Isn't It Time (20 page)

Ten minutes later, Jack pulled into a front-row parking
space at the bank and we all removed our seat belts and reached for door
handles.

“You guys are
not
coming in with me. Wait here,” I
ordered.

More arguing on their part. More sighing on mine. “For
Pete’s sake, you two! You can see right into the bank from here.  You’ll be
able to watch every move I make. I’ll be perfectly safe. I don’t want to draw
any more attention than we have to.”

They looked at each other and shrugged. “Okay,” Jack agreed.
“But we’ll be right here watching if you need us.”

“Yeah, good. Thank you,” I said, rolling my eyes as I got
out of the car.

I strolled back to the car seven minutes later with a bounce
in my step and a big, fat check in my purse. I looked at Jack and Finn, who
were watching me as I approached the car, and couldn’t suppress a wide smile. 
They were both returning the smile when I slid into the back seat.

We all started to laugh before I even had the door closed
behind me.  “Oh, my God,” I said.  “I feel like I just robbed a bank!”

“Did you get the money?” Jack asked.

“Yes, of course. And I couldn’t believe how easy it was!” I
opened my purse and pulled out the check.  “Call the other guys and let’s all
go to lunch.” I handed the check to Jack, then turned to Finn. “I’m starving –
and Jack’s buying!”

The relief we felt at having the bulk of Jack’s money safely
back in his hands made us all laugh in a borderline hysterical way.  Then Jack
called his dad and the six of us celebrated what we considered to be our victory
with a very expensive lunch.

By Thursday morning, I was feeling relaxed and refreshed. I
had enjoyed my quiet evening of reading while Jack and Nate had dinner with Al,
and got to bed at a decent hour. My period was over, my emotions felt stable
and, despite the knowledge that there were unknown bad people out there,
determined to send me to jail, I felt optimistic.

During lunch the previous day, Finn had apologized for his
attitude toward me and I had accepted it without hard feelings. I understood
why he had acted the way he did and let it go. He was currently working on
finding out who Heather really was and who she associated with, and Jack and Al
had assured me they would never let me get sent to jail for something I hadn’t
done.

Jack had a meeting he had to attend out of the office, so I
was gathering the information he would need to take with him when Frank appeared
at my door, looking as if he hadn’t slept well the night before.

“Heather didn’t show up this morning,” he told me.

“Did she call?” I asked

“No. What if she found out that I told Jack and Al what was
going on? Or that the money’s gone?” His hands were shaking and he was holding
on to the door knob for support.

“Jack?” I called out.

“Right here,” he said, coming into my office. “I don’t think
she could have found out so quickly,” he said to Frank. “It must be
coincidence.”

“But you don’t know these guys. They find out everything.
Oh, God…my family.” He was visibly shaking from head to toe and I was afraid he
was going to collapse. I half-stood, readying myself to go to him, but Jack got
there first.

“Frank. Go home. Do what you have to do to protect your
family. Is there anywhere you can go where you’ll feel safe? Maybe out of
town?”

“No, but I’ll find someplace.” He let go of the door knob
and grabbed Jack’s hand, shaking it between both of his. “Thank you. I am so
sorry for all of this, Jack. I’ll make it up to you. I promise.”

“I don’t want you to worry about that. It’s okay. Listen,
call my dad. If you can get to Florida, I’m sure he won’t mind if you stay at
his house there for as long as you need. You concentrate on your family and
we’ll take care of things here. My dad can let you know when it’s safe to come
back.  Are you okay to drive? I can take you home if you need me to.”

Frank straightened his posture and took a deep breath. “No.
I can drive myself. Thank you, but I have to go. Right now.”

“Okay, go,” Jack said. “And be careful.”

“I will.” He looked across the room at me. “Angie, you be
careful, too. I’m worried about what might happen to you if they find out what
you did.”

“Don’t worry about me, Frank,” I said, standing up.  “I’m
sure I’ll be fine.”

“I wouldn’t be so certain,” he said. And then he surprised
me by hurrying across the room and hugging me.  “Take good care of yourself. Be
vigilant. These are not men who are bothered by hurting people.”

His words scared me more than I wanted to admit, but I
patted his back as I returned the hug. “I’ll be careful, Frank. You just worry
about your own family and stay safe.”

“I’ll do my best.” He pulled away from me and shook Jack’s
hand again.  “Thank you,” he said. “I won’t forget your kindness.”  And then he
was gone.

Jack lowered his head and rubbed his temples before looking
back up at me.

“Headache?” I asked.

“Just a little tension, I think.”

