Caleb 94 - Edie

All eyes turned to Melanie and then to the woman who was still standing by the door a mix of fear and anticipation on her face.

Cheryl went to the woman and took her hand. I, in turn, went to where Melanie knelt, still frozen. Gently I took her hand, guided her to her feet, and led her toward the new arrival. Both of their faces were showing a mix of emotions that was hard to quantify. Their auras were all over the place. I doubted either of them had any idea exactly what they were feeling right now.

“Melanie,” said Cheryl softly, “this is Edie, your mom.”

Suddenly Melanie’s hand was ripped from mine as she lunged forward, throwing herself at the woman standing beside Cheryl. It was as if someone had fired a starting pistol, Edie had, at almost the exact same time, lunged for Melanie. They came together like a couple of sumo wrestlers, but rather than trying to push each other away, they clung together, each talking, crying, grasping desperately at the other like they might once more be torn apart.

Cheryl gave them a few minutes, then, as the initial raw emotion seemed to be subsiding slightly, she put her hands on their shoulders.

“Come on inside,” she said gently. “You can talk there.”

Melanie, who’d looked at Cheryl when she’d felt her hand on her shoulder, nodded. They were reluctant to release their hold on each other though, so Melanie clutched onto Edie’s hand as Cheryl guided the pair toward the house. Just before she got out of reach, Melanie reached out and snatched my hand, pulling me after them. I didn’t resist. I managed to nod greetings to the others as I passed, but was unable to stop and chat since Melanie had a death grip on my hand.

I’d expected Cheryl to take us into the kitchen or even the living room. Instead, she led us into the den.

“I’m going to leave you guys to say hello,” she said. “We’re out here when you’re ready.”

I did make a slight effort to retreat and leave the mother and daughter to get acquainted, but Melanie wasn’t letting go of my hand, nor was she letting go of her mother.

Edie, who seemed to have a little more of her wits about her, looked at me.

“You’re Caleb?” she asked. I nodded.

“I’m so happy to meet you,” I said.

“Dean said that you were the one that found her,” she said.

“We found each other,” I told her.

“Thank you,” she said reaching out her other hand toward me. “I… I can’t…” fresh tears started to stream from her eyes. I took her hand and squeezed it gently.

Then she looked at Melanie.

“I’m so sorry,” she said. “Can you ever forgive me?”

“No,” said Melanie, her tone hard. It surprised us both until she went on.

“Don’t you DARE apologize. I know what happened, Maggie told me. She told me how devastated you were when…when I was taken. It wasn’t your fault. Will you just answer me one question, honestly, please?”

“Anything,” Edie said having let go of my hand. She was holding onto Melanie’s other hand with both of hers. Melanie still had my hand gripped in the hand that wasn’t holding her mothers. She was clutching so tight that my fingers had gone to sleep.

“Did you…” Melanie began, her voice much more nervous now. “Did you…love me?”

“Oh my poor baby” said Edie moving to hug her daughter. “I did, and I do. I never stopped loving you. I never stopped missing you. Every night I prayed for this moment, prayed that you were okay, that the person who’d taken you was kind to you, was giving you a good life, and that one day you and I would meet again. So many times I’ve thought about this moment, of what you’d look like, what you’d say, and if…if you’d ever forgive me for…”

“There’s nothing to forgive,” said Melanie. “She finally let go of my hand, and guided her mother to the seat. They both sat. I started to edge toward the door, to leave them to talk, but once again Melanie stopped me.

“Please,” she said. “Stay.”

“Don’t you want time with your mom?” I asked.

Melanie nodded. “I do. I so want time with my mom, I want the rest of my life with my mom, but I want her to know you too. I want her to know the best man I’ve ever known, my brother, my lover, my fiancé, my friend.”

I expected Edie to be shocked at that revelation, but either she was more conversant with powers than I thought, or she’d already been prepared. I wondered how long she’d been here. In fact, there were several questions running through my head, not least of which was why had she waited here for us and not come to Portland if she’d been so desperate to meet her daughter.

Edie looked at me, I was so tempted to look, to read her. Her aura spoke of excitement and love, tinged with fear and uncertainty.

“How did they find you?” asked Melanie. “Maggie said you got married and moved back east, Is your husband here? Did you…”

“I’ll tell you everything,” said Edie, still holding onto Melanie’s hands. “I also want to hear everything…I want to know all about you. Dean and Cheryl have told me some, but I want to know all about you, and your fiancé, and your family.”

They looked at each other, neither knowing which of them would start.

“Why don’t you start?” I suggested gently to Edie. “All we knew was that Melanie had been taken from the hospital. John, as you might expect, was no use although he did claim that he hired private investigators.”

“I hated John,” Edie said. “He made so many promises and gave me so much hope. I was just eighteen, bright eyed and innocent, when we met. He was the boss, the big boss, of the company. I was a mere secretary just starting out. I’d never even laid eyes on him, but one day I was called into my manager’s office. I thought I was in trouble, but she told me that my work had been exemplary and I’d been promoted.”

“Let me guess,” I said, a sinking feeling in my stomach. “PA to the CEO?”

She nodded. “Yes,” she said.

“We worked together on things,” she said, “really important things, and big projects. I was really amazed at how much trust he put in someone as young as me, but he did, and as we worked together we became close. Until…”

I sighed. The slimeball had used the same technique on Melanie’s mother as he had on mine. I wondered how many more young and impressionable women had become grist for his sick mill.

“I was happy. I had an amazing job, and was with a man who loved me, that was until I told him that was until I told him that I was going to have a baby. Then he changed. He shouted at me, called me terrible names, told me I should…I should…” her eyes overflowed.

“That you shouldn’t have the baby?” I ventured. She nodded.

“The next thing I knew, I was back in the secretarial pool, and back in my old small apartment. Alone and pregnant. Oh, he paid for things. All the medical bills were paid and he bought things for the baby, but even so I was alone.

“You decided,” she said turning to Melanie, “that you were happy where you were, you didn’t want to come out, and so I was nearly a week overdue when they finally lost patience and told me that they were going to induce labor. They took me into hospital, put a drip in my arm, and then the longest thirty-six hours of my life started.”

She actually gave a chuckle. “You were stubborn, I’ll give you that. You really didn’t want to leave your comfortable little world, until finally, after such a long time, the doctors placed you in my arms. I was the happiest woman alive at that moment. A minute before, I’d been cursing John, God, and you for putting me through the torment that you did, but the instant I held you, and saw your beautiful face, it was all worthwhile.

“I’d been told what it would feel like. But it was like nothing else I had ever experienced. I just wish I could show you.”

“You can,” I told her gently, “if you’d like. Just remember that moment. Think about it now, relive it. And Melanie and, if I may, I could see it?”

Melanie looked at me, a little uncertain.

“You wanted to know if she loved you?” I asked.

Melanie nodded.

I saw Edie’s smile as she replayed the memory of that moment in her head. She nodded to Melanie and then looked at me.

