A Fresh Start
Chapter Two Hundred Thirty Five
Jeffrey looks up as Sam walks up to his table. "Hi." She says, quietly.
"What are you doing here? You said you would stay…."
"I know what I said this morning. I had every intention of staying home, but I couldn't."
"You couldn't, why? Never mind that, your brother…."
"Is someone for us to be concerned about, but…." She holds up her hand. "I will not hide in my house, scared to face the problem, I won't. I'm not going to Laurel Falls and knock on his door either. That's why I came here. I was going to go to City Hall, but I called there first and Stace told me that you were already at lunch and that you usually eat lunch here, so I came straight here. I didn't stop anywhere else." Sam says, as Marina walks up with her menu and Jeffrey's drink.
She hands the menu to Sam after she sits Jeffrey's drink down. "Hi Sam, how are you doing?"
"I'm great." Sam says, taking the menu.
"Good, can I get you something to drink? Or do you want the hot apple cider."
"The cider will be fine, thanks Marina." Sam says, with a smile.
"Do you need some more time?" She asks, looking at Jeffrey.
"Give us a few moments." Jeffrey says, looking at her.
"Sure, I'll bring your cider in a moment."
"Thanks." Sam says, nodding to her.
For a moment, Jeffrey watches her. "There's something else on your mind here." He says, looking at her.
She looks at him and then sighs. "I've been thinking about this situation with Jeremiah. And I'm not saying this is my fault, but I might be able to head whatever he's planning off."
"How are you going to do that?"
"I want to call him and setup a meeting, me and him."
"Hell no!" Jeffrey says, leaning into her. "You're not meeting him alone. It's not happening. That would be like walking up to his door and saying here…."
"Of course I'm not going to meet him alone. Have you forgotten that I am a trained Federal agent, just like you?" She asks, exasperated.
"You're a trained Federal agent that's pregnant with my child and there's…." Marina walks up with Sam's cider.
"Thank you." Sam says, taking the straw Marina handed her. Nodding she walks away.
"There's no way I'm letting you meet with your brother alone, or surrounded by a room full of people. It's not happening Sam."
"Oh, would you please relax? I'm not going to jeopardize our child or our life, but I might be able to diffuse this situation before it becomes extremely volatile."
"It's volatile now."
"It's unclear right now with the potential to become unstable. Maybe if I can talk to him, I can get him to back off a little bit. Maybe I can get him to agree to disagree."
"Have you ever been able to do that so far?"
"I've never actually tried. We always stayed to the surface. Argument. We've never discussed what lies beneath."
"He doesn't strike me as a man that will listen of his own free will." Jeffrey says, as Marina walks up to the table.
"Are you ready to order now?" She asks quietly, feeling the tension.
"I'll have my usual."
"I'll have the broccoli and cheese soup and club sandwich." Sam says, handing Marina the menu."
"Coming right up." She says, taking the menu.
"Let say for arguments sake and if I ever would let you agree to this meeting, what would you tell him?"
"Part of Jeremiah's problem, is that he idolized Daddy. And he never listened to anyone that spoke ill of Daddy, most especially me. But he's never heard the tape I have of what Daddy was planning to do with Momma."
"He doesn't know about the tape."
"No, he doesn't. I never played for him or Megan. Neither one of them know about Daddy's plans."
"Are my ears burning for a reason?" Megan asks, walking up to their table.
"Megan, hi." Sam says, standing up. She hugs her. "I'm sorry I missed the boys last weekend. I always get pictures of them in their costumes."
"I know. That's why I came over." Megan says, pulling out a snapshot and handing it to her.
Sam looks at the picture and then up at Megan. "I'm surprised."
"I let them pick what they want to be." Megan says, sitting down at the table as Marina walks up with their food. Sam hands him the picture, forgetting that Jeffrey had already seen the boy's costumes. One of the boys is dressed as secret federal agent, or at least their interpretation of one and the other is dressed like a rock star. Both boys are clearly trying to imitate Jeffrey. "You guys looked like you were involved in a very serious conversation when I walked up. Is something wrong?"
"It's nothing we can't handle." Sam says.
"Sam wants to meet with Jeremiah." Jeffrey says, looking at Megan.
"Meet with Jeremiah, why and what would you have to say to him?" Megan asks, looking at Sam.
