The Iron Quill (11 page)

Oh good
.
It’s not about Wes. Thank God
. “Okay?” I said, realizing I’d forgotten to mention that small detail to her.

“Apparently,” she said, shifting her weight, but maintaining the firm position of her fist, “you paid a visit to Andrew Walters’ grandson last night?”

I stood there thinking of the best possible response, but got nothing.

“Are you out of your mind?” she snapped.

“Mom.”

“
And
,” she interrupted, “You delivered a letter from a suicide victim with evidence that this Tim person was involved in Ms. Mary’s death, which led to his arrest? And you
knowingly
go there last night to talk to him? Are you out of your mind?” she repeated.

“Mom, I know, it was insane. But Chase sent me the note, so what was I supposed to do? I just took it in.”

“You
tell
me about it. That’s what you do.” Her head snapped back. “Wait, Chase? The boy you work with?” Her voice rose. “
He
is the suicide victim?”

I nodded reluctantly.

“Oh, my gosh, Sophie.” Her fist dislodged from her hip and both hands went flying into the air. “Someone else died? That you knew? What is going on here?”

Thoughts of her getting the idea to uproot and move again caused me to quickly back her away from the edge.

“Nothing, Mom. It’s fine. It’s okay. Well, it’s not okay for Chase. I mean, Tim was trying to use him to get back at me for Andy, and when he wouldn’t cooperate, Tim tried to . . . well it doesn’t matter . . . all that matters is Chase helped turn Tim in for what he did. I just went there to make sure he was arrested, so I would feel better. Secure.” I added.

The fist went back to the hip, but much more at ease. “Secure?” she asked.

“Yes,” I answered, trying to sound sure, but it came out more like a question. “It’s fine, Mom. Really. Can I go now?” I turned toward my room.

“No. Not before you tell me where Wes is.”

My head whipped back around. “What do you mean?”

“Officer Wright wanted to know if he was still missing.”

“Why?” I asked, only I knew why. Because I’d given them reason to think something was up, even though I’d tried to cover it afterward.

“Well, apparently you told them that.”

I shook my head. “I just told them that so they’d let me talk to Chase.”

“So you lied?”

“Um . . . well, that’s not exactly what I said.”

“Sophie, stop evading me. What is going on? I’m trying very hard here to understand where you’re coming from, but this is getting way out of hand.”

“Geez, Mom. Relax, will you?” I had enough stress without having to worry about her flipping out, too. “Seriously, I told you why I went.”

“Well, where is Wes?” she shot back.

“He’s gone somewhere for his lab,” I replied, just as quickly, hoping my eyes would stay dry enough to conceal my worry.

“Well, that’s what I told Officer Wright,” she said, calming down. “But I’m not liking what’s brewing. You’d better be smarter, Sophie.”

“Smarter?” Now I was offended.

“You know what I mean. You need to make better decisions and include me in anything that doesn’t have safety written all over it. Got it?”

Right about then, I thought I heard my phone ringing. I tilted my ear toward my room. It was definitely my phone.

“Okay, I got it,” I said. “Gotta go.” I pointed toward my room, which was enough to prompt her to make her overdue exit for work.

With her back turned, I skipped the steps two at a time, and practically hurdled over my bed to grab my phone.

“Hello?” I answered eagerly, expecting to hear Dr. Lyon’s steady voice give me another excuse for more delays, but that’s not what I heard.

The familiar voice was music to my ears and food for my heart. “Hey, you.”

My eyes instantly teared up. “Wes—”

“It’s me,” he said so close to the phone I felt his voice like he was finally touching me.

“Oh, my gosh. I was so . . . I . . . I don’t even know . . . I—”

“I know,” he said, soothing me further and relieving me of the task of finding the right words.

“Oh, my gosh, Wes. Are you okay? You have no idea how much I’ve missed you. I . . . I can’t even tell you how much. Wait. Where are you?”

“I’m headed home with Dr. Lyon.”

“Dr. Lyon? He found you?”

“Yes . . . because of you.”

“You mean the name? The doctor?”

“The name,” he confirmed. There was a notable pause as I once again tried to find words to describe my relief and elation, then he asked me if I would ever stop saving him.

