He snuffled a bit, stretching his body as he slowly opened his eyes. When he found her eyes, he smiled sleepily, and Meredith felt a mother’s love flutter in her belly. Sitting on the bed next to him, she smiled back.
“Morning, Munchkin.”
“Morning.” He looked at the clock then took another look. “Aren’t you supposed to be at work?”
Nick looked at Meredith, noticing she was dressed in shorts and a t-shirt.
“Vacation. I’ve got a lot of time I need to use, so I scheduled a couple of days off this week.”
He sat up and stretched his arms above his head. When he lowered them, he looked at her, the memories of the night before rumbling through his mind. She saw the emotions race across his face. Reaching out, she drew him down until his forehead rested against hers.
“It’s gonna be okay, Nick. It really will.”
He smiled at her, but the grin didn’t quite reach his eyes. He looked around the room and caught sight of pictures of them.
“Oh, shit. I didn’t tell them I was leaving.” He moved to get out of bed, but Meredith stopped him.
“I called this morning. I think they want to hear from you when you’re ready, but they know you’re safe.”
He sat back down with a sigh. “Thanks, Mom.”
Meredith got up and walked to the door. “What would you like for breakfast?”
He rubbed his face. “Um, I’m not sure.” He looked down at himself for a moment. “I just realized I don’t have any extra clothes.”
She pointed at a bag sitting next to the bathroom door. “I ran to Wal*Mart this morning and picked up a couple of things for you. Clean underwear in the bag, and the clothes should be dry by the time you’re finished showering.”
He smiled his thanks and got out of bed, heading for the bathroom. Meredith left the room to check on the dryer and to figure out what they were going to eat.
When she walked out of the laundry room with shorts and a t-shirt warm from the dryer, she found Nick sitting on a chair at the table. He had a towel wrapped around his waist.
“The underwear didn’t fit?” She handed him the clothes.
A slight blush filled his cheeks. “Uh, yeah. I’m just not used to this kind.”
Meredith turned towards the stove and heard the rustle of fabric as he removed the towel and put on his clothes. When she turned around, he was sitting back down with the towel folded neatly by his side.
“How about some eggs and toast?” She reached into the refrigerator for the ingredients she needed.
“Sure. I’ll make the toast.”
They worked together in silence, moving around each other as they prepared the simple meal. When it was finished, they sat down at the table. Meredith held out her hands, and Nick placed his in them. She gave a simple thanks, and they dug into the food.
When they finished breakfast, they cleaned up the kitchen and moved out to sit on the patio. Meredith just watched as he slowly turned his coffee cup around in his hands. Leaning back to wait until he was ready to talk, she closed her eyes and enjoyed the morning.
“I just want her to stop.” He never took his eyes off his cup.
“Stop what?” She reached forward and grabbed her own cup to take a sip.
“Using me to satisfy some twisted Svengali fantasy she’s created. She thinks she created my success. Hell, all she did was drive to the damn audition.” He set the cup down on the table with a thud and looked over at his friend.
“Yes, she took me to auditions, but I’m the one who had to get up and sing or act. I’m the one who had to listen to the rejections when they didn’t want me, or get over the stage fright when they did. When AJ, Howie, and I got together, she had nothing to do with it. When they sent us to Europe, she was there for a while, but I didn’t see much of her until it was payday. I really started to wonder about things because I didn’t see Denise doing anything like that.”
Nick sat back in his chair, and he rubbed Stasi’s head as he thought about things. “When we left TransCon, things got worse because I didn’t really bring her into the deal. She hasn’t seen the contract with Jive, has no part of any of it, and she doesn’t have easy access to any of my money anymore. My business manager sends them money and makes sure the ranch mortgage is paid.”
Meredith digested all of this information, but kept her face neutral. Just thinking about how Nick had been treated made her want to hit something. someone The thought drifted through her head as Nick continued to speak.
“Now, she’s doing it to Aaron, sort of.”
“Sort of?” Meredith watched the young man beside her.
“Well, I told him a lot of things about the business, and I had my lawyer check out his contract.” Nick looked at Meredith, tilting his head as he watched her face.
“You know, it’s really hard to tell what you’re thinking when you’ve got your Commander’s face on.”
