“Jason, you don’t think I know that? And, I love you all the more for wanting to but that’s not realistic. That’s not the kind of marriage I want. I want to be your partner in all things. I don’t want to feel like someone you have to save or even a burden. I love you, and life is messy, but I took vows for better or worse. Love, Life, and Vows…no matter what that’s the real life fairytale.”
Jason brought her hands up to his lips and kissed them. “I’m a caveman. But, I hear what you’re saying and I’ll do my best to do better. Be patient with me as I try to be less of one.”
“Only if you promise me forever.”
Jason gazed deeply into her eyes, “I promise you forever.” After a few moments, he cleared his throat, stood and pulled Vicky up off of the floor with him. “Now, let’s get you off of this cold floor.”
“I need a minute in here to clean up.”
He to an additional moment to caress her cheek one last time, “Alright. I’ll meet you in the bedroom.”
Vicky nodded and he walked out of the bathroom.
She stood in front of the sink and looked at her reflection in the mirror. Vicky looked like a horror show but she didn’t care because Jason didn’t care. He loved her, runny nose…bloodshot eyes and all. She threw some cold water on her puffy face and brushed her teeth. Once she was finished, Vicky took a couple more deep breaths before she left out of the bathroom. When she made it to their bedroom, Jason was sitting on the edge of the bed with his head hanging low.
Vicky sat down next to him and wrapped her arms around his body. Sometimes it’s okay to let the man of your dreams know that you know they’re in pain and that you’re there for them.
Time was so still they lost track of how long they’d been sitting in that position. “Vicky, let’s just lay in bed for a while? I just need to hold you.”
Vicky took off her shoes and undressed down to her underwear then climbed underneath the covers. After Jason undressed she held the covers open for him join her. She turned around and he wrapped his strong arms around her as they lay in a spooning position for the next few hours. The sun was starting to set before either one of them spoke.
“Vicky, I don’t know if I’ll ever be whole again. The pain of losing our son is sometimes unbearable. When I start to think about all the things I won’t get to see him do like smile or take his first steps. We’ll never throw a baseball or football. I’ll never get to teach him all the things my father taught me.”
It was hard to beat down the lump in her throat. “I know that feeling. I wonder about so many things too like if he would have had your smile, would his hair have been curly like Angels or straight.”
Jason kissed her shoulder, “I actually hoped he had your smile.”
Vicky turned her head back to see Jason’s face. His eyes were closed. The pain was so close to the surface. He’d never let her see this side of him. She moved his hand on top of her heart, “We’ll never forget him because we’ll always carry him here.”
Without opening his eyes, he kissed her forehead. “That’s the most perfect place for him to be.”
Then, she turned completely to face him and covered her hands on top of his heart, “…and here.”
He opened his eyes and they connected with hers. In that moment, their bond was sealed forever.
They spent the entire night holding and comforting each other, sharing in their love for each other and the love they shared for their son.
The next morning, Vicky woke up for the first time in months by her husband’s side. It was the most wonderful feeling in the world. Too bad she had to ruin it with a meeting with Ryan.
Chapter 31
Jason was sitting in the living room of his suite. Vicky was in the bedroom getting Angel dressed for her ‘meeting’ with Ryan. His emotions had been all over the place the last several days. But, the most dominant emotion was his seething anger with Senator Ryan Carter.
He picked up the phone to call Franklin. The phone rang two times before he answered.
“Franklin.”
“Hey. It’s me, Jason. We’re down to the wire tomorrow is the hearing. Where’s the goldmine of information you said the private investigator found?”
“I was actually just about to call you. The documents arrived last night. This bastard is as slimy as they come. He did a good job of trying to cover his tracks but our P.I. is worth his weight in gold because he uncovered a lot of information. I sent them to John Lucas last night too. You’ve got too many eyes on you so I had him send them to me. Check your e-mail.”
Jason powered up his laptop. He immediately went to his e-mails found Franklin’s and opened it. It only took a few minutes before he understood Franklin’s assessment.
“Franklin, there’s wire and mail fraud, tax evasion, bribery, embezzlement from the Foxworthy’s foundation, hell the only thing he hasn’t done appears to be credit card fraud.”
“Keep reading…that’s page ten. Go to page three. There’s the nuclear bomb.”
Jason scrolled to page three. It took a moment for him to get to what Franklin was referring to. He sat up straighter, “holy shit! This can’t be true.”
“It’s true. He
