Nik's Notes: OK, you get one more - he insisted saying he wanted to leave you with some 'closure' and he won't say another damned thing. Let him know you're thinking about him. I think Monday scares the crap out of him. It does to me.
Anyhow...he's your damned 'closure' courtesy of the scrawny man with the lovely and adorable and sexy and charming and well-hootered Cajun hunnie.
Nikki B
A Slip of the Tongue Chapter 22
Holly and her mother were both crying and hugging when Ben Franklin enveloped both his 'girls' in his famous bear hug. Soon the women calmed down and Ben looked at his wife and motioned towards the house and the man sitting there, petting old Samson.
"He's not a friend, a boyfriend or a damned fiancé. He a new breed of critter. A husband!"
His grin and his words told his wife that whoever the tall man draped across the steps up to the house and petting Samson was, that he'd passed the Franklin Test. And Samson liked him.
"Hey, Holly. Long time – no see. I notice you brought a husband home to visit. You're not in 'trouble' are you?"
"Daddy! We've been married almost 3 ½ years. He was a perfect gentleman and I just couldn't resist those eyes and his personality. He's loving and caring and trusting and…"
"Sounds like a dog to me. Samson likes him. That's an improvement over what's his name. Dog absolutely hated that slick metro sexual piece of crap with a passion normally reserved for hating cats."
He saw Libby shake her head quickly and changed the subject. Apparently Bryce Larkin was not only out of the picture but he'd been purged from all memories also. Good. He and Samson were of like mind where that turdball was concerned.
"So David tells me you guys bought a house and live near here. Are we going to see more of you or are you still traveling around the world making money for other people?"
"I still travel some. So does David. We work for the government but we're both in classified sectors now, Daddy, and you know I can't talk about that. That's how we met. Be nice to him, Daddy. He's had some rough times lately and sometimes he zones out and he needs brought back. No big deal. Just annoying as hell."
Libby Franklin was not dumb. Neither was her husband. They both figured their eldest daughter was in the intelligence business – and she as much as confirmed it when she brought home that slick piece of work Larkin.
Libby had seen right through him. He was a narcissist and a probable sociopath but was perfect for the intelligence business. He was also the exact opposite of her daughter but he'd already begun molding her into his image of the perfect wife.
"Mom, you have to come meet David. He probably knows we're talking about him. He's not paranoid like the other one. We bought a house and I'm so damned happy. He insisted we come visit the minute I told him we were only 40 miles away from the 'ancestral home'. He wanted to stay at a motel and give me time to reconnect but it wouldn't be the same without him."
They were sitting around the kitchen table drinking coffee and David just sat back and watched his wife open up like a flower. If he thought she got excited when she talked back in Eden, that was nothing compared to how she was so open with her parents.
"You're not saying much, David. So tell us about you. Your parents must be very proud of you."
Libby was fishing. He was quiet and observant and offered comments where appropriate but she couldn't shake the feeling that behind that calm exterior was an analytical mind that examined everything it encountered, looking for surprises.
"Parents? Oh, yeah. Well, let's see. My mother left us on Mother's Day when I was 14 or so and hasn't been heard of or seen since. My dad sort of lost his bearings and one day he never came back. I don't know whether they were proud or not. I don't remember much about them, really. My mother was a med student at UCLA and my dad taught and did some kind of research at USC. I survived OK, went to Stanford and then found a job and met Holly and things have been great ever since."
Holly reached under the table and squeezed his hand. They'd never really discussed his folks and she was surprised at how much he said in so few words.
There were a few awkward glances between her parents and then the table burst into conversation as each sought out new and 'safe' subjects to discuss.
Their phone rang and Libby jumped up to answer it, glad for an excuse to step out of the kitchen and gather her thoughts.
Holly and David looked to be very happy together and they seemed to read each other's minds at times. She always took this to be a sign of a deep love and commitment and concern for the other partner. She felt very comfortable with her daughter's husband even if he felt awkward around them.
"Well, that was the younger daughter. She's coming by for the weekend. Holly, she's going to pester the hell out of you for all the details but please be patient with her. Her own relationships have all ended badly. Be nice to her - for me?"
"Mom, I'm not the one who creates the problems. She's always been the instigator. I promise to be extra nice. Besides, maybe we'll be able to spend time together now that we're located so close and get better at dealing with each other. What's she doing nowadays?"
