"Kjaere" (Nick/Greg, epilogue)
Aug. 8th, 2009 03:13 pm![[identity profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/openid.png){kind=small}
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nickngregTitle – Kjaere
Author -![[livejournal.com profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/external/lj-userinfo.gif)
black_dahlia63
Characters – Nick Stokes, Greg Sanders, Gil Grissom, various OC’s
Spoilers - Fannysmackin’
Rating – PG
Warning – Serious angst, but hey…people kind of expect that from me by now, right?
Disclaimer – not mine, don’t sue.
Thanks go to Lin for her invaluable assistance, and to all those of you who have stuck with this even though it took me an age to finish it. And for any of you who may have a soft spot for Luke (it can’t just be me!), there is a sequel in the works involving him. It's called "Ninth Card", and begins tonight in my journal as well as at![[livejournal.com profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/external/lj-community.gif)
csi_slash
Previous instalments here.
December 15th, 11.15 a.m - Las Vegas
“Tell me again how I got roped into this,” Jonah said as Luke parked the rental car in front of a one-storey house with a front yard the size of a postage stamp. “There’s just over a week till Christmas, and I haven’t even started my shopping yet.”
“Because you’re a good person, and I knew you’d want to help,” Luke told him, flashing a smile. “And besides, we get to hit the casino at the Luxor tonight.”
“You know Molly and I don’t see eye to eye about me gambling, cher,” Jonah said, trying unsuccessfully to hold back a smile. “She said -”
“Got you by the short hairs, doesn’t she?” Luke retorted, the familiar banter between the two men resuming. “I’ll bet you get led round on a leash at home,” but before Jonah could respond there was a knock on the driver’s side window. “Look who it is!” he said cheerfully, opening the door – and as soon as he had stepped out onto the sidewalk, Emily had jumped into his arms and hugged him.
“You really came!”
“Well, of course I did,” Luke said, setting the five year old down again. “And see who else I brought with me?”
“Jonah!” Emily cried out, and she shrieked with delight as she was swung up and set on the Cajun’s shoulders. Luke followed the two of them up the path and onto the front porch, his eyes registering the ramp that had been set up in place of steps, and as he stood on the threshold he took a deep breath.
He really shouldn’t have come here, but once he’d offered to help Nick and Greg move into their new house he hadn’t felt able to renege on it; and this, although he was never going to admit it, was the real reason he’d brought Jonah along with him.
*******
“I know you,” Greg said, once Nick had introduced him to Luke in the kitchen which was empty except for a kettle on one of the countertops. “You’re on TV.”
“Guilty as charged,” Luke said with a smile. “How are you doing?”
“’M okay,” Greg said, managing a lopsided smile of his own as he gripped his walking frame. “Day at a time, you know?” and then there was the sound of a horn outside which was followed by running feet from the back of the house.
“Nick! Greg! Our stuff’s here!”
“Okay, you can go outside, but don’t run into the road,” Nick said, and once the little girl had dashed out of the house with Jonah in tow he turned towards Greg. “You coming outside, G? We can put a chair on the porch for you.”
“I’ll come outside,” Greg said. “Don’t need a chair on the porch,” and he looked straight at Nick. “I’m not an old man.”
“No, but you’re stubborn,” Nick said, leaning forward to plant a quick kiss on Greg’s mouth, and the glance that passed between the two men made Luke’s throat tighten. “Come on, Luke, we’d better get started.”
*********
“Remind me again how I got dragged into this on my day off.”
“Probably the same way I did,” Gil replied as he removed the keys from the ignition of the U Haul. “Nick caught you at the end of a shift, and you said you’d help him move because you were too tired to think of a reason not to.”
“Pretty much,” Warrick said, yawning, and as he was unfastening his seatbelt something outside attracted his attention. “Oh, man, is that who I think it is?” and an instant later he’d opened the passenger side door and jumped down into the street; Gil followed, the keys in his hand, and by the time he reached the sidewalk Warrick was talking animatedly to a hulking man with blond dreadlocks who was standing next to Nick.
“Griss, this is Jonah,” Nick said, stepping forward and indicating the blond man. “Jonah, this is Gil Grissom,” and he waited until the two men had shaken hands before he nodded towards another man who’d been standing a foot or so away with his hands in the pockets of his threadbare jeans. “And this is Luke.”
“Hello, Luke,” Gil said, extending a hand and catching a glimpse of something tattooed on the other man’s left wrist; eyes that were almost turquoise in colour met his for a split second, and then the contact was broken.
