The next week passed without incident. Other than the phone line installation having to be postponed and rescheduled for February 2, things at the new house went along on schedule. Every morning Brenda and Thomas went to the house, where Brenda supervised delivery or installation of additional pieces of furniture or accessories for the master suite. The bedroom carpets and area rug had been delivered three days ago. The area rug for the sitting area had run into some problems in customs that a few phone calls from Travis had very quickly resolved. It was expected to be delivered today. The remaining rugs, the bedside runners, and the entrance carpet were scheduled to arrive on or around February 2. In the meantime, Brenda had plenty to keep her busy. She still had not made a final decision on the bed linens for their room, nor had she selected the window treatments for the bedroom. Two things that would take at least 2 weeks to manufacture and deliver, even if the phrase, "money is no object," were used.

Thomas had accompanied Brenda each day to the house, but had always kept a discreet distance to allow her privacy to do her work. He always managed, though, to keep her in sight at all times. Sometimes he was sure that she would forget he was even there. He would watch her get totally absorbed in her work to the point that nothing and no one, other than Jax's unexpected arrival one day, were even noticed by her. The day that Jax had stopped by on his way to a meeting to check on Brenda had given Thomas the opportunity he needed to explore the house on his own. As long as Jax was here he knew he could go off on his own. Jax would stay with Brenda the whole time that he was gone, of that he was sure. Keeping true to his promise, he had said nothing to Jax about the content of the master suite. Actually it was not hard, since Jax had never once asked him anything about it. It was Jax's intention, Thomas believed, to honor his promise to Brenda not to ask questions about it.

Once Jax had assured Thomas that he planned to stay and have a quick lunch with Brenda, Thomas picked up the set of blueprints he had obtained from Travis and began his exploration. He started in the basement and worked his way upstairs. Nothing seemed out of the ordinary. He inspected the secret passages and hidden stairways. He checked to make sure that the secret doors were secured. He went through every room in the house, leaving the master suite for last. Nothing was out of the ordinary. He got no strange feelings, nor did he smell anything there. He even checked the attic. He could find nothing to explain that strange feeling he had experienced the first day in the house. As he was coming down the stairs from the attic, he heard Jax and Brenda in the foyer. Jax was getting ready to leave, so Thomas decided to postpone any further exploration until a later date. Besides, he had enough questions for Travis as it were.

Jax took Brenda in his arms to give her one last kiss before leaving. "I'm not so sure coming here was a good idea."

"Why? Didn't you enjoy our lunch?" she asked looking at him to try to figure out what was wrong.

"That's just the problem. I enjoyed our lunch too much. Now I have absolutely no desire to sit through an entire afternoon of boring meetings to finalize the takeover of that German biomedical engineering company. You truly are a temptress, you know." He couldn't resist the urge to bend down and kiss her. Not once, but again and again.

She finally pulled away from him slightly, "Jax, if you don't cut that out, I may never let you go to your meeting. Besides, what will Thomas think?" she asked, laughing softly, since she knew exactly what Thomas would think -- the same thing he thought every time he saw them together, unable to keep their hands off one another. He would think they were a couple of newlyweds.

"Thomas knows exactly what we're doing. Right 'mate?" He looked up the stairs and saw Thomas standing there. "We don't shock you, do we?"

"Jax, it would take a lot more than seeing you kiss a beautiful woman to shock me. Especially since you are married to her. But she does have a point, mate. You were very anxious this morning to have this meeting over with. Why don't you drag that oversexed butt of yours out of here, and let the woman get back to work? If you don't, you may never move in here!"

"Okay, okay. You guys don't have to gang up on me. I know why you really want me out of here. There's probably another piece of bedroom furniture or some other decorating thing coming this afternoon, and you don't want me to see it. Right?"

Brenda could not believe what he had just said. How had he known? She looked over at Thomas, but saw immediately that he had said nothing to Jax. He was just getting too good at reading her mind. She was going to have to work on that in the future. The last thing she wanted to do was be predictable. "Yeah, right. Like keeping you out of that room is the only thing I have to finish in this house. Jax, there is still so much to do. I'm not sure it'll be ready for us to move in by the 14th." She was unable to keep the sound of her panic out of her voice. "That only gives me two weeks to finish, and there are a million things to do yet!" She started to pace in front of him.