I couldn’t help but chuckle. “
No
. I won’t. Not freakin’ ever, as long as I can help it. I’ll do anything for you.”

As soon as the words left my mouth, I realized what they implied. Each time in our history, I’d saved Weston somehow, only to die myself a short time later. The realization that I just may have saved him again, in this lifetime, hovered in the air. What did that mean for me? Was my purpose over? Was it my time to die again?

Not only had I unleashed a worry that might happen, I’d suggested
I’d
do anything to save
him
. . . as if he wouldn’t for me. As if he hadn’t for me. But I knew that wasn’t true. I knew he’d do anything for me. Anything he could, and I loved him for that.

Confirming my realization of his thoughts, he said my name. “Sophie?”

“Yeah, I’m here,” I assured.

“It’s my turn,” he said.

I wanted to question what he meant, but I already knew, and what could I say to that? Nothing.

“Did you hear me, Sophie?”

“Yes,” I whispered.

“I mean it. I meant what I said in Virginia. I love you. You’ve taken care of me more than I deserve and now it’s my turn.”

I went to reply, but my lip quivered and I had to take a deep breath and suck in the tears just to speak clearly. I said the only thing I knew he wanted to hear and the only thing I wanted to say.

“Okay. I love you, too.” And with that, the quiet sniffles started, no matter how much I’d fought them. I tilted the phone away from my mouth, hoping he couldn’t hear.

I heard him say my name, so I pressed my ear back to the phone.

“Don’t cry,” he said, “Everything’s going to be okay.”

T
he following two hours were like the night before Christmas when you’re five, only times it by a thousand. My nerves were tingly all over, and I couldn’t sit still. I wanted to run outside, jump around, and drive to the airport at a hundred miles an hour, but Wes had told me to stay put.

For some reason, he’d said he didn’t want me leaving the house for even a second until he got there. He even asked me to call in sick to work, assuring me it was nothing major. He just wanted to make sure things settled down while he was on his way. He also gave me the heads up that his cell phone had been taken, so if I needed him, I’d have to call Dr. Lyon’s phone.

I acted like the cell phone being taken was the worst crime in the world, but he wasn’t concerned. He said it was password protected and anyone trying the wrong password three times would cause everything to be wiped out. He wasn’t worried about personal contacts or emails being stolen. He just wanted to come home and start over.

I, on the other hand, wanted to know what was going on. Where had he been, who had taken him, and on what terms had he been allowed to leave, and why wouldn’t they return his personal items?

I had so many questions, but most importantly, I had a blinding desire to wrap myself in him and not come out.

To pass the time, I cleaned my room,
and
the kitchen. And then I took a shower and put on a decent pair of jeans and a white tank top. Then, like an anxious puppy, I sat in the living room’s bay window, waiting for Wes to arrive.

After thirty minutes of impatience, a champagne-colored Cadillac sedan pulled into my driveway, flanked by two black Chevy Tahoes. At first I tensed, concerned that the unfamiliar vehicles held a threat. I pulled out my cell phone, prepared to dial 911, when Wes raised himself out of the backseat.

The sight of him strong and unharmed gave me a head rush. I jumped off the windowsill and ran out of the house, unable to contain my excitement and relief. I met him halfway up my walkway and folded myself in his outstretched arms, becoming part of him again. Our bodies pressed together like a lock and key as he held me in uninterrupted, silent bliss.

As the moments passed, he held me tighter than he ever had, and I soaked him up, reveling in the overdue encounter. Eventually, he broke the silence.

“Is your mom home?”

I shook my head quickly and squeezed even tighter. With my answer, he lifted me off the ground and carried me back into the house, closing the door behind us. Inside the confines of my foyer, he backed me up against the wall and kissed me with so much urgency that I couldn’t believe how aggressive he was being. My face in his palm, then my hair tightly clasped in one hand, then his body . . . all of his body . . . pressed against me. I felt my eyes roll lazily behind my lids.

Sensations I never knew existed swept through me, making me feel like he wasn’t close enough, only that wasn’t possible . . . unless. Desire caused my knees to buckle and my body to sink. For a moment he slid down the wall with me and when we had gone too far, he put his arms under my bottom and picked me up, pressing my back up against the wall.

