Chapter 2
"Who wants more tacos?" Robin called, as her Uncle Oscar put a platter of barbequed fish and shrimp on the buffet. A chorus of voices yelled "Me!" and the chef du jour laughed as her brother added, "I warn you, you're guinea pigs for her new salsa recipe!"
"In that case, I want two tacos!" Rudy grinned, prompting a groan from Steve Austin. "Dr. Wells, any more tacos and you'll turn into a piñata!"
"Rudy, don't mind him, he's only had four!" his wife Jaime said, whacking Steve from behind and hugging their friend. "It's ok, babe, I'll remember that the next time he has to bend over and cough!" Rudy smirked.
Coming into the house with more steaks, Rick smiled as he saw his home full of friends and family. Placing the sizzling meat on a warming dish, he felt an arm come around his shoulder, and he straightened up to hug Cecilia. "This was a wonderful idea, Rick, it's so good to see everyone in one place! Plus I get to see my grandchildren before I leave to visit your Aunt!" she told him. "Thanks, Mom, I'll miss you while you're gone, though I think the Chief might miss you too!" he teased.
"Richard, you stop that! Joe and I are just friends, it's nice to have someone who remembers the same things you do!" she retorted, a blush in her cheeks. "Rick, what do you do to women, first with Laurie then Mom, to make them turn red?" A.J. interrupted, kissing his mother.
"Never you mind, A.J.!" Cecilia laughed, giving her oldest son a warning glance. Just then a golden ball of fur tore through the room, with Laurie in hot pursuit. "Mike, that chicken is not good for you!" she yelled, busting everyone up. Cornering the unashamed dog in the bedroom, she pulled the drumstick from his mouth before he could crunch the bones, then quickly substituted a small piece of steak. "Sit up, Mikey!" she ordered, then gave him the treat.
"Sweetheart, that's not the idea, you don't reward the rascal for taking the chicken!" Rick chided her, then chuckled as the dog leaped into his arms and licked him. "All right, Mike, you're forgiven, now party time is over for you!" he announced, shutting him in the bedroom with his water dish.
Smiling at him, Laurie told him, "Darling, who just rewarded who?"
At that moment Downtown Brown rapped his knife against his glass and the room quieted down.
"Now that I have your attention," he grinned, "I'd like to thank our hosts for their hospitality, for the great food, and for making us part of their family. You invited us to say thanks, it's your friends that need to say thank you, for sharing yourselves with us!
To Rick and Laurie, Robbie and Robin, Bless you!" he finished, then choking up, hugged Rick, then Laurie.
"Oh Towne, now you're going to make me cry!" Laurie told him, once their friends had taken turns embracing them. Waiting until everyone was seated again; she wiped her eyes and smiled. "Now it's my turn to share our thanks. Rick and I thought and thought of how we could show all of you how much you have become family to us. Well, as you know, I ended my contract with Linden House, but I still want to have my grandmother's stories published in some way.
Actually the Chief came to the rescue, we'd often talked about the cultural
center being a learning center as well as a way of preserving our past. Well, starting this fall, we're going to open a publishing company and teach the junior high and high school English classes how to write and publish their own works. That way we give the children of this area another career choice. And the first commercial publication will be a new collection of Grandmothers' stories, from a journal we found when the old shack was excavated and delivered to the back of our barn!"
"So that's what Rick meant, when I asked him why you kept that awful old wreck!" Temple laughed, as Rick rocked back in his chair and snickered. "I told you it was "buried treasure", I just didn't say what kind!"
"Oh, honey, a new book, that's a great idea! Now what are you going to call your company?" Cecilia asked, squeezing her arm.
"Well, I wanted it to represent something very close to my heart, so, I want you all to know that you are the first stockholders in our company!" Laurie said, her voice trembling. Opening the box that sat next to her, she pulled out a bundle of leather embossed envelopes, then gazing at Rick, added "Which is now registered with the state of Arizona as "BraveKnight Press"!"
Rick just stared at his wife, who was going from person to person and handing them their personalized stock portfolio. "Well, look at Pop, I think Mom really surprised him!" Robin giggled.
Finally finding his voice, her husband caught Laurie by the hand as she turned, saying "Darlin', when did you, why you sneaky little..." then stopped as she buried her face in his shoulder. "My sweetheart, I love it and I love you!" he finished, kissing her. "I couldn't help it, Rick, I wanted everyone to know what I've always known, you're my brave knight and I love you!" she told him emotionally, raising her face to kiss him back. Breathless, he put his arms around her and smiled at their guests. " Just when I don't think she can surprise me anymore!"
"I think you just gave your husband another reason to have a swelled head!" A.J. grinned then dodged his brother's headlock.
