29; Sweet Fights And Sweet Dreams
After arriving at the scene, Noelle felt like she was walking through quicksand, her heart beating wildly in her chest. She could sense a flurry of activity around her, but she didn't hear any of it, just roaring in her ears as she stared straight ahead at the burned Hummer.
She was knocked off-balance for a moment when a fireman ran past her. He tossed out a quick apology but didn't slow down as he raced closer to the scene. Everyone was running around, all of them had a job to do. To them this was business as usual; just another case, just another crime scene.
"About time, Tinker-Elle. If you had shown up earlier we could have roasted some marshmallows," her co-worker, Will, joked when she came to a stop beside him while he took pictures of the body.
He snapped another picture, then turned his head and saw the concerned look on her face. She had always looked a bit sad when she arrived on a scene- feeling sorry for the victim and what their death would do to their loved ones, but she was usually hopeful as well; hopeful that she would be able to tell their stories and justice would come through in the end.
The look on her face at this scene was something completely different- she looked seconds from falling apart right in front of his eyes.
"Hey, you okay, Noelle?" He lightly touched her arm to get her attention.
Turning to look at him, she blinked her eyes, as if seeing him for the first time standing beside her. She cleared her throat, her voice still sounding low and shaky as she questioned, "ID?"
He nodded his head, knowing she was asking if they had been able to ID the body yet. "Yeah, name's Sylvia Montoya."
Blowing out a breath in relief, Noelle felt tears fill her eyes at the news. It wasn't Linda. The burned remains she was staring at was not Linda.
"Are you sure you're okay?" Will asked again as he watched her take in several deep breaths and try to get control of her emotions. "Did you know her?" He nodded toward the body.
"No, I just…" Releasing another breath, she continued, "I just think it's a horrible way to die."
"Hm," he hummed as he took a few more pictures, trying to get a shot at every angle. He didn't buy the excuse she gave him but decided not to call her on it. "You think these animals were at least 'nice' enough to take her out quickly before they set her ablaze."
"I hope so," she mumbled. Any way the woman was murdered wouldn't have been pleasant, but she was hoping it was quick and she didn't suffer much before she was set on fire.
Hearing chatter behind her about the commissioner, she turned her head to see Frank arriving on the scene. Telling her co-worker she would be back, she began to walk toward Frank and gave him a quick shake of the head when she saw the question in his eyes- which was quickly followed by relief knowing it wasn't Linda in the vehicle.
"Has the female been identified yet?" Frank came to a stop in front of her.
With a nod, Noelle answered, "Her name was Sylvia Montoya."
"Do we have a COD yet?" he questioned, asking about the cause of death.
"I haven't had a chance to really look at the body yet," she admitted. "When I arrived, I mainly just wanted to make sure it wasn't..."
As her voice trailed off, he nodded in understanding, knowing the first thing on her mind was Linda.
Before he could ask her any more questions, they heard another car pull up, followed by the frantic voice of Danny as he spotted them and began to walk toward them. Noelle glanced at Frank for a moment and saw him give her a nod before she rushed past him to meet Danny halfway.
"It's not her, Danny," Noelle announced as she shook her head wildly.
"Are you sure?" He gripped her arms.
"Her name was Sylvia Montoya, Danny. It's not Linda, I promise," she answered, feeling the grip on her arms loosen as his body went limp for a moment at the news.
Taking a step closer to him, she lightly rubbed his back. "It's okay, Danny, just breathe," she softly said.
"You okay?" they heard Frank question as he came up behind them.
"Yeah," Danny breathed out. He gave Noelle's back a quick pat in thanks before walking with his father toward the SUV, he could hear Noelle and his partner Jackie walking along behind them.
"She was Salazar's girlfriend," Danny stated as the small group stood near the burned Hummer. "She's the one that led us to him."
"Poor girl," Noelle softly said, thinking to herself how sad it was that Sylvia was just trying to do the right thing and it got her killed.
Frank nodded his head in agreement. "I'm thinking it wasn't enough for him to kill her lover. He had to see her dead, too."
