And the Truth Shall Set You Free

Chapter 1

19.1 years

The letter arrived in the mail on the second Friday in May. Sara brought it in from the mailbox in front of the cute little house on Meadowbrook Street along with a couple of sales flyers and the monthly hydro bill. Although there was nowhere near the same volume of snail mail these days, there was still a daily delivery of odds and ends and Sara Ellis was usually the one to bring it in on her way in from work.

'Liam!' she called out as she closed the door behind her.

Raffie was at her feet instantly, greeting his master as she returned to the fold, his tail wagging madly in anticipation of what – no one really knew. She gave the dog a dismissive pat on the head as she glanced idly through the stack of mail.

'Hi Mom' she heard from the kitchen.

She walked in, Raffie on her heels, to find her teenage son sitting at the kitchen table with his best friend, Will Allenby. The two boys looked up, obviously immersed in some convoluted math problem - if the books which were lying on the kitchen table were any indication.

'Hey honey. Hi Will' Sara said as she absent-mindedly threw the pile of mail in the small wicker basket that sat on the kitchen counter for just that purpose.

'Any news from Dad?' Sara asked her son.

'No. He left a little over an hour ago' Liam responded.

Sara checked the time, her eyes excited.

'She should be getting off the train right about now' she said musingly. 'Did you guys get something to eat?'

'We're good' Liam responded as the two boys returned to their homework.

'Would you like to stay for dinner, Will?' Sara asked of Liam's best friend.

'My mom wants me home. My grandma's coming over tonight' Will said regrettably.

He loved eating over at the Caffreys. Liam's dad was a much better cook than his mom was and when he went home, he had to put up with his parents' constant bickering at the dinner table; Liam was so lucky to have parents who got along.

'Did Dad say anything about dinner?' Sara asked as she began to rummage through the fridge, looking for clues as to what Neal had planned for their daughter's homecoming meal.

'Yeah, he said for you to throw the spaghetti sauce on to simmer and he would do the rest when he got back' Liam said, returning to the task at hand.

Sara smiled to herself; spaghetti was one of Hope's all-time favorite meals. It was no coincidence Neal had chosen pasta for her first night back. She thought ahead to the next couple of months; all of them living under one roof again. It would be fun to have Hope back in the house. Of their two kids, Hope was definitely the lively one and when she was in the house, there was an awful lot of moving and shaking going on. Liam, on the other hand, was much more introspective and quiet and did his thing without fuss or muss; they were both so different, yet she loved them equally for very different reasons.

She walked over to where the boys sat and she placed a loving hand on her son's back as he turned and grinned at her. Her family was going to be whole again and Sara Ellis couldn't wait.

WCWCWC

Penn Station on a Friday evening at dinner time was a busy place to be; especially at this time of year – with university students returning home or coming to New York to work for the summer. Hope had been gone for four months and she'd just completed her first, very successful semester at Carnegie Mellon University. Except for their weekly chats on Skype and the occasional phone call, Neal hadn't laid eyes on his daughter since he'd dropped her off in Pittsburgh right after New Year's Day.

He could still see her standing in her dorm, looking so young, so fragile as he'd turned to leave, feeling as though he was somehow abandoning his little girl. She hadn't looked back when he'd finally left; she'd been immersed in conversation with her new roommate and although Neal knew she had everything she needed to make a go of it, he remembered the tightness in his chest as he'd finally walked to the car to begin the long, lonely drive home. He recalled how he'd called Sara from the car, needing to share his heartbreak with the one person who knew exactly how he felt and how the two of them had shed a tear over the phone as he'd prepared to drive out of the city which would be home to his daughter for the foreseeable future.

But the flipside of saying goodbye was the eventual excitement of saying hello again and Neal eagerly checked the time on the huge clock looming over him in the train station: 6:14. Her train would be pulling in any second now, according to the large arrivals board. He could feel his pulse racing as he continued to wait not so patiently for the announcement of the Pittsburgh train's arrival.

Hope would be home for the summer months and Neal had so many plans for them as a family. She'd agreed to work at the gallery as well as do some teaching at the new school and Neal hoped to convince his wife and kids to take a trip up north to the cottage they all loved in the Muskokas – something they'd been doing for years. Of course, there was Cameron to consider; he and Hope were still officially an item but they'd decided not to hold each other back by being exclusive although Neal knew for a fact that Cam had been faithful to his daughter since her departure. It was obvious that the young couple had deep feelings for one another but they were both wise enough to realize that most long-distance relationships didn't survive and Hope, especially, had wanted Cameron to feel free to date other girls while she explored life in another city, far away. She would be meeting lots of new people; after all, she was a social butterfly just like her dad and Neal realized all bets were off as Hope explored a new life with new friends.

Neal's musings were interrupted by the announcement that the Pittsburgh train had just pulled in on track 5 and he slowly made his way closer, anxious to see his little girl stepping onto the platform. He took a deep breath and fixed his gaze on the arrival gate.

WCWCWC

Peter Burke glanced over at Cameron Armstrong who was doing his best impression of a gallery manager, sorting through invoices and keeping his hands busy although it was as clear as the nose on his face that his mind was elsewhere.