"She works at that Black Cube at Fort Meade. She's a project manager for some hush-hush project and she's been spending a lot of time developing an upgrade. I don't know how she ended up working for the NSA. She was a international relations major, not a computer geek."
Holly suddenly became very interested in the tabletop and David knew she was surprised and probably upset that her sister worked for the NSA. This could be an interesting development.
'I wonder if Beckman knows that Holly's sister works for her? I'd better ask to avoid any surprises. I can't believe she didn't say something.'
He looked over and saw how pale she'd gotten and how her palm was sweating in his. He gave her hand a squeeze and shot her the special smile he used to sport when she'd stroll into the Buymore in her Weinerlicious get-up.
Chuck went out to the car and brought in the bag that she'd packed. He hadn't planned on spending more than a day here but he didn't want to rush Holly's time with her parents. She was really happy and he didn't want to spoil the mood.
She came out on the porch and then took him upstairs and showed him which room was going to be 'theirs' and helped him hang up everything.
"Baby, you were so smooth. My mother loves you and my Dad didn't kill you so I guess I can keep you."
"They caught me off guard with the parental thing. I never thought about it. I hope I didn't make it seem too mysterious. I just laid out the bare bones just like we said if we got into unknown territory."
"I'm going to put on something a lot more appropriate and then help my Dad feed the horses. It'll be my turn in the barrel. He didn't pester me with a thousand questions about you and us and that's not at all like him. What exactly did you say to him?"
"I asked him not to hassle you because you'd had enough crap from your last job and that's why we changed employers and moved here. Oh, by the way, we're not having kids until we can afford them. We 'killed' our savings buying the house, OK?"
She threw her arms around him and knocked them both to the bed. "Oh, David, kids? He asked about grandchildren? Oh, God, he loves you! He told Bryce…" She stopped and looked at him and her eyes filled with tears.
"I'm sorry, baby, but I brought Bryce here once. My parents hated him and that's why I stayed away so long. It was awkward and so I just avoided coming home and facing the Inquisition."
He kissed the tip of her nose and then wiped the tear hanging from her eyelash away with his thumb. "Go change and help the old man feed the stock. How many horses do you have here?"
"We breed and board and we have some rehab projects but I'm not sure. Last time I was here we had almost 80 Arabians of our own but we only keep stallions for stud. The rest we sell. It's a living. There are horses we board for others and some rescue projects."
"Want some help? I can carry bales of hay around for you."
"David, this is a working horse farm, and it's been in the family for generations. We raise thoroughbreds and Arabians. We also stud for other farms and breeders. Almost everything is automated and we don't feed $100,000 horses hay. I'd like some alone-time with my dad. Why don't you go get some coffee, sit out on the porch and just relax for a bit or take a micro-nap? We'll be done before you know it. Please? I want to talk to him about us and about things in general."
"No problem. I'll just walk around and see what's up around here."
"Just watch out for the horse plops. The weekends are the worst since the crew is off. I'll catch up with you when we're through. Thanks for coming with me, baby. I love you."
She kissed him quickly, thought better of it and turned back and kissed him thoroughly.
"That'll hold you for a while." She went into the bathroom to change and then went to the stable office to find her father. Chuck went to get coffee and then walk around a bit.
Heather Franklin's Porsche hit over 80mph on the straightaway on the lane. It wasn't that she was in any hurry to get to her parents. She actually dreaded the time she spent there. It was always full of questions and judgments and those damned comparisons between her and her elder sibling.
'If I just let go of the steering wheel, just let go and close my eyes, the big Elm that begins the arboreal promenade will take care of all my worries.'
She released the wheel, squeezed her eyes tightly shut and leaned her head back against the headrest – and grabbed the wheel, opened her eyes and made the sharp drift turn onto the promenade.
She performed the ritual every time she visited Franklin Farms. This was the closest she'd come to driving through the fence and into the huge Elm.
'Maybe next time.'
She took her foot off the accelerator and braked sharply. It wouldn't do to hit one of the dogs. That would piss off the parental units to the max. She parked in the roundabout beside a nice little sedan. Force of habit made her touch the hood to feel the remaining engine heat and know about how long the driver had been there.
Taking a huge cleansing breath, she nodded to the dogs who maintained their distance, except for Samson who casually ambled over and gave her a sniff and then emptied his bladder against her front tire. She took another breath and trudged up the front steps like the condemned mounting the gallows.
