Side by Side

83

All day Sunday Winter had been at FBI HQ being debriefed. It had rained off and on all that day, which had suited Sean’s dark mood. Monday turned out to be warm and the sun worked hard to dry up the ground left spongy by the rain. Winter told Sean that morning that he had invited Alexa for lunch, which meant Sean was scrambling to get it prepared. Winter and Hank had taken Rush, Faith Ann, and Olivia to the grocery store in Concord for some things Sean needed to finish the meal. She was busy in the kitchen when she heard a vehicle pulling up out front.

Sean went to the door and saw Alexa approaching the porch. “You’re early. Winter isn’t back yet,” she said, trying not to sound curt. She seriously doubted that Alexa’s appearance while she was alone was accidental. “I’ve got some wine in the fridge.”

“I wanted to talk to you alone,” Alexa said.

Sean led Alexa to the kitchen and stood until Alexa sat at the table.

“I wanted you to know that I am truly sorry I put Winter in harm’s way.”

“He’s forgiven you, I guess I can, too,” Sean told her as she sat across from Alexa. “It turned out all right. The Dockerys are safe. Bryce is where he belongs for the time being.”

“He is.”

“But Winter is sure he won’t be for long. I mean, we all know how the weasels deal.”

“All’s well that ends well,” Alexa said softly.

Sean got up, went to the refrigerator, took out a bottle of wine, and removed the cork. She took a pair of wineglasses from the counter and poured them full of white wine. She handed Alexa one and, taking hers, sat.

“I guess your sister is up a creek.”

“That’s her own doing. She approached me a while back assuming I was like she is. They needed me to get to Judge Fondren in order to keep the FBI from getting involved. I thought it was going to be an extortion of some sort until the kidnapping. I never would have let that happen. Then I had to figure out a way to get the Dockerys free, but I knew my sister’s men were going to be watching me every minute. They have miniature cameras, all sorts of devices. I knew Winter was my only hope. I insisted on bringing him in because I told Antonia I couldn’t do it alone since not having a capable partner would invite too much official skepticism. My people thought it was a good idea and I convinced Antonia that Winter wasn’t the man whose reputation he carried. I told her he was burned out, fat and happy, suffering from an old wound, and gun-shy. I said he would back up my story to enhance his own reputation. Precio-my sister agreed and convinced the others. Only I knew it was a lie.”

“Why did your sister think you’d go along?” Sean said.

“She’s heard me complain for years about the Bureau. I bitched and complained around her, even though it wasn’t how I felt. I guess I vented to make her feel like she’d done better than I had, made better choices. After she approached me with this, and I realized that she was dead serious, I went straight to my director. Antonia was vague, keeping me on a strict need-to-know on everything. I went undercover as a coconspirator, joining Antonia’s plot.”

“Still, she is your sister.”

“I’ll always love her because she is my only blood relative, but she’s twisted,” Alexa said evenly. “All hell’s breaking loose at the Pentagon this morning with people trying to cover their butts, or running for cover. Antonia claims she hooked her star to the side trying to catch the men involved in the arms dealing, playing both sides against the middle. Maybe she is telling the truth, and was getting Bryce out as part of some sting, maybe not. Not my problem. Max Randall claims that the agent Bryce murdered wasn’t the only undercover plant. He says he was, too, working deep cover with Homeland Security. But no matter what the truth is, Antonia and Randall planned the kidnapping, and they were going to sacrifice the Dockerys-either to get Bryce off, or to make a far bigger case against the Russian Mafia who were going to buy the weapons.”

“What do you think?” Sean asked.

“Who was really doing what on which agenda doesn’t make any difference to me. Based on Antonia’s ability to survive, she may just play the right angles and get off light. But even if by some miracle she avoids prison, her military career is over.”

“So what do you do now?”

“I’ll stay with the Bureau. It’s my only family now,” Alexa said. She took a swallow of the wine and nodded her appreciation of the vintage.

Sean felt a pang of sorrow for Alexa. The idea of being married to a job, of having only fellow agents for relatives, was sad.

“That isn’t why I came early, Sean, what I wanted to say to you. It’s hard for me. .”

“You wanted to tell me you’re in love with my husband,” Sean said, getting it out in the open. She had known it the night before, when she’d watched Alexa’s face as she hugged Winter.

“He doesn’t know, does he?” Alexa asked.

“He’s never said so. Most men are fairly dim when it comes to that sort of thing. Why didn’t you ever tell him?”

Alexa set her glass down and folded her hands. “I was confused. I had a rough childhood.”

“Winter told me about it. Some. Enough, anyway. That you were sexually and physically abused.”

Alexa studied Sean’s eyes, nodding. “Okay. Well, in my mind, love and sex were direct opposites. Sex was a weapon that had been used against me, and it did all the destructive things to me we all know about from television shows. After I left home for college, I spent a lot of time in therapy. I finally decided that if I could get past that, I could get there with Winter. I believed that he could help me heal.” Alexa blushed. “You know, he kissed me once, and I freaked out. I was going to talk to Winter when I was home one summer. I even brought Eleanor with me for moral support. She didn’t know that, of course. Sean, I could tell Winter anything, but saying that I loved him that way was different. . ”

“I understand,” Sean said honestly. “Winter told me what you said in the store that night. He said that Eleanor had figured out what you did. That you were as in love with Winter as anybody could be. She believed that you knew that she would be a perfect woman for Winter. She was sure you had stepped aside because you loved him that much. But sacrificing him must have broken your heart.”

“In a good way, Sean.” Tears glittered in Alexa’s eyes. “Seeing them so happy was a wonderful thing. I loved them both. I still do.”

“I wish I had met Eleanor,” Sean said.

“You would have liked her and she would have liked you. Sean, it’s important that you know I’m not a threat to you. Winter could never love me the way he loves you or he loved Eleanor. And I could never be the lover and partner for him that Eleanor was or that you are.”

Sean nodded. She understood. “I appreciate your honesty, and I can see why you’re so special to Winter. How could I resent anybody who knows and loves Massey? Alexa, I hope you and I can be friends, and I hope you will always be in our lives. And you should think of us as your family.”

Sean hugged Alexa. When they broke the embrace, Alexa started crying again and had to wipe her eyes. Then she laughed and held her glass up.

“To the Masseys,” she said.

Sean touched her glass to Alexa’s.

Winter pulled up out front and he honked twice.

There were loud footsteps on the porch, the front door swung open, and the old farmhouse filled up with the rich sounds of a family coming home.