Love After All (35 page)

T
he awards ceremony was, as expected, long and tedious, but his mother's presentation was beautiful. His father, the consummate actor, took the stage, accepted her award along with Jessie and formally announced his retirement and Jessie's secession to CEO.

The assembled guests were stunned, having suspected that he would announce he would be taking the reins of Daley Communications permanently. Afterward, the press and media swamped them as Jessie took the lead. She was brilliant, as usual.

After a long, slow drive home, with keys in hand, Jackson walked up the path to his home. The door was slightly open. He entered and stopped at the alarm system. To his surprise it had already been turned off. He walked through the house looking into each room, not sure what or who to expect.

He went into the kitchen and saw that the sliding glass door was open. He walked out onto the deck hoping to see Samantha standing outside. She wasn't. But someone else was. He walked outside and stood at the railing.

“Nice place you have here,” Jefferson said as he sat perched on the railing looking out at the sunset. “I have a view just like it on the Côte d'Azur. The water's a bit bluer or greener in France, mind you, but this is pleasant nonetheless. I don't get down there too often. I like the city too well. There's something about Piccadilly Circus that excites me. Maybe it's the statue of Eros.”

“What are you doing here, Jefferson? I thought this was over,” Jackson said as he looked out at the sun setting in the west.

“Eros, the god of love, the son of Aphrodite, but more importantly he represented the sum of all instincts for self-preservation.” Jefferson looked over to Jackson for the first time.

“Where is she?” he asked as he sat down beside Jefferson and looked out at the waves cresting against the sand.

“I can see why she loves it here,” Jefferson said. “It's peaceful, makes me want to head over to France before going home.”

“London, right?” he guessed, remembering Samantha's perfect accent at his father's place.

“Sometimes. Have you ever been to London?”

“Yeah, a bit crowded but it's nice.”

“I agree,” Jefferson said.

“So what you do, I mean, did,” Jackson corrected, “you don't do that anymore?”

“I retired some time ago.”

“And now you work for the government?” Jackson asked.

“At times,” Jefferson said evasively.

“What exactly do you do for them?”

“I acquire information and handle tricky situations.”

Jackson looked puzzled, then began chuckling. “You con people for the government,” he guessed.

Jefferson smiled and looked away. Jackson nodded, not expecting a more formal answer one way or the other. “And this whole thing was to get Cooperman. So when Lincoln said that you were in a European jail, that was just a cover story to keep you off the radar?”

“Let's just say that he was misinformed.”

“So the bad guy is actually a good guy,” Jackson said. “Samantha knew about all this.”

“She knows some. Enough…” Jefferson said.

They lapsed into silence.

“I love her,” Jackson finally said.

“Of course you do.”

“I need her, I want her in my life.”

“Understandably,” Jefferson agreed.

“So, are you going to tell me where she is?”

“What if she doesn't want you?”

“She does,” Jackson said with complete assurance.

“What if she doesn't love you?”

“She does.”

“You're so sure?” Jefferson asked, turning to him.

The two men sat face-to-face, glaring eye to eye.

“Avoiding questions is a family trait. But I'm only going to ask you this one more time,” Jackson challenged sternly. The cut in his eyes was fierce. Yet Jefferson broke and smiled nonetheless.

“She's on her way back to Oz.”

“Where?”

“Far be it for me to tell a man how to run his life, and I know we don't know each other and trust is a totally different issue, but Samantha is my sister and she's, well…” He paused. “Don't confuse her with me and my life and what I used to do.”

“I never did.”

“You didn't believe her?”

“No, of course not.”

“Then why did you let her go?”

“I couldn't hold her if she didn't want to be with me. But now I know that she was still trying to save me by leaving.”

“Jessie was right, you two are impossible.”

Jefferson looked at Jackson and smiled. “As I said, she's on her way to Oz. After that I have no idea.”

“What's Oz, where is it and how do I get there?”

“Okay, I'm tempted to say follow the Yellow Brick Road, but…” He chuckled. Jackson didn't find it funny. “Boston.” Jefferson reached into his pocket and pulled out an address.

“When did she leave?”

Jefferson looked at his watch. “Six hours ago.”

“Damn, she's already there.”

Jefferson chuckled again. “I thought you didn't believe her.”

“What do you mean?”

“She never lied to you, Jackson. She hates flying, she panics every time. Right about now I'd say she was someplace in the Midwest. But I'd hurry if I were you. You have about four or five more days to catch up with her.” Jackson looked at him, confused. “She took a train back to Boston after a quick stop in New York.”

“Thanks,” Jackson said as he stood and walked away.

“Don't mention it,” Jefferson said, still sitting.

“Hey,” Jackson called out. Jefferson turned just as Jackson tossed him the keys to his house and car. “No wild parties, please.”

Jefferson laughed. “Trust me.”

Jackson laughed as he hurried upstairs to pack. He filled a suitcase, called and filed a flight plan, then ordered his private plane fueled. He was on his way to Oz, whatever, or whoever, that was.

“Y
o, Sammy, welcome back.”

Samantha smiled brightly as she wrapped her arms around Deacon and he engulfed her completely. “Thanks, it's good to be back. I have something for you,” she said, handing him a brown paper bag.

“Now we're talking.” He took the bag, opened it and inhaled, smiling. “Perfect timing as always.”

She looked around. “Where's everybody? This place is like a ghost town.”

“Shift's about to change.”

“Oh, right,” she said, looking at her new gold watch, then realizing that within minutes, dozens of cabs would come rolling into the garage. “I'm gonna head over to the office. Is Emily here?”

“Yep, she's there, drilling the new cabbie and giving her the safe-driving speech.”

Samantha nodded, knowing that lecture by heart. She saw Darnell walk by with a huge black eye. He didn't speak, just hurried in the opposite direction. She turned back to Deacon. “What was all that about?”

