Chapter Ten

While Denning was searching for suspect number five, Woody and Jordan continued to enjoy their time in Marathon. The dolphins were wonderful…Jordan didn't want to leave the refuge. He finally had to nearly drag her out of it…and the same thing happened at the turtle hospital. "Maybe you missed your true calling," he teased.

"Oh, really? And what might that be?"

"A vet. Maybe you should have been a vet."

"Nah…I think it comes from a deprived childhood. Dad would never let me have a pet. Not even a fish. I don't know if he was scared I'd forget to feed it or I'd get too attached to it… and then wouldn't know how to handle it if it died or something. I guess that's why animals fascinate me. Especially those dolphins. Wow."

They had walked on in silence for a few minutes. "What about you, Woody? Did your mom and dad ever let you have animals when you were growing up? Gee, I bet in Wisconsin you had lots of room to have dogs or even maybe horses."

Well, there it was. She unknowingly gave him the lead in.

"No…not exactly."

She turned to him as they were walking along the beach and raised an eyebrow…a sure signal she was requesting more information. He found a bench they could sit down and led her over to it. Now was as good of a time as any.

"I need to talk to you, Jordan."

"That never sounds like good news, Woody."

He gave a small, tight smile. "This is stuff you need to know…part of the reason I had to leave Boston and clear my head for a while."

She sat down beside him. "Okay. I'm listening."

"My parents, Jo….they're dead. They're both gone."

Jordan drew in her breath sharply. "When did this happen? Was it while we were in Boston? Did it happen when Walcott jailed me?" Her mind was rapidly trying to put together a scenario that would somehow cause him to leave Massachusetts and run to his uncle's in Florida.

"No…no. Not then. My mom died when I was four – cancer."

Jordan was stunned. Four. The image of a chubby, dimpled, blue-eyed motherless baby broke her heart. "Oh, Woody. I am sorry. So sorry." She laid a gentle hand on his arm. He covered it with his own.

"I know you are. I know you understand….how difficult it can be growing up without a mom. I mean I guess it would be harder for a girl…but it's not easy either way."

She nodded…allowing him some time before he continued. "My dad….like your dad was a policeman, too. After…after Mom died, things got kind of rough for him as a single parent…sort of like it did for your dad, too, I'm sure," he said, looking down for a minute to compose himself and gather his thoughts. "It wasn't always 'Father Knows Best' at my house, if you know what I mean."

Jordan nodded, swallowing hard to keep herself from loosing it.

"Anyway," he continued, "when I was sixteen, he answered a robbery call at a convenience store. An eighteen year-old pumped three shots in him. He died ten days later…in my arms."

"Dear, God…Woody….why haven't you said anything before now?"

"I thought I had dealt with it. Not exactly put it behind me, but had learned to accept it. I had finished raising Cal and moved on with my life. To Boston. Then I met this brown-eyed medical examiner that pretty much stole my heart." He turned to her with a smile.

Jordan returned the smile, somewhat shyly. He had never told her that before. "I did?"

"Yeah. You did. But when all this came up with the Brady case…it was like everything in my world was ripped out from under me again. I mean, I knew I loved you…and you loved me…and I thought nothing could ever happen to that. Then, in nearly two heartbeats, you were taken away…to jail…possibly for a long time. That nearly killed me. And what was worse, was that I knew it could happen again. There were two things in my life I knew I could count on, Jordan. You and my job. And suddenly the two worlds collided. Either one of you or both of you could disappear from my life at any point in time. This sixteen year-old kid inside me…just couldn't handle the thought of that happening…that once again, everything….everyone I counted on could just….disappear like so much smoke.

"I had to have time to figure my life out. Could I possibly live without one or the other…Could I have both and then just hold my breath from day to day, cross my fingers, and just pray nothing happened to either? So I ran…I didn't mean to hurt you…or anyone…but I just had to have some time."

"Have you had enough?"

He sighed. "Given the choice between you or my job, you win, hands down. You're more important than any police work."

Jordan's heart thrilled at his comment, but she also knew that in time, he may resent having to make the choice. Woody was a cop…from the inside out. She knew it and so did everyone else that had contact with him. He might be able to fool himself that he liked this private investigator gig, but he wasn't fooling her. The questions he had asked her about the Boston PD since they had been together….the hurt look in his eyes….the tone of his voice when old cases were discussed….she knew he missed his job. Would he resent her over time for choosing them over something he had worked hard for all his life?

She opened her mouth to reply when suddenly his cell phone rang. She heard him say hello…and then yeah….okay… great. I'll let her know. He flipped his phone shut. "That was Denning. They caught the suspect. He's on his way back to Boston…"

Jordan's phone rang right behind his. Flipping hers open, she heard Garret's voice, telling her the same thing that Woody just did…and that she had a reserved seat on a flight out of Orlando tomorrow at two. Nigel was e-mailing her tickets and other arrangements. Walcott wanted her back as soon as possible. "Okay," she softly told her boss, and shut her phone. Turning to Woody, she said, "I have to go."