“Okay, guys,” Nick said, “shall we get started?”
***********
By half past two the van was just about empty, the furniture having been manoeuvred into place. Warrick and Grissom were bringing the last few boxes in, and the others were all stacked in the living room to be unpacked later. Nick had made one exception, opening a box marked kitchin in a child’s stick-like printing and retrieving mugs and a jar of instant coffee. He’d apologised for not having any milk, but nobody had minded; and as the four other men sat around the kitchen table, Luke was making conversation and wondering how soon it would be before he and Jonah could leave.
“Nick,” Emily said, appearing in the kitchen doorway “I can’t find my Beanie bears.”
“They’re in one of the boxes,” Nick told his daughter. “We’re going to unpack your stuff later, remember?”
“I need them now,” Emily replied, her voice becoming more high-pitched. “I don’t have anything to play with.”
“You have your Barbies,” Nick said, and the weary expression on his face said that he’d been waiting for this to happen. “Just play with those for now.”
“No!” Emily shouted, stamping her foot, and she burst into tears. “I want my bears now! I don’t like this stupid house, and I want to go home!”
“Oh boy,” Nick said, almost under his breath, as he started to push his chair back. “Emily, you stop that -”
“Emily,” Greg said softly, laying a hand on Nick’s arm to hold him back, “Komm her over, kjaere.”
“Nei!” Emily sobbed. “Jeg vil – gjerne – ga hjem!”
“Sorry about this,” Nick said, the expression on his face changing to one of embarrassment. “I kind of figured she’d wait until y’all had gone.”
“They never do what you want,” Jonah said. “I’ve got two at home, I ought to know,” and he and Nick chuckled softly. On the other side of the table, Greg had managed to catch hold of Emily and pull her towards him; he spoke softly to his daughter, running a hand slowly up and down her back to calm her down, and even though Luke couldn’t understand what was being said he felt something tightening inside his chest.
“I’ll be right back,” he said, once he’d forced himself to finish his mug of coffee, and he stood up. “Going outside for a smoke, okay?” and he kept a smile on his face until he was out of the kitchen. He flattened himself against the wall as the last few boxes were carried past him, and then he made his way outside; leaning against his rental car, he removed his Marlboros from his pocket, but his hands were shaking so much it took several tries before he managed to light one.
**********
“The van’s empty now,” Gil announced, once he’d put the last of the boxes in the living room and returned to the kitchen. “Shall I take it back for you, Nick?”
“Be great if you could,” Nick replied, nodding towards Emily who was sitting in Greg’s lap with her face buried in his T shirt. “Someone’s a bit tired -”
“I’m not tired!” came the muffled response. “I wanna go home!”
“I’ll take care of it,” Gil told him. “Do you need anything while I’m out?”
“Some milk would be great,” Nick said, delving in the pocket of his jeans, but his attempt at finding money was waved away. “Wait a second, how will you get back?”
“I’ll ask Luke to follow me in his car,” was the matter-of-fact response, and Gil had left the kitchen before anyone could say anything else.
************
Luke was leaning against his car, a cigarette balanced between two fingers of his left hand. His right arm was folded across his chest, as though he was trying to curl in on himself – and as Gil looked at him from the porch, what he’d noticed over the previous three hours made sense.
He’d seen Luke darting glances at the little family putting itself back together inside the house – glances so subtle most people would have missed them, not recognised them for what they were, but Gil had been studying people for too long.
“Luke,” he said, stepping to the edge of the tiny front yard, “do you think you could do me a small favour?”
“What do you need?”
“I have to take this back,” Gil said, gesturing at the U Haul. “I wondered whether you’d be kind enough to follow me in your car and give me a ride back here.”
“Sure,” was the response, after a few seconds during which Gil strongly suspected that Luke had been looking for a way to say no. “Wait there,” and he jogged the few yards up onto the porch. “Nick!” he shouted into the house. “I’m going to the U Haul place with your boss, I won’t be long!”
*******
Thank god, Luke thought as the door of the U Haul office opened and Nick’s boss came down the steps. I can drop him off at Nick’s, and Jonah and I can get the hell out of here. They could hit the casino, he could get laid if he was lucky - there had to be someone from around here whose number he’d saved – then tomorrow they’d be back in Daytona, and everything would return to normal.
“Sorry,” he said, suddenly aware that Gil had been speaking to him. “What was that?”