Following coffee and cake, the party reluctantly broke up, with Temple and Towne taking Cecilia back to San Diego where she was going to fly out the next day for back east. Captain James and Abby had accepted Captain Ron's invitation to stay an extra day in Phoenix, much to Rick and A.J.'s amusement.
Despite their Mom's warning to behave, the brothers insisted on walking the Lt and Coast Guard commander out to their car, resulting in Abby's threatening bodily harm to the guys. "Calm down, Lt, just want to make sure all hands are on deck!" Rick teased, as the Commander flushed. "Don't worry, Abby," Laurie intervened, handing her friend a carefully wrapped container. "They'll learn to be nice when they realize you have the last of Robin's carne asada tacos!" "Ah, sweetie, I knew you were too good for this guy!" Abby smirked, hugging her friend. "That goes for me too, little lady!", Captain James added, then kissed her cheek.
Watching them drive off, A.J. snickered at his brother's crestfallen face. "You believe she'd give away the last of the goodies, I bet she stashed some away for when you're forgiven!"
"What do I get if I did?" Rick felt Laurie whisper in his ear, her arms around his waist. "How about this?" he replied, turning in her embrace and lifting her up in his arms, kissed her passionately on the neck. She sighed, "Back of the fridge, in the green container, darling!"
Steve and Jaime were going to stay with Rudy and Oscar until Monday, so they insisted on sticking around to help clean up. Catching sight of Laurie's "surrender", Steve shook his head, "Remind me to do something bad if that's what you get for punishment!" Jaime raised an eyebrow, then flicking a blob of salsa onto his face, chuckled and said, "There, I've done something bad, what are you going to do about it?"
"Well, first, didn't our mom teach us not to fight with food?" he grinned, then took a finger full of the dip and smeared on her cheek. "I thought you two were going to help clean up?" Oscar intoned behind them.
"We are, first we have to start with us!" Jaime answered with a wink, then followed Steve into the guest bathroom and closed the door.
Just then Robbie caught his father's eye, then started toward his room to fetch his mother's gifts, only to hear a knock on the front door.
Putting his wife down with a groan, Rick went into the living room and caught sight of a familiar car. "Somebody's going to be surprised." he thought.
He instinctively looked through the living room window, then blurted, "what the?" and opened the door to a bruised and battered Ian Whitehorse. "Ian, are you all right, what happened?" he asked, putting an arm around the young man and helping him into the house.
"Mr. Simon, I got beat up. I barely was able to drive here from Vegas. Don't let Robin see me, not yet anyway!" he gasped.
"Who did this to you, let me get Rob, have him fill out a report!" he replied tersely, then felt Ian's hand on his arm. "No, Mr. Simon, I'm ok, just let me rest for a moment. "
Sitting him down, Rick had Robbie go for Rudy, then getting him a glass of water. made him as comfortable as possible.
As Rudy entered the room, Laurie came to see where Rick was, then caught sight of Ian. "Oh, no, honey, what happened!" "I, I got beat up this morning when I went to get my stuff in the locker room. A couple of the guys accused me of careless riding then jumped me. If Sam and Jonathan hadn't stopped them." he winced as Rudy examined his rapidly swelling eye and cheek.
"Son, this is going to hurt, but I have to see if it's broken." the doctor warned, then checked Ian's nose. Breathing a sigh that it wasn't, Rudy finished examining him then persuaded him to lie down on the sofa. "Ian, you need to report this to the Las Vegas police. You have a bruised cheekbone, a black eye, and two cracked ribs; the men who did this could have killed you!" "I agree", Oscar said, coming in the front door. He took one look at Ian's face, then gave a concerned look to Rick.
He shook his head. "No, sir, I'm all right. Mr. Peterson already talked to the guys, they're fired from the show and the video. What ticked me off was claiming that I supposedly cut one of their saddle cinches and rode too close to the other guy! When I denied it to Randy, that's the Black Knight, Scot came at me from behind and knocked me down then kicked me. Randy grabbed me by the hair, that's when Jon and Sam walked in and pulled them off me!" he said, smiling his thanks as Laurie put a cool cloth on his forehead.
"Ian, you should have called us, one of us could have gone to get you!" Rick told him, concerned. The boy shook his head, "No, sir, I had to get here to you as fast as I could. You see," he gulped. "I think someone's out to sabotage the video shoot outside of Flagstaff, I heard someone the other night talking behind the stands about the money they were going to make from the insurance. I didn't know what it meant, but Mr. Peterson told me if the franchise doesn't fulfill its dates, the owners of the Knights franchise will collect over a million dollars on an insurance policy!"