“Please. Look.”

Suddenly I was there, exhausted, sore, and sweaty. They’d just, finally, gotten the baby out and she was busy bawling over the other side of the room as they cleaned and wrapped her in a blanket.

I saw the midwife approaching holding a swaddled bundle, and fear and anticipation swelled inside. Then she was in my arms.

I was totally unprepared for upsurge of love that I suddenly felt as I gazed down at that little scrunched up ball of flesh. Melanie was crying as she was placed in my arms, but she quieted, her face still screwed up, her eyes tightly shut, but she was the most wonderful sight I’d ever seen. Suddenly all the pain, all the problems, all the heartache, was forgotten. I had my little baby and I was going to love her, protect her, care for her, for the rest of my life.

I held her for a few minutes, but the midwife said she had to be weighed and other stuff. She’d be brought back soon. I laid my head back and closed my eyes, just for a minute. Darkness took me.

“That was the last time,” said Edie, her eyes streaming with tears, “until today, that I saw you. They told me that they’d brought you into my room and that I was asleep. When the midwife came to check on me two hours later, you were gone.”

“John, to give him his due, did do everything he could to find you. He Compelled every single member of staff in the place to tell him exactly what they’d been doing in those two hours. He hired private investigators, and scoured the hospital, town and state, even neighboring states, but he couldn’t find you. There was nobody, nobody saw anything, nobody knew anything. It was like you’d literally evaporated.”

“Eventually he gave up, I begged him to continue to search, but by this time over a year had passed. I’d stopped working, but again to give him his due, he’d not stopped paying me. I wouldn’t have been any use at the company in any case. I was a zombie. I barely ate, slept only when exhaustion took me, and then repeated the process until I passed out again. Eventually John took me to Dianna and, for a few months, she helped me try to get over the loss.

“It worked, kind of. I never really got over it, but I could, eventually, after a fashion, function. I started back at work, made out that I was improving that I’d put the tragedy behind me, but inside there was an emptiness that I just couldn’t fill. Dianna told me that I should start dating, even going so far as to set me up with some guys. I hated it, but eventually I met Frank.

“Frank was a good guy, a nice guy. He was a gentleman, only a year older than me but much older in his manner. He was polite, courteous, and attentive. He was a hard worker and ambitious. We dated probably for a year or more, and then he asked me to marry him.

“It is to my eternal shame that I accepted. That was totally unfair to him. He was, is, a good man, he didn’t deserve for me to do to him what I did. I used him as a distraction. A way to divert myself for a few hours each day from the pain that I still felt.

“A few more years passed and the pain had dulled, almost into just empty numbness. We’d moved back east and I was a functioning adult again, apparently a loving wife, and working as a secretary again, even getting promoted into an office management position. I thought I’d survived and finally gotten over my loss. I would never forget my little angel but I’d finally been able to move on. Then one night Frank brought up the subject of us having kids.

“I couldn’t even entertain the idea. I screamed at him, called him all the bastards under the son for thinking he could replace my angel. I told him that I wanted nothing more to do with him. That night I packed my bags and left. That was the last I saw of him. I never knew what happened to him until I came here. He apparently divorced me after a year and is now married with a couple of kids of his own. I’m happy for him and I hope he’s happy.

“Since then, I’ve just been wandering. I moved from place to place, staying a year here, six months there. I joined secretarial agencies and just went from job to job, working for a while, and then moving on. If people asked, I just said that I was a ‘wandering spirit.’ I had no criminal record, and I wasn’t trying to hide anything, but I just couldn’t stay in one place too long. If I did, then some guy would eventually ask me out, I’d get involved again, and ruin someone else’s life.

“About a month ago, I got wind that someone was looking for me,” she said. “I arrived at work and a colleague told me that a private investigator had asked about me. I thought that Frank had finally found me, had tracked me down and wanted to force me to go back with him. It was totally illogical, I know, given that it had been almost ten years since I’d left, but fear has no logic.

“I packed my stuff up and left. Since I moved so much, I had nothing other than clothes and personal items, so I loaded it all up, dropped my keys off and left. I just got in my car and drove. It didn’t do any good. They found me again about a week later but this time they cornered me. I was sitting in a diner, when this huge man, came and sat in front of me. He told me that his name was Dean, and that he was the father-in-law of one of John’s sons. Then he showed me a picture.

“I knew immediately who I was looking at, but I didn’t dare believe it. For twenty years, I’d hoped, prayed for this moment, to find out if my little girl was still alive, how she was, where she was, and… wondered if I’d ever see her again. Up to this point I’d have died happy having just seen that picture. You looked healthy and happy and I’d have been content to know that about you, but now I wanted more, I wanted to see you, to meet you, to explain, to beg your forgiveness.”

“I wanted to go straight to you, but they brought me here. They told me that you’d be arriving in just over a week, but in that time, there were things I needed to know, things I needed to be aware of. If I met you without knowing these things, I might react badly and that might ruin whatever relationship I might have had with you. They convinced me to wait until you arrived. I’d waited twenty years, what was another few days? I hated every minute, but they eventually passed, and I saw you getting out of the car, looking happy and healthy, and surrounded by so much love. I saw one of the girls say something to you as you got out and the look in her eye told me that she loved you. I saw Caleb take your hand and bring you to me, and the love in his eyes was profound. Dean tells me that they all love you, and I can believe it.

“What I’m still trying hard to believe is that this is real, and not just some wishful lonely dream. That you are really here, that I’ve finally found you. OW!!!”

She yelped as I pinched her arm.

“What??” she said looking at me.

“See – not a dream,” I said smiling at her.

Melanie laughed. “I love him, but he can be an ass sometimes.”

Edia chuckled. “Men…” she said.

“So,” she said finally. “That’s how I got here. What about you?”

It took another couple of hours for Melanie to tell her tale. Edie was mesmerized and horrified in equal measure. Tears flowed freely from her eyes as she heard what Melanie had had to do to survive. Melanie told it, in a matter of fact way. It was as if she was talking about someone else. Up to the point where we’d first met.

“I arrived in Portland,” she said. “I’d gotten a ride with a trucker, and spent the night with him in his truck so I had a few dollars. I could afford to go to a shelter and get a bed for a few days. In those places you pay up front, otherwise they don’t let you in. I gave them all that I had, but the first night another girl tried to steal my shoes while I was sleeping. We fought, and were both thrown out of the shelter.

“It was cold and raining, but I managed to find a dry corner and get some sleep. I’d not eaten for two nights, the trucker had bought me a burger, so I decided to find a diner and see if anyone would be willing to spare me some change. Sometimes, people would even bring you out some food. It happened occasionally. Then this guy walks up to me. He looked at me for a second and told me that lunch was on him.

“I told him I wasn’t allowed in the diner. They’d already told me to stay out, but he wouldn’t take no for an answer. When the waitress came over to kick me out, he gave her a hundred dollars and told her we’d be eating and then leaving. He asked her which booth we could use.

