Kayla didn’t go back to sleep that night. Her body might have been tired, but her brain was working overtime. She couldn’t believe she was here, she really couldn’t. It never occurred to her that a jump might take her back this far. She thought she had problems remembering how to be herself in 1987? She had no clue who this girl was from 1979. Who were her friends? She didn’t have that many left from this time. In fact, the only ones she could think of from this far back were from high school, and she only really kept in touch with one of them, her close friend, Carrie. She and all the others were away at college, Kayla was the only one who’d gone to Salem U. Steve said something about a lab partner, but she had only a vague recollection of who he was.
Kayla got back in bed, laid down, and tried to sleep, but her eyes kept opening back up. It didn’t take long for her to give up and let her mind wander back to Roman’s room. Steve’s room. That’s Steve’s room now. I’m 18 years old, my husband is sleeping in my brother’s room, and my father is alive.
Kayla got up and sat at her desk. She hadn’t sat here in years. Decades. This had become Max’s room when he came to live here, Roman’s had become Frankie’s, and then they both became guest bedrooms for the many grandchildren as they began to fill up the family. Her furniture had all been replaced, now, and she suddenly wondered what became of it. For now, it was hers again, and she let a small smile play on her lips sitting here again. There was a small light on her desk, which she clicked on with a pull of the tiny chain, and it bathed just the desk in a very low, soft golden light. She took out a sheet of paper she’d found in a drawer and began making a bulleted list of everything she knew about this time.
Kayla stopped there. She suddenly had to see her brother. She didn’t want to wait until morning. She looked at the clock, 3:47. She got up and very quietly opened her door, crossed the three steps of the hallway and carefully opened her brother’s door.
Bo was wearing a white t-shirt and laying on his back with the blanket up to his ribcage. She hadn’t seen his dark hair that long in quite some time. He was snoring lightly, and the vision of him blew her away. He was such a kid. She was, too, but she was so much older than him now (even her daughter was older than him right now), that she felt a weird maternal protectiveness mixed in with the pining to talk to her best friend. It took only a moment, but old habits die hard and she smiled as she sat on the edge of his bed. When she poked his shoulder he swatted at the air.
“Hey, little brother,” she whispered. He swatted again. This time she tried tugging a long lock of his hair and whispered his name a little louder.
Bo opened his eyes and leaned up toward her. “Huh? What time is it?”
“Wow,” Kayla whispered. She was here with him in this moment, but it was also like he was the subject of a movie that she was watching.
“What …” Bo looked at his clock and shot a dirty look at his sister. “You better be sick or somethin’, Kay, it’s the middle of the night.”
“I just wanted to see you,” Kayla smiled.
Bo plopped back down and tossed his arm over his eyes. “I’m sleeping. Go snuggle with your boyfriend.”
Kayla grinned. “You look good,” she said.
Bo turned his head just slightly to the left as he lifted his arm and narrowed his eyes. “What’s up with you, you look weird.”
“I’m just happy, I think,” she chuckled.
“Yeah, you do look happy. Happy to wake me is weird, Kay. What’s the occasion?”
“I, just … wanted to say good luck tomorrow. It’s a big day. Back to school and all.” This was her matter-of-fact maternal thing kicking in.
Bo finally sat up. “You woke me up to tell me good luck? I have two and a half good hours left, and you wake me up for luck?”
Kayla still had the goofy grin on her face when she reached over and squeezed Bo’s nose. Now she was his sister again. He folded his arms like she hadn’t just made like his nose was a honker. Finally, Bo rolled his eyes and let out a breath. “Ok, I’m nervous. Is that what you were looking for?”
Kayla reached over and hugged Bo around the neck. What a gift, she thought. “I’m so proud of you. It’s so brave to go back to high school.”
“Yeah, well I didn’t have too much choice, Snuggles over there wouldn’t go back to the ship, and I really don’t wanna go back without him. I didn’t know I was gonna have it so good when I signed up, he really did pull a lot of strings. I can’t just go to the graveyard shift now and scrub toilets. It’s like color TV, once you have it there’s no goin’ back.”
Just wait til’ you see HD. “You are so smart, Bo. You’re gonna do great things in your life.”
Bo smiled and let just one side of his mouth turn up as he took the compliment and sat up a little straighter. He liked her encouragement and approval. He could always be himself with her. “Yeah?” he said. She nodded and snorted a bit. “Maybe I’ll be a cop one day or something.”