"Who wants more tacos?" Robin called, as her Uncle Oscar put a platter of barbequed fish and shrimp on the buffet. A chorus of voices yelled "Me!" and the chef du jour laughed as her brother added, "I warn you, you're guinea pigs for her new salsa recipe!"
"In that case, I want two tacos!" Rudy grinned, prompting a groan from Steve Austin. "Dr. Wells, any more tacos and you'll turn into a piñata!"
"Rudy, don't mind him, he's only had four!" his wife Jaime said, whacking Steve from behind and hugging their friend. "It's ok, babe, I'll remember that the next time he has to bend over and cough!" Rudy smirked.
Coming into the house with more steaks, Rick smiled as he saw his home full of friends and family. Placing the sizzling meat on a warming dish, he felt an arm come around his shoulder, and he straightened up to hug Cecilia. "This was a wonderful idea, Rick, it's so good to see everyone in one place! Plus I get to see my grandchildren before I leave to visit your Aunt!" she told him. "Thanks, Mom, I'll miss you while you're gone, though I think the Chief might miss you too!" he teased.
"Richard, you stop that! Joe and I are just friends, it's nice to have someone who remembers the same things you do!" she retorted, a blush in her cheeks. "Rick, what do you do to women, first with Laurie then Mom, to make them turn red?" A.J. interrupted, kissing his mother.
"Never you mind, A.J.!" Cecilia laughed, giving her oldest son a warning glance. Just then a golden ball of fur tore through the room, with Laurie in hot pursuit. "Mike, that chicken is not good for you!" she yelled, busting everyone up. Cornering the unashamed dog in the bedroom, she pulled the drumstick from his mouth before he could crunch the bones, then quickly substituted a small piece of steak. "Sit up, Mikey!" she ordered, then gave him the treat.
"Sweetheart, that's not the idea, you don't reward the rascal for taking the chicken!" Rick chided her, then chuckled as the dog leaped into his arms and licked him. "All right, Mike, you're forgiven, now party time is over for you!" he announced, shutting him in the bedroom with his water dish.
Smiling at him, Laurie told him, "Darling, who just rewarded who?"
At that moment Downtown Brown rapped his knife against his glass and the room quieted down.
"Now that I have your attention," he grinned, "I'd like to thank our hosts for their hospitality, for the great food, and for making us part of their family. You invited us to say thanks, it's your friends that need to say thank you, for sharing yourselves with us!
To Rick and Laurie, Robbie and Robin, Bless you!" he finished, then choking up, hugged Rick, then Laurie.
"Oh Towne, now you're going to make me cry!" Laurie told him, once their friends had taken turns embracing them. Waiting until everyone was seated again; she wiped her eyes and smiled. "Now it's my turn to share our thanks. Rick and I thought and thought of how we could show all of you how much you have become family to us. Well, as you know, I ended my contract with Linden House, but I still want to have my grandmother's stories published in some way.
Actually the Chief came to the rescue, we'd often talked about the cultural
center being a learning center as well as a way of preserving our past. Well, starting this fall, we're going to open a publishing company and teach the junior high and high school English classes how to write and publish their own works. That way we give the children of this area another career choice. And the first commercial publication will be a new collection of Grandmothers' stories, from a journal we found when the old shack was excavated and delivered to the back of our barn!"
"So that's what Rick meant, when I asked him why you kept that awful old wreck!" Temple laughed, as Rick rocked back in his chair and snickered. "I told you it was "buried treasure", I just didn't say what kind!"
"Oh, honey, a new book, that's a great idea! Now what are you going to call your company?" Cecilia asked, squeezing her arm.
"Well, I wanted it to represent something very close to my heart, so, I want you all to know that you are the first stockholders in our company!" Laurie said, her voice trembling. Opening the box that sat next to her, she pulled out a bundle of leather embossed envelopes, then gazing at Rick, added "Which is now registered with the state of Arizona as "BraveKnight Press"!"
Rick just stared at his wife, who was going from person to person and handing them their personalized stock portfolio. "Well, look at Pop, I think Mom really surprised him!" Robin giggled.
Finally finding his voice, her husband caught Laurie by the hand as she turned, saying "Darlin', when did you, why you sneaky little..." then stopped as she buried her face in his shoulder. "My sweetheart, I love it and I love you!" he finished, kissing her. "I couldn't help it, Rick, I wanted everyone to know what I've always known, you're my brave knight and I love you!" she told him emotionally, raising her face to kiss him back. Breathless, he put his arms around her and smiled at their guests. " Just when I don't think she can surprise me anymore!"
"I think you just gave your husband another reason to have a swelled head!" A.J. grinned then dodged his brother's headlock.