“I remember thinking that it would have been better if he’d given me the hundred. I’d have done anything he wanted for that much, actually for much less. I offered it to him too while we waited for our food. But then he went pale and just stared at me. I was starting to get nervous, but then I just got up and followed him. I didn’t want to, I had no choice. I couldn’t control my own body.

“For some reason I wasn’t scared though. He took me back to his house, and sent me to get a shower. When I came out of the shower, there was another, older, woman there, and after a while she told me who I was, and that the man who’d taken me from the diner was Caleb, my brother.”

“I’ve been with them ever since, and they are the most amazing, loving, wonderful people you could ever want to meet. I met John, he gave me some money, quite a lot in fact, and if you want a chuckle ask Caleb to show you what he did to John. I didn’t really like him. I met my other brother and sister, Sarah is with us. She’s a wonderful girl and engaged to an amazing boy. I got my GED, in a week – Caleb helped me so much — and now I’m at school. I want to be a doctor, so I’m in pre-med. I just started, but things are going really great.

“My life would have been perfect, if I could only find you. John didn’t know where you were. He didn’t even have any pictures of you. All he had was a memory of you, standing naked in his bedroom. Caleb got that from him and shared it with me.

Edie blushed, glancing in my direction.

That’s the only reason I knew what you looked like. I wished so hard that we could find you. Maggie said that she’d try but that you’d moved away, and they’d lost touch.

“Dean found me,” said Edie. “I don’t know how, but he did. I am so grateful to him and to you,” she said turning to me.

She stood up then, took my hand, and pulled me to my feet. Then she pulled me into a hug.

“I’ll never be able to repay you for what you’ve done for my little girl,” she said. “Or for me.”

“You’ll never need to,” I returned. “If it were only the fact that she’s my sister, that would be more than enough reason for me to do everything I’ve done for her, but she’s much more than that. She is such a beautiful, incredible, person and I, we, love her with all our hearts. I know that our arrangement may seem strange…”

“Hush,” Edie said. “I know about your arrangement. All I ask is that you love my daughter and make her happy. She deserves it.”

I nodded. “We fully intend to,” I said.

“Would you like to meet the rest of the family?” Melanie asked.

Edie smiled. “Yes,” she said. “I’d like that very much.”

It took a minute or two, but there was a soft knock on the door.

“This is Mary,” said Melanie. “And Amanda. Dianna’s granddaughters. They’re our fiancées and both empaths.”

“We’re very happy to meet you,” they said in perfect unison.

“And they like to freak people out with that,” said Jules who was next in line. Edie smiled, hugging each of the twins in turn.

“Jules,” said Melanie, “is Dean and Cheryl’s oldest daughter. “The most loving person I’ve ever met.”

Jules smiled at Melanie, then at her mother. “I’m so happy to meet you,” she said. Edie pulled her into a hug too.

“Ness, is Jules’ little sister.” Melanie went on. “She’s a brilliant chef and already building a name for herself in the best restaurant in Portland.”

Ness blushed. “I’m happy Daddy found you. She missed you terribly,” she said, another hug.

“Sarah, my sister, my baby sister. I never ever thought I’d be able to ever introduce someone in that way,”

Sarah beat Edie to the punch and pulled her into a hug. “Please,” she said. “Be good to her.”

“Arnie,” Melanie finished. “Sarah’s fiancé. One of the most amazing, loving, selfless men I know.”

Arnie blushed, but allowed himself to be hugged. “I can see where Melanie gets her beauty” he said gallantly. Edie laughed.

“Down boy,” said Sarah. The rest of the girls laughed. We took seats and spent time getting to know Edie, and let her get to know us. I’d shared the memory of Edie’s story with them all so they knew as much as we did, but Edie had questions for all of us.

“Dean says you’re joining the FBI,” she said to me.

“Hoping to,” I said. “I’ve been told that with my powers I shouldn’t have any trouble. With any luck I’m going to be starting my training in July next year.

“How about you?” Melanie asked Edie. “What are your plans?”

“I’m moving to Portland,” Edie said instantly. “You don’t think I’m letting you get away from me again, do you?”

Melanie’s face lit up with a radiant smile. “That sounds wonderful,” she said. “When?”

“Well,” Edie said. “Pretty much everything I own is packed in my car. I just need to find somewhere to stay, and a job, and I’ll be set. I’m kind of used to it.”

Melanie looked at me, and then at the girls.

“We have a spare room,” said Jules. “It’s yours until you are sick of living with idiots. If you can bear it for six months or so, and you like the place, the house will be free, and you can use that.”

“What… I can’t impose on you like that, and why would the house be free?”

“It’s only a temporary home for us just now,” I told her, explaining about the fire and why we’d bought the second place. “I know that Melanie is not going to want to be away from you so having you stay with us for a while will be no chore.”

“Won’t my being there kind of cramp your style?” she asked, smiling a little coyly.

“No,” said Ness. “We’re all shameless. As long as you don’t mind Louise wandering around naked from time to time, although having said that Caleb, Arnie, Melanie, and Sarah have taken to doing that more recently too.

“Only when we’re wet from training,” said Melanie. She turned to her mom.

“We run in the mornings,” she explained. “When It’s raining, we get soaked, so we undress in the utility and drop our wet and dirty stuff in the wash…save tracking muck through the house.”

“Ah,” said Edie, suppressing a smile. “Sounds perfectly reasonable. Is that why this Louise does it too?”

“No,” said Jules. “She’s just an exhibitionist.”

“Who is Louise?” asked Edie after a second.

“A lodger,” I said. “She and her boyfriend Josh live with us. They’re not part of our family but we’re still very close.”

Edie nodded. “Dean did mention there were others living with you,” she said. “Maybe we can talk about this more later? I guess I’ve been monopolizing you for a long time. We should probably go join the others.

She got up. Melanie, still holding her hand even now, followed. We all trailed out the door and into the living room where the others were sitting talking.

Janine stood and came over. Her husband Robin followed. Ethan, their son, watched but then at his mother’s beckon joined them.

“Caleb,” she said. “So good to see you again.” We hugged.

“You too. Hello, Robin,” I said, shaking hands with her husband. “How are things?”

“Things are good,” he said. “Janine is much happier, and making much more money I might add, since she took your advice.”

“I’m glad,” I said. “Ethan, right?” I asked looking at the boy. He nodded.

He put his hand out and I shook it. I noticed he still wore the amulet.

“Probably in another couple of months,” Janine said, noticing the direction of my gaze. “We’re just doing some pre-education about powers. Then it’s going to come off and we’ll see what he has.”

“Mom tells me you have loads,” said Ethan.

“Melanie, here, has even more,” I said. “She has all of them.”

“All?” he said. “Can I see? What can you do?”

Melanie held her hand out. A small flame danced into existence just above her palm.

