| |
IT’S BEEN TWO YEARS. Two long years since Alana was murdered. Nothing’s changed, but nothing’s the same, either.
Business at Hughes International has been great; phenomenal, actually. Once the dust settled after finding the Nursery Rhyme Killer and the word got out about Hughes International’s involvement, the phones haven’t stopped ringing. We’ve been called in to help with everything from finding a missing person to hostage negotiations in the Middle East.
We added a marine unit to our portfolio about two years ago and there’s been so much demand for that service here in Florida that the man we put in charge, Ethan West, has hired ten more teams and acquired just as many boats. Now we cover the entire eastern seaboard of the country.
Around the same time that we started the marine unit, we acquired AOP, the air ambulance company my sisters-in-law, Olivia and Piper, owned with Alana. Understandably, the girls didn’t want to go back to something they had with Alana without her, so instead of seeing it go to someone they didn’t know, they sold it to us.
Hughes International gained the planes and staff of AOP and incorporated medical flights into our portfolio. Originally, I was going to run that end of the business, but it also grew exponentially and we brought on Erick Coleman, the nephew of the former owner of ST Securities. He had his pilot’s license and flew for a few airliners before joining Hughes International. Not only do we do medical flights, but we now have our own transportation around the world for any situation. To say we have been blessed would be an understatement.
My brothers, Gabriel and Matt, even secured the purchase of a close-personal security company called Elite Protection Services out of San Francisco. We have been nonstop ever since. Yeah, it’s been a bit busy.
Then there are all the kids. Piper and Matt had a boy and then a girl; Michael is three and Hannah is nine months. Gabriel and Olivia adopted twin daughters from China that are now three years old; Becky and Abby. Ethan, one of my best friends and a new partner at Hughes International, and his wife Jenny, have a boy and a girl; EJ, that’s also three, and Angie, who’s almost one. There are kids everywhere, and I love having all my nieces and nephews around.
I just wish my parents could have met them all. Mom died about a year ago of a stroke, and dad didn’t make it longer than a month after her death when he had a heart attack and died. I’ve heard of long time loves passing away close together because the last one alive can’t figure out how to live without the other one, but I didn’t expect that call that night almost a year ago. That's the night my brothers and I became orphans. Our family now needs to stand on our own. It’s up to us, Gabriel, Matt, and myself, to keep the family name and family traditions going.
With mom and dad gone and my brothers now both married with kids, I knew I needed to step up more at the office. So, I’ve traded in my jeans and t-shirts for suits and ties. I even share an assistant with Matt. He used to have an assistant name Wicked, but she transferred to the Cyber Division about a year ago.
Because I really didn’t think I needed an assistant, Matt insisted on us at least sharing one. He hired two girls - I call them that because either they’re getting younger or I’m getting older - named Simone and Payton. They’re twins and they each work part time sharing the job because they’re in college. Matt says he can tell them apart, but I can’t. To help me out, they have a nameplate on the desk and whomever is working puts their nameplate up. But in all honesty, they could be yanking my chain every day,. I really can’t tell them apart.
“Mr. Hughes?” Payton calls to me from the door to my office.
“I’ve told you over and over again. Mr. Hughes was my father. I’m just Owen.” I don’t even look up from the documents I’m reading.
Payton sighs, “Fine. Just Owen. I have a message for you that says Bella is available and ready for you.”
I look up at Payton with a giant smile on my face. “She is?”
“Who’s Bella? Is she some kind of personal masseuse?” The disgust in her voice is evident.
“No! What kind of guy do you take me for?”
“It takes all kinds to run the world, Just Owen. Who’s Bella?”
I pack up my stuff. I can do this work from my home office. “Bella is my new Great Dane puppy.”
“Oh, my god! I love puppies and Great Danes! Bring her in tomorrow. Please?” Payton pleads with me, the disgust in her voice long gone.
“We’ll see. I don’t want to overwhelm her too much on her first day home.” I grab my keys and my briefcase. “I’ll be working from home the rest of the day. Call me on my cell if you need me.”
Payton follows me out, “Will do. Have fun and take pictures!” she calls after me as I make it into the elevator without being stopped. That’s a record for me. Usually, someone wants something from me before I leave for the day.
~~~
I met with the breeder an hour ago and he handed me the cutest little girl. She’s all dark gray with a white patch on her chest. She’s not much bigger than a chihuahua. How is something this small supposed to turn into a Great Dane? She’s so tiny, but super curious. As soon as the breeder handed her to me, she kissed my face and snuggled into my arms. We both knew instantly we belonged together.
Now, Bella is currently running throughout my condo, holding one end of the toilet paper roll, unrolling the entire roll, while I’m chasing her, trying to get her to drop it. She’s not listening to me, but she’s having the time of her little life.
There’s a knock on the front door and little Bella stops in her tracks, drops the toilet paper, and runs over to my legs. She’s trembling. I pick her up and snuggle her close to me. “It’s okay, little girl. I’ve got you.”
