BMB: Version 1-1

"Yep, excellent," Tommy told her. "We're going to take a shower and then sit in the kitchen to eat a real meal. Would you want to join us as we listen to her phone messages? She left her phone on the table when we walked in."

"Sure, I'd love to listen in on the 67 notifications," Jen responded and emphasized the huge number. "It's been going off all day. I check to see who it is just in case it's her family calling. But alas, no, it has all been texting, phone calls, and voicemails coming from one Ryan Beekman."

"We'll probably be to the kitchen by 7:30PM. Sound good?"

"Take your time, kids," Jen told us and laughed. "No need to rush a shower on my part. Bye."

"You didn't say anything," Tommy noted.

"Nah, I'll say plenty when she sees my ring and the glow I'm sure I have now that I've be completely satisfied, twice mind you, by my handsome fiancé."

"Well, there is that," Tommy responded and laughed as he brought his lips down onto mine. "Come on," he encouraged as he sat up. "Let's go wash each other. I have more to explore tonight, and that starts now, I think." My bag was in the hall, and since we were going to change the bedding and wash the dirty stuff all with our clothes, I just used the sheet to walk from his room to the bathroom across the hall.

We didn't mess around in the shower too much. He washed me, spending more time with some places than others (apparently, they really needed to be cleaned, rinsed, tasted just a bit, cleaned, and then rinsed again), and then I washed him. He washed his hair and then got out so I could finish with my hair.

We brushed our teeth, combed our hair, got dressed and headed for the kitchen to find some food. Jen, my dearest friend in life, had gone ahead and ordered food she knew Tommy and I would enjoy so that we didn't have to make anything. I love her so much.

"There they are!" Jen greeted us as she looked up from her phone and smiled. "Well, don't you two look refreshed, warm, and dare I say, well spent?"

"Jen!" I yelled as Tommy pulled the snow gear out of the dryer, and I loaded the washer with our dirty clothes and bed sheets.

"Trin! The walls are nice and sturdy around here, but even I heard a bit of pleasant noise here and there about an hour after our good friend texted me to tell me you'd woken up, and a bit sweaty at that. You gave us quite a scare. It's nice to have you back to the land of the living. And I mean that in multiple ways. I know that look. I've never seen it on you, but I know it."

"You knew me when I was a virgin and well after, Jennifer," I claimed and gave her a whatever look.

"Ah, yes, but the afterglow of sex with orgasms?" Jen asked and then smirked. "Never. But I love it. Besides, you're washing sheets and took a shower together. I'm not stupid. And you two were meant to be, just like Gram said."

"Seen the look in the mirror before, have we?" I asked and tilted my head. Jen and I had quite the talk the morning after she and Dougie had made love. It was filled with many giggles as she shared all the details. She was simply glowing with bliss. I was so incredibly happy for her.

"Yep, every time with Dougie," she answered confidently. "We just fit." Tommy coughed on his drink when he heard that.

"So, you did it, right?" Jen asked. I looked up and gave her an incredulous look, because hadn't we just discussed that? But she wasn't looking at me. She was looking at Tommy.

"As soon as I got his blessing," Tommy answered. Jen turned to look at my hand. "I think she likes it," he whispered and winked at her. He then put his hand behind my back and ran his fingers up and down my spine.

"Attagirl," Jen told me and sat back and sighed. "It's going to suck trying to keep all the secrets for the next year, but I think the four of us can handle it. We're gonna have to do some double dating. Maybe your guy can give Dougie a nudge to find a ring for this finger too. It's not like we aren't going to end up together."

I turned to look at Tommy who was smiling at my best friend, and then I looked at my best friend who was flipping through my phone. "How often do you two talk?" I asked and tilted my head.

"Hey, you have Jeremy," Tommy responded and then shrugged. "I needed someone I could talk to who knew, so after the Labor Day trip, I sat with her in her office and vented one day after you'd left. I sometimes reach out to gain some perspective. It's been hard to keep control of all these feelings about you, Trin, but Jen's been helping just like I know Jeremy's been fielding your vent sessions."

"What? He swore he'd never tell!" I argued with shock.

"Oh, he doesn't tell me what's discussed," Tommy clarified. "He doesn't even tell Dougie, and that boy will beg for some answers just to get the juice, but Jeremy's loyal. I'm glad you've been able to talk to him. And Dad doesn't think anything of me talking privately with Jen. Now that I know it, I guess he always knew what was going on to some degree, especially since Dougie went to him right after the September trip. But, more often than not, I guess we used to talk when Dad was already gone for the day."

