ENDING OF PREVIOUS POST:

"Why don't you change? I'll wait outside. Knock on the door when you're ready." Anderson left.

After completing her nighttime routine, Shana knocked, ran, and leaped onto the bed. Being slightly off-balance, she slipped onto the floor.

"What were you doing?" Anderson helped her off the floor.

"Do you really want to know?" After he raised an eyebrow, she said, "I guess I owe you an explanation. I was hoping to jump into bed so you wouldn't see me in my pajamas."

He grinned. "I saw your pajamas last night."

Her cheeks tinged pink. "I didn't want to make it two nights in a row."

"I see. Well, I guess we messed up that plan." Anderson grinned as he pulled down the covers. "Crawl in bed." He tucked her in. "See you in the morning." He grabbed some things from his suitcase and headed toward the bathroom.

"Drew?" After he turned around, Shana continued, "While I was hiding from the gunfire, I thought this is what my ancestors must have felt like hiding from the Nazis." She blew out a deep breath. "Thank you for all you've done for Sarah and me."

"I don't know what to say."

"There's nothing to say. You didn't have anything to do with the genocide." Her lips formed a slight smile. "Again, thank you."

Anderson took a step toward her and stopped. "You're welcome. It's nothing special. Anybody would've done it. It's the right thing to do." He continued to the bathroom and closed the door.


TODAY'S POST:

Chapter 21 part 1
Anderson rolled over to answer his ringing cell, hoping it didn't wake Shana. He jumped up and headed for the bathroom. "What is it?" He listened before he responded, "Sorry, Philip. I had a rough night and not much sleep." Again, he listened and then yelled, "Tell him that I'm on a family emergency." He paused. "I don't care what he said. I'm on a family emergency and can't be reached."

When he left the bathroom, Anderson watched Shana sleep. I was afraid she'd have nightmares. Maybe having me close was enough to keep them away. He grinned. I'd like to think so, anyway. I'll let her sleep a little longer.

When Shana woke, she saw Anderson sitting at the small table reading files. "Good morning, don't you ever sleep?"

He grinned. "I do and I did. Philip called. I had a few things that needed my attention." He closed the file. "Would you like me to leave and bring back breakfast while you get ready?"

"I'd appreciate it." Shana hesitated. "But don't be gone too long."

"I promise." Anderson opened the door but paused as he nodded at security. "Marc," Marc waved, "will be standing right outside the door. Right?"

"Yes, sir. You have nothing to worry about, Ma'am."

"Thank you."

*****
A little while later, Anderson knocked on the door. "Shana, can I come in?"

"Yes, I'm ready." She smiled when she saw him. "I hurried."

"I'm sure you did." Anderson set a large sack on the table. "I hope omelets are all right. It's the best I could do." He tossed her an apple. "I did find this, but only one."

"We could share it. I'm sure in your bag of tricks you have your knife."

"I might have one or two." Anderson sat. "We need to get this day started. I want to make sure a nurse is traveling with Sarah. The doctor wasn't too keen on the idea, but it needs to happen." He noticed her yawn. "How'd you sleep?"

"All right, I guess. I fell right to sleep, but woke up off-and-on."

"Were you able to get right back to sleep?"

Shana studied her plate and blushed. "When I saw you in the next bed, I felt safe and went back to sleep."

"That's probably a piece of information you shouldn't share with your dad." Anderson grinned. "Or me for that matter." As her blush turned crimson, he added, "But I'm glad I could help." He scanned the room. "We won't be coming back here. We'll need to pack."

"I can't go back to the condo."

"We won't. After I work out the details, I'll fill you in."

"One of those, need to know things?"

Anderson laughed. "Yes, and right now you don't need to know." He shook his head. "Truthfully, if I had it all worked out, I'd tell you. There are a few details, I don't know yet."

After they finished eating and packing, Anderson opened the door and nodded to Marc. He checked his watch. "The limo will be here in about ten minutes. Ready?"

Shana glanced around the room. "Yes. Do you think Mary and Hannah got along?"

"I know Mary. I'm sure they did. I just hope the doctors in Boston have magic up their sleeves and can save Sarah."

Tears welled in Shana's eyes. "Drew, the death rate for children suffering from Tay-Sachs is one hundred percent. Sarah doesn't have a chance of making it past her sixth birthday, if that long."

Anderson put his arms around Shana and held her. "I'm sorry."




Characters so far:

Shana Kohlberg -- a 25 year old high school English literature teacher -- she's trying to get her family's painting back

Anderson Sharp -- often called Drew -- 31 years old -- works part-time on Wall Street -- a billionaire from Texas oil wells

Dmitry Bezrukov -- one of three Russian men in black suits

Jeff Burk -- takes care of Anderson's cars and important security details.

Helen -- Anderson's cook

Jane -- Anderson's housekeeper

Philip -- Anderson's butler -- close friend and confident

Kyle -- Anderson's dog walker

Axel -- Anderson's lead German shepherd

Thor -- Anderson's second German shepherd

Romeo -- Anderson's third German shepherd

Aaron Kohlberg -- Shana's older brother

Ivan Kuznetsov -- formally Ivan Morozov, I accidently chose a real person, so I have changed it present day owner of the painting.

Patricia -- Anderson's ex-wife

Emily -- Anderson's five year old daughter

Isaiah Glassberg -- Anderson divorce/custody attorney.

Jeremy -- Jane's second-cousin twice removed, NYC undercover cop.

Hannah Jacobs -- Shana's cousin, the same age and best friend. Married within the past year and just had a baby, Sarah. Her husband, Paul. Sarah was just diagnosed with Tay-Sachs disease.

Joshua Colton -- Art Museum's curator

Benjamin Kohlberg -- Shana's father

Eliana Kohlberg - - Shana's mother

Maxwell Gaines -- Lawyer hired to retrieve the painting

Erich Berger -- Manager of the Dorotheum art auction house in Austria

Mary Pritchard -- The lady Anderson hired to help Hannah while she's in Boston with Sarah.