How Much Can You Lose?

You will come to a place where the streets are not marked
Some windows are lighted, but mostly they're dark
A place you could sprain both your elbow and chin!
Do you dare to stay out? Do you dare to go in?
How much can you lose? How much can you win?

 

Crabapple Farm was the scene of an impromptu revelry that evening. Much debate and discussion took place over what the group should do. Trixie soon realized that any plans for dates and set-ups would be put on hold for the evening so that the group could do something together.

“We could all go bowling,” Brian suggested much too innocently.

“Bowling? Where did that come from?” Bobby wanted to know.

“Why don’t you ask your sister? I understand she’s considering joining a bowling league,” he answered, holding back a laugh at Jim and Trixie’s red faces. Both of them shared the same thought, Honey must have told!

Next, Ben sidled up next to Trixie, giving her an appreciative look from head to toe. “Hi, Trix. How about you and I catch a movie and some pizza tonight?” He glanced surreptitiously to see if Liz had overheard him. Unfortunately for Ben, Jim had heard every word.

“Trixie already has a date this evening,” Jim told him, pausing for a moment as he placed a possessive arm around Trixie’s shoulders. “With me!” he finished with a pointed look at Ben. Feeling Trixie’s shoulder’s tense, he quickly looked down, “Unless of course she wants to do something with the rest of the group.”

Trixie managed to keep her composure. Neanderthal Jim was back! She slipped her arm around Jim’s waist, secretly pleased with his display of jealousy. “We’re going out with Dan and Liz, Ben. You’re more than welcome to come with us. In fact, why don’t we all just go together? Bobby, you’ll come with us, won’t you? We could get pizza at that new place over near White Plains.”

Dan frowned. He felt solidarity with Jim. Ben was nice enough, especially in small doses, but Dan didn’t want him around vying for Liz’s attention. The moment he had seen Liz in the car with Ben he felt an unexplainable jealousy. It was hard to understand how something as innocent as pulling into the Belden’s driveway had resulted in such a feral reaction.

Diana quietly observed the hackles rising on Jim and Dan, felt a palpable surge of testosterone in the room, and tactfully intervened. “I think pizza is a great idea for tonight, but I haven’t had a chance to tell you that Mummy asked me to invite everyone to come over and eat her homemade pizza and salad tonight. She thought we would all want something different from the big feast tomorrow. Moms, you and Dads are welcome as well.”

Carol Lynch’s invitation was accepted by all of the young people. Helen and Peter politely declined, saying they needed to complete preparations for the Open House.

“Oh, Moms!” Trixie cried. “You don’t need to stay home; I can finish up for you.”

“Thanks, Trixie. But I would prefer a quiet night here so I can finish the turkey and a few small things. We got so much done today; you girls can sleep in tomorrow.”

Trixie gave her Moms a hug while driving arrangements were debated. It quickly became apparent there were entirely too many vehicles for the number of people present.

“Liz, you can ride over with me,” Ben suggested with a deceptively casual air. “When you’re ready I can drop you at Trixie’s and we won’t have to move your luggage.”

Much to Ben’s chagrin, Dan laughed and teased, “How much luggage did you bring for the weekend, Liz? Should we all just take a bet on how much there is?”

Trixie laughed too and before Liz could answer, she wagered, “At least six, there is no way it’s less than six!”

“But Trix, even one a day is only five, it could be five!” Honey protested.

“Really, there are only seven this time,” Liz sniffed. One of them is practically empty, in case I decide to do some shopping this weekend.”

The men rolled their eyes. Lovely Liz and her penchant for clothes were well known!

The group managed to sort themselves out in the end, with Bobby and Trixie ending up in her car.

They hadn’t even pulled out of the drive way before Bobby began quizzing her about Jim. “So Trix, how are things with you and Jim?” he asked.

She shot him a look before answering neutrally, “Things are fine, why do you ask?”

“Just wondering if I’m ever going to get another brother or not,” he said, much too innocently.

“Greedy aren’t you. Some people would think two brothers are plenty. Just ask me. I think having three brothers is a bit much.” Trixie teased as she made the short drive to the Lynch house.

“Come on Trixie, what’s the 4-1-1?”

Trixie sighed as the Lynch house came into sight. “It’s going great, Bobby. Jim is the most wonderful man in the world.”

“So you think you two will get married soon?” he demanded.

