Under the Sunlight

Chapter 16

Jacob Stone was having a good morning. One of Sarah's kids was having a birthday which happened to fall on a day when her older kids were off of school. She and her boyfriend were taking the kids on a day long adventure and had invited Max. It wouldn't hurt for him to miss a day of preschool so Jacob was happy to allow him to go.

This worked out perfectly as the clippings books had been quiet and he was so close to finishing his paper he could taste it. It was now mid-morning and he was very nearly finished. Just checking his citations and adding some notes. One of the bits of magic he had been successful at was enchanting books, which was a huge advantage for his research. Especially at this stage in writing, when he wanted to make sure he got the page numbers correct. He was thinking about another cup of coffee but he was on a roll and didn't want to stop at the moment.

A couple of minutes later, his favorite redhead appeared in front of him holding a cup of coffee.

"I brought you some more fuel."

He grinned and thanked her. They did some light flirting, her trying to wheedle her way into reading his article. He knew as soon as he told her the topic that it was completely out of her sphere, but she was game to read it anyway. He needed to try harder with her when she talked about science and math, he could sometimes follow her, his IQ was high enough but he couldn't help his mind wandering. He knew she didn't care about Dutch colonial architecture but was willing to make an effort because she cared about him. But then her eyes settled on the name he was using.

She was gentle, encouraging him to be himself, pointing out that Flynn lectured and gave seminars under his real name. He could tell she didn't really approve of his reasoning and he could hear her unspoken "this is part of what's keeping us apart" in her voice. But she let it go or at least was starting to when first Jones and then the main clippings book interrupted them.

Oklahoma. . . . well the idea made his stomach clench but it was a couple of hundred miles away from his hometown so the likelihood was not high that he'd run into anyone he knew.

So he gave no argument (couldn't really if he was honest) when Baird sent the three of them off. And really, it was kind of exciting to have a big case again. It had been quiet for too long. He was in Oklahoma, a place that was in his blood and today at least felt more like coming home than the trap it usually did. Jones was too interested in having a new case to be annoying at the moment. Cassandra was at his side.

It was going to be a great day.

Until he saw the logo on the truck that drove by. And his heart dropped to his feet.

--

"The hell you doin' here?"

He was vaguely aware of Cassandra's gasp as he greeted his father. But at the moment he could feel himself sinking back into the endless hole of his life as Isaac Stone's son. It was ridiculous, he was a grown man, pushing 40, a father himself, but a second after meeting that man's stare and he was a scared little kid again.

He could vaguely hear Ezekiel and Cassandra's excited murmurings behind him. He could see it from Ezekiel and in a way Cassandra as well. After all, she'd had to find out about his ex-wife and child completely by accident, they all had. He couldn't really blame her for wanting to know more about him. Especially since she'd been considering having a serious relationship with him.

But the thing was he'd never wanted her to meet Jake Stone. Any other persona of his, he'd have been happy to let her get to know. But not Jake Stone. Never ever Jake Stone. The scared, useless boy who was being cowed by his own father right in front of her.