Chapter 194

EARLIER IN THE MORNING AT QUINTON TATE'S HOME

After his morning shower, Quinton, dressed in his uniform and still buckling on his gun belt, walked into the kitchen. Before he could sit down, the phone rang.

"Quinton," he said, putting the instrument to his ear as he finished securing the belt with the keepers.

"Well, good morning. Are you planning to go somewhere on your little impromptu vacation?" his Captain asked, cheerily – a little too cheerily.

"What vacation?" Quinton joked back, just as it dawned on him his Captain might not be joking.

"Oh, come on, Boss. You've always said the rules apply equally to everybody. Two weeks off after an officer-involved shooting – mandatory with an offer of counseling, should the deputy want it. Wouldn't do for the Sheriff to ignore one of his own rules, now would it?" the Captain finished, barely suppressing a chuckle. "Seriously, Quinton, how are you doing?"

"Shit," Quinton quietly responded as he sank into his chair at the table. "You're not really going to do this to me, are you?"

His secretary, obviously having been listening on the line, chimed in with, "We've got it handled, Boss. I'll keep him in line." Both she and the Captain chuckled.

Tate made one last effort. "Look, I have lectures, meetings..."

" ... and I have your schedule. What we can't postpone, the Captain can take care of," his secretary said.

Tate let out a sigh of resignation as the Captain continued. "I've watched the videos a dozen times or more. When this is all over, I wouldn't be surprised if the video – with McMasters' and the nurse's faces blurred out, of course – will be used for training in every law enforcement agency in the nation. Hell, Quinton, you're going to be famous, like it or not."

"I definitely don't want that," Tate sighed, but he was afraid it would happen anyway. Officers' deaths that had been caught on video were frequently used in training for the way not to do things. This one would be used on how to do a hostage drop. He knew the video would probably save lives; he just didn't want to be in it, and he knew Caitlin wouldn't, either, blurred-out faces or not.

"So, back to my original question, where are you going on your vacation?"

"No plans, yet," he sighed as he sank down into his chair at the table. "Probably just relax with friends. You two and our families need to get together again. Maybe sometime in the next two weeks would be a good time to do that."

"Except, we'll be busy doing your job," the Captain said with a chuckle. "We'll get back to you. And Quinton..."

"Yeah?"

"Don't get uptight about this. It will take the review committee about two seconds to make a Justified ruling when they see the videos. The DA has already seen it and passed the same judgment. Enjoy your vacation. If you want that counseling..."

"Hell, no," Quinton interrupted.

" ... all you have to do is call. No shame in that, Quinton. You took a man's life. He needed killing, but we have the counselor on retainer, anyway. Might as well use him."

"I'll keep it in mind, but nurse Hughes was the one who had a gun to her head, not me. Seriously, I'm fine. You two, I appreciate what you're doing, and ... the thoughts. But remember, dammit, if something goes wrong, all you have to do is call..."

"We know, Quinton," the Captain interjected. "Take care, and tell your wife hello for me."

"Bye, Sheriff," his secretary finished just before she and the Captain hung up.

Tate pushed the Off button on the phone and put it on the table beside his plate. Looking up at his four, very interested wives, "I'm off for two weeks," he sighed, obviously not happy with the situation.

"You were off for two weeks when you shot that guy when you were a deputy," Virginia commented as she took his hand to encourage him to stand. Unsnapping his belt keepers, she unbuckled his gun belt and handed it to Elizabeth, who went to hang the belt and keepers in the bedroom.

"You already knew about this," he accused as he reseated himself, and his wife sat in his lap.

Virginia kissed him lightly on the lips, then looked him in the eye. "The Captain called last night while you were in the shower. He said he would call this morning to remind you not to come in. I told him what time we ate so he could call before you left for work. Quint, you have always said that rules have to apply equally..."

"I know. I know," he interrupted, "but I don't have to like it. I have a department to run..."

" ... and you have good people to run it in your absence," she finished for him. "We have another wedding to go to tonight, and your mates have all day to make love to our man. That starts with a big breakfast. After that, a blowjob, then we'll see how things go for the rest of the day," she said as his nieces began to put his food on the table.

After searching, Hope and Arlene found their puppies in the living room near the fire, both little dogs sound asleep.