Trixie shrugged, “Leave it alone, Bobby. We’re doing great.”

Bobby nodded; he did plan to leave Trixie and Jim alone tonight. There was someone else he wanted to catch up with tonight.

 

 

Dan had maneuvered things so that Jim rode with him over to the Lynch mansion. He had gone to Crabapple Farm earlier hoping to find Jim, but the arrival of Liz and Ben had distracted him from his mission.

“How is it that both of us ended up without a girl?” Jim joked as he settled his long frame into Dan’s jeep, buckling the seat belt.

“Planned it that way,” Dan replied, backing out and allowing the other cars to pull out ahead of him. He wanted to be last, not first.

“Why? What’s up?”

“I need to tell you about Jonesy,” Dan answered in a straightforward manner. He sensed the resulting tension immediately.

The redhead took a deep breath before asking in a deceptively casual voice, “What about Jonesy?”

“He’s out of prison. He was paroled a month ago and according to his parole officer’s report, he’s living in Westchester County.”

Jim frowned. “I haven’t seen him. Have you?”

“No, but I was surprised he didn’t head back to Albany. Are you concerned?”

Jim was quiet for a moment as he tried to think of what he did feel. “No, I don’t think so. It’s been a long time. Did you speak to his parole officer?”

“Yeah, not that I got much from her. She seemed to think Eugene Jones was rehabilitated. She was surprised to find out his stepson was in the area. Jones didn’t mention it to her.”

Jim mulled over Dan’s news. In reality, he could forgive his stepfather more now than ever. While he certainly didn’t want a relationship with the man, he acknowledged that Jonesy had loved his mother and cared for her tenderly and devotedly before she died. “Dan, do you think I need to be concerned?”

“No, I just wanted you to know. If you were to run into him, or if he contacted you, then I felt like you would handle things better if you knew.”

“You’re right. Thanks.”

“Jim, stay on your toes,” Dan cautioned.

“Why?”

“I’m surprised he didn’t tell his parole officer you were in the area. If he’s really rehabilitated himself he would have done that.” Dan slowed down to make the turn into the Lynch’s driveway.

“Okay. Do you think we need to tell them rest of them?” Jim asked frankly.

“That’s up to you, but no, I don’t think it’s necessary. What are the chances they would even recognize Jones if they say him?”

“Well, Trixie would. So would Honey. But the rest of them -- I don’t think it’s likely.” Jim said after a moment’s thought.

“I’d suggest you wait until after Thanksgiving to tell them.”

“You’re probably right.” Jim unbuckled his seat belt as he moved to get out of Dan’s jeep. “Say, Mangan,” he turned and looked at this friend.

“Yeah?”

“Thanks for watching my back.”

“No problem man, but your biggest problem right now is making sure that slicked-up New York lawyer doesn’t try and walk off with your special girl.” Dan grinned at Jim. He knew how much Trixie’s pretended crush on the Wheeler cousin had rankled Jim years before.

Jim forced a laugh, “I could say the same thing to you!”

 

 

Peter Belden looked around the spotless kitchen of Crabapple Farm. He was amazed it could look so tidy the evening before the Thanksgiving Open House. He finally turned to look at his wife, who was busy preparing the turkey.

“How did it get so quiet? We had a houseful of people and suddenly it’s just the two of us.”

Helen smiled as she rubbed the salt and butter into the turkey. “Amazing how quickly we went from loud and rambunctious to quiet solitude.”

“Are they coming back?”

“Bobby will be back later. I’m not sure, but he seemed pretty anxious to eat with Larry and Terry.” Helen finished prepping the turkey and covered it to return it to the refrigerator.

“Don’t tell me you miss them?” he asked, his dark eyes twinkling.

“Yes! I like it when they’re all here, just like they used to be when they were teenagers.”

“If you say so,” he replied, dropping a kiss on her head. “So, you’re caught up until morning. What are we going to do here alone all night?”

“Peter, how exactly was it that you managed to have four wonderful children?” Helen asked innocently. “After Brian, I think that I’ve forgotten how we managed to ever be alone.”

“Well, I’m certain that Mart was conceived right here in the kitchen,” he said with a smile, turning her around to face him.

“That might explain his appetite,” Helen smiled seductively as Peter pulled her close, his hands creeping under her shirt. “Let’s see if we can re-enact the incident in question!”

