Authors's Notes: Thank you for the great reviews, I appreciate them a lot. This chapter is a little more cheerful although there will be some major angst before we reach a happy ending. Reviews are appreciated and inspire me to update faster.
Part 34
Age: 34 Years 7 Months
Sam paced around her office feeling nervous and excited. The trial of Donald Lucas was starting in a couple days, but that wasn't why Samantha was agitated. For the last two months, she'd been thinking about Ed Boast and he would be arriving in a couple days to testify at the Lucas trial. Since leaving the town of Otis, Samantha's tormented dreams had the face and eyes of Edwin Boast added to the mix of her first husband Jack and the vision of Jack-Of-All-Trades which Lucas fell short of.
Although she felt a little scared, she was seriously thinking of trying a relationship with the small town sheriff. While their worlds were far apart, when he'd held her she felt aroused and strangely like it was right somehow. The question was could she get past how like her Jack's eyes Ed's were. When she'd pulled away from Ed in the motel room he had been a gentleman about it, but Samantha felt badly and had regretted it ever since. Maybe once the trial was over, she could finally come to terms with Jack's death and while she would never stop loving him, maybe be able to love Ed as well.
Forcing herself to sit down, Samantha tried to go through her mail. The wait until Ed would be around seemed interminable and there were no cases at the moment. As she went through her mail Samantha found a set of photos with a plea for help in finding a killer in Mexico. Nothing pleasant, but it would fill the time until Ed arrived so Samantha pressed Bailey to pull strings so the VCTF could investigate.
The moment she arrived in the town of Las Brisas, Samantha decided the case was a big mistake. While she liked to help people, the unwillingness of the townspeople to speak combined with the chauvinistic officer who ran roughshod over the town mad her realize the case would take several days and would extend into the trial. After getting Bailey to arrange for them to come to the town she could hardly back out but damn it she didn't want to miss time with Ed.
As Samantha was contending with the backwards law enforcement in Las Brisas, Jack arrived in Atlanta and was ensconced happily in his lair. Atlanta was much more pleasant than Otis was and he had made a detour in Memphis to see Konstantine and Sofia which had cheered him up. Being so close to Samantha and yet so far in Otis had been hard and when she left he'd felt depressed for several days. However, once Lucas was convicted he would be with his Samantha at last and they would never be apart again.
Although he was pleased to be back in Atlanta, Jack wasn't pleased to discover that Samantha was off on a case. He had hoped to spend some time with Samantha before the trial. Even worse than his disappointment was the realization he would have to remove his wedding ring. When Samantha had come to Otis, he had worn his ring as always, believing she barely thought of him. But when Samantha had confided in him that he reminded her of her first love, he worried that in a less tense situation she might notice the Omega ring.
On the first day of the trial, Jack dressed in Sheriff Boast's uniform and reluctantly pulled the ring off his finger. Pulling off the ring which he'd worn for over twenty years felt strange, his finger almost ached where the ring rested. Placing his ring on a chain he put it around his neck under his shirt, unable to part from the symbol of his marriage completely. It had been long enough since Otis that he left the padding off his middle, if anyone noticed he would dismiss the change in his body as diet and exercise. When he entered the court room, Jack's breath caught as he spotted Samantha sitting beside Malone and Grant.
At the defense table Lucas sat and gave him a brief glance, but rapidly moved his attention elsewhere just as Jack had programmed him to. With drugs and effort, Jack had crafted Lucas into the perfect patsy. Samantha turned her head away from Lucas' direction in disgust and Jack realized with amusement that she was thinking of the times he'd kissed her as Jack-Of-All-Trades and had trouble reconciling Lucas with the man who kissed her.
Paul Sterling and Lucas' defense attorney presented their opening arguments and Malone was called to the stand as the first witness. Across the court room, Samantha looked at Ed and wished he was closer. Maybe after the lunch recess she could secure a seat closer to him. Grant caught her staring at Ed and rolled his eyes at her. As the judge announced the lunch recess, Sam stood up to make her way over to Ed.
"Jesus Sam, what the hell is wrong with you?" Grant asked.
"What do you mean?" Sam inquired in annoyance. She wanted to break away and see if Ed was free for lunch.
"Ed Boast," Grant replied. "Sam I don't know what you were thinking back in Otis, but for God's sake. You can do a hell of a lot better than that."
Fighting an urge to hit him, Samantha turned her back on him and walked towards Ed. Taking his hand she greeted him, "How do you like Atlanta?"
Affecting his Ed drawl, Jack responded, "Very much now that I'm talking to you Dr. Waters."
"Ed, please call me Sam. I had hoped we were friends," she hesitated. Had he held a grudge against her for the incident in the motel room? Samantha wondered worriedly.
Softly, Jack murmured so only she could hear, "We are Samantha, I simply didn't wish to make you uncomfortable in front of your coworkers. Agents Grant and Malone think I'm a rube and I would never make a lady uncomfortable by forcing my company on her."
"You aren't forcing your company on me. And as for John and Bailey, they're-" Samantha trailed off. "Well they're-"
Unable to force an appropriate comment, Jack settled for smiling and interjecting, "They're not included in my invitation to take you to lunch."
