Chapter Eight

The next week passed quickly for Jordan. The morgue had been busy...and then the generator broke down again...leaving them scrambling for dry ice and a repairman. With only Jordan, Nigel, and Bug, everyone was maxed out. Jordan easily could have worked 24/7 and not made a dent in the back log. And forget the paperwork. Even Garret said leave it alone...they'd get to it. He got no argument from Jordan.

So she and Woody had been left to play phone tag for most of the week. He'd call her cell phone and leave a message while she was in autopsy. She'd call him back. There was little time to talk....and less time to see each other, even when she'd got his homicide calls. Luckily, the nightmare that had plagued her in the past was gone...she hadn't had it again since she had talked to Woody. Instead, a longing of a very different kind kept invading her dreams....

Garret announced to the staff that he had hired a new guy, Sydney. He should be up to speed soon and relief was in sight. Jordan sighed a long, weary sigh. She was tired. More tired than she would admit...and so was Nigel and Bug.

So on her day off, she slept in. For a long time. Without embarrassment. She didn't get up until after lunch and had no plans until time to go into the Pogue. She hadn't had free time in so long...She took a bubble bath and did her nails, all the while her mind kept slipping back to Woody. She hadn't seen him in a couple of days. The times they did catch each other on the phone, there was an understated warmth and concern. The few times they had seen each other, Jordan had anxiously tried to assess him...to see if digging up the demons of the past affected him like they did her. Apparently not. Things seemed the same as always. Except they weren't. Jordan went out of her way to make sure he was okay.

She wanted him to know how much she cared...and how much she was worried about him. She wanted him to know that she understood him, and what she felt wasn't pity.

Hell, she wanted him to know she loved him.

She had known it before...just was scared to admit it. She had always worried that someone with Woody's temperament would have problems with someone like her down the road. She had always assumed that his life had been all sunshine and roses and hers had been not only dysfunctional, but highly abnormal. But her assumption had been wrong. Woody's past was about as dark as hers...and in some ways darker. Finally putting any hesitation aside, she dressed in one of her best outfits and headed to his office. She knocked on the door, but he wasn't in. She went over to the window and gazed out at the city, lost in her thoughts. So lost, she didn't hear him come up behind her and slide his arm around her waist, pulling her snugly against him.

"What are you doing here?" he asked.

"Just dropped by to see how you're doing...hadn't seen you in a couple of days."

"Yeah. Heard things were crazy at the morgue. Bug said you finally got some relief."

She nodded, not moving out of his arms. This is where she wanted to be, anyway. She leaned her head back against his shoulder. "I hope so...Garret was working us all to death....including himself."

Woody slid his arm out from around her waist, but turned her to face him. "So on your day off, you decide to come back to work to check on me?"

She chuckled. "I was worried. I didn't know what digging up the past would do to you...if it would affect you the same way it does me. And by the way...I haven't had that dream again since we talked."

"Good. I didn't think you would." He was glad the intruder had been banished completely from her life. Now she could go on without fear...make decisions. "What are you doing later?" he asked, toying with a strand of her hair.

"Nothing ...until time to go into the Pogue."

"Dinner at my place?"

"You cooking?"

Woody chuckled. "Hell, no. Chinese or pizza. We'll order in."

"What time do you want me there?"

"How's six?"

At six o'clock, Jordan was ringing Woody's doorbell. She had changed into "bar" clothes before she came over...jeans and a shirt. She was somewhat relieved that when Woody answered the door, he had also changed out of his suit and into jeans and a t-shirt. "I ordered Chinese....hope that's okay?"

"It's great." She came in and put her pocketbook on the counter.

"Beer?" he asked.

"Please." He handed her Guinness and began to get down plates. She found the forks and napkins. Before long, they were enjoying a meal together, talking about her week, his cases, the BoSox. Afterwards, they began to clean up. "When do you have to go to the Pogue?" he asked.

"About nine. I have to close." She came up behind him and put her arms around him. He threw his dishtowel in the sink and turned around, taking her in his.

"So this is what we're about now?" he asked. For a minute she thought he was teasing, but the look in his blue eyes was serious.

"I meant what I said the other night, Woody. I'm glad you're here...in Boston. Not married to Annie. I'm sorry about everything...that seems so inadequate...I know. I wish I could go back and change things for you."

"I know, sweetheart. I do for you, too. But it's not possible. The only thing you can do is make the most of what you have now." He pulled her to him and kissed her forehead.

"Is that what we're doing?"

"I think so." He held her close for a minute. "TV...want to watch a movie before you have to go?"

