Va-Cay

As he lay down, he wasn't quite sure what it was he was feeling. All he knew was he hadn't felt like this in a very, very long time, and the only reason he could come up with was named Vanessa Sanders.

Kayleigh was even more cheerful and upbeat at breakfast the following morning. When her mom mentioned going out to Enumclaw with Tanner, she perked up and said, "All right, Mom!"

"What? We're just driving out together to keep each other company," her mom said almost defensively.

"Oh, okay," Kayleigh said with a polite smirk. "So it has nothing to do with that...subject...we talked about yesterday."

"Subject? What...subject?" Vanessa said even more defensively.

"Okay, if that's how you want to play it, that's fine," Kayleigh told her, that little smirk still there. "We can pretend we didn't have that discussion. About someone. Gorgeous."

"Kayleigh Sanders! What has gotten into you?" her mother said, the exasperation coming through loud and clear.

Still pretending he had no idea what they were talking about, Tanner said, "I assume you're talking about your mom, right?"

"My mom?" Kayleigh asked, a confused look on her face.

"Sorry. I heard you say 'gorgeous' so I just assumed you meant your mother. I should know better than to butt in on someone else's conversation."

He glanced at Vanessa and saw the smile on her face.

"Ah, okay," Kayleigh said. "I guess that makes sense. My mom is kinda hot."

"Okay. That's enough! Go brush your teeth and get ready for school," her mom said as she pulled the mostly-empty plate out from under her daughter's nose.

"Geez, Mom. Touchy much?" Kayleigh said while smiling at Tanner.

"Pushy...much?" her mom said knowing her daughter was just being herself.

"I'm just sayin'. That's all," Kayleigh said over her shoulder as she walked away.

"What am I missing?" Tanner asked, now enjoying this little game.

"Oh. Nothing," Vanessa told him. "You're actually watching my formerly-sane daughter lose her mind right in front of us, though, so...maybe that's not nothing."

Tanner didn't respond. He just ate the last couple of bites on his plate then told Vanessa that he, too, was going to brush his teeth.

"I think I'll do the same," she said. "And I'll be ready whenever you are. I just need to change real quick."

It was another cool, clear day, and when Vanessa came out she was wearing a long-sleeved, navy-blue sweater over a white blouse and a pair of jeans. She'd added a bit of makeup to include some dark-red, glossy lipstick, and Tanner did a kind of double take when he saw her.

"Wow. Speaking of...gorgeous," he said as he smiled and looked at her.

Just as he said that, Kayleigh came up from behind, put her hand on his shoulder said, "Yes. Speaking of gorgeous, right, Mom?"

"If you don't get a move on, you're going to be late. Or...dead," her mom said trying to sound serious.

"What? I'm just agreeing with our guest. Someone around her looks gorgeous. That's all."

Tanner was having to really work hard not to laugh as he listened and watched the mother-daughter dynamic in action.

Kayleigh grabbed her book bag then gave her mom a hug and told her she loved her.

"I love you, too, honey. Although you're making that very hard right now."

"Hey, it's what I do," she told her mom.

"Bye, Tanner," she said to him as she headed for the front door.

"Have a great day at school, Kayleigh," he told her.

"Every day's a holiday at Auburn Junior High!" she called out playfully as she opened the door.

Vanessa just stood there staring as the door closed.

"I have no idea what's gotten into that girl," she said with a shake of her head.

"Well, she is a teenager. Maybe she's finally acting her age," Tanner suggested, not ready to admit he'd overheard them talking.

"Oh, speaking of which. Could we make a stop on the way back today? I'm planning a kind of surprise party for her, and I need to check on a couple of things."

"Of course," he replied. "I'm not really planning on doing any work so we shouldn't be too late."

"I'm not concerned about how long we stay. I just don't want to forget to tell the woman making her cake something."

Five minutes later, they were on their way south to the Town of Thunder.

"This area has all changed," Tanner said as they drove along. "It's so urban now."

"Auburn is really expanding. It's starting to feel like Renton," she said about the larger city to their north. "I may have to move out to Enumclaw, but it's growing, too. And then where would I go?"

"Oklahoma City is nice," Tanner said with a smile. "And the cost of living is unbelievably reasonable."

Vanessa laughed then said, "Before I move to Oklahoma City, shouldn't we at least get to know one another a little better?"

Tanner glanced over at her, saw her burst into laughter, and he did the same.

