Chapter 7

Elisa waited for Jason to get to her apartment. She really wanted to see her grandfather again. He seemed like a gentle and sweet person.

Her doorbell rang and she answered it. "Hello," Elisa said.

"Hi," he replied.

"Come in."

He went in and sat in the living room. "You seem excited to see your grandfather."

"I am. Of course, I don't know him well but I feel this connection to him," she said happily. Then her tone got serious. "Before we go, I want to apologize for Goliath. He told me about his visiting you and he shouldn't have cornered you. He even had the nerve to tell me that you were deceiving me."

Jason sighed. "I'm not deceiving you. I want you to know that. I wholeheartedly want you to remember your life. I know the clan will not fully trust me due to my past but one thing I promise to be is honest with you. I've learned my lesson about deceiving the ones I love a long time ago."

"Okay. Now that that is settled, are you ready to meet my grandpa Derek?"

"Yes but why does he want to see me again?"

"I may have mentioned you in our conversation. He wants to see you," Elisa said.

Jason chuckled. "Should I be worried?"

Elisa laughed. "I don't think so. I think he's just worried about his granddaughter. It will be fine."

They left her apartment and headed to the ranch. When they got there, they saw Derek sitting on his porch.

Elisa got out of the car and walked up the stairs. "Hey grandpa."

"Hey baby girl." He hugged her and then he noticed Jason standing at the base of the steps.

"So you are the young man my baby has told me about. I won't bite young man."

Jason walked up the stairs and extended his hand. "Jason Canmore, sir."

"Derek Cooper," he replied. "Where are you from?"

"Scotland, sir."

"Aah. Nice accent. Come in."

They followed him to the patio. "You have a nice home, sir."

"Thank you Jason. I've been in this spot for 50 years. I'm not going anywhere."

Elisa and Jason both cracked smiles. The three spent most of the afternoon talking.

"Elisa, I want you to go to the stables and ride around. I have one my trainers inside. I would like to speak with the young man for a moment."

"Okay," said Elisa. She kissed her grandfather on the cheek. "Be nice."

Derek turned to Jason. "Come with me."

He led him to a room filled military paraphernalia. Derek sat down in his chair. He motioned for Jason to sit across from him.

"Son, I see that you care a great deal about my granddaughter. As you know, she is in a precarious state and I don't want you taking advantage of her. I also know that you have been in love with her for quite a while. I don't want you to think that you can bombard her and suddenly make her fall in love with you. But if she happens to, that's her choice. Don't pressure her."

"Sir, I don't want pressure her into anything. I want her to remember her life so she can be happy."

"Oh, I think she is happy now. Tell me, there's not a small part that hopes she chooses you. I understand the fascination. Her grandmother was the same way. Headstrong, stubborn, loving, caring, loyal and fiercely protective of others. Diane took after my Rebecca. I know my son-in-law has taken good care of my daughter. I'm asking you if you would do right by Elisa. Whether she remembers or not, I need to feel and know that you won't try anything funny."

"No sir. I respect Elisa to the fullest. I admit there's a part of me that wants to be more than friends."

Derek chuckled. "My advice, fight for what you want but let it be a fair fight. Remember, it's Elisa's choice. Maybe I'm pushing but I never agreed or liked her previous relationship. That's just me. Anyway, just do right by her."

Derek stood up and so did Jason. "Oh, one more thing. Look around the room." Jason did. He noticed the weapons. "As you can see I'm a military vet. I was in the marines. I fought in WWII. If you ever hurt my baby girl, I will dust you off and make sure your body isn't recovered. I may be old but I'm not stupid nor have I lost my skills. Understood."

"Understood, sir," Jason said.

"Let's go see how our girl is doing."

They walked out to see Elisa preparing to jump. She was a natural. She had one of the biggest smiles on her face that Jason had ever seen. His heart swelled at her having a good time.

"She should have been an equestrian," Jason said.

"Maybe. I think being a cop is what suited her more. I believe if she had pursued it, she would have been a star," said Derek.

They watched Elisa trot back to the stables and get off. The horse trainer took the horse inside the gate while Elisa walked toward Jason and her grandfather.

"I've never felt so free in my life. That was so much fun," Elisa said breathlessly. She laughed a bit. "I can't believe I stopped riding. I wish I had more time to do this."

"You can come here whenever you like," Derek said. "Elisa, this is a good man you got here."

She looked at Jason. "I know."

