Familiar Stranger (26 page)

It was four-thirty in the morning.

* * *

At noon the next day, his phone rang. He rolled over on his back and reached for the receiver without opening his eyes.

"Hello."

"I'm calling to express my sympathies for the way things went last night."

David recognized the President's voice and sat up in bed, rubbing the sleep from his eyes.

"Thank you, sir. I'm sorry I didn't call you right after it—"

"Not necessary. I got the word. I'm also wondering if it would be possible for you to come to my office … say around four?"

"Today?"

A soft chuckle sounded in his ear. "Yes, if you don't mind."

David scooted to the side of the bed. "Of course not, sir. I will be there."

"Thank you." Then he added, "It's almost over, isn't it, son?"

David slumped, his head dropping between his shoulders.

"Is it ever, sir?"

"Look at it this way. We all have crosses to bear. He was yours, but he's in God's hands now."

Oddly enough, hearing someone else verbalize what he'd been trying to convince himself of made it a little easier to accept.

"Yes, sir. You're right."

"Of course I am." He chuckled. "I'm the President. Now you go have yourself a good meal and think about that pretty woman who's waiting for you back home."

David smiled, and in that moment, he knew that whatever else had yet to happen, he was going to be okay.

"Yes, sir."

The line went dead in his ear.

David replaced the receiver then pushed himself off the bed. There were things to do before he went home to Cara. He had to arrange for his personal belongings to be shipped to Chiltingham and buy some presents for his family.

And then he suddenly stopped in the middle of the room and just smiled.

Family.

He had family.

There was a woman who loved him and a daughter who was willing to give him a chance. He even had a son-in-law and granddaughters to formally meet. Granted, they'd seen each other in the airport, but this time it would be different. He would be able to touch them and hold them, and if God was merciful, they would learn to love him.

He took a suit off the hanger, laid it on the bed and went to get a fresh shirt from the drawer. The least he could do was look respectable when he turned in his resignation.

* * *

"Sir … the President will see you now."

At the secretary's bidding, David stood abruptly and walked into the Oval Office. The President rose as David entered, and circled his desk, coming toward David with an outstretched hand.

"Glad you could come," the President said, and led him into an adjoining room. "I thought we would be more comfortable in here," he said. "Please sit down. Would you care for something to drink? Coffee? A cola?"

"No, thank you, sir," David said, and unbuttoned the jacket of his suit as he took a seat in a wing chair opposite the one the President had chosen.

For a few moments, David bore the President's silent scrutiny and then someone knocked on the door and the President looked up.

"Catherine, would you hold all my calls for a while. I don't want to be disturbed."

David knew the precision it took to keep a country running as smoothly as this man had done. He owed him a lot for keeping the faith during the security crisis that Frank had caused, yet he waited for him to speak first.

The President cleared his throat and then leaned forward, resting his elbows on his knees and reducing the meeting to that of one man to another.

"You probably deserve a medal for what you've done," the President said. "At the least a commendation." Then he sighed. "You know you'll get neither."

"This job was never about notoriety, sir."

The President nodded and then leaned back in his chair.

"Are you going to be all right?"

"Yes."

"Have you been debriefed since the incident?"

"Yes, sir. I finished about an hour ago."

"That's fine, just fine."

"Sir … if I may speak freely?" David said.

"Yes, of course. What's on your mind?"

"If I had ever been hired, this is where I would hand you my resignation."

The President grinned, amused by David's wry brand of humor.

"Yes, anonymity is a bitch to tackle, isn't it?"

David smiled back. "Yes, sir, considerably so. And … considering the damage that Frank has done to SPEAR's security, you and I both know my effectiveness is over. Besides, it's time I stepped down."

The President nodded. "You're going to be a hard man to replace."

"But you've already done it, haven't you, sir?"

Again surprised by David's intuitive humor, he laughed aloud.

"Actually, yes."

"And he can take control immediately, I hope?"

