Chapter 2
"You told her what?" Rick stared at Laurie as she stood by the kitchen table. "I told Robin what Grandmother said, because she was saying she wished she could talk to her just once. I wanted to let her know she wasn't alone, Rick, that Casey cared about her just as much as Robbie or any of us. She was surprised, yes, that Grandmother picked up on her feelings." Laurie said, then added," she wants to get through this herself. I just reminded her we
were here in case she wanted to talk, that she wasn't isolated."
"Laurie, you should have talked about this with me first, I mean, your grandmother can't have meant for Robin to know what's going to happen." Rick said, irritated. Surprised at her husband's reaction, Laurie tried to explain, "Darling, I know we always work together when the kids have problems, but this time I thought..." "Wait a minute, did you also tell her what I said about maybe keeping her too isolated? That was just between us, Laurie, I can't believe you would do that!", he interrupted angrily.
"No, Rick, I didn't, I just told her", she paused, seeing he wasn't listening but grabbing his thermos and starting toward the front door.
"Rick, please listen to me, please," Laurie pleaded, then catching up with his long stride reached out and took his free hand. He stopped to look her in the eye as she told him, "I didn't repeat what you said, Rick, please believe me. I only said that if she needed to talk, not to be too grownup to come to us. I've never lied to you, darling, I'll never will." she told him, upset he would even think she wouldn't be truthful.
Her husband gazed at her, then took a deep breath. "All right, Laurie, I believe you. I'm not happy though, we need to talk about this. I've got to go to the office now, I'll call you later." Laurie put her arms around him, saying, "I'm sorry you're upset, please be careful driving, Rick." Feeling his exasperation disappear, he hugged her, "Ok, darlin', I'll talk to you later." Releasing her, he grabbed his hat and went out the door. Going to the truck, he climbed in and turned the motor over. Pulling out, he glanced back and saw her in the doorway, saying, "I love you."
His heart melted. What the heck, he thought, stopping the vehicle and getting back out. Walking back to his wife, he picked her up and kissed her. "I love you too, my sweetheart. I'll never leave you angry." he whispered. "You break my heart, my darling, I'm sorry, I promise never, ever to leave you out of the loop again," she replied, tears in her eyes.
Moved, Rick hugged her then went to his truck and took off, as Laurie waved until his truck disappeared around the bend.
Getting to the office a few minutes late, Rick found A.J. at his desk, frowning at some paperwork and eating a breakfast sandwich.
"Morning, A.J., sorry I'm late." he apologized, setting his thermos down and taking off his hat. His brother looked up, a worried expression on his face that changed to a grin. "It's ok, Rick, I know why, at least!"
Puzzled, Rick glanced back at him, then caught a glimpse of himself with lipstick all over his face in the mirror A.J. held up.
"Ah, yeah, Laurie and I had a little disagreement, but we, uh made up.", he turned red then drained the remainder of his coffee.
A.J. shook his head, "A disagreement, yeah right, you two have had 2 arguments in the 11 years you've been together, what happened?"
Knowing that A.J. already knew what Grandmother Casey had said at Thanksgiving, Rick told his brother about his words with Laurie that morning. As he got to the part where he thought Laurie had repeated his words to Robin, he realized how stupid he sounded. A.J. waited until he finished, then laid into him. "Of all the dumb things to accuse Laurie of, Rick, you know she'd never pull anything like that. I know she should have spoken to you first, but I think you overreacted. It's a good thing you kissed and made up, otherwise I'd send you home!"
Rick heaved a sigh, "I almost didn't, little brother, but I once swore I'd never leave any of you on an angry word. When I saw her in the doorway, I couldn't help myself; she was saying, "I love you". A.J. smiled, "At least you had the sense to go back! Now here," he handed Rick a Kleenex. "Before any of our clients get here, they might get the wrong idea about our "professional service." Laughing, his older brother wiped the telltale prints off his face. As they settled back to work, A.J. filled him in on their clients for the day, then pulling out a flagged file, warned Rick, "this one is a bad one, I'm afraid we may have a problem with this."
"What is it?" Rick took it from him, then made a face. "Oh great, Mrs. Reynolds. What's she after this time?" "The usual, wants access to all her ex-husband's financials, told her she couldn't without his permission. She made a veiled threat that we'd regret "being uncooperative". ", he added.
Rick glanced at his brother, "Is that why you looked so worried when I walked in? A.J., it's ok, she's probably just blowing off steam." The younger Simon exhaled, "I know, Rick, but I still feel something bad about this, would you mind if I had Captain Ron check her out?"
"No problem, I'll call him myself," he offered. Noticing the worry frown lift from A.J.'s forehead, he vowed to call that woman himself, anything to keep his little brother from being afraid for his family.
After a steady stream of clients, the brothers were glad to see noon time come. As they were discussing what to order in, the smell of hot sandwiches came up the stairs. "Anyone for lunch?" a familiar voice sounded at the door.
