Chapter Thirteen

Walking toward Drew, James, and Amelia was a man they recognized but almost didn't. His hair was lighter on top, cut messy and brushed up with short sides, stubble of a beard on his face. He wore dark jeans and a grey v-neck t-shirt, giving him a handsome look.

"Frank?" Amelia asked as he walked up to them. He smiled broadly and hugged her.

"What do you think?" Frank asked. He laughed when he saw the shocked stares of Drew and James. He knew then and there that he accomplished what he set out to do. Not even his own brother would recognize him unless Joe looked closely.

"Woah," Drew said, breaking into a smile. "I had to do a double take man! Looking good!"

"Thanks!" Frank replied with a proud smile. He was ready for the next step though he wondered what was taking Nancy so long. Holding out his arm to Amelia, Frank asked, "Shall we go back in and wait for Nancy?"

"Let's!" Amelia smiled taking his arm.

"Well, I guess you can't be too mad at him anymore, huh James?" asked Drew, following Frank and Amelia. James was still angry about being left behind but the outcome of Frank's plan completely took him by surprise. They all trudged back into the lobby of the spa, finding an empty couch and chairs to wait on.

An hour later, after Frank and James duked it out a little and reconciled, they were all still waiting on Nancy. People came and went out of the lobby, either to go upstairs or outside. Frank was starting to get a little impatient when something caught his eye. All he saw were a pair of legs walking slowly down the staircase toward him. Sure, there were beautiful women all around the spa but Frank literally couldn't take his eyes off of these particular legs nor go any higher to see her face. He did know that the woman who owned the legs was wearing a yellow dress that fluttered as she strutted by, carrying a bag similar to his own. James and Drew took notice as well while Amelia rolled her eyes at them. All three men leaned over to watch the woman walk away, long auburn hair flowing down her back in lose curls. When the woman rounded the corner, Frank leaned back in the chair. He felt certain he knew the woman from somewhere but couldn't place her. Frank noticed Amelia was hiding some amusement behind her hand and was about to say something when he felt two hands slither their way down his chest, a sensual, sexy voice in his ear.

"My, don't you look handsome today." Frank quickly got up, not knowing who was touching him. A familiar laugh rang through the lobby and he turned around, his jaw dropping slightly. Leaning on the chair in front of him, smirking, was the same beauty who just walked by, her legs dangling over the edge of the chair.

"I was wondering if I could fool the great Frank Hardy and I think I did a pretty good job of doing that!" laughed Nancy. Amelia started laughing at Frank's reaction, along with the embarrassment written across Drew and James' faces. Nancy's hair was now a perfect auburn color which really flattered her. Her skin was bronzed a little going well with the yellow drew she wore. She pulled out her wrist brace from the bag she carried and put it back on. "That was fun! I don't know about you guys but I'm hungry!"

"I'm game!" cried Amelia, rising from her chair quickly. The three men were left in shock as the two women walked arm-in-arm out the door. Grabbing his bags, Frank hurried to follow them with James and Drew scrambling behind.

Thirty minutes later, all five of them were sitting at the table in a nice restaurant. For once Frank felt he could be out in the open without looking over his shoulder. He kept stealing looks at Nancy who decided to sit away from him between Drew and Amelia.

"Is she mad at you or something?" James asked, leaving over.

"I don't see how that is any of your business, James," Frank replied, rudely, not looking at him.

"Just an observation, that's all. Don't mind me." James took a few more bites of his sandwich before he looked over at Frank again. "She wants to talk, you know."

"I know she does," Frank replied. "So do I but I don't see a time when we can though. I was ready to talk last night but the whole thing with the broadcast and then she fell asleep, it kind of got sideswiped."

"Excuses, excuses," James replied. "You had your chance numerous times before too. By the way, why did you bring Amelia with you today? All she did was wait."

"I wanted her to get a change too but she refused," Frank answered. He took a bite of his own sandwich and looked over at Nancy still talking to Amelia. "Besides, she knew where the boat was and how to use it."

"And you don't?" James raised an eyebrow as Frank glared at him. "That's a bunch of bull and you know it."

"What do you know?" he hissed.

"I know that you want to talk to the woman you love but you're afraid of her reaction." Frank's expression softened a bit, his face turning pink a little. "You know it to be true, Frank. I regret all the things I did in the past but most especially what I did to Nancy's mother. She was the love of my life and I took her for granted. Look what happened. Nancy could easily have been my daughter and my own blindness and thirst for vengeance brought you to where you are now. She is an amazing woman and I know you see that but your fears are getting the better of you. This is the moment that you need to ask yourself: Is she worth it?"

Frank was silent for a few moments, looking at James. His face was filled with turmoil, wondering how he was going to tell her. He gazed over at Nancy, her smile lighting up the room. Frank felt a kind of déjà vu as if he had the conversation before, just not with James. Although her hair was different, Nancy was still the same confident woman he had fallen for.

"She's worth it," Frank replied softly, looking back at James. "But I don't know how to say it."

"How about this: I take Drew and Amelia back with me on the boat while you take the car. We'll meet you back at the house." James raised his eyebrows and waited for him to answer.

"You'd do that?"

"Absolutely. As I told Nancy last night, I want to help and this is my way of helping. In fact, why don't you just take the boat, as long as you can handle it on your own, of course?"

"Yeah, I think I can," Frank said. "I guess you're right. I did bring Amelia out of fear. She was just more of a comfort than anything and I think it upset Nancy a little. It might be why she's ignoring me."