"Well, we already had a drink together, and here we are going for a drive on a beautiful Spring day."

"That's a start," Vanessa said, the smile on her face full and happy.

The scenery grew greener as the buildings became fewer. Soon they were driving due east on a very straight road surrounded by evergreen trees and pastures filled with Holstein milk cows, barns, and silos.

"It's so beautiful out here," Vanessa said. "And so quiet."

"It really is nice," Tanner agreed. "There are so many good memories in this place. But there are quite a few painful ones, too. Then again, I suppose that's true for most people."

"You didn't get picked on in school, did you?" Vanessa asked.

"I did," Tanner told her. "I was fairly heavy until my junior year of high school, and I wore these thick, coke-bottle glasses until I got contacts. I've had laser eye surgery since, but yeah, I got my fair share of teasing."

"That's very hard to imagine," she said as she looked over at him and tried to imagine him that way.

"It's the truth," he told her. "I never had a date until my senior year."

"Seriously? You?"

"Yes. Seriously. I still don't know how it happened, but I lost about twenty pounds from my freshman year to my senior year. That, plus the contacts, made a huge difference."

"Wow. I'll just have to take your word for it," Vanessa said, just as the car slowed to make a right turn.

"It's down this road about two miles on our right," he told her. "My parents owed a small plot of land sandwiched in between all these 40-acre parcels. My dad said there are several conservation laws in place that only allow these plots to be used for farming or at least prevent anyone from doing anything commercial out here."

"That explains why it's still so completely rural," she said as she looked around just as she spotted a very old, rundown-looking building up ahead.

"Is that it?" she asked as she pointed to it.

"Yes, indeed," he told her.

There was another house maybe 30 yards away, and one more across the street. There were three mailboxes on the same post, so it was clear they all picked up their mail at the same place.

"I really need to stop in and thank the neighbors first. Do you mind?"

"No. Of course not," Vanessa told him.

The neighbors were the Stantons. Hugh and Nancy had lived there for as long as Tanner could remember. He was retired now, but still puttered around on the tractor a couple of hours a day.

Nancy saw them pull in and came out to the porch to see who it was. When Tanner got out, she threw her hands over mouth and said, "Oh, my Lord! Look who's home!"

"Hi, Mrs. Stanton. It's good to see you," he said as he went around to open Vanessa's door.

The older woman came down to meet them, and when she saw Vanessa, she said, "Tanner's father told us you were beautiful, but I had no idea your wife was this pretty."

"No. This isn't my wife, Mrs. Stanton. This is...my friend. Vanessa."

"Oh. I'm...so sorry. I didn't mean to assume. I hadn't spoken to your father in...gosh...three years maybe? I just assumed, you know."

"I'm flattered," Vanessa finally said. "But Tanner and I are just friends."

Mrs. Stanton saw her large wedding ring, and both Tanner and Vanessa understood the confusion.

"We both lost our spouses, Mrs. Stanton. My wife and her husband. I'm staying at her house. It's kind of like a bed and breakfast."

"Oh, okay. Now it wall makes sense. So...would you kids like to come in for some tea?"

"That's so kind of you, but there's just so much to do, you know?"

"Well, yes. I certainly do. And again, I'm so sorry about your father's passing. And your wife, too."

She looked at Vanessa then said, "And your husband, dear."

"I just wanted to drop by and thank you for calling me, and to say hello," Tanner explained.

"Well, I'm glad you did. Hugh will be in soon, I'm sure. If you see him please say 'hi', okay? I know he'd love to see you."

Tanner promised her he would when Mrs. Stanton said, "You can just cut across the yard if you like."

"All right. If you don't mind."

"Nope. Not at all," she told him. "And if you need anything just holler!"

"Will do, and thank you so much," he told her.

"Nice meeting you, ma'am," Vanessa said.

"You, too, dear. And my apologies about the mixup. I only knew Tanner's wife was gorgeous, and well, anyway..."

Tanner chuckled as they walked away and Vanessa said, "Why is that so funny?"

"The word 'gorgeous' seems to keep coming up wherever you're concerned. That's all."

"Speaking of gorgeous, I...I have a confession to make," she said as they crossed into his dad's property.

"Oh?"

"Yes. It's about that word."

"Gorgeous?"

"Well, yes. Kayleigh kind of mentioned you were...very handsome...or rather, gorgeous, and when I first saw you she was reminding me of what she said."

