Chapter 2
"Okay, honey, do your puffs." Laurie encouraged Ramona, trying to breathe with her. Robbie watched the two of them, then felt his wife's hand on his sleeve.
"Come on, lazy bones, don't let your Mom do all the work. If little whosit comes early, you're going to have to do the coaching, especially if Mom's back East!" his wife teased. Swallowing hard at the thought of helping deliver his own baby, Robbie got down on his knees, then practiced the breathing and the focus points, as his mother directed him. As the teacher led the others in the hospital meeting room turned classroom, Laurie made her son get comfortable, then had him do the same exercises Ramona was doing.
Rick came to the doorway of the room just in time to watch his son imitating Ramona's rocking then breathing. He hated to interrupt, but the news he had to tell his wife would be bad enough without her hearing it on some newscast or financial report.
"Calling" her name, he saw Laurie look toward the door, then beaming, excuse herself and come to meet him. "Rick, darling, you're early, we won't be done for another half hour." she told him with a kiss.
Taking her in his arms, Rick embraced her tightly, then released her, saying, "Sweetheart, something's happened that you need to know about. Let's go into the Chief's office for a moment."
"What is it, love, has something happened to Robin, or Oscar?" she asked, flustered
"No, Laurie, they're all right. Let's sit down first, darlin'." he replied, walking her into the elder's office.
The Chief looked up at them, then excused himself, squeezing Laurie's shoulder as he went past.
She sat down on a well-worn sofa, then Rick plopped next to her. Taking her hand, he looked into her wondering eyes, then dropped his gaze. "Rick, it's okay, please tell me, what's wrong?" Laurie pleaded, gripping his fingers in hers.
"Laurie, I got a phone call at work from Oscar, your Uncle Roger died this morning." he finally said, then hearing her gasp, drew Laurie into his arms. "No, Rick, that's not right, oh, poor David and Carolyn. Were any of them with him?" she whispered softly, her voice breaking.
"Your dad said Carolyn was sitting with him when she heard him take a deep breath, then he just went. I'm sorry, darlin', so sorry. We should have been there, sweetheart, I'm sorry." Rick told her, stoking her hair.
"Oh, no, darling, I wanted to be here, what if something happened to our Robbie, or A.J. with that investigation. Poor Uncle Roger, I told Barnabas to tell him to hang on." she sniffed, then buried her face in her husband's shoulder. Just holding her, Rick felt no shaking, just quiet tears dripping on his shirt.
Finally Laurie lifted her face up to his and took a deep breath. "Rick, I still want to go to Collinswood, only, now of course we'll have to find out what kind of service he wanted and, when and all that." "Sure, Laurie, we'll go home and call Barnabas, he probably will have an idea of what's planned.
Come on, darlin'." Rick stood, his arms lifting her up with him. He felt her lips touch his cheek, and he looked down to see his wife gazing at him. "Thank you, my love, I don't know what I'd do without you." "Angel, you're never going to know." he soothed her then walked her out to make her excuses to Robbie and Ramona.
After receiving their heartfelt sympathy, Rick and Laurie went towards the front of the hospital parking area, As they came out onto the walkway, Laurie froze, then told Rick "We have to get down, two men with a gun in a car, they're going to shoot!"
Not hesitating, he pulled her behind a planter as a car raced down the driveway toward the hospital. As it drew abreast of the entrance, a shower of bullets rained onto the spot where they had just been standing.
Immediately Rick pulled his weapon and fired a round at the dark cars tires, causing the vehicle to swerve then crash into a concrete barrier. Instantly Robbie and the hospital security guard ran out of the building, and Rick ordered his wife to stay put while he and the others went and pulled two men dazed and bleeding out of the smoking wreck. Rick immediately recognized one of the men as a guard from one of the industrial parks that had been robbed by the Stinsons, and the other....
"Robbie, unless my eyes have gone, this is Fred Stinson. Some habits die hard, huh?" he growled at the ex-con. Squinting at him thru a cut eye, the older man stared at him. "You must have nine lives, Simon, be glad the lady survived this time, maybe next time you both won't be so lucky!"
Biting off a swear word, Rick searched him and took several weapons from him, then Robbie called for Rob as back up as he booked the gunmen into the one secure room in the emergency unit.
As the two attackers were wheeled away, Rick saw his wife standing with Ramona. Angered by the near miss, he went to hustle her into his truck, only to hear her reminding their daughter-in-law about her vitamins. "Sweetheart, I'm going to take you and Ramona home, you'll be safe there until Robbie's done, honey." he declared.