'Cam' Peter said as he came closer 'Why don't you head out? I can handle any customers that come in tonight'.

Cameron looked up, his eyes excited. 'Are you sure?' he asked.

'Of course I'm sure. It's Hope's first night back – go on, I'll take care of things here' Peter said as he brought his hand to the young man's back and gave him a friendly pat.

Ever since Neal had opened the June Ellington School of Art almost six months earlier, Cam had been promoted to the position of manager at the Raphael Gallery. Neal still made daily visits to his beloved gallery but getting the new school on its feet had become his main priority and the new venture was taking up most of his time. Although he had fully recovered from the gunshot wound he'd suffered the previous summer, he still needed lots of rest and Sara watched him like a hawk; after all Neal was no spring chicken, no matter what he thought.

Peter's involvement with the Raphael Gallery had increased over time; he'd started out lending a helping hand with the books as he adjusted to retirement from his over 35 years with the FBI. Following Neal's life threatening injury, however, Peter had stepped into the breach and taken on the bulk of the day to day operations of the gallery while his partner recovered. Then, following June's death and the large inheritance she'd left for him, Neal's focus had shifted to setting up the new school that carried her name. Now, Peter worked full-time at the gallery, seeing to the business end of their joint project as Cameron took on the creative side of things with Neal keeping a close eye on both his ventures.

El had been thankful for something to keep her husband's mind occupied; the first few months after Peter's retirement had been painfully difficult for both of them and his recent focus on the gallery had been perfectly timed to coincide with their transition to a less hectic life. For her part, Elizabeth still ran some events for Burke Premiere Events but she'd passed on the day to day operation to her right hand woman, Yvonne Pearson and she was enjoying an increasing amount of down time as she relaxed and eased into retirement herself.

'But...' Cam protested 'What about Mr. Caffrey?'

Neal knew Cam's schedule at the gallery and the young man didn't want to do anything his boss wouldn't approve of, especially since he'd be sitting across the table from him at dinner if he drove himself out to White Plains for his long-awaited reunion with Hope.

'I'll take care of Neal; don't worry about it' Peter said with a smile.

'Thanks, thanks Mr. Burke' Cam said sincerely, a huge smile breaking out on his face.

He was out the door within seconds, practically running as he headed out to his beat up car parked nearby. Peter watched and picked up his phone to call home.

'Honey' he said 'I'm going to be a little late...'

Ah, young love!

WCWCWC

'Daddy!' Neal heard from a distance as Hope came running towards him.

She looked great - healthy and happy and Neal put out his arms to greet her as she threw her arms around his neck.

'I missed you so much!' she said as she felt him lift her off the ground in a warm hug.

'Let me look at you' Neal said as he put her back down to get a better look.

Hope could see a small tear preparing to fall from Neal's eyes and he swatted at it, hoping she hadn't noticed.

'You look amazing!' he said with a huge smile.

'So do you! You look even better than when I left. You've put on some weight' she noticed, thankful that Neal had returned to his previous fighting weight following his recent ordeal.

'Make sure you tell Mom that; she's still trying to get me to put on a few pounds' he said with a laugh.

Hope's eyes darted around them, obviously looking for something – or was that someone.

'Cam's not here?' she asked.

'He's working until nine but he asked me to tell you that he'll be over as soon as the gallery closes' Neal explained.

She smiled back and Neal could see excitement dancing in her eyes; apparently, she hadn't met anyone in Pittsburgh who made her heart flutter the way Cameron Armstrong did.

'So, are you hungry? I'm making spaghetti for dinner' he said as he took her backpack in one hand and placed his other arm around her shoulder. 'Mom and Liam are waiting back at the house and I wouldn't be surprised if Mozzie was there too.'

'Spaghetti! Oh, Dad, I haven't had your spaghetti since... since before the holidays. I can't wait!' she shrieked. 'Are you going to make garlic bread?'

Neal gave her a shrug – of course, there'd be garlic bread.

His little girl was home and Neal couldn't be happier.

WCWCWC

'Does this look right?' Mozzie asked of Liam who was setting the table nearby.

'A little more garlic butter' Liam instructed.

He'd been watching his dad make garlic bread since he was knee high to a grasshopper and he knew that the bread/butter ratio was the most important factor in getting it right.

'So, when's your next game?' Mozzie asked.

'Tuesday night' Liam responded.

School would be out in a little over a month and Liam's basketball team was in the finals for the City Cup with Liam the top scorer in the league.

'Are you going to come and watch?' the teenager asked.

'Wouldn't miss it!' Mozzie said as they heard a commotion at the front door.

Suddenly, Sara reappeared with Cameron in tow, eyes glowing like a little boy who'd been allowed into the candy store.

'Better set one more place' Sara said to Liam 'Looks like Uncle Peter took pity on our boy here.'

Sara gave Cameron a playful shove; even with Hope away at school, the young man was a permanent fixture in their home and Neal often invited him over for dinner, ostensibly to discuss the goings on at the gallery although, truth be told, she knew her husband enjoyed having the young man around.

His phone vibrated and Cam looked down at it, a goofy grin on his face.

'It's Hope' he said, his voice excited 'They're on their way home.'

TBC