And from the beginning, Creagan made it clear he didn’t exactly have the most faith in me. So, I proceeded to prove him wrong time and time again. At this point he doesn’t have much of a choice but to believe in my skill. He just doesn’t like to admit to it.
“I’m more than capable of managing my career and prioritizing investigations,” I say.
“Good to hear. And speaking of which, you said that you’ll be going to the campground this week?” he asks.
“Yes. The day after tomorrow,” I tell him. “I’m meeting with the team to discuss progress and go over new evidence.”
“Perfect. You can take Agent James with you.”
I sit in silence for a few seconds. “Excuse me, what?”
“Agent James. The new agent I told you about. She will be back in Harlan then and I can’t imagine you would make the drive down to Sherando Ridge without going through Harlan to visit your cousin. You can meet Agent James there and she can accompany you on the investigation. It will be the perfect opportunity for her to start getting to know you, and she can shadow you while you’re at the campground,” Creagan says.
“Shadow me?” I ask. “Creagan, this isn’t the Big Sisters program.”
“No, but it is an order. Whether you want to deal with it or not, I’m still your supervisor. I will let her know you’ll be there the day after tomorrow. Watch your email. I’ll send her contact information.”
With that, the call ends. I don’t know if he hangs up first or I do, but there isn’t a goodbye from either side.
When I get off the phone, I’m angry and frustrated. I have enough going on right now. I don’t need to add watching over a brand-new agent to my responsibilities. And I definitely don’t need anybody shadowing me. But it seems I don’t have a choice. So, I do what I know will make me feel better the fastest. I pick my phone back up and call Sam.
“Hey,” I say when he answers.
“Hey,” he says. “Are you okay? You sound upset.”
“Just aggravated. Creagan hasn’t let go of wanting me to buddy up with this new agent. Now he wants me to bring her along with me when I go back to the campground so she can shadow me during my investigation,” I explain.
“Has he never met you?” Sam wonders.
“You know, I’m starting to wonder,” I say.
“Look, this is obviously a thing for him. And even if you don’t want to consider the possibility, it seems he’s asking you to do this because he trusts you. Maybe he sees potential in this new agent, but he knows you would be the one to make her the best she can be,” he offers.
I head for the kitchen to make another cup of coffee.
“You manage to make it sound so optimistic,” I comment. “Why are you so good? It makes me feel guilty.”
“It shouldn’t make you feel guilty,” he says. “Trust me, I understand where you’re coming from. I’m just trying to make you feel better about the whole thing. You shouldn’t look at it like a punishment or a roadblock. You should see it as a chance to unleash another kick-ass FBI agent on the world.”
“I’m not quite there, yet. But I’ll work on it,” I say.
“That’s my girl. All I can ask for is progress.”
“Uh-huh.”
We’ll see how that works for him after I meet her.
“Why don’t we talk about something more pleasant?” he suggests.
“Aren’t you busy?” I ask. “Shouldn’t you be solving crime and helping old ladies across the street?”
“As devoted as I am to my hidden persona of Boy Scout Batman, I’m actually on my lunch break right now,” he says. “Which makes this the perfect opportunity to talk about our wedding.”
“Not that I’m averse to talking about our wedding, but what about your lunch break makes it the perfect time?” I ask.
“Ruby Bea’s Catering brought in box lunches for us,” he says. “They might be on the list for caterers if we decide to have the wedding here in Sherwood.”
“That actually is a good transition,” I note. “Good job.”
I lean back against the counter and sip on my coffee as we bounce ideas about various details back and forth. It’s hard to really nail anything down when we haven’t even decided where we’re getting married yet.
For a little while last year there was some ambiguity as to when our engagement actually started. I sort of asked Sam to marry me as he carried me out of a building after I had been shot. I say sort of, because I didn’t actually ask so much as tell him to do it. Following that up with my almost immediately going unconscious, I’m not sure if he even answered me. Sam seems to think he did, but he’s not positive about it, either.
That left us with a couple of months of uncertainty. We knew we were getting married, but weren’t all the way sure if we were officially engaged. That brought us to Christmas and the official proposal and ring. We figure that makes it the perfect choice for the season when we will get married as well.
That was the easy choice. It’s harder deciding what kind of wedding we want. I’m torn between different lives. Part of me always envisioned getting married in Florida. It’s a place I love dearly and where my mother is buried. Where she died. Where my last memories of her are, even though I didn’t realize that until just a couple of years ago.
Florida is a perfect setting for a destination wedding. A beach backdrop or something unexpected and fun, like exchanging vows on a hot air balloon. It would be small and intimate. Just our closest friends and family gathered around us.
Then there’s