Kayla smiled. “Yeah, and you’d be a great one.”
The two of them talked for about ten minutes, and then Kayla let him go back to sleep. Seeing Bo like that, so young, her little brother that made her laugh and acted more like the big brother half the time, was sweet and wonderful.
Back at her desk and her little light, she went back over her little list
Nothing terribly remarkable about that list other than not knowing whether to call herself Brady or Johnson. She thought about the impacts the two changes would have on their lives and the lives of those around them and quickly realized that the changes would be huge. There really wouldn’t be a Stockholm. Which meant that Roman would be impacted, too. Would he still have something to do with those bonds and Orpheus and the death of his wife? How would all of that end up? Then she started thinking much bigger, and her stomach turned to knots. They made some big changes and nothing happened. They already knew the timeline wasn’t changing. No matter what they did or what they didn’t do, the timeline was always resetting to the way they originally lived it. That much was completely obvious to them now, they had complete faith in that fact. But why? It should change, shouldn’t it? Logically, if a man is beaten up, then he should show signs of it later. If Kayla disappears on Jack on New Years Eve then he shouldn’t be business as usual on election night. If they make love in Cleveland, then Steve shouldn’t act like they’re not together when she’s stabbed at the Emergency Center. She couldn’t get past this question.
Kayla started to visualize this journey literally like a line. She saw it in her head as a linear lifetime with each point in time they’d jumped to as just one in a series of events, but instead of living it on the backbone of the timeline, they lived from that moment on in a parallel line. “No not parallel,” she whispered out loud. “A spin-off … arc … it’s like an arc off the backbone.” Suddenly things started falling into place, just very slightly, but she felt like she was on to something. She took out another piece of paper and drew a picture of what she thought it looked like. It was just a rough sketch of the image that was in her mind.
Once she saw the graphic in front of her it hit her just how much it truly looked like what they’d been going through. The center line represented their lives that they’d already lived – the lives that they’d written. The arcs were their jumps. And everything was finite. The last day they wrote was March of 2009, and each arc they experienced had an end, because once they jumped, they were always jumping back onto the backbone, the original timeline of their original lives, then forming a new arc with the beginning of their next jump.
Kayla felt like a whole new door was opening in her mind, and she started feeling overwhelmed. She looked around her room and felt the awe come over her again at the fact that she was really here. How could this be real? How was any of this real? There was no such thing as time travel. She was never a huge science fiction fan, but Steve was, and they’d already had long talks about the TV shows they must suddenly be in because what other explanation was there. Like Quantum Leap and The Twilight Zone and Star Trek or Wars or Gate or all of the above, and a bunch of others. But this wasn’t a TV show. They weren’t some pair of characters on a great big canvas that some director was in charge of. They were real people with real children and a real family in 2009 that must be missing them by now. Thinking they abandoned their baby or were kidnapped or maybe just disappeared into thin air. No, this wasn’t some TV show; it felt more like they were pieces on a checker board being moved around at some gamemaster’s whim whether they liked it or not. And this was a very dangerous game. They might be here now, but look where they were two jumps ago. Steve had jumped into the height of his torture, exiled from her. The only reason she was able to find him was because someone in Stefano’s organization left them clues.
Why? And why, in fact, did it not happen that way the first time? A shiver came over her as she let herself think about that. Tarrington never came to them with news of human tracking in February 1992. It simply did not happen that way. There was no secret mission to get Steve back. Did the ISA know then and keep it under wraps? No, there was no way. Was there?
No, there wasn’t. That was a change. That was a very big change. One neither she nor Steve made. So, how did that change come to be? And why? “Ok, think, Kayla, think,” she whispered out loud. Steve didn’t do anything differently, he was stuck in a cell. Of that she was sure. She did do something different, but it had nothing to do with any mole, which, according to Tarrington, had happened months before her consciousness had even gotten there in that bed with Shane. That absolutely was new. Like a road not … taken. “Wait a minute.”
Kayla got out two more sheets of paper and began a new list. “Damn, I really miss my computer,” she murmured. Her mind was moving fast. She’d already done this with Steve once, but she felt this need to get it all in front of her again. But this time look at it with an eye for the roads not taken.
