Chapter 15 Moving

Days earlier, in another state, Billy looked at his mother. She was a beautiful woman. She was fretting over him and making sure he was properly packed and ready to go to his grandmother's.

He hadn't packed much. He knew Gramama would want to go shopping for him so there was no point. She literally bought him half a wardrobe for Christmas and spoiled him on his birthday so he insisted on packing light.

His mother was still not sure that it was a sensible move. Grabbing her hand he pulled her out of the house and unlocked the car door and held it open for her. She sat in the car and waited for him to get into the driver's seat.

He drove her to her favorite restaurant. It was his last day at his mom's before he went back to Gramama's for his senior year. He was so excited.

Bryan and he had made it onto the Varsity team and Bryan was captain. His mom had been thrilled when she'd heard the news. He had warned her that he would be quieter this year and would only call on weekends.

He would be starting work in addition to practice and a few odd business trips here and there. She seemed okay with it but he knew his mom. Ever since the accident she had been sheltering him.

It was sweet but he was growing and bound to get hurt. He sighed as he drove through his hometown. If it wasn't for Uncle Nate insisting on him leading a normal life after his back surgery last year he'd probably be learning how to knit from his seven-year-old twin neighbors right now.

He parked in front of his mom's favorite restaurant and rushed to open the door for her. She smiled and put her hand on the arm he offered. Her ice-blue eyes twinkled with amusement.

She teased him about coming home with a girl at the end of his senior year. He smiled and shrugged as they got to the restaurant door which he pulled open for her and let her through first. He had gone through the trouble of making reservations and the owner smiled at them and seated them.

His mother didn't even look at the menu. She already knew what she was ordering. He picked up the menu and decided to try something new.

"I'm going to miss you, Billy." She said softly as she tucked her brown hair behind her left ear. Her wedding and engagement ring flashed in the sunlight that streamed through a nearby window.

He put down his menu on the orange gingham patterned table cloth. He reached for her right hand across the table. "I'm going to miss you more Mommy. It's a test of whether I can make it in college without you near. Gramama and Uncle Nate won't baby me. They'll treat me pretty much like they would any teen in my grade. My best friend is turning 18 before we graduate."

He squeezed her hand. "Knowing Uncle Nate, he'll be keeping an eye on my every move. Hilton's is built on Titania Security Technology and you know that Dad said it was the best."

Aurora Woodcombe sighed. Her baby was grown up; she just didn't want to let him go. He looked so much like his father it hurt sometimes.

She blinked back the tears. He was right, Nathaniel was adamant about the both of them having adequate security. Hick town or not she knew that nearly every new family that had moved to their town every three months since they'd moved here had at least one parent who worked for Titania.

She'd never told William but there was a security detail with them, almost always. She smiled at her son and squeezed his hand back. "You're right. I just don't know what I will do now that my day won't revolve around you."

He frowned with distaste, "You could always get a boyfriend or a hobby. I'm sure Dad wouldn't mind."

Aurora shook her head. "Your father is the only man I ever want. Besides, I tried that dating stuff and the idiot nearly killed you so, no, thank you. I had my man and now he's gone."

Billy nodded. Gramama said the same thing about Popop. He didn't want either woman to be sad but they seemed to not want anyone else.

His eyes lit up, "You should go on vacation! You must have like...at least six months of paid vacation time that you haven't taken." He knew she had eight months but he wanted to be a normal kid for her today. "You could go to the islands...catch a tan, read, make new friends, learn a new language...?"

Aurora laughed. "I'll think about it. I love you, Billy. You are my Heart, William Woodcombe. Make sure you take good care of yourself and your grandma. Your Uncle and Great Uncle will take care of you for me."

"Mom?" he asked nervously. She nodded for him to continue. "It'd mean a lot to me if you called me Will from now on. Billy makes me feel like I am six instead of fifteen."

"Okay sweetheart." She replied as the waiter stood before their table. "Shall we order?"

The rest of the meal was pleasant and light as they talked about old vacations and things Will had grown out of. Like sleeping in superman underwear with his lightsaber under his pillow, just in case, and swapping religiously which hand he brushed his teeth with daily.

By the time he drove them home, it was already 8 pm and he was glad that the goodbye dinner hadn't been too sad. Gramama was sending a car to pick him and his things in the morning; he wanted to be ready. His father had always told him that with money came power and with power came responsibility. He knew that at Magnolia Estate, there was going to be a lot of money and he'd be able to do things with almost the snap of his fingers.

Uncle Nate was laid back and genial for a wealthy man and to think of it, his father never seemed out of place with the other kids' dads either. He hoped he would be like that. When he was really little his dad used to tell him stories about their family being a long line of guardians. Uncle Nate said those stories were true. When the time came, he would take his place among their people.

His dad had said that his mom knew but she never seemed to. He had always figured it was because she wasn't one of them. Now, he wasn't so sure. He would ask Uncle Nate when he got to Magnolia Estate.

He was surprised to learn just a few months ago that Magnolia Estate was Uncle Nate's. Uncle Nate had bought it for the love of his life because she had fallen in love with the magnolias in the garden. She'd loved the whole house too but he'd named it for her.

He'd always wondered why Uncle Nate lived in one of the guest cottages but now it made sense. He wouldn't live in the main house without her. Just like his mom had had to move when his dad died.

Uncle Nate never did say who she was or where she was but he did say that she was the only woman for him. His dad had told him stories about that too. How everyone in the world had at least one person per lifetime that, if they met, they could be with that person for the rest of their natural lives. He'd liked those stories even though he'd never really thought much of girls.

Girls were pretty and some girls were really smart but apart from good friends he'd never imagined wanting to be with only one. But when he looked at his parents, especially the photographs of them together he knew he wanted what they had. No matter how briefly he would be allowed it.

Will looked around his room and made sure he had everything he wanted from it. He had his clothes for tomorrow already set out, a pair of casual trousers and a short-sleeved cotton shirt, the trousers were tan and the shirt was black. Both had been presents from his Gramama weeks before.

After checking one last time he stripped and got into bed. He turned out his light and looked at the glow in the dark constellations on his ceiling. He knew Uncle Nate would keep his mom safe while he was away. He also knew he would come back better able to protect his mom. Everything would be okay, he thought as he closed his eyes to sleep.

Aurora opened his bedroom door minutes later and took a mental note of the rise and fall of her son's chest. She hoped that Nathaniel would find the bug in William's things. It had been the only way that horrid man who hurt Billy would leave her alone. She wondered if her husband would agree that she had done the right thing...if only he hadn't accepted that last mission!

She sighed and closed the door to his bedroom. She could have risked telling Nathaniel. He already had an army watching over her and Billy...it was too late now to change things. She hoped that she hadn't put Billy into even more danger. This would work. Nathan was a super-cop; he had figured out many crimes simply by looking at what was left. Everything would be okay. It had to be.