"Brenda," he said as he reached for her and pulled her close, "you don't have to finish everything before we move in. As long as we have a table to eat at and a bed to sleep in, that's all we need. The rest can fall into place at its own rate. You've accomplished more in these few short weeks, than I ever would have thought possible. You and Matthew have found furniture from all over the world and managed to get it delivered in record time. You've gotten linen manufacturers to special make sheets, table linens, and towels in record time. You've even managed to locate all the dishes, serving pieces, and cookware any cook could ever imagine. Stop worrying about the last-minute details. With you in charge, everything is going to work out." With that said, he bent down and kissed her again. This time the kiss was less for passion and more one of love and support.

Thomas had been watching this exchange in amazement. How had Jax known exactly what to say to her just by looking at her? However he had known, he had read her correctly. Thomas could see Brenda relax in Jax's arms as he spoke. By the time he finished kissing her, Brenda was her old self again. Thomas began to envy what Jax and Brenda shared. It reminded him of what he had once had with Leita.

"Okay, Thomas, I'm out of here. Take good care of her," Jax said as he bent down and kissed her on top of the head. He glanced back up at Thomas, who was heading down the steps. Thomas gave a slight nod of his head, acknowledging Jax's instructions. Both men knew that the instruction was unnecessary. Thomas would not allow any harm or even unhappiness to befall Brenda, and Jax knew it. He also had come to realize that being around both Brenda and himself had brought a change in Thomas, as well. When he had first arrived from Melbourne, he didn't smile very often. Now he smiled most of the time, especially when Brenda was around. This was the Thomas that Jax remembered; the one who loved to laugh and horse around. The one who took life and responsibility very seriously, but also knew how to have fun -- something Jax intended to make sure they continued to do.

Once Jax was gone Brenda and Thomas went into the kitchen. Brenda planned to clean up the remains of the picnic lunch Jax had brought. She also figured it was a good opportunity to ask some questions about Jax's life in Australia. Thomas noticed right away how quiet she had become. "Is something wrong Brenda? You seem awfully quiet."

"No, nothing. I'm just trying to figure out how to ask you something." She couldn't bring herself to look him in the eyes.

"Come on, whatever it is can't be that bad. You know you can ask me anything. I can't guarantee that I can or will answer it, but you can try." He couldn't resist the urge to smile at the last part of his statement.

"Okay, here goes. Do you mind if I ask you some questions about when Jax was a little boy? He never talks about that time. He told me once that he wasn't always rich and that at the time his dad went to Alaska, he, Jerry, and their mom lived in the family car."

"What do you want to know?" Thomas asked. Having a pretty good idea where this conversation was going, Thomas decided he would answer her questions honestly. If necessary he would tell Jax later, but he knew that probably would not be necessary.

"Well, do you know anything about Jax's grandparents? I don't think he's ever mentioned them."

"As far as I know his father's parents died before John and Jane were married. I think it was a plane crash. As to Jane's parents, her family was very wealthy and socially prominent in Australia. If I remember correctly, her mom died when Jane was a little girl, and she was raised in convent schools in Sydney. Her father never remarried. I guess he planned on Jane marrying into Sydney society when the time came."

"I don't understand. If Jax's grandfather was wealthy, why did they have such a tough time of it that his dad had to come to Alaska to make a life and end up connected to the mob?" Brenda was more than a little confused.

"That's an easy one to answer. Jane's dad didn't approve of John. He didn't have a fancy education or come from a socially acceptable family. The only thing he had to offer Jane was his love and willingness to do whatever it took to support his family. When Jane went to her father and told him she loved John and they wanted to marry, he became furious. He gave her a choice to marry John and be disowned by him, or walk away from John and remain in his good graces. Obviously she chose John."

Brenda now better understood John and Jane's devotion to true love triumphing over all. They had both given up everything for the one they loved. No wonder when she and Jax were apart, they were such advocates of a reunion. They both knew what it meant to love someone that much. Brenda had to keep that fact stored away for future reference. Somehow she knew now that she would have to find a way to convince Jax to let at least his mother back into his life.

"So how did they end up so bad off that they had to live in the car? Wasn't John working?"

"Oh, yeah, he had a job. But as soon as Jane's father found out they had gone ahead and gotten married anyway, he called John's boss and got him fired. Then he got him blackballed at every company in Sydney. It was because of that blackballing that I ended up meeting them. John had decided to get out of the big city and try to find work in one of the tiny outback towns. When John got a job on the sheep station near our village as a bookkeeper, he brought his family with him. I guess Jerry was about ten or eleven, and Jax had just turned five.