"I only want to talk to him?"
"Why? He has done nothing, but ridicule and undermine everything you've ever tried to do." Megan says, but Sam doesn't answer as she continues to eat her lunch.
"You might as well tell her what's going on?" Jeffrey says.
"Sam." Megan asks, as she continues to eat.
"I've gotten on Jeremiah's bad side again and that's all you need to know and I wanted to try and fix it but he won't let me."
"He's dangerous. I don't blame him for wanting to keep you away from Jeremiah or have you forgotten that he tried to kidnap from your own wedding."
"He…."
"Do not say that he wasn't going to kidnap you. If Frank and the other guy…."
"Gus." Sam says, as Megan says.
"If they hadn't've shown up, he was going to force you to leave."
"He doesn't know all the truth and neither do you."
"What does that mean?" Megan demands, looking at her.
"It simply means that there is more to the story than you or Jeremiah knows. And it's possible that I can get Jeremiah to back off." Sam says, laying her sandwich down, suddenly not feeling very hungry. And I won't hide away in my house, afraid of my own damn shadow." Sam says, getting up.
Jeffrey moves to follow her but Megan reaches out to stop him. "Let her go, she'll blow off some steam and she'll be fine."
"That's what I'm worried about. I know this makes her feel helpless, but she can't see Jeremiah for any reason and she definitely can't let her see him anywhere alone."
"Why don't you sit back and tell me what's going on." Megan says, reaching out to stop him.
Sighing, he sits down. "A couple weeks ago, a woman brought a young girl into Sam's office. She had severely injured her shoulder. While Sam was treating her, a man came in demanding that Sam turn the girl over to him. Sam refused, and the man refused to leave. So the police were called. Frank came and told me what was going on and I went with him home. When I got there the man was calling Sam's names, saying different stuff and still insisting that Sam turn the young girl over to him. Frank and a couple of his deputies arrested the man and took him out of the office.
"And Sam went to treat the girl."
"Yes, she treated the girl and then turned everything over to Frank. But I know your sister and I knew that wouldn't be the end of it."
"Why?"
"Because that girl reminded Sam too much of what your childhood was like and I knew that she would insist on helping her and that scared me. But I knew there wasn't really anything I could do. Anyway, Sam went to Laurel Falls where the girl was from. She told me later that she only went to find the woman that brought the girl to the clinic so that she could talk to her. But instead she found out that the woman wasn't who she said she was."
"Who was she?"
"She's turned out to be the girl's mother. Anyway, I came home that night and she wasn't here. I knew where she was and the thing that scared me the most was the fact that she took my gun with her when she went to Laurel Falls. I know she only did for added protection, but still the different things that could've happened up there, I was scared. And when she got home that night, she promised she would let Frank and social service handle it. Unfortunately, I turned he-man on her and forced her hand."
"What do you mean you turned he-man on her?"
"The next morning after she promised that she would let Frank handle the investigation and I promise to call one of our friends in the agency, I tried to call her. But I couldn't get a hold of her and so I panicked and I called Frank and I told him… well I suggested that it would make the case stronger if civilians were not involved in the investigation." He says, as she looks at him with a look that says he had to know that wouldn't work. "I knew I wouldn't work, but I panicked. Anyway, Sam found out about it and she was furious after she talked to Frank. She confronted me, told me off and then told me she had offered to testify on behalf of the mother, at the mother's trial."
"Why is the mother on trial?"
"She was arrested for kidnapping after Sam took care of the girl. Apparently, the girl was visiting her for her weekend visitation and the woman was supposed to have her back the night before, but when she didn't return the girl, she charged with kidnapping."
"And Sam is testifying for her. I still don't understand how Jeremiah is involved with this."
"The day after the incident in Sam's office, the man that was arrested showed back up at the clinic to apologize and to explain what was going on. Sam promised to let me know immediately if anything else happened. So when the guy shows back up, she had one of the girls in the office call me. So I rushed over there and when I get there, she's in her office taking with this guy."
"And you went he-man on her again, didn't you?"
"I did at first but then Sam explained who the guy was."
"Who was he?"
"It turns out that the guy is an undercover federal agent. He's investigating the group this girl is associated with."
"I'm still not clear on how all of this has to do with Jeremiah. How is a federal agent here, undercover and investigating Jeremiah when he's back home?"
