Page 1 of Booth

Chapter 1

The house was a no-go.Booth thought there was something going on if they wouldn’t even meet them halfway on the price, and the insurance wasn’t anything that they’d even look into.Walking away felt better than being trapped in something that was going to cost them a great deal of money in the long run.He and Dee were disappointed, her more than him, but they’d talked it over, and this was the best solution to buying a lemon of a home their first time.

“I have two more houses that you might like to look at, Booth.”Bonnie Lawson was one hell of a sales agent.She’d been honest about the houses that he’d been looking at and giving her opinion on ones that she told him she would not buy.The Lancaster house would have been a good buy, but only if they could get it for a better price and have the insurance on it that would prevent them from having to put in an entire septic system three days after they moved in.It was something that she told them about the house.“Tell me when you’re ready and I’ll line them up for you.”

“I will.Dee gets out of the hospital in a few days, then I’ll have her set up the times.She still won’t be able to come with me, she’s still in a wheelchair, but I can video chat with her, and we do well with that.”She told him that she’d set things up for them.“Thanks.If you have business cards, I’ll give them to my family and friends who are looking to buy a house.You’re the best I’ve ever had to work with.”

“Thank you.”She gave him about five of them, and he was happy to have them.If his little brothers’ mates came along, they were going to need houses as well.Falkner was studying to be a doctor, so he was living at home, but he’d be finished up soon, and that would mean a house for him as well as Cullen now that he was out of the service.

Booth was nearly finished with the paperwork that he was translating for the president.Jamie had won the last election, so he was finally in his second term.The papers had been found when a family was renovating their kitchen and had found a little room filled with antiques and hordes of paper that someone had written on decades ago.There were recipes, too, of things like pine nuts and quail that he was going to have to get someone to make for him.It sounded delicious to him.He smiled when his cell phone went off, and the picture was of Dee, his one true love and mate.

“I was just thinking of something.Could you read his mind to find out why he doesn’t want insurance?I’d like to think that it’s not us but something really wrong with the place.It would certainly make me feel better about walking away.”He reached out to the man and found out why he wasn’t going to sell the house at a reasonable price.He told Dee.“So he’s just greedy, is he?Well, at least we know.Not that I want to go back to the house.I think the guy is a jackass for not selling when he had a buyer but that’s on me.”

“I’m just glad to know that when someone else buys it, they’ll not be ripped off because he knows something is terribly wrong with the place and won’t get ripped off by him.”She told him there was that as well.“Something else that he wasn’t going to do was he wasn’t going to allow anyone to have the house inspected before moving in.He seems to think that people should take his word for what’s not wrong with the place and be nice about it.I don’t believe that he’s ever going to sell the place, no matter what his excuses are.”

“Why even bother putting it out there if you weren’t going to be nice about selling it?Sounds to me like he’s got a burr up his bottom that makes him cranky.Oh well.I guess you have other houses lined up now.”He told Dee what Bonnie had told him.“Good.The doctor thinks I’m doing a really good job of healing, and I should be out of here in a couple of days, so long as my PT goes well.I can’t wait, I’m sick of myself in this room.”

“I’ll bring you in something to cheer your room up for you.”She told him he didn’t have to do that; he’d done enough for her.“I’ll be fine, you’ll be fine too.We’ll do something to the room andyou’ll not have to be sick of it anymore.”

Nearly four months ago, she’d been in a car accident.A senator from Michigan had decided that the rules of the road didn’t apply to him.So while drunk with a .45% alcohol level and enough coke in his truck to fell a large bear, he pushed her into oncoming traffic while she was stopped at a stoplight.There had been six deaths because of him and a dozen others injured.He’s been in jail awaiting trial for his part in all this since blaming Dee for not getting out of his way, being that he was a senator and had more rights than she did.Or so he thought.

If not for her next of kin, she’d written down Cullen, he might well have missed finding her.He thought about that all the time.How, without the help of his brother, being her best friend, he might well have missed out on finding the love of his life.Since he’d figured it out, he’d been by her side since.It never felt like he was bored with her only being in the hospital, but he found new ways daily to make sure that she smiled and felt good about herself.

They thought that Dee had broken her spine and would never walk again.But as the swelling had gone down, she regained the ability to not just wiggle her toes but to bend her legs as well.It was going to be a lot longer for recovery, but she was making her way to be walking again, and he couldn’t be happier.

Picking up some balloons on his way to see her, he was glad that they had enough of them that he might be picked up in a good wind.Not really, but he was going to tell her that just to see her laugh.For some reason, she thought that he was funny.Which was fine with him, he loved her very much.

Bonnie called him as he was headed to Dee’s room.He’d picked them up some dinner and had brought the balloons in so that her room could be cheery.Bonnie had them two more houses to look at, and he was excited to be able to look them over in the morning.Right now, he just wanted to hang out with Dee and talk to her for the rest of the evening.