 

 

The Lynch family welcomed the crowd into their home as if it was nothing unusual to be descended upon by a horde of ten hungry people. The stoic and efficient Harrison effortlessly assisted Mrs. Lynch in serving pizza for sixteen. Sodas, beer and a huge bowl of salad rounded out the meal.

Ed and Carol Lynch enjoyed the crowd. Like the Beldens, they loved the camaraderie and activity that was usually missing from their home as their children grew up and left the nest. The Bob-Whites and friends played a board game while Bobby and both sets of Lynch twins drifted toward the pinball and the elaborate computer game setup, which Mr. Lynch played with as much as his kids did.

The board game moved fast and furiously, as each player practiced his or her own strategy. The questions were illuminating, and they even managed to learn new things about each other. It surprised the entire group to learn that Liz, Dan and Diana were the only ones that didn’t have any debt. Brian looked at his wife in surprise, “But, Honey, my medical school bills aren’t your debt!”

Honey laughed at her husband. “No, but my half of the loan for the Belden-Wheeler Agency is!”

Brian had totally forgotten about the business start-up loan. Honey frowned and looked at Jim, asking, “What about you, you don’t owe any money?”

“Are you kidding? Frayler may be a bona fide 501 (c) (3) charitable organization but I still had to personally sign the notes. My trust fund is the security as well as the Frayler Foundation Trust Fund. The money for building is still borrowed. That’s why Dad and I agreed that I should start small and grow. A few more fundraisers like we had last spring and the Foundation will be ready to underwrite some more buildings.

The group nodded. They had complete faith in Mr. Wheeler’s abilities, and knew that structuring business arrangements could be complicated. Matthew, Peter and Ed had been thorough in teaching their offspring the financial and business aspect of their enterprises, and the young people had absorbed their lessons well.

When the time came to leave, they gathered coats and jackets and thanked their hosts for a great evening. Dan and Ben both maneuvered to place themselves with Liz, and in the confusion Trixie managed to steal a moment alone with Jim in the Lynch coat closet. Like most of the rooms, it was well oversized.

“What’s wrong?” she asked him bluntly.

“What do you mean?”

“You’ve been acting like something is wrong ever since you showed up at Crabapple Farm. It got worse once we arrived here. What did you and Dan discuss on the way over?” Her eyes narrowed.

Jim sighed; there were times when he wished his girlfriend weren’t quite so perceptive.

“There are a lot of things,” he finally admitted. “I’m not ready to talk about all of them.”

“I’m here. I have an ear if you need it,” she murmured.

“Okay, I’m sure I’ll take you up on that offer soon enough.” Jim said as his arms pulled her close for a brief hug.

Trixie hugged him back, desperately wanting to quiz him until he told her, but knowing deep inside that would be exactly the wrong thing to do. “Later, Frayne,” she whispered.

“Later,” he agreed. He took a deep breath and looked into the sparkling china blue eyes he adored. “One thing, though.”

“Oh?”

“It’s nothing to do with how I feel about you, how I feel about us.” He kissed her then. The kind of kiss that always, without fail, managed to rock Trixie’s world. He didn’t release her until the door from the closet knocked into them.

“Oops! Sorry, Jim.” Bobby Belden grinned shamelessly. “If I had realized that’s what was going on, I would have just waited.”

“Brat!” Trixie muttered teasingly, knowing he would be disappointed if she didn’t say something.

“Yep, and since you can’t share that kind of thing, you don’t need to be doing it in public!” Bobby gave her Moms old lecture about public displays of affection.

“It wasn’t public until you showed up!” Trixie pointed out, winking at Jim.

“Uh-huh, whatever you say, Trix. By the way Jim, did I ever tell you about the time I walked in on Trixie and her boyfriend from Virginia? I think his name was Jackson.”

“Bobby!” Trixie warned in a threatening tone.

“Right, uh later, okay Jim?” Bobby left the two of them.

“Jackson? Did I ever meet Jackson?” Jim asked curiously.

“No,” Trixie said through gritted teeth. “Did I ever meet any of your girlfriends?”

“Maybe a couple,” he mumbled as he racked his brain. In all honesty, he had a hard time remembering those girls now. He was never really serious about any girl he dated, although he knew several had wanted to be serious with him. Nope! Not a one of them can compare to her, Jim thought as he helped Trixie with her coat.

