The Seeker: Dreamer Part 12

"Let me see your hand," he said as he gently unwrapped the bandage. I winced as he pulled it away. "Please let me kick his a.s.s." He kissed all around the injured area.

I leaned forward and kissed his hair. "No. I need you to get along with him, okay? He's been a really good friend. And I punched him of my own free will."

"Fine. For you, I won't kill him." He nodded reluctantly as he re-wrapped my hand.

"Jack," I said, getting serious for a moment. "I need you to promise me something."

"Anything."

"No more pulling away. I can't take it. Being apart from you nearly destroyed me. Your past is part of you and I love you. All of you. You have to let me in. I know you're going through a tough time with your dad, but please let me help. "

"Okay," he said, kissing me. "If you promise in return not to try to hold back or withdraw because of your psychic oracle-ness. It's part of you and I love you. All of you," he repeated. After another lengthy kiss, he lifted me off the counter. "As much as I love this outfit, it's giving me way too many ideas. Why don't you go put on something a little more, uh, inaccessible, and I'll take you out for a tofu burger or something and we can talk. I'm nearly certain you only had ice cream for dinner."

I laughed and told him to give me fifteen minutes. When I reappeared at the top of the stairs he was sitting on the couch, petting Wicky. As I walked down the stairs, his eyes got big, and he set the cat away from him and rose to meet me.

"Holy mother of G.o.d." I had gone all out, donning a tight blue sheath dress with a plunging neckline, courtesy of Tara, and high heels. "I think this is going to take more than a tofu burger."

"I want to make sure you understand what you've been missing," I said in what I hoped was a seductive voice. I prayed I wouldn't ruin the effect by tripping on the ridiculously high heels. I had a sudden flashback-not psychic-to the night we started dating, right after his probation hearing, when I had come down the stairs wearing another of Tara's choice of dresses. Note to self: Jack appreciates a s.e.xy dress. Good to know.

"Oh. My. G.o.d," he said as he pulled me into his arms.

Of course, this was the scene Grams and my mom walked in on: Jack and I kissing insanely, my hands in his hair, his on my rear end. "Ally, is that Jack's car outsi-apparently so," finished Grams wryly. "h.e.l.lo, Jack."

I wasn't about to jump apart guiltily. I had nothing to be ashamed of by kissing my newly-restored boyfriend. He did, however, remove his hands and put one arm around my waist. "Hi, Mrs. Moran, Ms. Moran. How have you been?"

"Oh, we've been fine, Jack. I can't say the same for Ally, but she appears to be doing well now. How have you been?" Grams asked pointedly.

"Not good, actually. I came over to beg Ally to take me back. I was stupid and let go of the most important thing in my life."

Grams seemed to approve of his honesty. "Well, you're back now. I certainly hope there was groveling involved. And call me Adele. Are you two going out?"

"Yes, Grams. Jack is taking me to dinner because he apparently doesn't approve of my ice cream-only diet. And, yes, there was some groveling. Don't wait up." I took his hand to lead him outside.

"What a lovely dress, Ally, what there is of it," murmured my mother.

"Rather ironic, don't you think, Mom? See you later." I gave her a hug and kissed her on the cheek. "Get some rest, okay?"

"What was that about with your mom?" Jack asked. "What am I missing?"

So I filled him in on the big news. "And if you say, 'way to go, Brian', I will have to hurt you."

He laughed. "Okay, I'll save the high-fives for when I see him in person. Are you all right with this? With your mom getting married? With her having a baby?"

"Yeah, I am. I'm really happy for her and Brian. I'm going to be a big sister, Jack!"

"You're going to be great big sister. Now, where should we go to celebrate us being us again? You look amazing, so let's not let that go to waste."

After some discussion, we finally decided to go to the Cooperage, a fairly expensive steakhouse with an enormous chuckwagon salad bar. I'm not even kidding about the name. I didn't want him to spend so much on me, but he argued our getting back together was a worthy occasion. He also said they had a band playing on Friday nights and he wanted an excuse to dance with me and show me off. "Come on, querida. My cousin, Kenny, is the ba.s.s player and he's been bugging me to go hear him. You know I'm going to win, so let's save time. Give in now." He said this last part while kissing my neck and jaw, which, as always, rendered me nearly incoherent.

"You don't play fair," I sighed. "Fine. We can go."

Tara was beside herself when I texted her late Friday night to tell her Jack and I were back together.

Tara: OMG! Want 2 hear all about it! Coming over 2morrow.

