Chapter Six

Nice to Meet You

Jordan got Woody the autopsy reports the next morning as she promised. And other than a brief meeting in her office to go over the results, Woody didn't see her again for a couple of weeks.

Jordan nearly sighed with relief. If anything, seeing Woody again had brought back the emotional roller coaster ride she thought she was long over. Instead, his cold attitude towards her one day and then his warmth and compassion the next was constantly throwing her emotionally off kilter. She began to play one of the chief ME perks she so seldom used: the "I'm-too-busy-this-is-your-call-don't-give-me-that-look-just-do-what-I said" card.

In other words, she'd answer any other detective's call except Woody's. When he called in, the first face she caught sight of got the assignment. And she planned to keep it this way until she could regain the emotional ground she quickly felt eroding under her feet.

She kept telling herself that fifteen years was a long time. She was over him. He was over her. But one look back into those blue-eyes and suddenly she felt like that 32 year-old woman who had been completely rejected by the one man she had really loved her whole life.

And she didn't like the feeling. It still stung.

Oh, hell. It hurt. Especially when everyday she faced the fact that things could have worked out so differently for her…

Then she would think about Will….and it all would come back into focus and perspective. Will…the only man she needed in her life for the next…well, three years, anyway.

Jordan doggedly kept that in mind…and it came in handy a couple of weeks later after one of Will's soccer games. In some sense, Will was everyone's kid. Will was just a few months old when Jason had died. But Jordan never had to worry about a lack of male role models…Peter, Sydney, Seely, Winslow, Nigel…even Bug would step up to the plate when Will needed a man's influence. But by far the two men that had the biggest impact on the young boy's life was Max…and Garret.

However, when a soccer game involved Will, everyone that could, would show up to support him. So that Saturday after the game…one when most of the morgue was present to see Will score three goals…there was nothing unusual about everyone going out to eat afterwards. Jordan, along with Garret, Nigel, Bug, and Peter had went ahead of Will to Brown and Company…a popular hang-out for teens…and were waiting on Will and his best friend Matt to join them.

"Will is joining us, right love?" Nigel asked after ordering a beer.

"He should be right on…after he and Matt get cleaned up and changed."

"Three goals, Jordan. He scored three goals today…" Nigel said excitedly. In a way he felt responsible for Will's soccer success. He had been the one to turn the boy onto the game when Will was just out of diapers. Much to Jordan's then chagrin, Will had taken to it like a duckling does to water….kicking his play ball all over the house, destroying innumerable lamps, knickknacks, vases…..nearly anything breakable. Nigel finally had to string a net between the two trees in the back yard as a makeshift goal in order to restore peace.

Garret nodded. "All that time he spends at soccer practice and you spend patching him up just may pay off, Jor. He's scholarship material."

Jordan was just about to reply when she noticed Garret's face blanch. "What is it?" she asked him, touching Garret's hand to get his attention.

"It's Woody…"

"Here?"

Garret nodded. "And here he comes."

"Hi guys…nice to see everyone. You folks taking a break from the morgue to get some lunch?" Woody asked, coming up to the table where they were sitting.

"Uh…not exactly," Peter said, keeping his eyes on the menu. "Well…the lunch thing yeah. It is lunch time."

Woody's brow wrinkled. He knew the morgue workers were a closely knit group. And it was hard being allowed in their "inner circle" of friendship. But this was just plain weird. They weren't working…so why lunch together? Despite their closeness, it was rare they saw each other outside of any function that wasn't work related.

"How are you settling back into Boston?" Bug asked innocently, hoping he could avert Woody's attention away from Jordan.

"Good…but some things have really changed," Woody began, taking Bug's open-ended question as an excuse to join the group. He dropped down into a chair beside Bug without an invitation, seeming bent on talking about everything that had altered since he had been in Boston. He was right in the middle of an animated discussion when one phrase stopped his whole world.

"Hi Mom."

Woody looked up, startled at the statement. And he had no doubt who it was addressed to…Jordan was the only woman present.

"Hi sweetheart," she said back, standing to give the tall, young man a hug. "Good job…I am so proud."

"Yeah…you did your Uncle Nigel proud, too…" Nige agreed, letting Will hug him.

"I know you're starving…but where's Matt?" Jordan asked, deliberately not looking over towards where Woody was sitting.

"Matt went home to finish the yard work. We have a double date tonight, and his dad won't let him go if the yard's not mowed and trimmed," Will said with a grin.

"And who's the lucky lady tonight?" Garret asked.

"Amy. Amy Bender."

Jordan thought for a minute. "I don't remember her."

"I've never been out with her before," Will replied. "This is the first time. But you're right, I'm starved."

"Will…this is a third new girl this month," Jordan said, a note of reproach in her voice.

"Options, Mom. It's all about options…and right now I'll opt for a large Italian sub, no onions, a large Coke, and cheese fries," he told the waitress, skillfully changing the subject, although good-natured banter about Will's love life continued for a few moments until a clearing of the throat brought Woody to Will's attention.

"I'm sorry," Will said to Woody, extending his hand. "I don't think I know you?"

"Then let me introduce you," said Jordan, trying to regain some control of the situation. "Will, this is Detective Woody Hoyt. He's the lieutenant over the homicide department. Woody, this is William Maxwell Turner – Will for short – my son."

Woody found his hand caught in a firm handshake and taken with the face of this young man. Jordan's hair…and her and Jason's eyes. Jason had blue eyes and Jordan those beautiful honey-colored ones. The fact that the boy had hazel eyes didn't surprise the detective.

