Page 38 of The Primary Pest (Iphicles Security #1)
“My absolute pleasure.” His dad beamed at him.
Maybe it was his dad’s absolute pleasure to hand him a tissue. They thought they’d lost him forever. When he’d talked to them on the phone, they’d all believed he was saying goodbye forever .
“You know what?” Ajax’s eyes streamed. “You guys are so awesome.”
“You’re kind of awesome yourself, little man.” Violet turned away brusquely. She cleared her throat. “You were always a good boy.”
“ Mom ,” he groaned.
“She’s right, though,” Jackson said. “Technically, we’re all awesome.”
“Here’s the thing.” Ajax prepared himself to let them down again, but this time only a little. “You only get to the ranch so often. I spend most of the time rattling around in the house with the maid and the groundskeepers and that old guy… What does he even do again?”
Jackson cuffed his arm. “He’s your grandfather, son.”
“Oh, right.” Ajax winked. “You know I love all of them, but—”
“This time I’ll take time off,” his mother promised. “I swear it. Let me have my executive assistant go over my calendar and—”
“You don’t have to do that.”
“But son,” Jackson broke in, “we can. We will. I want to just… have breakfast with my boy again.” He turned to his wife. “Violet. Make him see reason. I want to take walks with him. Watch a ball game. Read the paper. We’ve missed so goddamn much.”
“Jackson.” She sighed when her husband burst into tears.
“We almost lost him, Vi. What would we do?”
“I know, honey.” Violet came around the bed to stand next to Jackson’s chair. “I know. Ajax?”
“See, the thing is…” Ajax hesitated. “I think I found the place I want to live. I want to buy my own house there so you can come visit me.”
“You what?” His father’s jaw dropped. “A house?”
“What about the condo in LA?” Violet asked. “Does this have something to do with Dmytro? Because—”
“It’s got nothing to do with him.” Well, maybe Dmytro could be part of his plan. He didn’t know yet. “I want to find a place somewhere along the central coast. I want to buy a beach house where I can put down roots.”
“A beach house.” Visibly surprised, Violet let Jackson draw her onto his lap. “Any place on the beach will cost a bundle, honey. You want to live close to LA? Or up north?”
“I just need a cottage or even a bungalow. I was thinking of looking for an older place in a small town in the middle of the state? Something I can fix up. There’s this town… Santo Ignacio. Have you ever heard of it? It’s north of Santa Barbara.”
She narrowed her eyes. “Why buy a place so far away from all your friends?”
“I don’t want to burst your bubble, Mom, but I don’t have friends .”
“But why buy so far away from LA?” asked Jackson. “We thought you enjoyed living in the city.”
“Why buy a ranch in Idaho you only get to visit a few times a year?” he asked. “Because I want to. Because I can.”
Jackson considered this. “Fair enough. You’ll continue to… er… work remotely, then?”
“I’ll podcast remotely and continue making videos. But not as Ajax Freedom. I killed him on that boat, and I wouldn’t bring him back for anything.”
“He won’t be missed.” Violet shuddered. “My God. People thought I raised such a little pisher. I wanted to come out to your place and wring your neck.”
“You should have.”
“And give you the satisfaction?”
“You’re right. As bids for attention go, that one sucked.” He thought of something else he wanted. “You think Grandpa would want to live with me for a while?”
“He’d love that, sweetheart.” Violet slid a glance Jackson’s way. “But honey, he doesn’t get around well anymore.”
“He needs a caregiver,” Jackson added. “A local doctor he trusts and some active nutritional intervention. You’d have to have an accessible house, plus, he’s pretty sour about healthy habits. It’s one of the reasons Serena lives in. Are you sure you’d want to take on the responsibility?”
“I can do those things, you know. I’m not a totally worthless—”
“ Ajax ,” his father said sternly.
“I thought about Grandpa all the time we were on the run.” He couldn’t look at them. “I miss him so much. If he wants to come, I want him with me. Not just to help out but because we’re family and I miss him.”
“Of course, son. Just ask him,” said Jackson. “I’ll bet he’d be thrilled to get away from snow this winter.”
Ajax nodded. “And as soon as you get that vacation time blocked off, I’ll have room for you too.”
“In your bungalow?” Violet’s awkward response was predictable. “That’s not exactly—”
“That is a terrific idea, isn’t it, Violet? Let’s visit Ajax for a change. He can keep the phones from ringing.” Jackson glanced at him meaningfully. “Can’t you, son?”
“I can make certain you have no connectivity whatsoever.” Ajax’s heart burst with happiness. “You said you wanted a visit, right Mom?”
“Of course I did. That’s settled. I’ll let you know when we can come.” As usual, his mom warmed up once she made things her idea in the first place. “If you find a place, we could help you paint and fix it up.”
Ajax didn’t hide his surprise. “You can do grunt work?”
“You know I wasn’t born a doctor, right?” Jackson patted him. “I’ve patched a few walls in my day.”
“You and I could go shopping for furniture while we’re there. There are antique places all up and down the coast.”
“I would love that, Mom.” Ajax’s wrecked body throbbed, but he had a plan. His parents might have forgotten how to be a family because of work—because of the many people who depended on them—but he could remind them.
They all loved one another. They could be the close-knit family he wanted with all his heart because he could teach them how.
He could show them how to enjoy every minute they spent in his home.
All it would take was a little patience, some forgiveness, and most of all, gratitude.
And hopefully, Dmytro would choose to stand by his side.
Hours later, Ajax dreamed he stood in a field. In one direction, sunflowers bloomed all the way to the horizon. The brilliant yellow and green, vibrant as a Van Gogh, cheered him. Warmed him. The desire to gather them in armfuls bubbled up inside him like happy laughter.
In the other direction, lavender blanketed the fields, tall and straight. Its pungent soapy scent rose in the air to mingle with all the sweetest aromas of summer.
He stood at a crossroads.
Why was he there? And which way should he go?
Which was better? Sunflowers or lavender?
He woke up unsure of himself for the first time in days.
He doubted his senses. Didn’t know his own heart.
What if he was wrong about Dmytro?
What if, now that their adventure was over and Dmytro came back to reality, he realized he wanted sunflowers and not… lavender. Or whatever Ajax was.
Did Dmytro simply enjoy both men and women? Did he prefer one over the other?
What mattered most to him?
After coming home safely, would Dmytro turn his back on what they had because it would be easier for him, more conventional, safer for his girls, less troublesome at work?
Ajax had asked the nurse a hundred times how Dmytro was doing, and she finally relented and shared that he was resting comfortably.
Good, Ajax thought. Good. The girls could visit him, and everything would be all right now.
He had bargained so hard with God.
He had promised so much.
Ajax would live a good life and be kind to his parents. He’d be an advocate for children, just like his dad. He’d find a way to use every gift he had, mental and physical—his time, his effort, his money—to do useful things for others.
It seemed churlish to beg God for mercy when you were about to drown and not check in when you were safe.
So he prayed—stiffly—until his thoughts clarified.
Dear God, thank you for my many blessings. Thank you for saving me and Dmytro from… everything. Thank you for giving him a second chance with his girls. Hold him in the palm of your hand. See what a good man he is. Look into his heart. He can’t hide how decent he is.
I’ll find a new path, and this time it will be an awesome one. And I’ll gut-check all my plans and enterprises from now on, I promise. Just help me show my family how much I love them. Um… Amen.
Resolutely, he didn’t ask for more.
He couldn’t. Not when it was obvious he had everything he’d ever needed, and more, already.