Chapter 14
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Elisha streched over the back of her seat, trying to
soothe Gene, who was crying his eyes out. "How far to
the next rest stop, Nick?" Nick scanned the road ahead.
"Here's a sign, let's see.......about 10 minutes." "Okay."
Elisha sighed and continued rubbing Gene's tummy. "Just
a few more minutes, my hungry man." Rebecca, Brian and
Diana were somehow sleeping through the crying. "Should
we wake them up when we get there or let them sleep?"
Nick looked over his shoulder to change lanes and considered.
"Maybe wake Diana too and top her up. She should last
the rest of the trip that way." Elisha laughed at his
comparison of his daughter to a gas tank. She unbuckled her
seatbelt and turned more to face their still crying baby son.
"Almost there sweetie, hold on." The ringing of the cell
phone suddenly added to the noise and Rebecca woke up,
startled. "Hello?" Nick answered, tucking the phone
between his head and shoulder. "Hey Mr. Carter!" It was
his secretary, Lisa. She had been a fan of the group for
many years and began working for them a couple of years
ago, at first for the group, and then privately for Nick and
Elisha. "What's up, Lisa? I'm kind of occupied here."
"Yeah, I can hear that. Got to love a long drive with
four kids." "Uh huh." Nick lost his grip on the phone
as he turned into the parking lot. "Are you still there,
Lisa?" "Yep, I've got someone on the other line that says
they have a parcel that was to be delivered to your place
this week. Want to talk to them or just have it sent here?"
Nick ran his hand through his hair. "A parcel? "'Lish did
you order anything that had to be delivered to the house?"
Elisha was getting Gene out of his seat and shook her head
no. "Let me talk to them, please." Just as the person
said hello, Brian woke up too. "Mommy, are we in 'ennucky
yet?" he yelled. This in turn woke Diana up, crying.
Elisha rolled her eyes and gestured to Nick to wrap it up.
"No, I'm sorry, I've got my kids here. No, there must be a
mistake we haven't ordered anything. Okay. Yes, just let
the secretary know, thank you."
Mandy replaced the reciever and smiled. Nick hadn't even recognized her voice. Of course, with all those kids screaming that wasn't a big surprise. But she had got the information she was looking for. Even though the kid had garbled the name, 'ennucky could only be one place. They were going to Kentucky, and she knew exactly where they were headed in Kentucky. Mandy went to the closet and pulled her suitcase out. As she packed, she briefly considered flying and then chose against it. It might be risky if cops had posted information about her. Better to drive. Grabbing clothes from her closet, she thought about what she might do when she got there. She had to teach that bitch a lesson. "How dare she get Nick to take her to Kentucky, after we had such special times there?" she seethed. Mandy slammed her suitcase shut and carried it out to the car. "Ready or not, Nick, here I come!" Nick consulted the map and pulled into the next laneway. After a short drive on a gravel road sided by huge trees, a breathtaking panorama opened up before them. "Oh Nick, it's just gorgeous!" Elisha sighed. The farmhouse stood off to one side. A small pond bordered the property on the other side. There was a large red barn with a small playground near it, swings moving lazily in the breeze. The was tons of room for the kids to run and play and just be free. Trees and flowers were everywhere. Nick got out of the car and went over to help Elisha out. They stood together, hugging each other for a moment. "Do you like it?" Nick asked, bending his head to kiss her cheek. "So far, I love it! It's so secluded from everything." She returned his kiss. "We can relax here, finally. She can't reach us out here." |