After Sunday brunch, which they tried to make as light and leisurely as possible after the previous night’s drama, Chloe and Jenna bid Olivia farewell and loaded James into his carseat.
“Full disclosure, once you’re a parent, a lot of driving is scheduled around nap times,” Jenna said.
Chloe didn’t mind that idea at all. “Good to know.”
“He’ll sleep for at least an hour. But we can stop and do some shopping on the way home, if you want? I’m not allowed to return you until dinner time, but we can also go to my place and wait in closer proximity for the signal.”
“Can we give Natasha a call and see if she wants visitors?”
“That’s a great idea.” And it would keep Chloe’s mind off the week to come. The thought of returning to work filled her with dread.
When they arrived in Wiarton, Emily had a tea party set up for them. James woke up cranky, but Emily stepped in to play Very Grown-Up Teacher to him as soon as Jenna nursed him a bit, leaving the grown-ups to talk amongst themselves over their tea.
“She’s really good with him,” Natasha said. “That’s nice to see.”
“Were you worried?” Jenna asked.
“A little? It was just the two of us for so long, although she did have her cousins—but they were both older than her. She was my baby, my entire heart. It’ll be weird to go from one to two, but she’s excited.”
Chloe was going to go from zero to two. Built-in sibling and playmate right from day one. And unlike Chloe’s childhood, a ton of cousins. No matter what happened with the library, Chloe and Tom weren’t going anywhere. She loved her little community, and would fight like hell for it.
They stayed at Natasha’s until Matt called her and told her he was coming home.
“That’s our cue to leave,” Jenna said, picking up James, who looked at Emily and burst into tears. “I know, bubba. I know you love Emily. We’ll come back soon for another visit with her delicious tea cups.”
Emily held out one of the plastic mugs from her tea set. “He can take it with him if he wants.”
Chloe’s heart grew two sizes as Jenna took it and handed it to James, and Emily’s eyes practically turned into emoji hearts for real.
“She’s going to be a great big sister,” she whispered to Natasha. “See you soon. I think I’ll have a nice new space to host dinner in shortly!”
That was an understatement, it turned out.
From the outside, the cabin looked the same as when she left, although there were a bajillion tire tracks from trucks, now all departed except for Tom’s.
But inside…she didn’t even recognize it.
The living room was now open to the kitchen, making one huge great room space. “The wall is gone,” she said dumbly. “You took out a wall?”
“Yeah.” Tom grinned at her. “So we have room for a giant table here,” he gestured to the empty space in the middle of the room. “And then—down the road—we can renovate those cabinets, maybe put in an island. That’ll be Reno 2.0. But come look.”
He led her through the kitchen to the anteroom—or what had been the anteroom before. Now it was a sweet little pantry, with nice hardwood floors that matched the kitchen, properly painted walls, a real window that overlooked the backyard, and the big ugly sink was gone. In its place was a new kitchen counter, with the dishwasher framed in underneath, and a small sink beside that, leaving tons of room for built-in shelves on the rest of that wall.
And on the counter was a brand-new coffeemaker, and a kettle, and in front of both of those were Tom’s Thermos and Chloe’s mug that she’d taken to the Vances’ cottage.
“Oh, Tom,” she breathed, trying hard not to cry. “I love it.”
“That’s not all,” he said. “Ready for the finale?” She shook her head and he laughed, then pulled her in close. “Come here.”
She kissed him, hungrily, with so much love it felt like it might burst right out of her.
When she’d restored herself with the taste of him, he led her to the other side of the cabin. To what used to be their bedroom, but was now a nursery for a prince and princess. It was painted butter yellow, with white
“So where is our stuff?” She knew the answer. If the verandah wasn’t the nursery, then it must be their new bedroom.
Tom held out his hand. “That’s the finale I was talking about.”
Her heart thumped like a marching band was in her chest as they walked past the bathroom, to the door at the end of the hall. Before she went away for the weekend, there had been a bean bag stretched across the bottom of the door to keep out the draft. Now, warm light shone from beneath it.
And when Tom swung it open, he revealed more than she’d ever imagined.