I retrieved some ibuprofen from my purse and handed them to
him and watched as he swallowed them without water.

“Frank had a point about your safety, Angie. Maybe you
should come and stay at my house for a while. I’m not comfortable with you
being alone.”

I looked at him while I considered the idea. I felt sure no
one was going to hurt me, but I didn’t want to live in a fool’s paradise,
either.  The threat was real and Jack’s concern was evident.

“Okay, that’s probably not a bad idea,” I agreed. “But
you’ve already promised to have dinner with Finn and Nate tonight and you have
to go to Chicago on Monday.”

“Shit. I forgot about Chicago. But I can cancel my plans
with Finn and Nate. It’s not anything that I have to do – and you’re more
important.”

I smiled at him. “Thank you, that’s very sweet. But don’t
cancel your plans on my account. You guys don’t get much opportunity to spend
time together. How about this? I’ll stay home tonight, with everything locked
up tight, and then I’ll come to your house tomorrow night and stay for the
weekend.”

“Okay, but I don’t really like it. You being there all alone
tonight makes me nervous. We really don’t know yet what’s going on with Heather
and whoever it is she’s working with.”

“I see your point.  What if I have my mom come over and stay
with me tonight?”

“Make it your dad and you’ve got a deal.”

“Sexist,” I accused.

“Realist,” he countered.

“Maybe I should just spend the night at their house,” I
suggested.

“Even better.” He smiled and was moving forward as if he was
going to hug me when Chet Rickman, the VP of Operations, appeared at my door.

“Ready to go, Jack?”

“Yep,” Jack said. “Angie, is that paperwork ready?”

“Yeah, I’ll get it.”  I gathered up the proposal and its
attachments from my desk and handed it to Jack.

“Thanks. I’ll see you later this afternoon. Call me if
anything important comes up.”

“I will. Good luck.”

“Thanks. See ya, Ange.”

“See ya, Jack.”

They walked out through Jack’s office, where Jack grabbed
his briefcase and then I heard his door close as they left.

I sat back down at my desk, trying to decide what I felt
like doing. Then it occurred to me that no one was working on the payroll. 
Shit. I hated that job.  Seeing no other choice, I resigned myself to spending
the rest of the day on that mind-numbing chore and forced myself out of my
chair to go pick up the payroll information from Heather’s empty cubicle. 

I was yawning at my desk, depressed by the thought that I
might be stuck with the payroll permanently unless I could convince Jack to
replace Heather, when Nate came in.

“Hey,” I said, smiling and happy for the distraction. “Where
have you been all morning?”

“I’ve been finishing up the work on the server,” he said,
smiling back. “And I’m happy to report it’s done. Now all I have to do is
finalize the recommendations for your new IT department and I’ll be finished.”

“Good news,” I said.

“Yeah, it’s been a long week. Want to go to lunch? I have a
craving for a Coney.”

“Oooh! That sounds great!” Nate and I both swiveled around
to see Marla standing in the doorway. “You guys don’t mind if I come with you,
do you? I haven’t had a Coney in such a long time. I’ll just get my purse and
be right back.”

She scurried off and Nate and I looked at each other. “What
just happened there?” Nate asked.

“I think we just got company for lunch.” I laughed at the
thought of Marla eating a hot dog smothered in chili, mustard and onions. She
didn’t strike me as the type. I didn’t know why she was so determined to keep
me and Nate from being alone together, but her antics were making me laugh and
I found that I didn’t mind at all if she came along.

“Any chance we can ditch her?” Nate whispered.

“Unlikely,” I whispered back and gathered up my own purse as
Marla returned.

I spent the next hour being entertained while Marla tried to
be subtle in keeping Nate and I from having any direct contact at all. She
hopped into the passenger side of Nate’s car before I had a chance to do so,
leaving me to sit in the back alone, while she chatted with Nate, or me, but
never both of us at the same time. The woman had an endless supply of
conversational topics.

When we arrived at the restaurant, she deftly maneuvered
herself into the booth next to me, leaving Nate, who was wearing a “what the
fuck” kind of look on his face, no choice but to sit alone across from us.

She plowed through her Coneys like a trooper and, like me,
she used a knife and fork to do so.  Nate took the more masculine approach and
picked his up to eat, leaving splotches of chili all over his hands.

“Your hands are going to smell like Coney all day,” I
informed him, the first words I had been able to fit into the conversation
since we sat down.

“I consider that a good thing,” he said and Marla and I
laughed as he caught a dripping glob of chili and onion with his tongue,
preventing it from being added to the mess on his hand.