“Wow!” he said. “Will I be able to do that?”

“We’ll have to wait and see,” I said. “When your amulet comes off, you’ll find out what powers you have.”

I introduced the rest of the family to Janine and her family. It took some time.

Finally, we were all seated. I was feeling kind of drained. An exceptionally tubby Terra waddled up to me and sat with a grunt in front of me. She rested her chin on my knee.

“Don’t come to me for sympathy,” I told her. “If you weren’t such a loose woman you wouldn’t be in this predicament.”

I heard several snorts from the various women around the room.

“And of course the guy had nothing to do with it,” said Ness.

“Point him out and I will challenge the cad to a duel.” I announced. “Pistols at dawn for so besmirching the honor of this fair maiden.”

At this point, Terra got up and wandered over to where Blue was sitting in front of Melanie. She bumped him with her shoulder.

Blue looked at me, his panting mouth laughing.

“I believe we’ve found the culprit,” I said. There was general laughter.

“When are the others coming up?” I asked Dean.

“Brian and Carrie are coming up on the twenty-third,” he said. “They’re bringing Edgar. Your parents are coming up at the same time, as is Dianna and Maggie. You’ll all be able to travel back together, on the second.

“Sounds good,” I said. “What’s the plans for while we’re up here.”

“The plan?” he said. “Work of course. The girls have shopping to do I have no doubt. I’m sure Melanie and Edie still have quite a bit of catching up to do. Ethan’s already showing promise, Jonah has taken him under his wing, and they’ve been working together, although I’ve given Jonah strict instructions about what they can and can’t do.”

“Cheryl wants to spend time with the girls, and weather permitting it would be good for you to take that horse of yours out. He’s getting restless.”

“Caleb?” Edie had stepped up beside me. I smiled at her.

“Melanie showed me the memory of John talking to the two of you when they first met,” she said. “I’m so sorry.”

“He used the same technique on you as he did my mother,” I told her. “Given the differences in our ages, I’m guessing you were his next victim. I’ll bet if you ever found any ‘residue’ from a previous woman it would have been hers.”

She snorted with disgust. “I don’t know who to be angrier at,” she said. “Him for spinning that line, or me for falling for it.”

“You were young,” I said, “and, I’m guessing, innocent.”

She shrugged. “I guess.”

“I’m betting it’s his go to routine.” I told her. “He spots a pretty young girl, gets her transferred as his PA and then runs his scam. When he gets bored with them, he moves them on. Rinse and repeat. The only saving grace is, if he didn’t lie, he told me that he’d been made unable to have kids by the healers. At least there’s no other kids out there.”

She looked at me. “Are you like him?” Sarah, Melanie, and I all heard her thought.

“No,” said Sarah and Melanie together. “He’s not.”

“I’ve met both of John’s sons,” said Sarah. “My brothers. They are both decent, kind hearted, and good men.”

“You have another brother?” asked Edie.

“E.” said Melanie. “He’s a really nice guy. His girlfriend is really nice too. Caleb let John know how upset he was with him, just after he found out how he’d ‘played’ his mom. Would you like to see?”

“I would,” said Dean. “I’ve heard about this but not seen it.”

“Me too,” said Cheryl.

“Yeah,” came other voices. Even those who’d seen it before wanted to see it again.

I sighed. Melanie grinned at me.

I looked meaningfully at Ethan then at Janine. She turned to Ethan.

“If you are ever mean or nasty to a woman,” she said, “remember what your cousin Caleb does to men who are mean and nasty to women.”

“What?” asked Ethan.

“You’re about to find out,” she said. Then she nodded to me.

There were several gasps and four sets of male legs crossed. A couple of people’s eyes watered.

“That was a little extreme,” said Janine. “He really pissed you off?”

“I sent her, and only her, the memory of John telling Melanie what he’d done to my father.

“Asshole,” she hissed. “I knew he was always picking on him but, as the eldest, I was busy with my own things. I figured they’d grown out of it. I never knew about…

“If I ever meet up with that slime ball again, I might just finish what you started. Only I won’t heal him afterward.”

I looked across to Edie to see tears rolling down her cheeks, her shoulders shaking.

I was about to say something when Melanie grinned at me and I realized that Edie wasn’t crying.

Ness and I made dinner. I noticed immediately the difference in how things were done in the kitchen. She was far more bossy, but things just seemed to work even more seamlessly than they had before. It took almost no time at all to create an amazing meal for all those there.

Everyone made appreciative noises when we ate. Ness told about her experiences at Coquine and how much she had learned. She caught those who hadn’t heard about it up on our cooking lesson and Jules, once again, had to recite his recommendation. She rolled her eyes as she did, pretending disgust, but everyone could see just how proud she was of her little sister.

After we cleared the table off Dean took a handful of beers out into the yard.

I followed.

“Pops,” I said after a while. “I have a plan, but I need your help.”

He grunted. “When? And what?”

“I want to go to Europe again, Spain in fact. Sometime in June. I want us all to go,” I told him.

“You liked it there?” he said.

“I did,” I said, “but it’s more for who’s there than where it is.”

“The Gonzales family,” he stated. I nodded.

“I was thinking,” I went on, “some people will have to fly commercial, but the family will fly the jet if that’s okay?”

“Okay,” he said. “Have you spoken to the Gonzales family?”

“I have,” I said. “They’ve offered the use of their hacienda. It has a really nice garden we could use. The weather should be good at that time of the year, and I’ve asked Matilda Bree and Maggie to officiate. The Gonzales family have said they’ll cater it. There will be a lot more guests because of them but that’s no problem. Everyone important to us from here will be there.”

“I’m liking the idea,” he said. “I also talked to my lawyer about setting up the legal side of the ‘partnership.’ He actually suggested setting up a company, a partnership, with all of you as ‘partners’. Are Sarah and Arnie going to be involved.

“As partners, probably,” I said. “Probably not in the ceremony. I’m thinking Arnie is going to want his own with his bride. I think they’re going to be waiting longer.”

“Wise choice,” said Dean. “I’m sure the pair of them will have important parts to play in the proceedings though?”

“Definitely,” I said. “But I want to keep this between us until closer to the time. Obviously, Cheryl’s not included in that, but I don’t want any of my girls to know. A suggestion from you for another European vacation shouldn’t raise any suspicions, especially if I mention that the Gonzales family have invited us back.”

“When exactly are you going to tell them?” he asked.

“When we get there,” I said. “I’m going to give them a week or so to prepare.”

“This could go one of two ways,” he warned. “You’ll either be the most amazing romantic…”

He paused for dramatic effect.

“Or dead meat,” he finished.

I grinned at him.

“I’m looking to you for an extraction if it all goes wrong,” I said.

He laughed.

Five minutes later, the back door opened, and Arnie ventured out.

“Sarah said I should be out here,” he said, a little nervously.

“Come join us,” said Dean. “Grab a beer.”