Jason smiled back and winked at her. She giggled a bit. She turned her attention back to Derek. "When are you going to come to the city? I'm sure mom would love to see you."

"Soon. I need to check up on her and make sure my son-in-law is doing his job," he joked.

Elisa laughed at his remarks. "Take it from me, he is doing his job."

"That may be but I want to see for myself. Now this old man has kept you two long enough."

"All right grandpa. We'll see you later," Elisa said. She hugged him and went inside the house.

Derek shook Jason's hand. "Remember what I said."

Jason gave a curt nod. He went inside as well. Derek watched them go.

Elisa drove singing along to the radio. Jason just watched her in amusement. She seemed so relaxed and peaceful. "I didn't realize you were into old school," Jason said.

"Apparently. I have a stack of records in my closet and I have the cd's. I also listen to classical and jazz."

He chuckled.

"What?" she asked.

"You must have quite the music collection," said Jason.

"I like what I like. My parents must have played this music when I was growing up. What about you? What kind of music do you like?"

"Jazz, Scottish folk, rock-n-roll, soul."

"I heard everyone except the Scottish folk. Is that good?"

"In my opinion," Jason said. "I'll let you borrow my cd's sometime."

"Okay. In the meantime, are you going to tell me what you and my grandpa talk about?"

"Just talk between two men," Jason replied.

Elisa rolled her eyes. "You're not going to tell me."

"Nope."

"Ugh. You can be stubborn," said Elisa.

"Anybody ever tell you that you can't have it your way all the time?" Jason asked.

"I'm sure somebody has," she said laughing. "Cops ask questions. It's in my blood."

"Well, today you won't be getting any answers on the subject," Jason said.

Elisa pouted a little which made Jason laugh. "What's so funny?"

"You're kind of cute when you pout," he said.

"Oh, shut up." Elisa eventually cracked a smile. She turned up the music and went back to singing along.

After settling back into her apartment, Elisa heard a knock on the door. She opened the door and Fox was there.

"Fox," she said surprised.

"Hi Elisa. I wanted to check on you and see how things were with you."

"I'm fine. Thanks for asking. Not to be rude, but you came all the way here to see how I was doing?"

Fox nodded. "I did. We're not exactly friends but we respect each other. I know this hasn't been easy for you."

Elisa nodded. "I can't let you stand in the hallway all night. Come in." Fox walked in. "Do you want anything?"

"No thanks. I did come by to ask you would you like to hang out sometime? Maybe go dancing or something," Fox said.

"You want to hang out with me. Why? What's the catch?"

"No catch. I'm trying to be a friend," she said genuinely.

"All right. I see you're being honest," said Elisa. "When should we go?"

"How about tomorrow night? I know a salsa club in the area. Besides, David will be watching Alexander."

"What time?"

"We'll leave at 8pm. How about you come to the Eyrie and we'll leave from there?"

She sighed. "Okay." She really didn't want to see the clan but she reasoned their presence was a given.

"Good. I'll see you tomorrow night."

"Thanks for inviting me," said Elisa.

"No problem."

The following night…

Elisa looked at herself in the mirror. She had on a short purple dress that hit right above the knees. Her hair was curled at the end. She had on makeup but it wasn't overkill. She liked it. How many times did she go dancing? She assumed not too many times.

She grabbed her clutch bag and headed to the Eyrie building. She got there and saw security. He saw his eyes nearly popped out of his head. "Detective, you look nice."

"Thank you," she said. "I'm here to see Fox." The man nodded. She got on the elevator and went up to the top floor.

She got off and walked toward the study. She accidentally bumped into Owen. He got a look at her and stared for a moment. He was shocked at how nice she looked.

"I guess I don't dress like this every day, huh," she said breaking Owen out of his thoughts.

"Um, no, you don't," he blurted out. She chuckled at his outburst. She learned that Owen was very professional in everything he did. He recovered from his outburst. "I certainly hope you and Fox have a good time tonight."

"Thank you Owen. Maybe one day, you can join us."

Owen remained stern. "Dancing is not my forte, detective. I don't do big crowds."

She nodded. "I'll see you later."

Elisa got to the study and waited for Fox to come in. She heard the door open and turned. Brooklyn walked in. He almost didn't recognize Elisa.

"Elisa, you look different."

"So it seems. I can dress up every once in a while," Elisa said.

He held up his hands. "You look nice. Where are you going?"

"Believe it or not, Fox and I are hanging out," said Elisa.

