Kate Pt. 02

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"Alright," I grinned, relenting, "But only on one condition."

"Okay," he chuckled, "What's your condition?"

"It's an easy one," I grinned, "You have to at least let me help you guys."

"That again, huh," he laughed, "Alright then, what time is good for you?"

"How about eight o'clock tomorrow morning?" I asked, "That way Kate and Sara can make us a killer lunch, okay?"

"You can fill in for Zach, because him and Dad will be out finishing up another job tomorrow," he smiled, "We'll see you in the morning then. So; take care, brother."

"You, too," I happily replied, "Be sure to tell that pretty wife of yours that we all said hello...oh, and the same thing goes for little Angela, too."

"I sure will, Mark," he warmly said, "But don't be surprised if she wants to come with us."

"Are you kidding me?" I told him, "She's one of the sweetest kids I've ever known, not to mention the fact that she stole mine and Kate's heart the minute she walked through our front door last night."

"It makes all of us very happy to hear you say that, brother," Joey humbly replied, "And Mom and Dad wanted us to send their utmost regards to you, Mark...thanks again for everything you've done for my family. I can't even begin to tell you how much what you did means to our entire family..."

~~~~~~

Chapter Three

That afternoon as Tabitha was getting into her car to head back to her home in Chattanooga, Tennessee, she leaned over, and after placing her arms securely around my neck, she looked at me smiling, and then ever so tenderly told me, "Thank you, Mark; thank you for everything you've ever done for me," tears beginning to fill her eyes as she leaned over and gently kissed my cheek and then got into her car...

~~~~~~

That night as I lay in bed next to my beautiful Kate, she leaned over in her sleep and snuggled up next me and after a long sigh, gently placed her arm across my chest and continued to slumber, not to wake until the next morning.

~~~~~~

As promised, Joey Raymer and his younger brother, Nick, were at my kitchen/utility door at 7:30, which meant they were a little early.

"Good morning, fellas," I smiled, "I didn't expect you guys for another half hour."

"I'm sorry, Mark," Joey knowingly smiled, "But after I tasted your fiancée's coffee the other day, I just had to have another cup before we stared working this morning. I hope that's okay."

"Are you kidding me? Of course it's okay," I chuckled, opening the door wider to let them into the house, "As a matter of fact, Kate's in the kitchen putting on a fresh pot as we speak so, come on in, guys..."

~~~~~~

"I'm really looking forward to getting started," I excitedly told Joey, "How long do you think it will take us to get the house repaired?"

All of a sudden I heard the doorbell ring, meaning there was someone at the front door; and after getting up to answer it, I was pleasantly surprised when I found not only Uncle John standing there, but Kevin Braid as well.

"Hey guys," I happily grinned, "What a nice surprise...come on in. We're in here having some coffee before we get started making repairs to the front of the house this morning. Why don't you join us?"

"That sounds good to me," Uncle John grinned, "But I hope that Kate's making the coffee instead of you."

"No offense, Mark," Kevin chuckled, "But I have to agree with John on this one."

"Damn," I groaned, "My coffee isn't that bad, is it?"

"Yep," Kevin and Uncle John simultaneously laughed...

~~~~~~

"Well, I'll be damned," Kevin grinned, the moment he saw Joey and Nick sitting at the kitchen table, "If it isn't the Raymer boys...how're you fellas doing?"

"Captain Braid," Joey grinned, standing up to greet him, "It's good to see you, sir."

"You, too," Kevin smiled, shaking his hand, "How is Angela doing these days?"

"She's doing well," Joey gratefully smiled, "Especially since Mark took David Linder's ass down."

"He sure did, didn't he?" Kevin proudly smiled, "How are your parents doing? Tell them that I said "hello" if you don't mind."

"I will," Joey replied smiling, "They'll be very pleased to know that you asked about them."

"So, are you boys going to help Mark repair the front of his house?" he asked, "I know that Mark couldn't have found any better craftsmen than you two to help him."

"Are you kidding, Captain? It's the least we can do," Nick proudly replied, "Especially with all things considered."

"You guys can stop with the "Captain" stuff," he grinned, "Call me Kevin from now on, okay guys?"

"No problem," Joey grinned, "Thanks, Kevin."

"So, ya'll are going to fix the front of your house, Mark?" Uncle John asked.

"Yeah," I smiled, "Isn't that nice of them to want to do that?"

"Come on, Mark," Joey knowingly chuckled, "It's the least we could do after what you did for our little sister."

"I really didn't do anything," I humbly said, "I just helped put a pervert in jail, that's all."

"Maybe so," Joey quietly replied, "But I can't begin to tell you what it means to our whole family; especially my little sister, Angela.

"I'm Mark's Uncle John," he told them, seeing my face beginning to turn red "And my nephew was glad to do it..."