Following coffee and cake, the party reluctantly broke up, with Temple and Towne taking Cecilia back to San Diego where she was going to fly out the next day for back east. Captain James and Abby had accepted Captain Ron's invitation to stay an extra day in Phoenix, much to Rick and A.J.'s amusement.
Despite their Mom's warning to behave, the brothers insisted on walking the Lt and Coast Guard commander out to their car, resulting in Abby's threatening bodily harm to the guys. "Calm down, Lt, just want to make sure all hands are on deck!" Rick teased, as the Commander flushed. "Don't worry, Abby," Laurie intervened, handing her friend a carefully wrapped container. "They'll learn to be nice when they realize you have the last of Robin's carne asada tacos!" "Ah, sweetie, I knew you were too good for this guy!" Abby smirked, hugging her friend. "That goes for me too, little lady!", Captain James added, then kissed her cheek.
Watching them drive off, A.J. snickered at his brother's crestfallen face. "You believe she'd give away the last of the goodies, I bet she stashed some away for when you're forgiven!"
"What do I get if I did?" Rick felt Laurie whisper in his ear, her arms around his waist. "How about this?" he replied, turning in her embrace and lifting her up in his arms, kissed her passionately on the neck. She sighed, "Back of the fridge, in the green container, darling!"
Steve and Jaime were going to stay with Rudy and Oscar until Monday, so they insisted on sticking around to help clean up. Catching sight of Laurie's "surrender", Steve shook his head, "Remind me to do something bad if that's what you get for punishment!" Jaime raised an eyebrow, then flicking a blob of salsa onto his face, chuckled and said, "There, I've done something bad, what are you going to do about it?"
"Well, first, didn't our mom teach us not to fight with food?" he grinned, then took a finger full of the dip and smeared on her cheek. "I thought you two were going to help clean up?" Oscar intoned behind them.
"We are, first we have to start with us!" Jaime answered with a wink, then followed Steve into the guest bathroom and closed the door.
Just then Robbie caught his father's eye, then started toward his room to fetch his mother's gifts, only to hear a knock on the front door.
Putting his wife down with a groan, Rick went into the living room and caught sight of a familiar car. "Somebody's going to be surprised." he thought.
He instinctively looked through the living room window, then blurted, "what the?" and opened the door to a bruised and battered Ian Whitehorse. "Ian, are you all right, what happened?" he asked, putting an arm around the young man and helping him into the house.
"Mr. Simon, I got beat up. I barely was able to drive here from Vegas. Don't let Robin see me, not yet anyway!" he gasped.
"Who did this to you, let me get Rob, have him fill out a report!" he replied tersely, then felt Ian's hand on his arm. "No, Mr. Simon, I'm ok, just let me rest for a moment. "
Sitting him down, Rick had Robbie go for Rudy, then getting him a glass of water. made him as comfortable as possible.
As Rudy entered the room, Laurie came to see where Rick was, then caught sight of Ian. "Oh, no, honey, what happened!" "I, I got beat up this morning when I went to get my stuff in the locker room. A couple of the guys accused me of careless riding then jumped me. If Sam and Jonathan hadn't stopped them." he winced as Rudy examined his rapidly swelling eye and cheek.
"Son, this is going to hurt, but I have to see if it's broken." the doctor warned, then checked Ian's nose. Breathing a sigh that it wasn't, Rudy finished examining him then persuaded him to lie down on the sofa. "Ian, you need to report this to the Las Vegas police. You have a bruised cheekbone, a black eye, and two cracked ribs; the men who did this could have killed you!" "I agree", Oscar said, coming in the front door. He took one look at Ian's face, then gave a concerned look to Rick.
He shook his head. "No, sir, I'm all right. Mr. Peterson already talked to the guys, they're fired from the show and the video. What ticked me off was claiming that I supposedly cut one of their saddle cinches and rode too close to the other guy! When I denied it to Randy, that's the Black Knight, Scot came at me from behind and knocked me down then kicked me. Randy grabbed me by the hair, that's when Jon and Sam walked in and pulled them off me!" he said, smiling his thanks as Laurie put a cool cloth on his forehead.
"Ian, you should have called us, one of us could have gone to get you!" Rick told him, concerned. The boy shook his head, "No, sir, I had to get here to you as fast as I could. You see," he gulped. "I think someone's out to sabotage the video shoot outside of Flagstaff, I heard someone the other night talking behind the stands about the money they were going to make from the insurance. I didn't know what it meant, but Mr. Peterson told me if the franchise doesn't fulfill its dates, the owners of the Knights franchise will collect over a million dollars on an insurance policy!"