Epilogue
Sean
“Babe, can I talk you into taking a ride on Trixie? I’ve got something I wanna show you.”
I glanced up from reviewing the briefing books Mrs. Lambert had delivered the previous day for my upcoming Tuesday meeting with a new Republican senator sworn in over the break.
It would be the first official day of Congress being back in session after being off all August, and I was a little nervous because I was having trouble finding common ground with the woman.
Spencer Brady was going with me to meet Senator Debra Peters from Wyoming. I hoped his charm could win her over because I already didn’t like the woman, based on some of the shit she’d said during her campaign.
“Oh, what do you want to show me? Can’t you show me right here in the dining room?” I waggled my eyebrows at him because I loved teasing him.
The man had a voracious appetite when it came to sex, and I was a happy man to learn that little perk in our relationship.
Not many could keep up with me when it came to getting off.
Fucking or blowing Jeri or whatever he had on his mind was never an issue for me, regardless of how tired I might be.
For me, hopping on top of a four-legged wild animal that could run off with me or throw me or paw me to death after it threw me was an issue.
I liked petting, bathing, and brushing horses, which I did to help Jeri out when Cody wasn’t working.
At no time over the summer had I been tempted to climb on the back of one of those majestic creatures for it to take me anywhere.
“I did something as a surprise for you, and it’s finally ready. Please come with me so I can show you.”
His expression was sincere and his tone was on the cusp of begging, which went straight to my dick. God, I loved the man.
“Will this thing you did explain where you’ve been slipping off to every afternoon?” I didn’t suspect him of doing anything to hurt me, but whenever I asked what he was up to, he’d kiss me instead of answering.
“Yep. Come on. We can ride double if that’ll make ya feel better.” A sexy wink followed.
“Fine. If I end up dead, remember me fondly.” I closed the book and went back to our bedroom, which looked fantastic now that we had bought a king-sized bedroom set. We had built-in dressers in our large, walk-in closet and had a lot of plans to do more renovations to the ranch house over time.
I changed from shorts into jeans before sliding on a pair of boots Jeri had bought me when we’d gone shopping for our new bedroom set. Once I was ready, I grabbed the last thing I ever imagined putting on my head: a baseball cap that had the Washington Nationals logo on the front.
The cap was Jeri’s, but he wore a cowboy hat all the time, and since I didn’t ever see myself pulling that off, I accepted the loan of the baseball cap to keep the top of my head from getting sunburned when I worked out in the garden—or apparently, rode a horse.
When I returned to the kitchen, Jeri was filling a canteen with cold water from the filtered pitcher in the fridge. “Ready? Mom’s bringing over a few casseroles to put in the freezer. She’s convinced we’re going to starve out here on our own.”
I chuckled. “She’s probably not far off if one of us doesn’t buckle down and learn to cook more than fried pig. If we keep eating bacon sandwiches a couple of times a week, our arteries are going to harden, and they’ll find us naked in our bed from widow-maker heart attacks.”
Jeri laughed. “As long as we’re naked together. Leave your phone in the house, okay?”
I took it from my pocket and tossed it onto the table as I followed him outside.
Just as we were heading to the barn, an SUV pulled into the driveway and parked next to the Aviator I’d bought.
Jeri wouldn’t admit it, but unless he was hauling the trailer, he loved driving the Lincoln. The sound system was supreme.
We stopped at the top of the hill leading down to the barn and waited. “Did you have anyone coming out to see a horse or look at the stables for boarding?” I asked.
“None all week. It’s Labor Day weekend, so I didn’t expect anyone. We’re supposed to have Mom, Kenny, and his family out this evening, so I didn’t make any appointments. Doesn’t mean someone didn’t direct someone out here if they were looking for a spot to board a horse in the area.”
The door to the SUV opened and Special Agent Trachtenberg stepped out, slowly ambling in our direction. His expression was not exactly friendly. When the passenger door opened, a short guy with bright blond curls got out and stomped behind Trachtenberg.
“No, I’m not waiting in the fucking car. I told you an hour ago that I had to pee. If you want me to cooperate, you’ve got to give me the same damn consideration.” I had no idea who the little dude was, but I was surprised steam wasn’t coming out of his ears.
The agent stopped and turned around. “Look around kid. There’s a whole lot of ground to water out here. Knock yourself out.”
“And where am I supposed to wash my hands and get a drink?” I started to speak up that he could use the bathroom in the house, but it wasn’t my business, was it?
Trachtenberg pointed to the hose we used to bathe the horses. “Your wish is my command, Palmer.” The kid gave him the finger and walked behind the SUV.
“Trachtenberg, what can we do for you?” Jeri asked the FBI special agent.
“I’m guarding that reporter asshole. We’re heading to a safe house out here in God’s country.
