Independence (8 page)

He grinned. "You're daggum right you do." And then he pulled me closer and up to meet him. When his tongue swept into mine, I could taste the
toothpaste. I giggled into his mouth at the thought. He chuckled, too, and I swung my arms around his
back
.
His hands pulled me closer and I was just settling in when we heard one of the sleepers groan
.

I licked my lips as he pulled away. I glanced at the clock. It was after eleven in the morning.
I turned around to find Beck looking at me. She was pale. Her eyes were filled with tears. She croaked, "It was real? It wasn't a dream that you came and saved us?"

I fought my own tears at that. "No, it was real." I got on my knees and laid my head next to hers on the pillow. "How do you feel?"

"Like I got intimately acquainted with a meat grinder."

I smiled. "I can imagine.
" The clog in my throat was very much present.
"
I'm
really
sorry."

"What are you sorry for?" She
sniffed and then glared with a
second wind. "And how did you find me anyway? And what the Hades were you doing in London
with college boy
and why the freak didn't you tell me?"

I laughed. "There she is." She tried to smile at me. "I'm sorry about all that, too."

"We'll get answers later. Right now, I have to pee like nobody's business." She groaned again and tried to sit up. I reached to help her stand and saw Caleb in my peripheral. He was standing at the foot of the bed with his arms crossed, watching us. He smiled when my eyes met his.
She snapped her fi
n
g
ers in front of my face. "Hello? Help a sister out?
" I slung her arm over my shoulder. "Geez, I know bathroom duty sucks, but come on."

"Shut up," I laughed.

I set her on the toilet and turned on the faucet, per her request. Then I waited as she finished, per her request. I asked if she wanted to shower and she said it was pointless without
clean
clothes. Her clothes were pretty destroyed so, I agreed. I helped her back to the bed where Ralph was awake. He sighed at seeing her. It made my heart flutter. "Beck
s
."

"Hey, sweetie," she crooned and put her hand on his cheek. "You're OK," she observed.

"
You're
OK." He sighed
. "God…I have never been so worried in my life. The last thing I remember was you…and you wouldn't wake up. And then I woke up and you were stroking my hair and then…" He shook his head. He pulled her close and kissed her lips. "I love you."

She smiled, but her cheeks weren't dry anymore. "It took almost dying for you to tell me you love me?"
"I'm sorry," he said sincerely.

"I love you, too."

"That's all I could think about out there. That I was going to die and you'd never know that I've been in love with you this
whole
time. I've loved you since fifth grade, Becks."

I felt arms go around me from behind. Caleb's rumbling voice was at my ear as he spoke to them. "We'll be back. We'll get some breakfast and let you talk for a
minute."

They didn't even look up. Caleb pulled me from the room and took me to the café down in the lobby.
I started to grab a drink carrier and fill up some coffee cups, but Caleb shook his head and only grabbed two cups. He sat me down and then brought me a huge pile of pancakes and sausage, and one for himself.

"You don't think they're hungry up there?" I asked
curiously
.

"
Oh, they're hungry all right," he said sarcastically.

I got his meaning and kicked his boot under the table. "Eww."

He laughed. "I can't help it if I see what you can't because you're so innocent and pure of heart." I couldn't help but grin at that. "Maybe they'll be hungry for pancakes in a little while."

"You and your innuendos, mister." I shook my head in mock distress. "You're going to ruin me."

"I plan to," he suggested low before taking a big bite.

I smiled as I bit into my sausage and then gasped as something ice cold went sprawling down my arm. I stood on instinct and the older lady was obviously embarrassed. She reached for my napkin and began to blot the orange juice off my arm. "Oh, it's fine. Don't worry."

"I am so sorry."

"Really, it's OK."
"I am so clumsy!" she exclaimed. "Harold!" she yelled at someone. "Help me."

The man - Harold, I presumed - came and looked over the situation. I was dry at this point. "Really, I'm fine. It was just a little juice. It's OK."

"I told you I'd get it for you, Arlene," he chastised. "You don't need to be up and around, honey."

I smiled at his endearment for her. She patted his arm and then looked at us. "Ah, you must be newlyweds."

"No, ma'am," Caleb answered and gripped my hand. "Not yet, but soon."

"Well, you better get on the move, boy," she joked. Caleb, always the gentleman, chuckled good naturedly and smiled.

"Yes, ma'am. I'm working on that."

"My Harold and I," she said affe
ctionately and looked up at him, "w
e've been together for forty two years."

"Wow," I said in awe. "That's really awesome."

"The key is compromise and love, no matter what. There's always a little wiggle room to work with when you're both in it 'til the end."

I nodded. And then her husband's thoughts made their way to me as he watched her. He was worried about her. She had some cancer that even he in his own mind wouldn't name. I tried not to frown or make a face, but my heart was breaking for them.

And then I joined the conversation she and Caleb had star
t
ed while I'd been snooping, unintentionally. He was asking why she thought we were newlyweds. She smiled and patted his cheek. "Because you look at her the way my Harold still looks at me." Then she looked at me. "I'm sorry I spilled my juice on you. Y'all have a nice trip."

