(The direct sequel to Back On Track)

By Atonia and Jo

Jo writing Maximus, Caroline, Bud, Marie, Sid, Hope, Cort, Daisy, Lachlan, Ben

Atonia writing Terry, Dee, Alex, Linda, Jack, Tarwyn, John, Bethany, Dino, Max

PART 1:

“That was Daddy on the phone?”  Hope asked, still a little dizzy.

“He’s coming, Sweetheart.  Said he’d be here in a couple of hours.”

“What did you tell him?”

“Only that you’d fainted…not why…and nothing about all the other things that have happened.  He said he had really good news he wanted to share in person. Damn, I hate to drop all this on him!” 

“John, where are we going?”

“You’ll find out.” John held her hand as they walked along the sidewalk. 

They turned into the county court house and went over to a register to check the different departments.

“John?”

“There it is, second floor – suite 202.” He turned with a twinkle in his eye and looked at her.

“Are you…?”

“I am.”

"But..."

“I suppose I should  have asked you if you wanted to. Will you marry me, Bethany?”

Beth’s eyes filled up and she went into his arms. “Yes, oh, yes!”

“All right, let’s go get a license so we can make some plans.”

Cort parked in the hospital lot and, holding Daisy’s hand very tightly, took the elevator to the 6^th floor as Lachlan had told him to do.  “I don’t know what could be wrong with her,” he said as the elevator rose.  “I didn’t think she even could get sick.”  He took Daisy in his arms.  “I’m so sorry, darlin’, that bringin’ you home has gotten mixed up with somethin’ off with Hope.  I just wanted it to be so special, you know, tellin’ her an’ then everybody else for the first time.”

“Cort, she’s your daughter.  I’m fine.  Let’s just see what’s wrong with her first and then we can take it from there, ok.  Daisies have strong stems, remember.  Don’t worry about me.  I’m here and I’m with you.  That’s all it takes to make me happy.”

He kissed her just as the doors were opening and a passing nurse smiled at them.  He asked her where Hope Wells was and she directed him down the hall to a room on the left. 

When Hope saw him in the doorway, she shrieked, “Daddy!” and jumped off the bed, took two steps and fell flat on her face.

Cort was as shocked as he’d ever been in his life and knelt beside her as Daisy called down the hall for help.  When they had her back on the bed and her eyelids were beginning to flutter, Cort heard Lachlan sigh behind him and turned, seeing for the first time Lachlan, too, was in bed.  His eyes widened.  “Lachlan, what in God’s name is going on?  Both of you? I don’t…”

“It’s a bit of a long story, Cort.  I think you…” Then Lachlan noticed Daisy.  “Um, hullo,” he said, then looked back at Cort, who crossed to Daisy and took her hand.

Before he could say anything, Hope came awake.  “Daddy?”

“I’m here, Peaches.  I’m here.”  He brought Daisy with him up to Hope’s bedside. Still blinking, Hope looked up at the slender blonde woman beside her father.

“This isn’t at all what I had in mind, Little Darlin’, but I’d like you to meet Daisy…Daisy Wells.”  When Hope looked like she didn’t understand, he added, “My wife.”

Lachlan let out a low whistle.  “So that’s your good news.”

“It is.  It’s my very, very good news.  I’ll explain in a minute.  Now, Hope, tell me what’s goin' on with you.  What just happened?”

“I’m pregnant, Daddy.”

“You’re…what?”

“Me…I’m having a baby.”

Cort’s hand tightened on Daisy’s.  “But…but…you were just…you…”

“I know, Daddy.  I was a baby myself.  But now I’m a grown woman, truly grown.”

Cort turned his head to look at Lachlan.  “I know, Cort, I know.  We just didn’t think…either of us.  It kinda, um, slipped up on us.”

“Does Canfield know?”  Cort asked rather grimly.

“He does, Cort,” Lachlan said.  “He’s been taking care of all of us.”

“All of you?  All of you…who?”

There were two chairs in the room and Lachlan said, “You two sit down, all right.  I have a lot to tell you.”