"There's my favorite Christmas elf, you didn't have to do that!" A.J. teased, as Laurie came in holding a bag of sandwiches. "I know, that's why I did it, Santa was busy so I decided to help him out!" she returned, kissing her brother-in-law and handing him a roast beef.
Rick stood up and embraced his wife, kissing her until she was breathless. "I surrender, darling, here's your lunch," she gasped, handing him the bag. Sitting down, Rick pulled her into his lap, telling her, "My Christmas sweetheart, you give the nicest surprises. What brought you to town?"
"Robin did, my love, she got a call from Ian. I don't know what he said, but she's very excited. I wouldn't be surprised if he joins us for Christmas Eve. Robin had to go to the dean's office for something, but he's picking her up in a few minutes for lunch, then he'll drop her back here so he can head back to Las Vegas for tonight's show." she beamed.
A weight lifted from Rick; maybe, just maybe everything would be all right. "Darlin', I'm happy for her, are you going to stay and eat with us?"
She shook her head, "I want to, Rick, but I'm picking Jaime and Crystal up, We're going to have lunch together while the guys go rabbit hunting. I'll take a kiss for the road, though!"
A.J. pretended to be embarrassed as Rick and Laurie exchanged a long passionate embrace and series of kisses. Finally she stood up, then smiling at her husband, took a hankie and wiped her imprint off his face.
"There, all ready for business, darling!" She put the lipstick stained cloth in his pocket, then picked up her purse and hugged A.J. as Rick told her "Call me when you get home, sweetheart. I'll let you know what Robin has to say when she gets here."
"Ok, see you later guys!", she blew a kiss at each and then clattered down the stairs. Just then the phone rang, and as A.J. answered "Simon and Simon Investigations", Rick went to the window and watched for Laurie to exit the building. Suddenly he heard A.J. yell, "Ian, Ian, calm down, did you call the police?" Whirling around, he saw A.J. look up at him and mouth "Robin, someone grabbed her." Panicked, Rick turned to see where Laurie was, only to see her being dragged into a mini-van. "No! A.J. , call 911, someone's got Laurie!" He bolted out the door and down the stairs, yelling at the Security Guard to follow him. As they approached the door, both men saw the vehicle roar out of the parking lot. As Rick got outside, he saw the van had vanished, then he felt a cold fear from his wife. "Mr. Simon, who took your wife; do you know?" the old guard asked him. Suddenly the words of their client's ex-wife took on a horrifying meaning. "You'll regret being uncooperative."
"You told her what?" Rick stared at Laurie as she stood by the kitchen table. "I told Robin what Grandmother said, because she was saying she wished she could talk to her just once. I wanted to let her know she wasn't alone, Rick, that Casey cared about her just as much as Robbie or any of us. She was surprised, yes, that Grandmother picked up on her feelings." Laurie said, then added," she wants to get through this herself. I just reminded her we
were here in case she wanted to talk, that she wasn't isolated."
"Laurie, you should have talked about this with me first, I mean, your grandmother can't have meant for Robin to know what's going to happen." Rick said, irritated. Surprised at her husband's reaction, Laurie tried to explain, "Darling, I know we always work together when the kids have problems, but this time I thought..." "Wait a minute, did you also tell her what I said about maybe keeping her too isolated? That was just between us, Laurie, I can't believe you would do that!", he interrupted angrily.
"No, Rick, I didn't, I just told her", she paused, seeing he wasn't listening but grabbing his thermos and starting toward the front door.
"Rick, please listen to me, please," Laurie pleaded, then catching up with his long stride reached out and took his free hand. He stopped to look her in the eye as she told him, "I didn't repeat what you said, Rick, please believe me. I only said that if she needed to talk, not to be too grownup to come to us. I've never lied to you, darling, I'll never will." she told him, upset he would even think she wouldn't be truthful.
Her husband gazed at her, then took a deep breath. "All right, Laurie, I believe you. I'm not happy though, we need to talk about this. I've got to go to the office now, I'll call you later." Laurie put her arms around him, saying, "I'm sorry you're upset, please be careful driving, Rick." Feeling his exasperation disappear, he hugged her, "Ok, darlin', I'll talk to you later." Releasing her, he grabbed his hat and went out the door. Going to the truck, he climbed in and turned the motor over. Pulling out, he glanced back and saw her in the doorway, saying, "I love you."
His heart melted. What the heck, he thought, stopping the vehicle and getting back out. Walking back to his wife, he picked her up and kissed her. "I love you too, my sweetheart. I'll never leave you angry." he whispered. "You break my heart, my darling, I'm sorry, I promise never, ever to leave you out of the loop again," she replied, tears in her eyes.
Moved, Rick hugged her then went to his truck and took off, as Laurie waved until his truck disappeared around the bend.
Getting to the office a few minutes late, Rick found A.J. at his desk, frowning at some paperwork and eating a breakfast sandwich.