Harold said his goodbyes, too, and helped her away. "It's OK. Thank you," I found myself saying.
Caleb was watching me. He knew what I'd heard from the man's mind. I waved him off. "I better get used to it, right?"

"That doesn't make it any easier for you," he argued. He watched them go. "They were nice. And normal. And human." His gaze swung to mine. "Normal, human people who lived together and loved each other for forty two years. If they can do it, we have absolutely no worries."

"I was never worried." I hugged his middle. "Never."

"I can't believe how calm you're being about the wedding," he mused. "You know, the wedding will probably be this coming up weekend." He waited. "My parents and Gran are eager for it." Pause. "They'll make it as soon as possible." Another pause. "Our whole family, in my back yard, watching us…"

I laughed. "Ok, now you're just
trying
to scare me."

"I can't believe it," he said again and smiled. "I guess we'll see your true colors when I get your up there in front of everyone and you're shaking in your bare feet."

He led me back to the table and we finished our food.

"Caleb, I told you. My body feels so completely different now. I'm ready. I am not going to be nervous."

"
Good," he murmured and rubbed my foot against his under the table.

Caleb

Maggie held the cups of juice and I carried the take-out pancake boxes in mine. We climbed the stairs and I watched her
jeans as we went up
.

I stared a hole in those jeans.

If
she felt the heat of my stare, she didn't say anything. If she heard my thoughts, she didn't say anything about that either.
I heard her laugh and decided to leave it at that and not go
in her mind to
see what she was laughing about. It was probably about me…staring a hole…in those daggum jeans.

She outright laughed and turned on the last step. She was on the step above me so we were perfect height to match. "I get it," she joked. "I've got good jeans."

"It's true, but it's what's in the jeans that's making me crazy," I told her.

She smiled and leaned forward to kiss the end of my nose. "You're going to be impossible this week, aren't you?" she said breathlessly.
"Yes, ma'am," I growled.

"Behave,
Jacobson,
" she scolded and smiled. She leaned
in
and kissed my lips. Then she turned, her smile firmly in place, and knocked on the door. Beck answered, barely. The girl was running a few cylinders short and it was showing. She was beat. She sat down on the edge of the bed and accepted the plate from me. She inhaled and groaned. "Pancakes! Are you freaking kidding me? I could kiss you!"

"But you won't," Maggie said and pointed
with a cocked brow
.

"Not right now," Beck said laughing. "I'm in no position
to
fight
sleep
, let alone a whole other person. You're safe for now
, college boy
."

Maggie rolled her eyes and gave her the juice. Ralph was already scarfing his down, waiting for nothing or no one.

"Ah," he groaned through a bite, "even
I
could kiss you. I'm starving."

I laughed.
"I'd rather neither of you do any kissing, if that's all right."

"Boo," Beck complained, but never looked up as she tore into the plate.

Maggie sat on the bed, her chin in her hand, and watched the two eat with a concentration that was motherly and cute. I stood by the wall, leaning against the old maroon wallpaper, and watched Maggie watch them. We were going home today. To
my
home. Maggie had never been there before and I was
oh so
ready to have her smell and voice crawling through my space.

She finally glanced my way and smiled
crookedly
. Then she rolled her eyes and looked back to Beck. So she
was
paying attention
to my inner monologue
. Good to know.

As soon as Beck was done, she did what I had been waiting for her to do. She asked to call her parents.

"Beck," Maggie started slowly. "I don't think you can call them. We're…" She shook her head. "I'm sorry. It's complicated."

"What's complicated?" Beck said and glared at her. "Why are you saying I can't call my parents? Of course I can. What the blazing hell is wrong with you, Mags!"

She reached for the phone. Maggie reached for her arm. Then the proverbial crap hit the fan.

Maggie had a vision
,
and she and Be
ck and I watched it all play out
behind our eyelids.

It started with a dark street and we watched as
a dark head waited in the bushes like a coward.
I knew immediately it was Marcus, but felt Maggie's confusion
because we couldn't see his face
. She didn't want to believe it. She wanted to think we'd been wrong all along and that Marcus was out of our lives forever, but it wasn't going to happen that way.

He half
turned as he saw a car coming. He ducked. As soon as the car passed, he crept out and stealthily went around the back side of a
car.
With gloved hands, he leaned down on the asphalt and swung around on his back. He pulled the pocket knife from his front pocket, flipped it open and actually grinned like the bastard he was when he nicked the fuel line.

He didn't slice it. No, he wanted it to drain slowly so as not to alert them that there was a problem. He turned and looked at the dawn creeping up over the street. Beck and Ralph would be leaving soon. In his mind he was determined. He was going to ruin our lives and this was just the beginning. He'd start with Beck, then he'd move on to Vic, taking our best friends and knowing we'd blame ourselves. Then he was moving on to Bish and Jen
, Maggie's father
. I saw the gun in his mind as he imagined catching them off guard.