"Thanks, Dad, I'm a little tired from Mom's instructions, and I know we'll be all right at the ranch." Ramona yawned, bringing a faint smile from Laurie. "Honey, you and little who-sit need some rest." she said, taking her arm.
Marveling at the ability of his wife to put aside her sorrow to take care of someone else, Rick fetched the truck and helped both women into the cab. Calling A.J. to tell him about the attack, he learned that a strange car had been seen at their office parking lot. Fortunately it had disappeared when a Phoenix PD cruiser drove by, but it was evident to both brothers that there was more then one assailant.
"Rick, hang on, I've got another call, maybe this is about Stinson." A.J. added, then put his brother on hold.
As he pulled into the ranch driveway and hit the remote on the gate, Rick was startled to hear his brother let out an angry burst of profanity. Laurie looked at Rick in surprise then shook her head in disgust as A.J. told them "Sorry, Rick, that was Ron. Seems Junior's lawyer found a judge yesterday afternoon and got him sprung 'cause of his non-record. When I told him about Robbie's arrest of Fred Stinson, he immediately called the attorney and found out she has no idea where his nephew is. I called Abby earlier, Chris Stinson's got another two years in prison, so that narrows that down. "
Rick turned beet red. "A.J., I want you to call Ron and have him drive you home; I don't trust any of these scum. I'm going to see if Oscar can't stay with you guys until we find this SOB."
There was silence, then A.J. sighed. "You're right, I thought we were done with stuff like this. Where's Robbie, he needs to know about Christopher Stinson."
"I'll call him, he should be on his way with Senior to Phoenix, Just in case, I'll get a hold of Rob and see if he can act as an escort." his brother replied, noticing too late the look of fear on Ramona's face.
Instantly Laurie put her hand on Ramona's arm as she helped unhook her seat beat. "Honey, it's going to be all right, Robbie's not going to be left alone at anytime. Nobody's going to get near him if we can help it." "But Mom, what if this guy comes after him?" she worried, trembling a little as Laurie helped her out of the truck and into the house.
"Robbie's smart, Ramona, he's not going to let himself be trapped. Like Rick said, this is all just in case." Laurie assured her, helping her get comfortable on the living room couch. Meeting Rick's eyes as he came in the door, she gave him a look of confidence and he smiled as she went to get Ramona some water.
A few minutes later a couple of cars beeped at the gate, and he was relieved to see his son and brother, as well as their friends Rob Gomez and Chief Joseph. Opening the gate, he had them pull in next to the porch, and giving his son a quick hug, let him race in to be with his wife.
"Hey, little brother." he grinned at the sheepish look A.J. had. "Rick, I feel so stupid-I should be watching over Robbie, not vice versa."
"A.J., Rob and the Chief are looking after both of you." Rick said, hugging him as he reached the steps. As they came in, Rick found Laurie bringing in a plate of sandwiches for the guys, and a cup of soup for Ramona. After making sure they were all comfortable, he watched her vanish into the bedroom.
"Rick, is Laurie all right?" his brother asked, seeing her quick exit. As Rick filled him in on what had happened, A.J. got upset. "My poor sis, Rick, I'll start making some calls, you go to her."
Going to their door, he knocked and entered, finding his wife sitting on their bed. "Rick? Oh love." she cried, then threw her arms around him as he sat down next to her. "Sweetheart, it's okay, we're safe." he comforted her. Stroking her hair, he saw her shaking. "Rick, they were going to shoot you, kill you in front of me!" she said, upset.
"Angel, it's all right, nobody's going to take me from you, I promise. Is that's what's scaring you" he asked, then saw her nod her head. "Darlin', they were aiming at both of us, but it's going to be all right." he reassured her, kissing her. Cuddling her against him, Rick felt her calm down, then take a deep breath.
"Don't mind me, darling." She sighed, resting her head against his shoulder. "When I saw that flash of the two men and the car, it frightened me, just thinking about what happened to you and A.J. in San Diego."
"Laurie, you saved us this morning by that premonition, now I'm going to take care of you the way you've been taking care of everyone else." Rick promised, kissing her hair. "I love you. Now, it's time for you and me to have some lunch."
"Thank you, my love, although there's one thing I want to get you." Laurie smiled up at him, then whispered as she dropped kisses on his ear and neck, "how about an appetizer?"
Rick pulled her face to his, then kissing her until they were both breathless, teased "I'll bring dessert!"