She thought through where they had jumped, if they made a real change, how long they were there, and where they jumped after. Maybe she’d see some connection between jump durations or changes and the gap between their two arrivals on the linear timeline. This was getting complicated, but she was determined to put it in some sort of writing. She started this new list.
She knew nothing was going to look alarming from their early jumps, because they’d already been through this list at home base on an earlier jump, but she realized that she was forgetting details, like how long they stayed at each jump. Was that a full day on New Year’s Eve? She was also forgetting the order of some of these, which came first, being drunk at the loft or election night? We have got to start keeping notes on this, I’m already forgetting things! She continued with her list as best she could and left some of the details blank so that she and Steve could fill them in together. At the very least, she tried to put the jumps in order.
Kayla stopped her list there, the memories of the last two weeks starting with that awful pier on those rollerskates really starting to upset her. They’d resolved any feelings of anger and remorse, but it all still made her sad and anxious when she remembered them. She left that list for now and thought about how Steve had basically lost her in time on this jump. It was seriously eleven days. How was that possible that their two landing points were eleven days apart? They began by jumping away together, but there had been what she figured to be a ten second gap in jumping away for most of the time now. That was solid, it was always the same. Their landing points in time, however, were completely random. Practically together at Blondies, but a week and a half apart here in 1979. Was it them? Were they doing something wrong? Did it matter if they were going forward or backward? Why hadn’t they jumped into the future yet? Maybe it was the gamemaster playing with them. Kayla felt her heart race as she thought about what might happen if they jumped to the mid-90’s or 2000’s when neither of them had a clue where each other was. We have to know where we are every year or we’re going to lose each other.
Kayla got out two more sheets of paper and began writing down every year from the time they were born until 2009. She wrote down ages, addresses, phone numbers, and one word to describe what they were doing. It was just a beginning, and it was spotty, they had 53 years to cover. But it was a start. Steve was born first, so she started there. She didn’t get too far, though, as she didn’t have alot of information about his early childhood, including the orphanage. Steve would have to fill in some of the details. When she got to 1979 she stopped again. Should she write down what really happened or what was happening now? She opted for what really happened, because when they jumped away, she knew that arc would be abandoned and that the real timeline would be back. So, she wrote down that Steve was on the Alva Maersk, and she was here in college. But sure enough, right after that, she had to stop again.
“Now what?” she mumbled to herself, “odd jobs?”
What else was she going to call it, enforcer? Bad guy? From 1980 until he came to Salem in 1985, Kayla knew that Steve wandered doing under-the-table jobs for various unseemly purposes. She grinned a little at how badass he used to be and how she was drawn to the goodness that she was able to see through to, anyway. “You’re a lucky man, Steve Johnson,” Kayla chuckled.
“So are you, darlin’”
Kayla flew her head around at the sudden sound of her father in the doorway and unconsciously turned the paper over. She stared at him with the same wonder that she had when she saw him what she figured was about a month ago. “Pop?” Tears stung at her eyes, but she held them in. “Hi.”
“Kayla, what is it, ye look like ye seen a ghost.”
“I do? I … Sorry, I’m … “ She shrugged and made a dismissive gesture.
“What are ye doin’ up? I saw yer light on my way out to the boat. It’s not like you to be up at this hour.” Kayla was silent for a beat as she looked for her voice, and Shawn continued carefully, “You wouldn’t, eh, just now be hittin’ the hay, woudja?” He let his eyes glance to the right where Roman’s room was now being inhabited by Steve, and Kayla realized what he meant. Steve said that they were “dating,” and she realized that her father thought that maybe he was walking in just after a really long “date.”
Now Kayla easily found that voice she’d been looking for. “No,” she laughed. “No, I woke up and couldn’t get back to bed is all.” Her father continued to look at her, and his face was so young that she almost didn’t recognize it. She hadn’t seen him this young in such a very long time, because even on her last visit he’d aged quite a bit from here. It was surreal. “Pop, Steve and I said goodnight last night, and I’ve been here ever since.” But as soon as she said it she wished she hadn’t, because there was no way she was going to be able to sleep apart from him much longer.
“You’re almost 19, Kayla, I know you’re a woman.”
“Pop,”
“You just be a smart girl.”
Oh my God, my father’s giving me a sex talk. “Pop?”
“Yeah?”
“He’s asleep in there. I’m just up … studying.”
