Date: Sat, 14 Apr 2001 17:22:02 EDT
From: Aterovis@aol.com
Subject: Chapter 7 of All Lost Things

Greeting, and welcome to 7th Chapter of All Lost Things. I hope you enjoy
reading it as much as I enjoyed writing. The word fairy was with me on this
one, it came very easily. I love hearing from you and welcome your
feedback. Check out the site, it changes weekly.
http://bleedinghearts.nav.to Email: Aterovis@aol.com


Chapter 7

	Chaos greeted me as I walked through the front door of our house
that evening. The sounds of pot and pans banging around came from the
direction of the kitchen, where I deduced that Adam must be cooking. Steve
was struggling to add the extra leaf to our antique (and very stubborn)
dining table. Kane was busily vacuuming and over all this, the radio was
loudly blaring country music.

	I rushed over to help Steve with the table. "What's going on?" I
asked as I tugged on my end. It slowly slid grudgingly open far enough to
accommodate the leaf.

	"We're having company," Steve grunted as he dropped the leaf into
place. "Push," he ordered.

	"So I gathered," I gave the table a shove and it slid back
together.  "Of the last minute variety I assume. Do I get to know who it is
or do I have to wait until the arrive?"

	"Judy and Jake. It was Adam's idea."

	My stomach did a funny little flutter at the mention of Jake's name
but I tried to just ignore it. I thought that Steve sounded a little
disgruntled by our eleventh-hour guests, but then again I may have been
reading too much into it.  e
	I wondered into the kitchen and decided I wasn't just imagining
things. Adam was wearing a very grim expression as he attacked a large bowl
of salad as if the greens had offended him.

	"What did that lettuce do to you?" I asked lightly. He jumped and
looked up.

	"Killian," he said, as if surprised to see me.

	"Yeah, I live here, remember?"

	"I didn't hear you come in."

	"Sorry, didn't mean to startle you. Are you ok?"

	"Me? Yeah, why do you ask?"

	"Well, with you roughing the roughage and all..."

	"I'm fine, just a little stressed with having to throw together a
dinner at the last minute like this."

	"I thought it was your idea."

	"Who said that?"

	"Steve."

	Adam rolled his eyes, "He would. Technically I invited them, but
you know Judy. She called here fully intending to eat here tonight. She
dropped hints until I invited her and then she was all, 'oh we couldn't,
too much work, blah blah blah,' but of course she accepted."

	"Is there anything I can do to help?"

	"No, not really. Thanks though, Kill. It's not as bad as I'm making
it out to be; I'm just blowing off steam. The chicken breasts are in the
oven, the risotto is almost done, I've ravaged the romaine enough and we
have plenty of desserts around. All I have to do is mix up the vinaigrette
and I'm all done. Besides, you're a working stiff now. You go on and relax
until dinner."

	"I don't do anything except sit behind a desk all day. The most
strenuous thing I do is answer the phone. Although I did get to do some
research today at the newspaper."

	"That's different. Is it for one of Mr. Novak's cases?"

	"He hates to be called mister. And not exactly, but that's a long
story."

	"Which I want to hear in full, just not right now."

	"Ok," I said, trying to hide my relief. I wasn't quite ready for
Adam to know that I was getting involved in another murder investigation. I
made my exit while I could and took the stairs two at a time up to my
room. I was checking my email, nothing but get-rich-quick offers and penis
enlargement advertisements, when Kane came in.

	"Heya, Kill," he said as he pulled his stained, raggedy t-shirt
over his head, "Dad said I hafta change."

	"No wonder, you look like some street kid in that nasty shirt."

	"Hey, you know it's my favorite. It was Seth's. What should I
wear?"

	"Clothes."

	"Come on, you're the gay guy. You're supposed to be good at fashion
stuff."

	"Give me a break!"

	"I'm just kidding," he said with a grin. He pulled a short-sleeved
knit shirt out of my dresser and held it up. "I know how you are about
stereotypes. Can I wear this?"

	"Just don't get anything on it."

	"I'll try. Are you and Asher still on the outs?"

	"Yeah, why?" I said warily.

	"Are you going to start something up with Jake again?"

	"What?"

	"You two had something going on once, before Asher, right?"

	"That's ancient history, Kane."

	"Hmmm, a bit touchy aren't you? Maybe you protest too much?"

	"Don't misquote Shakespeare at me," I said a trifle grumpily.

	"Fine, I think thou dost protest too much. That better? Anyway, the
only reason I asked is because I met this really nice guy today at the
library and I think he might be gay."