“Wes, stop!” I panted desperately.

“I don’t think I can,” he said still kissing my neck.

“Oh, my gosh, please, I can’t take it.”

“Me, either,” he said still kissing.

I pushed his chest, seriously feeling like I was going to pass out.

My feet settled back on the floor as he buried his face in my neck.

“Okay,” he said.

“Okay,” I said back.

“Okay,” he whispered again, accompanied by a small laugh.

Feeling his chest vibrate caused me to laugh too. “What
was
that?” I asked.

Pulling back only enough to put his forehead to mine, he said, “I don’t know.”

“You attacked me,” I said.

Still leaning into me, he replied unashamedly, “I know.”

I was still laughing slightly at the surprise fit of passion. “Do it again,” I said.

He laughed louder. “No.” Then he pulled back to reveal that perfect face and smile I had missed so much. “At least not right now. I just had to get that out of the way. I thought about being close to you every second of every day.” He took a deep breath and exhaled slowly. “Wow, I needed that . . . I needed you.”

I leaned back into him for another hug. Feeling his hands wrap around my waist replaced every last nook and cranny of worry in my soul with a sense of peace and joy.

“I missed you so much,” I said.

“I know, me too.”

He pulled back and gazed into my eyes with what looked like pride. “You’re so perfect.”

I smiled softly, thinking the same thing about him.

Once our coveted reunion was satisfying enough to both of us, he got right down to business.

“I have to go to the lab. We have to hold an emergency meeting.”

My face must have shown concern. “It’s nothing big. Don’t worry. But we have to make sure the labs and the employees are protected from future attempts to breach security. It won’t take long, but I don’t want you here by yourself. Can we take you to my house? My security system is top notch and I—”

“Wes, I’m not separating from you again. Forget it.”

He looked at me for only a second and agreed. I grabbed my purse and took his hand and he led me out of the house with no intention of letting it go. Ever.

As we approached the Cadillac, I saw that Dr. Lyon was driving. He got out of the car to greet me.

“Sophie,” he nodded with an appreciative smile.

“Dr. Lyon.”

“Well, I’d tell you nice work, but I’m sure you know that already.”

I had so many questions about how my information got Wes back and what role Dr. Lyon had played in it, but I knew that standing here in my driveway was neither the time nor the place, so I smiled and thanked him in return.

Wes opened the rear passenger door for us, but before I could slide in, I heard another car approaching. I turned my head to see a police cruiser rolling up at a snail’s pace.

Inside were Officers Wright and Petty. The car stopped right at the foot of my driveway, blocking any attempt on our part to back up.

Wes looked at me, confused, so I turned to attempt the only plausible explanation I could come up with. “It’s a long story, but I told them I needed to visit Tim in jail because I couldn’t find you and only Tim knew. Then, I told them I could find you after all. I think they’re just checking.”

Instead of showing concern that they were there possibly looking for him, he leaned down, ignoring their approach altogether.

“You went to see Tim?”

I shrugged, “I’ll explain later.”

“Good afternoon, Sophie.” I turned back to face Officer Wright’s greeting.

“Hi, Officer.”

“So, it looks like Weston is here. That’s good news.”

“Uh, yeah, I told you everything was fine.”

Officer Petty came to stop in front of Wes, eyeing him suspiciously, “So, where were you again?”

“I was away on business.”

“I see,” he said.

Wes placed his hand on my back. “Is there a problem, Officer?”

Officer Wright had a much kinder approach, as always. “No, not anymore. Sophie here mentioned that you might be a missing person and then she retracted after her visit with an inmate. We decided to follow up to make sure things were all right. It looks like everything’s good to go.”

“Thank you,” Wes said appreciatively. I sure hoped my mention of him at the station the other night didn’t cause them to dig into his records and possibly find some discrepancies. I was starting to worry again, but Wes pulled me close. “Well, I just flew in, and we have to get some lunch before my next meeting.”

The officers nodded and took the cue to retreat back to their vehicle, noticeably scoping out the two black Tahoes parallel-parked in front of my house. I, too, became curious about their presence.