"Glad to hear that you're finally thinking it through," James said, patting his back. Although he felt Frank may be lying a little about handling the boat, James gave instructions to him anyway and directions on how to get back to the island. "I guess we'll see you tonight?"

"I guess so." Frank couldn't believe that he was actually starting to trust James after everything he did in Chicago but he knew the man to was trying to help. He saw it in his eyes. "Thank you."

"Anytime."

The rest of lunch was quiet for Frank as he kept glancing at Nancy though she continued to ignore him. Once lunch was paid for, they all piled into the Land Rover and headed for the marina. Taking their bags out of the trunk, Frank guided Nancy to the boat as James held Amelia back when she tried to follow and shook his head. When the two disappeared below deck, Drew drove off with James and Amelia to catch the next ferry to Milos.

"Where'd they go?" Nancy asked when she came back on deck. She expected to see at least Amelia waiting on the dock but it was empty and the Land Rover was gone.

"I don't know," Frank said, acting ignorant. "I guess it's just you and me then. You ready?"

"I guess," Nancy replied, sitting down on the forward deck. She took off her heals and gazed out onto the blue sea, trying her best to avoid Frank. Although she felt like a new woman with her change in hair and wardrobe, there was still something missing.

Frank remained silent for a time, keeping his eye on the horizon and trying to remember the directions James gave him to get back to Milos. It would be his luck if he got lost and probably would only make Nancy even madder at him. Once he got the hang of the boat, Frank let it glide for a while and went to sit next to Nancy.

"Since when do you know how to sail a boat?" she asked, still looking out at the water.

"Since never," Frank laughed. "I kind of lied to James about being able to handle it but I'm getting there."

"Ah ha! So you did know they were going to leave!" Nancy pointed her manicured finger at him. He lied to her again but she couldn't be mad at him since they were finally alone for the first time in months.

Frank glanced at Nancy for a moment and his future passed before his eyes. Through all the years they have known each other, solving cases, going through hard times together, this was the moment he truly realized how he felt about her. He kept hearing Joe's voice in his head screaming "Tell her!" but the words wouldn't come out of his mouth no matter how hard he tried. Nancy caught him staring at her out of the corner of her eye, seeing the struggle going on with him. She smiled, a small laugh escaping her.

"What?" Frank asked, looking back at the sea.

"Why are we here?"

"You know why," Frank stated, a little lost on the question. "Powers…"

"No, why are we here? Now." Nancy looked over at him, waiting. Frank gave her a blank look, not knowing how to answer her. When he didn't say anything, Nancy got up and started to walk away. "Typical. You still can't talk to me, Frank Hardy! After seven months of being on the road, you still can't bring yourself to speak what's on your mind! I'll be below whenever you're ready!"

"Wait! Don't go!" Frank grabbed her hand to stop her. He stood up to face her. "I do have something to say."

"Then say it and stop beating around the bush!"

"I…I…Why are you always so angry with me?" Frank blurted out. Nancy's face went beet red with anger.

"That's what you wanted to talk to me about?" she cried. Her eyes were starting to well up with tears as she was finally able to release the pent up frustration for real. "About why I'm mad at you all the time? Seriously? Oh, my god! You are the most stubborn man I have ever met! Fine! I'll tell you! You have kept me out of the loop on all your plans since the moment we left River Heights including one where you had Kyla keep an eye on our families to make sure they didn't come to Europe. Who does that? You put your confidence in Amelia and Kyla but you don't come to me at all! Then there's the fact that you decided to drag me along, saying Powers was a bad man out to get us, which now that I've met him, I totally agree. But that's not the point! You made that decision, not us! Finally, you didn't go back for Joe! He could have been killed, or your parents, or my dad! And you knew that but you still left! The constant moving around when we got to Europe was annoying too! When will this stop? I spilled all of this before while you slept and you didn't hear me! Now that you're okay, you need to hear it!"

Frank gaped at her in shock. Nancy's pristine makeup was unraveling with tears but it made her more beautiful to him. He knew she said this before and he heard the anguish that she held for him. He would always listen.

"Nancy, I did hear you," Frank finally said. "If you weren't constantly talking to me, I wouldn't be here! I wouldn't have come back! You were my reason to live! Yes, I decided to leave home because of Powers and you came too! I asked you to trust me and you did. As for Joe, I regret that decision every damn day but I know it was the right choice. I was afraid! Afraid that someone knew the right thing to say and we would have killed our families without so much as batting an eye! I was protecting them just as much as I was protecting you!"

"But, why didn't you just come out and say that?"

"Because I didn't want you to think of me as a coward or less than what I was.

"Frank, I never would have thought that and you know it." Nancy wiped her face with her hand. "I want to be a part of everything! Stop keeping me out! This is why I've been so angry and picking fights with you! You don't let me in!"

Frank looked at her and stumbled with his words. He didn't know what to say. He could see the fire burning in her eyes and knew she finally said what she wanted to say to him yet he still struggled with his own words.

"Nancy, I…" Frank stopped himself and realized what he had to do. There were no words he could say. He grabbed her by the waist, leaned in and kissed her passionately, taking Nancy by surprise. When Frank let go, she stood there swaying, blinking quickly as if she didn't know what happened. Suddenly, her hand whipped out and she slapped him hard across the face.

"Ow! What was that for?" he cried, rubbing his burning cheek.

"For not doing that sooner!" Nancy pulled him toward her, planting another kiss on the lips, this time taking him by surprise. They stood there for a while in each other's arms, the world seemingly dissolving around them. They finally felt free but the burden was still there. Nancy remembered what Ned's mother told her before leaving River Heights and this time, she wasn't going to let this love get away.