"He's already in flight."

An amazing weight lifted from David's shoulders. Surprised by how wonderful it felt, he leaned back in his chair and briefly closed his eyes.

"You did an amazing job for us," the President said.

"It was my honor, sir."

"I assume you've taken care of your personal belongings."

"Yes, sir."

"Again, I'm so sorry that I cannot publically acknowledge your unselfish contributions to this country's safety and security, both here and abroad, but there is a tidy little severance package in your name that I hope will soften the blow."

David smiled. He'd already received the paperwork that would net him more retirement money annually than he could have imagined.

"Let's just say it didn't hurt my feelings," David said. Again, the President laughed, then stood, signaling an end to their conversation.

David stood as well, readying himself to leave.

"Is there anything I can do for you?" the President asked. "Anything at all?"

David hesitated, and then thought,
What the hell. The man asked. All he can do is tell me no.

"Yes, actually there is," David said.

"Name it."

"If there are any military planes heading toward the state of New York, I'd like a fast ride home."

The President beamed. "I can do you one better than that," he said, and reached for a phone.

Chapter 15

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C
ara ran a brush through her hair one last time and then did a quick turn in front of the mirror.

"You look beautiful, Mom."

Cara turned. Bethany was standing in the doorway, smiling.

"Except for this lovely bruise, which isn't quite so vivid thanks to pancake makeup, I'll do. As for looking beautiful, so, my dear, do you."

Bethany fidgeted with the neckline of her dress.

"I feel a little bit like I did the first time I went on a date," she said, and then smoothed her hands down the front of her pink summer sheath. "I want him to like me and I want to like him, but I don't really know him."

Cara thought of what David had gone through with Frank, and with the last forty years of his life.

"But you will, darling, in time. Right now, all he is asking for is a chance to get to know you. He isn't trying to take Ray's place in your life, or anything like that."

"I know … but Mom … he's my father. My real father." Cara stared, a little surprised by the tone in Bethany's voice.

"Why, honey, I never knew you felt anything less from Ray."

"It had nothing to do with the way I was treated, Mom. Please don't believe that. But think about it. Tyler and Valerie are shorter and blond like Ray. I'm taller than everyone in the family, including you. My hair is dark. My eyes are brown. In the family pictures, I looked like the cuckoo's child."

Cara felt like crying. To think Bethany had kept this to herself all these years was heartbreaking.

"I'm so sorry," she said, and hugged her daughter close. "I wish you'd said something to me."

Bethany smiled and shrugged. "What could you have done?"

Cara sighed. "Nothing, I guess, but it might have helped if you'd just talked about it."

"I wasn't sad. Just accepting," Bethany said. "It wasn't like I was the only kid whose father was dead." Then her eyes widened. "That's what makes this so special! It's nothing short of a miracle that he's back in our lives, and as for you marrying him…"

"So you're happy about that, too?"

"No. Ecstatic would be a better word."

Cara sighed. "I called Valerie and Tyler yesterday and told them a little about David."

Bethany frowned. "Surely they weren't upset?"

"I suppose a more accurate description would be puzzled. I'm not the impulsive type, you know, but here I am, engaged within a week to a man I hadn't seen in forty years. I think Tyler wanted to hire a private detective to investigate David's background."

Bethany chuckled. "It would be interesting to see what they came up with, wouldn't it?"

Cara smiled. All Bethany knew was that her dad had worked in a high-level branch of the government that dealt with security. She had no idea of the scope of David's duties or the life that he'd led, and in Cara's opinion, the less said the better. All she wanted was for David to have the life with them that he'd never had.

She wanted him to be able to make new friends and go fishing whenever he wanted. To look forward to rainy days and lazy mornings, and holidays with big family dinners. She wanted to know that, with time, the nightmares he lived with would fade. That's what she wanted for him and for her. God willing, it would happen.