It was only then that I’d noticed an extra couple of bottles on the table.

“You expecting more company?” I asked.

“I did wonder if Robin or Danny would come out,” he said.

Arnie picked up one of the bottles and twisted the top off.

He sat looking from me to Dean like he was expecting something.

Dean and I simply sat, sipping our beer and contemplating life.

“I can go if I’m disturbing you,” Arnie sent to me. He was getting better at using the connection.

“You’re not,” I returned. “We often just sit quietly. I guess it seems that we stopped talking the instant you joined us, but that was pure coincidence.”

Arnie relaxed back in his chair a little and took another sip of his beer.

“Melanie’s mom is coming to live with us?” he asked after a few moment’s silence.

“Possibly,” I said. “For a while at least.”

“I think you’d struggle to separate them,” opined Dean. “I’m half expecting Melanie to ask if her mom can’t bunk in with you lot tonight. She’s not moved from her side all night.”

“The bed’s big enough,” I said. “But I’m not sure how Edie would take to sharing with us all, especially Arnie and me.”

Arnie flicked a gaze at Dean. Dean noticed and huffed a short laugh.

“You surprised that I know what you guy’s sleeping habits are?” he asked.

“I guess I’m a little surprised that you seem so okay with it,” said Arnie honestly.

“I know you’re with Sarah,” Dean said. “I also know that the bounds of your relationships are far more fluid than most. I also know that Caleb is more interested in people than gender and I’m getting a similar feeling from you.”

Arnie pinked up at that. “I…” he began.

“It isn’t a problem,” Dean said gently. “Not for me.”

“I guessed,” said Arnie, “that with you being military and all, you’d kind of be against…”

“Nope,” Dean said. “Don’t care. Never did. I served through the ‘Don’t ask, Don’t tell” years and just beyond. It never made sense to me. If a soldier could do what was required, what did it matter who he or she chose to take to bed?”

Arnie looked from Dean to me. I nodded slightly to let him know that Dean wasn’t just saying all that, he actually meant every word.

“I’m not in the slightest bit worried for my girls,” Dean went on. “For two reasons. First I’ve seen the love that Caleb and the girls have for each other, and I’m prepared to bet that you share that love. Not just for Sarah, but for all the girls, and probably Caleb too. Am I right?”

Arnie, not meeting Deans eye nodded.

“Secondly, even if that were not the case, I’ve seen what Caleb can do…has done. I know that if you harmed a single hair on any of my girls, there wouldn’t be enough of you left for me to have to deal with.”

Arnie gulped and looked at me.

“He wouldn’t,” I said. “He loves them just as much, Pops.”

Dean smiled, “I know,” he said, “but a father-in-law has to posture and pose – it’s in the job description.”

I laughed. “True.” I said, then shifted my gaze to Arnie. “You should have seen what he did to me.”

Arnie looked interested, so I explained about Ness having pain and my stopping it, and then coming out of her bedroom and finding Dean standing there looking stern.

“I really thought he was pissed, at catching me coming out of his underage daughter’s bedroom,” I said. “Turns out it was Cheryl and his idea all along for me to go in and help her.”

Arnie laughed while Dean smirked.

“When we have some time,” I told Arnie, “I’ll show you how I got my revenge.”

Arnie grinned, and nodded. “That I’d like to see.”

“If the weather’s good tomorrow,” said Dean, “I was thinking about taking a ride out. It’s too cold for a picnic, but we could take a ride maybe up in the woods?”

“Sounds good,” I said.

Arnie had pulled out his phone. “Forecast is giving cold but dry,” he said. “Should be a nice day.”

“Perfect” said Dean. “I’ll see who else is interested.”

I drank the last of my beer.

“Right,” I said. “I’m for my bed. I’ll see you guys in the morning.”

I stood up and headed in and up to bed.

Edie wasn’t in bed with us the next morning. Melanie, Sarah, and Arnie all slid out of bed with me, and we went down and into the yard to practice martial arts.

“Why are the dogs watching us?” asked Arnie. He’d noticed them all lined up.

“I have no idea,” I said. “They’ve done it all the time I’ve been coming here. They seem to enjoy it.”

Dean, Cheryl, and their two daughters emerged just after six. It was Sunday after all so they had slept in.

“Breakfast in 30 minutes?” asked Ness. I nodded.

“We’ll go get showered,” I said.

As we walked into the kitchen Edie was just entering from the hall.

“Oh,” she said. “I thought this was the part where you walked naked through the house.”

“Only when we’re soaked through,” said Sarah.

“Shame,” said Edie. “I was looking forward to the show.”

Melanie laughed, while Arnie blushed.

“Maybe we should make it mandatory,” said Cheryl. “I’d not mind seeing that either.”

“If we’re taking votes,” said Dean, “then I’m for it. There would be something for everyone.”

“I think,” I noted to Sarah, “that we might have been a bad influence.”

She laughed.

By the time we’d showered and dressed, Ness had pretty much finished making breakfast.

Ethan was bouncing in his seat, apparently excited at the prospect of going riding. Janine smiled at him, but told him to settle down and eat. Robin, however, looked anything but excited about it.

I grabbed a handful of carrots as we left, and noted I wasn’t the only one to do so.

When we got to the stables, many of the horses were already saddled and ready to go. Anthony, one of the stable hands, was busy bringing the last of the horses out. I saw him flash a grin at Ness, which she returned.

For some inexplicable reason that got my hackles up. I’d seen Anthony many times before and he seemed like a nice enough guy. For some reason, though, seeing that interaction between him and Ness bothered me. I shoved the feeling aside. It was stupid.

I walked over to where Blaze stood. As soon as he spotted me his head came up and he started snuffling at me looking for the treats I’d brought for him. I didn’t disappoint, and he spent the next few minutes munching on the carrots. I checked his girth strap and then mounted up.

There were far more horses than usual and even more in the stable. I asked Cheryl about that.

“We borrowed a few from our neighbors,” she said, “since we had so many people up for the holidays. We thought we might like to ride some and it would be mean if we didn’t have enough horses for everyone.”

All mounted now we set out. Each of us showing different levels of riding skill. I’d improved a lot since the first time I’d ridden Blaze, but I’d never be what you would call a natural. Most of my riding skill came from Blaze just being so easy to ride, at least for me. We walked the horses for a while, and then trotted. Ethan seemed to enjoying himself, his father not so much. Arnie and Danny weren’t what you’d call natural riders either.

When we hit the open fields, Ness and Jules predictably wanted to race. Grinning at each other, they set off, hell for leather. Ethan’s horse seemed to want to join in the fun and took off after them.

To give Ethan his due - he held on for far longer that you might expect, but it was only a matter of time before he lost his grip and, at a full gallop, was catapulted from his horse.

We heard his scream as he left the saddle. I couldn’t actually see him from where I was, others were blocking my view. I kicked Blaze into motion only to find Ethan floating, upside down, slowly rotating until he was the correct way up. His eyes were wide.