The girls stood smiling down at the animals a moment before Hope remarked, "They look so innocent. Aren't they sweet?"

Arlene leaned over to pick up Spike. "Yeah, they are. I was beginning to worry that they had gotten into something. Guess they found the fire and have been asleep the whole time."

As Hope reached for her puppy, "Taking them outside so frequently is a drag – not to mention it being a cold drag. I don't want to hurry their growing up, but..."

Arlene snuggled a still-sleepy Spike to her neck, cuddling him as he awakened fully and licked her cheek. "The book said they will still need to go out more often than large breeds, even when they're adults. Are you sorry you got a dog, particularly, a small breed?"

"Goodness, no," Hope quickly answered as she teased Sugar by blowing gently on her ear. "I'm just not used to this cold, and I'm not sure I'll ever be."

"It gets better," Arlene said as the girls started for the back door. "It doesn't bother me as much as it did at first, but Dave walks out wearing only a jacket while I'm freezing my butt off with a coat. Still, I'm more accustomed to it than I was." There was a moment's hesitation before she went on, "Of course, winter is just beginning. Evie says it will get a lot colder up here."

The girls put on their coats, then bundled the puppies into their sweaters. As they stepped out the back door, the wind buffeted them. "Does it always do that?" Hope asked.

As they put the dogs down on the frozen ground, Arlene pointed to the big wind generators higher up the mountain, and responded. "The wind makes us money every month. Dad has been thinking about putting in a couple more generators between here and the Sperman's property, but the terrain is almost inaccessible. He and Dave were discussing options about the installation the other night."

Hope didn't respond, and after a moment Arlene glanced over to see a troubled face. Before she could ask Hope what was wrong, the girl said, "It must cost a lot with everyone living up here. I guess..."

But Arlene's sharp mind filled in the blanks before Hope could finish the sentence. Grabbing her, Arlene hugged the frowning girl. "Don't even go there. I guess this is my fault. I should have told you a little about our finances, not that they would matter one bit. You're part of us – family. But ... if Daddy never worked another day as an engineer, never sold another invention, or never did anything to increase our income, we would have more money than all of us together, or separately, could ever spend in our lives. His radar is literally pouring in money, in addition to the amount he sold the patents for to begin with. And..." she giggled, "Laura, Ann, Helen and I have a software update just about finished for Dad's radar. Helen says it will bring in a considerable amount of money – probably millions. But we're waiting to release it until after all the original sales of the radar are over."

Arlene shook her head. "The truth is that even though Ann and I contributed, Laura and Helen did most of the work and all the really challenging programming. Laura is a genius when it comes to computers, and Helen is just a genius, period. We've kept the update a secret from Dad, but one day soon we'll surprise him."

"But ... you've contributed, and so have Helen, Laura and Ann. I've done nothing for you after all you have done for me. Art almost died for me, and Jeff and you guys came and got me. Gave me this beautiful place – this almost wonderland – to live in, with everything I could possibly wish for. Everybody is so concerned for me, and I can't do anything in return..."

And the tears started.

Crap, Arlene thought, how could her father do that to her? She's as sharp as a tack, but has an inferiority complex a mile wide. Aloud, she began, "Look, Honey, you need..."

Hope choked back a sob and looked at her friend. "The only thing I can do is draw, and I need to get on with that. Art said he saw several more people that might be some type of supervisors with the slavers. I've put this off long enough. I need to find him as soon as we get back inside."

Both Spike and Sugar were trying to jump up the girls' legs to get off the frozen ground. They picked up the puppies and put them under their coats as the two turned back for the Retreat. "We need to get back inside before those tears freeze on your cheeks," Arlene kidded Hope. When the next icy gust of wind hit, she wasn't entirely sure she was kidding.

Inside the Retreat as they were hanging up their coats, "Have you seen Art since breakfast?" When Arlene shook her head, Hope turned down the hall, "I guess I'll see if he's in their suite."

The young Queen grabbed Hope's arm. "Uh, might want to call first. He and the nurses are on their honeymoon, remember? Unless I've misinterpreted the expressions on Bobby's and Sandra's faces, they had something planned for their husband after breakfast – something that doesn't require clothes to accomplish," she finished with a grin.

"Oops," Hope said. "All I need is to embarrass them, but I should..."