"That's the thing, he's not in Georgia. He's here. Well he's in Laurel Falls." He says, as Megan stares at him. "According to the agent, when he returned from our wedding last summer, he apparently ordered everyone in the organization to pack up and move up here, to Laurel Falls."
"Where is this Laurel Falls?"
"It's about an hour, hour and half north of here, its a few miles from the Canadian border." Jeffrey says, as Marina comes over.
"Are you finished?" She asks, looking at the plates. She notices that Sam's not there and that her food has barely been touched.
"Yes." Jeffrey says, answering her.
"Do you want a box for Sam's soup and sandwich?" She asks, glancing at Megan.
"That's fine. I'll take it home to her. Thank you." Jeffrey says, as she picks up Sam's plate and turns to leave.
"Jeremiah's living in Laurel Falls with the congregation from our father's church."
"That's that I understood from the agent. The Federal government has been investigating your brother for quite sometime, from what the agent said."
"You act like you're not surprised by that."
"To be honest, I'm not. Sam's told me things about what went on when you were children, things your father did and I have to say that I can't see how some of them were legal. In fact, I know they weren't." Jeffrey says, as Marina brings Sam food and the check. "Thank you." He says, taking the check.
"You're welcome, and whenever you're ready to go I'll take the check."
"Thanks." Jeffrey says, as she turns to walk away.
"So, why does Sam want to talk to him?"
"Shortly after Sam decided to help with the kidnapping case, she received a call from a man claiming to be the attorney for the woman that was arrested. He wanted to talk to Sam and the agreed to meet yesterday at Company. She gave Sam his name and when she told me who it was, I didn't recognize him. He claimed to work for public defenders office. And I know all the lawyers working in that office, so I decided to go with Sam for this meeting."
"Okay, what did the guy say?"
"He didn't show up. We were there for a while and he never showed. And when he didn't show I called the director of the public defender's office to verify that this guy was on the kidnapping case. The guy never heard of the man Sam was supposes to me and he gave the name of the woman's real attorney. After I found that out, I got Sam out of here and we went to see the woman that was arrested."
"You got Sam out of here, why?"
"I don't know, just something told me to get her out of here so we left. We went to the station and we met with the woman that was arrested. We told her about the man Sam was supposes to meet and she confirmed what I suspected when I found out the man didn't work for the public defender's office."
"What was that?"
"He's muscle for Jeremiah."
"You mean like Jeremiah's enforcer, like a mob enforcer."
"I don't know if the man has killed anyone for Jeremiah, but he's along those lines. So, I contacted the agency to arrange for a bodyguard for Sam until this stuff is settled. And she promised that she would stay at the house until the bodyguard could get here to help protect her when I can't be around her."
"I understand your concern and I agree with you. She needs a bodyguard, but she's not going to hide from this. I'm surprised she hasn't tried to find and confront Jeremiah herself."
"She did, well she went to Laurel Falls. She said only to speak to the nurse that supposedly brought the girl to the clinic and that's how we found out that the woman wasn't the school nurse like she told Sam. Someone at the high school told her that a group had moved in during the summer and that they stayed pretty much to themselves, with the kids participating very little with other kids and school activities. Sam told me when she got back that night, that she thought about trying to find out where this group lived, but that she didn't." Jeffrey says, as she sits back and stares at him.
"So what are you going to do?"
"I don't know. I should hear from the agency later today. If I don't, then I guess I'll be working from home, until this is all settled, because I can't let anything happen to her. It did once, it won't again."
Sighing, she looks at him. "If you trust me, I'm out of classes till the spring semester. I can stay with her until this is settled."
"Megan, it's never been a matter of my not trusting you. You're her sister and I know you love her. What about work?"
"The job at the shop didn't work out, so I've got free time."
"You're not working?"
"No, but I've got alimony and child support from Patrick coming in. And the income from my shop in DC and I have some savings, things are tight but I'm surviving, but please don't say anything to Sam. She'll want to protect me and…."
"I won't say anything. Actually, I need to go find her. I have to know she's…."
"Go, and tell her to call me." Megan says, as he stands up.
"I will." He says, reaching for his coat and the check. A few minutes later, he leaves Company.
Cassie's leaving the Beacon as Reva walks in from lunch. "Hey." She says, walking up to her.
