The Trouble With Love (39 page)

"All set, darlin'.  Let's go find out if we're having a baby," he said and threw his arm around her shoulder.  She stopped by the Blue Bird to let Julene know she was going home, and the woman assured her, since the lunch rush was over, she could handle closing.

Cole stopped by the pharmacy and picked up two pregnancy tests for her.  He said Clyde the pharmacist had grilled him about them, and he thought the news would probably be all over Bowie before the sun set.  Sabrina was mortified, but Cole reassured her
that was typical
of how the
Bowie
gossip
pipeline
worked, and that all small towns had them
, something she'd have to get used to
.

When they got to Cole's house he parked in the garage, grabbed the bag off the seat then ran around to her door and helped her down.
  She smiled when she saw his bike parked next to the truck and said suggestively, "Maybe if it's positive, we can ride your bike to the lake house and celebrate."

Cole shook his head vigorously. "If it's positive, your bike riding days are over for a while," he told her seriously
and took her hand in his
.

Sabrina groaned knowing his show of protectiveness was only the beginning of what she could expect throughout the pregnancy...if she was pregnant.  Although it was cute now, she knew by the time she delivered, he'd be lucky to be alive
,
if he kept it up.
  This was going to be another issue they were going to have to work out soon.

He led her into the house and down the hall to the half bath and handed her the bag, his eyes looked like those of an excited puppy.
  "You need me to do anything?"

"Not unless you want to pee on the stick for me," she said and giggled. "But I don't think that's going
to give us the answer we want...you just go get changed and I'll let you check it with me in five minutes."

He grinned and gave her a kiss then headed upstairs to change.  Sabrina shook her head and then closed the bathroom door.  Reading the directions on the box, she followed them then set the test stick on the counter and washed her hands.  In about five minutes, she'd know if she was going to be a mother.  She felt as excited as Cole had looked in the hall a minute ago.  She fluffed her hair and the greasy smell wafted to her nostrils and she gagged.  She had to go take a bath,
now
.
..well as soon as she saw the results.  There was no way she was walking away
from that stick,
until she knew for sure.

From what she knew, morning sickness only lasted the first three months or so, and that gave her hope.  But if she was pregnant, she was only a few weeks along, and she had to run the Blue Bird.  She didn't know how that was going to work if she got this physically ill from being exposed to smells she'd encounter daily there.
  It looked like she was going to have to hire a cook, and stay away from the kitchen.

Cole knocked at the bathroom door, then opened it and smiled, "Anything yet?"

"Still a few more minutes...come in here and wait with me," she invited holding out her hand to him.

He ducked in and closed the door then pulled her into his arms...she pushed back against him. "I need to go take a shower, I smell like the diner," she told him.

"I ran you a bath, while I was up there...so, as soon as we know, you can go relax."

Regardless of how dirty and smelly she felt, Sabrina walked up and put her arms around his neck and kissed him.  "I love you, Cole Jackson."

"And I love you, Sabrina Roberts...
Jackson
," he told her, his eyes filled and he sucked in a breath.  "I never knew I'd be this damned lucky...all the trouble we went through to get here was sure worth it."

She stepped back from him and glanced at her watch then grabbed the wash cloth covering the stick.  "You ready daddy?" she asked saucily.

"I'm ready mama...let's take a look," he stepped forward and leaned over her hand.

Like a magician performing a magic trick, she swept it away and they both peered down and howled when they saw a pink plus sign.  They grabbed each other and hopped around in circles, until Cole stopped and jerked her up against him
then kissed
her silly.

When he pulled back, he said, "I gotta call Luke," at the same time she said, "I gotta call, Cassie."  They laughed again then shoved out of the bathroom and Cole pulled out his phone and h
eld it out
to her.  She nodded and pushed it back to him, "You first."

He swallowed hard then dialed the phone.  "Hey, Slick..." he said quietly, then yelled into the phone, "Sabrina's pregnant!"

Cole held the phone away from his ear
. 
Sabrina could hear Luke and Cassie whooping and hollering on the phone and grinned.
  "Guess I don't have to call Cassie..."
she
said and laughed.

***

Julene had a friend that she called to help her in the kitchen at the Blue Bird.  Evidently, the woman had helped out before when Lou Bell had needed her.
  So far, she seemed to be doing a great job.  If things worked out,
m
aybe Sabrina would offer her a full time job in the kitchen.

S
abrina walked around the dining area and refilled salt shakers and napkin holders.  The diluted smell from the kitchen didn't bother her out front, so she could still work.  She'd been helping
Wanda Sue refill glasses and deliver food.  They'd made it through the breakfast rush just fine, and now she had a break to get off her feet for a few minutes.  Sabrina grabbed a glass of ice tea and went and sat in one of the
booths and propped her feet on the other bench.

