Author's Notes: Hi, readers. Here's chapter twenty-four of "Ride the Wind II: Justice Unbound." I'm glad it took just six days to get out. This chapter has some Glen/Annie. Stay tuned for chapter twenty-five.

XXXXX

Chapter 24: So Warm

Glen and Annie were immersed in a game of checkers as they sat on the Greenwood residence's first living room couch six minutes later. He had red while she had black. The box lay on the floor. He narrowed his eyes at the board's right side. He wasn't sure which of his checkers he should move. An idea clicked in his mind. He decided to move one forward. She rubbed her chin in thought. She pushed a checker to the square in front of his. He jumped it, taking it away. He laughed in smugness as he held it up.

"Take that, Annie!" he announced.

"You made a mistake saying that," she replied while putting her hand on a checker on the board's left side. She double-jumped two of his checkers in which she reached the end. She let out a delighted chuckle. "King me."

"I can't king you. You are a woman," Glen said, shaking his head.

"You have to king me," Annie said, shaking her finger at him. "Now, do it before I throw you out the window."

"Okay," Glen commented as he put the checker on top of the other. "Now, are you happy?"

She sat tall and proud. "Yes, I am."

"I know something else that can make you happy," Glen responded with a smirk.

"What might that be?" Annie asked very curiously. She yelled at his grabbing her cheeks and pulling her toward him for a kiss. He let go of her, causing her to laugh. "Talking about making me happy."

"Good. Remember that I'm the best kisser," Glen said, crossing his arms.

"I will," Annie assured and saluted him.

He laughed delightfully. "You better, or I will cut all of your hair off."

Annie blew a raspberry at her husband. She grabbed the box off the floor. She laid it on the coffee table before opening it. He picked up the board to dump the pieces in. He folded it, placing it inside. She closed the box before picking it up to put it on the floor. She ran her tongue all over the inside of her mouth.

"I'm getting thirsty. I'm going to the kitchen to get something to drink. Do you want anything?" Annie said, rising to her feet.

"Sure," Glen answered, turning his body to place his feet on the floor. "Put me down for a beer."

"I am getting that too. I'll be back in a sec," Annie said.

"You need to watch out for the refrigerator monster," Glen joked with a snicker. "It just might jump out and eat you."

"It needs to eat you," Annie retorted in playfulness. "It prefers men to women."

Glen waved his wife off as she went into the kitchen. She approached the refrigerator. She opened it, grabbing two canned beers. She closed it with a loud slam. She went to the sink and looked out the window. She could see Nancy, Andros, Ashley, Zhane, Karone, Nadine, Missy, and Elvis walking around the backyard with their arms out to the sides.

Annie couldn't help but smile. She remembered all the times she, Glen, Jesse, and Elvis pretended to be planes. She was glad she was able to see her granddaughter do this with her parents, her uncle, her aunt, and their friends. She hoped they would continue to have fun until dinner. She headed back into the living room. She approached the couch, sitting down. She gave the second beer to Glen while keeping the first. They opened them to take small sips. They sighed in much content.

"That is some good beer," Glen said in a warm voice.

"Oh, yes," Annie agreed. "I find it interesting that beer is just ten percent alcohol. The rest is water."

"It would take many beers for us to get drunk. We can hold down our alcohol very well," Glen said, smiling.

"Some people actually fall down drunk after just one shot of alcohol. Others can down many shots before feeling the effects," Annie explained.

"That doesn't mean you should get behind the wheel of a vehicle," Glen commented seriously.

"That is right," Annie said, sipping more of her beer. "Even if your blood alcohol level is below the legal limit, you can still be arrested for driving under the influence."

"The legal limit for blood alcohol level varies from state to state," Glen said truthfully. In Washington, it is 0.08. 0.40 or higher is potentially lethal."

"Body fat tends to delay intoxication. So does eating something," Annie pointed out in awe. "It doesn't matter. People eventually become drunk after drinking alcohol."

"Jesse, Nadine, and Elvis go to bars for beers every now and then. Randolph has admitted being jealous of them because he can't have any due to his diabetes," Glen commented with a shrug. "I don't blame him for feeling that way."

She sighed softly. "At least he is a good designated driver."

He pointed his finger at her. "He sure is. If more people volunteered to be designated drivers, there would fewer deaths related to drunk driving."

She nodded in agreement. She observed him taking sip of his beer. He placed his on the coffee table, as did she with hers. They made eye contact with each other.

"I looked out the sink window and saw Nancy, Andros, Ashley, Zhane, Karone, Nadine, Missy, and Elvis pretending to be planes," she said sweetly.

"I can't say I am surprised," he said with a small chuckle. "Nancy loves doing that stuff. People can't help but go along with it."

"It would be so cool if we could actually take off into the air like real planes," Annie squealed with delightfulness.

"It sure would," Glen agreed. "I bet I would make a better plane than anyone else would." He formed a big smirk on his face.

Annie blew a raspberry. "I believe I would make the best plane."