"Oh, God," Danny groaned. He could remember how scared she was about going against Salazar, but he assured her that he would testify against him and she wouldn't have a reason to be scared of him anymore. Now Sylvia was just another name on the list of people he had failed.
"I'm gonna go talk to the detective in charge and see what they have so far," Jackie volunteered before leaving the group.
"You should go back to the station and get some rest," Frank said to his son.
"I can't think about sleep right now," Danny argued. "I gotta... I need to- I have to do something."
"We're all working on this, Danny." Turning his head to look at him, he added, "You don't have to do everything alone."
Without another word, Frank turned to walk away, leaving Noelle standing alone with Danny. The two were quiet in thought for a moment, until he glanced around taking in all the people busy at work around them, a pained look on his face.
"She's still out there somewhere," he quietly said.
"I know," Noelle said, her tone matching his.
Another moment of silence passed between them until she nodded toward the SUV and said she needed to go back to work. She had only taken a few steps when he called out her name, causing her to turn around to face him.
"Still think I can find her?" he questioned, referring to their last talk when she told him she had no doubt he would find Linda and bring her home.
"With all my heart, Danny," she said honestly, seeing a small smile on his face before she turned to walk away.
•••
It was a couple of hours before Noelle was able to remove the body from the scene to have it shipped to the medical examiner's office, then made her way home for the night.
She let herself in Jamie's apartment and was surprised when two heads popped up from the couch. At this hour she would have thought Jack and Sean would already be asleep.
"Hey, boys, what are you two still doing up?" Noelle ruffled their hair as she walked past them.
"Uncle Jamie said we could watch one more movie," Jack said, not taking his eyes off the television screen
"He did, huh?" She slipped her shoes off and brushed them off to the side. "Where is your uncle Jamie?"
"Kitchen." Sean held up a bowl of popcorn, offering to share with her.
With a shake of the head, she turned down the offer and began to walk toward the kitchen door. She could tell she had shocked the two young boys- it was very rare that she would turn down food, but she couldn't stomach any food after the night she had.
Hearing the door swing open, Jamie glanced over his shoulder assuming it was going to be one of his nephews, but when he noticed it was his girlfriend, he moved the pot off the stove then turned to walk over to her.
He didn't say a word, just opened his arms for her to walk into. She wrapped her arms around his middle and rest her cheek against the soft material of his t-shirt. The room was quiet for a moment until her soft voice broke the silence.
"It wasn't her."
"I know," he said, his tone matching hers as he tightened his hold on her. "I talked to Danny earlier."
Blowing out a breath, she pulled back to look at him. "It was still so awful though. That poor girl- she basically got caught up in all of this. All she did was help Danny get close to Salazar and it got her killed."
"I know," he repeated, not really knowing what to say. There wasn't much that could be said in cases like this that would make things better.
"And as much as I'm glad it wasn't Linda, this just means that she's still out there somewhere," she continued, her tone low so the kids won't overhear.
"I actually had an idea earlier that might could help find her." Jamie took a step back to grab a magazine from the counter, then turned to the page he was reading earlier, he showed it to her. "I was reading this article about Hummers- about how some people completely trick them out. I'm talking bulletproof armor, hidden drop boxes and hydraulic trapdoors. Very high-end stuff."
"Mm-hm." She nodded, glancing over the article while he continued to talk.
"Most of the small body shops, they just build these traps in the natural cavieses of a car, but this kind of work can cost 50 grand," he explained. "So, I looked around and out of all five boroughs, it came back down to one shop. They trick out vehicles for celebrities, rappers, and-"
"Let me guess..." she cut him off as she raised her head to look at him. "And high-end drug dealers."
"Yeah."
"This is really good, honey," she said with a proud smile on her face. "Great detective work."
"Thanks." He smiled at the compliment.
She looked back down at the article for a moment, until a thought hit her, causing her to jerk her head up with wide eyes.