"Alright, who's up for listening to some messages?" I asked and picked up my phone. "Whoo! 87 notifications. That's a lot. Should we sort out all the call and text times first to hear and read them in order?"

"That would help to put it in perspective, I guess," Jen suggested. "87? Really? Yikes."

"I can bet someone's a little mad," Tommy speculated and then laughed. "Serves him right. He'd better hope he never crosses my path." I turned to give him a disappointed look, but he waved off my concern. "Fine. He can walk near me. He'd better watch his mouth because if he says anything remotely disrespectful about you, my beautiful future bride, I may end up hurting him."

"Fair enough," I conceded and leaned over to kiss him lightly on his lips. "I love you."

After assessing all the times, calls, and voicemails, we listened and read them in order. It was quite a chore, but the escalation of anger and yelling and then the accidental continued bitching after he thought he'd hung up was all very informative. I saved all 14 voice messages accusing me of this, that, and the other, and took screenshots of all the texts to save in case they needed to be shared.

"I can call Officer Dugan to inform him about the situation if you want," Tommy offered. I nodded. He called him and put the phone on speaker for all of us to hear.

"Low," the officer answered.

"Hi, it's Tommy. Have you got a few minutes?"

"Tommy! How's it going. Wait, aren't you supposed to be at the wedding?"

"Yeah, but something came up. That's actually why I'm calling."

"Well, I happen to be near your place. Are you there? I could just stop by."

"That'd be awesome if it's not too much trouble," Tommy replied and smiled at me. "See you in a few." He hung up and gathered our empty plates and napkins to throw away.

"Police stop here often?" Jen asked and then smirked when Tommy accidentally ran into her chair coming back from the sink where he'd washed his hands.

"So, what's going on?" Officer Dugan asked and looked at me.

"Um, so the very short story is that I went snowmobiling this morning with Ryan Beekman who had been an employee with BMB up until he suddenly quit on Thursday. I had a sled to myself and was the last person in the group. We passed mile marker one and then found a clearing. When they went to continue, my sled sputtered out. I think it ran out of gas. I took the key and put it in my pocket."

"Now, why'd you do that?" Officer Dugan asked.

"I knew it wasn't going anywhere, but as it wasn't mine, and I didn't want to be accused of leaving it there to be stolen, I thought I'd leave the key on Ryan's trailer behind his gas can where he'd find it. I thought it was appropriate seeing how he hadn't gassed mine up, even when I'd asked about it. He was much more interested in the head guy and then the twins who'd showed up with their snowmobiles to join the group as well."

"Blonde, look to be right around your age maybe?" Officer Dugan asked. "I only ask because there's a group of snowmobilers who have been getting into trouble lately, and they're linked to the main guy. I have a picture," he said and pulled out his phone. "Yep, was this the main guy?"

"Yes, that's him," I answered. "I never heard his name. He was told my name, but I never heard anyone's name or got to be part of the group. It was all very awkward."

"OK, continue," the officer encouraged.

"I took out my phone and texted Jen to tell her that I was going to need a ride from the entrance. I told her it was about a mile from where I was, but since I was in snow gear and on uneven terrain, I needed about a half hour. As I began walking, it started to snow. I thought it was funny. When the wind picked up and the snow came down much harder, I did not find it funny anymore.

"I lost my footing, fell down, and landed in the lake. I thought it was completely frozen over. The very cold water which immediately seeped into my clothes told me otherwise. The fall knocked the wind out of me. I got up and climbed back up onto the trail. I could hardly tell where I was. I stopped to text Jen again, but the messages kept being bounced back. I tried repeatedly to call but there was no service."

"Why didn't you call or text Tommy?" Officer Dugan asked. "You're partners at work, right? I know how seriously Tom looks at that. He talks about it often and asks now and again if there is anything more that should be shared or done between his groups for safety and security, not only for each other, but for the business as well."

"Tommy had the wedding, and I didn't want to bother him," I explained. "I thought if I just asked Jen who I knew was off all day, I could get back to my house, take a shower, warm up, and then spend the rest of the day in front of the fireplace and watch movies."

"Fair enough," the officer answered.

"But I just kept walking and wiggled my toes and fingers to keep the blood flowing through them. I began humming a song and tried to keep my mind active. I heard my name, but I couldn't make out where it was coming from. I couldn't see a whole lot around me. I finally heard my name again, and then Tommy found me and brought me to the truck. I hurried to put the key on the trailer so I didn't have to deal with that anymore."

"She was ice cold," Tommy shared. "I ended up having to use my body heat to warm her. I stayed back to take care of her and sent Dougie off with Max to catch a ride with Pat and Rose. Dougie informed Dad right away so I could focus on Trin."

