Charlie IV

Chapter 28

It is one month later

Save for that stupid math class, Kate thought she was doing pretty good. Yes there were tests to take home and work on. Spot tests in class and even some biology tests that were planned and then needed to be prepared for. So far she was all A's. A couple of her teachers used the + or - system to go with the letter grade. And yes, she did have a couple of A-'s. But in her mind she was still an A student. It was just that stupid math class that was giving her trouble.

Kate was down on her knees in her parents' office petting and hugging Charlie when suddenly Rick was standing in front of her. "BABE! Don't take this the wrong way, but what are you doing here?"

"The computers are down. We got hit by a virus so no one in this area is going to get a package delivered or even unloaded from trailers till they're back up again. Everything has to get scanned and put into a computer and since we don't have any no one can work. We all got sent home.

"I don't get paid, but I got the day off and since it's Friday and I don't work weekends, it's basically a three day weekend for me. How was school?" Rick leaned down while she was still petting Charlie and gave her a quick kiss.

"Mostly the same old, same old. Spot test and homework for the weekend." Her life didn't change much. "What's this?" She saw he was holding out a piece of paper that she took and read and had to stop petting Charlie who moved to Rick at first, then over to Jim, and finally to Johanna. Just about everyone in his life was here so he was happy.

"We are pleased to inform you... THREE WEEKS!" Kate jumped up so she could hug him and kiss him soundly. "Where's the check?" She really wanted to see this one. The wedding dresses she had liked were horribly expensive.

"HOLY SHIT!" Rick was ready for her and showed her the deposit receipt since he had already put it in the bank where it belonged. "Mom!" It was enough to buy any wedding dress she wanted from Mimi's.

"I'll get my purse." Jo knew exactly what Katie would want to do with that money.

Charlie didn't much like it but he still had Rick and Jim; now he just needed to find his ball.

"Say goodbye to your money, son," Jim laughed. "I think it just bought Katie a wedding dress."

"Good thing I can rent a tux. This wedding is costing a small fortune." Rick couldn't believe the costs associated with getting married. The venue came with a wedding planner but it didn't come with everything else. Everything else was additional cost.

"Jo and I had to take out a loan. Took us two years to pay it off. The interest only increased the cost. But wait till you see her in that dress and walking down the aisle. The cost suddenly doesn't matter. Only that she's about to be your wife is all that really matters.

"Then you start paying the bills. And speaking of bills, have you thought about where to go for your honeymoon? That's the next big cost," Jim warned him.

"Oh crap!" Rick hadn't even given the honeymoon any consideration at all. He picked up the ball and threw it toward the back door while he brooded over where to take Kate.

"September wedding, so winter honeymoon. What's warm during the winter? I need to find out how much vacation time I'll have." He had two problems to deal with. "Have the books arrived yet?" He had talked with Black Pawn in LA and they were shipping 100 copies of In a Hail of Bullets he could sign and hand out at the wedding.

"Not yet." Jim knew he was having them all sent here. Signature required meant this was the perfect spot.

"No?" He didn't understand that. They said they had the books and would ship them out over a week ago. "Can I use your phone?" Jim pointed at his wife's desk and watched Rick make a phone call. He could only hear this end of it while he threw the tennis ball given that Rick had left Charlie to his own devices.

"And?" Jim watched him hang up and wanted to know what Black Pawn had to say.

"LA ordered the books through the New York Office. Someone in New York canceled the order. So they're going to look into it and get back to me. The LA office didn't have an issue. I've even added my editor in LA to the wedding list. He's already called back saying he and his wife will be there." Rick didn't get it. He really didn't.

[:] o-0-O-0-o [:]

"What do you think, Mom?" Kate was smiling as she spun in front of the three mirrors so she could see herself.

Style 2374 Rosalie Casablanca Bridal. It was a ballgown dress with an intricately beaded illusion bodice accented by sweetheart neckline. The matching straps could be worn one of three ways. Regular, off-shoulder, to completely strapless which was what Kate was presently wearing. It had a built in strapless and backless bra while the midriff was see-through. An ethereal sequined tulle skirt. Silk charmeuse and satin created a perfect comfortable fit. The color was white/white/silver.

