Chapter 38: Watercolor

Joseph and Joshua entered the room where Jordan was being held captive. "You finally made it back," Joshua snickered. Jordan sat bolt upright as they entered.

"Just in time to go jack rabbit hunting," Joe smirked in reference to their notorious jack rabbit hunt as children when Jordan had refused to kill anymore jack rabbits out of sympathy.

Jordan managed a slight smiled, "I'm never going to live down that jack rabbit hunt as long as I live."

"Of course not," Joe informed him.

James walked in to join them, "They were just stupid jack rabbits Jordy," he quipped, "Shooting them was no big deal."

It had been a big deal to Jordan. As he sat there staring up at his brothers, he realized it had been a very long time since he had seen them. They all looked similar, but the years had definitely changed them. He knew they had families of their own somewhere, but he wasn't interested in those families. Seeing his brothers brought back a mixture of good and bad memories. They had been close as children, but they were nothing more than strangers now. His brothers were still doing their father's bidding and he was not.

"Even though you are a wuss it's good to see you," Joe clapped him on the back and smiled.

"It's good to see you too," Jordan said, "I just wish it were under different circumstances."

Joe and Joshua locked eyes and turned as the door to Jordan's room opened and Ethan entered. "Your brother looks none the worse for wear, do you agree?" Ethan asked casually as he stuck his cigar in his mouth.

"Yeah, he looks like he might live," Joshua quipped.

Ethan nodded, "He looks almost well enough to go home."

"I'm not going anywhere without Angel," Jordan winced and he stood up to face his father.

Jordan's brothers looked at each other and then Ethan dismissed them. After they left the room, Batista and Collins entered. Jordan found it interesting that his father didn't want to be completely alone with him.

Ethan looked into Jordan's eyes, "What makes you think you have a choice about leaving?"

Jordan knew it was time for him and his father to talk more about Angel. "I'm not going to leave Angel here with you so you can force her to be a whore for you anymore. I can't do that, I love her."

Ethan scoffed, "Love, do you hear that?" He turned to Batista, "Love?" Batista showed no response, nor did Collins. "There is no such thing as love," Ethan said with disdain.

"Maybe not in your world," Jordan mused, "But in mine there is."

Ethan shook his head. "You were always quite fond of the whores," Ethan rolled his eyes. "We argued over one of them in particular before you left, do you remember? What was her name?"

"We argued over more than one of them."

Ethan stiffened, "I guess it doesn't matter what her name was since most of the whores you knew when you were living here are gone."

Jordan felt his blood run cold, "Is that what will happen to Angel, one day she'll simply be 'gone' with no explanation?" Batista stirred uncomfortably at Jordan's words.

"I'm curious about how Angel ended up living with you." Ethan observed. "I can't believe after all these years you're still partial to whores, what's wrong with dating a decent and honorable woman?"

Jordan frowned, "It's not Angel's fault she was a whore. She didn't choose that life. I took her in and cared for her because she was vulnerable and alone and I didn't realize she was a former whore until later."

"How noble of you," Ethan sniggered, "I guess it's much like taking in a stray dog."

"I had no idea she was from Reno. All I knew was that she was beautiful," Jordan continued. "I took care of her because she needed me. It took me awhile to figure out where she was from and make the connection."

"And when you figured out where she came from why didn't you send her back? You knew I would be looking for her." Ethan said.

"You know why," Jordan bit out.

"I guess I owe you a debt of gratitude for keeping her safe." Ethan sneered, "Though allowing her to be kidnapped on your watch was hardly keeping her safe."

Jordan felt his anger rising.

"But still I probably owe you a little something for your kindness," Ethan chortled. His constant state of amusement bothered Jordan.

"You don't owe me anything," Jordan quipped, "But you owe Angel her freedom. She's done enough of your bidding and she's earned the right to be free."

Ethan sneered, "What do you know about it?"

"I know all about it Ethan." Jordan retorted.

Batista admired the way Jordan refused to back down. Batista had seen Ethan's other sons cave in or became weak and compliant when it came to their father, but not Jordan. Collins noticed the same thing. Jordan was no weakling, though ironically his reputation was one of weakness.