Shawn walked in and sat on her bed facing her. “Don’t ya be feedin’ me any malarkey now, girl, we both know that you study on the couch, it’s the only place you’ve ever studied. So, if you’re not still awake, then why don’t you tell me what’s really botherin’ ya so much that it woke ya in the middle of the night.”
It was so good to see him. So good to have such a healthy, vibrant father sitting right in front of her, flesh and blood, living under the same roof. An intense feeling settled over her. Her father was here, her husband was in the next room, her brother was across the hall, her mother was on the other side of her bedroom wall, and no one was in any danger. Kayla felt … safe. She felt safe and loved and relieved. The last two weeks weighed so heavily on her, she was so messed up. She knew it, too, she knew that both she and Steve had been through such devastating jumps one after the next that they were going to need therapy that they weren’t going to get. Instead they were going to have to work it out for themselves. But like Steve beginning eleven days ago, sitting here now surrounded by all the people she loved most in the world, even if Roman and Kimberly weren’t here, Kayla felt a measure of catharsis. A truly halcyon warmth and relief bathed her in peace, and she had no fear as she uttered her next words.
“I love you and Mom so much, Pop. I love our family. I can’t believe how lucky I was—am—to have been born into the Brady family. You and Mom are such good parents.”
“Kayla …” Shawn said, clearly not expecting such an outpouring from her. “Lass …”
“I’m in love, Pop. That man in there,” Kayla turned her head to the left toward the bathroom door. “I love him. I know it seems like I only just met him, but when you know, you know. And I know.”
Shawn smiled and took her hand in his. Kayla almost cried out at her father holding her hand. With this nightmare came gifts. “You sure are a grown up now, aren’t ya? I seen the way he looks at ya. He’s been nothin’ but respectful in my home, and the way he works in the fish market, it’s like I taught him, myself, not just the technique but like I taught him to care. He needs a home. Been without one his whole life. He treats ya good, I can see it. And I need help in the market, we’re just this side of the black, that’s for your ears only. I don’t want ye worryin’ yer brother.” This was the first she’d ever heard this. She knew they struggled some over the years, but that it was this bad was news to her, and her heart sank just a small bit. “Lass, it’s like God sent him to us and us to him. I was fit to be tied when Bo quit school and ran to the merchant marines, but God knew what he was doin’. It’s like the Lord his very self picked up my boy, and gave him to Steven.”
Steven?
“And then he sent them back here to us. That boy in there needs us, Kayla. He needs us as much as we need him. I knew it the moment I saw him, he was a good man. Ye mind the two of ya are under my roof, now. But, lass, if you love him, then I won’t stand in your way.”
Kayla smiled. This was not the same reaction she got the first time Steve Johnson walked into the Brady Fish Market. Maybe … maybe this was how it was supposed to be all along. Maybe they were setting something right that once went wrong. Kayla leaned over and hugged her father. He smelled so familiar and felt so comforting.
“I love you, Pop.”
“I love you, too, Lass.” Then after a beat. “Why ya got Carrie there with yer brother?”
Kayla froze. “Carrie? Ah, why do you ask?” Clearly, he saw the list she was making. There were two Carries on it, one was her niece and one was her best friend growing up that was currently in college but would come back to Salem as soon as she graduated a few years down the road from this point.
“Ye got it written there under you tryin’ out yer last name as a Johnson. You tryin’ to set ’em up? You women are all alike.”
Kayla tried to giggle. “I don’t know why I wrote that, I think I meant to write Anna.”
Shawn shook his head. “Terrible. Terrible thing to lose the woman you love.” Kayla nodded her head in agreement and moved off the subject.
“Are you off to fish?”
“Yeah, yer ma’s goin’ down to make the chowder soon.” Then he got up and headed out. “We’ll see ye at breakfast then. It’s your young man’s first day at work. He’ll need a nice healthy send-off with a hearty breakfast in his belly.”
“Ok, Pop,” Kayla chuckled.
When he had gone, Kayla quickly hid all the papers away that would look awfully strange if found inside her desk drawer under other papers. She’d be coming back to it and really giving it every detail she had this time. Of course, they could jump at any moment, but at this rate, she wasn’t sure what to expect. She shut off the lamp and a few minutes later her mother left for the fish market’s kitchen.