"I think it's you, Katie, definitely you. Sweetheart, are you crying already?" If she was she was going to get her started.

"No." Kate was lying through her teeth. She hadn't felt this happy ever. SHE WAS GETTING MARRIED! Then Kate gave herself away by wiping at her tears.

Including tax her dress cost $1,845 and Kate was leaving it behind to have it altered and would pick it up in a week.

The saleswoman had asked Kate how many bridesmaids she had. Kate had to tell her that she didn't have any bridesmaids. Her bridal party was going to be on the small side.

"Never fear. You'll be a beautiful bride." She was happy for her and to have a sale.

[:] o-0-O-0-o [:]

Rick took Charlie and drove home behind Jim. Charlie went rushing inside to try and find Kate. She hadn't come back and he needed to find her.

"So did you find yourself a dress?" Rick asked her. "More important do I have any money left?"

"Yes and yes." Kate glared at him. Her dress hadn't cost that much. Yes it was expensive but she hadn't used up all of his money. "And no, you can't see it. Not till the wedding. Those are the rules." Kate stopped him from asking since he had opened his mouth and then closed it when she said no.

"I bought it but can't see it. There's something seriously wrong with this," Rick grumbled as Kate walked up to him and kissed him in compensation.

"We've gotten our first wedding issue," Rick had to tell her. "LA Black Pawn ordered the books for the wedding gifts to our guests. Someone in New York canceled it so LA is going to look into it."

"Why would New York cancel it?" Kate didn't understand.

"I have no idea. The main office is in New York City. I guess we wait for LA to call back." Rick didn't have anything else. "Email! You can check if we have any voice messages." Rick gave her a quick kiss and went looking for his new laptop.

[:] o-0-O-0-o [:]

Kate found him sitting there typing so she sat down next to him to see what he was doing. He shouldn't be working on his next book already.

"You don't need to send that. Emilia called too. We have three weeks to complete our guest list so she can order the invitations. She'll use that list to order the wedding brunch and give us a final cost for it," Kate told him and watched him delete the email he was typing.

"So what are we missing?" Rick asked her.

Jo came into the room and heard that question. "You need all the blue stuff. Something old, something new, and something borrowed. Aside from that it sounds like everything else will be waiting for you. Jim plans to rent his tux in Reno so I suppose you can get yours at the same time." She sat in her chair. "Have you booked your room in that hotel yet?"

Rick answered that question. "Our wedding planner already did that. We fly in, rent a car, and drive down. Spend the night, get married the next day, spend that night and all the next day, and then fly home."

"Honeymoon?" Jo questioned him.

"DAMN IT!" He kept forgetting that.

"You forgot our honeymoon?" Kate asked.

"I promise I haven't forgotten it. I just haven't booked it. I'm using 4 of my 10 vacation days to get married so that only leaves me 6 days for a honeymoon. Most packages are either 5 or 7 days. I'm still working on it. I just haven't decided where yet and if I can afford it."

"You'll work it out." Kate kissed his cheek. Anything he chose she would love him for it.

They all heard the phone ring all of two rings, telling them that Jim had answered it.

"RICK! It's for you!" Jim yelled. Rick gave the laptop to Kate and went into the kitchen. "It's Black Pawn."

"Hello?" Rick could guess who but one never knew.

"Rick, Peter. New York didn't know who had canceled our request for the books to be shipped to you so we simply reordered them. Give it another 2 weeks and if they don't show up call me again and I'll start yelling instead of asking nicely."

"Thanks, Peter," Rick said gratefully. "We look forward to seeing you and your wife at the wedding."

"I'm looking forward to meeting the woman that captured your heart. Lake Tahoe sounds like the perfect place. Right on the beach. We've already booked our hotel room.

"We and New York have been watching your books' sales. You've proven you were worth taking a chance on. We look forward to book number three in the future. Then we can write up a whole new contract. One that will benefit both of us more.

"Remember, call if they don't show up and say hello to your future wife for me." Peter ended the call.