~~~~~~

When I walked outside with Joey and Nick to help them work on the front of the house, a delivery truck with the MID-SOUTH RESTORATIONS logo painted on its doors, began to slowly pull into my driveway. I saw that the truck's bed was filled with the materials that it was going to take to repair the front of my house which had been shot to pieces a couple of days ago.

"Which one of you men is Joseph Raymer Junior?" the driver politely asked, after he'd parked and exited his truck, "I need your signature on this invoice, please, so that I can give you your receipt."

"That would be me," Joey grinned, as he approached the driver, "How much is the total?"

"Let me see here," the driver replied, looking through the accompanying paperwork, "Here we are; I've got eighteen thousand, three hundred, forty-two dollars, and sixty seven cents. Does that sound about right?"

"Whoa, wait a minute," I protested, "Come on, Joey, I can't let you do that. It wouldn't be right."

"Too late, my friend," he chuckled, "It's already done."

"Why would you do this?" I worriedly asked, "That's a lot of money."

"It's nothing," Joey plainly told me, fighting the tears that were beginning to fill his eyes, "You can't put a price on a human life; can you, Mark?"

"I guess not," I quietly told him, "But I still can't let you spend that kind of money either."

Suddenly I saw a red Ford F-250 pick-up truck, with its bed covered, pulling into my driveway, with an older man in the driver's side, and Joey's younger brother, Zach, in the passenger side.

"I'll tell you what," Joey knowingly grinned, "My Dad's here, I'll let you talk with him about it," and then he walked toward the delivery truck to help unload it.

~~~~~~

"Mark Powers," Mr. Raymer smiled, his hand extended as he walked towards me, "I'm Joseph Raymer Senior, and it's damn nice to meet ya, son."

"You, too, Mister Raymer," I politely replied, "But it's not neces..."

"Mister Raymer's ass," he gently interrupted me laughing, "The name's Joe, and that's what I want you to call me, okay?"

"Alright, Joe," I kindly replied, "But I've got a bit of a problem, sir."

"What kind of problem?" he jovially asked, "Maybe I can help you with it."

"You certainly can, sir," I respectfully told him, "I believe in getting right to the point so; I'll tell you. You shouldn't have spent over eighteen thousand dollars on my house, Joe. That's way too much money, and while I mean no disrespect, sir, I have to be honest when I tell you that I'm not really comfortable about it."

"I'll tell you what, Mark," he gently smiled, "Why don't we go inside and talk about it, okay?"

"Okay," I respectfully smiled, "But please tell your boys to stop working while we talk, if you don't mind."

"No worries, Mark," he grinned, and then nodding at Joey, he said, "Hang on for a minute, boys..."

~~~~~~

I introduced Joe to Kate and Sara, as well as my Uncle John; and like Joey, he already knew Kevin Braid so; we sat down and Kate placed two cups of coffee in front of us. I asked Kevin and Uncle John for a little privacy, and they both willingly went into the den to watch the television...

~~~~~~

"It's not that I don't appreciate the reason why you and your boys want to repair my house, I do, and I'm extremely grateful, Joe," I began, "But I can't let you spend that kind of money, sir. I would never in a million years try to offend you so; please tell me that you understand this."

"I understand completely, Mark, and I'm not offended at all," he gently smiled, sipping his coffee, but there's something I want to tell you, if you don't mind taking the time to hear me out."

"Go ahead, Joe," I told him, "I'm all ears..."

"It's like this Mark," he began, "I've worked very hard all of my life to provide for my family. A few years back, I got false accused of tax evasion by the IRS."

"I know," I politely interrupted him, "And it just so happens that Carolyn Meyers' daughter is my fiancée, Kate."

"Well, I'll be damned," he laughed, "If you know about that, then you know that Carolyn flat out refuse to let me pay her for her services so; this is my way of paying it forward. Please let me do this for you, son. You put the monster in jail that almost killed my baby, and therefore I'm indebted to you for it."

By this time, I could see the tears beginning to rain down that kind old man's face, and in doing so, it touched me very deeply, almost to the point that I began to feel a little guilty for denying him this small thing he felt compelled to do. Still though, I absolutely was not going to allow him to pay for the materials with his hard earned money. However, I suddenly had an idea that might benefit us both. And in doing so, I decided to ask him to do something else instead.

"I'll tell you what, Joe," I grinned, "When you do a job, you also charge your customers for labor, correct?"

"Of course I do," he laughed, "I won't allow my boys to work for free."

"Alright then," I smiled, "If you feel the need to pay me back for whatever you feel it is that I've done for you and your family, then allow me to pay for the materials and you can provide the labor as a means to pay what ever debt you feel like you owe me, fair enough?"

"Damn, Mark, you're good," he began to laugh, "You should've been a lawyer, kid."

"Does that assuage your conscious, Joe?" I asked, "In other words, do we have a deal."

"Fair enough," he smiled, as we shook hands, "It's a deal."

"Good," I smiled, patting his shoulder. "KATE," I shouted down the hallway, "WOULD YOU PLEASE BRING ME MY CHECKBOOK?"