"Okay, honey, do your puffs." Laurie encouraged Ramona, trying to breathe with her. Robbie watched the two of them, then felt his wife's hand on his sleeve.
"Come on, lazy bones, don't let your Mom do all the work. If little whosit comes early, you're going to have to do the coaching, especially if Mom's back East!" his wife teased. Swallowing hard at the thought of helping deliver his own baby, Robbie got down on his knees, then practiced the breathing and the focus points, as his mother directed him. As the teacher led the others in the hospital meeting room turned classroom, Laurie made her son get comfortable, then had him do the same exercises Ramona was doing.
Rick came to the doorway of the room just in time to watch his son imitating Ramona's rocking then breathing. He hated to interrupt, but the news he had to tell his wife would be bad enough without her hearing it on some newscast or financial report.
"Calling" her name, he saw Laurie look toward the door, then beaming, excuse herself and come to meet him. "Rick, darling, you're early, we won't be done for another half hour." she told him with a kiss.
Taking her in his arms, Rick embraced her tightly, then released her, saying, "Sweetheart, something's happened that you need to know about. Let's go into the Chief's office for a moment."
"What is it, love, has something happened to Robin, or Oscar?" she asked, flustered
"No, Laurie, they're all right. Let's sit down first, darlin'." he replied, walking her into the elder's office.
The Chief looked up at them, then excused himself, squeezing Laurie's shoulder as he went past.
She sat down on a well-worn sofa, then Rick plopped next to her. Taking her hand, he looked into her wondering eyes, then dropped his gaze. "Rick, it's okay, please tell me, what's wrong?" Laurie pleaded, gripping his fingers in hers.
"Laurie, I got a phone call at work from Oscar, your Uncle Roger died this morning." he finally said, then hearing her gasp, drew Laurie into his arms. "No, Rick, that's not right, oh, poor David and Carolyn. Were any of them with him?" she whispered softly, her voice breaking.
"Your dad said Carolyn was sitting with him when she heard him take a deep breath, then he just went. I'm sorry, darlin', so sorry. We should have been there, sweetheart, I'm sorry." Rick told her, stoking her hair.
"Oh, no, darling, I wanted to be here, what if something happened to our Robbie, or A.J. with that investigation. Poor Uncle Roger, I told Barnabas to tell him to hang on." she sniffed, then buried her face in her husband's shoulder. Just holding her, Rick felt no shaking, just quiet tears dripping on his shirt.
Finally Laurie lifted her face up to his and took a deep breath. "Rick, I still want to go to Collinswood, only, now of course we'll have to find out what kind of service he wanted and, when and all that." "Sure, Laurie, we'll go home and call Barnabas, he probably will have an idea of what's planned.
Come on, darlin'." Rick stood, his arms lifting her up with him. He felt her lips touch his cheek, and he looked down to see his wife gazing at him. "Thank you, my love, I don't know what I'd do without you." "Angel, you're never going to know." he soothed her then walked her out to make her excuses to Robbie and Ramona.
After receiving their heartfelt sympathy, Rick and Laurie went towards the front of the hospital parking area, As they came out onto the walkway, Laurie froze, then told Rick "We have to get down, two men with a gun in a car, they're going to shoot!"
Not hesitating, he pulled her behind a planter as a car raced down the driveway toward the hospital. As it drew abreast of the entrance, a shower of bullets rained onto the spot where they had just been standing.
Immediately Rick pulled his weapon and fired a round at the dark cars tires, causing the vehicle to swerve then crash into a concrete barrier. Instantly Robbie and the hospital security guard ran out of the building, and Rick ordered his wife to stay put while he and the others went and pulled two men dazed and bleeding out of the smoking wreck. Rick immediately recognized one of the men as a guard from one of the industrial parks that had been robbed by the Stinsons, and the other....
"Robbie, unless my eyes have gone, this is Fred Stinson. Some habits die hard, huh?" he growled at the ex-con. Squinting at him thru a cut eye, the older man stared at him. "You must have nine lives, Simon, be glad the lady survived this time, maybe next time you both won't be so lucky!"
Biting off a swear word, Rick searched him and took several weapons from him, then Robbie called for Rob as back up as he booked the gunmen into the one secure room in the emergency unit.
As the two attackers were wheeled away, Rick saw his wife standing with Ramona. Angered by the near miss, he went to hustle her into his truck, only to hear her reminding their daughter-in-law about her vitamins. "Sweetheart, I'm going to take you and Ramona home, you'll be safe there until Robbie's done, honey." he declared.