Rick went back to sit down next to Kate who looked to be poking around in his laptop. "Peter with Black Pawn said hello. He doesn't know why the books were canceled. So he reordered them. If they're not here in 2 weeks call him back. It's only March so we still have lots of time." Rick kissed her cheek. "What are you looking at?" He leaned into her to see.

"HEY!" Rick took the laptop from her. "Our honeymoon location is supposed to be a surprise." He closed it so she couldn't see the screen any longer.

"You do remember I hate surprises," Kate reminded him.

"TOUGH! It's going to be a surprise so get used to it." Rick watched her stick her tongue out at him.

"If you two are going to fight I'm going to go start on dinner." Jo left.

"We're not fighting. We are...fighting." Kate's head dropped down onto her chest.

[:] o-0-O-0-o [:]

One week later

Instead of driving home from school she drove to Mimi's to see if her dress was ready. Since it was she put it on to make sure it had been altered to fit her perfectly. She put her clothes back on and her dress was waiting for her in a fully enclosed bag ready for her to take home.

Except if she took it home where Rick could find it he would take a peek. She needed a place to hide it. "The RV!" That sounded like a good place to hide it and she had a key.

[:] o-0-O-0-o [:]

One week later

Rick drove to Jim and Johanna's office and saw they were busy with a client. He counted that as a good thing. Naturally the client had been petting Charlie till he showed up and that client found out just who Charlie thought was his owner.

Rick saw Jim shake his head and looking around Rick didn't see any pile of boxes. His shoulders dropped and he sighed. He threw the ball for Charlie then sat at Jim's desk and called Peter.

"I swear, Rick, I ordered them myself. They don't have to even print them before sending them. We've sent more books to both of your books signing locations than this. Now I'm angry. Give me an hour and I'll call you at home and send an email explaining what I learn.

"I don't know what's going on, Rick. But it's only March and your wedding is in September so we can fix this. Just leave it to me." Peter hung up and immediately called New York City to find out what the hell was going on.

[:] o-0-O-0-o [:]

Kate walked in the front door since she was late getting home. "I'M HOME AND I'M FREE!" She had finished her spring semester and it was summer vacation though for her she had elected to take a summer class. It was only twice a week so she had time off. However, she was betting her homework would take up some of that time.

GENERAL CHEMISTRY II. It was a prerequisite for Organic Chemistry I and II so it was either take it during summer classes or increase her class load come fall. So summer class it was.

"In the kitchen," Jo called. Kate came in and opened the refrigerator looking for a drink.

"Where are Charlie and Rick?" She saw his truck and Charlie didn't meet her at the front door.

"Rick took Charlie out for a walk. He'll be back. So how was your last class?" Jo inquired.

"My last class till later. I signed up for a summer class. It was that or increase my class load come fall so one summer class twice a week." Learning to be a veterinarian was getting harder.

"What's this?" Jo took the paper Kate was handing her. "Speech, Organic Chemistry I, General Physics I, Humanities, Social Sciences or Fine Arts, Elective." Jo glanced at Katie. "Fall classes, I take it?"

Kate nodded. "Yeah. I may not have a choice this time. Humanities or Social Sciences. As for my elective I'm thinking Microbiology. That class is a requirement for MSU Vet school. Oh and I talked with my counselor after my last class. It's why I'm late. He said that MSU will accept my classes as part of their vet school. So instead of 4 years there I only need to take 2 years. Then I'll get my certificate and be a registered veterinarian."

"Isn't MSU something like 2 or more hours north of here?" Jo queried.

"That's the problem. Jones is easy to get to from here. MSU not so much. I haven't worked out what to do about that yet." Dorm or apartment was all she could think of.

Kate was sitting at the breakfast table when she could hear dog claws on the floor telling her Rick and Charlie were home. She watched as Charlie came charging into the kitchen and headed right for her.

"Hi, Charlie!" Kate petted him, hugged him, and kissed his head.

Rick got a drink, walked over to Kate, and leaned down to kiss her before sitting down just as Jim came down the stairs and joined them.

"One year down and one year to go before MSU classes. I just don't know what to do about those classes. It's too far to drive from here. My little car and I would never make it," Kate told Rick hoping he had an idea.

