Chapter Thirteen #3
The teenager sniffed and looked up. “Thanks. I wouldn’t want Heather thinking I was, you know, a wimp.”
“She doesn’t. In fact, she believed in you from the beginning.”
“Yeah?”
Jim smiled to himself. So the seventeen-year-old had a crush on Heather. He couldn’t blame him. What man wouldn’t be tempted by such an alluring woman?
He ruffled the boy’s hair. “Hang tight, and I’ll get back to you as soon as I know something. With a little luck, we’ll have you out first thing in the morning.”
* * *
“I can’t believe you got him out the same day,” Heather said later that night. She tucked the phone between her ear and her shoulder and shifted Diane so the baby could rest against her. It was nearly ten in the evening and her daughter was drifting off to sleep.
“Everything fell into place,” Jim said. “The authorities thought there was something odd about the tip, but with all the planted evidence, they had no choice but to take him in. When they searched Bernie’s apartment, they found drugs and a record book. Apparently, he’s been doing this for years.”
“It’s amazing the man could still fly.”
“Scary is more like it,” Jim told her. “The police want to search the facility to see if he stored drugs there, but we’re not considered part of the investigation.”
“What happened when you confronted him?”
“He crumpled like a wet sheet.”
Heather smiled as she heard the satisfaction in Jim’s voice. “You’re so big on beating people up, I’m surprised you didn’t want to take him behind the building,” she teased.
“It crossed my mind, but I like to consider that a last resort. Besides, I prefer the idea of his being in prison for a long time.”
“Brian came by to see us,” she said, remembering the disbelieving but thrilled expression on the boy’s face. “He couldn’t get over the fact that we believed in him.”
“He’s got a crush on you,” Jim said.
“I know. But you’re the one he’s going to worship now. I think he’d change the rotation of the earth if you asked him to.”
“I like things the way they are.” Jim sounded uncomfortable. “All I want him to do is get good grades in school and show up for work on time.”
She could imagine him shifting in his chair, a little embarrassed by Brian’s gratitude and very happy to have been able to help the boy.
“I don’t think you have to worry about Brian. In his mind, he has something to prove. He wants you to know that he’s worthy of your trust, so I predict we’ll be seeing a straight-A student this year.”
“That’s not a bad thing,” Jim said. He was quiet for a second.
“I keep thinking about how hard this was on him. He’s too young to have to wrestle with this sort of thing.
I can’t believe Bernie threatened him. I know Brian feels guilty for not coming to me right away, but I understand why he was scared.
It would be his word against Bernie’s. Brian was the new guy, and a kid, while Bernie was a supposedly trusted pilot. ”
“What a dilemma,” Heather agreed, thinking that Jim had had his share of impossible situations.
Many people said the past didn’t matter, but Heather didn’t agree with them.
She believed everyone carried around pieces of their past and that they were the reason for certain ways of behaving.
She still hadn’t figured out all the ways Jim was reacting to his past, but he was still afraid to connect, afraid to love.
“You all right?” Jim asked.
“Fine.”
“You’re quiet.”
“I’m just thinking about everything that’s happened.
” She glanced at the clock. “I know it’s late, but would you like to come over?
” She hesitated, remembering what had happened the previous evening.
“This isn’t necessarily an invitation into my bed as much as a desire to be with a good friend. I think I need that right now.”
She wanted to see him and hold him and have him tell her that everything was going to be all right. She wanted to know that what they’d shared the previous night had mattered to him as much as it had mattered to her.
“Thanks, Heather, but I can’t. As you said, it’s late. I still have some work to catch up on before I can go to sleep. I’ll see you in the morning. Bye.”
He was gone. She stared at the receiver, not quite able to believe that he’d hung up on her. Just like that. She wasn’t sure what it meant, but she didn’t like it. There had been something odd about his voice. Something that made her wonder if there was a problem between them.
Had their becoming lovers changed everything? Had they crossed that line and was there no going back? Or was it something else? Was it about Brian and what he’d faced? Had Brian’s fears mirrored Jim’s own until he felt compelled to run and hide from her?
Was this the secret she’d been searching for? Was this the reason Jim had never married or even been seriously involved with a woman? Fear of his past? Fear that he wouldn’t be enough?
And how on earth was she supposed to be able to break through that particular barrier? Flo had said he was worth fighting for. Heather agreed. But there wouldn’t be much of a battle if one of the participants refused to show up.