"I have seen you in a few days." Cassie says, after they hug.
"Yeah, we seem to miss each other." Reva says, stepping back. "How is everyone doing?"
"We're great. What about you and Josh?"
"We're actually doing really well."
"You are?" Cassie asks surprised
"Yes." Reva says, with a smile. "He went with me and we went to see Jeffrey and Sam and he actually talked with Jeffrey."
"He went to Jeffrey and Sam house and he talked to Jeffrey. How did you get him to do that? He was furious when he left the bar the other night."
"I got him to open up about what was truly bothering him about the situation with Jeffrey and yes he was worried about me and Jeffrey getting together, but it was more than just that he was concerned with."
"What else, he couldn't have been worried about me. Or was he?"
"Well he was concerned about you and Marah, but the main issue he had with this was accepting the fact that HB cheated on Sarah not once but at least twice. And there's no telling if he did it more than that."
"He didn't want to face that fact. What changed his mind?"
"He apologized for his behavior at the club and we got to talking and discussing his feelings about Jeffrey and HB and it went from there. I saw that you've reserved one of the conference room and ballrooms for Friday night. Is there anything I should know about?"
"Ummm, it's for Richard's campaign."
"His campaign, what campaign?"
"He's decided to run for mayor and he's making the announcement here on Friday night. You should receive and invitation, since I've been coordinating everything with his campaign staff."
"He's running for office, really?"
"Yes, why are you so surprised?"
"I don't know. I just never thought about him running for office. He's certainly qualified for the job. If he needs any help, tell him to let me know."
"I will."
"Where are you off too?"
"Ummm, actually home, the house is a mess."
"Ummm hmmm, I'm sure it is." Reva says, rolling her eyes.
"It…." Smiling, she shrugs her shoulders and lets the subject drop. "What's going on with the other situation with Josh?"
Reva looks at her for a moment and then it hits her that she's asking about Leah and Dj. "That hasn't really changed. Dj is still refusing to have anything to do with Josh."
"Have he tried talking to him?"
"Yes, and I've even spoken to him, but he's entrenched in his anger and he won't let it go."
"So what is Josh going to do?"
"I'm not sure. I invited his mother to Thanksgiving dinner.
"You, you what!" Cassie asks, looking at her.
"I invited Leah and Dj to Thanksgiving dinner. It seemed like the right thing to do."
"How could inviting to Thanksgiving dinner the woman that slept with Josh and had his child seem like the right thing to do? I could never…."
"You do it every time I walk into your house." Reva says with a smile. "I invited her but she didn't accept." Cassie gives a sigh of relief as Reva smiles.
"I know you've slept with Richard, but that's different."
"How is that different?"
"You're my sister."
"You're my sister and you've slept with Josh, should I uninvited you to Thanksgiving dinner?" Reva asks, teasing her.
"I guess you should, if you go by my logic." Cassie says, looking at her.
"I was teasing you. I'm not going to do that to you, Richard and the boy." Reva says, hugging her.
"Maybe you should." Cassie says, pulling away.
"No! It was a complicated situation and we both made mistakes." Reva says in a tone that says your big sister has spoken.
Cassie smiles. "Alright, I'll stop blaming it all on me."
"Good. So this year it's going to be just the family."
"Minus Jon and Sarah, and I know I have a lot to be thankful for."
"How is Richard doing, besides the campaign?'
"He's fine, we're all fine."
"Have you talked to your father?"
"Ummm, no, I guess I should call him. The last I heard, he and Olivia are taking some time apart."
"She's not coming back to Springfield, is she?"
"No, she can never do that. He says she wants to focus on figuring out why she went after Jeffrey."
"She went after him, because that is what she does." Reva says, looking up. Josh has just walked in.
"Well maybe she wants to figure out what causes her to do that." Cassie says, turning to see what Reva is looking at. Spotting Reva, Josh heads their way as Cassie says. "I guess I'll go now. It looks like he wants to talk."
"We'll talk later and plan the menu for Thanksgiving."
"Yeah, and maybe we should include Sam in these discussions too."
"That's a great idea." Reva says, as Josh walks up.
He leans in to give Reva a quick kiss before he turns to Cassie. "Hi, how are you and boys and Richard doing?"