"Oh, my God, you have to tell Danny." He opened his mouth to respond, but she cut him off as she began to ramble, "If he can talk to someone at this shop, maybe they can point him in the right direction of where Linda is-"
"I know, Nol. I know," he cut her off and laid his hands on either side of her face, forcing her to look up at him. "I already talked to him and I made plans with Dad in the morning to tell him too."
"What about your tour tomorrow?"
"I called in sick."
"Oh," she breathed out. "I took the day off too. I mean, I know I need to do Sylvia Montoya's autopsy, as well as, all the others piling up, but it's not going to get us any closer to finding Linda and right now, that's what's more important."
Seeing fresh tears fill her eyes, he softly said her name, causing her to step back from him and turn away. She knew what he wanted to talk about, but she just couldn't do it- which is what she told him. He knew he shouldn't push her, but he also hated to see her holding everything in and shutting down in front of his eyes.
"I've been thinking about it too," Jamie softly said.
"Yeah, well, I've been reliving it," Noelle said back, her tone matching his.
She turned around to face him with silent tears running down her face. "Ever since we sat down with your dad and he told us she's missing, I just- I keep imagining being in that house. I keep remembering all the thoughts running through my head and how hopeless I felt and how-how I never thought I was coming home."
He took a step toward her, then took another one, but it was like she didn't see him as her voice shook with emotion. "I thought I was going to die alone in that basement and I keep thinking what must be going through her head and I don't want that for her, Jamie." She raised her head, seeing a blurry vision of him as more tears filled her eyes. "No one should have to live through that...not her, not me, not-"
"Shh, I know, I know." He took her in his arms and pressed a kiss on the side of her head.
"I hate this, Jamie," her voice muffled against his shirt.
"I hate it too, Nol," he agreed with her as he held her close to him until he felt her pull back.
"I hate how everything takes me back there to that place and any little progress I've made is gone just like that." She snapped her fingers to get her point across. "I hate how weak and helpless I feel and I hate knowing she's feeling that right now and will always feel that. I hate that there is so much meanness in the world and there's nothing I can do about it."
"Hey, listen to me..." He placed his hands on either side of her face and looked into her eyes. "You are not weak and you are not helpless, Nol. And I know in moments like this it is hard to be hopeful, but we're all trying to make this city a safer place. Even you help every time you do an autopsy-"
"But they're still dead, Jamie!" she pointed out. "By the time they get to me, it's too late!"
"But you tell their final stories, Nol, and sometimes that makes all the difference in the world to the ones who lost and loved that person." He wiped fresh tears from under eyes with his thumbs. "Death is inevitable, but it shouldn't stop the living."
She gave him a soft smile, remembering Joe used to say that, then stepped closer to wrap her arms around his middle and held on to him like he was her lifeline, and in a way he was. Anytime things got rough, he was always there to pull her back and keep her grounded. It was like he always knew the right thing to say to make things a little easier.
Jamie silently held her close for a few minutes- something they both needed- before he kissed the side of her head and whispered in her ear, "I love you, Nol."
A genuine smile appeared on her face as she gave his middle a squeeze. "I kind of needed to hear that," she whispered back.
"Good." He smiled. "'Cause I kinda needed to say it."
He kept his arms around her until they heard the kitchen door creak open, causing them both to turn their heads and seeing Jack and Sean walk in with the empty bowl that held the popcorn earlier. Sean sat the bowl on the counter near the sink as his brother turned his attention to his uncle.
"Is it ready yet?"
"Is what ready?" Noelle questioned, turning to look at her boyfriend. She was so out of it when she first walked into the kitchen it didn't even dawn on her that he was making something.
"Uncle Jamie is making hot chocolate," Sean answered.
"Uh, actually..." Jamie's voice trailed off as he turned to look at the pot he had set aside when she walked into the kitchen. Turning back around to the stove, he grabbed the pot. "Just a few minutes, I need to heat it back up."
"Wait!" Noelle threw out a hand to stop him. When he turned to look at her, she tilted her head to the side. "Is that just regular hot chocolate or your mom's world-famous triple hot chocolate?"
