Page 1 of Thicker than Blood

Chapter One

Caspian

Dearest Caspian,

Come home or after I’ve bought all your businesses up just to fire you from them, I’ll cut you out of my will! You are an ungrateful little troll!

Love,

Grandpa Edmond

I stare down at the paper and reread the words my grandfather sent me…through the mail of all things. It’s not like the old man is a stranger to email. Or that he’s so feeble that I might never see him again if I don’t come right now. Obviously, no one can ever be sure of when their last goodbye will be, but my grandpa is too damned ornery to turn toes-up any time soon.

No, this is just how my grandpa is…and I love him for it. I love everything about that old man and maybe, just maybe, it is time to take a trip to the country and find out what he’s up to. In his last email to me, he talked about getting a new companion recently, and when we talked on the phone that was pretty much all he wanted to talk about.

I think he might have a little crush on her. She has to be fifty or sixty or something which makes her about thirty years Grandpa’s junior. For him, it would be like hitting the cradle hard. But when you're as old as my Grandpa maybe you don’t see age in such shocking barriers. What the hell do I know about being eighty-two? I’ve never been eighty-two and a lot of days I ain’t doing too great at being thirty-three.

I’m listless, unmotivated, and frankly, bored out of my mind. Somehow, sitting in a fucking boardroom doesn’t provide the life-affirming excitement that getting shot at gives you. But I can’t be that man again. I can’t step into the line of fire, chase down bad guys, or find ways to stop evildoers. My grandpa got sick, and I was needed at home. So, I retired from the FBI and came back to handle business and maybe start a couple of my own.

Of course, I still consult for the FBI, but it’s not the same. I help my buddy who works for the local police department as well. I still have my hand in law enforcement. I just don’t get shot at anymore. When I started out, I never would have thought that would have been the thing I would miss. The thrumming of the blood in my veins, the sound of my heart echoing in my ears letting me know I am alive, the adrenaline rush that hits you when you know it’s life or death, those are the things I miss. Those are the feelings I find myself searching for but not finding.

Maybe it is time to go back. Time to check in with my grandpa and spend a few days with him. Maybe go fishing since the property abuts the river on one side. It’s where I would go when I was young to figure shit out. Maybe now is a good time to disappear, they do say there’s no time like the present. My best friend is all caught up in love and fucking rainbows and while I am super happy for him… it seems like a lot of the guys I play hockey with have been falling prey to something that I want no part of. A lot of them are either newly married or head-over-heels in love with the girls they have in their lives.

And then there’s me. Sad, sorry me. I don’t even have a girl I want to try to pursue to make her my girlfriend. I wouldn’t know what to do if I found her. She wouldn’t understand my life. Most likely she would come from the business world or be a god damned debutant who expects me to be nothing more than a high-end stooge more concerned with money than I am anything else. She would want a lover because she expects I would have a mistress. But that isn’t who I am. I don’t share. I don’t want someone I have to cheat on and I tend to be obsessive, which made me a great agent… not so much when you are trying to date someone.

Turns out using surveillance on those you love – even to keep them safe - isn’t a romantic thing but falls into the stalking category. Not that I would know since I’ve never been serious enough about a girl to go that far. But I know myself. I would. I wouldn’t think twice about watching and waiting and protecting the woman I chose to love.

Maybe it’s a good thing I’m a solo. I would probably catch a misdemeanor for going too far I had a girl. Either way, the best thing I can do for myself is pack a bag and get the fuck out of town. To answer this letter from my grandfather and find out how he is doing, who this crush my grandfather keeps talking about is, and make sure she has the right intentions towards my grandfather. Hopefully, my grandfather hasn’t fallen prey to the same thing my friends have. Otherwise, I’ll have no bastion of protection to sneak away to, no place to hide, no sanctuary.

Chapter Two

Maple

“What do you think of my grandson?”

The question takes me by surprise. I don’t know Eddie’s grandson, have never met the man, and couldn’t pick him out of a lineup if I had to. I have only seen pictures of him, of which Eddie has no shortage of hanging and sitting throughout the house. But what kind of person would I be if I judged a man on his picture alone? Not a very nice one.

“You think he’s awful for ignoring a feeble old man like me?”

I have no idea where this line of questioning is coming from, but I know the answer is going to be trickier to navigate than some of these backroads when it snows.

“I think… it doesn’t matter what I think. All that matters is what you think of him. I also think you’ve not been feeble a day in your life.”

The old man narrows his eyes at me.

“I think you are very smart. A very smart young lady.”

“I’ve not always been. If I’m smart it’s because it’s come from years of learning the hard way and making a lot of mistakes.”

I turn my attention back to my plate and eat the last bit of food on it. Some people would say I’ve not had an easy life - being orphaned and on my own at fifteen. I stayed with my aunt for a little while, but she didn’t like me very much. She didn’t like anyone very much now that I think about it. I barely got through high school and was gone as soon as my graduation cap and gown came off.

Now, I spend my days taking care of a man who might as well be my family as much as I’ve come to love him. I never thought when I answered the ad in the paper for a companion that I would find someone as sweet and kind as Mr. Eddie. To tell the truth, I was terrified I would get some freaky old man who couldn’t keep his hands to himself. Instead, I got a guardian angel who cares about me more than anyone has since my parents passed.

“That’s what life is all about, my dear girl. Take it from an old man who knows, making mistakes is a shit ton better than living with regrets.”

I give him a rueful smile “That seems fair.”

Even as I say the words I realize the irony that I say one thing but live another. One of the reasons I love this job so much is I don’t have to put myself out there very much. I can stay hidden away and get paid for it. But it’s not really living, is it?