“I said, there’s a Denny’s over there,” Gil replied, a smile playing across his lips. “Would you like to stop for coffee before we go back?”
No, I wouldn’t, Luke wanted to say. I want to take you back and then try and forget I was here - and something must have shown on his face, because Gil went on, “You look as though you could use some coffee – it’s been a busy day for all of us, and you’ve come a long way,” and since Luke didn’t want to look like an asshole in front of Nick’s boss he agreed that coffee would be good.
**********
By the time they’d been there for over an hour, the waitress had left the coffee pot on the table and the topic of cars had come up; it appeared that Gil had a passion for old cars, having restored several himself, and Luke had grabbed this topic of conversation with both hands. It was something that interested him, for one thing – but it was also preventing him, to some degree at least, from feeling as though he was one of the bugs under Gil’s microscope.
“So tell me how you know Nick and Greg,” Gil had said, almost as soon as they’d sat down, and it wasn’t only the question but the tone of voice it had been asked in that was still pissing Luke off even now. He’d told Gil about the Stokes and Morrissey families knowing each other from way back, which was true enough; then he’d added that he’d happened to run into Nick in Dallas and decided to help him once he knew what had happened, which was also true.
The only trouble was that he’d left a lot of other things out, and he suspected that somehow Gil knew this.
Luke’s cell rang, and he raised a hand to put a hold on what Gil had been saying before digging into his pocket and retrieving it. “Hang on one second, Gil – yes, what?”
“You guys get lost, boss?”
“No, we didn’t get lost, wiseass,” he retorted. “We stopped for coffee, okay? We won’t be long,” and he snapped the phone shut again. “That was Jonah,” he said, in response to the enquiring eyebrow raised by his companion. “Wanted to know where we were.”
“We have been here for a while, haven’t we?” Gil replied. “Maybe we ought to head back,” and he rose from his chair. “And Nick wanted some milk, so we’ll need to make a stop somewhere.”
For fuck’s sake, I’m not an errand boy, Luke thought, but what he said aloud was that sure, he’d find a 7-11 or something; removing his wallet from his pocket, he took out a ten dollar bill and left it beneath his empty mug on the table.
*******
He unlocked the rental car and slid into the driver’s seat, fastening his seatbelt before grabbing his Marlboros from the glove compartment and putting one in his mouth – and he was reaching for his lighter when his passenger cleared his throat.
“I’d rather you didn’t, if you don’t mind,” Gil said quietly, and Luke was rendered speechless. Screw you, he wanted to say, this is my car, but the little voice in his head reminded him once again that this was Nick’s boss; gritting his teeth, he dropped the cigarette back in the pack and turned the keys in the ignition, telling himself that in fifteen minutes he’d be able to do whatever the hell he wanted.
********
“It was good to meet you,” Luke said, shaking hands with Greg. “Get Nick to bring you to the shop if you guys are ever in Daytona,” and then he looked round at Nick, who was standing at the counter making more coffee. “You look after yourself, you hear?” he said, not quite looking at Nick as he spoke, and before he could do anything he found himself enveloped in a rough hug.
“We will,” Nick said, stepping away and smiling – a real smile now, not one that was masking stress. “Have fun in town tonight.”
“You bet,” Luke told him, and he made his way outside where Jonah was deep in conversation with Gil in the front yard. “Hey, Du Four, you planning on staying the night?” he said, mustering a smile from somewhere. “Let’s go.”
“I enjoyed meeting you, Luke,” Gil said as Jonah moved away and headed for the car. “When do you fly home?”
“Tomorrow morning,” Luke replied, and then - simply because it was what he always did whenever he met anyone, because he’d already done it with Warrick inside the house - he delved into the pocket of his jeans and retrieved one of his business cards. “Listen, hang on to this,” he went on. “If you’re ever in Florida, stop in and say hello -”
“I will,” was the answer, and Luke’s hand was shaken warmly. “Take care.”
********
“Are you hungry?”
“I’d kill for a steak,” Jonah replied as Luke – who’d already lit a cigarette - guided the rental car away from the sidewalk, both men waving at Emily as they did so. “You want to get changed and go eat?”
“Sounds like a plan,” was the answer. “Listen, thanks for coming with me.”
“Don’t mention it, cher,” and several minutes of silence elapsed before Jonah spoke again. “What the hell were you talking to Nick’s boss about for all that time?”
“Don’t ask,” Luke said ruefully. “I’m just glad you rescued me,” and he lit another cigarette from the tip of the first one. “He thinks he can tell me not to smoke in my own fucking car, though.”