"We're great. I'll let you talk. Reva call me and we'll talk about Thanksgiving dinner."
"Great, I'll talk to you later sis." She says, giving her a quick hug.
"Bye." Cassie says after they release each other and she steps back.
"See you." Josh says, as she turns to go and she nods.
Jeffrey walks out of Company shortly after paying for his and Sam's lunch. He's on his way to the car and as he walks by the bench outside Company a movement in the corner of his eye, catches his attention. He stops and turns finding Sam sitting on the bench. He watches her for a moment before she looks up. Smiling weakly, she sighs. "I thought you left." He says, walking over to the bench.
"I was on my way to my car." She says quietly.
"Is everything okay?" He asks, walking over to her and sitting down.
"I'm fine and the baby's fine." She says, staring ahead.
After a few moments, he asks. "So, why didn't you go?" She glances at him and then turns her attention back to the street in front of Company. "Sam?"
Sighing, she says. "I stopped because I was scaring myself with the thoughts running through my head."
"What sort of thought?"
"Mostly about leaving and going to find Jeremiah on my own." She says quietly. "And then I started thinking about you and what it would do to you if I did that and I just got scared." Sam says, as Megan comes out of the restaurant. She's walking by when she notices Sam and Jeffrey sitting on the bench. He looks up and nods and she turns and walks away.
"It's okay. I know you're scared and you feel helpless and responsible for what's going on, but none of it is your fault." He says, lightly kissing the top of her head. "I'll relax the staying in the house with the windows and doors locked with the alarm set." He says, smiling against her head. She smiles faintly against his chest. "But you're still getting the bodyguard."
"I never objected to the bodyguard." She mumbles against his chest as he smiles again. She pulls away and looks up. "But I still think that I can talk to Jeremiah."
"Not alone Sam, if you want to talk to him that's fine, but you're not doing it alone." He says, pulling away to look at her.
"I don't believe he wants to hurt me J."
"Listen to me you don't know what he wants. You don't know what is going on in his head. He is dangerous."
Sighing, she looks at him. How did we get like this?"
"You chose different paths and that is something you can't change."
"I hate my father."
"No, you don't. You love him. You hate what he did, just like I hated the fact that my mom wouldn't leave the neighborhood and I hate the fact that it killed her. I don't her." He says, leaning in and kissing her. "I love you. And nothing is going to happen to either of you."
"I'm not worried about that." She says, pulling away. Sighing, she says. "I need to go. I've gat a patient after lunch."
"Alright, I'll follow you home."
"J, I'll… alright." She says, sighing as she stands up. He follows her, slipping his arm around her, they walk to their cars. He waits for her to get in before he walks over to his and getting in, he starts his. Backing out, he waits for her to back out and then follows her home.
"So what's up?" Reva asks, looking at Josh as Cassie walks away.
"Ummm, nothing really important. I went to talk to Jeffrey this morning." Josh says, following her to her office.
"Hi, Mrs. Lewis." Lydia says.
"Hello Lydia, hold any calls."
"Yes ma'am." She says, as Reva and Josh walk over to her door.
Opening the door, Reva walks inside with Josh following her, closing the door behind them. "So you went to talk to Jeffrey?" Reva asks, turning to him.
"Yes, I was talking to Billy abut the situation with Dj and he suggested that I talk to Jeffrey about it since he's been in a similar situation."
"You told Billy about Dj."
"Yes. I told him everything. Anyway, he suggested that I talk to Jeffrey so I went over there."
"How did it go?"
"Fine, we talked."
"What did he say?"
"That basically we have to give it time. I mentioned about Dj's attitude towards his mother and how he speaks to her sometimes and we're both sure I can handle that. There's something else." Josh says, pulling out the papers.
"What's that?"
"These are the papers to Lewis Oil."
"The papers to Lewis Oil, I thought he was going to give that to Billy."
"He was and he did, but Billy told him to give them to me. So he did before I left his office."
"So, you have controlling interest in Lewis Oil. What are you going to do with Lewis Construction?"
"I'm not totally sure. We'll keep it of course. We're the only company big enough to compete with Spaulding. But I haven't talked to Billy about the logistics of everything. Oh, I told him that I wanted him and Sam to come to Thanksgiving dinner."
"I had already invited them."