“First off, Lachlan, why are you in bed”

“Oh, Daddy! He was stabbed so bad.  Right in the elevator a man tried to kill him.”

“Kill you in the elevator?  The hospital elevator?”  Cort did sit down then and Daisy sat close, holding his hand.

“Why…how?  I don’t understand.”  He looked at Hope.  “You said Sid had been leavin’ all of you alone.  Did he…?”

“He had nothing to do with this, Cort, nothing at all.  This is all Linda’s father’s doing.”

“You’ve lost me, Lachlan.”

Lachlan blew out a long breath and tried to adjust himself somewhat better in bed, which made a quick grimace cross his face. 

“You are hurt badly, aren’t you?” Cort commented.

“Yeah, it was pretty bad.  Lost a lot of blood, part of my liver.  But I’ll be fine.  Let me go back and start at the beginning.  Linda’s father is about the wealthiest bloke in Texas…or was.  He was as corrupt as they come, Cort, and he wanted to control Linda’s life.  She thinks he had her college sweetheart murdered.  Well, last week Linda and Alex went up to Dallas to visit him and on the way back here, some of his men abducted Alex and beat him to within an inch of his life.”

“How…how is he…now?”

“He’s in the room next door, Cort.  Looks like he’ll be in here for a while more.  The intent was to kill him and leave him in an abandoned barn.  Linda called Bud and he and John drove out to pick her up and look for Alex.  They finally found him in that small hospital up in Madisonville.  Terry, with Dino’s help, arranged to have him coptered down here.  John went with Linda in the copter but Bud was driving his car alone back to the city.  More of Hawkins’ men forced his car to crash then shot him.”

“Shot him?  Good Lord!  Is he here, too?”

“Went home a couple of days ago.  Marie’s been watching over him.  Then Bethany, that’s John’s girlfriend, was chloroformed and left in a closet so a woman working for Hawkins could get her uniform and come up to this floor.  Canfield arranged for us to be up here when it proved to be unsafe where Alex and Bud were.  Someone had gotten to Alex, Cort, and injected stuff into his IV that caused his heart to stop.”

Cort rubbed his free hand back and forth across his mouth.  “This is a lot, Lachlan.  When did you get hurt?”

“I went down by myself to see if I could find Marie and arrange for her duty to be shifted up here to keep her safe, and it was in the elevator that some guy slipped his blade into my side.”

“So…you were the last one?”

“No, Cort, I wasn’t.”  Cort closed his eyes a moment, then Lachlan continued.  “We lost Caroline,” he almost whispered.

“Lost her?  What do you mean?”

“She saw the woman who had on Bethany’s ID tag and chased her.  Woman pushed her down the stairs, Cort.  Her arm bone was sticking out and she’d really hit her head several times as she fell.  She was up here for a while, but something bad went wrong in her head and Canfield was rushing her to surgery, said she had ten minutes max.  Maximus had to take the stairs to follow and when he got down there, Canfield and his team were unconscious in the elevator and Caroline was…gone. Hawkins’ men gassed them.  Caroline couldn’t have survived.  Canfield says there’s no way she could.  So Maximus, well, he’s not doing too well.”

“Did…did anybody ever find her?”

“No.  She’s just…gone.”

“What happened with Hawkins?”

“Terry, Jack, Ben and Maximus went out to Linda’s ranch.  She’d lured her father to fly down.  While they were out there someone back here attacked Tarwyn, Jack’s girlfriend, and the long hook of a rack went through her shoulder.  She’s home now, too, though.”

“And…?”

“Both Linda and Maximus shot Hawkins.  No one knows whose bullet killed him.  Was probably both, but Linda thinks she did it.  Ben and John and Terry mopped up the other guys who’d come with Hawkins.  So that’s all over and done with, Cort.  Now it’s just some of us still trying to get better.”

“Maximus,” Cort sighed, looking at Daisy with tears in his eyes.  She understood. Cort had told her in great detail about all his interactions with the General and how Sid had made it look like Caroline been killed right in front of his eyes.

