All We See or Seem (6 page)

 

“I'm sorry, she insisted I see you. I didn't have the heart to refuse her,” Tricia explained. Aaron's mother had quickly excused herself to return to the party, leaving the two of them alone on the deck.

“Well, she is certifiably insane. You're safer just doing what she says,” Aaron joked. He had no desire to be stuck in this conversation. Whatever his mother's obsession with the two of them somehow ending up together, it was never going to happen. He'd explained this to her in seven different ways; she simply wouldn't accept it.

“I know we don't owe each other anything, but I might as well tell you, I'm seeing someone.”

“If you'da told her that, she'd've let you off the hook.”

“Are you kidding me? I did! She told me that until I say my vows, there's still reason to hope.”

Aaron laughed. “Yeah, that sounds like Mom. Sorry about that.”

“No big deal. Actually, it's ironic…” Tricia smiled dreamily and turned to look out at the garden.

When it seemed she wasn't going to complete the thought, Aaron became curious.

“What's ironic?” he prompted.

“I don't know if I should tell.”

“Oh, come on! You don't say something like that unless you're dying to tell,” Aaron coaxed teasingly.

“I suppose not.” She grinned.

It was evident from the pink in her cheeks, Tricia was too embarrassed to explain what she meant. Aaron decided not to push her. They used to be close friends before he joined the military. People always assumed they would transition into something more, but it was never Aaron's intention. Whether or not Tricia had had other plans, he couldn't say. But who knows how women think? At any rate, he knew her well enough to know when to stop going after what she had decided was a secret.

The silence could have easily waxed awkward, but it was interrupted by the unmistakable sound of Bobby rustling in the bushes right in front of them. He always thought he was so sneaky. Then, of course, he jumped suddenly up through the shrubs in front of them with a roar, just like he had done to them a thousand times before, back in the old house when they were teenagers.

Bobby hopped over the rail and plopped himself right between Aaron and Tricia. “Did I scare ya?” he teased.

Tricia giggled nervously.

“Sure, Bobby, right out of our wits.” Aaron yawned for effect.

The covert look exchanged between Bobby and Tricia wasn't lost on Aaron, and the meaning of Tricia's irony suddenly donned on him. He raised an eyebrow and allowed a half-smile to play at the corner of his mouth while he appraised the subtle overtures between them.

“Oh, I get it. You're right, Tricia. Mom'll love the irony.” He laughed at the shocked look on her face. “Really? You do know what I do for a living — right? Or… did we just meet? Remind me.”

She slugged him in the arm. Bobby smiled and tried to hide his amusement by stepping behind Tricia and wrapping his arms around her waist.

“I told you he would know… brain damage and all.” Bobby chuckled.

“Oh sure, use the woman as a shield, Bob.” Aaron shook his head in feigned disappointment.

“It's only because I know you're afraid of them, dude.”

“Them?” Aaron was immediately sorry he asked when he saw the broad grin spread across his brother's face.

“Women!” Bobby kissed Tricia on the cheek abruptly, hopped back over the rail, and ran. He knew what was coming. Aaron lunged for him but missed and thought better of wasting the energy.

“He'll be back.”

“He'd better be. He's supposed to take me home.”

“So… you and Bobby, huh? When did that happen?”

“I don't know. It just happened some time while you were gone. Bobby's… he's different, you know?”

“Oh, yeah. He's quite unique. Good. I'm glad for you two. But do you think you could do me one little favor? I mean, even though we don't owe each other anything?”

“Sure.”

“Will you please tell Mom!”

“Wow, Bobby was right. I'm surprised I never saw it before. You really are afraid of women.” Tricia laughed and patted Aaron on the head. “I'll see you at Christmas.” She turned and walked back through the portico.

Aaron rolled his eyes in disgust and murmured, “Afraid of women. Bull sh—”

“It was nice Tricia could come.”
Oh good, Mom i
s back
.

“Ah. Back for another pound of flesh,
Mother
?”