"Over the next few years things were pretty good for them. Since we were so far out, we didn't go to school. We had classes by radio hookup. There were four or five of us from the Aborigine village, plus Jax and Jerry, and the station manager's daughter and son. We had class for half the day and worked on the station half the day. Now that I look back on it, that was a great way to grow up. Plenty of fresh air and sunshine, and still getting a top quality education -- can't think of a better way to teach a child about life and the world.

"Anyway, after the Jacks family had been at the station for about five years, John had saved a small nest egg and decided to strike out on his own. They moved into town and rented a small house. Things went pretty well for a while, until Jane's father found out were they were."

"What did he do?" Brenda asked.

"Well, the man was so bitter that Jane not only had married John, but had stayed with him and had borne him sons even under the hardships that he had imposed on them, that he bought up several of the businesses in the area. Those people he didn't own, he threatened if they did business with John, or even associated with him.

"As a result, the little savings they had accumulated soon began to disappear. When things didn't seem like they could get any worse, they were evicted from the house. It seems Jane's father had bought it and planned to demolish it, for no reason other than the fact they lived there. Anyway, it was about this time that John started hearing about people making a fortune in the Alaskan oil fields. He and Jane talked it over and decided that he would go on ahead, using most of the money they had left to get a start, and then when he earned enough, he would send for the rest of them."

"So how did they end up in the car?" She had a pretty good idea, but needed to hear it from Thomas.

"When John was getting ready to leave, he wanted to find a new place for Jane and the boys to stay, but she wouldn't let him. She told him she would take care of it, and he should just go. Unfortunately, after he was gone, there wasn't enough money to rent a place, so Jane drove the station wagon out to the lake near my village, and they lived there. Jerry, Jax, and I still went to school at the sheep station, and Jane did some secretarial work at the station. To keep her father from finding out, they paid her out of petty cash, so it wasn't much."

"What ever became of Jax's grandfather? Is he still alive?" Brenda needed to know. If the man was still alive, she was going to make it a point of locating him and letting him know what he had missed out on by not having Jax in his life.

"I don't actually know. Once the family moved to Alaska, there was never any more contact with him. I was never sure if he even knew where they were once he had driven John to Alaska." All this talk about the past had made Thomas sad. He had always felt sorry for Jax when they were growing up because of his grandfather. After telling the story to Brenda, he realized why both he and Jax had so appreciated the wisdom of his grandfather and the other elders in the village. It was no wonder that Jax had always been so eager to please them. They were his surrogate grandparents.

"Can I ask one more question? I promise it's the last for now!" She looked at him with those doe eyes that Thomas had found himself unable to resist.

"Go ahead!" He tried to sound exasperated, but couldn't quite seem to pull it off.

"Well, Jax told me that when you reached the age of manhood you went off on walkabout."

"That's true."

"He also said that since you guys did everything together that he was jealous that you went off on your own, so he decided to go on walkabout himself. I think he said he was ten at the time."

Thomas could not resist the urge to smile at the memory. It had not been funny at the time, but now it was one of his greatest childhood memories. "That's true. He would have been ten since I was sixteen and Jerry was seventeen."

"Where did he go? How did you find him? How long was he gone? Was he hurt?"

"Brenda, wait a minute! Let me get an answer or two in here!" Thomas said as he laughed out loud. "He headed into the mountains because he knew it would be cooler there during the daytime. But what he had forgotten was that it was also colder there at night, as well.

"As to how we found him, that's a different story. When Jane discovered he was gone, she and Jerry searched around the station. When they couldn't find any trace of him Jerry came out to the village to see if I knew where he had gone. Since I had just gotten back from my walkabout I had to tell Jerry I had not seen him and why. Jerry quickly figured out what had happened. We told my father and grandfather, and they got the men of the village together, and we set off into the mountains to look for him. At the same time, Jane had gone to the station manager, and he had the hands searching the flatlands. It took us about three days to find him."

"Where was he?"

"My grandfather found him sound asleep in the shelter of a large rock. When he woke him up, Jax just looked at him and said 'Hi!' -- like it was the most normal thing in the world." Thomas could not help but chuckle at the memory.

"Was he hurt? Hungry? Scared? Anything????" Brenda could just picture a ten-year-old Jax just waking up from a nap.