“I know we talked about putting the nursery in here,” he said as she turned in a slow circle, taking it all in. “But this shares a wall with the bathroom, so here…” He moved around their bed and opened a door on the far side of the brand-new space. “We have our own bathroom. Well, the rough-in for one. We can finish that later.”
Chloe zoomed over to him. Sure enough, there was a basin for a shower, space for a toilet, and the rough plumbing for a sink. “Holy shit,” she breathed.
Then she turned around and took in her new bedroom from a whole other angle. White walls, exposed beams on the angled roof, and… She wiggled her toes on the new floor. “Is there heating under there?”
“Yep.” Tom looked so freaking proud of himself.
As he should.
“How did you do this in three days?”
“Minimal sleep and Jake’s entire crew.” She wanted to protest, but Tom didn’t even let her get started. “They’re family. It’s okay.”
Oh, man. She couldn’t hold the tears back, and Tom guided her to the bed, where they curled up together.
“It’s so wonderful,” she whispered. “And you know what? I had a similar realization about Olivia and Jenna and Natasha all being my family, and how we all need each other, too.”
“Yeah?”
“I think I’ve always thought that I was alone in my experience of being alone, and that’s just not true. I feel a bit silly now, but better late than never in figuring that out.”
“You aren’t silly.”
“I came here a loner, and saw a big, sprawling family dynamic, and didn’t realize it was just as much one big found family as it is two borne ones.”
“Huh,” Tom said. “Yeah. That’s a good way to look at it, isn’t it? Because it’s true. Family is desperately important to all of us, because we only had each other growing up. My parents were working seven days a week. Jake’s dad was lost in grief over losing his wife. For years. So we took care of each other. Dean, Jake, Matt and Sean are my brothers just as much as Zander or Rafe.”
Chloe’s heart ached for those little boys, who turned into the most wonderful of men, because they had each other. She squeezed Tom tighter, and hugged him until the babies wriggled and disturbed the cuddle.
Tom laughed and kissed her, then kissed her belly.
“Hey,” she asked. “So…do you have a toolbelt?”
“Of course.”
“Wanna show it to me?”
Tom’s eyes lit up. “Why, Ms. Dawson, are you feeling frisky?”
“Very frisky. Very thankful. Very, very loving, Mr. Minelli.” She cleared her throat. “But we take construction standards very seriously, in fact, so I’m going to need to inspect that tool belt, if you don’t mind. Please put it on.”
He scrambled off the bed. “Here?”
She crawled after him, settling on her knees. The warm floor was kind of nice. “I’ll wait here, I think. Oh, and Tom?”
“Yeah?” He gave her the most eager smile. She loved it. She loved him.
“The tool belt is the only thing you need to wear when you return.”
The new-house joy lasted twelve hours. It was replaced by shit-is-getting-real panic at six o’clock the next morning, when Chloe’s phone started ringing.
She didn’t recognize the first number, although it was local, not from the city. She was still shaking the sleep out of her head and deciding if it was smart to answer a strange call again when that number disappeared, and a moment later Zander’s name popped up in a second call.
“You aren’t the only one who was called this weekend,” he said. “Your union rep is trying to get ahold of you.”
“I just missed a call from someone.”
Zander rattled off a number.
“Yeah, that’s it.”
“Give her a call back. She’ll advise you on the next steps. My source says there are three of you, and it’s not just this library board, either. Honestly? Someone might go to jail over this. It’s time to lawyer up.”
“I can’t afford that,” she whispered, panic gripping her fiercely.
“Your union will handle all of that. And if not, we’ll take care of it. We’re getting into whistleblower protection territory. You’ll be deposed, and then lawyers from the union will take over.”
“Holy shit.”
“Keep breathing, Nancy Drew.”
She hung up the call and threw herself into Tom’s arms. Then she called her union rep, who sounded totally calm as she instructed Chloe to stay home. “I’m advising you not to go to work today. Call in sick. Then we’ll find out what time a lawyer can meet with you, and we’ll take it from there.”
Chloe patted her belly. “Sorry, kiddos, but Mom’s going to use you guys as an excuse.” She got the part-time librarian to cover the shift, then pulled the blankets up over her head.