“Oh, darling, I’m so sorry,” she whispered.

“But you…you’re married?” Lachlan asked.

“In Arizona,” Cort nodded.  “I want you both to know that it was Daisy who showed me the way to come home.  She saved me in every way a man can be saved.”

He stood up, taking Hope’s hand in his right as he held Daisy’s in his left.  “My beautiful daughter, I’d like you to meet my beautiful wife.”

“Hello, Hope,” Daisy said softly, then turned to look at Cort’s face, everything she felt for him showing in her eyes, her expression.

“Oh, Daddy, I…I’m so glad for you.”

“You are, Peaches…truly?”

“I see how she loves you, Daddy.  How could I not be happy about that?”

“She’s done it, baby girl, Daisy’s done it.  She’s put my heart back together.  I didn’t think it could happen, I really didn’t, but she’s done it an’ all I want is for all of you to love her like I do.”

“Daisy.”  Hope said the name.  “That’s so pretty.  You look like a daisy.”

Cort smiled.  “We got married in a big daisy patch.  I’m sorry you weren’t there but we needed to do it when an' where we did.” 

“It’s all right, Daddy.  There’ll be a wedding soon and we’ll all be there.  Lachlan and I are getting married as soon as I can stand up without falling over.”

“What does Canfield have to say about that?”

“He thinks it’s just a stage, Cort,” Lachlan explained, “that her body’s getting used to what’s going on.  I’m hoping he’s right.  She’s not an easy woman to keep from standing up, let me tell you!”

Linda and Alex were having a meal in his room. She’d called a favorite restaurant and had it delivered. Alex was managing pasta and managing it very well. He was near starved from Canfield’s liquid diet.

She glanced at his hand to mouth action. “You’d better be careful there, Alex. God forbid you get choked or something.”

“I’m chewing 99 times,” he grinned with a noodle hanging out of his mouth.

“I see you are,” she smiled and flipped the noodle into his mouth.

“That was a good move putting Max in charge of your fortune. He’ll know how to make it grow.”

“We’ll see about that. A person can only spend so much to live and live well. I’m going to become a philanthropist and I’m going to start with our family. I don’t want anyone to have to worry about money…ever. I overheard Tarwyn worrying about losing her job. Soon it won’t matter.”

“You mean you’re going to support all of us?”

“Not support, I’m going to give each and every one of you means to live with a piece of HAWCO. I’m not even aware of all the different companies Hawk set up. I’ll find out when I go to Dallas. I also mean to make some retribution to all the people he’s screwed out of their land and lives. There won’t be any more of that happening. I expect there’ll be a big shake up here in Texas…a new wind coming. Lawmen can get back to being lawmen and judges can start being judges again. Politicians will have to find other means of support.”

“Wow!”

“I’m going to clean house in Dallas. I expect the unemployment figure to rise for awhile until they find somebody else to live off of. Do you think I’m doing the right thing there? I don’t know who is a real person and who isn’t, you know what I mean?” 

“Um hm, I’d do it and start with a clean slate. These new ones will be your people.”

“Wrong…they will be our people.”

“Who’s next door?” His ears suddenly caught the sound of conversation.

“Lachlan and Hope.”

“Somebody else is there, too. Would you see if it’s Cort?”

“Ah,” Lachlan said, spying Linda’s head peeking in the doorway.  “Come on in.  Cort, you remember Linda.”

“Hi Cort, it’s good to see you back.”

“Yes, Linda.  I’m afraid I didn’t stick around very long after we all got back from Yuma, but it’s good to see you.  How is Alex?  I’d like to stop by for a minute if he’s up for it.”

“He just asked if that was you in here. He’d love to see you.” Her eyes moved to the pretty woman beside him and back to Cort. Cort looked different.

“My wife,” he grinned, sliding an arm around her waist.  “Daisy, Daisy Wells.  Daisy, this is Linda Calhoun,  Alex Ross’ lovely lady.”

“Hello, Linda,” Daisy smiled.  “I realize I’m a bit of a surprise for everyone.”