I looked around and saw Melanie, a look of intense concentration on her face, as she set him on his feet. She sighed in relief.

“That was soooo COOOOOLLLLLL” he yelled “MOM, did you see, I was FLYING!!!”

Janine, face pale, brought her horse to his side.

“WHAT DO YOU THINK YOU WERE DOING?” she yelled at him. “WHY DID YOU CHASE THEM??? YOU COULD HAVE BEEN….”

“Janine,” said Cheryl gently. “He didn’t. When the girls took off his horse decided it wanted to play too. It wasn’t his fault.”

Janine was off her horse now and checking her son over.

“Are you hurt?” she asked.

Confused and a little scared by his mother’s reaction, Ethan shook his head.

Janine looked at me. “You caught him?” she asked, “With your TK?”

“Not me,” I said indicating Melanie. “I couldn’t see him. Melanie caught him.”

Janine turned grateful eyes on Melanie. “Thank you,” she said. “At that speed he could have been seriously injured.”

Melanie smiled at her. Edie, who’d been riding beside her daughter, looked on, her eyes proud. I saw Melanie glance at her mother and notice the look. She blushed slightly but I could tell by her expression that she was pleased.

Ness and Jules rejoined us, having recaptured Ethan’s horse. It was still prancing a little, its adrenaline high from its run.

“I’m sorry,” Cheryl said. “We were told that he was a placid and stable ride. If we’d have suspected he’d do something like that, we’d never have put Ethan on him.”

“He’s not getting back on it,” said Janine. “There’s no telling what dumb idea it’s going to get in its head next.”

“I’ll hold the lead rope,” said Dean. “He won’t do anything like that again.”

Janine looked at Dean and then at the horse, before nodding.

Melanie lifted Ethan back onto his horse as he’d had to use steps to get on in the stable yard. Ethan whooped as he was suddenly in the air again. He beamed as he settled himself into the saddle.

“Auntie Melanie, can you make me fly again later?” he chirped.

Melanie laughed. “Don’t call me that,” she said. “It makes me sound so OLD. Besides aren’t you and Caleb cousins?”

“It’s a sign of respect for his elders,” said Janine. “When we were kids, anyone older than us, was an auntie or an uncle, no matter the relationship. Having a six year old call an adult by their first name somehow strikes me as disrespectful.”

Melanie shrugged. “I don’t mind,” she said. “But if that’s what you’re teaching him…”

Janine snorted. “Now YOU’RE making ME feel old and like some kind of tyrant.”

Melanie grinned. “How does that hat fit?” she asked.

“You, miss,” Janine said laughing, her fear for her son now gone, “have been spending far too much time with Caleb.”

“What did I do?” I asked.

“You were born male,” said Robin. “It’s a cardinal sin, apparently.”

“And don’t you forget it,” snapped Janine.

“No dear,” said Robin, in a long suffering husband voice.

The rest of the ride passed without incident and we made it back just before lunchtime.

I walked Blaze into his stable and removed his tack, hanging it up, before starting to rub him down.

“I can do that,” said a voice from behind me. Looking over my shoulder I saw Anthony leading one of the other horses in.

“It’s fine,” I said perhaps a little more firmly than intended. I still had no idea why I was pissed at this boy.

He stopped.

“Can I ask you something?” he asked.

I continued to rub Blaze down.

“Sure,” I said.

“Some of the boys say that you and Jules are together,” he began. “But I also hear that you and Ness…”

I wondered exactly how to deal with this. The coward in me wanted to Compel him to forget all about it and go on his way.

“It’s complicated,” I said. “We’re all together. All of us.”

“The twins too?” he asked wide eyed.

“How old are you Anthony?” I asked.

“Eighteen sir,” he said.

“Don’t call me sir,” I said. “I’m Caleb.”

“I’m guessing,” I went on, “that you have some feelings toward Ness?”

He blushed. “I’d never…” he began but I waved him to silence.

“It’s fine,” I said. “It’s not a surprise. She’s a beautiful woman, and a really nice person as well. Something that’s surprisingly rare to find in a single package. I’ve been blessed to find those I have.”

“But how…” he began.

“Like I said,” I told him, “it’s complicated. But Ness is with us. She’ll always be nice and polite to you Anthony because that is the kind of person she is. Don’t mistake that for her returning your affection.

I saw him chewing his lip, thinking that over.

“Believe me,” I told him kindly, “you’re better off looking elsewhere. Chasing after Ness is going to get you nothing but disappointment and heartache. However,” I said finishing up with Blaze, “it’s not for me to tell you your business. I just don’t like seeing people set themselves up to get hurt.”

“I…thought you’d be mad,” he said after a moment. “Most guys, if I told them I was interested in their girlfriend, would be like ‘Back off dude or I’ll….’ But you don’t do that. Why not? Is it because you have the others? Would Ness going off with someone else not really bother you?”

I walked up to him and he flinched back a little. I had about six inches of height on him.

“If Ness were to leave us,” I said softly, “I, we, all of us, would be devastated. But if that’s what SHE truly wanted, needed, to be happy, then we love her enough not to try and make her stay where she didn’t want to be. That’s true of all my family.

“I’m not getting defensive about Ness because I don’t need to be. I know she loves us, and I know that she’s not going to leave us. Now if you were to physically threaten her, then there would be a small puddle and a red mist just about where you were standing, and that would be before Pops got to you.

“But I know that’s not what you’re doing. I only mention it to show that I DO care, a LOT.”

He nodded. “I’m sorry,” he said.

“Don’t be,” I said. “I’m not upset. You asked, I answered. Feel free to ask Ness if you like. She’ll give you her answers. I’m pretty sure they’ll be the same as mine, but you never know.”

I walked back into the house. Ness as expected was in the kitchen finishing preparing lunch.

“Ten minutes.” She said.

“You have an admirer,” I said. She glanced up at me.

“Anthony?” she asked. I nodded.

She sighed.

“I know,” she said. “A year or so ago, we had a bit of a thing in the stables. It was just before we met.

“A thing?” I asked, amused.

“You know, kids stuff,” She said, “A kiss, a cuddle, a little bit of groping. That kind of thing. He didn’t even get under my jacket. Why, what did he say?”

I sent my memories of the conversation to her.

She nodded. “Well,” she said, “maybe he’ll come talk to me, but I don’t think he will.”

I walked through the living room. Most people were in here, chatting. Predictably Edie and Melanie were sitting together, talking. Janine and her little family were missing, perhaps cleaning up after the ride.

Arnie and Danny were sitting with the girls, Dean, and Cheryl. As I looked over, I saw Danny sneak a look at Edie. His gaze lingered on her for a few seconds his expression, if anything, guilty.

I’d shifted my gaze by the time he looked at me.

I went to get a quick shower before lunch, ruminating on what I thought I’d seen, and what it might mean.