She looks at me and kisses my face. The person at the front door knocks again. Bella barks. Well, I think it was supposed to be a bark. I’m not too sure what you would call the little yelp she let out. I laugh at her as we both go to the front door. “Coming.”
I open the door, and Bella is visibly shaking now. Piper is at the door with her service dog, Bloo. “I heard there was a new member of the family.” Bloo just sits at Piper’s feet, waiting to be told what to do.
“Come on in. Let’s see how this goes.” I open the door wider for Piper and Bloo to enter.
“Can I hold her? It’s a her, right?” Piper doesn’t wait for my answer, she just reaches for Bella. “You are so sweet.” I watch as Bella takes a sniff of Piper and then snuggles against her chest. “What’s her name?”
“Yes, she’s a she, and her name is Bella.”
“Hello, Bella. I’m your Aunt Piper and this is your cousin Bloo.” Piper points to the dog that clearly wants to smell the puppy. Piper looks at me, “Let’s sit on the couch and see how the introduction goes.”
I follow them to my couch and sit on the coffee table facing the two of them.
Piper has had Bloo for a few years now as her diabetic alert dog. She senses when Piper’s glucose is not in range and alerts her so she can take care of it before it makes her sick. Bloo is the best behaved dog I’ve ever met and I don’t expect this meet and greet being a problem. But, this is my little Bella that I’ve had for about two hours, so I’m holding Bloo’s collar just in case.
I watch Piper pet and adore all over Bella and then place her on her knee. “Bloo, be nice.” She signals it is okay for Bloo to smell Bella. The two of them smell each other and then Bloo noses her way to Bella’s butt. Apparently, there’s nothing great to smell there because Bloo walks away and lays down by the balcony doors.
Piper places Bella on the floor and we watch her make her way over to Bloo and start snuggling up to her. Bloo just ignores her and falls asleep.
“Well, that wasn’t what I was expecting.” I say as Bella runs around Bloo and then disappears behind the curtain.
Piper shakes her head, “Nope. Me either.”
“Where are the kids?” I move over to the couch and sit across from her.
“It’s nap time at Olivia’s.” She turns to me. “You doing okay?”
“Yeah. Why?”
“Just checking on you. It’s been quite a few years, and we never have time to just chat. I wanted to make sure you’re okay. That’s all.”
I smile at my sister-in-law, who I have a special connection with because I’m the one that found her and carried her out of that barn that night. We both lost a loved one when Alana was murdered. “I’m okay. Thanks for checking on me.”
“You’re welcome, but now I have another question.” Piper sounds perplexed.
“Shoot.”
“She’s small now, but what are you going to do when she’s all grown up and big? A condo isn’t the best environment for a Great Dane.”
I’m debating on whether or not to tell her when she interrupts my internal dialog. “Just tell me. I can actually see you thinking.”
“Well, and I’m not ready for Matt and Gabriel to know yet, but I’ve been looking at houses out in Wellington.”
“Really? So are we!” she says, clapping her hands together. “We’ve been trying to talk Gabriel and Olivia into looking, too. These condos aren’t the best for little kids.”
“Or big dogs.”
She laughs, “Or big dogs. Wow, wouldn’t it be great to still be near each other?”
Her question sparks an idea in my head that I’ll need to talk to my real estate agent about. My agent has been trying to get me to look at a plot of land that is just over sixty acres. It’s way out of my price range and too big for what I’m looking for.
But, if all three of us buy the land together, we can divide it in thirds and be close, but not too close. My brothers and I have lived in this condo building that Gabriel bought a few years ago, for the last almost eight years. We did it on purpose so that we were close to each other.
To be honest, I haven’t put too much effort into looking for a new place because I don’t want to be too far from my family, but I know it’s almost time for me to move on from the condo life. Getting a Great Dane has put a timetable to that move. Bella won’t be the size of a chihuahua for much longer.
“Yeah. It would be great. What are you guys looking for?”
“I’m not sure if we want to build or buy. We’ve been debating. I’m fine with an existing house, but you know your brother.”
I nod my head, “I do. He’s picky.”
“That he is.” She looks at her watch. “Oh, I’ve got to go. Nap time is almost over.” She stands up. “When do you plan to mention this to your brothers? I don’t want to spill the beans.”
“I’ll mention it at dinner.” When mom and dad were alive, we had dinner every Sunday night as long as we were in town. Since their passing, we have kept up the tradition. As long as we’re in town, we meet for dinner. The whole family.
“Great. Your secret is safe with me.” She turns to Bloo. “Let’s go home, Bloo.” Her dog gets up, with Bella following her. “Sorry, little one. You have to stay here.”
I find a puddle with my sock. “Ugh.”
Piper laughs at me. “Wait until she’s bigger. There’ll be a lot more of that.”
“Another reason I need to move. See ya Sunday.” I hop on one foot to the couch to take off my sock. Bella’s helping me pull it off my foot. It’s adorable.
“Have fun, you two.”
The door closes and I watch Bella run into the other room with my sock in her mouth. I’m debating on whether I should chase her or clean up her puddle. The puddle wins.