"Mom's triple hot chocolate," he answered.
"Honey, you can't heat that back up. It's not as good." She shot him a look, as if he should have known better.
A chuckle escaped his lips. "You always say that, Nol, but it doesn't matter. It'll taste the same." It was an argument the two had often growing up, meaning he knew what she was going to say next.
"And you always say that, but it's not the truth. It does taste different." Seeing him roll his eyes at her statement, she pointed a finger at him. "Even your mom agreed with me. She never reheated any that was left over."
"That's because there was never any left over! You always drank it all," he pointed out, seeing her shrug at the comment.
The two looked at each other for a moment, both trying to hold their ground, but when he saw her lower lip poke out slightly, he sighed and gave in. It was always hard to say no to her when she gave him that look- that look was why he had always followed along with any of her crazy plans or schemes growing up.
"Okay, fine, I'll make a new batch. Grab the chocolate we need." Jamie said to her as he nodded toward the cabinet it was stored in. He turned to look at Jack, who was closest to the refrigerator and asked him to grab the milk and cream he needed.
"What makes this hot chocolate so special?" Sean asked as he watched his uncle pour out the other liquid and start adding in fresh milk and cream to the pot.
"Because your grandma didn't add in just one kind of chocolate," Noelle answered. Walking over to Jamie she sat down the bags of chocolate on the counter beside him, causing him to flash her a smile in thanks. She gave his cheek a quick peck, then turned back to look at Sean. "She added three."
Holding up three fingers, she began to count it off as Jamie said, "Dark chocolate, milk chocolate, and white chocolate."
Walking to the refrigerator, Noelle opened the door and grabbed a can of whipped cream. She shook the can, then tapped Sean's shoulder and motioned for him to open his mouth. After shooting a small amount of whipped cream in his mouth, she added, "Topped with whipped cream and chocolate chips."
"Cool!" Jack exclaimed. "Can I have some too?"
"Of course." Noelle walked over to him and pressed the nozzle to give him a small amount after he tilted his head back and opened his mouth.
"Now Uncle Jamie," Sean said, pointing to his uncle.
"Yeah, if we're doing shots of cream, bring it." He waved her over using the wooden spoon he was stirring with.
"Okay, coming up." She shook the can and walked closer to him.
Coming to a stop beside him, she pressed the nozzle to make some come out. She let out a squeal and jumped back when too much came out at once and missed his mouth, but covered the front of his shirt and counter.
Noelle slapped a hand over her mouth to hold in laughter, which was even more difficult to do when she heard the kids howling with laughter behind her. Grabbing a dish towel hanging from the stove, Jamie wiped the cream off of his mouth and shirt, then shot her a look when a chuckle finally escaped her lips.
"Why do I feel like you did that on purpose?"
"I didn't, I swear!" She held up her hands in surrender even though the can was still in one of her hands.
"Okay, maybe you didn't," he said with a short nod.
Tossing the towel aside, he ran his finger over a glob of cream from the counter then flicked it at her, causing it to splatter on her face and front of her shirt.
Hearing a surprised gasp from her, he flashed her a smile. "But that was on purpose."
"Jamie!" Shooting him a playful glare, she pointed the can toward him and pressed down to purposely cover him with whipped cream, hearing the kids cheering behind her.
He let out a laugh and held up his hands to stop the flow of cream from hitting him, then began to wrestle the can away from her. He was able to turn the can around to point toward her, causing her to let out a squeal of laughter when the cream began to get into her hair and down her arms.
With her hands covered in cream, the can began to slip from her hand and he was able to steal it away from her. Seeing that he had it now, she held up her hands and tried to call for a truce.
"Truce? You want a truce now?" Jamie questioned with raised eyebrows. "Kinda convenient now that I have the can."
"Come on, Jams. You could be the bigger man and just put the can down," Noelle said, keeping her hands up.
"Get her, Uncle Jamie!" Jack called out, followed by his brother yelling out, "Yeah, get her!"
