Jennifer and Jonathan arrived at the airport, and found Jack waiting on them.
Jonathan dropped Jennifer off with Jack and then went and returned the Jeep.
He came back and gave Jack the directions, and then they prepared for takeoff.
"Darling, can we talk about the plan?"
"We are flying to where he is, at a fishing resort. He agreed to talk to us for an hour. And he's going to be joined by a few people".
"Interesting".
She began to organize her papers and her research according to the points they were going to make when they spoke to him.
The flight was short, so they were landing before they were really ready to do so.
Jonathan had arranged for the car service to meet them and take them to the resort.
They pulled up, and then the car stopped.
"Ok, let's do this".
He asked the driver to wait for them, and they got out and headed inside.
The front desk clerk had them sit in the lobby while they contacted the Governor.
"Ma'am, Sir, you can go in now. He's in room 114, down the hall, on the right".
"Thank you".
They walked hand in hand down the hall and knocked on the door.
An aide allowed them inside.
"Hi. I'm Jonathan Hart, and this is my wife Jennifer".
"Come in. He's out on the patio".
They walked back to the patio.
"Hi, you must be the Harts".
"Yes we are. And that makes you the Governor".
"That's right. I'm Governor Kyle Dawkins, and this is my wife Lauren".
"Pleasure to meet you".
"Ok, you asked for a bit of my time. So, what can I do for you?"
"Well, it's not what you can do for us, it's what should be done for the state".
"I'm afraid I don't follow".
"There's a man in a little town known as MillTown Bay, named Holt Gregory. And he's a real estate agent, and he contacted us 5 times, offering to buy our ranch. Our ranch is next to his. We said no, each time. Then, we decided to spend a month there, because we don't really get to be there as often as we'd like. And what we found was that he was having his ranch hands mess with our property lines, claim parts of our property, and they basically made our lives a living hell for a few weeks trying to get us to give up and sell. Meanwhile, they were buying all the properties that bordered their property".
"What do you mean when you say they made your lives a living hell?"
"I mean, it was always something. First, they had some friends bring a welcome plant, that had a microphone in it. They moved our property lines by planting trees closer in, and they blocked the water from flowing in the river once it went past their property; they don't own the river and neither do we, but our property borders it like their property does. Yet, they filled the water with cement and made a dam to keep the water on their side. They stole our horse feed and hay. They trespassed onto our property, and shot a bullet through our living room, almost hitting us. My wife went into town and on the way home, she was almost run off the road by a vehicle. My wife was riding one of our horses on our property, and they came out of the shadows and shot at her. Each time, we called the sheriff, and each time he came out, he would take a report and that's where it stopped. So, when my wife got shot at, I took matters into my own hands. And she did some digging and found out something very interesting".
"What was that?"
"Well, for starters, the Sheriff and Holt Gregory are working together. He's buying up all the property because he wants to take advantage of the lower tax rate. He buys the property, sells off the equipment, and the Sheriff is letting him do it in return for a cut of the money. And I also found that in a few instances when the property owner didn't want to sell, he produced documents with their signature on them. How convenient that Holt Gregory's wife has a sorority sister who just so happens to work at City Hall in the records department".
"Well now how did he get those?"
"Unless he forged them, I can't think of a way".
She handed him some documents to review.
"And there is one more part you should be aware of".
"What's that?"
"As it turns out, the person who brought us the plant, was a former aide of yours."
She slid a picture of them across the table.
"Well, I'll be".
"Yeah, it's quite a mess".
"So, based on what you told me and based on what you have presented to me, I need to call in the FBI and have them arrest the sheriff, arrest Holt Gregory, and the aide, plus all the wives. And I need to have the legislators rewrite the tax laws".
"That would be good".
"Mr. Hart, you mentioned that you took matters into your own hands after they shot at your wife. Do I want to know what that's about?"
"Probably not. But I will say that it involved me bringing the ranch hands at the Gregory farm to my farm, for a conversation, and it ended with us agreeing to not press charges, save for the ranch hand who shot at my wife. The rest of them received a citation for trespassing from the Sheriff".
"Governor, there's more. There is someone else who is in on the scheme. This person agreed to close the elementary school in town, and to let Holt Gregory have access of that property as well. That person is Senator Randall Cox".
She slid a picture of them across the table to him.
"That's them at his re-election party last year. And here's the document where he ordered it to happen".
"Ma'am, did you investigate all of this yourself?"
"I had some help with one of my husband's executives, but for the most part, yes, it was all my doing".
"You're a mighty fine investigator. Play your cards and you could be working for me".
"I'm a journalist, first and foremost. But I appreciate the compliment".
"Well, it looks as if I need to make a call to the FBI. If my hunch is right, this is going to trickle down into other departments as well".