Marla seemed to notice she had been lax in keeping us from
talking to each other and started a new conversation with Nate.  When we were
done eating and, in my case at least, uncomfortably full, she grabbed the bill
from the table.

“My treat,” she said. “As a thank you for being so nice and
inviting me to come along.”

Nate caught my eye as Marla was digging in her purse,
scrunched up his face and mouthed, “Invited?”

I turned away quickly, knowing the laugh was going to come
out. I pressed my lips tightly together and squeezed my eyes shut as I
pretended to be looking through my own purse, willing the urge to go away. But
I couldn’t get the look on Nate’s face out of my mind and the laugh came out in
the form of a rather loud snort.

“Bless you,” Nate said promptly, trying to save me.

“Thank you,” I said. Then the ridiculousness of us trying to
pass off that noise as a sneeze hit me and I started laughing in earnest. Nate
joined in and even Marla was giggling until I got myself under control.

“Something tickle your funny bone, Angie?” Marla asked,
looking at me and winking.

“Not really,” I said, reaching over and squeezing her hand.
“I’m just having a good time. Thank you for lunch.”

“My pleasure. We’ll have to do this again sometime.”

“I’d like that,” I said sincerely.

Thinking a real friendship might be starting between us, I
listened with a half-smile on my face as Marla chatted with Nate all the way
back to the office.

The day had taken its toll on me and I was feeling tired
when I got home from the gym. My stomach was still a little upset from
overeating at lunch, so I made a cup of peppermint tea, changed into pajama
pants and a tee shirt and, forgetting I was supposed to call my parents about
spending the night, I sat down on my couch, excited to get back into the
romance I had started reading the night before.

Two cups of tea and several chapters later, my stomach was
feeling better and I started to think about making dinner. I glanced at the
clock and saw it was already after 8:00, so I got up to close my curtains just
as a set of headlights lit up my driveway. Realizing I was a sitting duck in
front of the open window, I quickly pulled the curtains closed and grabbed my
phone before peeking out.

I relaxed when I saw it was Nate, getting out of his car and
carrying a six-pack of beer in one hand and a paper bag in the other.

I pulled the door open as he was coming up the steps. “Hey,”
I said, pushing the storm door open for him. “What are you doing here? I
thought you were having dinner with Jack and Finn.”

“I was supposed to, but I was kind of missing the kids, so I
stayed home so I could read to them tonight.” He looked me over as I closed the
door behind him. “Am I interrupting you? Were you getting ready to go to bed?”

“No, not at all. Just relaxing.  Did you eat dinner?”

“Yeah, I picked up fast food on the way home from work.”

“Here, give me your beer.  I’ll put it in the refrigerator. 
What’s in the bag?” I asked as I started toward the kitchen.

“It’s for you,” he said, pulling out a bottle of Chardonnay.

“Ah. A man after my own heart. Thank you.”

“You’re welcome. Do you have a corkscrew?”

“Do I have a corkscrew?” I snorted. “Silly boy.” I pulled it
out of the drawer and handed it to him. I could do it myself, but men seemed to
get a kick out of performing that particular task, so I let him.  I put a beer
on the table, stashed the rest of his six-pack in the refrigerator and got a
wine glass out of the cupboard. Then I sent a text to Jack.

Me
:
Thanks for the bodyguard.

My phone beeped with his response within seconds.

Jack:
LOL I knew you wouldn’t go to your parents.
Stay safe. Love you xoxo

Me:
 
Love you more.

I set the phone down and looked up at Nate, who handed me a
full glass of wine. “Jack?” he asked.

“Yeah. I was just wondering how you got roped into this
security detail instead of him coming himself.”

“Oh,” he said as we sat down at the table. “I wasn’t lying
about the reason I didn’t go. I really did want to talk to the boys, face to
face.  But when I told him I wasn’t going, he asked me if I would come by here
and stay for a while after I talked to the kids.”

“Well, it was nice of you to agree to that.”

“I don’t mind at all. I’ve been wanting to talk to you
anyway. It seems like there hasn’t been a single opportunity all week.”

“Oh? What did you want to talk to me about?” I asked casually,
but I was afraid I knew. I tried to think of how I was going to let him down
easy. I was way too wrapped up in my feelings for Jack and I regretted the
moment when I told Nate I was attracted to him.  I didn’t even feel that way
towards him anymore.  I liked him, but that was it. There were so many reasons
why I shouldn’t get involved with him and I would prefer it if he and I just
remained friends. I hoped he wouldn’t get too pushy about it.