“What a welcome surprise you are,” Linda smiled. “Cort, you never cease to amaze me. Come and meet Alex. He doesn’t always look like this, but he’s had a bad time.”

“Cort, I thought I heard you,” Alex smiled. Both his eyes were open now but one was still bearing traces of his ordeal in shades of purple. “I’d get up but I can’t.”

Cort walked up to the bed and stood there looking down at Alex, shaking his head.

“Good Lord, Alex.  I can hardly believe all that happened while I was gone.  I’m so sorry you’ve been hurt so badly.”  He held out his hand and Daisy came to him, taking it.  Cort lifted her hand to his lips, kissing it.  “Alex, I’d like you to meet my wife, Daisy.”

Daisy smiled.  “Alex, you and Lachlan are the first of his brothers I’ve met and I must say in person, you all are even more similar than I’d thought at first.  That, of course, means you are very, very handsome, Alex, despite the temporary colorfulness.”

“Don’t go telling me I look like Lachlan!” Alex laughed. “It’s a pleasure, Mrs. Wells. Yeah, Cort, you leave and we all end up in the hospital. I’m glad you’re back and even though we were all missing you, I’m glad you missed out on the latest not-fun.”

“You’ll call me Daisy, won’t you?”

“I will, Daisy. You’re as fresh as a daisy.”

“This is all just amazing, Alex.  Caroline…I…”

“I know, Cort. It’s just unbelievable. I still can’t figure it out.”

When Cort went out in the hall again, he called Terry.  “I’m at the hospital, visitin’ Hope an’ Lachlan an’ Alex.  Wanted to let you know I’m back.  Linda says Maximus is at the blue house, so I’m goin’ over there next.  Any way you think you can stop by for a bit? Oh, an' bring Dee, ok.”

“It’s good to hear your voice again, Cort. We’ll be over.” Terry smiled and looked over at Dee, “Cort’s home. He wants us to come over to the blue house.”

“I’m so glad to hear that. Yes, we’ll go.”

“Maximus.”  Cort stood in the doorway of the blue house, looking at his best friend, then gripped his forearm in that way of comrades-in-arms.  Everything he wanted to say lay in his eyes.

“I am glad you are here, Cort.  I have greatly missed your company.”  Then he noticed the young woman in the shadows of the big porch.  “You have someone with you?”

“I was hopin' for a shared happiness, Maximus,” Cort said softly.  “This is Daisy, my wife.”

Maximus dipped his head.  “I am most pleased, my lady, that Cort has come home with you.”

Daisy looked at him almost in awe.  Him she had known before Cort.  Him she had admired as a woman admires an unattainable warrior.  “I…I…um…hello, Max…Maximus.”

Cort smiled a little.  “She saw your movie before we met.  You were her only one, you see.”

“Ah,” Maximus said, smiling himself.  “Please, my lady, come inside.”

“Terry and Dee are coming over.  I wanted to talk to him about…things.  Hope you don’t mind.”

“I am always glad to see them, Cort, always.  Please, sit on the couch.  Allow me to get you some refreshment.”

Daisy was as impressed as she’d thought she might be.  His bearing was magnificent and even in his great grief, he was gracious.  When he went into the kitchen to get some drinks, Cort whispered to her, “He’s somethin’, isn’t he?”

“He’s just how I thought.  But, oh, Cort, there is such pain in his eyes despite his smile.”

“He loved Caroline with his whole bein', Daisy.”  He looked toward the kitchen door.  “There has got to be some way…some way…to find out what happened to her.  Simply bein' ‘gone’ isn’t good enough.”

Maximus came back with a tray of different drinks, including enough for Terry and Dee.  “I have spent time with Benjamin, Cort.  He, too, now has a dog.”  He smiled as Marcus was presenting himself to be loved up by Cort, who was his second favorite man.  “He has named him Outlaw and says the dog adopted him late one night.”

“How’s he doin’?  I’ve thought a lot about him as we were drivin' back.”