"That's easy. We rent an apartment just outside of the university. Book number 3 will be out by this Christmas. If it sells well enough I may not need a job with UPS or anywhere else. I'll be able to just sit at home, write, and keep Charlie busy. They have to have hospitals and other places there as well." Rick didn't see the problem. Though it did rely on him being a successful writer and ready for book number 4.

"Really?" Kate was up so she could kiss him.

"I'm not letting you go up there all alone, Kate. I'm not leaving my wife all alone. She might decide to get a boyfriend," Rick teased her.

"RICK!" Kate didn't think that was all that funny so she was up to punch his arm. They weren't even married yet and he was teasing her that she might cheat on him. Like that would ever happen.

[:] o-0-O-0-o [:]

It is now late June 1999

Kate drove to her parents' office after class since Rick should be at work. She could pick up Charlie and take him home with her.

Jim, Johanna, and a new client found out fast that someone was here since Charlie had left them at the conference table and charged the front door.

"Probably our daughter, Katie," Jim mentioned.

Sure enough Kate walked in and got down on her knees to pet, hug, and kiss Charlie. She saw her parents had a client so she left them alone. She did, however, see a nice large pile of boxes off to one side. Looking at one of them showed that it had come from somewhere in New York City.

"About time!" It had taken almost 2 whole months to get books for Rick to sign before their wedding. They still didn't know what the problem was with getting them but at least they were here. So Kate went to her dad's desk and grabbed the scissors. She wanted to see one.

Kate pulled the box open and removed the big piece of paper that covered them. "WHAT THE HELL? DAD!" She forgot that they had a client but soon found Jim standing next to her.

"This isn't In a Hail of Bullets, Dad. Who the hell is Dennis Koone?" Kate demanded.

Jim picked one up and opened it to look it over. "No, it's not. Rick isn't going to be happy about this."

"YOU THINK!" Kate was furious. "Have you got Peter's phone number? I want to talk to him. Make that yell at him!"

Jim gave her the number. "Remember, Katie, he may not even know. They come from New York, not LA."

"Yeah, yeah." She was beyond angry and this Peter was going to learn that she was mad.

[:] o-0-O-0-o [:]

Kate decided to stay and see if Rick would come here instead of going home. The second Charlie went nuts at hearing his truck they all knew Rick was coming here first.

"Babe!" Kate went over to the pile of boxes that held books. Just not his book. They had even opened each and every one of them just to make sure. They had even checked to make sure all of the books were the same book.

"They finally came!" Rick was happy and watched as Kate opened a box and showed him the book on top. "Son of a… That's not my book!" Rick picked it up and opened it. Even the wording inside confirmed that it wasn't one of his books.

"I called Peter for you."

"And?" Rick waited to see what she had learned.

"He said he didn't understand what was going on. He swore up and down that he was very sure they understood what book they were shipping and it wasn't this one. And yes, they have your book in stock waiting to be shipped somewhere," Kate told him.

Rick threw the book back into the box which didn't land properly but he didn't care. "Time to call Peter again."

"He's already called back. And he actually had an answer." Kate had blown her top and thankfully the only ones here were her parents so she had yelled since she was so angry.

Rick waited for it. "This should be good."

"Does the name Gina Cowell remind you of anyone?" Kate asked him since she was ready to rip that woman a new one.

"Gina... Wasn't she some editor for Black Pawn in New York City?" Beyond that he didn't remember much.

"That's the one. Apparently she's behind all this. Peter just didn't know why. So this time he went over her head and they're shipping your book out tomorrow. Someone's going to come get these and take them back.

"Do we have money to fly to New York City? I know of someone I really want to kill." Kate wasn't sure if she was teasing him or not. Maybe she was but it was close.

"Maybe a hit man instead," Rick suggested. He heard Kate laugh followed by kissing him.

"So you don't know this Gina Cowell, son?" Jim questioned him.

Rick shook his head. "Except for that one phone call that I don't really remember, no. No idea. She's in New York City and I send my books to LA, not to her. She's not my editor. I don't even remember why she called in the first place."

"We're lawyers, Rick, and from our perspective she's playing a game," Jo told him. "We're just not sure what her end game is since she's not involved with your books."