Chapter 4

As Trent walked down the stairs, he heard voices from the direction of the kitchen. He couldn't quite make out the words, but his brother, Tommy, came out into the living room and headed quickly towards the front door.

"Why are you so eager to get to school?" Trent asked.

Tommy spun around, eyes widened at Trent's appearance on the stairs. "Oh, I am going to do some early morning studying with some friends."

"With Adam?" Trent asked. Adam was Tommy's best friend and the son of Pastor Roscoe Jones, an old friend of Thunder.

"Yeah and a few others," Tommy added, a tinge of pink appearing on his cheeks.

"Oh, I see," Trent nodded his head as he descended to the bottom of the staircase. "There is a girl in this group that you like."

"Uh," Tommy sputtered as he adjusted the bag hanging off his right shoulder.

Trent held back a chuckle when he saw that the tops of his brother's ears had turned a bright red. "All you need to do is be respectful and kind."

"Yeah, sure," Tommy said as he spun around and left, closing the door a little harder than Trent thought his younger brother meant to do.

He made a mental note to have a chat with Tommy later and went into the kitchen, where he greeted his mother with a good morning and a peck on the cheek. He went to the coffee pot and looked over at the pancakes that his mother had moved from the griddle to a plate for him.

He poured himself a cup of coffee, added some creamer to his coffee and stirred it, before he went to stand next to his mother, who was standing at the stove. Once she was aware of his presence and looked at him, he blurted out, "I have been thinking about getting my own place."

"That sounds wonderful," Katie remarked as she took the rest of the bacon out of the frying pan and added the rest of the bacon on a plate with a paper towel to soak up the excess grease.

"Yeah, I figured since Tommy, Tyler and Tandy have all been doing well, especially this past year, that it was time for me to move out. I mean, once I find a place, I will always be a text or a phone call away."

Katie set down the utensil and walked over to Trent, giving him a hug, careful of the coffee mug in his hand. When she pulled back, she put her hand on his cheek. "I am proud of you for what you have done for this family, but I am glad that you are ready to move on with your life."

Tandy and Tyler entered the kitchen before Trent could answer. The children chorused out good morning, took seats at the kitchen table. Katie brought over a plate each, containing pancakes, bacon and fruit. The youngest Malloy children simultaneously thanked their mother before starting to eat.

Trent accepted the plate that his mother handed him and thanked her, as he doctored his pancakes to his liking and started eating.

Trent enjoyed the company of his mother and his two youngest siblings, but it wasn't long before they had to get ready for school. He would miss having mornings like this once he got his own place, but he vowed that he would visit often.

Once breakfast was over and Katie had taken the kids to school, Trent pulled out his laptop and checked his emails.

Trent deleted the messages that were obvious spam but he was stunned when he saw a name of man he hadn't seen in a long time. He hesitated a brief moment, his mind almost pulling him back to that moment in his past, but he shook his head to return to the present and opened the message It was simple and all it said was:

Malloy, it is important that you read these. Call me once you do.

Trent scrolled down and clicked on the first link. A newspaper article, dated six months ago popped up. He was surprised at the name mentioned, but after he read it, he clicked at the next one, dated five months ago, and the next two, only two weeks apart and finally, the last article. Once he had finished, he closed out of the article and stared at the computer, but not really seeing it. He had seen that the final one had been dated yesterday and it had struck him harder than he had expected, not knowing about everything that had been happening to people he had known.

Memories slammed into his head and swirling of faces made him put his head in his hands for a moment. He brought his eyes back to the screen that had five articles that mentioned the names of people that he had met before and now, all of them were dead. He took several deep breaths to relax and to clear his mind before he read the articles again, absorbing all of the details.

Trent arrived at the Perfect Cup five minutes before four in the afternoon. He paused a moment, pushing aside the emotions and thoughts that had been running through him after he had received that email and had read those articles. He pushed open the door, walked into the cafe and scanned the room with his blue eyes. He saw who he was looking for and headed in that direction.

Once he reached the table, a smile appeared on his face as he reached Nancy and greeted her with a hello.

When she looked up at him from her tablet, she sent him a dazzling smile and her blue eyes reminded him of the sun shining on a clear blue lake. "Hi, Trent," she greeted warmly, as she tucked the tablet away in her bag.

He took a seat and wasn't surprised when Tessa, the owner of the Perfect Cup brought over his usual cup of coffee. She sent him a smile as she looked at Nancy and asked if she wanted another cup but she declined and thanked Tessa.

Tessa returned to the counter and went to take the orders from three teenage girls that had entered the shop. The three girls had noticed the handsome man and were chattering quietly with each other, but Trent didn't pay an attention to them. His focus was on Nancy.

"By the way, I have some news about that conference in Austin," Nancy announced excitedly. "Some spots opened up and I get to go. We also get to see some of the museums and visit the LBJ Presidential Library."

"Wow, that's great," Trent remarked, squeezing Nancy's hand and giving her a smile.

"Yes, I cannot wait to see everything and explore." Nancy looked at her cup that she held in her free hand. "I just wish you could be there, too."

"You will have a wonderful time and besides, aren't you going to be too busy to spend time with me anyway?" He pointed out.

She bobbed her head a couple of times. "Well, yes, that is true."

Trent took a sip of his coffee before he asked, "When are you going?"

"We leave in a few days."

"And how long are you going to be gone?"

"A week. The conference is three days and the last four days is going to be visiting the museums and the library."

"Well, I know you are going to enjoy it all and I can't wait till you get back and tell me all about it."

Nancy picked up her cup of coffee and took a drink. "So, want to go to the movies tonight?"

He nodded his head in agreement. The case that he and Carlos had gotten that day had been quickly resolved. An insurance company had hired them to try to find some stolen pieces which had been easy to track down when the thief, someone who had worked for the family who owned the antiques, had tried to pawn the pieces that had been rather distinctive.

A smile spread across his face. "I would love to. Any movie in mind?"

"Oh, it is my turn to pick the movie, isn't it?" She tapped her forefinger on her chin, attempting to hold back a grin, but the corners of her lip quivered.

He took a sip of his coffee, not minding what movie she picked as long as he was with her.

She spoke the name of the movie, which was a romantic comedy and he set down his coffee, giving her an unhappy look and she laughed when his miserable expression slipped away and turned into laughter.

His thoughts went to the email that he had received that morning and Nancy must have noticed a change on his face because she looked at him with concern and asked, "Is everything alright, Trent?"

He brought a smile to his lips and leaned close, "Everything is great, especially when I am with you."

A slight tinge of pink appeared on Nancy's cheeks and Trent leaned in and gave her a slow, gentle kiss on her lips.