"I'm sure it will".
Jonathan pulled a business card out of his pocket.
"Here is our home phone number, our home address, and my office number, if the FBI wants to reach us".
"I'll pass it along. One more question, if I may. Why did you two feel like you needed to bring this to my attention?"
"Well, we hate to see injustice. And we hate to see innocent people get hurt and these people have swindled people out of their land and their homes, through intimidation and fear. Plus, imagine if the person who shot through our window had been a legitimate intruder and not one of their ranch hands, nothing would have been done about it because the Sheriff was always tied up with the Gregory's. If he wasn't at our place asking us about what they alleged against us, he was hanging out with them. The town needs a new sheriff, a new regime, and the people deserve to get their land and their houses back".
"That's a good point. Well, thank you for bringing this to my attention. You have my word that I will call the FBI this afternoon and get them on this".
"Thank you, we appreciate your time".
They all shook hands and then Jonathan and Jennifer headed out.
They walked hand in hand back to the car, and climbed in.
"Ok, back to the airport, please".
***Willow Pond***
Max picked them up at the airport and drove them home.
"So how are things at the ranch?"
"Good, for now. We had a bit of a mess, but we handled it".
Freeway kept moving from the backseat with Jennifer to the front seat next to Max.
"Max, I think someone missed you".
"I missed all you guys".
"We missed you too, Max".
"I stopped by the market and got all the stuff to make a special meal for you two tonight. How does grilled chicken a la Max sound?"
"Oh that sounds wonderful! We haven't had that in ages".
Freeway let out a rather enthusiastic bark.
"Aww, even Freeway is excited about Max's home cooking".
They pulled up to Willow Pond, and unloaded the car.
Jonathan carried their bags upstairs while Jennifer took the cooler and put all the meat in the freezer.
Max carried in the groceries and began to get dinner going.
Jonathan walked out and got the mail and was absolutely not surprised to come in and hear the click-clack of Jennifer's computer keys when he came back inside the house.
He sat down on the couch and turned on the afternoon news as he began to leaf through the mail.
Breaking news: the FBI has descended on an entire town and has basically taken every official into custody. Arrested so far, is real estate mogul Holt Gregory, Holt's wife Amanda Casey Gregory, 25 ranch hands who worked on the Gregory's ranch, Sheriff McDougal, two deputies in the Sheriff's department, as well as two employees in City Hall in the records department, and Senator Randall Cox. And the charges are daunting-real estate fraud, tax fraud, forgery, money laundering, intimidation, multiple counts of trespassing, threatening bodily harm, and wire fraud. At last count, a whopping 34 people have been taken into custody. Officials aren't saying why they made the arrests, only that the Governor contacted the FBI today and ordered them to move quickly. We will keep investigating this, until we get to the bottom of it. More to come on this tonight, at 6".
"Jennifer-you need to come see this".
She came out of the study and put her hand on his shoulder as she stood behind him.
"Wow, the governor sure moved fast".
He reached up and laced his fingers through hers.
"Yeah, he did".
"Well, at least we know he listened to us and took us seriously".
She scratched his neck a little bit.
"This investigation is probably just beginning".
"Yeah, I think you're right. I'm sure there will be so much more uncovered".
Jennifer disappeared back into the study for a bit, and resumed typing. Jonathan sorted through all of the mail and then called Stanley for an update.
"Ok, I'll be in the office tomorrow. And Stanley, you've earned a long vacation-I insist. See you tomorrow".
Jennifer stopped writing long enough to have dinner and a cocktail with Jonathan, and then got back at it.
She finally stopped for good around 10, and came to bed just as he was changing into his pajamas.
"Get it all finished?"
"Almost. I've gotten the gist of it down, just have to make tweaks tomorrow".
She changed into a nightgown and then climbed into bed next to him.
"I'm sorry, darling. I just wanted to get the story down before I lost the essence of it".
"It's ok, I understand. I had a long talk with Stanley and he filled me in on how things have been going at the office".
"Oh? Are you going back to the office tomorrow?"
"Yes, I am. I told him he deserved a long vacation".
"I agree with that".
"And as soon as he comes back, you and I are going to take our long-awaited anniversary trip".
"Again?! Not on your life".
"I promise, to take you somewhere nice, quiet, relaxing, and beautiful, without any neighbors".
"That part is mandatory".
She snuggled up to his chest and threw a leg over his.
"You know, we've had a lot of anniversaries. But this is probably the wildest one so far".
"I agree. Which is why I want us to go somewhere relaxing".
"You know darling, if I didn't know better, I would think Max missed Freeway more than he missed us".
"Can you blame him? He's a damn good dog".
"Yes, he is".
He lightly scratched her back till she fell asleep in his arms.
"Goodnight, I love you".
