Page 3 of Falkner
“I’m going home.”He told her that his brother wanted to make sure she got home all right.“I’ll be fine.I’m going to grab myself something to eat and head home.I have shit that I have to get done.”
“I’d like to thank you for treating my brother.It’s been a long time since he’s been out of the service, and I thought he was finished with it.”She told him that he didn’t look like he was finished with anything.“No, I can see that now.May I take you out to dinner?My treat.”
“No thanks.It’s well past my bedtime, and I just want to grab a burger and hope it doesn’t give me heartburn all day tomorrow.”He said that he understood and told her to have a good night.Then he thanked her again.“It’s fine.I’m fine.I’m sorry I was so cranky about it, but I had already clocked out to go home when the man with the gun, Cowboy, I’m calling him, dragged me back in to help out.”
“Well, he shouldn’t have grabbed you or dragged you, but I’m glad you could help my brother.My name is Dallas, by the way.My brother’s name is Cullen.He’s the one who has been hurt tonight.”She told him her name and shook his hand.Before she could let go of his hand, however, he held her tightly.“Don’t go home.”
“What?”He repeated what he’d said to her about going home.“Where else would I go?I’m tired and I have to go…what do you mean by me not going home?”
“You’re not safe.You should go to your mother’s home to stay with her tonight.”She asked him how he knew about her mother.“Cullen said you were going there when you were off shift.You need to go there instead of home.I promise you that what I’m telling you is the truth.You can’t go home.”Jerking her hand from his, she felt lightheaded and grabbed the wall for support.
“What did you do to me?”He swore that he’d done nothing at all to her.“Listen, buddy.I don’t know what you’re playing at, but I’m not going to listen to you.I have a nice place to live that I’ve worked very hard at getting, and I’m going home.You go back to your brother and leave me alone.You hear me?”
“You’re not safe there.I don’t know what happens to you, but you can’t go home and be safe.Please, I beg of you, don’t go home.”She turned on her heel and left him standing there.“Please go to your mothers.”
She gathered up her coat and gloves and made her way out of the building.She thought for sure that he was going to be following her, but he didn’t.Getting in her car, waiting for it to warm up, she decided that she was going home and be damned what he said to her.
Pulling up in front of her little apartment, she sat in the car and waited before getting out.She’d not even turned off the engine when she convinced herself that she needed to go inside and at least sort her things for laundry tomorrow.Ten minutes later, she was still sitting there with her car running,trying to figure out what she needed to do.
Ten minutes later, she turned her car around and headed for her mother’s.She didn’t know why she was doing it, but she hoped that her mom was all right with her spending the night because some fruitcake told her that she wasn’t safe going home.
~*~
Falkner read the newspapers and thought that he was caught up on the events that had happened while he’d been away.He and Cullen had had the best time while on the cruise ship, and while he was glad to be home, he missed the sway of the boat that they’d been on for three months and thought that he could do it again without much in the way of persuasion.They both had been back for a week now, and he was getting rested up from his vacation.
His parents had purchased a house while he’d been gone and moved out of the family home.They were giving it to him, and he was excited about making the home his own.It wasn’t like he didn’t know what they were doing, but he’d been somewhat surprised that they’d done it so quickly.All he needed to do was figure out what he wanted to keep or toss out of the stuff they’d left behind.He was thinking that he was going to have the entire house repainted and see what he was going to keep from there.Falkner looked at the envelope that had arrived at the house yesterday for him.He’d yet to open it.It was his state boards he’d taken just before leaving the country on his cruise, and while he didn’t think that he’d failed his test, he was worried about how badly he’d done on it.
“Just open it, you moron.”He laughed at himself.He’d been telling himself that for the last two days now.And was no closer to opening it than he’d been when it arrived.He looked up from the letter when his back door opened, and there stood Cullen.“You’ve been out again, haven’t you?”
“I have been.I told you while we were gone that I’d have to do some things for the government as I agreed to work for them on special assignments.”He asked him how badly he’d been hurt.“Bad enough that the hospital in Zanesville had to stitch me up.I can shift, but I have to wait until I get the okay from Jamie.”
Jamie was the president of the United States.He was also Amy’s brother, who was married to Dallas.It sounded funny to him, the way that he described his relationship with them all.But they loved him like a brother, and his wife too.Jamie had won his second election by a landslide and was working to get Dallas to run for the seat when he was finished with his term.The way it was looking, he might well be a shoo-in for the job when the time came.
Cullen picked up the envelope and asked him what it was.He told him, knowing that he knew just what it was, and told him he didn’t have the guts to open it as yet.He just didn’t want to know.Cullen said that he’d open it for him.
“I don’t know that that would be any better.”He tore the thing open and started reading the letter enclosed.“I’m pretty sure I passed.”
“Of course you did, moron.”He told his brother how he’d been calling himself that for the last few days.“You’ve only had it since yesterday, but I can understand why you’ve not opened it.You did good.See your score?”
Falkner took the letter back and was happy with his results.More than happy, actually, he was thrilled with his numbers.As he was dancing around the dining room, his makeshift desk for now, as his dad had taken the one from the office, he was telling Cullen how this was cause for a celebration.Did he want to get some subs.
“Subs?I was thinking more along the lines of us going to get a nice dinner with the family.Everyone.I’ve seen them all since we’ve been back, but not all at one time.What do you say to that?”He thought it was a fantastic idea.“Good.I’ll talk to the brothers, and you talk to mom and dad, and the grandparents.We’ll make a night of it and celebrate you passing your boards.Hey.Let me be the first to do this.Doctor Dixon, would you have dinner with us tonight?Christ, that sounds hokey.But I’m proud of you.”
Hugging several times, they were having fun while talking to the family.Everyone was going to be there, and he only had to go and talk to his parents right now.They wanted to give him hugs forfinally opening the envelope and finding out his score.As soon as they had everyone lined up with Amy making the reservations for them, he sat down at his table and looked at the letter again.
“I did really well.Much better than I thought that I would.I guess too that I knew that I had passed it as well, but not by this margin.”Cullen asked him what his percentage was in passing it.“I’m not sure what you mean?You mean my score?It says that right here.”
“No, what was your score compared to everyone else’s?”Falkner said that he didn’t know that answer, but he was sure that someone in the department would know.He didn’t even think they published that information for the public.“I think it would be good to see where you placed in your score.However, I’m going to assume that you placed really high and tell people that when I see them.My brother placed in the top of his class on his boards.”
“Don’t do that.”Cullen laughed.It was a good sound, if not a little rusty.The two of them had laughed a great deal while on the ship, and he missed that about him.“I can get into trouble for lying about that.Don’t you think?”
“I won’t, but I’m going to look into it.Just for my own curiosity.”He told him that he didn’t want to know what he found out.“Deal, but I’m going to see what I can find out about it.”
They talked about the fact that Cullen had just purchased a house and was looking for things to put in it.So far, he told him he’d been sleeping on a sleeping bag as he was the most comfortable that way.His brother had spent far too long in the service, in that he was still there sleeping where he could find a place.
He hoped that they’d find their mates sometime soon.Especially his brother.Cullen needed to have a woman in his life more than anyone he knew.She might be able to change him into a less sad person and bring out the part of him that laughed at jokes all the time.He hoped that she could take the underlying things about his brother, too.Cullen was a hard nut to crack and still had nightmares about things that he’d done while out of the country.
For the rest of the afternoon, they hung out together.He could never get enough of hanging out with his brothers and was glad that he could count on them to be there for him when he needed them.The same way he’d be there for them when they needed him.Falkner loved his family more than he thought there were words to say.