“Brave man,” Jonah replied, grinning broadly. “Come on, boss, floor it. I’m hungry.”
Author -
black_dahlia63Characters – Nick Stokes, Greg Sanders, Gil Grissom, various OC’s
Spoilers - Fannysmackin’
Rating – PG
Warning – Serious angst, but hey…people kind of expect that from me by now, right?
Disclaimer – not mine, don’t sue.
Thanks go to Lin for her invaluable assistance, and to all those of you who have stuck with this even though it took me an age to finish it. And for any of you who may have a soft spot for Luke (it can’t just be me!), there is a sequel in the works involving him. It's called "Ninth Card", and begins tonight in my journal as well as at
csi_slashPrevious instalments here.
December 15th, 11.15 a.m - Las Vegas
“Tell me again how I got roped into this,” Jonah said as Luke parked the rental car in front of a one-storey house with a front yard the size of a postage stamp. “There’s just over a week till Christmas, and I haven’t even started my shopping yet.”
“Because you’re a good person, and I knew you’d want to help,” Luke told him, flashing a smile. “And besides, we get to hit the casino at the Luxor tonight.”
“You know Molly and I don’t see eye to eye about me gambling, cher,” Jonah said, trying unsuccessfully to hold back a smile. “She said -”
“Got you by the short hairs, doesn’t she?” Luke retorted, the familiar banter between the two men resuming. “I’ll bet you get led round on a leash at home,” but before Jonah could respond there was a knock on the driver’s side window. “Look who it is!” he said cheerfully, opening the door – and as soon as he had stepped out onto the sidewalk, Emily had jumped into his arms and hugged him.
“You really came!”
“Well, of course I did,” Luke said, setting the five year old down again. “And see who else I brought with me?”
“Jonah!” Emily cried out, and she shrieked with delight as she was swung up and set on the Cajun’s shoulders. Luke followed the two of them up the path and onto the front porch, his eyes registering the ramp that had been set up in place of steps, and as he stood on the threshold he took a deep breath.
He really shouldn’t have come here, but once he’d offered to help Nick and Greg move into their new house he hadn’t felt able to renege on it; and this, although he was never going to admit it, was the real reason he’d brought Jonah along with him.
*******
“I know you,” Greg said, once Nick had introduced him to Luke in the kitchen which was empty except for a kettle on one of the countertops. “You’re on TV.”
“Guilty as charged,” Luke said with a smile. “How are you doing?”
“’M okay,” Greg said, managing a lopsided smile of his own as he gripped his walking frame. “Day at a time, you know?” and then there was the sound of a horn outside which was followed by running feet from the back of the house.
“Nick! Greg! Our stuff’s here!”
“Okay, you can go outside, but don’t run into the road,” Nick said, and once the little girl had dashed out of the house with Jonah in tow he turned towards Greg. “You coming outside, G? We can put a chair on the porch for you.”
“I’ll come outside,” Greg said. “Don’t need a chair on the porch,” and he looked straight at Nick. “I’m not an old man.”
“No, but you’re stubborn,” Nick said, leaning forward to plant a quick kiss on Greg’s mouth, and the glance that passed between the two men made Luke’s throat tighten. “Come on, Luke, we’d better get started.”
*********
“Remind me again how I got dragged into this on my day off.”
“Probably the same way I did,” Gil replied as he removed the keys from the ignition of the U Haul. “Nick caught you at the end of a shift, and you said you’d help him move because you were too tired to think of a reason not to.”
“Pretty much,” Warrick said, yawning, and as he was unfastening his seatbelt something outside attracted his attention. “Oh, man, is that who I think it is?” and an instant later he’d opened the passenger side door and jumped down into the street; Gil followed, the keys in his hand, and by the time he reached the sidewalk Warrick was talking animatedly to a hulking man with blond dreadlocks who was standing next to Nick.
“Griss, this is Jonah,” Nick said, stepping forward and indicating the blond man. “Jonah, this is Gil Grissom,” and he waited until the two men had shaken hands before he nodded towards another man who’d been standing a foot or so away with his hands in the pockets of his threadbare jeans. “And this is Luke.”
“Hello, Luke,” Gil said, extending a hand and catching a glimpse of something tattooed on the other man’s left wrist; eyes that were almost turquoise in colour met his for a split second, and then the contact was broken.
“Okay, guys,” Nick said, “shall we get started?”
