Chapter Two

He remembered going to her father's bar one Monday afternoon before the Pogue opened. He chose Monday because it was normally a quiet night at the bar. He got off work early and was there when Max came into work about three. Woody used the back door, because he knew the front door would still be locked.

"Max?" he called out.

"In he-ah," Max answered him, his Boston accent still thick.

"Can I talk to you for a minute?"

Max took one look at Woody and knew who it was about. "What has my daughter done now?" he asked, shaking his head. Sometimes Jordan could get too tightly wound in her cases and in the past, all it had taken was a warning from Max to get her to calm down.

Until recently.

More and more Max and everyone else with the Boston PD and the morgue had noticed that all it took was a look from Woody and for him to say "Jordan," in a certain tone of voice and she'd stop and listen to reason.

As a matter of fact, Max had noticed that Woody had been spending a lot of time with his daughter lately. More than just at the bar and at work. Come to think of it, the last time he took his daughter to dinner, Woody had tagged along.

Not that he minded. He appreciated Woody's looking out for her. Then it hit him.

He knew what Woody was there for. Woody was from a Catholic family. As was Jordan. An old-fashioned, traditional, Catholic family. Leaning on the bar and leveling his eyes with Woody's, he asked gruffly, "And just what do you want, Hoyt?"

Woody had swallowed hard. Max knew. But it shouldn't matter. Both he and Jordan were adults. They had discussed the situation in a round about way. She hinted her father would need to know first. At least it would make things easier. Swallowing hard, and looking Max back in the eyes, he said, "I want to marry your daughter."

Max made a pretense of wiping down the bar. "Why?"

"Because I love her and can't imagine my life without her."

"No other reason?" Max asked, raising one eyebrow. Woody knew what he was hinting at.

"No. There is no other reason. I love her. She loves me. We've known that and each other for years….So I'm asking for your permission…for your daughter's hand…."

"What if I say no?"

"I hope you won't," Woody replied, feeling an uncomfortable heat rising from his chest into his neck.

Max suddenly grinned and stuck out his hand. "Then welcome to the family….son." He took Woody's limp and relieved hand and pulled the detective into a brief hug. "So when are you asking my daughter?"

"Fri….Friday night," Woody managed to squeak out, suddenly finding his voice and his nerves again. "We have reservations at a nice restaurant and the weekend off."

And asking Jordan was a piece of cake compared to what her father put him through, Woody chuckled remembering. Jordan said yes immediately…no second thoughts. "I guess you're holding me tighter for the rest of my life?" she had asked.

"Only me…and until the very end," he had replied, kissing her soundly.

From that point on, it was supposed to be simple. He had asked. She had said yes. All that was left was to set the date, buy the dress, and get her to the church on time, right? Sort of. The wedding was the easy part. Neither of them had wanted anything elaborate or fancy. They wanted to take the money that would have been spent on a huge wedding and put it on an extended honeymoon.

It was after the honeymoon that things got rough. His hours as a detective and her hours as an ME often left very few hours for them. They saw each other at work, but could no longer work together due to personnel guidelines….married couples were not allowed on cases together. Conflict of interest. But they managed the first year. The second year was a little harder.

The third year was hell. Someone came up with the idea that if they worked different shifts, then there was absolutely no way they'd end up on a case together. That was a great idea for the DA, police department and morgue….but a lousy idea for them as a couple. It seemed they never saw each other.

Finally after a huge fight over something as silly as who was going to take out the garbage, Jordan broke down. Sobbing, she had reached for him and held him tight. "I love you, Woody. So much. It just seems I never get to see you anymore…we never get to spend time together. I miss you. I miss us."

He had hugged her close and ran his fingers through her hair until her sobs subsided. "I'm sorry, Jo," he had said.

"Sorry you married me?"

"No," he softly had laughed and kissed her forehead. "Sorry I didn't take the trash out like I promised earlier." Looking in her eyes, he confessed, "I miss you, too. But we're here….together….now…Let's forget everything else but each other."

And they did. For the rest of the evening, he had made love to her…both of them trying to make up for lost time. The next morning, as she was getting ready to go to work, she had turned to him and said, "I wish we had more evenings like last night…just for each other."

"Jo, if wishes were horses, we'd have ridden off into the sunset a long time ago," he answered, gently wrapping his arms around her waist. "But I know what you mean. I feel the same way."

"There's got to be a way…" she said, her brown eyes scheming.

Woody sighed. "Just don't do anything to get either one of us fired, okay?"

She nodded. But to tell the truth, she couldn't think of anything.

In the end, neither one of them had to think of anything to change the personnel rules. Two months later, Jordan discovered she was pregnant with their first child. Her work load lightened and her hours were reduced.

At least one of their horses had made it into the sunset. They were going to have a baby.

Seven months later, Savanah Emily Hoyt was born. Woody watched in wonder as Jordan pushed their infant daughter into the world. He had held his breath when Savanah took her first one. And lost his heart completely to another woman when his daughter's tiny fist wrapped around his index finger.

Suddenly Max's protectiveness of Jordan seemed to make a lot more sense. He'd kill for Savanah. No questions asked.

Woody smiled as he remembered. Savanah was followed two years later by Jake. Jordan began to work part time as an ME. Family was her first priority. She became….domesticated. She cooked. She cleaned. She did laundry. She was involved in the PTA. She shuttled kids to and from one activity to another. She drove a minivan, of all things. She even began attending mass. Woody's smile turned into a grin. She enjoyed every minute of it.

And to Woody, as the years rolled by, Jordan just became more beautiful and more compassionate. She stood by him when Cal had his run in with cancer. He held her up when Max passed away. They had watched a few more of their horses ride into the sunset.

They were no longer young lovers with a new love. They were seasoned…time-tested. They were in the summertime of their lives.

Now if someone would just come through those hospital doors and let him know how things were going, he'd feel a lot better.