“Let’s go, Jim.” Trixie said quietly. The last thing she wanted was Bobby telling Jim about finding her using her martial-arts training on Jackson Emerson Prescott, III. It wasn’t her fault there wasn’t another word for “no”, that was… well, more no than No!

 

 

“Dan!” Bill Regan exclaimed, opening the door of his apartment. “What brings you by so late tonight?”

“I was hoping I could stay here tonight,” he said.

“What’s wrong?” he asked his nephew. Obviously something was bothering his nephew.

“Nothing, really. I just got a bad feeling about things.”

“A girl?” Regan asked bluntly.

“No – yes – maybe.” Dan wasn’t sure if the girl he had seen and flirted with earlier was the problem or if it was the conversation he had with Jim. Suddenly, he wanted someone besides Jim to know that Jonesy was back.

“Do you remember Jim’s step dad?” Dan asked as he crossed to his uncle’s refrigerator.

Regan frowned, knowing immediately what was coming. “He’s out of prison, isn’t he?”

“Yes, and according to his parole officer he’s living in Westchester County.” Dan pulled a bottle of beer out, inspecting it as if its brand was important to him.

Regan swore mildly. He had seen too many men like Eugene Jones to trust he was rehabilitated in any way. “Did you tell Jim?” He motioned for Dan to grab him a beer as well. He didn’t usually start drinking this late at night, but had a feeling he was going to need a beer for this conversation.

“Of course, but he’s going to sit on it for a few days before he tells Trixie, until after Thanksgiving.” Dan popped the top and handed his uncle the open beer. He turned to select another bottle.

Regan nodded; he could see why Jim would want to wait. “So, do you disagree?”

Dan shook his head as he opened the second bottle. “No, I would wait as well.”

“So what’s the problem then?” Regan was curious.

“I have a bad feeling about something,” Dan finally admitted. “It doesn’t feel right, Eugene Jones coming back to where Jim lives. Why wouldn’t he have gone back to Albany, to the truck farm? I checked and he never lost the property there. He had enough money to keep up the taxes on it.”

“You think he’s here because of Jim? For revenge?” Regan was amazed. It had never crossed his mind that Jonesy would come back and go after Jim.

“Yes, I do. I suspect he’s here making connections with what’s left of his old buddies over on Hawthorne.” Dan took a long draw on his beer.

“I don’t know, Danny. You could be right, but it always seemed to me that money was what motivated Jonesy, a pure and simple greed. He’s not going after Jim unless there’s money in it.”

“Jim has plenty of money.”

“Not really, he sank most of it into the school,” Regan protested.

“No, he didn’t. The money is just collateral on a note for the school. Most of the money is still in a trust.”

“And you think Jonesy could touch it? Come on, Danny, Matthew would have Jim’s money tied up tighter than that!”

“Maybe, but I still can’t shake this feeling.” Dan finished the beer and tossed the empty bottle into the waste can.

“So, what’s this about a girl?” Regan finished his beer as well and studied his nephew.

“Trixie’s college roommate is going into the business with Trix and Honey. She’s in town for Thanksgiving.”

“I see. Are you just meeting her for the first time?”

“No, I met her when we were all still in school, or at least they were. I think I had already joined the NYPD by then.”

“And?”

“Do you really want to talk about it?” Dan asked his uncle seriously.

“I’m getting the feeling my nephew has just taken the fall!”

“Oh, hell!” Dan ran his fingers through his hair in exasperation. “Let me get us another beer, this is going to be a long night!”

 

 

“Thanks for waiting up, Dad.” Jim spoke seriously as his Dad opened the door to let him into Manor House.

“You sounded concerned,” Matthew replied as the two men walked towards Matthew’s study. Matthew could tell from the tone of Jim’s voice that something was bothering him. He motioned to one of the comfortable leather chairs and the two men sat.

Jim took a deep breath. “Jonesy is out of prison. Dan said he’s living in Westchester County.”

Matthew frowned. He had paid security people for years to keep a close eye on Eugene Jones and now he was just hearing about his parole from the very person he was trying to protect. “Are you sure?”

“Dan’s positive. He already spoke to Jonesy’s parole officer.”