~~~~~~

After I'd reimbursed Joe for the materials, we went back outside and resumed working. With the addition of me Joe, and Zach, we helped Joey and Nick off load the materials, neatly stacking them into my garage where they would be kept out of the weather for the time it took to finish the job.

However, you can only imagine my surprise when we pulled the cover off of the last of the materials, to find a piece of bullet-proof glass that was the exact same size as my front window.

"Holy shit," I gasped; followed by the laughter of Joe and his sons, "No wonder this stuff cost over eighteen grand."

"That's not all of it, Mark," Joe began to laugh, as he pulled the cover off of his own truck, "We're gonna put a layer of Kevlar underneath the lumber just to make sure that you're safe. What do you think about that?"

"I'll tell you what I think," I laughed, "I think you guys rock..."

~~~~~~

It only took Joe and his sons a little less than 6 hours to get the old lumber off of the front of my house and put the Kevlar on. By that time it was nearing 2:30 in the afternoon.

"Why don't you guys take a break?" I asked them, after going into the house and returning with four pitchers of ice cold lemonade, as Kate brought out some large plastic cups full of ice, "It's hotter than hell out here."

"Thank you, Mark," Joey smiled, wiping the sweat from his brow with a handkerchief, "I wont tell you that the lemonade doesn't look good right about now."

"Great," I smiled, "Why don't we all go out back on the deck and drink some lemonade where it's nice and cool?"

"Hell yeah," Joe smiled, walking up behind us, "That sounds great to me...come on boys, let's take five..."

~~~~~~

"I can sure tell that you're a southern girl, Miss Kate," Joe chuckled, drinking his lemonade, "This tastes just like the lemonade that my Granny used to make when I was a little boy."

"Uh huh," Joey teased, winking at his brothers, "And that was right around the time that the Confederacy attacked Fort Sumter, wasn't it, Dad?" which of course elicited laughter from all of us.

"Ha ha, smart ass," Joe grinned, "You're about as funny as a fart in church, boy..."

~~~~~~

By the end of the day, around 5:00 in the afternoon, everything was completed, save for the replacement of my front window. To say that it looked great would be a huge understatement. Everything that had been done, at least up to that point, made my house look brand new. All that needed to be done was replacing the window, and then bring some painters in to cover the new lumber with a fresh coat of all weather latex paint.

And when I asked Joe if he knew of some reputable painters, he simply looked at me, and wearing a huge smile, said, "The cost of the materials included the paint, as well as the painting, too, Mark so; leave it to me, old buddy."

"Yes, sir," I grinned, as I shook my head knowing that to argue with him would be a lesson in futility at this point, "After all, you're the expert."

"That's right, my friend," he chuckled, "You catch on quick, son."

"I sure do," I conspiratorially grinned, "That's why you're going to bring your whole family out here this next weekend, because I'm going to have a big party to celebrate after all of the work gets done."

"That sounds like a good idea," he excitedly replied, "What do me and the Missus need to bring?"

"Nothing really," I knowingly grinned, "Just your whole family." "Leigh and Angela were right about you," he kindly smiled, "You really are a good man, Mark."

"Nah," I smiled, shaking his hand, "I'm just a guy who's thankful to have the friends that God has blessed me with; nothing more, nothing less."

"I can understand that, son," Joe quietly replied, patting me on the back, "Because I feel the same way, too..."

~~~~~~

Once Joe and his sons had cleaned up and headed out, it was nearing five-thirty. Kevin had already gone home, leaving Uncle John, Kate and Sara, who were sitting at the kitchen table talking when I walked back into the house.