Tom crawled under the covers with her. “I’ll stay home with you today.”
“You don’t have to.”
“And yet I’m going to anyway.”
She took a deep breath and nodded. “Thanks.”
The next call came at lunch. Could she drive to Port Elgin and meet a lawyer at the union local’s office? They went in Tom’s truck, his Thermos full of coffee for them to share.
When they arrived, Chloe’s union rep introduced her to the lawyer, a woman probably around Chloe’s own age, with a strong handshake and a serious look in her eye.
“Come on in.” She looked at Tom. “You can wait out here.”
Inside the meeting room, the lawyer asked if the conversation could be recorded, and when Chloe agreed, read the date and time into a micro recorder.
“Tell me, in your own words, what happened on Saturday night.”
Chloe went over it again, explaining about the call, the moment she realized she should record it, and then phone call to Zander afterward.
“That would be Zander Minelli, a private investigator?”
“Yes. He’s my boyfriend’s brother. He’s ex-military,” Chloe added, although that probably didn’t matter. She felt like it helped, though. He’s a good guy.
The lawyer scribbled a note, then looked up again. “You have faced an unacceptable harassment. That’s our first concern, and hopefully that will be the focus of our grievance complaint. But I’ve been brought in to talk to you today because there might be a claim that you are a whistleblower.”
“A whistleblower?”
“Someone who reveals government abuse.”
“I know what a whistleblower is.” Chloe’s voice sounded faint to her own ears. “I don’t think that applies to me.”
“It may not, especially because there is a due process for that protection and so far, you haven’t followed it.”
“I didn’t know I should.” Chloe’s head was spinning now. “What exactly is that due process? I ask because there’s a reporter who wants to talk to me.”
“That’s not a good idea. If we’re going to claim whistleblower protection, we need to keep this completely quiet for now. There’s an internal process to follow, and if you don’t comply with that process, you could be terminated for failing to live up to your duty of loyalty and fidelity to the public service.”
“That’s a mouthful.”
“Have you, at any time in the last six months, spoken out against your employer?”
“In public?” She thought about the town hall. “No.”
“Have you subverted the mission of your employer at any time?”
She made a face. “I don’t think so. What are the limits on what I can tell you?”
“Be honest with me.”
“I talked about the library closure with a good friend, who is also a community leader. We planned ways for the community to protest the closure.”
“Tell me more about that.”
“We organized a message campaign—as in, we all tried to stay focused on the same message—and we found an alternate location for the library to move to at a very low cost.”
“All right. I need you to write down for me, to the best of your recollection, the dates of those conversations, and who you spoke to.”
“I never criticized the library board.”
“But you circulated a photo of two library employees.”
“No.” She sat up straighter and glanced at the door. “No, that wasn’t me.”
“Can you be more specific?”
Chloe went over the details of that lunch again. “I heard the conversation, and got alarmed. My boyfriend noticed my alarm, and he took the photo.”
“Is he the person waiting outside?”
“Yes.” Chloe swallowed hard. “Is he in trouble?”
Tom’s right knee was bouncing and he couldn’t get it to stop. He’d done enough investigations at his reserve unit—for chicken-shit stuff, mostly—to know that interviews always happened alone.
But damn it, he wanted to be in there with her.
When the door opened, he jumped up. It was the lawyer. “Tom?”
“Yes.”
“Can we talk in that room over there, please?” She pointed across the hall.
“Sure.”
He’d been on the receiving end of a few investigations as well. A bogus complaint about making recruits do too many push-ups in the gravel, a concern about improper storage of ammo. Everyone involved in an investigation had an angle, and anyone—witnesses, the subject of the query, even the investigator—would be best served by only answering the direct questions, honestly but as simply as possible.
That rule went out the window when it came to Chloe.
“Is everything okay?”
The lawyer didn’t answer his question. “There is a photograph of being circulated of library staff. Are you familiar with it?”
“The one in the diner in Walkerton? Yes, I’m familiar with it. I took it.”
“What caused you to take the photo?”