I wanted to let you know that Marvin Thompson is cooperating with our investigation into the Defenders of the Faithful.
He’s sitting with the Special Agent in Charge right now, giving him coordinates to the other camps because we’re hoping to wipe them out before the holidays.
“I just wanted to thank you, Mr. Fitzpatrick, for the information you provided that helped me coax him to help us take down the organization. Unfortunately, he guessed it was you who spilled his secret, and I’m worried it might make you a target of his revenge.
You’re in good company, I fear. He wants the reporter and me dead as well. ”
I nodded. “I’m not surprised. Thank you for telling me. He’ll have to get in line behind a hell of a lot of others if he wants to get to me.”
Jeri grabbed my hand and held it tight. “This is serious, Sean.”
I turned to him and smiled. “Cowboy, I know it is, but life goes on. If you want to teach me to shoot and help me get a concealed carry permit, I’ll go along with it. I won’t let them keep me from doing my job or living my life with the man I love.”
Jeri leaned closer and kissed my temple. “Consider it done.”
The young man came around the side of the truck as he checked his zipper before heading to the back of the barn. He went to the hose and lifted it, turning on the water and taking a drink before he rinsed his hands.
I turned back to Trachtenberg. “I didn’t think guarding witnesses was part of the FBI’s responsibilities. Isn’t that the job of the US Marshal?”
Special Agent Trachtenberg stared at me. “My witness. My responsibility. Take care of yourselves, gentlemen. I’ll be in touch.” He turned toward where the young guy was petting Jeri’s colt, Thunder, who was standing at the gate. “Let’s go, parrot. It’s a long fucking walk if I leave your ass.”
The blond walked up to me. “I’m Harper Joel Palmer. If I end up dead, tell someone Trachtenberg did it.” He then took off running until he reached the SUV, where he opened the door as Trachtenberg started the engine.
The kid was hanging out of the vehicle when Trachtenberg threw it into reverse and gunned it. “That’s going to have a bloody ending,” I said.
Jeri smiled. “I don’t think it will. Call me a romantic, but that amount of animosity hints at a huge attraction. Come on, we still need to go see your surprise.” If I rode behind him on Trixie, maybe my chances of coming back alive would be higher.
Fifteen minutes later, I stood next to Trixie as my eyes nearly bugged out of my head. “How the hell did you pull this off without me figuring it out? Jeri, I’m stunned.”
I was staring at a legitimate helipad in the back of the grazing field. There was a nice vinyl fence separating the pad from the horse pasture so it was safe for the animals. There was even a little building to the side.
“I’ll have Cody’s friend, Pinky, come down here and mow it once a week, depending on the rain.
Oh, and the manual switch for the lights is over here.
As far as how you didn’t know what was going on back here, I had John cut a gate in the fence so trucks could come and go without driving by the house. ”
Jeri then took my hand and led me over to a building with a garage door.
“The lights are dusk to dawn. There’s an override you can download on your phone if you need to turn them on or off at any other time.
The electricity for this spot comes from that solar stand.
” He pointed to a pole beside the shed. “And there’s a battery backup that stores energy in reserve if we have an extended period of rain.
There’s also a generator in the shed that I’ll hook up if it’s needed. ”
He reached into his pocket and pulled out a garage door opener. When the light-tan door lifted, I was surprised to see a golf-cart-like vehicle. “This will take you to the house and bring you back if I’m not here to pick you up or can’t bring you down.” Holy hell!
“But Jeri—this is your farm. You need all this land for the horses to graze, and you don’t want this eye sore down here.”
“No, baby. This is where you’ll be living with me, and if it’s something you need to be here with me, I’ll make damn sure you get it.
See, I really need you to be back here as quickly as possible, and I need it to be easy for you so you don’t get tired of making the trip.
” He kissed the side of my neck, and I wrapped my arms around his shoulders.
Never had anyone really shown me how much I meant to them. Nobody had ever loved me the way Jeri did. It was the start of a new life.
“This is the most incredible thing anyone has ever done for me. Thank you.”
I pulled him into my embrace and kissed his lips. The love I felt for the man coursed through me, from his heart to mine and then back again. Jeri suddenly pulled away.
“Oh, and see the H in the middle, check out the circle around it.” He seemed so proud. I almost laughed, but as I paid more attention, I saw what he meant.
“It’s a heart.”
Jeri’s chest puffed up. “It’s usually a circle, but I asked the contractor if he could make a modification.
He didn’t want to because the circle with the H means the pad is a safe place to land.
I wanted the heart so you would know every time you came home that this was a safe place for you to land. ”
And that was how I did the most outrageous thing I’d never imagined I’d do in my entire life.
“Will you marry me?”
Jeri smirked. “I knew I’d get you to ask the first time I met you. Yes, Sean, I’d love to marry you.”