"Those guys have done a hell of a job out there, Mark," Uncle John smiled, "I still can't believe they put Kevlar beneath the lumber. That's pretty good thinking on their part."

"That's nothing, Uncle John," I proudly replied, "Did you see the bullet-proof glass that's going where the front window used to be?"

"No kidding?" he chuckled, as I nodded my head, "Damn, these people don't do anything half assed around here, do they?"

"They sure don't," I grinned, "They're even putting a steel plate on the back of front door when they come back tomorrow...not bad, huh?"

"Not at all," he seriously replied, "Do you think I could get them to come and do the same thing to my house?"

"I don't see why not, especially in your line of work," I grinned, "But be prepared to pay good money for it."

"I can understand that," he smiled, "But you have to pay good money for good quality these days. Hell, I can't wait to see what it looks like when they get finished."

"I know," I grinned, looking like a kid at Christmas, "I can't wait either..."

~~~~~~

After I'd taken a shower and shaved, I put on some clean clothes and walked back into the kitchen to find Kate and Sara cooking supper, and Uncle John at the kitchen table having a soft drink.

"You're staying for dinner," I smiled, "Aren't you?"

"I don't see why not," he teased, "Kate cooks a hell of a lot better that you ever did," which, of course caused both Kate and Sara to girlishly giggle, once they'd heard what Uncle John said.

"Yeah, right," I laughed, "Don't forget that Domino's Pizza™ still makes deliveries, smart ass."

"Seriously though," he said, suddenly changing the subject, "I've found some evidence that incriminates Madeline Linder so; you might want to think about that."

"What do you mean?" I asked, "What kind of evidence?"

"Circumstantial evidence, mostly," he replied, "But I think that it's a good thing that the front of your house is covered in Kevlar, because I've got a very foreboding feeling that this shit with Mike Dodge isn't over yet."

"Jeez," I groaned, "Just when I thought I was done dealing with that asshole and his partner, his partner's wife turns up on your radar. Shit, that's all I need...dammit."

"Relax, kid," he smiled, "You can't see them, but there are six U.S. Marshalls that are within a hundred feet of your front door, and they're just waiting for someone to fuck with you."

"I sure hope so," I quietly replied, "Oh; I've got a question to ask you."

"Let me guess," he knowingly grinned, "You're probably wanting to know what we found out about Kara Wilkins, aren't you?"

"Yeah," I replied, "That's exactly what I wanted to know."

"The DEA thinks she's ignorant of what Mike Dodge has been up to," he began, "But according to Linda Dodge, she thinks that Kara and Mike have been sexually involved with one another."

"You know what they say," I reminded him, "The wife can always tell when something isn't right with her husband."

"I agree with you," he replied, "That's why I need to ask a favor of you, Mark; you, too, Kate, especially because Linda Dodge is your mother's sister."

"It's up to Mark," Kate said, walking over to the table and placing her arm around my shoulders, "I agree with whatever decision he makes."

"Alright then, here it is," Uncle John began, "I need to talk to Linda Dodge on unofficial terms, in an unofficial place; preferably right here at your house, Mark."

"That's fine with me," I told him, "But you need to understand that the first time things start to get hairy around here," and then quickly I pulled my Walther PPK .380 out and set it down onto the table, "I'm going to shoot first and ask questions later; agreed, Uncle John."

"Let me ask you something," he sternly said, "Do you have some kind of death wish, Mark?"

"I think you know me better than that, Uncle John," I firmly replied, my hand still on my weapon, "But I've already risked my life once for the DEA, and that was to take Mike Dodge's criminal fucking ass down when I went to South America. I'm not even going to consider doing something like that here, especially because Kate and Sara will be here. However, if the shit that I've been through so far has taught me anything, it's to wish for the best, but be prepared for the worst. If you want me to help you, it's going to have to be on my terms, or not at all...Now...do we have a deal, or not?"

"Jesus Christ, Mark," Uncle John quietly replied, fear very clearly written across his face, "You scare the hell outta me sometimes, kid."

"Good," I growled, "That means that whoever shot up my house must be terrified of me so; I repeat the question, Uncle John. Do we have a deal, or not."

"It seems that I've got no choice," he relented, but clearly not wanting to, "Of course we have a deal."

"Alright then," I said, "But I want to do this after Joe Raymer finishes my house, okay?"

"I agree with you on that one," he suddenly grinned, shaking his head, "I'm glad that you're on our side, Mark."

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