Chapter 9 #3
“I still prefer to know the name of the guy who I have a relationship with,” she added quietly.
He nodded. “And nothing wrong with that either, is there?”
“I certainly took some flak about it from friends,” she shared, with a smirk. “They all thought I should just go from party to party.”
“And, if that’s what they did, and they were happy with it, that’s fine for them,” he noted, “but it’s not so fine when you take that next step, and you want something else, but you don’t know how to get it.
It’s all about setting standards, putting value on yourself, and having the type of relationship you want for yourself, recognizing when you can get it and when you can’t.
I would never want you to go in a direction where you weren’t comfortable. ”
She smiled. “See? You’ll already make a great dad to daughters.”
“You think so, huh?” Just then they heard a vehicle coming up the driveway. He smiled. “That would be Anderson.”
“Good,” she said, getting away from him some. “I’m kind of hungry.”
He nodded. “In that case, let’s make sure that you get something to eat. Did you have lunch?”
“I forgot to take anything with me,” she admitted, “so I just grabbed something from the vending machine.” At his frown, she sighed.
“I should know better, but I woke up tired and didn’t have a chance to make anything on my way out this morning.
It was hardly something that I had prepared for nor had I discussed it with you guys. So I just grabbed something at work.”
“I get it,” he conceded, “and it’s not surprising, as most people would likely have done the same, don’t you think?”
“Yep, I sure do,” she agreed, as they both walked downstairs and then outside to help Anderson unload the groceries. By the time they came back in, the babies were stirring.
She smiled and offered, “I’ll go.” With that, she walked upstairs and into the nursery to find the first of the Lisas waking up, her arms upstretched to be picked up.
Sammy found it interesting that none of the triplets were shy, even though various people reached for them constantly. The babies seemed to be totally okay with the fact that their caregivers changed. The girls didn’t really know Sammy, yet they were content to have her here.
As only one was fully awake at the moment, she quickly changed her, then cuddled her close.
She was adorable with long tousled curls across her head, in a good happy mood and very talkative.
Trying to keep the other two asleep a little longer if they needed it, she carried Lisa one out to the main living room to find Anderson standing there, still talking to Burton.
“Problems?” she asked quietly as she joined them.
“Not really. We got a little bit of information on one of Colbert’s girlfriends, and we’ve made a call to see if she’ll talk to us. So far, we’re not sure if that’s a go.”
“Right,” she replied, “and you’re talking about Roger Colbert, right?”
He nodded. “I understand you might know him.”
“No, it’s not that I know him, but my father used to know him.
” She eyed Burton because she had only told him about it.
“I don’t know anything about their relationship nor whatever happened, but my father just seemed to really look up to him, and then suddenly he didn’t.
Of course my father’s been dead for a few years now, so I don’t have any way to find out what happened. ”
“Interesting,” Anderson muttered, with a nod. “We’ll take a look after dinner maybe.” He looked over at Burton, who nodded.
“I’ll go,” Burton offered, “and you can stay here with the babies. Some sort of continuity in their care would make a difference, I think.”
“I was just thinking the opposite,” she interjected.
“They seem to be very adapted to having multiple people looking after them all the time. I haven’t noticed them play strange at all, even with me, and I’m definitely a newcomer to them.
” Her gaze going from one to the other, she asked the two men, “Have you?”
Both men stared at her, as if mulling it over. “If you mean fussing about strangers, no, I haven’t.” Burton looked over to Anderson. “Have you?”
“I was kind of hoping it was because they recognized me,” Anderson admitted, with half a laugh, “but, of course, they don’t. I’m just grateful that they are as comfortable with us as they are because it makes our job a lot easier.”
“It does, indeed,” Sammy agreed, with a bright smile. She turned to Burton. “So, does that mean you’re going out after dinner again?”
He nodded. “I will, at least for a little while, while I go talk to this lady.”
She asked, “Do you want me to come?”
He frowned at her, as if weighing the pros and cons.
Anderson interjected, “You’re certainly welcome to go if you want to, but I don’t know that there would be any benefit to it.” He asked Burton, “What do you think?”
Sammy interrupted them. “You do know that a lot of women are more comfortable speaking to other women, right?” she pointed out. “So, me being there might actually help.”