“Oh, that's right, you weren't here for the fireworks and live entertainment. Darnell's wife came into the garage unexpectantly and caught him pushing up on one of the office clerks. She made her point with a left hook to his right eye, then nearly tore the garage apart going after him.”

“Ouch,” Samantha said, openly laughing. “Beautiful, I love it, I just wish I'd been here to see it.”

“Yeah, you would have loved it. The sound of him screaming echoed in the garage for two days.” He chuckled. She laughed.

“That must have been a sight.”

“Oh, yeah, cell phones came out like paparazzi cameras. There're still some pretty good action pictures on the wall outside the office and there's a video floating around somewhere,” Deacon added.

They both laughed this time.

“I guess life goes on,” she said as Darnell walked by again, this time not even looking at her.

“It does indeed,” he said. “By the way, there was someone looking for you earlier.”

“Who?” she asked, concerned as dread of those words sank into her soul.

Deacon looked around and smiled. “I don't see him now. I'm sure he'll be back soon.”

“Okay, see you later,” she said with caution, then headed to the office. Then, prompted by curiosity, she stopped at the employee board where she saw six eight-by-ten glossy prints of Darnell ducking from his wife as she landed her fist on his face. She chuckled again at the justice of life, then continued to the office. She knocked on the already open door.

Emily was sitting at the desk discussing the ramifications of safe driving with a new cabbie. Relieved to be interrupted, the new cabdriver jumped up and excused herself as soon as Samantha walked in.

“Hey, baby,” Emily said, standing and hugging Samantha warmly. “When did you get here?”

“A few minutes ago.”

“You all right?”

“Yes, just fine, Auntie Em.”

“Listen, love, I'd love to chat and catch up and Lord knows I have a hundred questions, but I got to get these cabs rolling out of here. You know they can't do a thing without me. I'll be right back.”

Samantha sat down at the dispatch desk and watched as dozens of cabs suddenly came rolling in. Emily was out in the garage, pointing and collecting fare bags. She had her life back and everything was as it should be except…

She rested her forehead in her palm and placed her elbow on the desk. She was miserable. Love was hell. “Is this where I turn in my fare packet?”

The voice was familiar but out of place. She turned and saw Jackson standing behind her, smiling. Confused at first, she stood trying to understand how her imagination had come to life. “Jackson?” He smiled and nodded, seeing her stunned expression. “What are you doing here?”

He walked farther into the office. “Someone told me that Oz was a good place to hang out, but your auntie Em said that if I intended to be around here waiting for you for the next week or so I might as well make it worth her while. She gave me a cab.”

Samantha laughed, knowing the rule. “Wait a minute, you've been here a week. What happened?” she said, suddenly concerned. “Did something go wrong? I saw Eric and Lincoln get arrested myself, and Grant called to say that George's files were a gold mine. His attorney is begging for a deal.”

“No, everything's fine.”

“So why are you here?” she asked again.

“You didn't really think that that was it, did you?”

“Yeah, that was the general idea.”

“Then you were wrong. I told you before I wasn't going to let you walk away from me, from this, from us.”

“Jackson…” She paused to breathe. “What we did, what I did…”

“None of that matters. You saved me. You saved my family, my company, my life. I need you. Good or bad, con or not.”

“But that's not how it works, you walk out before they do. So…” she said, taking a step to walk around him.

“No,” he said firmly. “You've been pushing me away from day one, only this time I'm not leaving.”

“You don't have to. I'm leaving, remember?”

“Then I'll find you again.”

“Look, get it through your head. We're over.”

“On the contrary, we've just begun. I'm not letting you go that easily. I love you and you love me.”

Tears welled in her eyes. She'd seen the look in his eyes before. It was the complete assurance of fact.

“Stop running,” he said softly.

“I can't, I have to.”

“No, you don't, not anymore. Run to me.” He opened his arms wide to her. “I love you, Samantha Lee Taylor, and I know you love me. So since you for some strange reason refuse to stay and be with me, I've come to be with you. See?” He raised his cash bag with the cab company logo on it. “I even found a new job.”

Tears slowly crawled down her face. “You're the CEO of Daley Communications. I sent the paperwork myself. You can't just walk away from that. It's what you've always wanted.”

“No, you're what I've always wanted.”

“But the company…”

“Is fine, I transferred my stock on loan to Jessie, she's CEO. Dad made it official at the awards ceremony last week.”

“Jackson, your world and my world are as far apart as—”

“Mars and Venus?” he asked.

“Something like that.” She smiled. “You need a woman in your life from a good family, someone who can stand by your side without you ever being ashamed.”

He reached out and pulled her into his arms. “I have that and so much more. You said it yourself, family is forever. Thank you for helping us.”

She nodded. “You're welcome.”

“I love you,” he said.

“I love you, too,” she responded.

They kissed, long and leisurely, sealing the love they shared until the sound of applause rang out. They looked around the garage, seeing that through the office window they were suddenly the center of attention as everybody laughed and whistled their approval.

“Okay, okay, break it up in here, we have a business to run,” Emily said as she walked in.

“This is for you,” Jackson said, handing her the money bag. “And this—” he pulled out a stunning diamond ring and slipped it onto her ring finger “—is for you.”

Emily hugged them both, then chased them out of her office. “Where to now?” he asked.

“I don't know, how about a nice long vacation? I've been running away for so long that it'll be nice to stay in one place and relax for a week or so.”

“That sounds like a great idea. Do you have any particular place in mind?”

“No. Switzerland, Africa, anywhere is fine as long as we're together.”

“Well, I know this little inn out on the West Coast. It has great little rooms and it's right by the ocean. I already reserved bungalow number twelve.”

They kissed again as they walked out.