Kayla slipped into the twin sized bed behind Steve and felt his warmth against the length of her body. He was completely dead asleep, but he sighed at her presence and naturally grabbed for her hand as it embraced him. He felt different beside her. So hard and muscular in places she’d never had the chance to experience. He felt good. He felt so very good. She inhaled deeply as she nuzzled against the back of his neck and smiled. God, how she loved him.
An hour and a half later the alarm softly went off on the nightstand, and Steve was instantly awake. Kayla was not, and he knew that because she was laying right next to him. He instinctively looked around, but they were the only ones there. He gave her a scolding look that quickly turned up into a smile. “When did you sneak in, baby?” Steve sank back down into the covers and kissed her forehead.
“Mm…,” Kayla sighed groggily.
Then he moved to her neck and placed a wet kiss there. “Sweetness,” he sang in his own sleepy voice. Kayla smiled and moved her legs to intertwine with his. Then he moved his hand up under her nightgown to lightly rub her breasts as he placed more wet kisses down her neck and onto her shoulder until the fabric blocked any more flesh from his wandering lips.
Kayla inhaled sharply, and moaned. “Such a nice way to wake up,” she whispered.
The sound of his wife’s voice that knew him and loved him and was horny for him coming out of that body hardened him to a stiffness that made him suddenly voracious. “I missed you so bad, baby. I had you in my arms, you were here, but I needed all of you, and I missed you.”
“I’m here now,” Kayla whispered as Steve sucked her breast into his mouth. The arousal in her belly was so strong, like he’d flipped a switch and turned her to the on position in an instant. “I want you. I want you inside of me.”
Steve felt himself leak cum from his tip. He flicked his tongue over his wife’s nipple and felt her arch her back against him. Just then they both stopped for a moment as they heard Bo’s shower go on across the hall. “Your mom and pop downstairs?” he asked.
Kayla nodded. “Far as I know.”
Steve glanced at the clock. 6:03. Then he turned back to Kayla and roughly removed her nightgown over her head before doing the same with his t-shirt. Kayla brought his head to hers and kissed him hungrily. He moaned into her kiss and sent his tongue to plunder her mouth. They ate at each other and let their hands explore and fondle and squeeze until they both were ready to come undone with anticipation.
“Do you know what I want?” Steve asked her.
She shook her head no, knowing full well that he was about to say things that would make her crazy.
“I want to make love you, Kayla. I want to f*ck you. I want to go down on you and eat you until you scream. I want to be inside you and I want to stay there until you come so hard that you make me come, too. That’s what I want to do to you, baby, and I want it right f*cking now.”
“Oh God, Steve. I do, too.”
“Don’t tease me,” Steve whimpered as he pulled down her underwear and ran his fingers through her tight curls. “You gave me relief last night, Sweetness. I want that for you now. I want my fingers inside you when you come.”
“I want it so much, you have no idea, I can feel how wet I am.”
“Oh, baby.”
“I am, I want it, but … I want to wait.”
Steve closed his eyes and took a very deep breath to try to calm down his frenzied need. Not just his need for himself, but the need to give that pleasure to her. “Just a little orgasm?” he encouraged hopefully.
“I don’t want a little one,” she laughed.
Steve laughed, too. “Ok, I take it back. No little ones. So, add to the list of things I want to do to you, giving you the biggest orgasm of your life.” Kayla was breathing hard as she smiled. “You have no idea how blue my balls are, baby.”
Kayla kissed Steve’s neck and began stroking his hard length, and for a few moments he let her and moaned hotly. But then he stopped her. “No. Not until you come with me.”
Kayla took a deep breath and sighed. “Won’t be easy, you know. Living here with my family surrounding us, there’s nowhere private we can go. Too bad we can’t just go to home base or the loft.”
“Maybe we can sneak up onto the roof,” Steve said.
“In February? How’s that going to work?” she laughed.
Steve sighed in sexual frustration. “We’ll find somewhere, baby. I’m glad you stopped me. This time it’s different.”
“I’m sorry.” Kayla kind of smirked, because she was just as frustrated as he was.
Steve ran the back of his hand under her chin and then up and down her cheek. “I know. Don’t be sorry. This one is special. Not like any other time we’ve ever made love. I know that, baby.” He kissed her again, and she savored how amazing he felt. “I just want to make you feel good.” She hummed a smile and kissed him sweetly while he fondled her breast some more. “Got a little caught up. Lost my head a little.”