“I had physical therapy today.”She laughed at the balloons hanging in front of the window.“They’re very bright, aren’t they?Anyway, I went to PT and had a wonderful day.I was able to walk three steps today without help.I’m making progress every day.”

“Of course you are, you’re my girl, aren’t you?”Just as they were finishing up dinner, his dad came into the room.He and Mom would come by a couple of times a week.Since she’d been transported to OSU, it was easier for them to get around to seeing her and getting to know her, too.“Dad, have you heard anything more about the senator?I heard that he was pitching a bitch about being in jail for so long.”

“Yes, that’s what I’m here for.While I did get the paperwork filed that Dee was suing him and his estate, he had decided to counter-sue her for her lack of driving skills.He’s claiming that the accident was all her fault.I don’t understand how he thinks that’s going to stick.The street cameras have him pushing her into traffic against the light.”Dad shivered.“Every time I see that camera shot, it’s all I can do not to be sick.It’s small wonder that more people weren’t killed when he did that.Not that six isn’t bad enough, but watching it shows just how arrogant the man is.”

“Jamie is still livid about the whole thing.He told me the other day that he’s getting calls for him to step down from his seat.I don’t know how people trust him.Didn’t you find other incidents where he did the same thing to someone else?Twice?”Dad said that he’d pushed someone else into traffic in the winter, and luckily, there was no one hurt then.“I don’t know how he can look himself in the mirror after that.I’d be ashamed of myself if I were that drunk and stupid.”

“You have nothing to worry about, Dee.I’m taking care of everything.With him supposed to be suing you, it’s going to take a little longer in the courtroom, but nothing I can’t handle.I’ve called in a couple of attorneys to come and sit with me.I think it’s going to be fun to see the man get his comeuppance.”Dee told his dad that she just wanted it over with.“As do I, sweetheart.As do I.”

The rest of the evening was spent talking about nothing in general.They were getting things for their house, and knowing what they’d need, helped.But since they didn’t have a house as yet, everything was piling up in his apartment so that he could barely walk around.Sheets and towels had been washed and folded again, but they weren’t in the small packaging that they’d been in when he’dtaken them out to clean.They’d also been able to find some good deals on furniture, and he’d rented a storage locker to put those things in.He thought that they were doing quite well for themselves for people without a house.

When his dad left, he decided to go on home too.It was an hour-long drive to see her and spend the day, and he was getting very little done on top of seeing her.School would be starting up in a few weeks, and he’d done nothing to prepare himself for it other than to go in and put some posters up in his room.He had been going over the books that they had assigned him, and he was happy with those.This year, he was teaching Spanish and had a single class of Latin that he was looking forward to.

Booth had been teaching Spanish since he’d gotten out of college.He could actually speak several languages and was glad that he knew enough to translate the paperwork that had been found in the house in DC.It kept him busy while he was at home or in Dee’s room when she went to therapy or some other test they would take her to.

He did miss his brothers while he was driving back and forth from Columbus.They were very close, the six of them.They had an older brother and a sister, too, who lived in another country, but they’d get to talk to them on occasion as well.Then there were his grandparents.

They were all alive, both sets on his mother’s and father’s side, and were about the best at having around when a person felt down in the dumps or just needed a hug.Grandpa Roger gave the best hugs and would nearly squeeze the stuffing out of a person when he had one to return to you.

Ending up at a hotel rather than going home, he checked into the place with no other plans than to fall into bed and sleep until he woke up.He was exhausted and needed some downtime more than he realized.As soon as he was in the room, he did exactly what he wanted and fell into the bed, clothing and all, and didn’t wait to make sure he had clean clothing for tomorrow.

He did wake once in the middle of the night, not having any idea where he was.It took him several long moments to have his mind remember that he was in a hotel along Forty and fall back to sleep.He did take off his shoes once he realized where he was, and that made him sleep just a little better.Christ, he was so exhausted.

Getting up with the sun, he was happy to be able to drive the last little bit home.Once he was in his apartment, he stripped down to his body and took a long, hot shower.Still feeling the effects of the driving, he was only going to lie down for a little while, ten minutes, he told himself that he needed just a little bit more rest.It was nearly seventeen hours later when he finally woke up in his bed naked and feeling better than he had in a very long time.He hurriedly called Dee.

“I’m so sorry.”She said that she’d had Cullen go to his place and make sure he was still alive.“I was more tired than I thought I was.It would help if I didn’t come home at night and work on paperwork, but I’m just too stubborn.I hope I didn’t worry you too much.I don’t even remember Cullen coming by, if that makes you feel any better.”

“He told me that you didn’t even move all that much, but just grunted at him.I’m so sorry that you’re driving all the time.I did tell you not to come see me every day.Maybe now you’ll heed what I said.”He said that he couldn’t not come to see her.“But what if you’d fallen asleep while driving?That’s all we need for us both to be in the hospital.”

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