"Hey! Whose side are you on?" Noelle turned her head to look at them. She flicked some cream from her hand toward them, causing them to laugh even harder.
Turning back to look at her boyfriend, she saw that he had the can pointed toward her. She gave him a pout like before and heard him let out a groan.
"No, not fair, Nol. You always do this!" He pointed a finger at her.
"I don't know what you're talking about," she said innocently, taking a step toward him.
"And then you do that." He set the can down on the counter. "You pull me in with the pout and make me feel bad for wanting to retaliate, then you throw out the innocent act to catch me off guard."
"I don't do that." She feigned shock and took another step, coming to a stop in front of him.
"Yes you do," he argued. "Which means you're about to-"
Before he could finish his sentence, her hand shot out to grab the can, but he was faster than her and jerked it off of the counter, giving her a smug laugh.
"Too slow, Nol."
She playfully narrowed her eyes at him, then rubbed her hands together to spread the whipped cream before lightly hitting his cheek to leave a handprint of cream on the side of his face. She let out a loud laugh as his mouth dropped open in surprise.
"She got you good, Uncle Jamie!" Sean laughed as he and his brother continued to watch them.
"What's happening here? I thought you two were on my side?" Jamie asked his nephews.
"I have a proposition for you," Noelle quietly said to Jamie as she leaned closer to him so the boys wouldn't overhear.
"What?" Jamie questioned, his tone matching hers.
She didn't say a word as she motioned between them, then nodded her head toward the two boys standing behind her, suggesting the two of them gang up on the kids. He let out a laugh and nodded his head, then raised a hand, but kept it low so the kids wouldn't see as he counting to three before the two spun around to attack the kids.
Jamie used the can to spray Jack while Noelle wrapped her arms around Sean, causing all the whipped cream from her shirt and arms to get all over him. He laughed and tried to push her away as she rubbed the side of her face against his to spread more of the cream on him.
With everything going on, it felt good to let loose and laugh over something as silly as a whipped cream fight.
After hearing the boys' laughter ringing throughout the kitchen, she could almost forget the scream of sirens when she arrived at the scene earlier.
She stepped back and watched the young boys rolling around on the ground and play fight with the can of whipped cream they stole from Jamie. She could almost forget how hours earlier she was standing in front of a white SUV and looking at the charred remains of an innocent woman who was just trying to do the right thing.
For a moment, she could almost forget that Linda was out there somewhere praying that someone would find her soon and bring her home, just like she had done herself months ago in that house- but only for a moment.
She almost got lost in her negative thoughts until she felt an arm wrap around her waist, followed by Jamie pressing a kiss on the side of her head.
"It's okay, baby. It's going to be okay. I'm right here with you, okay?" he whispered in her ear.
Turning her head to the side to look at him, she gave him a short nod while he wiped away cream and moisture from the tears she had shed. He laid his hands on either side of her face and rested his forehead against hers while the kids still rolled around on the floor playing.
He knew where her mind was wandering off to, but he was determined to keep her in this moment and keep her present with him by doing the only thing he could think of- by giving her comfort and letting her know she wasn't alone. She would never be alone again.
•••
When a stream of sunlight landed on Jamie's face, he let out a groan and threw out an arm to pull Noelle against him to lay on his chest like the way she had fallen asleep on him the night before, but when he felt nothing but a cold space beside him, he opened his eyes to see that he was laying on the makeshift bed alone.
The night before, after cleaning up the mess from the whipped cream fight, everyone changed and drank their hot chocolate. Jamie told the kids to pick out a movie while Noelle suggested they grab all the pillows and blankets they could find to sleep on the living room floor together.
They were only ten minutes into the movie when Jack fell asleep against Jamie's shoulder, while Sean passed out with his head resting on the small of Noelle's back- it was only five more minutes after that when Noelle began to lightly snore on his chest, causing him to smile and let out a content sigh as he pulled her closer to him before closing his eyes to welcome sleep.