“I like when you lose your head,” she cooed. Then she got serious. “Steve, the last two weeks have been almost the worst of my entire life. I don’t feel … stable. Not really. Things were bad from the minute I jumped in on that pier and saw you,” now tears formed in her eyes and her voice tightened, “until the moment I finally found you in that horrible cell.”
“Baby, shh, please don’t do this, we’re done with that.”
“No, we don’t know that. We could jump right back there. And you lost me for eleven days, you didn’t know where I was while for me it was just the blink of an eye, and we just don’t know what’s happening. I kind of started a list in my room, I’ll show you later, but we need to work on it and commit it to memory so we don’t get lost and can always find each other.”
“Please don’t cry, Kayla.”
“I’m sorry,” she said melting into his arms. Steve had always loved the feeling of her naked breasts against him, but how he hated to hear her cry. “I think what I’m trying to say is that I’ve been a mess, and you have been, too. But now we’re here, and it’s almost idyllic. It’s like a respite. And I want to live it with you. I finally want to be on a jump. I want to give ourselves plenty of time and give these bodies this chance to be with each other. It’s hard to believe, really. That I can give my body to you … rewrite the past.” Kayla overcame her tears quickly as she let the happiness of this time warm her.
Steve leaned up on his elbow. “Kayla, baby, it’s unbelievable to me that I’m going to get this amazing gift from you. My own wife giving me her virginity. It shouldn’t be like any other time. I know it’s only physical virginity, but it’s a big deal, Sweetness. It means more to me than you can know.”
Kayla palmed her husband’s face and felt her arousal was now calmed. “I do know, Steve. We have to just find the right place, because for a minute there I was about to let you just thrust into me, that’s how badly I want you.”
“Yeahp,” Steve said forcing himself to get out of the small bed they were sharing, “no more talk of thrusting or we’re gonna be doin’ this all over again.”
Kayla and Steve did not share a shower, and they did not watch each other dress. They wanted to, but they had to get down to business. Kayla resigned herself to having to go to class and focused on how to get through that. First stop was going to be the registration building for a copy of her schedule as she retrained her brain with the routine of this time.
Steve put on his black uniform pants and t-shirt, as those were going to become what he now worked in. The two of them walked into the kitchen together for breakfast where the rest of the family was waiting, and Kayla had a new wave of nostalgia to swim through. Her mother was so young it blew her mind. Steve saw Kayla staring and started a conversation with his mother-in-law so that she wouldn’t notice the strange state her daughter was in.
Oatmeal, eggs, orange juice, and a hell of a lot of small talk later, everyone scattered to the four winds. Everyone hugged Bo and wished him good luck at his first day back at school, Kayla walked out the door with him to head for Salem University. She couldn’t believe the clothes she had to work with and was, for the first time in a long time, thrilled with her wardrobe. The bellbottoms were fabulous, the sweaters hugged her in all the right ways, and the earthy colors were so beautiful on her. When she saw her red coat hanging by the door she was overjoyed. She’d loved that coat, and putting it on really did make her feel good. Suddenly, a whole lot of her routine actually kind of came back to her. She remembered at least one of her professors, and the day didn’t seem as daunting as she thought it would be. So, when she walked out with Bo she had a smile on her face. Before the door closed behind them, they both looked back at Steve for encouragement and with affection, and Steve felt … so loved. He belonged here. It all felt so incredibly right. When they were gone, Steve followed Shawn and Caroline down to the fish market that they had no clue he knew as well as he did, and they all got to work.
Kayla was astounded at her college life. The people that said hello to her she struggled to remember, but it wasn’t unpleasant. She enjoyed her day, actually. She did not, however, enjoy her classes, because they were boring. She knew all this material, and she had a feeling it was going to be a lot worse tomorrow when she had her anatomy classes. Naming bones of the body was something she now did to calm and center herself when she felt like she needed it. “Learning” them now was going to be like watching paint dry. She did find her classes, all three of them, and she had lunch by herself at a coffee shop just outside the quad where she’d taken out her lists that she’d brought with her, worked on them some more, and studied them a bit before she had to run to her next class. According to the schedule it was US History Prior to 1865. That was actually interesting to her, but in more of a History Channel kind of way and not so much the book learning kind. So for much of her day, she just did what she could to get by, worked on her lists, and thought of where she and Steve could go to make love. It also did not escape her that tomorrow was Valentine’s Day.
