered that he would take over
cooking, leaving her free to retreat to the back of the house to take the call
in private. From what she'd said earlier, she only had a few more days of
vacation left and he wondered if the call was work related. He didn't want to
think about her leaving, especially now that RJ had said he was staying. Well,
at least he hadn't argued about the house. Not yet, anyway. Grant wasn't stupid
enough to believe RJ would go along with his plan to move him in to his house—into
his bed—into his life. Not without a fight. That was a given with RJ. He would
argue and guilt himself for days before he’d finally come around to where Grant
wanted him. Needed him.

There was a reason they were both still single
after all this time—they were meant to be together—no need to make it any more
complicated than that. But damn it all—they needed Patti, too.

Lost in thought, his gaze drifted over to his
daughter and he almost laughed out loud.

RJ was smiling at her, too. “Hey, I like the look,
tiger,” RJ said.

Annie paused with her last forkful of spaghetti
halfway to her mouth and looked at RJ. “What look?”

“You've got a red streak showing across your
cheek,” RJ said with a grin. “Hang on…” He dug out his iPhone and snapped a
picture, but hummed a little before he showed it to her. “Something's missing…”

Grant blinked in surprise when RJ dipped his finger
into the spaghetti sauce and painted a matching stripe on Annie's other cheek.

“Much better.” He snapped another photo with his
phone. RJ frowned at the display for a long minute, then nodded once and showed
her. Annie giggled as RJ spun her a tale about being the long lost Princess
Geranium of the Valley of the Sauce.

Grant bit his lip, holding back the laughter that
threatened. RJ was really good at this…no wonder he’d made fun of Grant’s storytelling
earlier.

He knew damn well he should scold them for playing
with their food—but there was no way in hell he would interrupt the magic. They
were caught in the moment, again…another page in their family memory book. He
only wished Patti was off the phone so she could see.

Just as he was about to go down the hall to see
what was keeping her, he heard the rush of bathwater. Patti emerged from the
back of the house, her expression neutral. After spending the last few days
with Graeme and various law enforcement personnel, Grant recognized cop-face
when he saw it. What the hell happened now?

“Hey, Annie, are you almost finished with dinner,
honey? I started you a bubble bath,” Patti asked.

“Yay…can I be done, Daddy?”

“Sure. You get in the tub, and I'll be down to
check on you in a minute. Just let me clean up dinner.”

Patti joined them a few minutes later. “She's
okay, in there, right? I didn't fill the tub too much.”

“Yes, she's okay, but what's going on?”

RJ pushed a plate of spaghetti in her direction. “Talk
and eat.”

Picking up her fork, Patti said, “That was Graeme.
There's been some news and it isn't good. Apparently the two boys from your
class weren't working alone.”

Grant gripped the counter, uncertain if his legs—or
his heart—could take any more. RJ came around and placed a hand on his shoulder
to steady him.

“Who is it? Did the police catch him?” RJ asked.

Grant looked from one to the other, trying to get
his mind around the fact that there was another person out there who wanted to
take his daughter. How was that even possible?

Swallowing a bite of spaghetti, Patti shook her
head. “No, the police aren't talking about it yet. Apparently, they don't
necessarily agree with Michael's assessment. They've got their own method of
investigating and the official word is
all reasonable lines of investigation
are being pursued
. That's why they haven't notified you, yet.”

Patti was still talking, explaining the situation
to RJ, but Grant was too numb to take in the details. He was stuck on the
phrase
reasonable lines.
What did that even mean? How could anything be
considered reasonable about two young men stepping into the path of destruction
and taking Grant's life with them? Somewhere along the way, these two boys from
nice, upper middle class families decided it made more sense to kidnap a teacher’s
child than to do a couple of hours work to turn in a final research paper. They’d
had guns, for God sake, and been so caught up in whatever bullshit fantasy
they’d concocted that they’d started a shootout with Enwright's people. It was nothing
less than a version of suicide by cop. Now Graeme said yet another person was
involved?

Something Patti said penetrated his jumbled thoughts.

“What? Wait—this someone works for the school
district?”

“He used to, but he's a vice principal at Desert
Valley right now.”

Grant's stomach lurched, like he'd just missed the
last step as he was racing down the staircase. “Why in God's name would this
man care if two of my students were failing? Is he a parent to one of them or
something?”

“No, honey.” Patti’s voice was gentle. “The fact
that they were failing is what made them perfect tools. He didn’t care about
the boys—he has a much more personal motive. This was never about you at all—Michelle
Cutchin was his ex-girlfriend. Apparently, he really wants Annie.”