“Well, I’ve been thinking – “ he began, but was interrupted
when his phone rang. He pulled it out of his pocket and looked at the display. 
I noted with interest the smile on his face when he answered it. “Hey Kayla. 
No, it’s fine. What’s up?”  He looked down at the table while he was talking
and I sipped my wine, watching and listening to his side of the conversation.

“Oh. Is that right? Yeah, sure. No, it’s not a problem at
all. No, I’m sure. I’m done with the work I came here to do, so I’ll just come
home earlier tomorrow than I had originally planned.  Yeah. Okay.  What time do
you have to be there? Uh huh. Okay. I’ll leave here around 9:00 and that should
get me to your house in plenty of time. Okay. You’re welcome. No, sweetheart,
it’s not a problem at all. Yes, really. All right. Goodnight.”

He was still smiling when he disconnected the call and set
his phone down. “Kayla,” he said.

“So I gathered.”

“She’s finishing up her Master’s degree next month and her
finals are coming up. She wanted to meet with her study group tomorrow, but
didn’t have anyone to watch Matthew.” He shrugged and took a drink of his beer.

“Does she know you’re in love with her?”

He set the beer down slowly and tilted his head. “Does Jack
know you’re in love with him?”

Standoff. We stared at each other across the table for a
minute then I smiled and lifted my glass. “Touché,” I said.

He turned on the dimples and clinked his beer against my
glass. We both took a long drink and settled back in our seats.

“So now what?” I asked.

“Well, that’s actually what I’ve been wanting to talk to you
about.”

“And what’s that?”

“Jack, you, Kayla, me. This whole mess we seem to both be in
the middle of.”

“Mess? How so?”

“Jack said some things to me the other night when we were
out. You know, the night he got so drunk. He really loves you. And I don’t
think I’m breaking any confidences by telling you that he said he was so in
love with you that he could barely see straight.”

“He said that?” I whispered.

“Yes. Those were his exact words. So I asked him why the two
of you weren’t together if he felt that way and he said it was because you
didn’t want him. And then he said he was working on changing your mind. Why
don’t you want him?”

I blew out a breath and took another swallow of wine before
I answered.  “It’s not that I don’t want him. I do. And over the last few days,
I’ve realized how much. It’s just...well, it’s personal and I can’t tell you
the details without telling secrets that aren’t all mine to share.”

He looked at me thoughtfully as he considered that. He
finished off his beer and I sat silently, fighting my urge to babble, and
waited for him to say something. He got up and went to the refrigerator,
helping himself to another beer. He picked up the wine bottle and poured more
wine into my glass before sitting back down. Then he smiled at me and said, “Let’s
get drunk.”

I laughed. “Well, okay, but I hope you don’t think you’re
going to get me drunk and pry my secrets out of me.”

“Maybe not. But maybe getting drunk will help me to tell you
mine.”

“You have secrets?”

“Uh huh,” he said, nodding slowly.

“And they have to do with your relationship with Kayla?”

“Yep.”

I leaned forward and used my index finger to slide his beer
closer to him. “Well, drink up. I have lots of questions about that.”

He laughed and it was my turn to get up. I went to the
cupboard and pulled out a bottle of tequila and two shot glasses and set them
in the middle of the table.  “Just in case,” I said.

We both laughed and Nate surprised me by opening the tequila
bottle and pouring us both a shot. “Might as well get a jump start,” he said,
handing me my shot and raising his. “To unraveling tangled relationships,” he
said.

“I’ll drink to that.” I threw the shot back and felt it burn
all the way down my throat. I shook my head and shivered, then grabbed Nate’s
beer to chase it.

Nate grinned at me as I returned his beer to him. “Don’t
like tequila?”

“I like the effect of tequila.  It just doesn’t always go
down as smoothly as I think it should. Now, first question - does Kayla date
anyone?”

“No. She hasn’t in a long time.”

“Why not?”

“Fear.” And then he laughed.

“Fear is funny?”

“No.” He picked up the bottle of tequila and poured himself
another shot. “Her reason for it is.” He raised the glass to his mouth, downed
the shot in one smooth motion and set the glass back down. Then he chugged his
beer.

“So tell me the reason,” I prompted.

“She’s only had sex twice in her whole life and she got
pregnant both times. Now she’s convinced that her eggs act as a magnet to sperm
and if there is sperm anywhere in her general vicinity, her eggs will suck it in
– despite all barriers.”

I giggled at the visual. “Oh that poor girl. No wonder she’s
afraid. But maybe it’s just your sperm her eggs are attracted to. That could be
considered a sign of some type, couldn’t it?”