A noise from the kitchen brought him out of his thoughts and caused him to stand up from the floor. He let out a moan and stretched out his back, thinking to himself he was getting too old to sleep on the floor, then made his way toward the noise.
Pushing the kitchen door open, he couldn't help but smile when he saw Noelle try to flip a pancake in a pan while Jack and Sean cheered her on. The pancake almost hit the floor until she quickly grabbed it with her fingers and tossed it back into the pan. He heard her let out a hiss and shake her hand as she waited for the pain to pass.
Hearing a chuckle coming from behind, Noelle sat the pan down then quickly spun around and saw Jamie leaning against the doorway watching her with an amused grin on his face.
"How long have you been there?" she questioned, causing the boys to turn to see who she was talking to.
"Long enough to fear that you might burn down my kitchen." He walked into the room and spoke to his nephews when they called out a greeting, then walked over to the stove where she was standing. Pressing a kiss on the side of her head, he added, "Or burn yourself."
"Yeah, I'm a little rusty on my flipping." She laughed and shook her hand again, her fingers still tingling a little.
"You remember what my mom said, right? It's all in the wrist," he reminded her with a smile as he thought of the times his mother let them help her cook brunch on the weekends.
Glancing over his shoulder and seeing his nephews talking to each other, he turned back to look at Noelle and grabbed her hand then brought it up to his lips. He pressed them against the tips of her fingers, causing her mouth to slightly part as she took in a breath.
After feeling his lips against her skin, the tingles in her fingers were quickly forgotten as her whole body began to tingle instead.
He raised her eyes to look at her, keeping her fingers inches from his mouth. As his eyes slammed into hers, she recognized the look on his face- he looked like breakfast was the last thing on his mind, instead, he was craving something else, which caused a fluttering in her stomach. Unfortunately, things like that would have to wait since the kids were in the room with them.
Seeing her bit her bottom lip to hold back a whimper, a smile appeared on his face as he whispered, "Better?"
Nodding her head to answer, she blew out a breath, not trusting herself to speak at the moment.
Taking a step closer and seeing how he was affecting her, he couldn't stop himself from leaning toward her and running his tongue over his bottom lip. He watched her chest rise and fall as her breathing picked up.
Moving toward her ear, he whispered, "Your pancake is burning."
"Hm?" she hummed not able to concentrate on anything but him pressed against her with his hot breath against her skin.
Pulling back, he chuckled as he nodded toward the stove. "I said your pancake is burning."
"Oh!" she exclaimed as she turned her head, finally understanding what he was saying. She softly swore under her breath so the kids wouldn't hear then grabbed the pan from the stove before tossing the burnt food into the trash.
"Here, I'll take over," Jamie offered as he lightly brushed her to the side.
"You don't have to do that. I can cook, you know," Noelle argued.
"Sure you can, Nol," he sarcastically said, turning her around and nudging her toward the end of the counter where Jack and Sean were sitting.
"Hey, I can make some things." She grabbed a plate of bacon on the way, then held out the plate. "I made bacon all by myself with no help."
"Did you fry it or-"
"She used the microwave," Jack spoke up.
"Hey! What happened to not telling Uncle Jamie about the microwave?" Noelle looked over at the young boy. She sat the plate down on the counter in front of the boys, then playfully ruffled Jack's hair before sitting down on the barstool beside him.
"I knew it!" Jamie laughed. Glancing at her from over his shoulder, he pointed the spatula at her. "The only kind of cooking you can do is microwave cooking."
"I can do more than cook in a microwave," she stated.
"Like what? Pour cereal?" he joked.
"I like cereal," Sean said. "I'll eat it all the time if I could."
"Thank you, Sean!" Noelle exclaimed as she looked over Jack's head to shoot him a smile. "See! Cereal can be a meal."
"Says the girl who thinks throwing popcorn in the microwave is cooking." Jamie looked over at her again and saw stick her tongue out at him. He laughed and turned back toward the stove to slip a couple of pancake onto a plate then started on making a couple more.