	"Ok, first off, I do not need you fixing me up. I am perfectly
capable of finding my own dates if and when I decide I'm ready to
date. Second, what makes you so sure he's gay? Did he talk with a lisp and
have a limp wrist?"

	"Now who's throwing around stereotypes?"

	"I was making a point."

	"I've been around enough gay guys to know one when I see
one. Besides, he was hitting on me, not real obviously or anything but
definitely flirting. And no, I wasn't imagining it. And then," he paused
dramatically before delivering his final argument, "he gave me his phone
number before he left."

	"Oh," I said, feeling properly chastised. I turned back to the
computer and started reading an article about Madonna.

	"Aren't you going to ask me if he was cute?" Kane asked after a
minute.

	"It doesn't matter since I'm not about to call him. Besides, you're
straight, how would you know?"

	"I'm straight, not blind. I still know if a guy is hot or not. I'm
just not attracted to him if he is."

	I shrugged and kept reading. I lasted a full thirty seconds before
my curiosity overcame me. "Well, was he cute?" I demanded, carefully
keeping my eyes on the screen.

	"Well, I am only straight," his voice dripped with sarcasm, "but
I'd have to say he was a major hottie."

	I struggled for another half a minute before asking, "How major?"

	"You know that guy from Cruel Intentions?"

	I spun around, "Ryan Philippe?"

	"Yeah, that's him. Well he didn't look anything like him."

	I laughed out loud as Kane collapsed into a fit of giggles.

	"Good one. You made the whole thing up, didn't you?" I said.

	"No, he's for real, honest. I just couldn't resist. He's got brown
hair and eyes, cute in an all-American sort of way. Actually he looked a
little like that guy in your favorite movie."

	"Beautiful Thing?"

	"No, that other one, with Rachel from friends."

	"Oh, The Object of My Affection."

	"Yeah, that one."

	"You mean Paul Rudd?"

	"If you say so. His name is Micah."

	"That's a nice name."

	"He seemed like a nice guy. He overheard me asking the librarian
about where to find books on local history. He said that he'd just finished
a great book on the subject."

	"Since when have you cared about local history?"

	"I don't. It was for Steve. He's doing some sort of research about
this house he's so obsessed with. Anyway, Micah showed me the book he was
talking about and a few others. Wasn't that nice of him?"

	"A regular boy scout," I said dryly, "And how old was this font of
knowledge and goodwill? 50? 60? 70?"

	"I'd guess in his early 20's. He's a reporter. That's why he knew
all that stuff. He was doing research for an article."

	"Oh. Well I'm still not calling a complete stranger. And you don't
even know for sure that he's gay. He might have just given you his number
as a professional courtesy; you know, in case you had more questions."

	"Get real. My gaydar is probably better than yours. I could
introduce you."

	"Forget it, Kane. I'm not going on a blind date with some stranger
you just met in the library. Do you really think I'm that desperate?"

	"You're still hung up on Asher aren't you?"

	"For the love of...where did that come from?"

	"If you're not ready to date just say so."

	"Has everyone lost their freakin' minds around here?"

	The phone started ringing at the moment and Kane scooped it up. I
gratefully escaped back to the computer.

	"Speak of the devil," Kane said as he dropped the phone into my
lap.

	I looked up questioningly, but he walked out of the room without a
backwards glance.

	"Hello?" I said, half expecting to hear the mysterious Micah on the
other end.

	"Killian?" It was Asher.

	"Oh, hi."

	"Don't sound so excited," he said.

	"I was just...never mind. What's up?"

	"You said you'd call me."

"No, I said we would talk."

"Well, now we're talking. What's going on?"

"You're lucky. Novak agreed to help out in his spare time. I think he's
just curious about the case."

"Great! When do we start?"

"We started today. We did some research and stuff. We won't be doing much
more until Monday."

"Monday? We have to move faster than that! Caleb's in jail!"

"I thought he was fifteen."

"Well, it's juvie jail, but still."

"Look, we have to do this on Novak's time. He's doing us, no, you, a favor
by doing this at all."

"We don't have to wait on him for everything. You could meet me tomorrow
and we could go visit Caleb. I had him add you to his visitor's list. It's
not like he has that many. Don't you want to meet him?"

I started to argue but once again my curiosity won out. "What time?" I said
with a sigh.

"How about 11?"

"Fine," I said, "I have to go. Judy and Jake are coming over for dinner."

"I know. They're staying here while they get moved into their
apartment. It's a full house."

"I bet. I have to go help Adam now." A small fib but I was eager to get off
the phone before I got drawn into anything else.

"Ok, see you tomorrow."