"Oh, I see," he told her.

"I feel silly for not just explaining it then and there, but..."

"I have a confession to make, too," he said, as he politely cut her off. "I kind of overheard your conversation."

Vanessa stopped walking and said, "You knew? All this time and you knew?"

"Yeah, I kinda did," he said trying not to laugh.

"Stinker!" she said as he playfully hit him.

When he sniffed a couple of times, she thought he was playing along with the 'stinker' comment until she smelled it, too.

"Oh, my goodness! Is that coming from inside the house?"

"I'm afraid it is," he told her. "I'll go in and see what's going on, okay?"

Vanessa was waving her hand in front of her face as though she could fan away the smell.

"You don't have to twist my arm," she assured him. "That smells really bad, Tanner."

He knew where his dad kept the spare key and grabbed it then said, "Okay. I'm goin' in. Wish me luck."

Vanessa made a face then said, "You're gonna need more than luck! Be careful in there!"

When Tanner opened the door, the stench prevented him from walking in.

He stepped back outside, took several deep breaths, held one, then went back in. He was standing in the kitchen, but could barely see the sink for all the dirty dishes piled up. And then there were the boxes. Stack after stack from the floor to chest high and in some cases higher. He looked around as much as he could before the need for fresh air forced him back outside.

He exhaled then quickly inhaled several times.

"It's even worse than I expected," he gasped.

She stepped back and said, "No offense but you really are a stinker now!"

Just being inside for several seconds had allowed the stench to soak into the fibers of his clothes.

"Sorry. I'll try and let it air out before we get back in the car."

"So what are you thinking?" Vanessa asked as he held his arms out trying to let the breeze 'detoxify' him.

"Let's take a walk around the perimeter and then I'll have a better idea."

Windows were cracked, the foundation was sagging badly, the roof was a disaster, and the septic tank in back also stunk to high heaven. The siding was made of wood and was falling off in many places, and had been severely infested by termites. A good quarter of the siding had been eaten away by them, and Tanner had seen enough.

"I'm thinking it's beyond saving," he finally told her. "No one would buy the house like that, and it would take a professional cleaning crew equipped with respirators to just clear it out, and then it would need to be gutted all the way to the studs if they, too, haven't been damaged by termites. I'm guessing there's probably mold inside, as well, and with the way it looks out here, it's just not salvageable."

"I'm no expert, but I agree with you," Vanessa said.

"I need to see the attorney and find out my options," Tanner told her. "I'm hoping there's no 'preservation law' against razing this thing to the ground."

"It's just so sad. I mean, this was your childhood home, right?"

"Yes. Yes, it was," he replied.

He turned toward then gently said "But nothing lasts forever, right?"

"No. No, it doesn't," she agreed as she thought her life with Adam, knowing he was referring to his with Hannah.

"Am I stench free yet?" he asked when they got back around to the front.

She leaned over and gingerly sniffed a couple of times.

"I think so. Or else I now stink to the point where I can't tell the difference. That septic tank was force to be reckoned with."

Hugh was just pulling up as they walked across the lawn again. He got off the tractor and said, "Well, I'll be damned!"

He stuck out his huge, calloused meat hook to shake Tanner's soft hand then said, "Still workin' inside, I see."

Tanner laughed and said, "Yes, sir. Guilty as charged."

"Well, as long as you're catching them criminals, I suppose that's honest work," the man in his late 70s said.

He turned to Vanessa then asked, "And who's this pretty young thing?"

Tanner explained the story again causing Hugh to offer them both his condolences then again for the loss of this father.

"He kinda lost his mind after your ma died," Hugh said. "We never really talked much after that. You'd see him come out and check the mail every day, but that was it. Guess he had everything brought to him ever since. You can do that now, you know—even groshries. If you got yourself a computer, anyway. At least that's what my kids and grandkids tell me. You got any kids, Tanner?"

"Oh, no, sir. No kids," he said not wanting to mention Hannah's having been pregnant.

"Well, one of these days, right?" he said, flashing a nearly-toothless smile.

They shook hands again, and with that, Tanner headed into town to see if he could get a few minutes with the attorney he'd never met.

Fifteen minutes later they were in the office of Mr. Phillip E. Bennet, Attorney at Law. After explaining who he was, as well as the beautiful woman with him to both his secretary and the attorney, Tanner began gathering information.