"I know. But he was still concerned about my reaction to them coming. I made sure he understood that I wanted him to come."
"So are they coming?"
"I don't know. He said he had to talk to Sam about it."
"Of course."
"So what are you going to do about Dj?"
"What can I do, but wait and give him time to ease into this." Josh says, as Lydia buzzes her.
"Yes."
"I'm sorry to interrupt, ma'am but your two o'clock appointment is here."
"Thanks, I'll be right out." Reva says. standing up. Josh follows her
"You know you look really good as a hotel owner."
"I'm not the owner. I work here." Reva says, walking over to her door.
"The office is nice." Josh says, looking around
"It was Olivia's. I've made a few changes." Reva says, looking around as she walks up to the door.
She reaches to open it as he reaches for her hand, stopping her. "Thank you for supporting me. It means a lot to me after this summer."
"I never left you or stopped loving you this summer or any other time you've made me mad."
"Still thank you." He says, leaning in to kiss her.
She steps back and smiles at him. "I need to handle this."
"Alright, I'll see you at home later."
"Yes, I'll be at home." She says, opening the door and the walk out together.
Jeffrey follows Sam home and then returns to City Hall. As he's walking into the office, Stace looks up. "Sir, a Dr. Chase called for you while you were gone."
"Thank you. I'll call him back." Jeffrey says, walking into his office. Closing the door, he walks over to his desk. Sitting down, he picks up the phone and dials Noah's number at the agency. A few minutes later, Noah picks up. "Noah, its Jeffrey."
"Hello."
"Did you talk to the director?' Jeffrey asks, sitting back.
"Yes, I talked to him."
"Is he sending someone?'
"Yes, but Rosemary's on a mission so he's sending an agent from the Chicago field office. She's helped with security when the President goes to New York and she has extensive field experience."
"Who are they sending Noah?"
"She just got back from a mission and…."
"Noah, who are they sending?"
"Shelly?
"No, Noah. She can't come. There's got to be another agent that can do this."
"There was one other candidate, but I wasn't sure you would want him."
"Why?"
"He's a guy? I wasn't sure how you would feel about a man guarding Sam."
"He knows his job doesn't he?"
"Yes, he's very good at his job. He's worked security in the private sector for some high profile people and companies before he joined the military after 9-11. He fast tracked through boot camp, officers training. And scored some of the highest score during seals training and he hasn't lost a single man, yet."
"Alright, what's his name?"
"Julian Palmer."
"How long has he been out of the academy?'
"He's quite…."
"How long, Noah?"
"This will be his first major operation."
"So he's barely out of the academy a year!"
"That's why I recommend…."
"We're not bringing Shelly into this. It's hard enough to get Sam to agree to a bodyguard. I need one she won't try to duck out of. Alright, send Agent Palmer. I don't like this, but I have little choice."
"He's a great agent Jeffrey and completely capable of protecting Sam until things are settled with Jeremiah."
"Thank you Noah. I appreciate you talking to the Director for me. I should've talked to him myself, but he's not my greatest fan."
"You guys butted heads a few times, I know. Has anything changed with this situation that I need to tell Agent Palmer?"
"No, we're still waiting for Jeremiah to make his move. He may not do it immediately, so Agent Palmer may be here a while."
"The director okayed the op for the duration. He's fond of Sam."
"When can we expect him to come?"
"I'll contact him as soon as I'm off the phone with you and he should by there by tomorrow or the next day at the last."
"Alright, I'll be looking for him."
"How is everything else going in Springfield?'
"It's still the same." Jeffrey says, knowing that he's asking about Reva.
"Is there anything else?"
"No, thank you again." Jeffrey hangs up and then sits back. Maybe having a male bodyguard was better. He trusted Sam and they wouldn't have to deal with any of his baggage from using a female agent from the agency, which would be easier for Sam to understand and handle. Reaching for the file on his desk, he turns his attention to Springfield business.
Megan left Company shortly after Jeffrey. The boys wouldn't be out of school for another hour. Driving over to Sam's clinic, she pulls in and turns the car off. Sitting there for a moment, she reaches for purse and gets out. Locking her car, she walks up to the door to the clinic. She steps back and lets, a woman and Arianna walk out before she walks into the clinic. Looking around, she smiles, as she feels Sam in the room. Walking over to the desk, the receptionist looks up. "May I help you?" She asks.
