Chapter 11:

San Antonio One week later

It was an incredibly warm day for October. Josie stood behind the counter staring at the faded red booths, waiting for the end of her shift and the chance to spend the night with Teddy again. She smiled at the thought of him. She was completely in love with the man. The door swung open and in walked a young couple with a baby boy. She could see herself and Teddy in that couple. So loving and attentive with each other. And the baby boy was so adorable. She grabbed a couple of menus and walked over to the table

It had been a week since they had arrived in San Antonio and Keleigh, John, Aiden, Kofi and Eve were having a great time on their vacation. They had been sight seeing and done a lot of touristy things. Keleigh had really enjoyed herself and this vacation had brought her and John closer. She was glad that Kofi and Eve had decided to join them . After all that Kofi had done to help clear John's name, she considered him family.

"What can I get you folks?" she asked smiling. The lady looked up at her and returned the smile before returning her attention to the smiling baby boy in the stroller beside her. The man looked over the menu and made his decision.

"I would like a Philly Cheese Steak Sandwich and fries and sweet tea." Josie wrote the order down and took the menu.

"I will have a Caesar salad and sweet tea and can I get some baked apples for my son and maybe some milk?" Josie nodded and took the menu from the lady and proceeded to the window to place it. She walked back over to the table with the glasses of tea and the milk.

"Your son is absolutely adorable." She said. Keleigh smiled up at her.

"Thank you."

The door swung open again and Kofi walked in and up to the table John and Keleigh occupied. He sat down and ordered the same as John. Josie walked away and returned a few minutes later with another glass of sweet tea.

"So John, I have to go meet up with Gail after lunch. You want to come?" he said. John looked at Kofi and nodded. They had decided the day before to tell Keleigh that Kofi was meeting up with an old FBI friend who had asked to meet John too.

"Is that ok with you Keleigh?"

"Sure. Aiden and I will head out and see the sights. We will meet you guys back at the hotel for dinner later. Kofi I meant to ask you if Eve would be joining us?"

"She actually called me just a second ago and she will be here soon." Jerry made a special request to have Kofi's girlfriend join them in San Antonio to make the vacation guise seem a little more real. He hated lying to his daughter. She had dealt with that enough in her life but if they could catch Chris and make him pay for all the destruction he had caused, it would all be worth it. Eve walked through the door and walked over to the table to join her friends. She knew it was her job to watch out after Keleigh and keep her away from danger. Stephanie had made her promise to keep Keleigh and Aiden out of harms way and to watch out for John and Kofi.

"Sorry I'm late baby. I couldn't seem to drag myself out of bed this morning." Eve said giving Kofi a kiss on the cheek. Keleigh smirked over at her friends. She was happy that Kofi had found someone to love him as much as she loved John. She could see it in the way they acted together. It reminded her so much of how she and John had been at the beginning of their relationship and how she and Randy had always been. Her heart felt a little pang of guilt at the thought. She loved John with all her heart and she could never picture her life without him but a part of her died the day she had heard the news report of Randy's death.

Josie brought the order back and took Eve's order. Love seemed to be in the air. The door to the diner opened again and in walked the last person she wanted to see. Mike walked in and sauntered up to the counter and sat down. Josie rolled her eyes when he smiled and winked at her.

"What can I do for you ?" Josie asked.

"How about a date?" Mike asked

"What's your second choice?"

"Oh come on Josie…..when are you going to quit messing around with that boyfriend of yours and be my girl?"

"When purple elephants fly out of my butt. If you're going to order something order. If not then leave before I tell Keith that you were being creepy again." Mike slammed the menu down and looked at Josie, his blue eyes blazing. This was the last straw. She had turned him down for the last time. He got up from the stool and looked at her. A smirked crossed his face and he leaned in, his lips a few inches from her ear.

"You have no idea what a mistake you just made." He whispered. He took in a deep breath and inhaled the scent of her coconut shampoo before walking out. Josie shuddered at his words and made a mental note to tell both Teddy and Keith about her unpleasant encounter with Mike.

Randy stood by a side window and looked inside at the four people laughing and smiling together at the table. It was almost like he had dreamed her into being there. As if he had wished enough for God to cut him a break. But John and Kofi were there too and they all thought he was dead. There were other questions too. Fear flooded through him that Batista was having them followed but seeing her again, he knew he had to talk to her Would she accept that fact that he was alive and had lied to her? He sighed to himself and ran his hands over his nearly bald head. He had to explain to her why he had to make her believe that he was dead. She was as beautiful as he remembered her. Absolutely flawless. But they had both moved on. He hid further in the corner as Mike stormed out of the diner and got in his car slamming the door. He would have to have a talk with him about his treatment of Josie. She was a sweet kid who was obviously in love with Teddy. He saw John, Kofi and Eve leave. Keleigh continued to sit at the table with Aiden a little longer before she got up and walked out to her car. She strapped Aiden in his car seat and was about to get in the drivers seat when Randy called her name before he could stop himself.

She stopped dead in her tracks, her heart racing. That voice was unmistakable. It had been burned into her mind since she was a child. But it couldn't be him. He was dead. A painful fact that she had lived with for going on a year now. She shifted her purse nervously on her shoulder and took a deep breath. Keleigh turned around slowly almost as afraid she would see Randy standing behind her as that she wouldn't. Her hand flew to her mouth and tears pooled in her eyes as she looked at him. He gave her a half hearted smile and stepped toward her a little. He quickly grabbed a pen out of his pocket and wrote his number down for her before shoving it in her hand. A million emotions ran through her as she looked at the number scribbled on her hand in his handwriting. She wanted to slap him across the face and hug him, holding on for dear life in the process. He could see the questions and emotions swirling in her eyes and sighed to himself again. He had never meant to hurt her but she stood here in front of him clearly beside herself with grief, hurt and anger in her eyes.

"I don't have time to explain everything right now. Text me and I will give you the details of where to meet me. I will explain it all then." He gave her a kiss on the cheek and quickly walked away. He sighed to himself as he disappeared around the corner. He had to come clean with her. He had to tell her the truth. If he was ever going to move on with his life completely and be a truly loving husband and father, he needed some closure. If the look on her face was any indication, so did she.