***********
By half past two the van was just about empty, the furniture having been manoeuvred into place. Warrick and Grissom were bringing the last few boxes in, and the others were all stacked in the living room to be unpacked later. Nick had made one exception, opening a box marked kitchin in a child’s stick-like printing and retrieving mugs and a jar of instant coffee. He’d apologised for not having any milk, but nobody had minded; and as the four other men sat around the kitchen table, Luke was making conversation and wondering how soon it would be before he and Jonah could leave.
“Nick,” Emily said, appearing in the kitchen doorway “I can’t find my Beanie bears.”
“They’re in one of the boxes,” Nick told his daughter. “We’re going to unpack your stuff later, remember?”
“I need them now,” Emily replied, her voice becoming more high-pitched. “I don’t have anything to play with.”
“You have your Barbies,” Nick said, and the weary expression on his face said that he’d been waiting for this to happen. “Just play with those for now.”
“No!” Emily shouted, stamping her foot, and she burst into tears. “I want my bears now! I don’t like this stupid house, and I want to go home!”
“Oh boy,” Nick said, almost under his breath, as he started to push his chair back. “Emily, you stop that -”
“Emily,” Greg said softly, laying a hand on Nick’s arm to hold him back, “Komm her over, kjaere.”
“Nei!” Emily sobbed. “Jeg vil – gjerne – ga hjem!”
“Sorry about this,” Nick said, the expression on his face changing to one of embarrassment. “I kind of figured she’d wait until y’all had gone.”
“They never do what you want,” Jonah said. “I’ve got two at home, I ought to know,” and he and Nick chuckled softly. On the other side of the table, Greg had managed to catch hold of Emily and pull her towards him; he spoke softly to his daughter, running a hand slowly up and down her back to calm her down, and even though Luke couldn’t understand what was being said he felt something tightening inside his chest.
“I’ll be right back,” he said, once he’d forced himself to finish his mug of coffee, and he stood up. “Going outside for a smoke, okay?” and he kept a smile on his face until he was out of the kitchen. He flattened himself against the wall as the last few boxes were carried past him, and then he made his way outside; leaning against his rental car, he removed his Marlboros from his pocket, but his hands were shaking so much it took several tries before he managed to light one.
**********
“The van’s empty now,” Gil announced, once he’d put the last of the boxes in the living room and returned to the kitchen. “Shall I take it back for you, Nick?”
“Be great if you could,” Nick replied, nodding towards Emily who was sitting in Greg’s lap with her face buried in his T shirt. “Someone’s a bit tired -”
“I’m not tired!” came the muffled response. “I wanna go home!”
“I’ll take care of it,” Gil told him. “Do you need anything while I’m out?”
“Some milk would be great,” Nick said, delving in the pocket of his jeans, but his attempt at finding money was waved away. “Wait a second, how will you get back?”
“I’ll ask Luke to follow me in his car,” was the matter-of-fact response, and Gil had left the kitchen before anyone could say anything else.
************
Luke was leaning against his car, a cigarette balanced between two fingers of his left hand. His right arm was folded across his chest, as though he was trying to curl in on himself – and as Gil looked at him from the porch, what he’d noticed over the previous three hours made sense.
He’d seen Luke darting glances at the little family putting itself back together inside the house – glances so subtle most people would have missed them, not recognised them for what they were, but Gil had been studying people for too long.
“Luke,” he said, stepping to the edge of the tiny front yard, “do you think you could do me a small favour?”
“What do you need?”
“I have to take this back,” Gil said, gesturing at the U Haul. “I wondered whether you’d be kind enough to follow me in your car and give me a ride back here.”
“Sure,” was the response, after a few seconds during which Gil strongly suspected that Luke had been looking for a way to say no. “Wait there,” and he jogged the few yards up onto the porch. “Nick!” he shouted into the house. “I’m going to the U Haul place with your boss, I won’t be long!”
*******
Thank god, Luke thought as the door of the U Haul office opened and Nick’s boss came down the steps. I can drop him off at Nick’s, and Jonah and I can get the hell out of here. They could hit the casino, he could get laid if he was lucky - there had to be someone from around here whose number he’d saved – then tomorrow they’d be back in Daytona, and everything would return to normal.
“Sorry,” he said, suddenly aware that Gil had been speaking to him. “What was that?”
“I said, there’s a Denny’s over there,” Gil replied, a smile playing across his lips. “Would you like to stop for coffee before we go back?”