Matthew shook his head. He stood and crossed to the bar discreetly disguised as a closet in one end of his study. “Scotch?” he asked Jim as he reached for a tumbler. His stomach clenched as he tried to absorb the news. He felt more rattled than Jim seemed to be. Of course, Jim had had a few hours to get used to the idea.

Jim shook his head, “I’ll take a beer if you have one.”

In short order the two men were sitting quietly, drinks in hand. After taking a fortifying sip of his best scotch Matthew asked his next question. “Has anyone seen him?”

Jim shook his head, “No, sir. I haven’t told the others. I wanted to tell Trixie tonight, but well, we were with a group all night and her friend from college is staying with her. Tomorrow’s Thanksgiving and it seems like it would be a good idea to wait a few days. Let’s all have our time to celebrate and have a few days off, then I’ll tell her.”

Matthew sighed, “Jim, it will wait a few days. I agree, don’t let it spoil your vacation. Who knows besides the three of us?”

Jim shrugged. “I saw Dan’s jeep outside the stable. I suspect he’s telling Regan.”

Matthew nodded. “It’s just as well, I would have told him first thing in the morning myself. Regan or I will tell Tom so he will be on the lookout. Hopefully Dan will tell Maypenny. If not, I’ll tell him and Peter when I see them tomorrow at the open house. If we know, then it will keep a few days. I’ll notify my security team and ask them to keep a closer eye on things. What’s the status of the school’s new security system?”

“Honey is handling it. I know it hasn’t been installed yet. She was waiting until after the first of the year.”

“Damn! What’s she waiting on?”

Jim sighed as he answered, “Their new partner to come on board with them. Do you remember Elizabeth Wilson, Trixie’s roommate from college?”

Matthew’s brow furrowed. “Short, blonde?”

Jim nodded, “That’s the one. Apparently security is her area of expertise.”

“I know you kids like to keep things within the family, but I sure wish you hadn’t waited on this.” Matthew muttered.

“Me too,” Jim answered despondently as he nursed his beer. “Not just because of Jonesy, but some of the boys’ families are making noises about having them come home over the holidays; I would feel a lot better about security being in place.”

“At the end of the day, all of us staying on our toes and being alert will go further than the best security system anyway. Sounds like you’re doing the best you can. It would be tough to get it done any faster now. Every store in the country will have extra security this time of year. Honey probably waited for that reason as much as the other.” Matthew sipped his scotch.

“Dad, thanks for listening. At first I wasn’t sure how I felt about Jonesy being around. The more I think about it, the more I don’t like it. Not to mention the idea of those boys going home to the same people who treated them like -- like Jonesy treated me. It’s just not right.”

“I know, Jim. We were lucky, your mother and I, there just wasn’t a big demand for adopting fifteen year-old boys. Of course if George hadn’t been going out of the country for a year, he would have wanted you as well. Once you were ours, well, you were ours. We didn’t have to share.”

Jim smiled, thinking to himself, Nothing is as good as your own parents, but if you can’t have that, being adopted by the Wheeler’s is the next best thing! I wonder if Trixie would consider adopting an older child some day.

“So what else is on your mind?” Matthew said, swirling the scotch in the glass.

“What makes you think something else is on my mind?”

“I guess it was because twelve hours ago, you were telling me you about asking someone to marry you. Didn’t you ask her?”

Jim shook his head ruefully. “No, we were never alone tonight, well, once for about two minutes.” He smiled as he remembered their quick grope in the closet. “It would have been great if it had worked out, we could tell everyone at the open house tomorrow. But I have an idea for Friday afternoon. I just need to work it out with Regan and make sure she can go then. Do you believe she’ll think it’s romantic if I propose at Ten Acres, where I first met her?”

“Going all out, huh?” Matthew teased a bit, secretly impressed with his son’s plans. “She’ll say yes,” he said to ease Jim’s obvious anxiety. “You know we love Trixie and nothing will make us happier than to welcome her into our family.”

“Thanks, Dad. You’ve been a great father to me the past few years. I appreciate everything you’ve done for me and for the school.”

“Jim, it’s been an honor,” Matthew told him seriously. “You are so much like Win. Sometimes when we’re talking like this, I forget it’s you and I think I’m twenty years younger than I am. He would be very proud of you, Jim, and he would very much approve of Trixie.”

Jim felt too choked up to answer for the next several moments. He finally looked at his Dad and spoke with a voice full of emotion. “He would be proud of you, too.”