The Family Gathering (Sullivan's Crossing #3)(97)

The students around this group of buildings looked a little different. They were older, for one thing. Instead of shorts and flip-flops, they were wearing slacks and shirts. He pushed his sleeves up and leaned back against his rented car.

“You can’t park here, sir,” a security officer on a bike told him.

“I’m not parking,” he said. “I’m waiting for my girlfriend.”

“Then you can’t wait here,” he said.

Just then, Sid came out. She was dressed like one of the older students—pressed tan pants, white shirt, leather flats, hair in a bun. Her ID badge hung on a lanyard around her neck. In fact, there were several ID badges. He stood from his leaning position.

“Cody?” she asked, totally perplexed. And to the security guard, she said, “It’s okay, Gary. He’s with me.”

“Okay, Dr. Shandon,” the young man said, riding off on his bike.

“What are you doing here?” she asked.

He opened his arms. “Is that any way to greet an old lover?”

She stepped into his arms. “You’re not that old.”

He burrowed his lips into her neck. “I had to see you. Had to. Kiss me.”

“In front of all these people?” she asked, looking around. There were only a few people, all walking with a purpose to their next destination or to the parking lot.

“You can give me a more meaningful kiss later, but for now...” He kissed her lips and tried to keep it brief and discreet. “Sid, I’m proud of you,” he said. “I love you and I’m proud of you.”

“What’s this all about, Cody?”

“You didn’t really explain what you were doing here,” he said. “Your brother did. This isn’t just some computer programming, as you led me to believe. This is mind-blowing, futuristic, world-changing, quantum computing. And here you’re Dr. Shandon.”

She smiled at him, her eyes twinkling. “Do you know what quantum computing is?”

“It’s not bartending, for one thing. There was a part of me that thought you were running away from me, but you weren’t. You were running to your field of study, at which, I’m led to believe, you are one of the rare experts. I thought you were having a fling with Dr. Faraday.”

She chuckled. “He’s seventy-four and has a lovely wife and many smart grandchildren.”

“And this stint—this consulting job. You’ve been working so hard. How does it feel?”

“Important,” she said. “Vital. Valued. They needed me and I was useful. Taking a break and going to Colorado to get my footing in life was a good idea. Doing this work is also a good idea.”

Dakota shook his head. “How did that idiot you were married to ever let you get away?”

“He said I was dull. Antisocial, boring, incredibly flat in the personality department and arrogant.”

“God,” Dakota said with an incredulous laugh. “You are none of those things! You’re social, exciting, interesting and, if anything, self-effacing. When did you get your PhD?”

“Six or seven years ago. Or eight,” she added.

His hands were on her hips. Her hands on his arms, looking up into his eyes. “You’re the most exciting woman I know. I never once heard you mutter the words doctor or scientist or Nobel.”

“Well, I certainly was never considered for that!” she said.

“If you’re so boring and unappealing, why do I just want to get you naked right this minute?”

“Shh,” she said, but she laughed. “You are a very strange man, Mr. Jones. Who ever heard of wanting to make love to a geek?”

“I bet Mrs. Gates does it all the time.”

“Is this why you’re here? To tell me I’m not boring to you?”

“Yes. No. To tell you I’m proud of you, proud of the sacrifices you’ve made to do something this important. And to tell you I’ll support you. If you’ll have me. If you need to be here in LA, I’ll come to LA. If you need to live here to do your work, I can live here. The important thing is that you know I respect your dedication and I’m behind you.”

“Our families are in Colorado...”

“I know—quick flight. But I checked, Sid. There’s no world-famous quantum computing lab in Timberlake. If this fulfills you, you should do it. It’s about time the seas parted for you. I can be happy anywhere if I’m with you.”

She didn’t say anything for a moment that stretched out.

“And if you don’t want a man in your life, you have to say so. Or if you just don’t want a specific man following you around, say, for example, me, you tell me. Just say you don’t want me and I’ll go. I’ll probably be terrible about it... It could kill me, now that I think about it... But...”

“Cody, I’ve never wanted anyone in my life the way I want you,” she said. “And I don’t want to be in LA. I may come back here to this lab if I’m needed, if it’s convenient, but two weeks away from you is way too long. My heart has been aching for you. If you’re happy in Colorado, that would be perfect for me.”

“What about this, Sid? This is important work and you love it.”

“It is and I do. But there are research and development labs in Colorado that would be happy to have me. We could be close to Timberlake. We could talk about us.”