" ... relax," Arlene said as she took Hope's hand. "Look, you've already done something that none of us can do. That drawing of the slaver was as good as any picture of him could ever be. Art said it was perfect, and it was easy to tell that he was entirely serious, and very, very impressed. You don't have to prove yourself to us. We all love you and think you're a great person. We don't just think it; we know it. Now what did Mom say?" she finished with a lilt to her voice.

Hope chuckled. "She said I was fifteen and should act like it – to stop worrying about what happened in the past and to enjoy life, and ... to study my schoolwork," she finished with a grin.

"So, call their suite and let the phone ring a couple of times. If they don't answer, hang up and wait to talk to them at lunch. We all do that if we think we might be interrupting." As Hope turned again to leave, Arlene added, "Remember, we have a date in the game room tonight. You owe me a rematch."

"Bull. You let me win, and we both know it." She grinned and waved as she hurried off, but Arlene stood frowning.

Doggone it, Dad. You need to get off your butt, she thought. She needs a husband to get her mind off the past and focused on the present. You and I are going to have a talk tonight – a husband and wife talk. If that doesn't do the trick, I'm going to drag out the big guns and get Mom involved.

After the blocks were installed and the Healer had enhanced Lillian, Van and Adriana spent some time with Jeff and Diana as they began to bring Lillian up to date. Later, Adriana took her husband's hand. "Let's go for a walk. I need to discuss some things with you."

"Outside?" he asked.

But Adriana shook her head. "No, let's just find a place to be alone for a few minutes. We need to discuss our daughter."

Holding hands, husband and wife walked on down the hall, eventually winding up in an alcove overlooking the front of the Retreat and the top of the driveway. Although Adriana had made a few comments about the beauty of their surroundings as they walked, it was obvious to her husband that whatever she wanted to discuss was of major importance. She said she wanted to discuss our daughter, but we're here to marry Lillian. Women never seem to think linearly, so I know that Paulette isn't really the topic of this discussion. Adriana will start out with something about Paulette, then I'll find out what she really wants to talk about. I'll bet she's having second thoughts about me making love to another woman. That must be it.

As they finally sat, Van, worried, crossed his legs, leaned back and said, "Okay, what have I done?"

"Done?" his wife innocently asked.

Too innocently, he thought. "Yeah, 'done, '" he quietly sighed. "We've been married too long for this. I know when I've stepped in it. I just don't know what I've done to get your panties in a bunch."

Adriana was hard put not to grin at him. "Do you trust me, Honey?"

That question sent chills down the husband's spine. Oh, boy. Here it comes. "Trust you?" he said as if he hadn't completely heard her, but he was actually trying to stall. What the crap does she want? We're going to marry Lillian. Adriana swears that's what they both want. They slept together in one of the spare bedrooms last night, so I'm sure they discussed things in detail. I agreed that we wouldn't do anything sexual until we were all married to each other. Is she pissed at me about the pheromones? What's this about Paulette? What...

"Have you thought about our daughter?" Adriana said out of the blue, or at least it seemed that way to Van who was convinced that Paulette wasn't the real subject.

He tried to focus on what his wife had asked, but there was a big blank place in his mind that her question seemed to conjure up. Shit, what has Paulette got to do with this? We're here to talk about Lillian, aren't we?

"Uh..."

"You don't have a clue, do you?" his wife asked/told him with a sigh.

"Baby," he tried with desperation, "we've discussed this thing before. Men and women don't think the same way. Are you having second thoughts about Lillian?"

"Lillian?" Adriana asked with a frown. "Where did she come from? I told you we needed to talk about our daughter. We're going to marry Lillian in a few hours. That's a done deal."

But Van wasn't listening. "Look, Baby. Whatever the fuck I've done – or not done – it was unintentional. I..."

Adriana got up and plopped down in his lap, pushed her braless breasts against his chest and kissed him, knowing he needed a reset. "You big lug; I'm not mad at you – or anyone, for that matter. We just need to talk about our daughter, and I guess we both need to try and realize what she's feeling."

Van let out a sigh of resignation. "Look, Baby. I fell in love with my sister. We've both known for several years that Paulette has had a crush on her brother, and we've agreed to let them marry – well, marry the way the Matthews do it, like we're going to do it with Lillian later today. But Paulette won't even be fifteen until tomorrow. She needs to wait another year..."