Lexifisher – I'm going to keep your advice in mind. When working two jobs starts to wear me down, I'll just think of naked Joe. I'm sure that image will perk me right up! :D
Thank you to all who are reading and those who have added this story to their favorites/alerts.
Sleight of Hand
Chapter 2
Frank pulled up in front of a large "cabin" one mile from the resort's main lodge. The clerk had told him it was their most luxurious accommodation and Frank could easily see why. The huge rustic looking structure had a porch that ran the length of it and wrapped around both sides. He could see a hot tub built into the deck on one side. Scores of windows allowed for an unobstructed view of the imposing mountains from just about anywhere in the cabin.
Handing Callie one of the keys and Vanessa the other, he told them to go inside while he and Joe unloaded their luggage. Hearing shouts of happiness, they exchanged a smile as the girls discovered everything their home-away-from-home had to offer. Finally making their way inside, the brothers stepped into a large living room where a huge fireplace took up almost one entire wall. The furnishings and added touches made the room seem cozy despite its size. To the right was the dining room, with a generous sized kitchen on the other side of it. To the left was a set of stairs leading to the second floor.
Dropping the suitcases just inside the door and throwing his jacket on the closest chair, Joe made a beeline for the doorway directly across from them. "Whoa, Frank, take a look at this!" Joe shouted.
Following his brother, Frank found Joe looking like a kid in a candy store. Bouncing from one side of the room to the other, he didn't know what to investigate first – the pool table, the dartboards, the large screen TV, the entertainment center or the video game console. Seconds later, Callie and Vanessa arrived, with Vanessa rushing to Joe's side.
"There are two master bedrooms!" she told him excitedly. "And they both have their own private baths – with Jacuzzis," she winked. "There's a fireplace and a private balcony and television…" she continued breathlessly. Throwing her arms around Joe's neck she hugged him tightly. "This is going to be the best vacation!"
"Come on, let's check out the rest of the downstairs," Callie beckoned to Vanessa.
Kissing Joe on the cheek, she happily followed Callie and Frank back out into the living room. Lagging behind, Joe watched them for a moment before stepping outside, suddenly needing a few moments of solitude.
Joe stood on the porch and leaned against the railing, gazing out at the breath-taking view of snow-covered mountains, inhaling the cold, crisp winter air. Hearing a squeal of delight from inside the plush mountain cabin, he smiled at the sound of his fiancée's voice.
"Thanks," Joe said softly, thinking of his parents as his eyes misted over.
When Fenton and Laura Hardy had surprised him and Vanessa with this week long vacation one month earlier, Joe had been beside himself with excitement. An avid skier and snowboarder, he immediately thought of all the fun he'd have out on the slopes every day; and then he noticed the dates of their ski vacation. Excitement had quickly turned to heartfelt gratitude and he'd had to hide a few tears as he met his father's eyes that Christmas morning. Their out-of-town ski trip would coincide with the one-year anniversary of the day Vanessa had been raped.
Several weeks earlier Joe had confided to his father that he was worried about how that date would affect Vanessa. While that awful night had left permanent emotional scars, Vanessa had vowed not to let it control her life. The flashbacks had diminished considerably, and nightmares were rare. She still stayed with her mother whenever Joe had to go out of town overnight, although she was determined to conquer that last hurdle in time.
Joe was afraid remaining in Bayport on the anniversary of the night she'd been so brutally attacked would set Vanessa back months in her recovery. He had told his father he'd hoped to take her out of town, at least for a few days, but it seemed unlikely he would be able to make that happen. Joe was saving every penny to take Vanessa on the honeymoon of her dreams when they were married later that year. Between that and the Christmas holidays, Joe's hopes of taking Vanessa away late in January were quickly fading.
Joe shook his head and smiled as he recalled the way his father had squeezed his shoulder reassuringly and said, "These things usually have a way of working themselves out."
'Only if you have parents like mine,' Joe thought gratefully.
"Hey, what are you doing out here? It's freezing!"
Joe turned and smiled at his older brother. Frank was his polar opposite in both looks and temperament with his dark hair and eyes and subdued nature. Still, the two brothers were extremely close and shared a love of mystery, inherited from their world-famous private investigator father.
"Just checking out the scenery."
"Well, put this on," Frank handed Joe the jacket he'd tossed on the chair. "If you get pneumonia and die, Mom will kill me."
"Thanks." Joe smiled and donned the jacket.
Frank leaned against the rail. "It is beautiful out here."
"Mm-hmm," Joe mumbled distractedly.
…
Watching Joe carefully, Frank saw something change in his brother's blue eyes. The look of awe at the beauty that surrounded them had suddenly been replaced by an intense sorrow and deep sadness.