"Morning, A.J., sorry I'm late." he apologized, setting his thermos down and taking off his hat. His brother looked up, a worried expression on his face that changed to a grin. "It's ok, Rick, I know why, at least!"
Puzzled, Rick glanced back at him, then caught a glimpse of himself with lipstick all over his face in the mirror A.J. held up.
"Ah, yeah, Laurie and I had a little disagreement, but we, uh made up.", he turned red then drained the remainder of his coffee.
A.J. shook his head, "A disagreement, yeah right, you two have had 2 arguments in the 11 years you've been together, what happened?"
Knowing that A.J. already knew what Grandmother Casey had said at Thanksgiving, Rick told his brother about his words with Laurie that morning. As he got to the part where he thought Laurie had repeated his words to Robin, he realized how stupid he sounded. A.J. waited until he finished, then laid into him. "Of all the dumb things to accuse Laurie of, Rick, you know she'd never pull anything like that. I know she should have spoken to you first, but I think you overreacted. It's a good thing you kissed and made up, otherwise I'd send you home!"
Rick heaved a sigh, "I almost didn't, little brother, but I once swore I'd never leave any of you on an angry word. When I saw her in the doorway, I couldn't help myself; she was saying, "I love you". A.J. smiled, "At least you had the sense to go back! Now here," he handed Rick a Kleenex. "Before any of our clients get here, they might get the wrong idea about our "professional service." Laughing, his older brother wiped the telltale prints off his face. As they settled back to work, A.J. filled him in on their clients for the day, then pulling out a flagged file, warned Rick, "this one is a bad one, I'm afraid we may have a problem with this."
"What is it?" Rick took it from him, then made a face. "Oh great, Mrs. Reynolds. What's she after this time?" "The usual, wants access to all her ex-husband's financials, told her she couldn't without his permission. She made a veiled threat that we'd regret "being uncooperative". ", he added.
Rick glanced at his brother, "Is that why you looked so worried when I walked in? A.J., it's ok, she's probably just blowing off steam." The younger Simon exhaled, "I know, Rick, but I still feel something bad about this, would you mind if I had Captain Ron check her out?"
"No problem, I'll call him myself," he offered. Noticing the worry frown lift from A.J.'s forehead, he vowed to call that woman himself, anything to keep his little brother from being afraid for his family.
After a steady stream of clients, the brothers were glad to see noon time come. As they were discussing what to order in, the smell of hot sandwiches came up the stairs. "Anyone for lunch?" a familiar voice sounded at the door.
"There's my favorite Christmas elf, you didn't have to do that!" A.J. teased, as Laurie came in holding a bag of sandwiches. "I know, that's why I did it, Santa was busy so I decided to help him out!" she returned, kissing her brother-in-law and handing him a roast beef.
Rick stood up and embraced his wife, kissing her until she was breathless. "I surrender, darling, here's your lunch," she gasped, handing him the bag. Sitting down, Rick pulled her into his lap, telling her, "My Christmas sweetheart, you give the nicest surprises. What brought you to town?"
"Robin did, my love, she got a call from Ian. I don't know what he said, but she's very excited. I wouldn't be surprised if he joins us for Christmas Eve. Robin had to go to the dean's office for something, but he's picking her up in a few minutes for lunch, then he'll drop her back here so he can head back to Las Vegas for tonight's show." she beamed.
A weight lifted from Rick; maybe, just maybe everything would be all right. "Darlin', I'm happy for her, are you going to stay and eat with us?"
She shook her head, "I want to, Rick, but I'm picking Jaime and Crystal up, We're going to have lunch together while the guys go rabbit hunting. I'll take a kiss for the road, though!"
A.J. pretended to be embarrassed as Rick and Laurie exchanged a long passionate embrace and series of kisses. Finally she stood up, then smiling at her husband, took a hankie and wiped her imprint off his face.
"There, all ready for business, darling!" She put the lipstick stained cloth in his pocket, then picked up her purse and hugged A.J. as Rick told her "Call me when you get home, sweetheart. I'll let you know what Robin has to say when she gets here."
"Ok, see you later guys!", she blew a kiss at each and then clattered down the stairs. Just then the phone rang, and as A.J. answered "Simon and Simon Investigations", Rick went to the window and watched for Laurie to exit the building. Suddenly he heard A.J. yell, "Ian, Ian, calm down, did you call the police?" Whirling around, he saw A.J. look up at him and mouth "Robin, someone grabbed her." Panicked, Rick turned to see where Laurie was, only to see her being dragged into a mini-van. "No! A.J. , call 911, someone's got Laurie!" He bolted out the door and down the stairs, yelling at the Security Guard to follow him. As they approached the door, both men saw the vehicle roar out of the parking lot. As Rick got outside, he saw the van had vanished, then he felt a cold fear from his wife. "Mr. Simon, who took your wife; do you know?" the old guard asked him. Suddenly the words of their client's ex-wife took on a horrifying meaning. "You'll regret being uncooperative."