The teen's maturity did.

"Detective Hoyt…I don't think I've heard my mother mention you before…are you new here in Boston?" Will asked.

"Sort of….it's more like a return appearance. I worked as a detective in Boston a little over sixteen yeas ago. I left here to work with Sunny D in San Diego, but now I'm back home."

"So you're from Boston?"

"Not originally. Kewuanne, Wisconsin."

"Wisconsin. What made you decide to ever come to Boston?"

Jordan grimaced. She had asked herself that question more times than she cared to count.

"Bigger city…more opportunities…running away from a bad relationship…" Woody replied with a wink.

"Oh…did you work with my mom before when you lived in Boston?"

Jordan wondered if she could possible crawl under the table and no one notice. This was one of the reasons she had tried to keep Will and Woody apart for as along as possible.

Woody grinned, noting Jordan's obvious discomfort. He subtly raised one eyebrow at her. She returned his gesture with a challenging look.

"Yeah. As a matter of fact, she answered my first call as a homicide detective here in Boston. Bank robbery. You know what I remember most about that, Will?"

Jordan glowered at Woody.

"She hated my ties," Woody finished.

"Ah," Will responded, noting the tension between this new detective and his mother. He picked up their signals. If he had any money to bet, he'd say that his mom and this semi-new guy had more than just a working relationship all those years ago. This could be fun, Will thought, and this could be just what my mother needs. I haven't seen her this flustered since I asked her where babies came from. He began to pose another question when the waitress appeared with his food.

Jordan sent up a prayer of thanksgiving and made a mental note to tip the waitress some extra cash. This bought her time to steer the subject of conversation to a safer ground. So she discussed the case at Center Mall for the rest of the time, still noting the furtive looks that Will and Woody were giving each other.

She had to keep these two apart. Woody knew too much about her past….and some of her past Will did not need to know. Ever. When Will got up to leave, she nearly melted with relief and gave him more spending money than he asked for to get him out of the restaurant without a fuss.

"I gotta run, too," said Garret. "Look at the time…and I have yard work this afternoon, too." He glanced at Jordan. "If you need me….call me, Jor." He finished with a pointed look at her pale face.

"I will."

"You, too, young man," Garret said, shaking hands with Will.

"Will do, Uncle Garret. I'll walk with you out to your car."

Everyone was filtering out of the restaurant. Jordan sighed with relief and turned around, only to come face to face with Woody.

"You never told me you had a son," he said, his tone nearly taking on an accusing note.

"You never asked."

"Well, it seemed like you would have volunteered that information at some point…or that someone would have."

"I'm pretty protective over Will. Everyone knows that. That's why you weren't told."

"So you don't feel you don't feel you can trust me with your son?"

"It's not that…I just wanted you to be comfortable working with me again before you found out."

"And avoiding taking my field calls is one way to do that?"

"Look, Woody," Jordan finally snapped. "It's been a long time since you've been back in Boston. My life did not stop the day you kicked me out of your hospital room and told me to 'Get out…now'. I did what you said. I got out. But after a while, I also got on with my life.

"I married Jason…which you obviously already know. And I'm a widow. I'm sure you know that, too. My son….Will…is the only thing I have left in my life that keeps me going. So yeah, I am protective about who I tell about my kid. Especially in my line of work. He's all I have left. And if you think that just because we knew each other before…and had….whatever it is we had…that you deserve to know about him because of that….you're dead wrong, detective."

They stood there eye-to-eye and toe-to-toe for a few minutes, staring each other down…just like old times, thought Woody. But he had to admit Jordan was right. She was under no obligation to introduce him to her son. Will was hers. And she was obviously a good mother. "You're right, Jo. I'm sorry."

Jordan gave him a disbelieving look.

"I mean it…you're right. You had no obligation to tell me anything about your life. I forfeited that privilege years ago with you. But I will tell you this … he's one hell of a good kid…and you've done one hell of a good job with him."

Sometimes things in the present, reflected and refracted on the shards of the past, bring what could have been clearly into focus.

Woody thought about that as he lay in bed later the same night, thinking about seeing Jordan again and meeting Will. Will was a remarkable young man by all appearances. From what he could gather from Bug and Peter, Will was an honor student, favoring his mother's pet subject, science. He had played soccer for as long as he had been walking. He wanted to go to UMass and major in marine biology or pre-med.

And he was the apple of Jordan's eye. Her sun rose and set in Will, as far as she was concerned. He could understand her protectiveness of her child, but surely Jordan knew him well enough to know that he would never do anything to jeopardize Will's safety and well-being.

But like she said, sixteen or so years is a long time…for all she knew, Woody could have changed.

Only he hadn't. Not that much.

And given the attraction…the still unresolved-sexual-tension that would always rise between them like the early morning mist…Woody couldn't help but wonder what could have happened if he would have stayed in Boston, swallowed his damn stubborn male pride, and asked her to forgive him?

What would she have done if he told her the reason he couldn't maintain a steady relationship with another woman in San Diego was because none of them were her or even remotely like her?

Would they have a family now? Be together?

Looking at Will this afternoon made Woody keenly aware of two things. First, Jason Turner had been a lucky man, even if was only for a short while. Jordan and Will. What else could a man ask for?

The second thing that was brought sharply in to focus was just exactly what he had left behind in Boston when he fled for San Diego…and what that had cost him….His pride had cost him the warmth and companionship of a wonderful woman.

And from what he could gather, the chances of getting her back now were slim to none.