He raised his eyes to mine and reached for the tequila
bottle. “The answer to that would require another shot.”  He poured two this
time, and slid the second glass back over to me. “Drink up and all will be
revealed.”

“Wait one second,” I said and hurried to the refrigerator,
grabbing two more beers. I loved my wine, but not with this amount of tequila.

“Okay,” I said, opening the beers and setting them in front
of us. “Bottoms up.” We lifted our shots to each other and then swallowed them
quickly. I choked through the afterburn and reached for my beer while Nate
laughed.

“You crack me up,” he said.

“I live to amuse,” I replied before swallowing another large
mouthful of beer.  “So, your sperm, her eggs. Go.” I wiped the back of my hand
across my mouth in a very unladylike fashion and waited.

Nate’s face turned serious and he started rolling his beer
bottle between his hands, but didn’t answer.

“Nate, I’m sorry.  I shouldn’t have tried to make a joke
about something that’s obviously not a laughing matter for you.”

“He’s not mine,” he said suddenly, the bottle stilling
between his hands. He tilted his head back and finished off the beer.

“What? Who’s not yours?” I asked.

“Matthew. He’s not my biological son.”

“Oh.”  I didn’t know how to respond to that startling
statement, so I stayed quiet and waited for him to go on.

“And I’m only telling you this for two reasons: One, because
I trust you and I’m trusting you not to repeat it to anyone. Jack already
knows, but please don’t tell anyone else.  Okay?”

“You have my word,” I said.

“And two, I could really use some impartial advice. And you
would need all the facts for that.”

“Okay. I’ll try,” I said, although I didn’t know how I was
going to come up with any helpful advice for him when I couldn’t even figure
out what to do about my own life.

He fortified himself with another shot of tequila before
going on. “I’ll give you the shortened version. Kayla got pregnant with Matthew
when she fell for the lines of some loser she was working with at the time. He
convinced her he really cared about her, got in her pants and ran before she
even knew she was pregnant.”

“Asshole,” I said, angry on Kayla’s behalf.

“Yeah. And the first and only time I have ever seen Kayla
cry was the day I came back to her house to pick up something of Michael’s that
I had forgotten. She’s a ‘keep your chin up and deal with it’ kind of person,
so the crying really got to me. Long story short – she confessed to the
pregnancy, we discussed and I promised to help her with the baby whenever I
could.  She was still working part-time and going to school so I took Michael
more often and I was with her when Matthew was born.”

He paused to get up and get another beer and when he sat
back down, he was smiling.  “And then a funny thing happened. I fell in love
with that baby. Right from the beginning, he was happy and sweet and he rarely
cried. So it was easy for me to just start taking him with me whenever I picked
up Michael. I didn’t want him to grow up being the fatherless kid left behind
while his brother went off without him every weekend. And the first time he
called me Daddy, because Michael did, my heart melted and I knew that’s what I
was. I was his daddy.”

I couldn’t remember the last time I had heard anything that
touched my heart so deeply. “Oh, my gosh, Nate. I think that is quite possibly
the sweetest thing I have ever heard. I think I’m going to cry.”

“Oh, for God’s sake. Don’t cry.  I didn’t tell you that to
make you cry. I just wanted you to get the full picture.”  He got up to get
more beer, ruffling my hair as he walked by me.  He peered into the
refrigerator. “I’m going to start hitting some of these other beers you have in
here.  Is that okay?”

“Of course. Help yourself and bring me another one, too.” I
finished off what remained in my bottle and added it to the row of empties on
the side of the table. We were drinking fast, but I still didn’t feel quite
drunk enough, so I poured us both another shot.

“To good men,” I said raising my shot glass. “I always knew
y’all were out there.”

“Did you just turn southern on me?” Nate asked with a laugh
as he handed me my beer and sat back down.

I laughed as I thought of what I had just said.  “No, I
think I’m just starting to slur my words. Now drink up.” He did and I
followed.  When my choking and shuddering eased, I asked, “Do you have any plans
to officially adopt him?”

“Oh, I already did. Two years ago we tracked down the sperm
donor, who couldn’t sign away his parental rights fast enough, and now my name
is on his birth certificate and he’s legally mine.”

“Are you ever going to tell him?”

“Yeah, eventually. When we think the time is right and he
can handle it. My family knows, and we don’t want to risk him finding out from
one of his cousins because their parents don’t know how to keep their mouths
shut in front of their kids.  I think he’ll be okay, though. He’s very like
Kayla in temperament.”

“So let’s cut to the chase,” I said, that last shot of
tequila making me bold. “Everything is great with your kids and you’re in love
with Kayla, but…?”