Nothing Lasts Forever (7 page)

The short ride back seemed to take forever. Even Penny seemed tired since they woke up so early this morning, but they got off at the pavilion and began to walk Margie home. “Oh no, I can get there myself. You two head on back,” she told them.

Jon insisted. “We don’t mind walking you home, it’s not far. You said you lived where the multi-colored lights cover the patio. It looks like someone is waiting on you,” Jon finished.

Margie froze for a moment. “Margie? Do you know the person sitting on your patio?” Abby began to worry her friend was in trouble.

Then Margie laughed. “Oh whew! I thought there was a stranger on my porch.” Her voice rose loud so the man could hear. “Look who it is, Elvis! You remember him, don’t you dear?”

Abby nodded and scrunched her eyes for a closer look. He sat on the same chair she did the night before with a big smile on his face. It was the guy dressed as Elvis who sang in the pavilion. As they said their good nights, she felt Margie’s eyes as the older woman watched the two of them walk down the road. “That was strange,” Abby mentioned. “She just got done saying she has no one and then a man appears on her porch.”

Jon nodded and flung his arm across her shoulders. “She’s a senior, it can’t be helped. Gotta accept their eccentric ways, you may be like that too one day.”

“Do you plan to be beside me when I do get that way?”

He smiled. “Not sure. I may have lost my sanity by then.”

“Jon, I think you avoided the question.”

He grabbed her waist and swung her around, his mouth covering hers in a brief kiss. “Baby, I am yours until the end of time.”

She smiled.

“Kiss me.”

She did.

Chapter 6

“I don’t believe this.” Jon heard her whispered words as he rolled out of bed. She knelt by the nightstand, the drawer hanging open, empty.

“What’s wrong?”

“Someone robbed us.” She sat back and stared at him. “I put your wallet and my purse in here before we left. Both are gone.”

Jon pulled the drawer out to make sure nothing fell behind. He even crawled down on the floor to make sure it didn’t fall by accident.

“I’ve done all of that and it’s no use. Look at the lock, someone forced it open.”

He gazed at the lock. As he pulled himself off the floor, he looked around the RV to see if they took anything else. “It’s as if they went right to the nightstand. Almost as if they knew where to find the money. Dam!” His feet flew to the front of the bus where he bent down to look at the lock on the entry door.

Pete, in his cage, began to nod. “Intruder! Intruder!” he yelled, his head and feathers flapping. “Intruder!”

Abby settled Pete down. “I think Pete knows there was an intruder in here. Remember when you first came around and he didn’t know you? He would say those same words for days after you left my house.”

Jon nodded because he remembered how Pete behaved. “Someone forced this lock open here, too. We didn’t take notice last night.” It was because he had Abby in his arms and all he could think about her body and making sweet love to her. He never noticed a damaged lock.

“I’m calling the police.”

Jon went outside to wait for them. His hands went to his hips as dark eyes scanned the area. Everything looked the same. Nothing unusual until he spotted the empty lot where Margie’s trailer was about eight hours before. “Abby.”

“Be right there,” she told him. She got off the phone and wrapped her arms around his waist from behind. “I can’t believe someone robbed us. I feel so violated, as if my home got raped.”

“I know who did this,” he told her and stepped away so she could see the empty spot. Abby stared. Then she looked in horror at Jon. He ran his hand through his hair, furious. “She’s long gone by now.”

She slapped her hand to her face. “I’m calling my Dad. If anyone can track her down, my parent’s can. She will not get away with this!” Abby’s parent’s were special agents, but no one knew who they worked for. She knew without a doubt hey could find out faster than the cops.

Jon picked up the phone to call his bank to cancel credit and debit cards. After he got off the phone, he told her to do so as well. He paced back and forth, realizing they were penniless right now. No credit cards, no cash, nothing. Even though he could call Jake anytime he needed to, it still pissed him off that an old lady ripped them off and he let them.

