Nothing but Trouble_ A Kevin Kerney Novel - Michael Mcgarrity [105]
He sat at the table and thought about it. Sara didn’t rattle easily. Was she simply as dismayed as he by the disruption of their plans? He suspected those feelings played into it but couldn’t shake off his intuition that something had gone wrong at the Pentagon.
He checked on his wife and son again. The sight of them cuddled asleep on Patrick’s bed made all his resentment about the military bureaucracy and his growing fear for Sara’s safety rise to the surface again.
The next day Kerney and Sara avoided any serious discussions until Patrick, who was delighted to be back home, took his afternoon nap. Earlier, Sara had already decided to tell Kerney everything, army regulations be damned. He had a right to know, not only because he was her husband and completely trustworthy, but because he was the reason the Spalding case had surfaced in the first place.
While Patrick napped, they sat at the kitchen table and Sara laid out the facts, starting with her suspicions of Thomas Carrier’s participation in the gemstone smuggling ring, who he was, her subsequent hunt for Spalding in Ireland, and how it had all ended badly when she’d been pulled off the investigation, called back to the Pentagon, and royally reamed by the provost marshal general.
“Jesus,” Kerney said, taking her hand.
“I asked to resign my commission or be allowed to retire,” Sara said, reading the anger in Kerney’s eyes, “but my requests were disallowed. They’ve got me for the duration, Kerney, and there’s nothing I can do about it. I could be court-martialed for telling you all of this.”
His jaw tight, Kerney lapsed into silence. Finally he said, “This is ludicrous.”
“I know.”
“These guys deserve to be brought down.”
“There’s still a slight chance that could happen,” Sara said.
“How?” Kerney asked.
Sara thought about Hugh Fitzmaurice. Although she’d been able to pass him a copy of the Spalding file, there was no guarantee he’d be able to use it to expose the cover-up. “It’s best if you don’t know.”
“Why?”
“Because I’ve told you too much already.” Sara leaned close to Kerney and stroked his cheek. “Let it go. I’m not going to slink around with my tail between my legs. I fell apart yesterday, but except for wanting to inflict great bodily harm on a few people, I’m okay now. I’ll pull my tour of duty, come back home, and you can get me pregnant again.”
“Are you serious?”
Sara nodded. “I’ve been dreaming about a daughter. She’s a sweet, lovely little girl.”
Patrick’s arrival in the kitchen ended the conversation, but from the grin on Kerney’s face Sara could tell that her suggestion of adding to the family had been met with enthusiastic approval.
By the end of the weekend they’d made decisions to sell the house, move what Sara wanted to keep to the Santa Fe ranch, donate everything else to a local charity, and dispose of her vehicle. During the week that followed, Sara and Kerney did their best to keep the family rituals intact. After reporting to Fort Belvoir, Sara had been granted permission to commute, so during the day Kerney took care of Patrick, did the household chores, and made all the necessary arrangements.
Not surprisingly, the pending changes did not sit well with Patrick, in spite of their repeated attempts to reassure him that while Mommy had to go away again, they would all be together soon. As the days passed, he became more grumpy, bossy, and whiny, and one night after dinner he refused to take his bath. When Kerney picked him up to carry him off to the tub, Patrick hit him with his fist and burst into tears.
That night they talked about Patrick, and Sara suggested it might be best to send him to stay with her brother and his wife on the ranch in Montana until she returned from Iraq.
“He’d have his older cousins to play with, and his grandparents nearby,” she said.
“What kind of father would I be if I let that happen?” Kerney replied hotly. “I’ve shortchanged him enough as it is. Up to now our ranch has been a place where he comes to visit Daddy, ride horses, and take family vacations.