"Nope, he was fine. A little hungry maybe, but physically he was fine. That is until Jerry got his hands on him. I'm not sure to this day whether Jerry wanted to throttle him or just hug him. Whatever his intention, it came out looking like a little of both. When we got him back to the village, Jane was waiting for us. Jax walks up to her, and calm as you please, says, 'Hi, Mum, what's up?' He didn't understand why everyone was so upset. He insisted he knew exactly where he was going, and how to get there."

Brenda started to laugh as well. She could just picture Jax doing that. It was a trait that he had never outgrown. It was a trait she hoped he never would outgrow.

Just then the doorbell rang. "Looks like my trip down memory lane has come to an end." Thomas said. "I'll go see who it is. Are you expecting another delivery today?" he asked, looking at Brenda before he left the kitchen.

"Yes, Albright, Benton, and Reese are suppose to deliver some rugs and runners today. It's the last delivery today." She started to get up, as well, when Thomas waved his hand, indicating she should stay in the kitchen. "What?"

"Stay here until I make sure that's who it is. Come on, Brenda, you know the drill by now." Thomas looked at her quickly as he left the room. She did not seem upset at his insistence, so he guessed this fit into the category of orders she would accept.

Brenda sighed softly and returned to cleaning up the kitchen. Now that the appliances had been installed and the kitchen set delivered, all that was missing were the lace curtains for the windows and the shades. Brenda checked her planner to check their delivery and installation date, February 2. It suddenly dawned on her that this coming Tuesday was going to be a very busy day! She would have to remind Thomas that they had to be here early, since she wanted to supervise installation of several of the things.

Just then Thomas came back into the kitchen. "You were right, Brenda, it's the rugs. Do you want to supervise them being placed, or do you want Matthew to do it?" Even though he knew the answer, he felt he owed her the opportunity to answer.

"Oh, no! I want to be there! Have them bring them up to the master suite, and I'll meet you there."

Thomas couldn't resist the urge to smile, "I figured you'd say that, so I already told them to bring them in, and that we'd meet them at the top of the stairs."

"You think you're pretty smart, don't you? Just remember, as soon as you think you've got me figured out, I'll do something totally unpredictable!" She started to laugh softly, but suddenly stopped when she saw the serious expression on Thomas's face. "What's wrong?"

"Just remember our agreement, Brenda -- no sudden trips without me. Okay?" he was looking directly into her eyes, and Brenda could see his concern for her.

"Of course. Thomas, I would never do anything like that. Believe me, I've learned my lesson. No, I was thinking of something else. Just ask Jax sometime about what happens when he thinks he has me figured out. It isn't pretty!" she said laughing and leading the way out the kitchen door.

As Thomas and Brenda got to the top of the stairway, they saw a Jacks International uniformed officer come through the front door, followed by the installers. When the guard saw Thomas, he nodded slightly and indicated to the installers that they should follow Thomas.

When they were finished, Matthew signed for the delivery and accepted the paperwork. Brenda and Thomas had remained in the master suite, so that she could look over the rugs to make sure they were in place properly. Matthew came back up after the installers were gone. "Do you need me for anything else today, Brenda? I have quite a bit of paperwork to catch up on, so I thought I'd take off for my office. These invoices won't get paid on their own."

"That's fine, Matthew. I think Thomas and I will be leaving, too. I want to surprise Jax by actually being home with dinner waiting, when he gets there for once." She smiled at Matthew as he walked back out the door.

"Ready to go, Thomas?" Brenda knew full well that Thomas was more than ready to leave. She was amazed at his patience in putting up with her questions and her obsession about the house. "Do you think you can tear yourself away from here?" She couldn't resist the urge to tease him, just a little.

"Oh, I guess I can stand it. Let's just take a quick look around to make sure everyone is out, and then we can go." As Thomas and Brenda started out of the suite, Thomas stopped suddenly. "Do you smell something Brenda?" he asked. There was that smell of roses again.

"No, why? What do you smell?" she asked. She could see the confusion on Thomas's face. "Thomas, what's wrong? What do you smell?"

Just as suddenly as he had smelled it, the smell was gone. "Oh, nothing. Must have been my imagination. You know that every time I come into this room, I get the weirdest feeling. Must be my aboriginal blood or something. We're great believers in the mystical, you know." He tried to make light of his feelings. There was no sense in giving Brenda the impression he was some kind of a nut. As they walked out the door to the hallway, Thomas could not resist the urge to take one last look around the suite. There was definitely something about this room that bothered him. He just needed some help figuring out what it was. He promised himself though that he would figure it out. He closed the doors, and they headed downstairs.