"I need to Sam." Megan says, looking around
"Are you sick?" The woman asks, watching her.
"No, but I need to see her." Megan says, turning her attention back to the woman.
"I'm sorry but without an appointment…."
"I'm her sister." Megan says, looking at her as Sam walks up.
"Megan, what are you doing here?" She asks surprised.
"I wanted to see." Megan says quietly.
"It's okay Alice." Sam says, reaching for the buzzer to open the door. "She's my sister." Sam says, as Megan walks over to the door. Opening and walking through the door, Megan turns as Sam comes out of the office area. They hug for a moment before Sam steps back. "I'm sort of surprised to see you here."
"I talked to Jeffrey after you left."
"You talked to…."
"Yes, and I listened to him. And I know you probably don't want to hear this, but he's right. You can't see Jeremiah, not alone. He'll do…."
"Let's talk about this in my office." Sam says, turning to walk back towards her office. Megan follows her. Holding the door for her, Sam lets her enter before she closes the door behind them and turns to her. "I've always been able to talk with Jeremiah." Sam says, walking over to her desk. She leans against it.
"When we were kids you could talk to him. Since we've grown up and we've both left the congregation for our own lives, he hasn't listened to us and he won't start now, you know that." Megan says, as she follows her and sits down in one of the chairs in front of her.
"He's focused on what Daddy taught him. And he's…."
"That's right he is focused on what Daddy taught him and there's nothing we can say or do to get him to see a different way. He thinks he's right about what he's doing. And Jeffrey only wants to protect you and the baby."
"I understand all that. And I know how unpredictable Jeremiah can be, but I'm the reason he's focused on us."
Megan looks at her and then sighs. "You're probably right, but forcing him to listen to you about this is only going to make him dig his heels in deeper, we both know that. He taking what happened at your wedding reception personal. He sees Jeffrey having him removed and you choosing him over him as a personal slap in the face. That's why he moved everyone up here."
"You think he arranged all of this with the girl?"
"Maybe not initially but it's worked in his favor. If the girl's mother knew that you were here, she might've come to you because she thought there would be less fall out seeking you out as just going to a doctor outside the congregation."
"Any doctor besides me would be out side the congregation, we both know that."
"We can try to figure out why Jeremiah's here, but it's never going to change the fact that he's here and that he's focused on you and Jeffrey and you both have to be careful, especially now."
Sighing, Sam looks at her. "Did Jeffrey send you…?"
"No, he doesn't know I'm over here."
"What about you?"
"What about me?"
"Why did you decide to talk to Jeffrey?"
"He seemed truly upset about you talking to Jeremiah, alone and I wanted to know why."
"You know that he's still the same man you."
"Yes, I also know that I shouldn't judge him by what happened to me. Jeffrey's not like our father."
"And he's not like Mr. Rollings."
"I realize that as well. Look I know I judged him according to what happened with me. I didn't look at him and I know I hurt you and I'm sorry. I don't want you hurt, that's why I'm here, if you'll have me."
"You don't have to ask. You're my sister and I will always love you even when you're judgmental and stupid." Sam says with a grin.
"I was judgmental, yes, stupid, no." Megan says with the same grin.
"Are you sure Jeffrey didn't send you to make sure I don't run off to Laurel Falls on my own?" Sam asks, as she pushes away from the desk and sits down beside her.
"No he didn't send me, although I offered to come by for a couple days."
"You can't spend the day with me. You've got the shop and classes."
"Classes don't start until spring."
"And the shop, you have that."
"Have you started on the nursery yet?" Megan asks, avoiding Sam's comment.
"No I haven't." Sam says, looking at her.
"I didn't look at this before." Megan says, looking around the office. "It's really nice and it totally fits you."
"Megan?"
"Everything is fine Sam but I do need to go. I've got to pick up the boys in about twenty minutes." She says, standing up.
"You might as well tell me what's going on." Sam says, standing up.
"Nothing is going on, I'm fine and so are the boys. I'll come by tomorrow." Megan says, turning to hug her before she leaves. Sam watches her walk over to the door. Opening it, she walks out. Sam walks to the door and watches her walk down the hall to the front of the office. There was something that Megan didn't want her to know about and she was going to find out what it was, one way or another.