“Terry and Linda made arrangements to get his horse from Yuma for him.  It is out at Linda’s for the time being and Benjamin and I went out there the other day and rode together for a long while.”

“His horse? Well, that is really somethin’!  Terry always seems to know the best thing to do, doesn’t he?”

Just then the doorbell rang and Maximus got up to answer it.

“It’s just us, Maximus.” Terry slipped his hand in the middle of Dee’s back. He met Maximus’ eyes for a moment and read the contents. “It’s good Cort is back with us.”

Maximus stepped aside so Terry and Dee could see into the living room.  Cort stood up from the couch, Daisy standing beside him, his arm around her waist.

“Afternoon, Terry…Dee.  I have someone here I’d like you to meet.”  He looked to his side a moment, a glowing smile spreading across his face.  “I got married in Arizona.  This is Daisy an’ she’s the reason I’m even alive to come back home.”

Shock registered across both their faces. Knowing what kind of mindset he was in when he left, this was the last thing they expected. However, they recovered quickly.

“Oh, how wonderful!” Dee exclaimed. “Daisy, welcome to the family.”

“Congratulations,” Terry smiled and reached for Cort’s hand to shake. “You sly devil. We were all worried sick about you and here you turn up married. Daisy, I hope you know what you’re in for with this bloke.”

“She does!” Cort laughed.  “She was a park ranger at the mission where, in my memory, I ran the orphanage.  I was doin’ all sorts of weird things when I got there an’ then later I was dyin’ in the desert an’ she saved me.  She saved me from myself, too.”

“You’re worth it,” she smiled, looking up adoringly at his face.  “I’m so pleased to meet you both.  Cort’s been filling in me on everything and, of course, I’ve seen all your movies now.”

“What was he doing at the mission, Daisy?”  Maximus asked.

“He was, um, sitting in the dirt, staring at a certain building…for one thing.”

“It was the one my school had been in.  It had been burned, just like I remembered, an’ the roof had caved in like I saw it do…only…”

“The Apache did it 40 years earlier,” Daisy explained.  “It was a lot for him to handle.”

“An’, well, I got to thinkin’ an’, well, you see, a Home Depot was right there where I’d thought my Grandmother’s house had been an’ then one day Daisy an’ I were in church together an’ it suddenly hit me that I hadn’t been created by God.  I was nothin’ more’n ink on paper and the words of an actor.  Kinda threw me for a loop.”

“He thought because of that he didn’t have a soul, that when he died he’d just be nothing more than spilled ink.”

“An’ Daisy here, she helped me understand that Russell Crowe has a soul an’ that we, all of us, are him…really him…but manifested in the personalities of our various movies.  An’ since we are, an’ since he has a soul…well, I finally got it all worked out in my mind.  For a while there it was touch an’ go for me.  I even thought of drivin’ into the Grand Canyon like those women did in that old movie.”

“You were gonna do a Thelma and Louise?”

“I was, but Daisy came an', well, that stupid idea was over. So, yeah, Terry, what I’m sayin’ is all this has made me feel even closer to the rest of you.  We’re more’n brothers, a lot more, an’ I kinda like that, you know.  Means a lot to me, understandin’ that.”

“I always felt we were more than brothers. This past week has brought us closer together here. The newer brothers like Jack, Max and Ben got hands-on experience learning what it meant to be a brother and part of our large family.”

“Tell me, where did you two get married?” Dee asked.

“In my hometown, Tubac, between Nogales and Tucson.  It’s just three miles north of, um, Cort’s mission,” Daisy explained.  “A good friend of mine, a quilt maker from North Carolina, has a big daisy patch in her back yard and Cort really wanted us to get married in the daisies.”

“I did,” he smiled.  “It was small, but perfect.  She had daisies in her hair an' a bouquet of daisies.  I loved it.”

“And my ring.” Daisy held out her hand.  “Somehow he found a ring with daisies all ‘round.”

“That just sounds so…I love the ring. How perfect!” Dee admired her ring and smiled. A daisy patch. How simple and lovely. She wouldn’t think of his wedding with Rachel, not now.