"I like popcorn too," Sean stated, while his brother chimed in to agree with him.
"Ha! See, in our opinion popcorn is its own food group, so it counts as a meal," Noelle said over to her boyfriend. Turning to look at the boys beside her, she flashed them a smile. "Thanks, boys. I knew you two were my favorite Reagans for a reason."
"Wait, what was that?" Jamie questioned as he turned around with two plates in his hands. He walked over to the trio at the counter and sat one plate in front of Sean, then went to sit the other plate in front of Noelle, but at the last second sat it down in front of Jack.
He turned his head to look at her when she scoffed, then joked, "After a comment like that, you don't get any."
"I thought you said you shouldn't come between Noelle and food?" Jack questioned.
"He shouldn't. You would think he would have learned by now." Noelle playfully glared at him. "This is like the cracker jack's incident all over again."
"What's the cracker jack's incident?" Sean asked.
"Years ago, your uncle Joe took me and your uncle Jamie to a baseball game," Noelle began to explain.
"It was our first baseball game," Jamie added.
"Right, our first one," Noelle said, then got back to the story. "I had a box of cracker jack's that Joe bought me after someone knocked a bag of popcorn out of my hands. I had some left when I went to the bathroom, when I got back the box was empty because your uncle Jamie ate the rest and stole the prize out of it-"
"Allegedly," Jamie cut in. "I allegedly stole it, but you have no proof."
"Did you steal it, Uncle Jamie?" Jack asked.
"Hm," Jamie hummed as he tilted his head up, as if he was deep in thought. After a moment, he dropped his head, a grin on his face. "I plead the fifth."
Noelle let out a groan as she bit into a piece of bacon. "I hate lawyer Jamie," she mumbled.
With a laugh, he turned around to walk back over to the stove and grabbed another plate, then made his way back over to her to set it down in front of her as he shot her a wink.
She gave him a smile, then looked over at the kids beside her. "Sorry boys, Uncle Jamie is my favorite Reagan again."
The small group laughed and then began to silently eat until minutes later once most of the plates were empty. Jamie pushed his plate aside and took a sip of his juice before asking the others what the plan was for the day since he and Noelle took the day off.
"Well..." Noelle laid the fork in her empty plate, then turned to look at Jamie, who was sitting beside her. "Me and the boys were talking about that earlier, and actually we came up with an idea, then voted on it and you lost the vote so we're going with our plan."
"And what is this grand plan?" Jamie grabbed a couple of empty plates and began to walk over to the sink.
"We're gonna grab Daisy and then-"
"We're going to the park!" Sean interrupted his brother, he had a hard time holding in his excitement.
"That's actually a good plan." Jamie nodded. "We can go when I get back."
"Where are you going?" Jack asked.
"I have a quick errand to run," he answered, not wanting to go into details. If he told the boys he was meeting up with Frank, they might want to tag along to see their grandfather, but this wasn't a normal visit. He was meeting with his father to tell him the idea he had about the tricked out Hummers he read about the night before.
"I also thought we could pack a lunch and just make a day of it," Noelle said, bringing the subject back to the plan to distract the kids.
Shooting her a playful grin, Jamie joked, "Or we can buy lunch."
"I can make sandwiches, Jamie." She laughed. "It's not that hard."
"We'll help," Sean offered.
"Now I feel better about it," Jamie teased as he walked around the counter and dropped a kiss on top of Noelle's head.
"Ha ha," she said sarcastically as she playfully pushed him away from her, telling him to get out of here. She heard him laughing as he left the kitchen and called out a bye to the boys.
After hearing the front door close, Noelle stood up and began to grab the rest of the dirty dishes to load in the dishwasher. Turning back around to face the kids, she folded her arms across her chest and flashed them a playful glare.
"What happened to our alliance, boys? I thought we were on the same team now?"
"We are," Sean said as he slid off of the stool. His brother nodded in agreement, then added, "But, we want to eat something more besides cereal and popcorn."