"So, did, um," Officer Dugan began and checked his notes, "this Ryan person contact you since then?"

"87 notifications," Jen shared next and held up my phone. "We read and listened to them in order. Trin saved all the voice messages and took screenshots of the texts if you need them. They grew in escalation from angry to Hulk Smash angry. Here are all the notes of times and the gist of the messages."

"Alright, I don't know if this is going to be reported or anything, but..." Officer Dugan was saying but then stopped when his radio chirped.

"Officer Dugan, would you call Tracie please," the radio call person was saying. "We have a situation needing your attention."

"Um, excuse me a second," he told us and picked up his phone.

"Dugan," he answered. I thought it was odd. He'd been the one to call. "Uh-huh. Really? Well, isn't that interesting. I'm with the accused right now. They have already reported their side of the story. I'll get the statement in writing and bring in the copies of texts and recordings of all the voicemails. I hear there's some proof of his wrongdoing on the recordings because the kid didn't end the call when he finished screaming at her."

I smiled at Tommy as he reached for my hand. Jen was watching us and smiling to herself. I knew she was thinking about Dougie. I hated that he had to go to the wedding without her. I certainly disliked that Tommy had to take care of me instead of going to support Sam and Tina, but I'm not going to lie to myself either. I sure didn't mind warming up and getting the blessing and then having the best sex of my life with my now fiancé.

"Alright, Tracie," Officer Dugan told the person on the other end of the line. "I'll be in with that information, and we can sort out the mess when I get there. Thanks for the direct call. You know I like to be the one to handle the Parkers." I looked over at Tommy and smiled. I was going to be a Parker soon. Holy crap. That hadn't occurred to me.

"Well, this Ryan fellow seems to be a piece of work alright," the officer told us as he got up from the table. "He's at the station with some line of cockamamie about you stealing his snowmobile. He even told them that you weaseled your way into the group by flirting with the one you knew as the head guy. And then he claimed that you tried bribing him with snacks and drinks?" he asked and shook his head. "He went off on a tangent about you being late to the meeting point and that you were using him to get back at your boss about some rule."

"Wow, what a tangled web we weave," Jen said almost absentmindedly and laughed. "The rule does suck," Jen added, "but Dougie can testify that if anyone was trying to make a point of getting back at the boss about that rule, it was Ryan. He asked Trin out to go snowmobiling right after he quit. Like, he literally walked from Tom's office directly to Trin's to set it up."

"When does Dougie get back?" Officer Dugan asked.

"Tonight, late," Jen answered and sighed. "I could have him write a statement in the morning though. And if you need anything else, we'd be happy to meet up with you tomorrow."

"Hey, um, could you stop by the shop on the way to the station?" Tommy asked the officer as they stood up to walk to the door.

"Sure, why?"

"Trin's car is there," Tommy responded. "Could you make sure no tires have been slashed or windows broken? We have cameras, but I'm not so sure he knows that. I wouldn't put it passed him to mess with her car to show his dissatisfaction with Trin's disappearing act, not that she was at fault by any means. I mean, they left her behind, didn't come back to check on her, and that's besides the fact that he let her ride with a nearly empty tank!"

When all was said and done, thankfully, Tommy heard back that no damage had been done to my car or anything else that Officer Dugan could see. Dougie came home late to join Jen who was already waiting for him in his bed. The assumption was that they had a beautiful night. I had no idea until it was verified the following morning. I had been a little busy enjoying my own beautiful night with my fiancé and truly, the love of a lifetime. I couldn't wait to see what our future held.

***

Thanks so much for taking the time to read this first installment of the BMB series. I'm so excited to finally be sharing my works. I hope you enjoyed getting to know Tommy and Trin. Oh, how I do love them, and with each version of their story, I hope you'll find yourself rooting for them too.

The next version will be in two parts. The more I write about them, the longer the versions seem to get.

The basics throughout all the stories will remain solid. Trin is a young widow who lost a husband and two young daughters. That never changes. Tommy and Trin will always be the main couple. Gram will always be awesome and take to Trin immediately. Jeremy will always be Dougie's childhood best friend who has battled cancer most of his young adult life. He and Trin share a special bond with his battles and her experiences. Jen is Trin's lifelong best friend. Tom and Michelle are married, but what will be further explained is that Michelle is actually Tom's second wife. Dougie and Trin always share an office. Most other details will be played around with amongst the upcoming versions. Patience and trust, I beg of thee!

All my best to you... I'd better get back to work now! Lots to add so you readers can enjoy! - CILMArae