She grinned, and he kissed her cheek.
“Now you two go and get into shape, have a ball, but make sure you are fit enough to take the courses.”
In her absence, the DEA had emptied her small apartment and paid off the landlord. Her remaining clothes and personal effects were now on the floor of Ryan’s apartment. They stood looking at the rather pitiful collection of stuff.
She started sorting through it, while Ryan brought a trash bag. They threw out most of the pile. That which was left was put into a box at the bottom of the wardrobe.
Ryan was checking the Internet for flights to Europe when the phone rang. Not really thinking, Michelle answered it.
“Hello?”
“Hello? Who is this?” said a female voice.
“I’m Michelle, who is calling?”
“Well, hello Michelle. I’m Cathy, Ryan’s mother. Is he there?”
“Sure. Hang on,” she said, walking to where Ryan was seated by the computer.
“Your mother,” she said, handing him the phone.
“Shit!” he said, taking the phone.
“Hi Mom.”
“Yeah, I’m sorry, I forgot. I was sorta tied up.”
“No, I was in hospital getting my knee fixed up.”
“No, only a week or so, but I was on recuperative leave at a place by the coast.”
“I couldn’t, no phone.”
“Yeah, I had my mobile, but I just plain forgot to switch it on.”
“No, Michelle was there.”
“Just us.”
“Ah, she’s another DEA agent, ah, um, she’s a special agent and we met on our last job.”
“That’s because she wasn’t born in America, Mom, she was born in the Netherlands.”
“Yeah, that’s the same place, Holland is the Netherlands.”
“No, she’s not. Uh, er, well, we're kinda engaged.”
“I was going to tell you, Mom, but it only happened a couple of days ago.”
“I guess we could, but we were going to fly out to see her folks in Holland. She hasn’t seen them in a while.”
“Okay, I suppose we could fly from New York as easily.”
“Okay, Mom.”
“Yeah, look, just a couple of days, is that okay?”
“Okay, Mom, we’ll be there tomorrow evening.”
“Sure, yeah, see you then, bye Mom.”
He switched the phone off to see Michelle with the giggles.
“What’s so funny?”
“You. Yes Mom, no Mom, three bags full, Mom. I guess that means we have to go see them on the way?” she said.
He grinned. “Yeah, sorry.”
“It’s okay. We'll have to get it over with sooner or later. Just how much do we tell them?”
“Tell them? Nothing. Just you and I are getting married, and that’s it.”
“We have to tell them something about my past.”
“Then keep to your own life, but just as a girl.”
She kissed him.
“Thanks, but don’t you think we should tell them the truth?”
“No, Honey, they couldn’t handle the truth. Let’s go with your new life that Sean has created for you.”
“Okay,” she said with a mischievous smile.
Chapter 13.
Robert Hobbs waited at the rail at the airport. He hadn’t seen his eldest son for nearly a year, ever since he had disappeared down to Florida after a woman. Robert had been a cop in New York City, but had been retired for four years now. His proudest moment was when Ryan had graduated top of his class at the police academy, and gone onto the force at Buffalo.
He had met Ryan’s last girl, Jennifer, but hadn’t liked her. She’d been very attractive, but Robert believed her to be shallow and acquisitive for those aspects of life he had little time for. He distrusted materialistic people, so he believed that Ryan could have done so much better. However, Ryan had decided to jack in a good job with the PD and follow her to Florida, only to be dumped within three months of settling there. Robert resisted the urge to gloat or tell Ryan what he felt, but he was quietly pleased and hoped that his son would head back to be closer to the family.
The flight had landed some twenty minutes ago, so he guessed they were waiting for their bags. Then he saw Ryan’s large frame as he came through the doors. He was looking fit and well, very tanned and with a huge smile on his face.
On his right arm was the most beautiful girl Robert had ever seen. She was as tall as Ryan, with her long blonde hair shimmering in the light. She was wearing a dress that hugged her shape as if it had been sprayed on, and what a shape!
Robert couldn’t help but grin. He imagined himself back in a police cruiser, parked up at the roadside watching the world go by. This girl could stop traffic better than a red traffic light.
He watched the pair of them interact, registering each one’s expression, knowing that Ryan had not only found the girl of his dreams, but also she was his for the asking.
As they approached, he was aware of the fact that nearly every male eye, and many a female eye, was glued to her. He felt his chest fill with pride as he realised that this glorious creature was his son’s fiancée.
Ryan spied his father.
“Dad,” he shouted, as they pushed their cart through the masses towards him.
“Hey son, howya doin’?” Robert asked, hugging his son.
Michelle watched as both men hugged. Robert was as tall as his son, but much heavier. Slightly plump now, but certainly he would have been one large, powerful man when younger.
“Dad, this is Michelle Hoyte, my fiancée. Honey, this is my Dad, Robert Hobbs.”
Robert felt awkward, so was about to shake her hand when she kissed him on both cheeks.
“I can see where Ryan gets his good looks from,” she said, in her silky sexy voice, so Robert Hobbs fell in love too.
They pushed out to the car, an old Blazer 4x4.
“You have a weird accent, where are you from?”
“My Dad was a US serviceman, but my mother is Dutch. Dad left when I was three and returned to America. I lived in the Netherlands until a few years ago, when I left home after a row and came looking for my Dad,” she said.
“Oh, did you find him?” Robert asked, as they put the last of the cases in the back.
“No. He died of cancer ten years ago. I found a cousin of his, but they didn’t want to know me. Dad had remarried and had another family, so I was an embarrassment.”
“No shit? Mean SOB ’ s. How low can you get?” Robert said.
“So, I work ed a little in some night clubs, until I got my naturalization. Now I work with Ryan.”
They squeezed into the car and took off. Their home was about an hour’s drive outside New York City.
“So are you an agent too?”
“I hope to be. I start my training in a few weeks. I was used in an undercover operation, so that was my way in.”
“Dad, Michelle was shot in the gut by one of the bad guys. She’s okay now, but she will never be able to have kids.”
“You’re kidding? You got gut-shot?”
Michelle nodded.
“What happened to the guy that shot you?”
“It was a woman, and I took her out, Dad.”
Robert nodded, as if that was the natural way of things.
“So, how’s your knee? I notice you ain’t limping as bad.”
“I got fixed up, Dad. I was in the hospital at the same time as Michelle, and we went on R&R together. That’s when we got engaged.”
Robert smiled.
“Well, your Mom is sure gonna be surprised.”
“Why?”
“Well, when you walk in with the most beautiful girl in North America, wearing the most wonderful dress, she is gonna just have to get all the neighbours round. I figure she’s probably calling them now, in any case.”
Michelle tucked her hand through Ryan’s arm and gave him a squeeze.
Robert then went on to describe some of the more momentous and gory shootings he had dealt with whilst on the force. Ryan’s expression told it all, add some salt and stir well.