Someone to Watch Over Her

"Finish your case and we'll spend some time together in Denpasar," I told her. "Let me know this week if you can go, and I'll make the arrangements."

"I already know I want to go. I've filed motions, and it should wrap up next Tuesday. Will I see you between now and then?"

"It's doubtful, Fallon. I'd love to see you, but I have a busy schedule for a while. I need to pay some bills. If I don't take jobs, I'll stop being asked."

"I understand," she said. "I'm going to do whatever it takes to get this done."

She kissed me, and James took her away.

I checked into the background of the agents tailing her and found some interesting internet habits on one, and a bank account the other one had that he shouldn't. A word to the right ear and they were in more hot water than they wanted to face. They would be replaced, but those two wouldn't bother Fallon again.

I got some deals done and cleared my calendar in the hope that she'd come with me to Bali. My world was perfect when she called the service and got in touch with me. She was packing and asked me what to bring. I sent a tailor around, and she got five new dresses for evening wear. Other than that, I told her to pack casual and swimwear.

James dropped her at the airport, and Fredrick brought her out to the jet. She was rosy cheeked and her eyes were sparkling when she got aboard.

"Is this your plane, Canton?" she wanted to know.

"Yes it is. Do you like planes?"

"I've never been in one like this. How long are we going to be flying?"

"It's going to take a while. It's a long way to Bali. I hope you brought something to keep you occupied."

"I did," she told me. "I brought you. I just want to talk to you and find out all about you."

I laughed. "Well, I'll tell you almost anything you want to know."

"I want to know how you met my father."

That was a very sticky subject. This could get awkward, but not nearly as awkward as it would if I actually told her I was her father.

"Did you notice that I said, 'almost anything'?" I said. "That's actually the one thing I'm not going to tell you."

She begged and tried to wheedle it out of me, but I was adamant. I gave her a present I had bought for her. It was a new book about angels and demons. It was new fiction, and she knew the author. That distracted her, but I knew she wasn't giving up.

When we landed in Denpasar, a car was waiting. Fredrick drove us to the villa and the staff made us comfortable. They took our bags, and I knew they would unpack them and put the items away. Fallon was on the second floor and I was on the first. I showed her around and she was delighted and delightful. She loved the pool and the garden, and we sat on benches among the flowers and talked while we drank fruit juice. I took her to dinner after a while. She had on one of her new dresses, and she made it look stunning. It was a brilliant blue and her eyes popped. With that mane of dark brown hair, she looked like a goddess. My girl was going to break hearts. It had a high slit on one side and a gorgeous brown thigh was always peeping out while we danced.

We went to the tables and gambled for a while. She enjoyed herself, but after she was down about a thousand dollars, she wanted to quit.

"I'm sorry, Canton. I didn't realize I had lost so much money. I don't want to do this again."

"It's okay," I told her. "We were just playing for fun. I don't mind. I'm glad you aren't going to become a gambler."

"I won't," she assured me. "I don't see the point. It was fun, and I might do it again sometime, but it's expensive entertainment. We just gave them our money and got a little thrill. I want to get something better than that for my money."

"It was my money," I told her. "It was well spent if you enjoyed it. Let's have a cocktail and go home."

When we got home, she went and changed into pajamas and came down to smoke a cigar and have a Scotch with me. She lay back in the cushions and draped her legs across me as she smoked.

"This is amazing," she told me. "I love being here with you. Do you know, I thought I was falling in love with you, Canton. I'm sorry if you have romantic feelings for me, but I don't feel that way about you. I came here with the intention of making love to you, but I can't. It doesn't feel right to me."

"I do love you," I told her, "but not like that."

"Oh, I'm so glad," she hugged me. "I didn't want it to be awkward. I love you, too, but I'm not in love with you. You feel more like what I imagine an older brother or an uncle would feel like who you really enjoy being with. I wish I had known you longer. I wish you were my father," her eyes filled with tears.

I pulled her over against me and cuddled her up. "I will be if you let me," I told her.

She clung fiercely to me and her form shook with sobs. She told me how she had dreamed about her father, and how she wished she had known him. She had envied the other girls who had two parents, and she cried as she told me how lonely she had been since her mother died.

I petted her and held her close. "You don't have to be lonely anymore," I told her. "I'll always be here for you."

She was breaking my heart and tears streamed down my cheeks as I realized how badly I'd lived my life. My mistakes had caused misery in the life of my little girl, and I didn't know how to make it up to her. I was going to try, in the time I had left.

She looked up at me. "Why do I feel like this with you, Canton? I feel like I can trust you with my life. I know I can. You already saved my life. I feel closer to you than anyone I've ever known except Mom. I feel like I've known you all my life."

"Maybe there's some sort of bond between us because I've been watching over you for so long," I told her. "Maybe you've known that you had me there in the background. Do you remember when you were a junior in high school, and you got so mad at your prom date that you made him stop the car and you started walking home?"

"I can't believe you know about that," she said. "We were in the middle of nowhere on the way to a parking place all the kids went to and made out. I didn't want to make out, and I just got out and walked away."

"Yes, and do you remember that a woman with a British accent stopped and picked you up?"

"Yes, I remember. She bought me a cup of hot chocolate and took me home."

"She still works for me," I told her.

"Oh, my God," she exclaimed. "You were watching over me! I can't believe this, Canton. I remember a thousand other times when some stranger did me a favor out of the blue. Was that all you?"

"Probably not all me. You're an amazing young woman, Fallon. People want to do things for you, but many of them were. That's probably why you feel like you do."

My heart was breaking with wanting to tell her, but I couldn't. I was going to tell her before the end, but this was too precious for me to spoil the moment.