No, I wouldn’t, Luke wanted to say. I want to take you back and then try and forget I was here - and something must have shown on his face, because Gil went on, “You look as though you could use some coffee – it’s been a busy day for all of us, and you’ve come a long way,” and since Luke didn’t want to look like an asshole in front of Nick’s boss he agreed that coffee would be good.
**********
By the time they’d been there for over an hour, the waitress had left the coffee pot on the table and the topic of cars had come up; it appeared that Gil had a passion for old cars, having restored several himself, and Luke had grabbed this topic of conversation with both hands. It was something that interested him, for one thing – but it was also preventing him, to some degree at least, from feeling as though he was one of the bugs under Gil’s microscope.
“So tell me how you know Nick and Greg,” Gil had said, almost as soon as they’d sat down, and it wasn’t only the question but the tone of voice it had been asked in that was still pissing Luke off even now. He’d told Gil about the Stokes and Morrissey families knowing each other from way back, which was true enough; then he’d added that he’d happened to run into Nick in Dallas and decided to help him once he knew what had happened, which was also true.
The only trouble was that he’d left a lot of other things out, and he suspected that somehow Gil knew this.
Luke’s cell rang, and he raised a hand to put a hold on what Gil had been saying before digging into his pocket and retrieving it. “Hang on one second, Gil – yes, what?”
“You guys get lost, boss?”
“No, we didn’t get lost, wiseass,” he retorted. “We stopped for coffee, okay? We won’t be long,” and he snapped the phone shut again. “That was Jonah,” he said, in response to the enquiring eyebrow raised by his companion. “Wanted to know where we were.”
“We have been here for a while, haven’t we?” Gil replied. “Maybe we ought to head back,” and he rose from his chair. “And Nick wanted some milk, so we’ll need to make a stop somewhere.”
For fuck’s sake, I’m not an errand boy, Luke thought, but what he said aloud was that sure, he’d find a 7-11 or something; removing his wallet from his pocket, he took out a ten dollar bill and left it beneath his empty mug on the table.
*******
He unlocked the rental car and slid into the driver’s seat, fastening his seatbelt before grabbing his Marlboros from the glove compartment and putting one in his mouth – and he was reaching for his lighter when his passenger cleared his throat.
“I’d rather you didn’t, if you don’t mind,” Gil said quietly, and Luke was rendered speechless. Screw you, he wanted to say, this is my car, but the little voice in his head reminded him once again that this was Nick’s boss; gritting his teeth, he dropped the cigarette back in the pack and turned the keys in the ignition, telling himself that in fifteen minutes he’d be able to do whatever the hell he wanted.
********
“It was good to meet you,” Luke said, shaking hands with Greg. “Get Nick to bring you to the shop if you guys are ever in Daytona,” and then he looked round at Nick, who was standing at the counter making more coffee. “You look after yourself, you hear?” he said, not quite looking at Nick as he spoke, and before he could do anything he found himself enveloped in a rough hug.
“We will,” Nick said, stepping away and smiling – a real smile now, not one that was masking stress. “Have fun in town tonight.”
“You bet,” Luke told him, and he made his way outside where Jonah was deep in conversation with Gil in the front yard. “Hey, Du Four, you planning on staying the night?” he said, mustering a smile from somewhere. “Let’s go.”
“I enjoyed meeting you, Luke,” Gil said as Jonah moved away and headed for the car. “When do you fly home?”
“Tomorrow morning,” Luke replied, and then - simply because it was what he always did whenever he met anyone, because he’d already done it with Warrick inside the house - he delved into the pocket of his jeans and retrieved one of his business cards. “Listen, hang on to this,” he went on. “If you’re ever in Florida, stop in and say hello -”
“I will,” was the answer, and Luke’s hand was shaken warmly. “Take care.”
********
“Are you hungry?”
“I’d kill for a steak,” Jonah replied as Luke – who’d already lit a cigarette - guided the rental car away from the sidewalk, both men waving at Emily as they did so. “You want to get changed and go eat?”
“Sounds like a plan,” was the answer. “Listen, thanks for coming with me.”
“Don’t mention it, cher,” and several minutes of silence elapsed before Jonah spoke again. “What the hell were you talking to Nick’s boss about for all that time?”
“Don’t ask,” Luke said ruefully. “I’m just glad you rescued me,” and he lit another cigarette from the tip of the first one. “He thinks he can tell me not to smoke in my own fucking car, though.”
“Brave man,” Jonah replied, grinning broadly. “Come on, boss, floor it. I’m hungry.”
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