"It'll take me about three days to get you approved as the executor of his estate, and with any luck I'll be able to pick up a dozen copies of the death certificate by then, too. You'll need one every time you turn around, so I'll grab plenty. I'll just tack the cost onto your bill and you can settle up when you come back."

Mr. Bennet was a no-nonsense kind of man, and Tanner appreciated his frankness.

"The will isn't here, by the way. You won't be able to get it until you can get the safe-deposit box from the bank, and you can't do that until you're the executor and have a death certificate. As to the house, yes, you can tear it down. You just can't build anything but another house on it out there. Once you put up a house, you can build a barn and/or a silo. Anything else needs approval from the county."

Tanner asked a few more questions then shook the lawyer's hand and with that, they were on their way back to Auburn.

"I think I'm gonna find someone to just demolish the house then sell the land for whatever I can get out of it," he told Vanessa as they drove along.

"If I hadn't seen how bad it was with my own eyes, I'd probably plead with you not to, but that's by far the worst...disaster...I've ever seen. At least one not actually caused by a disaster like an earthquake or something."

"So where are we stopping?" Tanner asked, grateful to change the subject.

"Oh, right. It's a few blocks from house. I'll let you know where to turn," she said.

Vanessa wanted to add some words to Kayleigh's birthday cake, and felt doing it face to face was the best way to prevent a misunderstanding. It only took about two minutes and she was done.

"We still have the whole day left," Tanner said as they left the bakery. "If you're not sick of hanging out with me, could I maybe take you to lunch?"

"I'd like that, but you're already paying for three meals a day," she reminded him.

"I think I can afford it," he said with a smile. "Besides, I really like talking to you, Vanessa."

He saw her smile then say, "Same here. So...okay. I'd love to have lunch with you."

Tanner asked her to choose the place, and they ended up at a restaurant called Gor Gai Thai Street Food on Main Street.

"I had no idea you were the adventurous kind," Tanner said when she suggested Thai food.

"I used to actually be adventurous, but I lost that side of me after Adam died. I'm working on getting it back, though."

"I love spicy and Thai is my favorite, so that sounds perfect," he told her.

Once they'd ordered, Vanessa said, "Hugh mentioned something about you catching criminals. Did I hear that correctly?"

"Oh, right. Yes. I believe you did."

"So what kind of security business catches criminals?" she asked with a smile. "If I'm being too nosey, just tell me, okay?"

"Not at all. I like sharing things with you," he said in a way that made her happy.

"Yeah. Me, too," she said sweetly.

"I don't normally bring this up, not because it's a big secret or anything. I just don't see any need to mention it unless I'm asked. And since you asked..."

He reached inside the light jacket he was wearing and pulled out a black, leather, folder-like thing and opened it. Inside was a small, gold shield that was inscribed with 'Federal Bureau of Investigation' on top and 'Department of Justice' on the bottom.

"Oh, my goodness. I had no idea," Vanessa said as she looked at it admiringly before handing it back to him.

Very quietly she asked, "Does that mean you're also carrying a gun?"

Tanner smiled then said just as quietly, "That you have to ask means I'm doing it right."

"Gorgeous and a hero serving our country. I like that," she said with a smile.

Tanner shook his head and said, "No. Not me. That was your husband. That's all the men and women in uniform and others who risk their lives and, like Adam, give them."

"I appreciate that very much, Tanner, but that's exactly what you do. I also appreciate your modesty, but I'm guessing your job can be very dangerous at times."

He could have told her stories that would have curled her pretty, long, dark hair about his efforts to stop the gangs and the cartel from selling drugs and weapons in the city, but only said, "Nah. Like Hugh said, I spend most of my time in an office pushing papers around."

"I don't believe that," Vanessa said with a bright, happy smile as she reached for his hand.

"What?" Tanner asked.

"Prove it to me," she said, her hand still outstretched.

Tanner almost laughed before he gave her his hand which she immediately held then turned over to examine.

"Yeah, Hugh's got it about right. These are some very smooth hands, Agent Patten."

As she let his hand go, he sat up very straight and said, "Um, that's...Special...Agent Patten."

Vanessa laughed then said, "Oh, you're special all right, Tanner," just as their food came.

Seconds later, both of them were reaching for water as the spicy food was even spicier than they'd assumed.

"Wow! That's...smooth!" Vanessa croaked as soon as she could talk again.

Tanner had sweat beading up on his brow and reached for a napkin.