Chapter 8 #2
“Dad says when people are sorry we should forgive them.” He walked slowly to her and gave her a hug. It wasn’t a generous one but it would suffice.
Joe grasped his hand when he came back. “Sit with Scarlet and me, Seth.”
He sidled in between them.
“First off, you don’t have to do anything you don’t want to do. But your mother and Gayle would like to spend time with you.”
“How much?”
“Every other weekend and some vacations.”
He frowned. “That’s a lot of time.” He looked at Joe. “I’d have to leave you, Dad. And Scarlet. And Cinnamon.”
“You would,” Gayle said. “But you told your mother last time you wanted to see her.”
“I guess I do.”
Gayle watched him. “Then how about if we start off slowly. Maybe one weekend a month at first.”
“Can I do that, Dad?”
“If you want to.”
“Maybe.”
Joe took over. “I think Seth might need time to adjust to this new part of his life.”
“We can do that.” But Evangelina’s tone was sad.
“Why don’t you tell them about your day at school.” Scarlet was trying to be fair.
“Good idea.” Joe stood. “I’ll get you a snack. Would you two like something?”
“Water please.”
Scarlet popped up. “I’ll get it.” She left the room. Once in the kitchen, she took a deep breath and tried to relax her shoulders. This situation out there was tense. And worrisome. But they’d deal with it. Because Seth said he wanted to see Evangelina, they had no choice.
* * *
“I want one thing,” Joe told Scarlet two days later as they waited for Seth to get back from school.
She grinned. “Only one?”
She loved teasing him so he played along. He arched a brow. “Only one now.”
“Hmm.”
“What is it?”
He took her hand. “I’d like to move into your house as soon as possible.”
“Nothing could make me happier.”
“I’m glad. Then I can work on the rest.”
“The rest?”
“I want your opinion on something. I’m thinking about reestablishing my veterinarian practice again.” It had been a year since he’d given it up and he missed working with animals. “I’d run the business at my farm.”
Joy filled her green eyes. “I guess something could make me happier.”
“I’m glad.”
“Joe, what kind of practice did you have?”
“I work with large animals. Vets must choose either that or small animals.”
“Looks like Stanley and Cinnamon will have a doctor in the house.”
He grinned.
“I’m a little worried about Seth changing houses but we need to be in yours to get protection. And I need to be with you.”
“We’ll have to work that out. When would you move?”
“Let’s see how Seth reacts first. I’m sure he’ll love the idea of living with you. But he loves our farm, too.”
“Maybe he can spend some time when you’re there. Help you get set up. Do some chores when your business takes off.”
“Great idea.” He stood and held out his hand. “Let’s walk down to the entrance.”
Indian Summer had come to upstate New York. The sky was blue and the trees and grass green as they strolled down to the entrance to the farm. He took the beautiful September day as a good omen.
They heard the rumblings of the bus coming down the main road. It stopped with a hiss and Seth climbed off. He frowned. “Is something wrong?”
“No honey,” Joe said. “Everything’s right. Let’s go up to the house, get you a snack then talk about some things.”
Once they settled in the kitchen Joe smiled. “Seth, you know Scarlet and I are getting married, right?”
“Yeah, when?”
“As soon as the divorce from your mother is final. It shouldn’t be too long. But I want us all to be together now.”
Scarlet added, “And that entails living in one house.”
“I want Scarlet to live with us.”
“How about if we live with her?”
He hesitated then grinned broadly. “Cinnamon can be with his father all the time and she already has a paddock.”
“That’s right,” Scarlet put in.
“Can I bring my bed?”
Joe ruffled his hair. “You can bring your bed and all your other stuff.”
“And,” Scarlet leaned over. “You can pick which room you want.”
“Holy cow.” He threw his arms around her. “Thanks, Scarlet.”
“You’re very welcome.” She caught Joe’s gaze over Seth’s shoulder. “Now let’s plan when.”
* * *
The next day, Scarlet met Finn in the parking lot and they walked in together for a group meeting at the collective. The guards stayed outside. She sat down in the group of chairs next to Daisy.
“We’re waiting on Heath and Finn. The FBI too.”
Scarlet shook her head. “I hope there’s good news from them.”
Daisy said, “God, you look happy.”
“I am. I have some good news of my own.”
They got coffee and Heath arrived. “The FBI is five minutes out.”
“Then I have something happy to share.”
“We need it.” Daisy was taking all of this hard.
“Joe and I are moving in together. As soon as his divorce is final, we’re getting married.” A grin. “He’s going back to his veterinarian work.”
“Did we all know he was a vet?” Daisy asked.
Heath said, “We watched him in action the night of dinner at Scarlet’s.”
“He didn’t say that was his profession, though. Anyway, big congratulations, Scarlet.” Daisy got up and hugged her.
Not long after Stanton, Rayburn and Marshall arrived. They all sat and they greeted each other.
“I’m afraid you’re going to be disappointed in our news,” Rayburn began. “It seems like the medallion guy is leading nowhere. We can’t find any connections he had in Rockford.”
“So you’re letting that go?” Juliet asked. “I felt threatened by him.”
“I know you did,” Jeff said sympathetically. “But he’s dead now and hopefully, we’ll get another lead. And one of the agents is still on the Dark Web. So far, nothing to report.”
“Are you giving up the investigation?” Finn asked, his eyes narrowed.
“No, no.” This from Stanton. “We’ll keep our guy on the Dark Web, and we’ll pay for the nightly patrols you have on your houses, but Rayburn and I will be leaving the investigation in Captain Marshall’s hands.”
Strained silence.
The agents stood. “We’ll be staying in touch with you. I’m sure you’ll all be fine. And who knows, it’s been over a month since anything’s happened. Maybe he’s done.”
Their faces told Scarlet no one believed that and she didn’t either.
* * *
He listened in on the bug he’d gotten planted in the collective’s meeting room. It wasn’t hard to place it because they allowed clients to wander around in the other half of the gym-like space.
So, the FBI was retreating. It had been a good idea to slow down the incidents after he killed Brock.
Lulling them into thinking they were safe.
But they weren’t safe. He wouldn’t stop until he punished them in irreparable ways.
He could burn down the place. Or engineer car accidents for each of them. Or attack their loved ones.
No worries because he wasn’t in a hurry. And he wasn’t going anywhere.
* * * * *
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