A police cruiser made it’s way down to their bus. Two younger officers in uniform got out and began to ask questions until one received a phone call. He looked up at Abby and Jon and nodded before he hung up the phone. “Okay, we’re done here,” he told them. “We’ll get the information we need from the front desk and pass it on to a special agency who will be dealing with this. Thanks for your help.”

Jon looked at Abby as she waved them off. “Your parent’s work fast.”

She grinned. “They do. I don’t doubt they’ll be nailed before the end of the day. It’s nice to have secret agents for parents at times.”

“No doubt. You okay?” he asked.

She nodded. “I think so. I can’t believe we fell for this hook, line and sinker. Do you feel stupid or what?”

“Yeah, I do. I’m a doctor, supposed to be pretty intelligent. Guess it goes to show anyone can be scammed. Now we’re broke. I’ll call Jake to wire us some money until we can get new cards or whatever they do.”

Abby smiled. “No were not. I hid our cash.”

“You did? Nice. Have you checked to make sure it’s still there.”

Her eyes widened. Then she ran back in the RV. Jon followed as she moved the small rug where she opened a safe in the floor. He doubted Margie and her Elvis thief knew about this hiding place. Her hand went in and she brought out a purple bag that looked full. Her sigh of relief when she opened it made him laugh out loud. He sat down on the floor beside her.

“Thank you, God.” she looked up at the ceiling as if she had a personal line straight to the man upstairs. Abby opened the bag and pulled out the wad of cash. She looked at him and her smile widened. He watched her arm raise up in the air as she let the wad of bills fly through her fingers. Her yell had Penny wagging her tail right before she jumped on them as the shower of bills fluttered to the floor.

Jon reached for her and brought him on to her lap. “You’re crazy and I love this part of you.” He tilted her chin and brought his mouth to hers in a sweet kiss. “We need to go to the hospital, remember we have a date with the social worker.”

They picked up the loose bills from the floor and hurried to get to the hospital on time. Jon hoped the culprits would be in custody soon. Abby’s parent’s would find them but wondered how he could have been so careless when it came to Abby. Her Dad would lecture him next time they talked no doubt. He should have been more careful, but he never thought they would be robbed in a famous campground that seemed to have security at all levels.

“What are you thinking about?” she whispered in his ear. The ride to the hospital seemed to take forever today because the traffic was heavier than usual. Penny cocked her head and looked at him as if she too were waiting on an answer.

“I can’t believe we got taken in by an old lady and Elvis.”

She wrapped her arms around his waist and leaned her head on his shoulder. He liked having her against him like this, his love. He didn’t know what he’d do if she weren’t a part of his life. That’s why he had to keep her safe, more so now since they were so vulnerable to the outside world’s villans.

“It’s not your fault, Jon. I should have been more leary of her but I thought she was harmless. I even talked about locking the money in the drawer in front of her and that was plain stupid. We’ll have to watch ourselves from now on. Lesson learned.”

He gave her a hug and nodded. “It’s a whole different world out here on the road than in the Keys. We’ll watch each other’s back.”

She gave him a squeeze. “I won’t mind that at all, you have a mighty fine and I mean fine back.”

Jon closed his eyes the rest of the way to the hospital and held her in his arms. All they needed to complete their lives was Kevin. The boy would know a life like no other. He’d grow and thrive and be loved because they both had so much love to give.

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Abby walked in the conference room behind Jon a bit concerned, but relaxed when she didn’t see Sallie there. The director didn’t like her at all so it was a surprise she overlooked her feelings to give them this chance for Kevin. Perhaps she was wrong about the woman.

A young blonde woman, she couldn’t be more than 25 sat at the table going over some notes. She looked up when they walked in the room and smiled. “Hi, I’m Holly, Kevin’s social worker. Please, have a seat.”

Holly seemed almost too young to have such a big decision put in her hands. Abby didn’t know how to feel. Would this lady give them a chance with Kevin? Was she even old enough to make a fair decision?