Me: OK. Can't wait to tell you. So happy!

Tara: So happy 4 U!

"Oh, G.o.d, Ally! That's so romantic! I wish I had that kind of romance in my life." She was sprawled across my bed early Sat.u.r.day morning. She had actually shown up before I was even awake, my late night with Jack having caused me to sleep in later than usual.

After a month-long separation, we couldn't stand to say goodnight and stayed at Village Inn, a 24-hour coffee shop, until close to 3 a.m. We talked and drank decaf, holding hands the entire time. He told me he was trying to find a way to build some sort of relations.h.i.+p with his dad, mostly for Megan's sake. He said the main reason he had told me he needed time apart was because he was feeling so much hate in his heart toward his father he couldn't reconcile the love he was feeling toward me. He had felt like he was being torn apart from the inside. He had actually started counseling in the last few weeks and felt like it was helping. His counselor was helping him understand and accept that he, himself, bore some of the responsibility for the damaged relations.h.i.+p; he couldn't chalk it all up to fate or bad luck. He planned to keep seeing his counselor for the foreseeable future, which I thought was a great idea. He promised to talk to me from now on about what he was feeling and not pull away.

"From what I've seen," I said to Tara, "you've got some romance going on. What is up with you and Mat, anyway?"

"I'm not really sure, actually. We've gone out a couple times, but after coming on so strong, he's really taking it slow. He hasn't even tried to kiss me! I don't know, maybe he's not as impressed as he thought he would be." She tried for a nonchalant tone that didn't fool me in the slightest.

"I'm positive that's not what the problem is, Tara. The guy has been crazy about you for months. Could it have anything to do with the fact that he's 20 and you're only 17?" I rooted through my drawers for something to wear, finally settling on my favorite jeans and a t-s.h.i.+rt.

"Maybe. Manny and Trina sure raised those boys with a strong sense of right and wrong, huh? Is that the best you can do?" she gestured to my clothing choice.

I shrugged and motioned for her to take over. "Well, they got Jack kind of late, but yeah. I agree with you. Jack has such iron control," I mused.

"Ooh, this sounds interesting. Do tell," she pounced while handing me a denim skirt and chiffon blouse. I laughed. "Oh, no you don't! We are not going down that path again. Suffice it to say my V-card is a bit more tattered than in the past, yet still intact."

"Hot," she said.

"Yeah, it was." We both laughed. "So, what do you think about a double date sometime soon?"

"Yes! I was so b.u.mmed that right as I started dating Mat, you broke up with his best friend. Do you realize how cool it is that we're dating cousins/best friends? G.o.d, we could be related someday, Ally."

"Let's not get ahead of ourselves," I warned.

"Oh, please. You and Jack are totally destined for wedded bliss." She rolled her eyes.

"Oh, are you getting visions of the future now?" I asked, archly.

"I don't need no stinkin' crystal ball to tell me you and Jack are the real thing, sweetie."

"Yeah, well the last month gave me some serious doubts about that."

"Hey." She came around the bed to hug me. "You've had a really tough time, but it all worked out. Jack's had some major suckage in his life in the last few years. He's so lucky to have found you, and if he doesn't appreciate it from now on, I will have some interesting words for him."

I laughed ruefully and hugged her back. "Thanks, Tara. I need a fan in my life."

"Well, I'm your biggest. Don't forget it."

Remy was also happy for me when he heard Jack and I were back together, although he couldn't resist teasing me. "Ah, ma belle, and right as I was about to make my move. How shall I go on? All my hopes are dead!" he said this as he kissed both my cheeks Monday morning at school.

"Oh, whatever, you big tease." I hugged him in return. "Thanks," I whispered as I kissed his cheek.

"Yeah, Remy, thanks," Jack said, a bit grudgingly, while offering his hand. "Wow, that bruise looks like it hurts." He gestured to where I had punched him.

Remy shook Jack's hand, smirked, and said, "It was worth it." They stared at each other for a moment, obviously exchanging some mysterious bro-code, then both slowly smiled and nodded.

Brian returned from California and arranged to meet me after school. "Congratulations, Dad," I said and hugged him in greeting. "You did good. Mom is about ready to burst from all the happiness."

He laughed. "Thanks, Ally. I really do owe you one. Hey, I'm sorry about, you know-"

"Knocking up my mom?"

"No, I'm not sorry about that," he said. "But it's a bit awkward talking about it with your future stepdaughter. I hope it doesn't embarra.s.s you."