“She is right,” Burton noted. “The woman could possibly relax a bit, or she could get upset and shut down. If she’s feeling humiliated, she may not want another woman knowing, and yet another woman might understand what she’s going through. So, it’s kind of a toss-up,” Burton shared agreeably.
Anderson nodded. “It’s up to Burton then.”
Burton looked over at her and shrugged. “Sure, why not? Let’s see how it goes.”
By the time they finished dinner and cleaned up, she hesitated as she looked over at the babies. “Shall we at least get them into the living room?”
“No, it’s actually bathtime.” Anderson chuckled, and the babies cooed at him, as if understanding.
“I’ll get them cleaned up from dinner, then we’ll go into the bathroom where I will lock the door and the three of us, four of us,” he corrected with a smile, “can work our way through the next stage.”
“Do you want us to wait though?” she asked, as she walked over closer. She picked up a washcloth and quickly wiped down faces.
“Give me a hand getting them into the bathroom, and that should be fine. I’ll be able to handle it from there. I’ve had a bit of practice by now,” he added, with a smile.
“It would still be easier,” she argued, “than doing it alone.”
Burton shook his head. “I need to go now,” he stated, as he glanced at his watch.
She was torn, and Anderson said, “Go on. It’s not a bother, and, by the time you guys are back, you can help me get them dressed and ready for bed. They’ll be fine just playing in the tub for a bit.”
“Okay, if you’re sure?” she asked ruefully.
Burton nodded and went to step out, “If you need help, just give us a shout, and we’ll get back as soon as we can.”
“Just don’t take your sweet time,” he said pointedly, “because yeah, as much as I can do this, it is a whole lot easier if I’m not alone.”
And, with that, the two of them helped bring the triplets into the bathroom then dashed off.
Burton looked over at Sammy as he quickly turned on the car engine and pulled out onto the street.
“Are you guys all using this one vehicle? Is this Talia’s SUV?” she asked.
“It is, and thankfully we do have a set of wheels here. Otherwise, we would be using multiple rentals the whole time.”
“Right, and I guess that would be an answer, if need be.”
“If need be,” he agreed cheerfully. “On the other hand, we’re doing fine with this for now, so we’re good. Plus Colbert’s ex is only a few minutes away from here anyway.”
“With Talia living outside of San Diego in this small town, nobody’s very far away from anything.”
He checked the GPS and noted they were only a couple blocks away. Within a minute, they pulled up in front of an apartment building.
“Interesting location for her.”
“Why?” he asked.
“I expected her to have a house or something bigger, better somehow.”
“Maybe she thought she should have something bigger and better too,” he suggested, with a smirk.
“Right,” she agreed, shaking her head.
“I guess it depends on if she’s working or not working, and we don’t know anything about what she’s been up to in the meantime,” he pointed out.
She nodded. “Hard to not jump to theories.”
“No judgment allowed,” he added. “We’re just coming to talk to a woman who we know had a relationship with this guy.”
“And you want to know if there was anything untoward about it, right?”
“Yes, and the particular reason for their breakup and how she feels about it all,” he shared, “but subtlety is the key here.”
“Of course.”
She wanted to laugh, but they were already walking up the sidewalk, and she was afraid somebody would already be listening or at least seeing them coming. As soon as they knocked on the door, it opened, as if somebody had, indeed, been standing there and watching them.
The woman frowned at them. “Who are you?” she asked, her tone calm but curious.
“I’m Burton Hallmark, and I am looking for Alexandra Boone.”
“That’s me.”
When Burton introduced himself, that was the first time Sammy had even heard his last name.
As she listened to him talk, his voice was melodious, and Alexandra was responding, laughing and joking with him, as a level of trust was starting to build.
He turned the conversation to the real reason why he was here.
“I understand that you were a partner of Roger Colbert’s at one time. ”
She sighed and nodded. “I was, until he went and had another sweet little thing at his side, but, then again, that was him.”
“Were you okay with that?” Sammy asked.
“No, of course not. I wasn’t okay with it at all. So we broke it off. Yet, for the longest time, I thought it would be a temporary fling, and then he would come back to me, but it wasn’t meant to be. That was my mistake for assuming he would be the kind who wouldn’t stray.” She shrugged.
“Sorry,” Sammy muttered, not sure what to say to that. Then she turned and looked back at Burton.
He was holding out some images. “Do you know these men?”