She looked at me with those amazing eyes for long minutes, and she smiled a little as if she were thinking something.

"What?" I asked. "What are you thinking?"

"Nothing," she said. "Well, I am thinking something, but I'm not going to tell you. Not right now, at least. Maybe I'll tell you someday. You can't know all my secrets, Canton."

I laughed and squeezed her. "I'm sure I don't know half of them. Are you ready for bed?"

She was, and she kissed me goodnight. She kissed my lips for the first time, and her touch was feather soft. I fell asleep with that touch branded in my mind.

We went to the beach the next day. She was a brown goddess in a red bikini. People, especially young men, stared at us all day. I'm sure they wondered what this gorgeous girl was doing with someone old enough to be her father. Don't get me wrong, I was in good shape. I'd power lifted for years. I was fit and strong. I'd always prided myself that I could do more at 55 than I could do at 25. I could certainly lift more. I'd become pretty big as a result of all that lifting and I still attracted my share of the ladies; even ladies as young as Fallon. My facial hair showed a lot of gray when I wore it, and I was starting to get some salt and pepper on top, too. I had no body hair, to speak of, and I while I might not look 55, but I didn't look 25, either.

She looked amazing. Her breasts were full, and obviously very firm. She had a butt that movie stars would die for, and her waist was tiny. Her legs were long and muscular, and I know most men would find her maddening.

We swam in the surf and snorkeled on the reefs. I bought her lunch at one of the Oceanside bistros. We lay in the sun and drank beer. I helped her build a sand castle and she pretended to be Godzilla as she kicked it down. She was a big kid, and she found everything about life fascinating.

We went home, cleaned up and I took her out again. We ate, danced and had cocktails again. She was amazing to talk to. Her liberal education hadn't been neglected, and she knew all sorts of things. She was political, and she had radical views. She was a libertarian and she knew her stuff. We argued about our political ideas. She felt like the only excuse for government was to ensure that the rights of its citizens weren't violated. I agreed and told her that I favored a monarchy. She argued for democratic principles, while I viewed that as the tyranny of the majority. I told her that democracy was two sharks and a flounder voting on what to have for dinner. She was struck by that analogy, and immediately changed her mind. I was astonished by her intellectual flexibility. She abandoned her democratic ideas and began to argue for anarchy.

I agreed with that basic principle, but I told her I believed it was unworkable. There was no government on earth that would voluntarily give up its power. It was my opinion that it was easier to find one good leader than thousands of good leaders. She agreed, but felt like no one should live under the power of anyone else.

Her quick mind sorted through ideas, and if she found one she liked; that's what she argued. I couldn't ever remember talking to anyone with a mind like hers. I was completely enchanted. I would have cut off my arm for her. Our time passed in a blur for me. I wanted to stay there with her forever, but she had to get back and the world required my attention, as well.

I asked her what her next case was going to be. She had two she was interested in, but the one she wanted involved a group I knew about. They were radically right wing. They were racists and gun nuts who had a persecution complex. It turned out that they were being persecuted. The FBI been snooping around in their e-mails, tapping their phones and ten of their leaders were arrested on weapons charges. The FBI and the BATF had conducted a search, but they hadn't come up with any weapons. That didn't seem to matter, and they were rotting away in jail. I was happy enough with them being there, but Fallon became positively indignant when I told her that.

"What if it was you?" she asked.

"It isn't," I told her. "They were terminally stupid. I know they have the weapons. They just keep them off-site. They really are wretched people, Fallon."

She didn't care. She felt like they should be caught and convicted legally, or not at all. She wasn't pleased that there even were gun laws. She felt like anyone should be allowed to own any weapon they chose; up to and including tactical nukes. "What part of 'Congress shall make no laws' do you not understand, Canton?"

"Hey, you're preaching to the choir. I don't think there should be a Congress," I told her.

She was somewhat mollified, but she intended to work that case. I told her that I didn't like her becoming involved with those people. She wouldn't talk to me for five minutes.

We sat in silence on the sofa. She was snuggled up against me and she didn't move away, but I could tell she was angry with me. I didn't push her and finally she melted. "Why shouldn't I be involved?" she asked in a low voice.

"First, the group is dangerous. If they feel like you're not playing their game, they would just as soon kill you as look at you. Second, the agencies you're talking about are dangerous. The BATF just tried to have you killed, for God's sake. You're painting a target on your very beautiful chest."

She stuck it out. "Do you really think I'm beautiful, Canton?"

"You know you are. Quit fishing for compliments. I'll tell you you're beautiful any time you want me to. The point is, you're playing with the sharks if you take their case."

She wiggled closer and put my arm around her. "Then I guess you'll just have to keep me safe. Will you take me to Idaho?"

I thought about it for a while. "I'd rather take you to St. Thomas."

"I'll make a deal with you," she said. "If you'll take me to Idaho and help me on this case, I'll go with you to St. Thomas. Where is St. Thomas?"

"It's an island in the Caribbean. I have a place there. I won't get involved with Federal Agents, Fallon. I'll go, and I'll help you, but I want no contact with those people. I'll keep you safe, but you have to cooperate."

"How, what do I need to do?" she asked.

"You have to take James with you and you have to check with me before every move you make. I'll have a team with me and you'll have to accept them if I think you need to."

She clapped her hands with excitement. "This is what I've always wanted to do. I want to swim with the sharks. These are evil people we're talking about, Canton. They routinely violate people's civil rights. The people whose case we're taking might not be innocent, but others are. Those are the people we're fighting for."

I loved the way she thought, but I wasn't that big of an altruist. I only fought for people for whom I cared. The Order of Holy Knights wasn't among them.