Secrets and Oaths✓

New Beginnings

The movers had finally unloaded the last of the boxes from the back of the truck. He had convinced himself that this move was in everyone's best interest. Even though the charges were dropped and Jacob was free, the looks he still received around town ranged from pure hatred to terrified. That was no way for a teenager to live. When Andy was offered this position for the DA in the town of Woodbridge, Virginia, he leapt at the chance to get his family out of Newton. He hoped this move would be what his family needed to heal and move on. 

These thoughts stayed with him as he moved boxes from the foyer of the two story colonial that they now called home. Placing them down in the office that was off of the kitchen, he sighed. This would be good. It had to be. Him and Laurie were barely hanging on by a thread. She insisted that she lost control of the car but there was a voice in his head, which sounded suspiciously like his father, that was calling her out on her bluff. The baby albums in the trash haunted him almost as much as the phone call he received from the police telling him his family had been in an accident. 

It was the last weekend before school started  and his family was preparing to go to the cookout the local precinct was putting on. His new boss had extended an invitation via email, said it was a good way to get to know the people he would be working with. In an attempt to put his best foot forward he had accepted. Laurie hadn't been thrilled but they needed this, normalcy. They owed it to Jacob who had had the worst year of his life. They owed it to themselves, even if they were almost unrecognizable to each other at this point. And so they packed themselves up in his Audi and drove over to the park, where this picnic was happening. 

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

She was standing around with her fiancé, Jimmy, watching her little brother, Charlie, play a game of pickup basketball with a couple of the officers and their sons. She wasn't shocked that Jimmy wasn't playing, his lack of coordination had landed him in the ER at enough of these picnics in the last five years that they had called Woodbridge their home. But Charlie looked happy regardless and that was something she worried she would never see again. It took him a long time to even talk again after the "accident", let alone smile or laugh. While it might have been hard moving from Memphis when they did, she would go back and make all the same decisions if it meant her brother would smile like he was now. 

She was brought out of these musings by the DA,  Adam Withers, walking over to her with a man that was probably only ten years older than her. He was trailed by a woman who had a dour look on her face and a young boy, who had to be Charlie's age. "Katherine, this is the new ADA I was telling you about, Andrew Barber. Mr. Barber, this is Katherine Hemlock, the head detective here in Woodbridge. I'm sure you will be working together quite frequently." Adam said.

"Please call me Andy." he said, as he held his hand out in greeting. I took it, immediately noting the warmth and firmness of his handshake. All were good qualities of a man who was sure of himself. But as I looked in his eyes I saw something in them, something that was eerily familiar. Something I saw every time I looked at myself in the mirror. 

"Call me Kat."

"This is my wife Laurie and our son, Jacob." he said, placing a hand around his wife's shoulder. I didn't miss the look of uneasiness that crossed her face in the briefest of flashes before schooling her features and placing a small smile on her lips. 

"It's nice to meet you. This is my fiancé, Jimmy and the tall skinny kid over on the basketball court is Charlie."

"Your son?" Laurie asked. 

"My brother. My parents decided late that I needed a sibling. He's fifteen."

"Oh, so is Jacob."

"Let me get him over here," she said before turning and yelling, "Charlie, come here!" Charlie jogged over to them, wiping the sweat from his forehead as he did. "Charlie, this is the new ADA, Andy, his wife Laurie, and their son Jacob." The two boys shook hands and immediately started in on a conversation about some video game, which I immediately tuned out.

"Well that didn't take long." Laurie said with a slight laugh.

"It's one of the few things that that kid could talk about for hours." Jimmy said, finally joining the conversation. 

"Well we won't keep you. I'm sure there are other people that Adam wants you to meet. I'm sure I'll be seeing you around the precinct soon enough, Andy. Laurie, have a great time." she finished with a smile and a slight wave before taking Jimmy's arm and walking towards the food table. 

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

That night as he was getting ready for bed, Andy couldn't help but find his thoughts drifting to the detective. Much like she did, he also recognized something familiar in her eyes in that first moment. That haunted look that was there long before Jacob had been accused of murdering his classmate. He was looking forward to getting to know this woman. 

Little did he know that Katherine was having a similar thought about him in that exact moment. Fate had a funny way of bringing two people with similar pasts into each other's life, just when they needed someone the most.