Laughing Samantha told him, "I was about to ask you out to lunch."
"Shall we then?" Jack suggested and lead her from the court room.
Over lunch, Samantha caught up with Ed and was very sorry when the meal came to an end. She didn't want to return to the court room, she wanted to spend the afternoon in the sunshine with Ed. However they dutifully returned for the afternoon session of court and Sam reluctantly knew she would have to return to Las Brisas tonight and leave Ed behind. As they filed out of the courthouse, Samantha noted a woman smiling at Ed and felt oddly jealous.
"Samantha," Jack called to her softly. "Could I offer you a ride to the airport?"
Pleased, Samantha told Bailey she would meet him and John at the airport in a few minutes, but she had her own ride there. Ducking away before they could say anything, she slid into the car that Ed stood holding the passenger door of. The rental car was slightly more elegant than she would have expected from Ed, but maybe she shouldn't be surprised, Samantha decided. Considering how patronizing Malone and Grant had been, she suspected that Ed had pandered to their opinion. While in her presence he seemed far more outgoing and intelligent than he did in front of her coworkers.
Jack forced himself to pretend not to know the area and ask for directions to the airport. As he drove, Jack reveled in the scent of her perfume and tried to ignore the uncomfortable feeling of his naked ring finger. Once Samantha was his again, the ring would never again leave his finger. They made small talk on route to the airport and Samantha wished they would have some time alone. Her cell phone rang and she answered it.
"Hello? Bailey? You're where? Uh-huh. Okay, I'll be waiting," Samantha said and hung up.
"Is everything all right?"
"Their car has a flat and the spare is flat as well, so they'll be a little late. So I guess I'll have to wait on them a bit," she responded.
Jack pulled the car into a park near the airport, "Since your flight is delayed and you've spent the day cooped up in the courtroom, would you like to stretch your legs?"
Samantha nodded and when Jack got out and offered her his hand, she took his hand. The moment they touched the air between them felt charged as they began to walk around the small ornamental lake in the park. Few people were around and they virtually had the place to themselves. Hand in hand they walked in silence, content to be in each others presence. As they began to circle around the lake a second time, Jack lead her away from the lake to a small cluster of trees.
"Samantha," Jack murmured.
"Ed," Samantha whispered and pressed her lips to his.
After several moments of kissing, Jack drew her against him in a tight embrace and fought back tears. He was so close to having his wife with him and last and he wished he could hold onto her forever. Although he knew he would have to let go of her and see the trial through, Jack regretted every second he was separated from her. Neither of them said anything as they returned to the car and went on to the airport, but in the car they held hands in silent communion. Jack remained in the car to avoid dealing with the VCTF and watched the airstrip until Samantha's place took off.
"Soon Samantha my love," Jack vowed and brought his ring out from under his shirt and returned it to his finger until the next phase of the trial.
In Las Brisas Samantha tried to focus on the case because now that Ed was in Atlanta, she was anxious to get done and be able to see him. Dutifully she asked questions and looked at the crime scenes, but the entire time, she mulled over Ed and Jack. Could she be with Ed? Was there room in her life for him? Much as she wished she was with Ed, Samantha was glad to be away from Angel and Chloe. Her daughter and friend grated terribly on her and Samantha was having a hard time pretending to care about them.
While Samantha spent the day in Las Brisas, Jack spent the day in court watching the trial. There was a lot riding on this and he was determined it would come off perfectly. So far Lucas was doing his part and the lawyers were performing much as he expected. As he sat in the courtroom, Jack looked at his watch, Samantha would come back to Atlanta late that night and he hoped he might get a chance to see her.
Samantha stood impatiently in the Las Brisas police station as Grace finished up her autopsy of a body that had been found.
Conversationally, Grace inquired, 'When do you leave?"
"In an hour," Samantha answered staring out the window. People were bustling past, but all she saw were the dark eyes which haunted her dreams as she thought of Jack and Ed and about her phantom Jack-Of-All-Trades.
"Tomorrow Sheriff Boast is on the stand. Why do you need to hear his testimony?"
Because I want to hear his voice and be near him, Samantha thought. Aloud she lied, "Well, Paul's a little worried about the cross examination. He wants me there to assist on redirect if need be."
Actually Paul had said nothing about needing her, but it wasn't like Bailey was going to check. All the unpaid overtime she had put in over the years, the VCTF could pay for a little extra plane fuel. Maybe she would grab a hotel room and skip going home and dealing with Angel and Chloe. While she wanted time with Ed, she didn't wish time with her roommate and daughter.
In Memphis, Sofia looked at the newspaper in shock. The Trades trial had been the big news of the day and there was a drawing of people in the court room. There near Samantha in a Sheriff's uniform was Jack. Her mind began to turn over as she considered Jack's presence at the trial and his odd choice of clothing. In the article it claimed he was Ed Boast from Otis, California and was going to testify. Suddenly a lot of mysteries about Jack became clear in her mind. Shrugging, Sofia put the paper away and picked up her knitting, she was making a sweater for Jack and saw no reason to discontinue it.
As Samantha's plane landed, Jack stood by his car waiting with a red rose in hand...