A movie was the last thing on Jordan's mind, but she was determined to let him set the pace...let him tell her what he was ready for. And when. She nodded and went and sat down on the couch. He flicked through the channels until he found a program they both liked and pulled her across his lap. She was trying to ignore his nearness...the scent of his cologne, but it was difficult...letting him be in charge. She had pretty much always taken charge of these situations, or at least sent out enough signals that the man always knew what she wanted.

But this was different. Woody's comfort and needs were more important than her own were. If he wanted to go slowly, then so be it. She settled back on the couch and in his arms until it was time for her to leave.

He had simply held her for the couple of hours she had been there – held her across his lap, sometimes softly kissing the side of her head or rubbing her back. Finally, about nine, she whispered in his ear, "I have to go, Woody. I have to go to work."

"Do you have to?"

She chuckled. He sounded like a child...begging to get his own way. "Yeah. They're depending on me." She started to swing her legs off him, when he stopped her.

"Do I get another good night kiss?"

"Do you want one?"

"Yeah...I don't know about you, but I can't get the one from the other night out of my head."

She swallowed hard and nodded. "Me, either."

Woody chuckled, glanced at her eyes, and claimed her lips. Jordan felt her world tilt again. For long, breathless moments, he kissed her. She did manage to get her arms around him and run her fingers through his hair. After several minutes, she tried to pull away. "I've got to go, Woody...work."

He kissed her one more time and helped her stand. Her knees were still weak... "Be careful, okay Jo?"

"I will."

"Ummm, Jordan?"

"What Woody?" she asked as she turned from the door to look at him. He simply pointed to his shirt, about midway on the front. She gave him a puzzled look at first, then looked down at her own blouse. He had unbuttoned it nearly all the way down, and she had been too caught up in his kisses to notice. She had the grace to turn slightly pink and then re-buttoned her top. "You've been a bad boy," she teased.

"Not as bad as I wanted to be...."

"Uh-huh...Good night, Woody." She smirked at him and shut the door.

Hours later, she let herself back in her apartment. It had been a busy night at the bar...busier than normal for a Friday night. But it was over. It was midnight. Wearily she pulled off her clothes, took a quick shower to get rid of the cigarette smoke smell in her hair, and pulled on her robe. She was combing out her hair when there was a knock at the door. Who in the world? She wondered, looking out her peep hole.

It was Woody. She opened the door and let him in. "Is anything wrong?" she asked.

"Not exactly," he replied.

"Then what?"

"Ummm....I need another good night kiss. I can't sleep."

"Woody!"

"Is that a yes?"

He looked so anxious Jordan had to laugh at him. "You think that's funny?" he asked.

"No...I mean yes...Yes you can have another kiss...and yes, I do think it's funny. Most men don't ask...they just do it."

He moved over to her and pulled her into his arms. "Well, I'm not most men." And then again, he kissed her, tangling their tongues, his fingers in her hair. She held onto his shoulders to keep standing. Each time he kissed her, it was an all out assault on her senses. Her world would spin quickly out of her control. It was all she could do to hang on.

Woody drew in a sharp breath when he realized that the robe was all she had on. He hadn't counted on that. He honestly thought he was coming over for a good night kiss...that was all. But now...no. No, he couldn't until they had talked. "Jordan?" he said.

"Nuh-uh," she managed to get out. "Every time you say that when we're kissing, you end up stopping. Just wait until afterwards, okay?"

"No. I need to know something."

She was willing to tell him anything as long as he held her and didn't leave her again. "What?"

"The other night, at the park...you said you loved me. Was that said just in the heat of the moment, or do you really love me?"

Jordan pulled away from him, to look him in the eyes. This was it. She had to make him see that yes, she did. After years of denying it, trying to avoid it, she couldn't. And didn't want to. He had to know she loved him. "Yes, Woody, she said softly. "I do."

"And you're not afraid of that anymore?"

Jordan swallowed hard, reached up and cradled his head with both of her hands. "No. I'm not. Not as long as it's with you."

"You're sure?"

"Yes.."

"Good." He swung her up in his arms.

"What are you doing?"

"Making the most of what we have right now, Jordan. Both of our pasts may have been filled with tragic events that were far beyond our control. But not now. Not this minute. Right now, I have you...and you have me. We love each other. Our future looks pretty damn bright, even if everything in the past was shattered...peace of mind, dreams, hopes....all of that may have been crushed under the feet of circumstances."

He deposited her on her bed and sat down beside her. "So what do you say? About making the most of what we have right now, sweetheart?"

He only had to ask her once. She reached out for him and pulled him to her. Kissing him, she said, "It sounds wonderful...as long as we can start right now. No more analyzing the past, just dealing with now and the future."

He chuckled. It was time to sweep both of their shattered pasts under the rug, better yet out the door. While the past events would always be remembered, for they involved people they both loved very much, their future looked better -- one that would stay whole, and not shatter.