Her cell phone rang in her pocket and she wondered if Cole
,
Gabe
and Luke
had finished getting fitted for their tuxes.  The wedding was in two days, and they hadn't been able to get away to get fitted, before now.  Nothing like waiting until the last minute
, she thought
. 

She pulled it out and connected the call without looking at the caller
ID.
"Cole?"

"Um...no, this is
Damon Sanders with the FBI, Sabrina...do you remember me?

"Oh, sure the FNG...how're you doing? The case finished yet?"

"No, we're still working on it, but we still haven't identified the guy you saw in that weapons deal.  Has Ms. Whitmore called you?" he asked
with a s
trange edge to his voice.
 

It was almost like he was fishing for information.
  Well, FBI guys were strange anyway
, she thought. and told him,
"Haven't heard from her...was she supposed to call me?"

"Oh, she wanted you to come down to the office and look at some photos again and see if you can ID the guy."

"But she said I was released and she didn't need me to testify anymore."

"Well, there have been some developments, and he's the only guy we haven't found yet.
Can I come get you and bring you down here?"

Sabrina looked around the cafe, thought about the final wedding details she had to work out with Cassie and told him, "I'm really too busy to do that right now."

He huffed out a breath and told her bluntly, "Well, you're going to have to make time Detective Roberts."

Detective?
  He didn't know that she'd lost her job because she'd been in protective custody?  Didn't
he
know that Susan Whitmore had tried to hire her with the FBI?  This whole conversation struck Sabrina as really strange.  "Um...look Damon, let me check with my fiancé and then I'll give you a call back shortly."

There was dead silence on the line then he said, "Don't be too long, Sabrina.  I really need to get this over with."  Uneasiness spread through her and the hair on the back of her neck stood up.  Sabrina knew that feeling, and took heed of it.

She forced a laugh then said, "The dragon lady breathing down your neck FNG?"

"Always...now call me back, I'll be waiting," he told her then the line disconnected.

Sabrina scrolled through the numbers on her phone and found Susan Whitmore
's number
and dialed.  The woman picked up on the second ring and sounded agitated.  "Sabrina?" she asked and then said, "I was just about to call you, we've got problems."

"Yeah, Damon just called me and said you need me to look at more photos?"

She'd never heard Susan Whitmore speechless, but she was at the moment.  The silence hung on the line and she heard her tapping keys on a computer.  "Susan?"

"Did he just call you?" She asked with concern in her voice.

"Yeah,
I
just got off the phone with him...he called my cell.  Susan, what's wrong?"

"Remember that
weapons
deal you saw happen while you were being held hostage?" Susan asked.

"Of course, I do.  That's not something I'm going to forget anytime soon," Sabrina huffed a laugh.

"We believe Damon Sanders was the driver of the truck in that deal, but don't have enough proof yet to arrest him.  Do you think that guy you saw could possibly have been Damon?"

Visions of
the weapons deal
popped into her mind and she shuddered
,
but replayed it a couple of times.  Reversing and freezing the image of the guy who was driving the truck
in her mind
, she
compared
the image of Damon Sanders
to the driver,
and gasped
then
put her hand to her mouth.  "Oh, my god...it
was
him.
  I thought he looked familiar when he interviewed me.
"

"Miss Roberts, we need to take you back into custody right now.  I'll have someone come and pick you up."

"
NO!
  That can't happen, Susan...I'm getting married on Saturday...
and
I have a business to run!"

"Well, you can't very well do either of those things if you're dead, Sabrina.  We think this guy infiltrated the agency to get information on the investigation we were doing into th
e
cartel.  He's a big player in that organization, and he's dangerous.  You are the only one that can identify him
and
that puts a big target on your forehead."

Sabrina felt a wave of nausea bearing down on her and took a deep breath.  "Susan, I'm pregnant, getting married and have a business.  I can't get involved."

"You're already involved...he wouldn't have called you otherwise.  He's AWOL and we haven't seen him in a week.  We're tracking him, but haven't found him yet."  The line broke up as another call was coming into her phone. 

Sabrina
held it up and saw that it was Damon Sanders again.  "He's calling me again, I'm not answering it."

Susan Whitmore groaned into the phone then said, "I want to tell you to answer it and get as much information as you can from him, but I don't want to get you hurt.  We don't have people in the area
yet
to pick him up."

"I'm not answering, he'll probably
call back
."

"I've got people in route to you, they should be there in a few hours," Susan told her then hesitated, "We need to take you into custody..."

Sabrina looked up as the bell above the door tinkled as she told Susan Whitmore,
"No--if you want to give me protection, that's fine, but I'm not going into custody again."