"Thanks, Dad, I'm a little tired from Mom's instructions, and I know we'll be all right at the ranch." Ramona yawned, bringing a faint smile from Laurie. "Honey, you and little who-sit need some rest." she said, taking her arm.
Marveling at the ability of his wife to put aside her sorrow to take care of someone else, Rick fetched the truck and helped both women into the cab. Calling A.J. to tell him about the attack, he learned that a strange car had been seen at their office parking lot. Fortunately it had disappeared when a Phoenix PD cruiser drove by, but it was evident to both brothers that there was more then one assailant.
"Rick, hang on, I've got another call, maybe this is about Stinson." A.J. added, then put his brother on hold.
As he pulled into the ranch driveway and hit the remote on the gate, Rick was startled to hear his brother let out an angry burst of profanity. Laurie looked at Rick in surprise then shook her head in disgust as A.J. told them "Sorry, Rick, that was Ron. Seems Junior's lawyer found a judge yesterday afternoon and got him sprung 'cause of his non-record. When I told him about Robbie's arrest of Fred Stinson, he immediately called the attorney and found out she has no idea where his nephew is. I called Abby earlier, Chris Stinson's got another two years in prison, so that narrows that down. "
Rick turned beet red. "A.J., I want you to call Ron and have him drive you home; I don't trust any of these scum. I'm going to see if Oscar can't stay with you guys until we find this SOB."
There was silence, then A.J. sighed. "You're right, I thought we were done with stuff like this. Where's Robbie, he needs to know about Christopher Stinson."
"I'll call him, he should be on his way with Senior to Phoenix, Just in case, I'll get a hold of Rob and see if he can act as an escort." his brother replied, noticing too late the look of fear on Ramona's face.
Instantly Laurie put her hand on Ramona's arm as she helped unhook her seat beat. "Honey, it's going to be all right, Robbie's not going to be left alone at anytime. Nobody's going to get near him if we can help it." "But Mom, what if this guy comes after him?" she worried, trembling a little as Laurie helped her out of the truck and into the house.
"Robbie's smart, Ramona, he's not going to let himself be trapped. Like Rick said, this is all just in case." Laurie assured her, helping her get comfortable on the living room couch. Meeting Rick's eyes as he came in the door, she gave him a look of confidence and he smiled as she went to get Ramona some water.
A few minutes later a couple of cars beeped at the gate, and he was relieved to see his son and brother, as well as their friends Rob Gomez and Chief Joseph. Opening the gate, he had them pull in next to the porch, and giving his son a quick hug, let him race in to be with his wife.
"Hey, little brother." he grinned at the sheepish look A.J. had. "Rick, I feel so stupid-I should be watching over Robbie, not vice versa."
"A.J., Rob and the Chief are looking after both of you." Rick said, hugging him as he reached the steps. As they came in, Rick found Laurie bringing in a plate of sandwiches for the guys, and a cup of soup for Ramona. After making sure they were all comfortable, he watched her vanish into the bedroom.
"Rick, is Laurie all right?" his brother asked, seeing her quick exit. As Rick filled him in on what had happened, A.J. got upset. "My poor sis, Rick, I'll start making some calls, you go to her."
Going to their door, he knocked and entered, finding his wife sitting on their bed. "Rick? Oh love." she cried, then threw her arms around him as he sat down next to her. "Sweetheart, it's okay, we're safe." he comforted her. Stroking her hair, he saw her shaking. "Rick, they were going to shoot you, kill you in front of me!" she said, upset.
"Angel, it's all right, nobody's going to take me from you, I promise. Is that's what's scaring you" he asked, then saw her nod her head. "Darlin', they were aiming at both of us, but it's going to be all right." he reassured her, kissing her. Cuddling her against him, Rick felt her calm down, then take a deep breath.
"Don't mind me, darling." She sighed, resting her head against his shoulder. "When I saw that flash of the two men and the car, it frightened me, just thinking about what happened to you and A.J. in San Diego."
"Laurie, you saved us this morning by that premonition, now I'm going to take care of you the way you've been taking care of everyone else." Rick promised, kissing her hair. "I love you. Now, it's time for you and me to have some lunch."
"Thank you, my love, although there's one thing I want to get you." Laurie smiled up at him, then whispered as she dropped kisses on his ear and neck, "how about an appetizer?"
Rick pulled her face to his, then kissing her until they were both breathless, teased "I'll bring dessert!"