“I am a licensed social worker and am here to find the best solution for Kevin. He’s been through hell and back and we don’t even know how his recovery will be. I understand Jon, that you are a doctor. I’ll get right to the point. Kevin needs cared for. I mean he needs someone to be there for him at all times, not on a part time basis. How can you do this if you need to be with patients so much?”

Her point blank stare made Abby nervous. She was formidable. Her young age wasn’t an issue any longer because she knew how to get to the root of the issue. She looked over and smiled at Abby as if she knew what she was thinking before raising her brows for Jon’s answer.

Jon sighed. “Yes, I’m the medical director of an urgent care center. I am busy and Abby can attest to that fact. But I’ve learned to let others take charge instead of trying to do it all. I’ve taken this sabbatical because I do know what’s important in life.”

She raised her chin. “What is important in life, Jon?”

“Right here, in front of you. Abby. She’s my life. I love being a doctor but Abby has taught me what’s important. Look, I know you have to ask these things but something drew me to Kevin that I can’t explain in words. His heart reached out to me in such a short period and we want to give him a life he will never have otherwise. He can’t go back to his mother.”

“He never will, because she relinquished all rights to him.”

“I know. I’m glad she did but he can’t go into the system. He’s too vulnerable and fragile. You know how it works, what if he gets someone as bad or worse?”

“He may get someone much better. Someone who does fostering for a living unlike you who are here on a sabbatical. What happens when you go back home, Doctor? Will Kevin be first then too? I’m sure you’ll be able to meet all of his medical needs, but what about family structure? Can you be there for him in other ways too?”

Jon clenched his hands at his sides. He knew the questions were protocol but it still hurt his pride that she could wonder about his integrity. “Yes. I will be there for him. So will Abby. We want him. No strings attached. We don’t need the system or it’s money to keep him safe. We can take care of him. There is no one else who can do it better than us.”

Abby whipped her head around and gave him encouragement. “He’s right. I’ve spoken to Kevin about our home on the ocean. He wants to be there so bad. He wants to go out in a boat and see the fish in the water. The little boy deserves a chance at life, at living. He’s never had that before. We can give it to him. Even if Jon gets busy at work, he will have one parent who will be there, who will be a constant in his life. I’ll never stuff him in a dumpster as punishment or have strange men coming and going. We have a home and it will be his home too.”

Holly nodded. “I understand how emotional this seems for you both. I have no doubt you can provide for him. But let me ask you this Abby, because I understand there was a bit of chaos in your life in the recent past with a crazed woman who shot you in a bar in Key West. You do realize you can’t be bar hopping with a child, don’t you?”

Abby cringed at the thought of ruining this chance because of something Cari did in the past. “It’s not like that at all. I’m not sure where you got your information, but I don’t go bar hopping as you are insinuating. We were at a fund raiser earlier in the day and went out to enjoy Key West while in town. Don’t make it sound as if I did something wrong.”

Holly smiled. “I am not trying to upset you or make you angry. You don’t get angry very often, do you?”

Abby realized what she was doing and threw her a big grin. “I don’t get angry at all unless there is a good reason to.”

“What reason would that be?” she insisted.

“When a social worker starts to throw accusations at me to see how angry I become. I refuse to play this any longer. We are excellent for Kevin and if you can’t see it then it falls back to you. Inspect my life all you want, I have nothing to hide. If you read the police report right you would know Cari, the woman who shot me was Jon’s ex. She wasn’t even his ex but a sister to his friend who died. It all happened because the woman is unstable and that is not our fault.” She let out a deep breath of air.

Jon spoke up. “If I may, I’d like to add that things are bound to happen, Holly. We will never be perfect. But we pass all the tests intended to give a child a good home. No, a great home. Plus we have even more love from both our families who will do all they can to make him feel like part of a big disorganized, dysfunctional but loving family. If you don’t have any more questions, we’d like to go see him.”