Chapter 52
I'd done a little running this morning before my hubby and I took a walk in the rain. I snapped a photo of the swing because I thought it was cool. I mean, how many parks have a swing for mom's to enjoy as they watch their kids on the toys or as they kick balls around. Some don't even provide benches. This is Iowa, by the way, and I've been coveting a swing like this in my yard.
Hidden Secrets
Leona Palmer Haag
Chapter 52
On Saturday night Matt carried Katie up to bed. He
left the room and waited for Jenn on an over-stuffed sofa in the loft
overlooking the main floor family room. Wide windows opened onto the dark
desert. He leaned forward and placed his elbows on his knees and studied the
night. A million stars speckled the sky, marking the difference between heaven
and earth. Jenn joined him a few minutes later. She sat in a big chair and
curled her legs beneath her.
Matt focused on Jenn's sparkling hazel eyes.
"I've enjoyed being here. I have a feeling this place was pretty
sterile-looking before you turned it into a real home."
"Maybe tripping over toys does that."
He grinned. "Could be. What's going to happen
when you return to Dallas? Does Kevin need to hire a moving crew?"
"Katie has toys at the day care center and enough
at home. Almost everything we've bought stays. I've stocked the castle for real
people, not plastic cut-outs. Until we got here, this place was set up for men
only. It was boring. No place for a two-year old and her mother."
Matt leaned back into the down-filled cushions and
relaxed. He'd expected Jenn to tear him apart and never give him a minute of
peace after he'd arrived, but she'd surprised him. Aside from a few demanding,
angry moments, she'd been calm and reasonable. But there was work to do, and
tonight, it centered on keeping Jenn and Katie safe. "How was the training
you received in Maryland?" he began.
"Wow, that seems like ages ago," Jenn said.
Matt smiled. "I know. Four weeks is about a
century and a half."
Jenn laughed. "Almost." She told him about
Angela, her new friend, and Natalie's lecture and hidden bruises. Small details
she hadn't thought about since leaving Baltimore popped into her mind. Not
about what they'd taught in the classes, but about the people she'd met.
"So it was a good experience?"
"Did they send you here to have me rate it?"
He shook his head. "No. I was just curious. They
might recruit me to teach a class someday.
I'll need to know how receptive the students are."
"Mostly we were scared. Some were excited. We all
thought parts of it were silly. Over done. A little too much hype at times. I
mean, who will ever really use what we were taught?"
Matt looked surprised. "Didn't they teach you
anything new?"
She shook her head and rubbed her tummy.
"Remember, if you're smart, you'll let your gut instinct lead, not your
head."
He chuckled. "I'll use that quote if I'm ever
selected."
Jenn turned and looked out the wall of windows.
"I never thought a desolate place could be so beautiful," she
thoughtfully said.
Matt studied her for a moment. "Yeah. I guess it
could grow on you."
"Not on me. At least not for any length of
time," Jenn replied.
"How about for another three or four weeks, or
maybe four or five months? Do you think you can handle it?"
Jenn spun to face him. "I'm really going to have
to stay here that long?"
He shrugged. "Kevin said he thought you were
getting antsy. I'm sure you already guessed they sent me here to settle you
down."
"I thought so," Jenn confessed.
"As always, my timing was impeccable."
"Of course," Jenn said to humor him.
"But I can't stay. Will you?"
Jenn played with a tassel on a throw pillow. Finally
she looked up. "Do I need to?"
Matt leaned forward and locked her eyes with his.
"Yes."
Jenn bit her bottom lip. "Why? Give me one good
reason why, and I will."
"I'll give more than one. The sketch you sent
Angela—it wasn't of an airport security agent. The man is known as General
Kazzie. Security surveillance tapes show he didn't single your friend out, and
possibly never saw her. We are certain he doesn't know who her husband is, and
didn't recognize her. We don't think she's in danger."
Jenn had been holding her breath and her eyes had
widened. "I drew him that well?"
Matt nodded. "You're an excellent artist and
Angela obviously noticed the most distinguishing features. Well done."
"What about the tomato snatcher?"
Matt laughed. "I'm sure she's only guilty of
petty theft."