Steve, on the other hand, took his day very seriously. A part of his mind was always on Kayla and what she was doing and what she looked like when he rolled over and saw her next to him this morning. But most of his efforts were focused on the fish market. He let Shawn teach him things he’d already taught him, discussed different kinds of customers and the different kinds of fish.
Right before the lunch crowd, Steve said, “Mr. Brady, I noticed that the cooler’s handle doesn’t work from the inside. Would you like me to fix it for you?”
“Ah, ye noticed that did ya? Anyone tell ye about the wedge? We just use the wedge.”
“Yes, Bo’s told me all about the wedge,” Steve laughed, “and more than a few bouts of failure to wedge.”
“Roman came up with that one,” Shawn smiled.
“I like it, it’s funny.”
“Maybe if you’re Kimmie, but not if you’re Kayla, she’s been stuck in there, and she didn’t take too it well.” Steve realized that he was now the only one who knew about Kayla’s recent stay in the cooler, as he’d forgotten to mention it to her when they talked last night. He had to be sure to tell her. “I don’t think you’ll be able to, Roman’s tried fixin’ it, but he says we need a whole new door, which is too rich for our blood right now. Steve knew better but nodded and just decided to fix it and surprise him, which is exactly how it went last time ten years from now.
Steve filleted and deboned and cleaned and served and rang up customers all day through the lunch crowd. Then in the early afternoon they got a big order called in that needed to be delivered. “Think you can handle a delivery truck?”
Steve jumped at this. He knew the Brady Fish market delivery truck, it was like a small U-Haul. “Yes, sir, no problem.”
“Ye got a driver’s license, don’t ya?”
“Yes,” Steve smiled. It was one of the first things he looked for when he’d come to his senses on the ship. “And Bo took me all over Salem and Brookville, I think I can find my way.”
“Well, there’s a map in the glove box if ye need it.” Steve would not be needing it. “This is something you’re gonna have to start doin’ is running the deliveries and picking up stock. You don’t have a problem with that, do ya?”
“Not at all, sir, I’m happy to do it. I want this job, and want to do right by you, so I’m ready.”
Shawn smiled. “Ya do want to do right by us don’t ya?”
“Yes, sir.”
Shawn looked carefully at Steve and folded his arms in front of him. “Ya seen Mrs. Brady.” Steve nodded, not sure where this was going. “I knew I loved her the minute I saw her. Knew I was gonna marry her the minute after that.” Steve was silent. He was afraid to move. “Someone said to me when ya know ya know, and I knew.” Shawn studied Steve very carefully as he told him this. “What do you think, Steven?”
Steve swallowed. “I think when you know you know, too.”
“Do you know?”
Steve plowed a hand through his hair and let his fingers play at his left brow. “Are you asking me something specific, Mr. Brady?”
“What I’m askin’ ya is if ya know somethin’. If you’re sure about it, lad. Or if you’re still mullin’ it over.”
“Sir, I know that I would never hurt … anyone you love. And that I would never disrespect you or anyone in this house.”
“Steven,” Shawn tried again. “Do ya know what your future holds like I knew the minute I saw my Caroline?”
“Yes.” He said it quickly and hoped to God it was the right answer.
Shawn grinned very slightly and let out a self-satisfied grunt. “Here are the keys. We had to drop the full coverage, so it’s only got liability, and we can’t replace it.”
Steve let out a breath and took the keys from him. He tried to calm himself as Shawn gave him the instructions of where to go, then he calmed completely as they loaded the truck together.
As Steve drove off toward the small restaurant that had ordered the fish for their dinner menu that he knew just fine without the detailed directions that Shawn provided him, he realized that he’d just admitted to his father-in-law that he was in love with Kayla. In one word – in that one word, yes, he’d told Shawn what he wanted to know. And Shawn’s indirect reaction by giving him this truck to make the delivery with was that of blessing and acceptance into the Brady family.
That’s when Steve realized where he was. The whole route was familiar to him, and he’d even taken a shortcut that he’d, apparently, never forgotten. Now he realized why. And for the first time in all their days from the moment he’d jumped, he prayed to God to let them stay here.