Chapter 10

After the life altering news about the bank, Beth Ann was reluctant to let go of me, so we drove to the marina and looked up Brian, intending to give him a ride home. Hank and JoAnna were busy supervising the launch of a big houseboat that must have been hauled out for repairs. We stood well out of the way and watched. As soon as the boat was out of its sling and floating, Brian appeared and tied it up, while Hank and Coulter stowed the forklift and cleaned up their tools.

Beth Ann was appropriately impressed and showered Brian with praise, which he sucked up like a shammy on a waxed car hood. His smile at Beth Ann's words was sincere and mature beyond fourteen years of age, a fact that surprisingly gave me a great deal of comfort.

Beth Ann introduced herself to Hank, and he introduced us both to JoAnna, who introduced Coulter. Once everyone knew everyone else, Hank released Brian for the day and told him work started at eight sharp, and that he was anxious to see him in the morning, because of his great work ethic and positive attitude. Beth Ann glowed when she heard Hank complimenting her baby. It was sweet.

Brian wanted to go home and play a video game, watch a DVD, or watch a DVD about playing video games, I can't remember which, so we dropped him at the cabin, and Beth Ann reminded him of dinner at the Bell's house later. We continued on to wander through Branson, letting Beth Ann continue figuring out where things were located.

We spent the afternoon discovering Branson and each other.

With no agenda, we drove aimlessly, turning up this street, and down that lane. It gave us time to talk. Beth Ann mostly talked about things I already knew from my last trip, but she surprised me a few times with facts about her life that I would have never guessed.

"Daddy HATED Brian's father. He tolerated him for my sake, but on those rare occasions that Bruce attended a family dinner, you could cut the tension with a butter knife. It got so obvious that Mother used to ask me what Bruce's schedule was, and then made plans for our gatherings so that they would conflict with Bruce's agenda.

"He didn't care. Bruce only cared about Bruce. Mother used to say she never knew a man could be so insular and so self-centered. Daddy just ignored him. I wish I had..." She sounded sad, and I held her hand and gently brushed my finger across her smooth skin.

We talked, or rather, I encouraged her to do the talking, and she rambled about her life and marriage, Brian growing up without a strong father figure, and the dynamics that led to her picking up and moving to Branson.

"I don't know what to do now that the bank job is gone..." She was hurting, so I threw her a lifeline.

"I don't think you need to worry about doing much of anything." She gave me a sidelong look, full of doubt, so I pressed ahead. "Mr. Bell is about to get you several hundred thousand dollars in the form of a settlement from Hillman, and I bet it won't take more than a week. Now that I've seen him in action a little bit, I can say he has got to be the best lawyer I've ever met.

"Let the accident settlements play out and then think about the next step, with all the facts. They may change everything you're worried about into things you never have to worry over, again. Remember, at the very least, you are covered for a year." She thought about that while I turned us back towards her cabin, so she could get ready for dinner.

Brian walked out on the side porch of the log cabin when he heard the car, and said, "Mr. Bell called and said to tell you he has good news for you tonight about Hillman."

"There you go," I laughed as Beth Ann spun around to ask me if I knew something I wasn't telling her.

"Nope," I laughed, again. "I told you he's a really good lawyer, and since he is good friends with Mr. Hillman, this thing was going to work itself out pretty fast. I just didn't think it would be this fast..."

Beth Ann seemed reluctant but took my word for it, and said, "Pick us up at six-thirty?" We kissed for a very long time, and I was reluctant to let her go. Mr. Johnson was downright disgusted with me, and I didn't blame him one bit.

Back on the boat, I showered, rested, and thought about Beth Ann and Brian. The pain was far more manageable than two days ago, and I could see light at the end of the healing tunnel. That encouraged me, even as it left me perplexed.

Everything was so different with me in my body and Brian in his, that it hit me for the first time that Beth Ann and I might not reconnect the way we were before. Colleen, Rebecca, and Beth Ann were totally different people than when I was Brian, because everything was so radically different. I saved Beth Ann from Grayson Foster's people killing her, and may have lost her because of it.

My mind was made up. I wanted all three of them, and then I would worry about Sherrie, Tammy, and Winnie. Maggie was probably not within reach due to circumstances, but I promised myself to create the family trust and take care of her family exactly like last time, including Maggie's college education.

I HAD to make sure Jennifer got to Doctor Abrams, and find a way to get Tabitha a new liver. There was no real reason to wait until I met them the last time, since I wasn't planning a love affair with Sherrie, nor wanting to travel by houseboat to Deland.

Then there was Rebecca's bi-polar disorder. How does a guy get a woman doctor to seek treatment for that?