She laughed and slipped her arm around him. “Yeah, sorry about that.”

“You know that's never going to happen, right?”

“Mmm… Wanna hear the kicker? I already know about Tricia and Bobby.” She giggled.

“What!? If you already knew, why the h—?”

“Well, I just like messing with you.” She smiled mischievously. “Call it a mother's love.”

Aaron had to laugh then. He put his arm around her shoulders and hugged her.

“I'm going to miss you, Mom.”

“Yeah, me too. Just… you know, if you meet someone out there…”

“Mom.”

“Sorry. Old habits and all that.” Aaron rolled his eyes. “But seriously, Aaron…” His mother tilted her head to look up at him. “You can bring a girl home sometime. I promise she'll be safe here.”

That drew a soft chuckle from Aaron. “Well, I guess I can't speak for Bobby,” Cary said with a smile. She squeezed his waist and stepped toward the portico. “Come back to the party, Aaron. Have a little fun.”

Aaron raised an eyebrow at her. Fun? Right. He glanced at the door to his father's office. It would have to wait until later. Reluctantly he followed his mother to the veranda and death by boredom.

****

“
Gem? Gem? Are you there?
”
His voice was raspy in the dark fog. He stood at the fence, calling her name. There was silence on the other side. Shadow had overtaken the courtyard. Where could she be? He listened for any sign of life, straining to hear her. His hands held the bars of the wrought iron fence, which was suddenly reaching up to the clouds. No way to climb over it.

As far as the eye could see to the left and to the right were bars. No gate.
Gem!
He closed his eyes and rested his forehead against the fence. He was too late. She was gone. The pain wrenched his chest, and he felt tears stinging in his eyes.

He opened them again, and she was standing in front of him. She reached up and covered his hands with hers. They were so cold. “
Gem? Are you okay?
”
She smiled and moved in closer, so close her breath mingled with his between the bars. “
I
'
ve been waiting for you.
”

“
I know
,” she whispered. He inhaled her sweet scent. What was it? Lilac?

“
Gem, how do I get in there? Where
'
s the way in?
”

“
You can
'
t come in. They won
'
t let you,
”
she whispered again. Her breath warm on his face. She reached through the bars and traced his jaw line with her fingertips, coming to rest lightly on his lips. Her touch sent tremors down his spine, and he closed his eyes in response. When he opened them again, her face was dangerously close, and her eyes were gazing into his, but they seemed to be imploring him.

“
Gem?
”

“
I need to… I want to
…
”
she said in a voice hardly more than a breath. But she seemed so unsure of herself.

“
It
'
s okay.
”
He slipped his hands between the bars and pulled her face in closer until their lips brushed lightly. He felt her tense beneath his touch, and she inhaled sharply and pulled away with questions dancing wildly in her dark eyes. He watched the slow progress of realization in her eyes — from confusion to curiosity to a shy smile as she stepped back to the fence, slipped her hands around to the back of his neck, and pulled his head down to meet her upturned face.

He reached his right arm around the small of her back and cupped her head in his left. If only the bars would disappear. But instead they seemed to grow thicker, prying them from one another's arms. Frantically, he willed them to recede. They thinned, though they did not dissolve. It was enough for now. Desperately he closed the distance between them until their lips met again. Her soft, low moan drove desire through him. He had to scale that fence. Reluctantly he pulled back, intending to do just that, but as he released her, she whispered breathlessly,
Gryff
—

Aaron sat bolt upright in bed. Then groaned and rubbed his eyes as if in pain. That girl. Always the same girl. She haunted his dreams now. And that iron barrier.
Always
that stupid wrought iron fence.

He slipped his feet over the side of the bed and tossed back the covers. Everyone was asleep by now. A good time to investigate his father's office.

****

Gem's eyes flashed open in the dark. “Gryff.” His name still fresh on her lips. She reached up to her mouth gingerly. What was that? Her lips. They were tingling. A strange sensation.

