Chapter 9

"SHE DID WHAT!!?? Roared Ken.

"Relax Ken, it's all under control. The man Walter hired called social services and the police. Belinda is in custody and Mallory is waiting for you to come and get her. I made reservations for us and the limo will be here in an hour. Please calm down, everything is being done that can be." Marta was stalking back and forth the whole time she was talking. Her agitation was evident by the wringing of her hands and her quick steps.

This was Monday morning and Ken had been relaxing by the pool with Marcia, after doing what exercises he could with his arm in a sling. Then Marta had come out from answering a phone call. The call had been from Walter Neilson. He had told Marta that the investigator watching Ken's ex-wife had informed him that Belinda had gotten drunk Saturday night and left the baby in a biker bar under the supposed care of one of the waitresses. It had taken all day Sunday, but the judge had ruled that the father could come and get the child until a full custody hearing could be done. Belinda and her father were both in jail for two separate counts of drunk and disorderly. Her mother was out of town visiting a sister, so she was not available either.

All of this was happening after the longest weekend of Ken's life. The interrogation after the break in attempt was bad, but this time he had descended another three levels into hell. The Carmel police had not been too bad; the events at the lodge were pretty straightforward and easy to explain away. The hospital though, had been under the jurisdiction of the Seaside police. They had been another 30 minutes in responding after the Carmel police, and they had treated Ken as a homicidal maniac. Without Walter staying with him and filtering the rage he was developing, Ken would have lost it and probably spent a lot of time in jail trying to get things sorted out. Watching Marcia and Walter tiptoeing around each other and feeling out the beginning of a relationship helped though; and it kept Ken from examining his own romantic troubles too deeply.

Sunday night he had finally been allowed to go home and get some sleep. Ken was kissed and thanked fondly by each woman at the lodge. He had even been allowed to give Stefan a hug goodnight, a new first in his relationship with Connie.

The limo ride to Frisco and the flight to Boise were tense. Ken was flip-flopping between being excited about seeing Mallory again and enraged that Belinda would take such a chance with the child's safety. Marta and Ken spent much of the time talking about what changes would have to be made to adapt to having a little girl living with them. Marta wanted to move Ken into one of the larger cabins, but he would have nothing to do with it.

"Look Marta, we need to talk about a few things. This isn't the way I was going to do it, but what the hell. I am deeply thankful for everything you have done for me, but the job at the lodge is not what I want to be doing when Mallory goes to school. All of the heavy work is done now and maintaining what I have done will not take as much time or effort. There is no way you need to keep paying me as much as you have been. It is not fair to you, and that is how the job was presented to me in the first place. I want to go back to school now and finish up my certificate. I can keep the place up while I'm at school, but after that you can hire someone about to retire or maybe a disabled vet to do the maintenance. Once I have my certificate, I will need to work as a mechanic for a while to get the other certs I need. I was thinking that maybe you and Marcia would be willing to be partners with me in a garage. I've really come to love you both and I think Mallory will too. I don't want to drop out of your life, just change how I am in it is all."

"Are you going to take Connie with you when you leave Ken?"

"That is the other problem I have Marta. What am I going to do about Consuela? I know that she is thankful to me for saving her from that asshole, but that is not a good basis for a relationship. I found that out with Belinda. She needs to find a man worthy of her."

'Damn, ' Marta thought, 'I thought that we had gotten him beyond this. How do I make him see that he is good enough for Connie, and may be the perfect man for her?'

"And yet you are taking her and the nurse out to dinner and dancing Friday night. Do you think that the nurse is more your speed, are you hoping that she will push Connie away from you?"

"I'm not sure what happened there Marta. I don't remember asking either one of them out, but somehow we have a date. I'm supposed to take them dancing and I don't know how to dance. Hell, I've never even been into a club."

"Well I'm not sure how the nurse happened to get into the picture, but Marcia said that you told Connie that you would take her to the clubs if she still wanted to go."

"I meant that I would go along as a chaperone, to keep her out of trouble. And barb said something about when I saved her the second time I no longer needed to ask to take her out. I suppose that is a good thing, because I never would have asked her. As soon as she gets over being grateful she'll leave."

"Well, I don't know this Barb, but I know Connie very well. I helped Selena raise her and I think I have a pretty good idea of what makes her tick. Now would you say that she needs a man who would be kind and gentle with her?"

"Definitely, but he would have to be able to be firm with her as well. Not physically or anything, but I have seen her go off on a tangent a time or two and her mother or you had to reel her in."

"That's right; she would need a firm hand now and then. Do you think that the man for her should be able to support her and her child?"

"Of course he should, he should also give her more children to love as she loves Stefan."

"Very good. Do you think that he should be willing and able to protect her?"

"That goes without saying Marta; she is a precious package and needs to be kept safe."

"And how about physical love? Do you think that he should be able to provide her with pleasure? Wouldn't it be good to hear her scream in ecstasy?"

"Well, yeah." Ken said, almost in a whisper.

"And lastly, do you think that the man for her should love Stefan as much as you do?"

"Now wait a minute here Marta, I see where you are going and you are wrong. Once she has time to wake up Connie will not want anything to do with me."

"And can you say the same about yourself Ken? Can you say that you would be happy watching as she makes mistakes, finding men that won't treat her as well as you would? Are you going to be able to watch other men kiss her the way you want to? Can you watch as another man plays with Stefan? Are you willing to save her from another bad mistake when you wouldn't have to if she were dating you?

"I have been watching her Ken, and Connie has finally realized that you are the man she wants and needs. All you have to do now is to realize it yourself.

"Marcia and I did not have a chance to respond to what you said to us Friday night. We were shocked, but once we had time to think about it, we understood. We were treating you badly. You had every right to be upset, but you didn't react with anger as most men would, you were gentle and explained your feelings to us. Most men would have left in a huff, but you didn't. You were very considerate of us and of our feelings; you Ken, are the kind of man that I would want for Connie. If you look at yourself honestly, you would see that as well."

The clunk of the wheels locking into place for landing interrupted the conversation. Ken was silent during landing and the hassle of *deplaning.

There was a man holding a picture waiting for them at the main concourse.

"Hello folks, are you Mrs. Horne and Mr. Jacobs?"

"Yes we are. I assume that you are the man Walter Neilson hired."

"Yes ma'am, Wilbur sent me the picture and told me to watch for a big guy with his arm in a sling. I am George Munson at your service. Do you have any checked baggage?"

"No, we don't expect to stay here any longer than necessary so we didn't bring more than we could carry on board. Where is the little girl now?"