Chapter 41: Blissful Reunion

Angel and Jordan slept until late morning and then Jordan rolled over on his side and looked down into her eyes. Neither of them could believe they were finally home. Jordan reached over and took her in his arms, "good morning."

Angel rested her head on his chest and gave him a squeeze. She wasn't in the mood to ever leave the house again, not after everything she had been through, but she knew her family needed to know she was OK. She watched Jordan slowly get out of bed and walk into the kitchen and she trailed after him and watched as he struggled with one arm to make coffee. "I need to call my family," Angel said.

"I know," Jordan smiled at her and he leaned forward and kissed her lightly on the lips. "I bet they're very worried."

The Pirellis began their Thanksgiving Day early. Rori and her family arrived around 10 o'clock in the morning to help with the cooking and Frank and his family arrived shortly thereafter. The mood among all of them was somber. They had spent so much time together recently that they were a bit tired of one another's company, not to mention upset that they hadn't heard anything from Jordan or Angel.

It would be hours before they sat down to their Thanksgiving feast and Rori and Amanda, Frank's ex-wife, helped Claudia in the kitchen while the men sat around in the living room waiting for football to begin. Frank decided to kill time he would take his son Colton and his two nephews, Trevor and Tyler, outside to toss the football. Mia sat quietly at the kitchen table, wishing she didn't feel so empty and out of sorts.

Just after he tossed the football to Colton, Frank heard a truck pull up outside. It was a familiar sound. He rushed out to the front yard and was shocked to see Jordan's truck. He watched as Jordan slowly got out of his truck with his broken arm, and his heart leapt at the sight of Angel. He rushed instantaneously toward her and swept her up in his arms, "Angel!"

By now the kids had alerted everyone else in the house that Jordan was home with Angel, and everyone came rushing out the front door to see for themselves. Angel threw her arms around Frank's neck as the tears ran down her face. She was speechless. There was a huge lump in her throat.

The onslaught began immediately as everyone crowded around Angel until they almost smothered her. Mia tentatively made her way to her mother's arms and as she fell into her mother's embrace she could not hold back her tears of joy and relief. "Mom," she said softly and she squeezed Angel for all she was worth.

Angel was still feeling some pain from the beating Rico had given her, but it was barely noticeable as her family hugged her. Jordan slowly prodded her toward the house as she hugged everyone so that they could eventually get out of the cold. Angel held onto her sister Rori and sobbed and then her mother Claudia. It was a sweet reunion for everyone.

Martin hung back a little, attempting to maintain his composure, but he couldn't hold back his tears at the sight of his daughter. Angel finally stood face to face with her father as she worked her way to the house, "Hi Pop."

Martin swept her up in his arms with relief, squeezing her so tightly she could hardly breathe. "Angelica," he whispered softly as he held her and the tears streamed down his face. No one besides his wife Claudia had ever seen him cry, so it took awhile for them to believe he was actually crying and once he had her in his arms, Martin could not bring himself to let her go.

"We wondered if we would ever see you again," Frank said tearfully.

Angel pried herself from her father's grasp, "I wondered the same thing."

Mia rushed up beside her, "Where were you?"

"I have a lot to tell you," Angel explained and she felt overwhelmed by how much they didn't know and how much she would have to explain.

"Well let's get inside out of the cold first," Claudia insisted and all of them filed into the living room.

"I'm surprised to find everyone here," Angel said, "but I guess it's Thanksgiving." It had been a very long time since she had been with her family for the holidays.

"How did you ever manage to get her out of Reno?" Martin asked Jordan.

Jordan wasn't sure where to begin, "It was interesting," he sighed. Jordan wasn't sure how to explain the poker game.

"Who was it that kidnapped you?" Rori asked.

Angel took a deep breath and sat down on the couch next to Jordan who pulled her into arms, "Well years ago I was held captive by a man named Rico and he's the one who originally kidnapped me." Angel began to spill her story from the time she was with Rico, to when Ethan's men found her in the sleazy motel room in Canada. Then she told them how Ethan decided to have a poker game with Jordan, and that whoever won could take her. She left out the gruesome details.

"Just like that," Frank said with suspicion.

"Well, basically," Angel said.

"Ethan Parks is a real bastard," Rori said with disdain, "And that Rico ought to have his balls cut off."

"Rori," Claudia frowned in disapproval.

"It's true," Rori spat and then she realized she was speaking in front of the children, but she wasn't sure she cared.

"Ethan Parks took care of Rico," Jordan said in a far off voice, "So I don't think we need to worry about him coming back here for Angel again."

"You won her in a poker game?" Frank laughed, as it began to sink in.

"Yes," Jordan squeezed Angel playfully, "It was quite a game."

The adults in the room were smart enough to figure out there was a lot more to the story than the basic details Angel had shared with them, but they didn't know if they wanted to hear all the horrible and gruesome details. They were just happy to have her home again.

There were still a lot of things that needed to happen now that Angel was back. One of those things was to notify the police that Angel had been found, but the family selfishly didn't want their holiday ruined by an overzealous officer who would want to debrief Angel, so they were reluctant to call. Finally, they reasoned they would inform the police of her return, but insist that no one question her until the next day.

Angel was exhausted from everything she had endured and she was still very weak. Everyone eventually returned to their former tasks, leaving Angel on the couch next to Jordan as she clung to him and he held her in his arms. Mia began to tell her mother and Jordan about Wiley Bills and his son Riley. Angel listened intently to the tale of how Wiley had lost control and hurt his sons and his wife and how his family had finally left him. Angel reached out to caress Mia's face and rub her back as she spoke. By the time their big dinner was prepared and they all sat down at the table together, the novelty of Angel's return had begun to wear off.

Martin was a traditionalist, so the first thing he did before they ate was to stand up and give a little speech about how grateful he was for Angel's safe return. "On today of all days," he smiled and raised his wine glass to propose a toast. They were Italian by origin so even the children had diluted wine in their glasses. All of them raised their glasses to toast to Thanksgiving and Angel's safe return home.

Then they began to eat, all of them were famished. "We should inform the FBI about all of this kidnapping business," Frank said as he shoved some potatoes in his mouth.

"No," Jordan said quickly, "When it comes to Ethan Parks I think we just need to leave well enough alone," and then he looked at Angel. "Thank God she is back here with us, let's leave it at that."

"I agree," Martin boomed. "We don't want to run the risk of ever losing her again."

Claudia shushed them, "Let's just enjoy one another's company right now. We can talk about this other business later."

Martin nodded, "I agree, this is the first Thanksgiving we have had Angel here with us in a very long time."

Angel managed a smile, but she couldn't help remembering that a couple of months earlier she never thought she would be sitting in her parent's home again, especially after her father's initial reaction to her return. She realized there was a part of her that was still angry about the way her father had treated her when she had first come back, but she knew over time she would come to forgive him.

"Great food Ma," Frank grinned, and he watched as his son Colton shoveled in a mouthful of turkey.

Angel had been starved for days so it was difficult for her to eat much. "You eat like a bird," Rori finally said, "C'mon it's Thanksgiving."