Chapter 32
Almost an hour after the little revelation about Genn Kelly, Jack paced on the porch of the farmhouse alternately glancing into the house and down the driveway. Bobby had taken Danni back to her house to pack a bag and pick up the infamous Ms. Kersting. Annie and Craig were in the house doing the same thing but from the arguing he was hearing the packing wasn't going too well.
"No, Annie, Agent Hudson said only ONE bag, so that does NOT include half the house!" Craig groaned.
"But I need this," Annie protested as Jack cringed as several loud bangs were heard in the house.
"You need 8 pairs of shoes, 19 pairs of jeans, 14 shirts, 13 sweaters, 8 t-shirts, and 6 jackets," Craig asked disbelievingly.
"Yes." Jack smirked at the honesty in her voice as she responded.
"Ug!" Looking at the door, Jack knew Craig was getting quite frustrated with his sister.
"I give up!" Craig cried as he came slamming out the door. "I just can't understand women!" He dropped down on the front steps, letting his bag fall beside him in the dirt.
"Trust me," Jack sympathized, patting the young man on the shoulder. "It's an impossible task," he smiled, pleased when the young man laughed with him.
Hearing the crunch of the gravel in the driveway, Jack looked up, seeing Bobby return. Danni was now in the back leaning between the front seats, apparently chattering nonstop to the woman in the passenger seat.
Jack and Craig bounded down the stairs to greet the arrivals. Craig opened the door for Danni while Jack opened the door for the other woman helping her out of the car.
"Jack, I'd like for you to meet Ms. Kersting," Danni announced as she jumped out of the car. She was an attractive woman in her mid-thirties with brown hair and her grey eyes were quite intriguing.
"Hi, everyone calls me, Ducky," the woman smiled, taking Jack's offered hand.
"Ducky?" Jack looked at her curiously. "Do we have a fascination with animal names around here?" he smiled.
"You know, I never thought of that," Craig stated very seriously. "Carson's little sister is called Squirrel and there's always Farmkid with all the horses…" he pondered for a moment before Danni swatted him.
"Quit playing around," she admonished with a smile. "These city boys will think we are nothing but hillbillies," she laughed.
"I don't think there is any chance of that," Ducky stated, indicating the door where Annie was struggling her bag.
Jack and Bobby quickly moved to help her, their eyes widening when they saw the sides of the large suitcase bulging at the seams. The buckles on the top looked like they were about to bust, and as Bobby lifted it, he stumbled slightly under its weight.
"Whoa, shelia, what'd you have in here?" Bobby asked, using both hands to heave it across the porch. With at thud, he dropped it at the bottom of the steps.
"Froggy, you do know they will let us wash," Danni laughed.
"And yours is so much smaller?" Annie rolled her eyes as she threw her overnight bag over her shoulder.
"Uh, yeah," Danni stated lifting the two small duffle bags out of the back seat. "This is mine and the other is Ms. Kersting's," she smiled arrogantly before throwing the bags on the trunk of the car.
"Now I'm embarrassed," Craig muttered his eyes wide as he stared at Danni's bag.
"Why?" Jack inquired curious.
"Because even my bag is bigger than Danni's," Craig moaned, then grinned as everyone else laughed at his joke.
Everyone's faces turned serious quickly when they saw two dark SUV's coming up the driveway. A man and woman got out of each vehicle approaching the porch with stern looks on their faces.
"Heya, Liz," Bobby greeted the petite attractive woman.
"Manning, keeping out of trouble?" she smiled pushing her sun-bleached, shoulder length hair out of her grey-blue eyes.
"Always," Bobby grinned, greeting the other agents with a wave.
"This is Danni Montgomery, Ms. Kersting, Annie Wilson, and her brother Craig," Bobby introduced the individuals standing on the steps.
"Agents Elizabeth Grobin, Amber Forrester, Michael Lynn, and Charles Anderson," Jack took over. "They will be taking care of transporting you to the safe house and be in charge of supervising your safety while you're there."
"Um, I thought you'd be going with us, Jack," Annie whined.
"Uh," Jack looked at Bobby pleadingly.
"We'll be going back to begin the investigation on this Genn Kelly," Bobby told her, ushering her towards the cars. "The sooner we get started, the sooner you can get back to your normal life again."
"But can't someone else do it," Annie requested, grabbing Jack's arm. "I need you with me."
"They will take good care of you and you'll be just fine." Jack pried her fingers off his jacket, leading her at the SUV. "I have someone else who needs me," he stated, finally realizing why this blonde had attracted him so much as he thought of someone else waiting for him back at the hospital back in Frederick.