I was in the kitchen clearing up after lunch with Ness. Arnie was helping despite all of our protests that it wasn’t necessary.

“It’s not fair though,” he said. “It’s the same at home. You do all the cooking, and then you have to clear up too. Surely a fairer system would be that you cook and we clear up?”

Ness smiled at him. “You,” she said, “are going to make Sarah a very happy woman. It’s not about fairness though, it’s about knowing that it’s done the way we like it to be done, that things are put away where we can lay hands on them again. We,” she pointed at herself and then at me, “are a bit OCD about it. When Caleb was doing all the cooking, he set the kitchen up how he wanted it. When I took over, stuff moved and changed because that’s the way I liked it.

“Now I’m working and he’s doing most of the cooking at home, stuff is migrating back to where he liked it to live.” She grinned at me. “Yes, I noticed. But since you’re using it more, it’s kind of right that it should be that way.

“Having people ‘help’ actually makes things worse because we’d only have to follow them around and put stuff right. It’s just quicker, and easier, to do it ourselves. BUT there is a trade off. You’ll notice that most of the tidying outside the kitchen is done by the others, as is most of the laundry. Come the summer, someone’s going to have to cut the grass every other week. I can tell you now – it won’t be me.”

Arnie smiled. “Okay,” he said. “I get it.”

We all looked up as Melanie came into the kitchen.

“We’re almost done,” said Ness. “You don’t…”

“Are you kidding?” said Melanie. “I wouldn’t dare. No, I’m here to talk to Arnie.”

“Oh,” said Ness. “We’ll be out of your way in…”

“No, it’s not private, I just meant I want to speak to him and he’s in here. But away from some people though.”

“I’m glad that’s cleared up,” I said. More confused than before.

Arnie looked at Melanie. “What’s up?”

“Before we came up,” she said, “you were saying that you were going to be looking for someone to run your office while you were flying. My mom has experience and needs a job. Do you think your dad would consider her for the post?”

“I don’t see why not,” he replied. “I remember her saying that she’d worked in offices. I’m sure she’s more than capable of doing what we do – probably even better than we can. You want me to ask him?”

Melanie bit her lip. “I haven’t mentioned it to Mom yet. I just wanted to test the water. The last thing I want to do is to make trouble, or put your dad in a position where he thinks he has to take her just because she’s my mom. Do you know what the pay would be? Because, again, if it’s less than she would want then that could cause embarrassment. Oh hell, why did I even think about this? Maybe it’s better if we forget all about it.”

Arnie put his hand on Melanie’s arm.

“Relax” he said. “I’ll sound him out about the pay to start with. It’s something we need to discuss anyway if we want to get things underway as soon as we open up again. We’ll be so busy flying that we’ll need someone in the office almost from day one. The last thing we’ll need is to have to start interviewing people and, since there are a lot of rules and regulations, we need someone trustworthy.

“You think she’s trustworthy?” he asked, looking serious.

Melanie’s face flushed and her jaw set.

“He’s kidding,” I said quickly.

Arnie’s eyes widened when he realized that, for a moment, she’d taken him seriously. “I’m sorry,” he said. “I was trying to be funny. I never, for a moment, thought otherwise.”

Melanie relaxed.

“I didn’t know you could be that scary,” said Ness to Melanie in awe.

Melanie blushed. “I’m sorry,” she said. “And in reality, it’s actually a legitimate question. None of us really know her. I know what I’d like her to be like, but is she really? We’ll figure it out I guess over time. But she’s my mom. I have a mom…I never thought…I’d…”

Tears were flowing from her eyes as she broke down. I would have gone and held her, but Arnie beat me to it, wrapping her up in his arms and holding her to him. He spoke quietly to her as she clung to him, sobbing.

“What happened?” asked Edie. She’d come into the kitchen looking for Melanie and found her sobbing in Arnie’s arms. She looked at me accusingly.

“What did you do?” she asked.

“I didn’t do anything,” I said. “It’s what you did.”

“Me?” she asked, perplexed. “I… what?”

“You came back,” I explained. “She’s just overwhelmed with it all. She never expected to ever meet you. Although she hoped, she hoped so hard, for so long.”

By this time Arnie had managed to settle Melanie down to the sniffling stage.

“I’m just being silly,” she said. “I just…”

Edie went over to her daughter, and Arnie relinquished her to her mother.

“No,” said Edie gently. “You’re not being silly. I know exactly how you feel, because I feel the same. It’s like it’s not real. I won’t say anything about wondering if this is a dream because Caleb has a pan in his hand, and I just accused him of something he didn’t do. I don’t want to give him an excuse.”

Melanie chuckled. “He wouldn’t really hurt you,” she said.

She straightened up and wiped her eyes. “I don’t want to go out there looking like I’ve been crying.”

“Why don’t you go out back for a little while, get some air?” I suggested. Melanie nodded and she and Edie took themselves out into the yard.

Ness finished off what she was doing and looked at the kitchen with satisfaction. Then she walked over to Arnie and kissed his cheek.

Arnie looked stunned. “What was that for?” he asked.

“Because,” she said, “you’re a good guy, and there’s not many of you around. I just wanted you to know we appreciate it.”

Just then Danny stuck his head into the kitchen and looked around.

“What are we doing tomorrow?” he asked.

“I have no idea,” I said. “I’d normally go and work with Pops at whatever job he had on and the girls and Cheryl do their thing. I know they’ll probably want to go shopping at some point.”

“And so do I,” I thought. “If I only had some idea of what to get any of them.”

“I’ll check in with Dean,” he said finally and retreated.

Arnie chewed his lip for a second.

“Was that weird?” he asked.

“What?” I batted the question back at him.

“That seemed more like an excuse to be in here rather than a legitimate question,” he replied.

“I shrugged. I don’t see why,” I responded.

Jules just chuckled.

“Let’s go join the others,” she said.

“Pops?” I asked later, when we were out on our ‘man time.’ Tonight Pops had just brought two extra bottles out with him, I’d wondered if he just figured that only Arnie and I would join him or if he was subtly telling the other guys that this time was just for us.

“Hmmm?” he asked focusing his eyes. He’d been somewhat distant, obviously thinking about something. Arnie, who had been sitting quietly looked at me.

“What do you know about Edie?” I asked. “I presume you did a little digging before you met her in the diner.”

He smiled at me. “I did a little,” he said. “The last thing I wanted was to bring someone poisonous into your lives.” He looked to the back door, ostensibly to check nobody was listening, but there was an underlying message – ‘keep this to yourselves.’ What’s more I didn’t think the message was for me. A glance at Arnie told me that he’d received it loud and clear.

“I originally found her about two months ago,” he said. “Maggie had given me her married name and where she’d moved to, but not much more. I tracked down her ex-husband Frank.”

“She broke his heart,” he said sadly. “But the story is pretty much as she told it. They met and courted for a couple of years. She’d seemed kind of skittish and distant at first but he thought that she’d warmed to him. By the time he’d asked her to marry him he really thought that she loved him.