She walked through the house and took in all the familiar and comfortable things that made this 'home' and walked out into the kitchen looking for her mom or dad.
'I wonder who the sedan belongs to? They must be giving a prospect a tour. I need to check on my mare. It's almost to term.'
Checking the time, she decided to check on her mare and walked up the back stairs to the second floor to change into 'horse clothes' before leaving. She unzipped her leather boots and unbuckled the belt on her tight leather pants and slipped into the jeans and work boots with a grateful sigh. She removed her sweater top and pulled on a flannel jac-shirt and went down to snatch some coffee and then check on her mare, Mirabelle.
A tall, well-built man with his back to her was pouring himself a cup of coffee and glanced at her reflection in the cupboard door.
"So that's what a beautiful horse farm worker dresses like? You'd look good in a gunny sack. Nice shirt. I didn't see that in the bag."
She decided to play along. This guy must be Holly's new boyfriend or another fiance or 'friend with benefits'. She walked up behind him and put her arms around his waist and leaned against him.
"I hope that's a cashmere gunny sack you have in mind. I don't like rough things against my skin. You know that."
"Yeah, I remember. Sorry about the whisker burn but I didn't exactly have the chance to shave in Syria while running with the SEALS and you were quite insistent at the airfield but I'm definitely clean-shaven now, Princess."
'Syria? SEALS?'
"I like it when you call me Princess." 'Pump him for more information. Syria?'
He set his coffee cup down and turned around and she was so surprised that she kept her arms around him. He leaned down and caught her mouth in a kiss that held such tender promise that she felt tears building behind her closed eyelids.
"Holly, if I ever forget to tell you, you'll always be the most beautiful woman in the world to me and – and I love you." He looked into her eyes, startled for a moment at the tears and brought his hand to her cheek and caressed it.
"Babe, what's wrong? Why the tears?"
"That was beautiful compliment and I think that deserves another kiss." She wanted one more kiss before she explained who she was. Just one more. His tongue gently caressed her lips and she sucked it into her mouth thoroughly enjoying the feelings and sensations this stranger was eliciting.
"Heather Franklin! – What the hell are you doing to my husband?"
Heather broke the kiss and stepped back as far as she could. He still had his arms loosely around her waist. She noted the shocked look of hurt and surprise when he looked at her.
He stepped back against the counter and looked at Holly and then back at her several times before saying, "Twins? You didn't tell me your sister was your identical twin! You said she was your younger sister! What the hell, indeed! Explain this to me, Holly!" His voice was ragged and he was pissed!
"David, she is my younger sister – "
"By eight damned minutes, Holly, eight minutes!" Heather hated being reminded she was the baby of the family.
"And we're not identical – she has moles on her ass cheek – big ones, black ones, and they have hair growing out of them!" Holly was quick to point out their differences.
"I had them removed when I was 13, Holly, remember? At least I didn't need braces! Snaggle-toothed brat. Had to wear braces for how long?"
Her parents came into the kitchen and stood in the doorway to the kitchen listening and fighting off grins. Heather had pulled her 'substitution trick' on David but it looked like it had gotten out of hand judging by the look on Holly's face.
David eased himself away from Heather and stood between the feuding sisters, looking at Holly with a worried look on his face.
"I think it was supposed to be a joke, baby, and I fell for it until I realized that I didn't feel anything for her. I knew on the second kiss that it wasn't you. I always get this funny feeling in my stomach when we kiss and it wasn't there with her. See?"
He pulled her into a soul-scorching kiss that left him with the 'tingling' he hadn't felt when he kissed her sister. She moaned into his mouth but broke off the kiss when she remembered that they had quite the audience. Oh, how he'd pay for that stunt. She tried not to grin.
Heather felt something she'd never experienced before – mature jealousy. She spat out, "It's probably nausea. She makes everyone sick with her – "
"Enough. My God, you two picked up almost exactly where you left off. Heather, apologize to your sister and your brother-in-law, David. Holly, give your sister a hug and tell her you love her. Make it right, girls."
Libby had twenty-some years of experience dealing with these two. Sometimes she wished she'd written down what she'd said or done when they were growing up. She could live on the profits of the book she'd have written.
It had taken all his courage to tell her he loved her. He still had issues to overcome but he worked up the nerve and – it was her sister!
A/N: Well into the Renaissance. Rebirth – but of what?