"I can do more than that!" She laughed. Pointing a finger at them, she added, "You two have been around your uncle Jamie too much lately."
For the next few minutes, Noelle finished cleaning up the kitchen, then the three began to grab bread, lunch meat, and other toppings to make sandwiches. She stood back to let the kids make the sandwiches however they wanted to- it wasn't because she couldn't, but because it was a nice distraction for them and it was clear they were having fun inventing new combinations for each one.
While they were busy, she slipped her cell phone from her back pocket to send Danny a quick text, wondering if there was an update on Linda. She stared down at the phone, waiting for a response and minutes later read the text he sent back.
He told her thanks to Jamie's idea, he and Jackie were on their way to the garage to ask some questions. He swore he was leaving that place with an address- it didn't matter what lines he had to cross. He would burn the place to the ground if had to.
She bit her bottom lip as a worried look appeared on her face. As much as she thought it was a good plan, there was also a chance it could backfire. If the wrong people found out Danny was snooping around the shop it could be disastrous for Linda.
She sent him a text back to tell him to be careful, then quickly jerked her head up when Jack called out her name.
"Yeah?"
"Can I ask you a question?" he asked.
"Of course," she answered, worried that he could somehow tell that something was wrong, but his next words surprised the hell out of her.
"When are you and Uncle Jamie getting married?"
"Wh-What?" she breathed out as her eyes widen for a moment.
It's not that she didn't want to marry him, that had been her dream since she was a young girl and fell head over heels in love with her best friend- it was just shocking to hear him ask her that. She couldn't help but wonder where something like that came from.
"I, uh, I don't know. That's something me and your uncle Jamie will have to talk about when the time is right."
"Dad thinks it'll be a few years because Uncle Jamie is slow," Jack said, causing her to chuckle. He wasn't completely wrong- it did take him fifteen years to confess his feelings to her after he kissed her for the first time on her birthday.
"But Mom says she gives it a year because she doesn't think he'll drag his feet this time," Sean pointed out.
"Your parents told you this?" Noelle asked with a confused look on her face. She couldn't imagine them talking about this in front of their kids.
The brothers turned their heads to look at each other, wondering how they should answer the question. Finally, they looked back at her before Jack admitted, "We overheard them talking about it one night when we were supposed to be sleeping."
"They were making a bet," Sean added.
"Of course they were." Noelle laughed.
With a shake of her head, she glanced down at the floor in thought. She really shouldn't have been surprised that they would make a bet on when she and Jamie would marry. She couldn't help but think she hoped Linda will win that bet.
Hearing a small sniffle, she raised her head, a concerned look appeared on her face when she saw tears in Sean's eyes. Taking a step toward him, she questioned, "What's wrong, buddy?"
"I miss Mom," he said, his voice barely above a whisper. "When is she coming home from the spa?" The family had told the boys that Danny had sent Linda to a spa for a few days of relaxation.
"Soon," Noelle softly said, hoping he couldn't hear the emotion in her voice. She gave him a smile, then reached out to pull both boys toward her and hold them close. She dropped a kiss on each of their heads.
"She'll be home soon, I promise," she whispered.
With each hand cradling their heads, she pulled in a shaky breath and tilted her head toward the ceiling to sent out a silent prayer that this was one promise she wouldn't have to break.
•••
A/N; No your eyes are not playing tricks on you lol- I am finally back with a new chapter! I never meant to leave you all hanging for so long, but life just got in the way. Let's just say this year hasn't been too kind to me. Anyways, I'm hoping I haven't lost any of you!
Thanks to everyone reading and/or adding the story. Also big thanks to DaniNatureGirl391, werks, merdarkandtwisty, peace486, lilnightmare17, traceyaudette, jlmayer, Bethers, mcgeeksgirl, Love. Fiction. 2017, Eddie Reagan, xoxo, Guest- Anica, Sweet-Melodee, rocky1234, Sage Londyn, BLBLF, YourRegularBookie and Kylebluebloods2903 for reviewing.
Happy reading!
xx