I hung up and I decided to go down and see if there was something I could
do so it wouldn't be a total lie. As I stood up I noticed a cream-colored
business card lying next to the keyboard.

"Micah Gerber," it read, "Journalist." His phone number and email address
were printed beneath that. For a crazy moment I thought about sending this
guy and email, but I quickly shook it off and ran downstairs.

I was setting a basket of rolls on the table when I heard voices in the
hallway. Apparently Judy and Jake had arrived. My stomach did a triple
somersault before settling into what felt like jumping jacks.

I couldn't make myself go out to greet them so I waited for them to come to
me. I didn't have to wait long since dinner was ready. Judy and Jake came
into the room, led by Steve with Adam and Kane trailing behind. Jake
stopped cold when he saw me standing there. He looked better than I
remembered. He'd grown up since I saw him last; he now looked several
inches taller than me. His hair had darkened to a light brown with blonde
highlights and his skin was a warm golden tan, making his bright blue eyes
look even brighter. He was, in a word, beautiful. He grinned and his teeth
flashed white. I smiled back uncertainly. No one in the room missed the
exchange but thankfully everyone had the grace not to mention it.

We settled into our places around the table and somehow it maneuvered so
that Jake and I were sitting side by side. I was beginning to feel like
things had been orchestrated to throw us together. I didn't much like the
feeling.

Adam left the room and came back with the bowl of salad and after a brief
blessing we all dug in. Conversation was light; we mostly talked about Judy
and Jake's recent move, her new business, and the house that Steve was
buying. I noticed that every time the subject of the house came up that
Adam didn't have much to say. Or maybe I was just making mountains out of
molehills.

Steve filled us in on his latest research on the house, "The real estate
agent thought that the house was built in the 1830's, but if it was then
she had some of her research wrong. She said that Captain Marnien built it
for his young bride, Amalie. The Captain was quite a local celebrity, a bit
of an eccentric, and he did apparently build the house, probably later than
the 1830's. He didn't marry Amalie until 1859. He was lost as sea about a
year later. It was in all the local newspapers at the time, even made the
Baltimore papers. Amalie died a few years later and according to one book
that was really about historic homes on the Lower Shore. I haven't been
able to find her death notice yet, but it's all very
interesting. Apparently even though she was a young, beautiful and very
rich widow, Amalie didn't socialize at all after the loss of the
Captain. She hardly ever left the house in fact."

"If he didn't build the house in the 1830's why did that lady tell you
that?" Kane asked.

"Trying to make it sound like more of a deal?" Jake said with studied
disinterest.

"What the difference between 20 years when it's already that old?" I said.

"Maybe she just had some incorrect information. Or maybe she just
remembered wrong. She did have it all memorized," Steve pointed out.

"Well, I for one can't wait to see this treasure," Judy said, "And I
understand it has it's own resident ghost; Amalie I presume?"

"So the legend goes," Steve said with a child-like grin

"I don't believe in ghosts," Kane said firmly.

"Some things exist whether you believe in them or not," Judy said with a
small smile.

An awkward silence fell over the table until it got to me. I was never one
to stand a pregnant pause. "I know what I want to do now. Like with my
life."

Everyone turned to look at me and I wondered if I was blushing. "And what
would that be?" Adam asked.

"Well I'll have letters behind my name."

"M.D.?" guessed Adam.

"PhD?" offered Steve.

"DOA?" Kane smirked.

Judy just smiled and Jake just looked slightly disinterested.

"PI," I said.

It fell like a brick. Only Judy's expression remained the same. Adam's eyes
widened and his fork stopped in midair. Steve frowned. Kane looked as if he
was struggling to keep from laughing out loud and Jake looked interested
for the first time that night.

"You want to be a detective?" Adam said carefully.

	"Killian Kendall, PI," Kane said with a snicker.

I threw him a dirty look and answered Adam, "Yeah, like Novak. He said that
if I work with him three years I could get my license. I'd be like an
apprentice."

"It sounds kind of dangerous," Steve said.

"Not really. He said most of his cases are really boring; mostly research
and stuff, like I was doing today."

	"Are you going to drop out of school?" Adam asked.

	"He hasn't started yet, how can he drop out?" Kane pointed out.

	"No, I would just take classes that would help make me a better
investigator; journalism, photography, stuff like that."

"Well I think it's a marvelous decision," Judy interjected. Adam and Steve
threw her a matching pair of scowls.

"Thank you, Judy," I said deliberately. "It's nice to know someone supports
me."

"It's not that I don't support you," Adam said, "I just want to make sure
you know what you're getting into."