***The Next Day***
Jennifer was at home, working on her article again, putting on the finishing touches and making her final edits.
Max popped his head in the study.
"Mrs. H., you got this delivery and there's a phone call for you".
"Ok, thanks Max".
He set a large bouquet of flowers down on the desk, as she picked up the phone.
"Hello?"
"Jennifer, hi, it's Marcia. Listen, I read the teaser that you sent over and it's magnificent. And I've already gotten a few offers on the piece".
"Wonderful! I'll be completely finished with it and will send it to you within an hour".
"Perfect! I'll be waiting".
They hung up, and she immediately dug for the card.
For the past 14 years I've tried my damnedest to give you the best life possible and make you blissfully happy, and it turns out you did the same thing for me all along. I love you more with every passing second. Happy Anniversary, darling. Love-Jonathan.
She teared up at the sentiment and smelled her flowers for a few minutes.
She picked up the phone and made a few phone calls, and then got back to work.
***Later that Afternoon***
Jonathan arrived home around 5 p.m., with a few presents in his hand for Jennifer.
He looked for her in the study, but she wasn't there.
He headed to the kitchen, and found a note from Max.
Headed to poker. See you two tomorrow.
He headed upstairs and found a note on the bed from Jennifer.
Put on your tux, and be quick, because the car service will be picking you up at 6. I love you-Me.
He put his tux on, and then went downstairs and made himself a cocktail while he waited for the car service.
The car service showed up right on time, and he climbed in the backseat hoping to see Jennifer.
Instead he found a note.
Darling, you're almost there. Lay back and enjoy the ride. I love you! Me
He relaxed a little bit, and tried to enjoy the ride.
When the car service stopped at his destination, he emerged from the car, and found the driver waiting to hand him something.
"This will tell you everything you need to know".
"Thank you".
He opened the letter.
Meet me in the steakhouse in this hotel. I love you! Me
He walked inside and found his way to the steakhouse and saw her sitting there, waiting on him.
"Hi gorgeous".
"Hi handsome".
She stood up and kissed him.
"What's this all about?"
"Darling, you always plan the most romantic escapades for us, so this time, it's my turn."
She kissed him again and then sat down.
"So, what do you have planned?"
"One thing at a time, Mr. Hart. Up first, is dinner and drinks".
He grabbed her hand and kissed the back of it.
Jennifer had put on one of his favorite dresses, a blue and black lace, form-fitting off the shoulder knee-length dress, with the stockings that drove him wild, the ones with the black line up the back of the legs, and her black stiletto Jimmy Choo's. She was absolutely breathtaking.
The waitress brought their cocktails and the first course, and a few moments later, the band started to play.
Jennifer and Jonathan shared a few dances, and then had a very romantic dinner.
When it was over, Jennifer paid the check, and then they headed out.
"Did you drive here?"
"Yes, but we aren't driving home, just yet".
She took his hand and led him to the elevator and then waved their room key in front of the pad.
The elevator stopped at the 14th floor, so she led him down the hallway towards their room.
They went inside room 1424.
There were candles lit all around, and rose petals spread on the bed in the shape of a heart. They also had a bottle of champagne chilling in an ice bucket in the corner.
"When did you do all this?"
"Before dinner".
She leaned up and kissed him, and wrapped her arms around his neck.
"You and I are spending the night here, sailor. And we have it for most of the day tomorrow".
"I love this".
"Great! Now look-I packed you a bag with everything you'll need for tonight. So, pop the cork on the champagne and get comfy. I'm going to slip into something more comfortable, but don't worry, I won't be long".
She kissed him a few times and then headed into the bathroom.
Jonathan began to look around their suite. King-sized bed, medium-sized sitting area, and a seemingly nice-sized bathroom.
"Mr. Hart, are you changed yet?"
"Working on it, Mrs. Hart".
He took his tux off and put on the pajama pants she had packed for him.
He popped the cork on the champagne, and poured them each a glass.
Jennifer came out of the bathroom in his favorite blue nightgown, and climbed into bed next to him.
He dropped a strawberry in her champagne glass, and then stared into her eyes.
"To the happiest 14 years of my life with the most beautiful woman in the universe. I love you, happy anniversary".
"I love you too, and you've made the last 14 years of my life pretty great too. Happy anniversary".
They clinked glasses, shared a few kisses and then took a few sips.
"You have some presents to open".
"So do you".
They decided to open their first gifts at the same time.
As soon as they both realized what it was, they started laughing.
"You mean, we….each planned a trip….to the same place….the same week?"
"Yeah, I think we did".
"Happy Anniversary, Mr. Hart".
"Happy Anniversary Mrs. Hart".
As soon as they calmed down, they shared a few more kisses, which was just the beginning of their romantic evening.
And they lived happily ever after…..