"Nah. I'm a big girl. And I'm ridiculously excited about having a sister or brother. Are you ready for all these wedding plans Mom and Grams are getting into?"

He blew out a breath. "I don't know. I'm hoping I can simply write the checks and show up when and where they tell me."

I laughed. "That's probably a good plan. Let them have their way."

"Well, your mom has never had a wedding, and this will be her only one if I have anything to say about it. I want to her have her dream wedding," he said quietly.

"You're a nice guy, Brian Keller." I punched him lightly on the arm.

"Even though I knocked up your mom?" he asked wryly.

"Hey, you have great taste. So, tell me how things went with the ex-Mrs. Moore in California."

"It was pretty much a wasted trip. She didn't have anything useful to add, but I still get the feeling she's holding back for some reason. I did get contact information for her two daughters and will be trying to get in touch with them this week."

"So, what's our next step?"

"I want to talk to Scott Alder again," he stated.

"Why? The guy is innocent." I couldn't tell Brian how I knew this, but I needed to make him understand this was a dead end. Mom and Grams wanted to wait to tell Brian about our 'family gift.' They didn't think it would be a deal-breaker, but wanted to save the drama for later.

"Ally, I hate to tell you this, but in cases like this, nine times out of ten it is the husband or boyfriend that did it. They're the ones with the motive." He got out the file on Scott and opened it.

"Not this time. He loved her. Her disappearance destroyed him, Brian."

"Maybe the guilt destroyed him, Ally. I have to follow up on this."

"Fine, but I want to go with you." I was adamant. I hoped to be able to ask questions that would show Brian that Scott had nothing to do with Ashley's disappearance.

"Fine. Let's go. He's expecting us in about 20 minutes."

This time we questioned Scott in his home. His wife, Anna, served us coffee and then sat beside Scott, scooting her chair possessively closer.

"I really don't know what else I can tell you, Detective Keller. I told you everything I remember the last time you were here."

"I need to go over it again, Mr. Alder. Why don't you start at the beginning and tell us about your relations.h.i.+p with Ashley." Brian took out his notebook.

Scott sighed and began. "Ashley and I met at the beginning of our soph.o.m.ore year when she moved here to Albuquerque. She was so beautiful." He stared down at the table, lost in his memories. Anna reached her hand over and placed it on top of his. He looked up and gave her a weak smile. "I was just a little punk-a.s.s kid, but we became friends. I finally worked up the nerve to ask her out at the beginning of our junior year. I was shocked when she said yes. We were inseparable after that. And then she got pregnant." He looked up at Anna and mouthed 'sorry.' Anna put her other hand on top of Scott's and shook her head. "I wanted to get married right away. I was going to drop out and get a job, but she was adamant we both finish high school. She was never ashamed. I remember telling her parents. We stood before them, holding hands, and she said, 'Mom, Dad, we're going to have a baby. We love each other and we're getting married right after graduation. Please try to be happy for us.' Well, after a while they were. They were going to help us out so we could both go to college, at least part-time. We had it all planned out."

"Tell me about that last day, the day Ashley disappeared," Brian said when Scott paused.

Scott put his head in his hands, running them through his hair. "After school, I walked her to her locker and kissed her goodbye. She was going to walk home, like usual, because I had basketball practice. That was the last time I saw her. When I went by her house later to pick her up, she wasn't there. Her mom had thought she was with me."

"When did her mother call the police?"

"I think it was pretty soon after I got there, maybe within a half-hour or so."

"And did you actually see her leave school that afternoon?" Brian followed up.

He shook his head. "No. I left her at her locker."

I nudged Brian under the table and raised my eyebrows, silently asking if I could ask a question. Brian looked at me for a moment before nodding. "Scott, what about any ex-boyfriends of Ashley's? Who did she date before you?"

"She went out a few times with a guy named Barry during her soph.o.m.ore year. I don't remember his last name. I hated that guy."

"Why?" I asked.

"Because he was going out with the girl I wanted," Scott said as if I should understand something so obvious.

"Well, how did he treat her?" I pushed. Brian gave me an exasperated look.

"I don't know. He kind of showed her off, I guess. I thought it was messed up and I knew he wasn't good enough for her."

"How did they break up? Who did the dumping?" I pushed.

"She did. They didn't go out very long. She got tired of it and broke it off."

"How did Barry respond?" I leaned forward, looking at Brian to make sure he was getting this down in his notebook. He rolled his eyes and started writing.

"I don't know. I wasn't there. He had moved on to another girl by the next day, though."

"So, he wasn't jealous or anything?"