“He told me that, as strange as it seemed, it was only after that she’d left that he realized that she’d never actually said the words. He said they got married, and were building a good life together, but for some reason had never had the kids discussion. They’d been married something like three years when he brought the subject up.

“It had caused a major row. He’d known about Melanie, and that Edie was still hurting, but in his ignorance he actually thought having another baby would help her get over the loss. I think he even actually voiced that opinion. Edie apparently locked herself in the spare room that night. He’d gone to work the next day, bringing a huge bunch of flowers home to try and apologize, but she’d already left.

“He tried to find her, registered her as a missing person, the full works. After a while he got the impression that people around were starting to suspect that he’d bumped her off or something. After a while, things settled down, and something like eighteen months later he finally petitioned for divorce citing abandonment. It was granted and he got on with his life.

“He married a girl who worked in the company he did, and they’re now happy with two kids, a dog, and a white picket fence.

“It was when a friend of mine, who joined NYPD after we came back, made a few phone calls that I found out that their local police had actually been putting a case together against him. They’d been contacted by someone who worked with Edie about her going missing who’d suggested that he’d killed her and hidden the body. The investigation stopped when Edie used her ID out of state to rent an apartment. Apparently, an officer went and laid eyes on her, and found her fit and well.

“For some reason they jumped to the ‘escaping abused spouse’ conclusion, probably because of the way she’d left, and chose not to approach her, nor to tell her husband where she was.

“After that it was just a case of following the trail. She wasn’t hiding, not really. She’d just work someplace for a while, six months, a year, one place even longer. The people my guys talked to always said the same thing. She was hard working and honest, but a loner. She didn’t really make friends or socialize. She turned down guys and girls alike for dates, but then one day – she’d simply up and leave, with minimal notice.

“My guy suspected that the trigger for her moving on was not people showing an interest in her, but it was if she actually started to develop feelings for anyone. I think she was scared to enter into any further relationships.

“Then my guy dropped the ball. He found out where she was working and went to see her. Unfortunately, she’d been sent on an errand out of the office and wasn’t there. He was told that she’d be back at a certain time, but she came back early. When he returned to speak to her, she’d already run. It took him a little while to pick up her trail after that, and I finally caught up with her just over a week ago.”

“But you figured she’d be here now didn’t you?” asked Arnie. “Hence the surprise guest?”

Dean nodded. “It was Cheryl that dropped that little nugget. She was so excited she couldn’t contain herself. I told her under no circumstances should she let on we might have found her. The disappointment if we’d been wrong would have been devastating. I also wanted to make sure she was good enough for Melanie.”

I raised an eyebrow at that.

“It was my decision,” he growled. “If she hadn’t been then I’d simply have not told you that I’d found her and, before you say anything, I was protecting my family. Not finding her wasn’t nearly as bad as finding someone who would do something to destroy Melanie later on. I couldn’t allow that to happen.”

I nodded.

“I guess,” I said. “That was kind of why I was asking. I should have known that you’d be way ahead of me on that. Melanie is ecstatic that she’s found her mom. If Edie’s ‘wanderings’ were because she caused trouble wherever she was, and had to move on… Edie is exactly the mother that Melanie envisioned. She’d be devastated, destroyed, if it turned out that that wasn’t in fact the case. She was overjoyed when Edie said she was coming to Portland, but if, a few months down the line, she just up and left, never to be seen again…well…it would probably have been better to have not found her in the first place.”

“There are no guarantees,” said Dean. “At least not unless you get involved. But my instincts tell me that she is who she says she is. I spoke to her at length in the diner. And when I showed her Melanie’s picture, her reaction was…telling. She damn near attacked me to get me to tell her where Melanie was. Getting her to come here and not go straight to you was difficult, and it took Cheryl to talk her down.”

“Cheryl was there?” I asked.

He nodded. “I took her with me. I made first contact but once I did, Cheryl joined us. We brought her back here and Cheryl has literally spent the time since briefing her. She knew about powers obviously but not everything. Edie was appalled at first when she heard about your living situation. She figured that you were your father’s son and she needed to get her daughter away from you as soon as possible, but Cheryl explained. She told her all about you, about what you’d done for Jules, for Ness, and for us.

“She told her about Jonah, and introduced her to Fiona and her mom. It took some doing but we finally managed to calm her down. Make no mistake, she’s watching you as closely as you’re watching her, and ironically for the exact same reason. At this stage neither of you trusts the other not to hurt Melanie.”

“I thought she was quick to jump to conclusions,” said Arnie, “when she came into the kitchen and found Melanie crying.”

“Why was Melanie crying?” asked Dean.

“She just got a bit overwhelmed about finding her mom,” I said.

“I made a dumb crack,” said Arnie. “That kind of triggered it.”

Dean looked at Arnie for a moment, the younger boy started to look nervous.

“She’s wound tighter than a guitar string just now,” he said finally. “You think Melanie hasn’t had the exact same thoughts as we have. She desperately wants her mother to be the person she hoped for, but she’s old enough, and seen enough in her life, to know that things might not turn out that way.

“You have to wonder just how many times she’s been let down in her life. How many times people have promised to look after her only to use her and then drop her when they’ve got what they wanted from her.

“I’m guessing that you, Caleb, were the first man to keep any of the promises he made. She’s not going to trust easily, but you guys have taught her how. But, in a way, that’s made her even more vulnerable. Before she met you all, she survived by not trusting, so that when people let her down it was what she’d expected. Now she’s learned how to trust, and if she’s betrayed, it will hurt her badly.”

“Nobody is going to hurt her,” I said a growl entering my voice. “I’ll lock that bitch down so tight she won’t be able to fart without my say so if I have to. She IS going to be the mother that Melanie needs.”

“And Melanie will see it for what it is,” said Dean gently. “You need to let things take their natural course, take things slowly, and if it all goes wrong, be there to help Melanie recover. That’s all you can do.”

The back door opened, and Melanie poked her head out.

“You guys…” she began but noticed the atmosphere.

“Is everything alright?” she asked.

Dean and I looked at each other.

“I was getting my ass chewed,” Arnie piped up, “for upsetting you earlier. I’m really sorry.”

Melanie went and sat beside him, putting her arms around him protectively.

“Guys,” she said. “HE didn’t mean anything by it. It was a joke. It was my fault. Don’t blame him, please?”

I saw Dean turn his head to hide a smile, but he huffed a gruff. “Fine.”

I managed to keep a straight face, and just nodded.

Melanie smiled.

“You coming in?” she asked. “It’s freezing out here, and none of you are wearing coats.

“I’m warm now,” Arnie grinned, snuggling a little closer into Melanie..

She giggled.

“Come on in, all of you.” She stood and headed for the door. “I’m going in, it’s too cold for me.”

We all stood up and made our way in, Dean putting his hand on Arnie’s shoulder as we did.