Chapter 10 – Heart to Heart

"Are you ever going to stop pacing Son?" Earl questioned as he watched Lee wear a path in his living room carpet.

"What?" Lee asked as he realized that Earl was talking to him.

"Well, I have been watching you wear a hole in my living room rug all morning. Did you get any sleep last night or is there already a hole in my spare bedroom floor?" Earl half heartedly teased.

"I'm sorry. I am just really worried about Ehsan and..."

"And you wish you could be there to help him," Earl finished for him before he could.

"Yeah. The auction is tomorrow."

"I know. He promised to sneak over here this afternoon before he goes to town so we could make the final arrangements. After all, we need to make sure we can get all of you safely out of here when the time is right. Maybe I will have some carpet left if we do," Earl continued to tease.

Lee stopped pacing and swiped his hand through his hair as he said "I'm sorry Earl. I'm just not used to not being involved. I hate not being there to help him. There must be something I can do. I deserted him when I left the first time and I hate that I can't figure out a way to help him now." Lee flopped down into a seat at the kitchen table as Earl put a cup of steaming coffee in front of him.

Earl put his hand comfortingly on top of Lee's. "Son," Earl began in a fatherly tone, "he understood why you needed to leave the first time. You need to stop feeling guilty about it. There was nothing you could have done back then. Let's wait and see if he thinks you can help him tomorrow, okay?"

Lee released a big sigh of acknowledgment and said, "Yeah. I'm just glad he managed to survive all these years. How did you know I felt guilty about leaving him?"

"Son, it is all over your face. You and Ehsan are a lot alike. You may work for different governments, but you could be brothers. I think at this point, neither of you would leave the other behind," Earl concluded.

"Where's Kami?" Lee asked as he suddenly realized he hadn't seen her and needed to change the subject.

"She'll be back shortly. She had to go fetch something from town."

Earl now joined Lee at the table with his own cup of coffee after putting some dishes away. Thoughtfully, Earl stated, "You know when I met Kami and moved back here, I wasn't sure if I would like being so far away from home. It was hard at first. I missed my family terribly. Then, as we helped more and more people, I realized this was what we were meant to do. I still miss my family, but we have helped a lot of nice people who needed us. I wouldn't want to be anywhere else. Besides, Kami is my whole world. I couldn't imagine not having her in it."

"Yeah, you both seem really happy considering all you deal with."

"Oh, we truly are. What about you Lee? Do you have a special girl back home?"

"No" Lee said a little too quickly. "No, I have dated a lot of women in my off time but I'm not really the settling down type," he explained.

"Oh, I see. So the right one just hasn't come along?" Earl suggested.

"Oh, I have had a couple in my life that I thought could have been the right one, but the relationships for one reason or another just weren't meant to be." Lee said with a far away look in his eyes. Earl realized that maybe this subject was a little too personal.

Kami's car pulled into the driveway at that moment and gave them both the interruption they needed. She hurried in from the car while accompanied by someone who wore a shawl over her head to hide her face. After they were inside, the woman took off the shawl and Lee saw that it was Francesca.

"Hi everyone. Thank you for welcoming me back to your home. I think Ehsan should be here shortly so that we can make final plans." Francesca said as she gave Earl a hug.

"I'm here now!" Ehsan said as he walked into the room.

"I didn't hear a car." Earl said as he warmly embraced Ehsan.

"No, I hid the jeep about a half mile away on a side road and then cut through the woods to your house. I didn't have time to go grab the other car and didn't want to take the chance of anyone seeing mine in the driveway."

"Well, let me whip up some food while you all talk" Kami said with a smile. Earl motioned for them to make themselves comfortable in the living room and they did. Lee sat in the recliner while Ehsan and Francesca sat on the couch together.

"It looks like Ebu has this auction all arranged and in order," Ehsan informed them.

"Yes, your contacts are telling me that the Russians are very excited to get possession of the documents. Ehsan, I'm worried about how we are going to get out of here without any trouble," Francesca admitted.

"Oh, don't you worry about that, I have a plan." Ehsan said with a smile.

TBC