"I don't think so," Glen said, shaking his head.

"I do think so," Annie answered, nodding.

"I don't think so," Glen retorted and spoke gibberish.

"I do think so," Annie commented and blew in a soft manner.

"I don't think so," Glen growled in playfulness.

"I do think so," Annie squeaked with a giggle.

Glen let out a snort. "I don't think so."

Annie slapped Glen in the back of his head. She got a slap upside hers from him in retaliation. She waved her hand in front of his face. She raised it high, jerking it downward. He gave her cheek a light smack. She rushed two fingers forward. He blocked her by holding his hand sideways between his eyes. He pushed hers downward. They shared a laugh.

"That Three Stooges routine never gets old," Glen commented in happiness.

"Nope," Annie replied and squeaked in sweetness. "Of course, you start most of the routines."

He laughed sarcastically. "Yeah, right."

Annie ruffled Glen's hair, laughing when he did the same to hers. They grabbed their beers to sip a little bit of them. They returned them to their spots and laid their hands in their laps.

"I hope Jesse and Randolph will be home soon," she whispered.

"Me too. It was nice to know from Nadine that they ran into Dwight at the Kenworth Café and spent some time talking to him," he responded and cleared his throat.

"I wouldn't be surprised if they discussed the Southern Resident orcas, especially Willy," Annie said while laying her arm on top of the couch.

"When Jesse starts talking about Willy, he can't seem to stop," Glen said, laughing to himself. "He loves that orca. Their twenty-year friendship has been amazing."

"I do hope Willy lives as long as Ruffles did," Annie said in a little uncertainty. "Ruffles was thought to be Granny's son for the longest time. Then DNA testing proved they weren't related at all."

"No one can blame scientists for assuming Granny and Ruffles were mother and son. They were always seen together," Glen pointed out matter-of-factly.

"Something tells me DNA analysis will advance to the point that it will reveal which pod he came from," Annie suggested.

"Yeah," Glen agreed. "If anything—"

The sound of the front door unlocking caught the couple's attention. They looked toward it, seeing it open with a loud squeak. Jesse walked in, followed by Randolph. He closed the door, locking it. They approached the coffee table. Glen and Annie made eye contact with them.

"It is about time you two got home," Annie said and made a funny noise.

"What happened? Did a giant mouse chase you two around the parking lot?" Glen quipped and snickered under his breath.

Jesse shook his head. "There was no giant mouse. However, we and Dwight did run into Brenda at the café."

Glen showed shock along with Annie. "No way."

"We are not kidding," Randolph admitted and scratched his nose. He smacked his lips twice. "Jesse and I introduced ourselves. Brenda was shocked because Dial told her that we vowed we would never set foot in Northwest Adventure Park again. We and Dwight told her about our suspicions regarding Lilli. She didn't believe us."

"She revealed that Lilli, Jane, and Izzy would have a medical examination on Wednesday. She agreed to provide us with a sample of Lilli's blood for testing. She told Randolph she would meet him at the Kenworth Café at five-thirty after she got off work. She was adamant that the DNA test would prove us wrong," Jesse added.

"We don't blame Brenda for not believing you and Dwight about Lilli," Glen said in much sympathy.

Annie sighed in relief. "At least you convinced her to give you a blood sample for testing."

"Brenda told us she didn't keep up with the plight of the Southern Resident orcas because she was too focused on caring for Northwest Adventure Park's animals, especially Lilli," Randolph pointed out.

"She also said she was concerned about losing her job if the park were to close down due to DNA proving that Lilli and Isabella are the same orca. We told her the Seattle Aquarium was always looking for people and that she should look them up. She said she would," Jesse commented.

Randolph suppressed a yawn. "She expressed concern that Lilli could suffer from depression if she was separated from her, even if DNA proved she was Isabella."

Glen and Annie looked at each other. They understood Brenda's concerns about Lilli. At the same time, they knew the truth needed to be known. If Lilli turned out to be Isabella, they hoped she would be able to be reintroduced to the wild. They turned back to the duo.

"We talked to Jeffrey and Lindsay at the Clausen Sports and Fishing Store for a few minutes. Jesse decided he wanted to get himself a diet coke," Randolph said.

"I actually felt tempted to tell them about our suspicions regarding Lilli, running into Brenda, and telling her what we knew at the Kenworth Café," Jesse whispered a little tensely.

"I did too," Randolph added.

"It is good you two resisted. The less people who know about this, the better off we will be," Glen said proudly.

"Yep," Annie agreed.

"I better get Nadine's diet sprite to her," Jesse said and spoke gibberish.

"I need to get started on that broccoli-and-cheese casserole," Annie said, grabbing her beer and standing up. "I am sure you two are hungry."

Jesse and Randolph voiced their agreement. Annie headed into the kitchen as Jesse approached the back door and opened it. Her son went outside, closing it behind him. Randolph walked to the couch, seating himself. He and Glen proceeded to talk about Jesse and Elvis growing up.