“The conversation. Chloe heard them talking, and I knew she wanted to confront them about it, but that wouldn’t do her any good.”
“What did you advise her to do?”
Tom wasn’t sure where this line of questioning was going. “I told her to keep her head down and let someone else do the investigation.”
“Someone else being your brother.”
“Yes.” He pulled out his phone and found the text message to Zander. “You can check my phone. Chloe was there, but she’s in the photo. She couldn’t have taken it. And then I sent it to my brother and asked him to find out more information.”
The lawyer looked at his phone, made a note, then turned off her recorder.
She stood up, gave Tom a slow, careful look, then nodded. “That’s a fine line,” she said. Then she shrugged. “I like fine lines. They give me something to work with.”
“Is that all?”
“For now.” She led him back to the hall, then disappeared into the first room again. Five minutes later, Chloe appeared and gave him a wide-eyed look.
They didn’t talk until they were safely back in the truck.
“So that was more intense than I expected,” Chloe whispered.
Tom leaned over the console and hugged her. “It’s going to be okay.”
“She said I can go back to work tomorrow. Keep my head down, wait and see what happens.” She let out a nervous laugh. “This is wild, Tom.”
“It’s been quite the rollercoaster since Christmas, hasn’t it?”
“I’m ready to just…be…for a little bit. Enjoy the last part of my pregnancy before the babies demand eviction.”
“We’ll find a way to make that happen.”
She shook her head. “No more Zander interventions.” Her eyes went wide. “And nothing behind my back, either. I don’t need plausible deniability, I need actual peace and quiet, okay?”
It was his turn to laugh. “I wouldn’t do anything behind your back, but I like the way spy lingo slides off your tongue like that. Plausible deniability. That’s hot.”
“Reading all those thrillers has finally paid off.” She looked out the window. “This is a tempest in a teapot, though. Right?”
He squeezed her knee. “Whatever it is, we’ll handle it.”
“I need this to be done soon. Summer will be here before we know it and then...chaos.”
“The babies? That’s going to be amazing. The good kind of chaos.”
Chloe burst out laughing. “Sorry, that’s mostly nerves responding.”
He gave her a good-natured grin. “I may not have liked chaos in the past, but don’t you worry. I’m going to learn to thrive right in the middle of it.”
“Feel free to teach me some of that as you figure it out.” She took a deep breath. “Can we go and find some ice cream now? Or maybe a cute baby animal to look at?”
He put the truck in gear. “I can deliver both of those, in fact.”
It turned out there were baby bears at Tom’s provincial park.
“You’re shitting me,” Chloe said, her eyes feeling as wide as teacup saucers. She nibbled the ice cream sandwich he’d pilfered for her from the cafeteria. “Where?”
“A den on the north edge of the park.”
“Can we go and play with them?” She was teasing. Obviously not, but a girl could dream.
Tom’s lips twitched in amusement. “No. But we can watch them on the super fun Bear Cam in the visitor centre.”
“I guess I don’t want to piss off a Mama Bear,” she admitted as she followed him across the lobby and into the interactive exhibits part of the park’s main building. They had the place to themselves, though, and there was a padded bench in front of the Bear Cam.
Tom sat down first, and she snuggled up against him.
“We need to be patient,” he whispered.
“Okay,” she whispered back. “And why are we whispering?”
“It adds to the ambience of bear watching.”
“Love it.” She slowly ate her ice cream sandwich and watched the screen with rapt attention. And her patience was rewarded at the exact same moment she finished her sweet treat. A dark brown bundle rolled onto the screen, then jumped up, testing a tree trunk. When stretched like that, it wasn’t as rolly polly as she expected. “He’s skinny.”
“Food scarcity is a problem. We’re monitoring them, don’t worry. And they’re growing.”
“Good.” As they watched, the other baby bear appeared, this one more tentative than their sibling. But apparently a better climber. It didn’t take long to scamper up the tree, and for the first one to follow.
Chloe let out a happy sigh. “That was adorable.”
“Come back tomorrow and watch them some more.”
“I will. The bears are going to be my calming self-care strategy until this problem at work gets sorted out once and for all.”