"Are you absolutely sure, super agent Jensen? She
could be a terrible villain."
"Ah, you may be right," He sighed in
exaggeration. "The second reason you have to stay is because Kevin screwed
up on your kitchen. They laid brown tile when you ordered tan. He's afraid
you'll kill him if you see it."
Jenn rolled her eyes and groaned. "The whole
kitchen disaster has me confused. Nick never would have…" Jenn froze. She
stared at Matt with wide eyes. "Tell me straight, Matthew Willard Jensen,
did Nick tear apart the kitchen to start remodeling it, or did Kevin lie about
the whole thing?"
Matt bit his bottom lip this time—doing a purely Jenn
thing. He slowly shook his head. "Nick is innocent. A new kitchen was
Kevin's idea. A little perk to make you happy."
"Does he wear a bullet proof vest?" Jenn
slowly asked, her eyes narrowing.
"No, but you'd miss anyway."
Jenn took a dozen deep breaths as she nearly twisted
off the tassel. "Okay, why was my kitchen ripped apart? Start with chapter
one, and give me the whole book—straight. I don't want to hear a fairy
tale."
Matt leaned forward and glued his eyes to Jenn's.
"Someone stopped by to visit Nick."
Jenn held her hand up like a stop sign. "Do I
want to hear the rest?"
"No, but you get to anyway, and don't breath a
word of this to Kevin or I'll be fired."
"Then don't tell me. I'd like to see Kevin fired.
Maybe hanged."
"Your kitchen was destroyed. Demolished."
Jenn tightly hugged the pillow. Her eyes widened but
she didn't blink. "What about Nick and Katie? What did Katie witness and
where is my husband?"
"Katie was at Linda Jo's. Perfectly safe. Nick is
missing."
Tears welled in Jenn's eyes and coursed down her
cheeks. Her knuckles turned white. She stared at Matt. Finally her head sank
into the pillow and her shoulders shuddered as she sobbed. Eternity ticked away
one long minute after another. The silence broke. "I'm a widow?" Matt
heard in a muffled voice. He gve no answer.
Jenn lifted her tear stained face. "You came a
thousand miles to tell me I'm a widow?"
"No. We think Nick is alive."
"What makes you think that?" Jenn demanded.
Matt shook his head. "I'm not sure. It's a gut
feeling. If he were dead there would be announcements, gloating, bragging,
demands…"
"And if he were alive there would be the same
thing, right?"
Matt shrugged.
Jenn glared at him. "So exactly why am I here?
What good does it do to keep me here if Nick is dead? The battle is over! They
won! Why do I have to be a prisoner?"
"No one has won anything yet. Nick left a message
telling us who they are. Now we have to find them. We'll get him back. In the
meantime, we want to keep you and Katie safe."
Jenn glared at him.
Matt was reduced to begging. Bribing. "Please,
Jenn, promise me you'll stay here. I'll do whatever you ask if you'll give me
your word. You just need to stay here until it's safe. That's all I'm asking."
Jenn angrily glanced around the room, then her eyes
focused on Matt. "All I've ever wanted to be is a real mother. I'm
thirty-two and finally have—or should I say, had—a decent husband and a
daughter, and now it's all over? My husband dies, I die, and so does my
daughter? Wow, what a charmed life I live. I've been on the run twice since my
baby was born. Twice! How many mom's do you know who can brag about that? It's
insane. I don't need it. I want out."
Jenn jumped up and faced Matt. One pointed finger
singled him out. "I hate running. I hate this stupid castle.! I hate
Arizona. I hate faking luxury. I hate pretending I'm happy here. I hate my
whole rotten life at this moment." Her eyes narrowed. "I even hate you,
Matthew Jensen with a capital J." She spun away and stalked to her bedroom
door. She stopped and turned back with fire in her eyes. "But because I
haven't been invited to Nick's funeral yet, I'll think about what you've asked
me to do. I'll tell you tomorrow." She pushed open the master bedroom door
and disappeared, slamming it behind her.
Matt let his breath out. He'd said way too much.
End Chapter 52
No comments:
Post a Comment