Chapter 25

After dinner and dishes were done, they settled on the porch with beer. Rebecca had her camera and took pictures of the fading sunlight. "I love this time of day too."

"So do I. I love how the sunset makes your hair sparkle." Larry said pushing her hair behind her ear.

"I've been thinking, if I am staying in your room, my clothes should be in there too. Don't you think?"

"Yes, of course."

"But your closet is full from what I saw."

"Yes, it is. I guess I will have to do something about that." Larry said smiling.

"You already thought of that, didn't you?"

"Yes," Larry said.

"I had just thought about that. I think about the strangest things at the strangest times."

"That's all right. I have a lot of surprises up my sleeve."

"Really? And what might they be?"

"If I told you, they wouldn't be surprises now, would they?"

"I guess not," Rebecca said. "Are making an office for me? You said you thought I should have one."

"You said that you didn't want one right now."

"What else is there?"

"I have lots of ideas. You'll find out when you least expect them. You said you didn't want me to spoil you."

"I like you spoiling me, but if you do all at once you won't have anything to do later."

"I know. That's why I started making a list." Larry said, "It already has a half dozen things on it."

"I guess I need to pay more attention to what you might want."

"I have everything I want right here." Larry said then held her close. They sat there quiet for a while. "So, what is your favorite color?"

"Blue and red." Rebecca said "Yours?"

"Green and blue," Larry said. "What's your favorite flower?"

"I don't really have a favorite. I like them all. Have you ever thought of living in a regular house?"

"Yes and I did for a while, but it seemed so lonely. Do you not like living in the hotel?"

"I like it. I mean mostly it's a house with the exception of the elevator and all the people. I don't mind it most of the time."

"It can get annoying sometimes," Larry said. "Especially after a long day at the office and they need me for something. That's why I try to do things when they come up so they don't pile up."

"I can help you with some of the office work if you want," Rebecca said. "I can at least try to help."

"We'll see. I don't know what's going on right now," Larry said. "Do you want another beer?"

"Sure. That sounds great."

Larry got up and walked into the cabin. He came out a few minutes later, handed her a beer and sat down. He put his arm around her. They watched the sunset quietly.

A while after the sunset, Larry moved a little. Rebecca looked back at him. "Do you want to go inside and sit by a fire?"

"I think I might be persuaded."

"All right." Rebecca said then got up. She picked up her camera bag. Larry got up and took the bag from her. He put his arm around her and they walked into the cabin. Larry started the fire while Rebecca walked back to the bathroom. Larry laid out blankets from the couch on the floor in front of the fireplace and waited for Rebecca to come out. When he heard her come out, he made his way back to the bathroom.

Rebecca was laying on the blankets when Larry came out. He went over to the refrigerator and got some more beer. He opened them then walked over to the blankets. He sat down next to Rebecca. Rebecca took a beer. Larry laid down next to Rebecca.

"Where did you learn how to start a fire?"

"I was a boy scout, actually. My foster father was the leader and that's where Jake and I became friends."

"Oh. Did you do good at that too?"

"Of course." Larry smiled.

"I was in girl scouts for a couple of years. They didn't teach us how to start a fire."

"What did you learn?"

"We learned to sew and cook mostly. I think the scouts are old fashioned."

"Yeah, they are. At camp, they separated the boys and girls."

"What fun was that?"

"It wasn't really," Larry said. "We tried to sneak over but we were caught. We had kitchen duty for the rest of camp."

"I bet that wasn't much fun."

"We made the most out of it," Larry said.

"Did you go to camp?"

"No. We couldn't afford it."

Larry and Rebecca laid on the blankets talking until eventually falling asleep.

Larry woke up with Rebecca's arm around him. He stretched and moved a little. Rebecca moved her arm from across his chest and looked up at him. Larry smiled at her. "This is how I like waking up, with you next to me."

"Yes, this is nice," Rebecca said. "I need to use the bathroom, though." She said as she slowly got up. "I'll be right back." She walked off to the bathroom.

Larry moved over to the fireplace and stoked up the fire to get it going again. He settled back on the blankets. Rebecca came back out and laid on the blankets next to Larry. Larry put his arm around her and pulled her close. "I think coming here was a good idea."

"Yes it was. When are we heading home?"

"We aren't due to be back until tonight, but we can leave early if you want."

"It's not that I want to leave."

"Well, we can have breakfast then get ready to go. We can stop and thank Jake for letting us stay here and return the key.

"I would like to meet him," Rebecca said. "What's for breakfast?"

"There's eggs, biscuits, and I think there's some bacon in there."

"That sounds great. What about coffee?"

"Well, of course," Larry said. He hugged Rebecca then kissed her head. "I just need to use the bathroom first."

"I'll start breakfast."

They got up. Larry left to go to the bathroom and Rebecca went to the kitchen.

By eleven, they were on their way down the road. They finally made it to the main road a while later. Larry drove to a gas station and filled up the tank. "You can go inside and get some drinks. I'll call Jake."

"All right. Do you want anything else?"

"No, just a drink." Larry said as he handed her some money.

"Be back in a minute." Rebecca said then got out of the car. Larry pulled out his phone. He noticed he had several missed calls. He called Jake first and talked for a few minutes. He hung up and listened to his messages. He called Brian.

"Hello?" Brian answered.

"What's going on? You sound stressed."

"We lost him. He went into a shopping center and we lost him."

"Is there an APB out on his car?"

"As far as his precinct is concerned, they won't do it, but I have everyone I know keeping an eye out." Brian said. "There's something else. The moving company was broken into last night. Nothing was missing but their files were gone through."

"So, he might know where she is."

"Yes. I already talked to Duane because I couldn't reach you. I'm going to follow the truck up."

"All right. Be safe."

"You too, Boss. I'll keep you posted."

"Thanks." Larry said then hung up. He dialed Duane. "Hey, I want extra security around. Make sure all the cameras are working." He said then listened for a moment. "I know. I just want her safe. We will be back later tonight." Larry said then hung up.

Rebecca came out and got in the car. "Is something wrong?"

Larry put a smile on his face. "Nothing for you to worry about. Jake is expecting us."

"Great. I can't wait to meet him."

Larry started the car and pulled out. Rebecca handed him his drink. He opened it and took a drink.

"Are you sure nothing is wrong? You look stressed."

"I had a couple of messages from my father." Larry lied. "Nothing for you to worry about."

"I guess you have to go into work tomorrow?"

"Yes, for a little while," Larry said. "Brian will be on his way with your apartment sometime today."

"Great. I can't wait to get my stuff."

"I figured we would put it in one of the spare bedrooms at the end of the hall."

"Yes, that's fine," Rebecca said. "When are they supposed to be here?"

"I'm not sure. Not until tomorrow. He'll call me when he close. If I'm not there, I'll call you."

"All right," Rebecca said. They drove for a while then got off the highway. Larry drove for a while longer then pulled up to a house. Larry parked and shut off his car. Rebecca pulled down the visor and checked her face. "Do I look all right?"

"You look beautiful." Larry said then reached over and squeezed her hand. "Don't worry," Larry said. "They don't judge people like my father."

"I look a mess," Rebecca said.

"Nonsense." Larry said then got out of the car. He walked around the car and opened the door for Rebecca. He took her hand and led her out of the car. He shut the door and they started up the sidewalk.