"Angel belongs here," Ethan said. "I thought I made that clear to you the first time we spoke."

Jordan looked his father in the eye. "You can throw me out and send me to hell if you want, but that's not going to stop me. I'll keep coming back until you let her go." Jordan paused for effect. "It's fate that we be together. Angel and I were meant to find one another and I will move heaven and hell in order to make it happen."

Ethan was stunned by the fire in his son's eyes. "'Fate' is nothing but bullshit."

"If Angel had stayed in Argus Falls as a teenager, there is no doubt in my mind our paths would have eventually crossed. If I had stayed in Reno, the same thing would have happened. I'm telling you, we are meant to be together."

"That's insane!" Ethan scoffed.

Jordan would not back down, "I don't care if you think its insanity. I intend to take her away from this Godforsaken ranch of yours, and I intend to marry her and live out the rest of my days with her and furthermore I'm prepared to die trying to make it happen."

"She's a fucking prostitute for Christ's sake," Ethan was stunned by how much Jordan wanted her.

"If she was just any prostitute you wouldn't care so much about bringing her back here," Jordan observed. "Angel is special."

Batista's admiration for Jordan continued to grow. Angel was indeed very special.

Ethan began to pace back and forth, pondering. "I taught you when you were growing up that we make our own luck. I taught you that there was no such thing as fate."

"And I believed that," Jordan spat, "Until I met Angel."

"You honestly believe you are meant to be together?" Ethan mulled that over. "She's a professional hooker for Christ's sake and you're a Harvard trained Medical Doctor!"

"I don't care if she's a street waif, invalid, or leper," Jordan said, "She belongs with me!"

"She belongs with you?" Ethan was appalled.

"Yes," Jordan insisted. "The second I saw her I knew that and when I see her again I'm going to marry her and never let her out of my sight again, believe me."

Ethan did not understand his son's determination. "Does she have any say in the marriage part?"

"Very little," Jordan stated and then he realized he was talking irrationally if he planned to force a woman to marry him who had told him numerous times she would not marry him.

"You really are insane," Ethan shook his head.

"How in the hell did you know Angel was in Argus Falls?" Jordan asked.

Ethan laughed, "If you can't puzzle that one out all by yourself then your degree from Harvard isn't worth shit," and with that Ethan turned around and stormed out of Jordan's bedroom followed by Batista and Collins.

When they were out in the hallway Ethan turned to his men, "I'm going to go see Angel and I don't want to be disturbed. Stand guard outside her door." They followed him as he stormed down the hallway toward Angel's room.

Batista and Collins were shocked and amazed by the conversation they had just witnessed between Jordan and Ethan. Jordan was obviously the son who was the most like his father. He was smart, strong, and determined. There was nothing wimpy about Jordan, even though for years they had been hearing what a wimp he was.

Jordan slumped down on the bed after Ethan and his men left the room. He wished he had a phone so he could call the Pirelli family and let them know that Angel was OK. He puzzled over Ethan's words. How did Ethan know where to find Angel? Finally it struck him that perhaps Coach Bills had figured out her connection to Ethan and had visited Reno. Jordan felt sick. If that was the case, Bills had really betrayed Angel, not only when she was a teen, but as an adult as well.

The Pirellis finished their chicken parmesan and cleaned up the dishes. Martin wanted to keep the momentum with his family going so they could keep their minds off Angel. "Do we still have some board games or card games around here?" He asked.

Claudia went up to the attic to find the old games. She was able to retrieve some old board games and card games which she dusted off before taking them downstairs. Among the games she chose was dominos. She recalled how Angel had always loved to play dominos. As she brought the games back downstairs she thought of how Thanksgiving would soon arrive. She wondered if Angel would be back by then and she realized she had taken it for granted that this year they would finally all be together on Thanksgiving. Now she wasn't sure it was going to happen. She quickly brushed the tears out of her eyes and tried not to think about it.

"Here we go," Martin said when he saw the games in Claudia's arms, "Now this is what I was talking about."