“You are happy, Cort,” Maximus said, “and I am sincerely glad.  You have suffered much and it does my heart good to see you smile again.”

“I just…I hoped…you know…”

“I do know, Cort, and you are not to concern yourself about that.”

“I can’t not be concerned.  You mean too much to me.”

“It is a time for you to enjoy happiness with your bride.”  When he said the word ‘bride’ it went through Maximus that Caroline was not his wife.  Why had he not married her?  Why?  He thought of her as his wife in every way and losing her was exactly as though he had lost his wife.  He blinked rapidly a moment then stood. “I think we need more ice,” and went quickly to the kitchen.

Terry noticed his quick exit, but he turned to Cort. “Now that you’re home and things are as normal as they’re ever going to be for us, Deidre and I are going to take a trip. Like you, Cort, I’m going to try and find my past. We’re going to Thorneton. It seems strange that you’ve been there and I have not, at least not that I recall.”

“He’s hoping to piece together his life in Australia,” Dee added.

“That sounds like a good idea, Terry,” Cort nodded.  “Your presence was all over Thorneton.  When I was there it was almost like you had just left it.  At least we know there’s no Home Depot atop it.”

“Or that the Apache didn’t burn it,” Daisy spoke up.

“Yes, an' as everyone knows, Australian Apaches were always inclined to do such things,” Cort chuckled.  Then he looked serious again.  “Just always remember, no matter what you face, Terry, that you, like I am, like Maximus is, all of us, are Russell Crowe as he was in our movie.  We’re real because he is real an' he took with him everythin' he’d learned from his experience of bein' me, of bein' Bud an' John an' Maximus, into who he was when he was bein' you.  We’re in there, Terry, in who you are an' that binds us together more than mere genetics.”

“What about Sid, Cort?”  No one had seen Maximus step back into the room from the kitchen, but he’d been listening.

“I’ve been doin' a lot of thinkin' about him,” Cort replied.  “At some point I’d like to have a talk with him about that.  Russell made him the same year he made me, you know.  Maybe…if I could get him to understand…maybe he’d stop doin' what he does to us.  I think I’ve got to try.”

“You must always be careful around him, Cort.  You know that as well as I do.  His mind does not work like ours.”

“I know, Maximus, but perhaps he’s more human than even he realizes.  He was made exactly the same way we all were.  That’s got to mean somethin'.  It just has to.”

“That’s an interesting concept, Cort. I’ve yet to see anything human about Sid, though. Ha, it ought to give him something to think about,” Terry mused. “I’m with Maximus about being careful. You’ve just got yourself a handle on happiness and I wouldn’t try and engage Sid too much.”

Cort decided not to speak more about it, but he would try.  He knew he had to. “So,” he said instead, “how’s our Bud doin’?  I’ll get out to see him tomorrow.”

“Bud is not a good patient, as you can imagine. Marie has her hands full with him. His frustration level has topped over the past week, but I’m sure he’ll be glad to see you, Cort. Meeting your Daisy just might put a smile on his face.” Terry winked at Daisy.

“You’ll like Bud, Daisy,” Cort smiled.  “He’s a great guy.  He’s been a good friend to me.”

“I’m looking forward to meeting all of them.  Do you think we could see Ben tomorrow, too?”

“He’s at the safe house, right?”

“He is there,” Maximus supplied, “though he is often here as well.”

“I’m glad to hear the two of you are gettin' along.  I was worried about how that would be when he first came out.  I understand he helped a lot with this deal with Linda’s father.”

“He certainly did, Cort,” Terry answered. “It was a dirty business but it had to be done. Hawkins was a modern-day Herod. Instead of owning a town, he thought he owned the state. Had everybody on his payroll. We couldn’t go to the law for help so we took it upon ourselves to put a stop to him…the only way we could, you know? He’s left a terrible path of destruction behind him. Ben was a stand-up guy all the way, as were Jack and Maximus.”

“It required all of us, working together,” Maximus said, “and yet the toll was high.”  He looked to the side, “Extremely high.”