Brooklyn narrowed his eyes. "Why?"

Elisa chuckled at his suspicion. "She says she's trying to be a friend."

"Be careful," Brooklyn.

"I promise," Elisa said.

"I need to go on patrol. Have a good time," Brooklyn said.

"Wait, is there a reason you came to the study?"

"Not really. I just check the rooms periodically," Brooklyn said. Elisa nodded.

"See you later," Brooklyn said.

"See you later."

Fox came in as Brooklyn was leaving. "Wow, don't you look hot."

"I do? I wasn't sure of what to wear," Elisa said.

"You look great. Ready to have some fun?"

"Ready."

"Good, Owen is taking us."

"He is? I bumped into him earlier. I don't think he wants to hang out with us."

"He's just dropping us off," Fox reassured her. "Owen doesn't dance."

Owen knocked on the door. "Are you two ready?"

Fox locked arms with Elisa and they went. They arrived at the club and Fox grabbed a table for them to sit at. The music wasn't that loud and people were on the dance floor.

"Have you ever done salsa?" asked Elisa.

"A few times. As far as I know, you haven't."

"I don't want to embarrass myself on the dance floor."

"Trust me. You won't. I'm right by your side," Fox said. "I can make anybody look good. I can even make David look good on the dance floor."

Elisa had to laugh. "Whatever you say."

Fox dragged Elisa on the dance floor and they started dancing. Fox had to admit Elisa was a good dancer.

"I'm going to the bar. Be right back," Fox said. She couldn't wait to get out of her house. Every now and then she needed some time alone.

She watched Elisa dance and having a good time. "No wonder why she wanted to spend less time with the clan. She would have never gotten a chance to do this."

Fox went back to Elisa's side. "Having a good time?"

"Yeah. Do I do this often?" asked Elisa.

"No. You never made the time." Elisa went back to dancing. After a few more songs, she went back to her table.

Fox ordered another drink. "Whoa, that makes three. You probably shouldn't drink anything without eating. I'll order something," said Elisa.

"I'm fine."

"Yeah right. I'm sure you think you can hold your liquor but the last thing I need is for David to lecture me about watching you. You're eating something."

Fox huffed. "Fine."

Elisa ordered some food and brought it back to the table. "Here."

Fox ate some of it and drank the rest of her cocktail. "Let's go dance some more."

"Fox, you just ate. I don't think that's a good idea. Wait for a few minutes."

Fox sat at the table for two minutes before she got up and rushed back to the crowd. Elisa smirked and watched her dance with random people.

"Yep, David is going to ring my neck if I don't get her home in one piece," Elisa muttered.

Elisa looked at her watch and noticed it was getting late. She took Fox's cell phone and called Owen.

"Hello."

"Owen, it's me. I think it's time we should go."

"I'm outside, detective."

"You never left," said Elisa increduously.

"I did but I figured one of you would call soon," said Owen.

Elisa smirked. "Be right out."

Elisa grabbed their belongings and found Fox. "Fox, Owen's here."

"He is? I was just having fun," said Fox.

She was a little drunk. "Come on, let's go." She dragged Fox out of there to see Owen standing near the vehicle.

"A little help Owen," Elisa chided. Owen led Fox to the car and put her inside. Elisa got in beside her. "How much did you have to drink?"

"Not that much. Just three cocktails. I might have slipped by you when you weren't looking and did some shots."

"No wonder. You are going to regret this in the morning," said Elisa. She spoke to Owen. "She doesn't seem like the party type."

"Fox isn't but she decided to have some fun. We'll take care of her."

Elisa and Owen got Fox inside and put her in the study. Surprisingly, the clan was there too. David came to his wife. "What happened?"

"Fox got a little happy with her cocktails," Elisa said. "She'll have a hangover in the morning though."

David carefully picked up his wife and carried her out.

The clan eyed Elisa's outfit. "You have that in your closet?" asked Angela.

"I did. Are you all that surprised?" asked Elisa.

"Yes. You don't wear stuff like this," Goliath said. He didn't like the change in her appearance.

Elisa shrugged her shoulders. "It was just one night. You all have a good night." She turned to go when Derek walked in. His eyes went wide-eyed at Elisa's dress.

"Where did you go?"

"I was out with Fox. We went dancing," Elisa said.

"You two?" asked Derek.

"That's what I said. We were hanging out. You all worry too much. I need to get some sleep." She walked out of the room.