"Where are Tom and the girls?" Cara asked, suddenly realizing the house was too quiet.

"He took them out back for a walk in the woods. I think he wanted to keep them occupied so that we'd have a little time alone together."

"Is he up to that?" Cara asked.

"Yes, I think he'll be all right. I don't know who was happier that he was released yesterday, him or me."

"I knew there was a reason I loved that man," Cara said.

They both laughed.

Suddenly, the back door slammed and they could hear both children shrieking at the top of their lungs. Bethany was out of the room first, with Cara close behind.

"Mommy! Mommy! Come look! Come look! There's a big hepacopter up in the sky."

"Helicopter," Bethany corrected, as she let Kelly lead her outside by the hand. Then she turned toward Cara, smiling. "I can't imagine why all this fuss. You'd think she's never seen a helicopter before."

Cara could hear it, too, and followed them out.

Tom was standing on the porch, shading his eyes from the sun with his hand. He looked a little lopsided with the hair they'd cut away from his wound, but Cara thought he was a hero for standing between his family and a killer and bad told him so more than once.

"It's a military chopper," Tom said. "And I think it's going to land."

Cara started to smile. There was only one reason a military helicopter would be landing in her back yard—and he was getting out right now.

She walked off the steps, unwilling to wait a moment longer to feel his arms around her. About ten feet from the back yard fence, the chopper lifted off in a swirl of leaves and grass, leaving the man who'd disembarked to make his own way to the house in the distance.

The distance between Cara's steps increased, and by the time she cleared the gate, she was running.

* * *

David ducked his head and closed his eyes as the chopper lifted off. When he turned around, he saw Cara running toward him. The last of his old fears took wing, following the chopper's ascent. He dropped his suitcase and started toward her. Moments later, he was swinging her off her feet and into his arms. This felt so good—so right—and when he thought of how close he'd come to losing both her and Bethany, it made him sick. To this day, he didn't know what had stopped Frank from killing them, and he wasn't going to try to second-guess a man who'd lost his mind.

"I missed you," he whispered, and buried his face in the curve of her neck.

She laughed aloud and then kissed him soundly without care for the quartet who was watching.

"There's someone else who needs a welcome hug," she said softly.

David looked over her shoulder, then put her down.

Cara heard his breath catch and saw the fear in his eyes as Bethany came toward them.

"It will be all right," she said, and gave him a gentle push in the middle of his back.

He went to meet her—this daughter he'd never known—and when they were so close he could see his reflection in the color of her eyes, he reached toward her hair, fingering the dark, silky texture that was so like his own.

"My mother … your grandmother … had hair this color."

For Bethany, he couldn't have said a more perfect thing. This man who was her father was giving her roots to a family she'd never known.

"Was she pretty?" Bethany asked.

David smiled. "Not as pretty as you." Then he held out his hand. "Bethany, I'm really glad to meet you."

Her chin quivered. "I'm really glad to meet you, too." Then, ignoring the handshake he offered, she wrapped her arms around his neck and started to cry.

Two weeks ago, holding a crying woman might have undone him, but not anymore. He had a whole new set of responsibilities, and with so many females in his new family, he suspected that getting used to tears should be first on the list.

Cara came up behind them and put her arms around them both, willing herself not to cry.

David felt her presence and reached for her, pulling her into the family embrace.

* * *

Up on the steps a distance away, Bethany's two daughters stared intently at their mother and grandmother being hugged by the stranger. Finally, it was Rachel who spoke.

"Daddy, who's the man hugging Mommy?"

"Honey … it's her daddy."

"I thought Grandpa Ray was her daddy."

Tom sighed. "It's complicated to explain, but trust me, he's her daddy, too."

Rachel frowned. "I think she's crying."

Tom smiled. "Probably."

"Is he hurting her?" she asked.

Tom shook his head and then cupped the back of both his daughters' heads, unable to imagine what David must be feeling, to be holding his own daughter for the very first time.