"You're worried about Vanessa," Frank stated.
"Two days," Joe said softly. "In two days it'll be one year that she was…hurt." Joe closed his eyes as his voice faltered. "I…I'm afraid she's gonna have a major setback. And we still haven't gotten the results of her final blood test yet. It should be back sometime this week. The doctor's office is going to call as soon as they know…" Joe looked at his brother desperately. "What if it's too much for her to deal with all at once? "
Frank had long ago stopped wondering if Joe would ever actually say the word 'raped' out loud – he knew it would never happen. He wasn't even certain Joe ever said it to himself. On the rare instances when he did talk about it, Joe would always say Vanessa had been hurt or attacked…never raped. That alone was more than Joe could deal with. Looking at his brother now, Frank began to wonder if everything might just be too much for Joe to deal with all at once, too.
"We'll get her through it," Frank promised, squeezing Joe's shoulder. "All of us – together."
Joe glanced away and then looked back at him apprehensively.
"Don't try and do this by yourself, Joe. That night was pretty hard on you, too," Frank said as dark memories of Joe's uncontrollable violence pushed their way to the surface. Frank had never seen his brother so out of control until that night and hoped he'd never witness anything like it again.
"I'm just afraid she's overcompensating," Joe confided his fears to Frank. "It seems the closer the date gets, the happier she is. I wouldn't care if it was genuine but it just seems so…forced. Like she doesn't want to bother anyone with it, or ruin our vacation."
"Are you sure? You said yourself she's been doing really well in therapy," Frank reminded him.
"She has. But I talked to her therapist right before we left." Joe turned to face his brother anxiously. "She said the one year mark is the hardest. Most women, no matter how well they've done in therapy or how prepared they think they are, always take a few steps back.
"Frank, she's just now starting to act like herself again. Laughing and joking… not so afraid of everything and everyone. I don't want to lose her again – even if it is only temporary," Joe finished, obviously looking to his older brother for advice.
Seeing the look on Joe's face – absolute faith that Frank would know exactly what to do to ensure that didn't happen – made Frank stop and really think. He'd always been able to steer Joe in the right direction without hesitation but this was one area where Frank had no experience to draw on. He couldn't even imagine what the past year had been like for Joe and Vanessa.
'Common sense,' Frank thought, feeling the pressure he was putting on himself start to increase. 'Just think it through logically. You know she'll have some kind of backlash; it can't be prevented…but maybe it can be minimized.'
"Do you know what her triggers are? What might lead to a flashback?" Frank asked.
"Buses and bus stops," Joe responded immediately.
Frank nodded, remembering Vanessa had been waiting for a bus when she was abducted. "What else?"
"Anyone putting their arms around her waist; loud clicks and light bulbs popping when they burn out." Joe recited the list from heart, having seen Vanessa succumb to all of them at one time or another.
Frank digested this information without asking for explanations. Since Vanessa's rapist had committed suicide, there had been no trial and no need for the intimate details of what she'd been through to be made public. While he knew the reasons for some of the triggers, others left him clueless. He didn't ask Joe to elaborate, not wanting him to dwell on the particulars of that night and not really sure himself if he wanted to know the reasons.
"Okay, we know what might cause a flashback and we can do our best to eliminate those things," Frank said. He saw a flash of hope in his brother's eyes, but only for a second before it was replaced with worry once again.
"Joe, you can't stop her from thinking about it. It's gonna be rough, you have to accept that," Frank tried to stop Joe's obviously dark thoughts from sapping all his hopes of helping Vanessa. "But you two don't have to deal with this alone and you don't have to keep everything bottled up inside. It's going to be hard no matter where you are. But, Callie and I are here for you – both of you. We want to help you get through it…you're not alone."
Joe swallowed hard, knowing he couldn't possibly get Vanessa through the upcoming day, let alone himself, without a lot of help. "Thanks. We may need to take you up on that."
"Anytime," Frank said quietly, squeezing Joe's shoulder. The silence was suddenly broken by more shrieks of delight from inside the cabin as Callie and Vanessa continued their inspection. "What say we go back inside and check the place out," Frank suggested with a smile.
Joe swiped at his eyes roughly, "Yeah…let's do that," he responded, the sparkle in his eyes just beginning to return.
Rejoining the girls inside, Joe listened as Vanessa breathlessly described the cabin and all its amenities. Bubbling over with excitement and enthusiasm, she threw her arms around his neck, predicting the upcoming week would be filled with nothing but fun and happiness. Joe looked at his brother and smiled. Maybe, just maybe, everything would turn out all right after all…