Not on my Watch

Chapter 7

A government big enough to give you everything you want is strong enough to take away everything you have. Thomas Jefferson

          When Rowan woke late the next morning, she felt strong arms around her and turned, half-hoping. "Mike?"  But it wasn't Mike, and for just a second, she felt a sharp stab of disappointment.  Vin was lying in the bed next to her, arms wrapped tightly around her.  It felt so good, but she had to question the wisdom of his act, in light of their decision earlier.  She turned to look at him.

           As soon as she stirred, Vin opened his eyes and looked at her.  "Good morning, Beautiful," he smiled.  "I've been waiting for you to wake up."  He inched closer and kissed her softly.

           She kissed him back, then asked, "What are you doing here?  I thought you wanted to wait. Not that I mind," she added.

           Vin nodded.  "I still feel that way.  Oh...but..." He reached out and touched her cheek.  "I missed you last night.   I couldn't resist crawling in bed a little bit ago to savor the feeling of waking up next to you."  He kissed Rowan again, a slow, sweet, lingering kiss.  They hugged briefly, then Vin extracted himself carefully from Rowan's arms and stood up, throwing the covers off of her.   He got a mischievous look, then bent down to tickle her.  "Get up, sleepyhead," he admonished.  "I've been up for an hour.   I made you a big breakfast."  He drew her to her feet and wrapped her in his arms, hugging her close.

           "Breakfast?" Rowan murmured against his chest.  "I am hungry."  Vin lifted her chin and started to lower his lips to hers.  "Oh, "Rowan groaned.  "Wait.  I need to brush my teeth.  I must have morning breath."

          "I don't care about that."  He kissed her swiftly, sweetly.  It felt like the first time.   He released her slowly.   "Get dressed, Kat.  I'll go get your food ready.  I thought we'd eat, then go get the kids and go to the zoo.  This is a good time for it, while still here in the city.  We won't be on leave much longer.  Let's take advantage of the time we have before we need to get back to work."

          At the mention of kids, Rowan's eyes opened wide with shock.  "Damn!  I completely forgot about Clay.  I didn't tell Audina I wasn't coming home last night.   She must be frantic."

          She searched for her phone.  She had no idea where she'd left it.  There were clothes scattered all over the house from their antics of the night before.  Vin was standing there watching her look for her phone and laughing, so she threw a shoe at him.   She finally found it in one of the pockets of her pants, which were still in the hall.  Luckily, she'd turned it off sometime during their date, so it still had a charge.  She pushed the button to turn the phone on and waited impatiently for it to boot up.   The screen lit up and went to her homescreen.  After what seemed an eternity, the phone finished booting up, and then she had to wait for the message notifications to key in.  When they did, it was as she suspected.  There were several new voicemails and texts, all from Audina's number.

          Text:  R u ok?  Haven't heard from u 4 hrs.

          A little later:  Just checking in.   Hope ur ok.

          Finally:   It's 8 am.  Is ur phone working?

          Also, voicemail from shortly after the last text:  Rowan, call when you can.  I'm a little worried.  I know you're a responsible adult, but it's not like you not to let me know what's going on.