Chapter 11
After speaking with Charlie, Ian felt a little steadier. At least now he had something of a plan. After talking strategy for several hours Ian and Charlie decided that the best way to approach the situation was to rely on a strategy that men had been using for years. When it came to single mothers, getting to the kid was key. Considering that Ian wanted to get to know his son as much as he wanted to win over Anna, he would be killing two birds with one stone. He would have to be careful in his approach. Right now her defenses were up and she was likely to shoot first and ask questions later. He did a little investigating, which involved speaking to Don, Megan, and Amita; also letting them in on the plan. Amita, who had not been aware of his history with Anna had been eager to help once Charlie had spoken to her. Don and Megan had been a little harder to convince. Don was even more protective of Anna than Charlie was and Megan was a she-lion when it came to protecting TJ. Both had eventually agreed to help but not before Don had threatened to kill him and Megan had given him a detail description of what would happen to his more valued appendages if Anna or TJ got hurt in this. After swearing upon pain of long excruciating death that he would do everything he could not to hurt them he was given all the details he needed. Anna and TJ's daily routines, schedules, TJ's afterschool activities and the names of his friends, Anna's favorite hangouts and dating history. Much to his pleasure she didn't really have one. Work and her son were Anna's life. Armed with information he acquired her cell number and prepared to walk into the lion's den. He sat now in his truck, number in hand staring at his phone.
"C'mon Edgerton," he scolded himself. "No guts no glory." He dialed the number and pressed send.
"Pick it up Anna," he thought desperately as it rang once, twice, three times. "Please pick it up." He let out a breath as he heard the click.
"Graves," her voice said.
"Anna," he said. "Don't hang up."
"What do you want Ian?" Her voice was cold and she sounded a little nervous.
"I just want to talk," he said. He heard her suck in her breath. "Please Anna." She was silent for a long time.
"There's a diner ten blocks from the office. Fran's Diner. Meet me there in twenty minutes."
"I'll be there," he said. It was one of her regular haunts. Her turf. He'd taught her well, he thought with a chuckle.
He found Fran's easily. It was a typical diner. Black and white linoleum floors, red plastic booths with the menus stuck behind the napkin holder. The waitresses wore the stereotypical blue and white uniforms straight out the movies. There was a young man in his twenties flirting with a waitress at the counter. Two police officers, one male one female, sat in a booth by the window. He gave them a slight nod as he passed them. They eyed him suspiciously.
"Still got it," he thought with a smirk. He slid into a booth in the corner. He ordered coffee from the portly black waitress that came to his table. He glanced up at the door and saw Anna enter. She did not come to the table right away. The waitress who stood behind the counter called her name and Anna greeted her with a smile. Ian's stomach clenched as the two chatted like old friends. She made her way to the table passing the booth with the two cops.
"Hey Agent Graves," the young male cop greeted her.
"Good to see ya Joe," she said. "How your little girl?"
"Gonna say her first word any day now," Joe said with a proud grin. Ian felt a slight pain in his chest. What had TJ's first word been? Had Anna's face lit up like Joe's did when he had said it? God, he thought. So much he didn't know. Well, he was determined to fix that. That's why he was here. He knew she was doing her damned best to show him that he was on her turf. He just nodded to her as she slid into the booth across from him.
"Hey there Anna," the waitress greeted her. "Your usual?"
"Just coffee today Mabel," Anna said her eyes never leaving Ian's.
"Saw your daddy in here the other day," Mabel said pouring coffee into Anna's cup. "Was in here with that boy of yours. Getting to be quite a handsome little thing. Gonna be beating the girls off with a stick."
"Don't remind me," Anna said with a wince. Ian couldn't help but smile a little. Mabel left them alone and Anna turned her attention on Ian. She didn't say anything just wrapped her hands around her cup.
"Guess I don't have to ask if you come here often," he said sipping his coffee. Anna raised a brow.
"Only place that makes a decent Reuben for miles," she said matter-of-factly. "You didn't come here to talk about food, Ian. Let's get to the point."
"All right," Ian said. "I want to see my son Anna. I can respect any terms you set but I want time with him." Anna stared at the table. He could feel the tension rolling off her. She would agree, he knew that much. She wasn't stupid. As TJ's father he did have rights. He knew he'd never take her to court, but he also knew Anna would never risk putting TJ through that. It was a dirty pull but she was a stubborn woman.
"Two conditions," she said finally. She set her coffee down and set her hands on the table. She took a deep breath and stared him straight in the eye.
"You only see him at the house. I don't want you coming to my apartment." Ian had been expecting that. 'No men in the apartment' had been her rule as long as he'd known her. She said if she ever had a relationship go south she would always have a safe place to come home to. He'd never even been to her place. She'd always come to his place when they hung out. He imagined she'd only become more unyielding in this particular area since TJ was born.
"I can live with that," he said. From the intel he'd gathered TJ spent more time at the Craftman than his own home anyway, so it wouldn't be a problem.
"The second condition," he asked. Anna sucked in a deep breath and bit her lip.
"You don't tell TJ who you are," she said. "If he asks you're a friend of Don and Charlie's." Ian felt his heart twist a little. He could understand her not wanting TJ to know who he was. It would be extremely confusing for the boy. But it did hurt that Anna wouldn't even acknowledge him as her friend. It made him wonder if he had completely misread what they'd had all those years ago. Is that why she'd run? Is that why she hadn't told him about their child? There would be time to figure all that out later. Right now he had to concentrate on his son.
"All right," he said. It was a bitter victory but Step One was accomplished. Anna nodded and stood up.
"He gets out of school around three, he'll be at my dad's after that," she laid down some money for the coffee and walked away, calling a goodbye to Mabel. Ian sighed. The first battle may be won but it was gonna be a long war.