 

The house was dark and silent. Aaron was certain everyone was sleeping, but he decided to play it safe and go down the back stairs through the kitchen. That way, if he got caught, he could claim he was on a midnight fridge raid. A flutter of excitement spread through him. It had been awhile since he'd experienced the thrill of spy work, though he'd done more than his share of it before the accident — never in his own home, however.

Danger level was low, but the risk of being caught was enough to raise his blood pressure. Compared to his high-stakes missions, this felt like a game. Of course, the practice was good for keeping his skill sharp and his mind focused.

He didn't know exactly what he was looking for; although, he had completed innumerable reconnaissance orders with far less information.

Silently, he crept down the back stairs, careful to avoid the third step, which he knew would creak. Even though this was a new house, Aaron had already memorized its subtle nuances — force of habit. Knowing the terrain was critical to survival in his line of work.

As he wove his way through the kitchen, he scanned door frames for any hint of light. So far, so good.

None of the door hinges squeaked in this house. It was the one advantage of his mother's obsessive pet peeve. The kitchen door swung open silently, and Aaron eased himself into the living room. In a few more steps he was in his father's office, taking a deep breath of relief.

His father was old school and, therefore, likely to keep hard copies of sensitive materials hidden somewhere he deemed unfindable. Fortunately, Aaron knew his father well enough to deduce the most likely places. And while the house was new, the desk was not.

General Jennings had commissioned the desk to be specially made when he received his first Pentagon assignment. It had several inscrutable hiding places, which Aaron had long since discovered. It was almost too easy.

One by one, Aaron went through each cache, all the while listening carefully for foreign noises that might signal someone was coming. None of the papers he found seemed to be relevant, so he locked them back into their secure spaces, meticulously placing them exactly how he had found them. He lowered himself silently into his father's chair and propped his elbows on the desk. Leaning his chin onto his fists, he thought for a moment about what to do next. There was a safe in the wall, but it was used mainly for family documents — birth certificates, insurance policies, that kind of thing. Aaron was looking for something work-related, so it didn't make sense to check the safe.

Still, it wouldn't hurt.

Aaron made a decision, stood, and strode to the safe. As a long shot he tried the date of his parents' anniversary. The lock clicked as he turned the handle. He had to laugh. For as smart as his father was, he was entirely too sentimental — a trait Aaron had not inherited.

Just as Aaron expected, the safe held all the important family documents. Each member of the family had a portfolio designated as his or her own. Aaron slipped his from its place in the stack and opened it, out of pure morbid curiosity. There was his birth certificate and his high school diploma, some insurance policies, and military enlistment papers.

He glanced through the papers. Obviously, he wasn't going to find anything in here. As he allowed the portfolio to fall closed, however, one of the pages caught his eye.

Quickly he opened it again and leafed through the papers to get a second glance. It looked like the other insurance papers, but at the top it held the familiar insignia.

EROMI.

At first he thought maybe it was a copy of his orders. His father liked to keep things like that — sentimental reasons. But it wasn't Aaron's orders.

Aaron's full name was typed in the insurance line. It had all his pertinent information there too. Odd that he had never known of this coverage, especially considering he would be stationed there in just a few short days. It stood to reason he should be told of any prior connection he had with the company.

What kind of insurance company needed military intelligence security anyway? Obviously, he would be brought up-to-date on his arrival, but usually he wasn't going in with such minimal information.

On a whim, Aaron snatched Bobby's portfolio and quickly leafed through it until he found another EROMI policy, this one with Bobby's name. Then he found his father's and his mother's. They were covering the whole family.

He replaced the papers in the portfolios and slipped them back into the safe, keeping only his own to look over, and began to read it silently.

He didn't get far.

Upstairs, heavy feet shuffled down the hall that was directly over the office. Aaron heard them receding toward the back stairs leading to the kitchen. Dad was definitely coming downstairs.

One last glance — he needed enough information to do some follow-up later — and Aaron returned the papers carefully to their place and closed the safe gently. Then tip-toeing out of the office, he skulked up in the front stairs and snuck safely back into his room.