She smiled at him. “I know. It drives my trainees crazy, which is why I do it.” She was silent for a moment.
“What about your dad?”
Nick sighed. “I think he got caught up in the roller coaster, too. Right now, he’s down in the Keys. I think he’s hiding out.”
“And the girls?”
“Leslie’s doing mall tours to promote her album. Angel’s doing some modeling with that, and so is BJ. Aaron got stuck with Mom.”
Nick got up and went into the kitchen. He brought the coffee pot back and refilled their cups. “How do you get along so well with your mother? The others guys do it, and I just don’t understand why *I* can’t?”
Meredith took a sip of her coffee. “When I enlisted, my mother and I didn’t speak for a long time because she thought I could do so much better. It’s not that she thought anything bad about the military, she and my dad had sent me to boarding school and one of the best colleges around, and she thought I’d go into the political arena in some respect. They were at a party in DC, and my CO was there. He rambled on and on about what an asset I was and how lucky he was to have me on staff. He complimented my parents profusely on doing such a fine job raising their daughter. My mother called the next day, and we began to regain what we’d lost.”
She looked at Nick. “I’m glad we did. I would have hated to have been separated from her when I went to Saudi.”
“Yeah, that would’ve sucked.” He finished up his cup of coffee. “I just don’t know what to do about her.”
Meredith reached out and laid her hand over Nick’s. “I can’t tell you what to do, Munchkin. I wish I could solve your problem. You have to decide how much you’re willing to let her into your life knowing how she makes you feel. For a while, limited or no exposure may be the way to go. When you feel you can trust her again, then you can open up a dialogue with her.”
“But I’m afraid she won’t let me see the kids if I do that.” He leaned forward and rested his head on the table.
“That may very well happen. But I think they’d find a way to get in touch with you. If you decide to step away from your mother for a while, I’d suggest talking to them and reassuring them that you’re not leaving them behind. Let them know you love them, but you have some things to work out with Jane.”
“It seems so easy when you say it.” He turned his head to look at her.
Smiling, she laid her hand on his head. “Saying’s much each easier than doing it. This is going to be hard, no matter which way you go.”
He nodded and closed his eyes. They remained on the patio for another thirty minutes before it got too warm to sit out in the sunshine.
Nick walked into Meredith’s office and picked up the phone, dialing the hotel. He was put through to their suite, and Brian answered the phone.
“Hey, Rok.”
“Nick, man, are you okay?” Brian sat down on the sofa and looked at Kevin and Irene.
“Yeah, just needed to get away and clear my head a bit. There wasn’t a problem with the interview, was there?” He drummed his fingers on the desk.
“Naw. We just told them you were a little under the weather. It’s cool. You’re going to be back here by Monday morning?”
Nick looked at the calendar. They’d been involved in so many interviews he had forgotten what day it was. It was hard to believe that it had been almost two weeks since graduation. “Yeah, I’ll fly out on Sunday. I’ve got to go, okay?”
Brian nodded, even though his friend couldn’t see it. “You take care of yourself, Nick. Call if you need anything; and I do mean anything.”
“I will. Thanks, Brian.”
“No problem, brother.”
Nick hung up the phone and looked up to see Meredith standing in the doorway. She smiled at him. “I’m going to see the kids today. Do you want to come?”
Nick stood up and grinned. “I’d like that.”
They finished getting ready and headed out the door to meet up with the group of Down’s Syndrome kids Meredith volunteered with when she could.
Nick shifted around in the Honda as they drove towards the base.
“Something wrong, Nick?”
He blushed a bit before looking at her. “It’s not that I don’t appreciate you going out and buying some underwear for me, but they’re not what I usually wear.”
Meredith tried to hold in her smile. She looked at the gate guard, which gave her a moment to compose herself. “Sorry. The last time I bought men’s underwear it was for Andy, and they usually wear those under their uniforms.”
“It’ll be okay.” He wiggled again. “I think.”
***Backstreet Boys***Backstreet Boys****Backstreet Boys*****Backstreet Boys****Backstreet Boys***
The rest of the weekend went well, all things considered.