"This is what I really want to do."

"You're mother is going to kill me," he muttered.

"I'll be 18 in a month, then I'll be an adult and she won't have to worry."

"You don't stop being a parent when your child turns 18," Steve said.

"I didn't mean to start a family argument at the dinner table," I said
pointedly.

"What? We're not family?" Judy said with a warm smile.

"I didn't say that," I said with an answering smile.

"Jake, you have one year left of school?"

"Yeah, Kane and I are in the same grade." He cast a slightly suggestive
smile in Kane's direction. I made a mental not to remind Jake that Kane was
straight.

"It's hard to believe that my youngest son is going to be a senior this
fall," Adam moaned.

"Tell me about it," Judy agreed, "Do I look old enough to have a son in
college?"

"No you don't," Steve assured her, "How is Dash by the way?"

"Loving every minute of life on his own. He's going on some sort of work
exchange experience thing to Australia for a year starting next month. He
promised to come for a visit before he leaves."

"What kind of work will he be doing?"

"Knowing Dash, very little. They'll have to pry him away from the beach and
parties."

"Was it good to see Jamie again?" I asked Jake.

He gave me a funny look that I couldn't quite decipher. "It's just nice to
be home," he said quietly. I looked at Judy but she didn't look back. I
wondered if I had said something wrong.

"It's good to have you back," I said to fill the silence. That got me a
sexy little smile for my effort. I felt a chill run down my spine and I
wondered if that was a good thing or a bad thing.

I honestly hadn't thought about rekindling any kind of romance with Jake
until Kane brought it up. Our last attempt had been a clumsy, uncertain
exploration and had ended before it had even truly begun. But now I was
finding that the same attractions that were there the first time were still
very much present. I had do decide if I wanted to act on those feelings or
do my best to ignore them. I still wasn't sure what was happening with
Asher. Were we going to work things out and get back together or was that a
lost cause? I needed to have a heart to heart talk with someone, and I
didn't think Adam or Steve would do this time; they both had too much on
their own minds. Maybe I could talk to Judy.

The conversation had moved on while I was lost in my thoughts and I
suddenly found myself the focus of everyone's attention.

"Uh...what?" I said a bit defensively.

	"I asked if you've heard how Will is making out with the new baby,"
Adam said.

	"Oh, he sent me an email last week. I need to go see him. He said
he hasn't slept hardly at all since they brought Darin home, but other than
that he's good. And Darin is good."

	"We'll have to have him and the baby over for dinner soon," Steve
suggested.

	"How old is the baby?" Jake asked.

	"Almost a month old," I told him.

	"Will is Asher's cousin on Aunt Deb's side, right?" he asked Judy.

	"Yes."

	"I thought Asher told me he was gay."

"He is," I said.

"So is the baby like...adopted or what?"

"It's a long story," I hoped he would get the hint and drop it.

"Dinner's done, how about if we take a walk and you can tell it to me."

"I..." I started to say that I should help clean up, but Adam cut me off.

"That's a good idea. You two can catch up."

I smiled weakly as everyone got up from the table. As I was following Jake
towards the door, Judy caught my eye and seemed to be trying to tell me
something. I wasn't sure what though so I just kept going.

I wasn't sure what to say once we were alone, so I headed for the beach.

"I missed the beach," he said after a minute.

I thought you were living in California," I said.

"California isn't all beaches you know. Mom and Dash used to live on the
coast but they moved inland just before I went out there. Besides, the west
coast beach just feels different. This is home."

"You seem a lot better than when you left."

"I am a lot better. So tell me the story on Will."

So I did. I told him the whole thing, including my limited involvement and
how Will came to adopt Darin. When I finished he was quiet for a few
minutes. The only sound was the crash of the waves rolling in.

"I missed you, Killian," he said softly after a while. My heart skipped a
beat and then sped up. I looked away. "I thought of you all the time," he
went on, "When I heard that you and Asher had broke up, I have to admit I
was relieved."

"Look, Jake, I don't know where you're going with this, but I don't know
where Asher and I stand. I'm not really..."

He cut me off with the softest of touches, just the lightest brush of his
hand against my cheek. I turned back to face him. He was so close I could
smell his scent, feel the warmth from his body. "I don't know if I ever
thanked you for saving my life," he whispered. Then he leaned in ever so
slightly and his lips brushed mine. Any restraint I had been holding on to
washed away in the sudden rush of emotion and suddenly I was kissing him
with an intensity I hadn't felt in a long time.

Jake broke away first. "I knew you wanted me," he said with a
self-satisfied grin. s scent, u