After Terry and Dee left, Cort and Maximus went out to the Jeep to bring the bags in.  Cort and Daisy were going to spend the night in the first floor bedroom, which was not being used.  It was the room Cort had shared with Rachel and he knew he had to get on with his life, had to get used to the fact it was Daisy and no longer Rachel.  Then, too, he had spent much time there alone in grief.  Daisy’s presence would heal the memory of that.

He and Maximus stopped a moment beside the Jeep.  “You know, Maximus, seeing some of you for the first time since I came to realize how joined we all really are, it’s…well, it means the world to me.  I look at you and I know you and your pain is my pain.  I just…”

“Then your joy shall be my joy, Cort.  Do not, not for a moment, think you should not allow yourself happiness.  I know your sufferings and I am, with all my heart, glad for your happiness.  Know that, my brother.  Rest in that.”

Max walked along the strip of shops and restaurants near his apartment. He’d had dinner and was on his way back. Most of the day had been spent with Linda and then the meeting with her banker that afternoon. She was poised to inherit a money machine and he was expected to keep it oiled and working.

He also knew what she planned to do with HAWCO. It amazed him in a way that she could be so generous. It would mean that they would all be independently wealthy. What did that mean for him? No more day trading. In fact he hadn’t even looked at that since this business began with her father.  He owed Ben some money. As he walked along he hadn’t noticed the couple following him until they reached the corner and stopped for the light.

Dee and Terry came up on either side of him. “Hello, mate.”

“Terry, Deidre, well, what a surprise. What are you doing in my neighborhood, slumming?”

“Yeah, we came out to see what the other half eat for dinner.”

“And we found out they eat pretty good,” Dee smiled up at him.

“I was just going home. Would you like to come over for a drink or coffee or something?”

“Why do you think we were following you?” Terry grinned.

Max hunted out his bottles and set them on the kitchen counter. “Pick your poison.”

With drinks in hand they settled in the living room.

“Nolia and I are about to take a holiday. We plan to be gone for maybe a month. It’s open ended right now. We’re going to Australia.”

“Well, lucky you. When is this to take place?” Max sipped his drink.

 “Monday morning. We fly to Houston and from there downunder.”

 “What brought this on?”

“I have a homeplace there called Thorneton. I have a picture of it in my mind but I don’t recall living there. I suppose I’m going searching for my roots.”

“Hmm, someday I intend to do the same. I still have this burning desire to go to London and Provence.”

“I think you should, Max.”

“It will have to wait a bit now. I’m in Linda’s employ.”

“Really, in what capacity?”

“Money manager, not sure there’s a title involved.”

“That should keep you busy and off the streets.”

“I’m sure it will. We’re talking tall stacks of money. So, you’re deserting the group for a month. How will they survive without you, Terry?”

“Same as they would if I were here. It’s all settling out now. Cort’s home and married. He brought a pretty little wife called Daisy back to our den.”

“Married? Ah,” Max nodded.

“Alex is on the mend, although it’s going to take him a while. Jack and Tarwyn are back at the house and she’s coming along.”

Dee chuckled, “Tarwyn is tough. She won’t be down for long.”

“Bud won’t be down for long either,” Terry added. “The only one I worry about is Maximus and I can’t do a damn thing about that.”

Maximus lay in the big bed upstairs, Marcus partway across his legs, absently fondling the top of the big dog’s head as he thought about Caroline.  Cort had married both of the women he’d loved since coming out of his movie.  He was the only one who’d done that, married his love.  It bothered Maximus that he had not.

He was a man entirely loyal to one woman.  She was gone, but, oh, he wished he’d made her his wife.  No use mourning that, however.  She was gone and nothing he could do would change the facts of what had or had not happened.  He set about trying to get his mind to accept it.  That was how he’d been trained.  It happened and you faced it, dealt with it, accepted it.  Perhaps the pattern of that had changed, though, that day Marcus Aurelius had asked him to rule Rome and then his life had fallen into a vast pit.  Perhaps it had.

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