Nick and Meredith spent several hours Friday afternoon with the kids, and they had a great time. She took him to Joe’s that night, and he got to say hello to Team 7, but Team 2 was out on maneuvers.
On Saturday, Meredith took him to Giuseppe’s for lunch, and he got to see Arianna and Tony while they were with their grandfather. Saturday night, they watched television and listened to music.
On Sunday, she drove him to the airport to catch a flight back to New York City. He hadn’t resolved anything, but he knew he had a safe place if it got to be too much to handle. She wrapped him in a tight hug before he got ready to board.
“Call me when you get there.” She brushed his hair off his forehead.
He rolled his eyes. “I’ve been doing this a long time, you know.”
Meredith smacked him on the arm. “I make Irene do the same thing.”
He sighed and hugged her again. “I’ll call.”
First-class passengers were called to board, and he stepped away. “That’s me.”
“You’re going to be okay on the flight?” She remembered the last flight she took with him.
“I’ll be okay.” He walked to the ticket agent and handed her his ticket. Nick started down the hall then turned around to look at her. He pressed his fist to his heart then pointed at her. She smiled and returned the gesture.
Meredith hung around the window until the plane taxied down the runway and took off. Heaving a sigh, she walked back to the Porsche and headed for home.
***Backstreet Boys***Backstreet Boys****Backstreet Boys*****Backstreet Boys****Backstreet Boys***
Nick was met at the airport by Tony, and he had the grace to look ashamed.
“Sorry, man.”
Tony just nodded and escorted the young man out to the limo. They were taken to the back entrance of the hotel, and Tony snuck his charge up to their floor, making sure he was in his room before he left. Nick dropped his backpack on his bed and pulled out his cell phone before he dropped down onto the comforter. After he finished his check-in call with Meredith, his door flew open, and he raised his head to see all four guys appear in the doorway.
He waved at them as he laid back on the bed. “Hey, guys.”
Brian jumped on the bed with him, knocking his backpack onto the floor. The contents spilled out, and Howie leaned down to help Nick pick up his stuff. Howie looked down at what he was holding, then looked up at Nick.
“I never imagined you wearing these again.” The older man tossed the white briefs at his friend.
Nick groaned as he caught sight of them. “If I’d known Meredith was going to buy underwear for me, I would have told her what to pick up.”
AJ looked at his friend. “Meredith bought you underwear?”
Nick shrugged. “I didn’t bring any extra clothes. She went to Wal*Mart while I was sleeping and bought some stuff for me.”
He finished putting his new clothes into his suitcase then turned to face his friends. “What’s on the schedule for tomorrow?”
Kevin looked at the young man for a moment. “Interviews with Tom Brokaw and the Washington Post.”
Nick nodded. “Anybody hungry? They didn’t serve anything on the flight.”
He walked into the living room and picked up the room service menu. The four men followed him into the room. Irene walked out of Kevin’s room. When she saw Nick, she walked over and hugged him, looking up into his eyes.
“You okay, kid?”
He nodded and turned to look at everyone else. “I’m sorry for leaving. I’m not ready to talk about what she said, and I haven’t made any decisions yet. When I’m ready, I know I can come to y’all.”
“We just want you to remember that, Nick. You’re family.” Kevin smiled at his little brother.
Nick nodded and turned back to the menu. “I’m still hungry.”
“So, how was Meredith?” Irene sat down on the sofa, pulling Kevin down beside her.
Nick passed the menu around to the others. “She’s good. We went down to the base and played with the kids on Friday. Had lunch at Giuseppe’s and played with Arianna and Tony on Saturday; then I got on a plane.”
AJ restrained himself from drilling Nick on what Meredith was wearing or how she looked or even how she smelled. He couldn’t wait to see her later that week, but he was a little bit afraid that he would make a fool of himself when they were together. He was lost in his head when he felt a pillow bounce of his head.
“What?” He looked around the room.
“What do you want to eat, space boy?” Brian held out the menu.
AJ took it and looked over it. “I’ll take the chicken and vegetables.”
He put the menu back on the table and looked over to find Irene’s eyes on him. She smiled at him then turned back to Kevin. AJ just shook his head at her.
Table of Contents
Chapter Four