I apologize for the delay on this chapter. I had commitments with work that took all my available time. Work will likely get in the way again soon. Starting a new job and I need to gauge my time management to find the best times to continue projects for the site.
This is the last chapter for this story. If anyone is curious, I do have plans to possibly write the Order of the Shattered Cross for real.
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Summer came, and Diana Jackson was absolutely engrossed on one task. After retiring, it felt good to find something else to occupy her attention and energies. During the day, Diana, Riley, and Whitney spent their time fixing the Cadillac. At night, they watched videos on auto repair, and searched for parts on the internet. William Hartman helped here or there, but he understood this was something they wanted to do together with as little help as possible.
Riley and Diana took many long drives to salvage yards across the state, and even across state lines. During those trips they managed to salvage new seats, roughly half of what they needed to replace the engine, and various other parts they weren't sure they needed but took just in case. Some of those trips they stayed in a hotel overnight, and sex in a hotel was basically a requirement.
While not helping her mother with the car, Whitney spent no small part of the summer with her father in Chicago. Diana wanted to know that part of Whitney's life, so took one of those trips with her. Meeting Whitney's stepmother Mary and her sisters wasn't as horrible as she expected. Diana was welcomed warmly into the family, and she couldn't help but feel worse about holding that part of Whitney's life away from her for so long. She had let her own fears and insecurities affect Whitney.
When the month of July was nearing its end, Riley needed to return to LA for another round of script rewrites. This was prompted when the executive producer Kyle Payne got a copy of the manuscript for the third book and realized several key plot points in that story had its foundations laid in the first book, thus, the first season. Parts he had glossed over or completely ignored when adapting it to a show. Now that these moments were critical for later events, they needed to rewrite to incorporate those story elements. It became clear after a month of conference calls between the producers the only way to alleviate this problem was increasing the episode count from ten to twelve episodes.
More episodes meant they needed more money. Riley finally buckling on filming locations had given them a comfy buffer for finances, but it likely wasn't enough anymore. After the last meeting, they all concluded they needed to secure another two million. The first step to that problem, was auditing the entire production to see where money could be reallocated. Redrafting the contracts with the actors to lower the initial salary but add merchandise percentages in the long run was the first thing they did, but that only secured four hundred thousand.
With a new headache to worry about, Riley flew to LA, leaving Diana to fix the car on her own for a few days. Those few days became a full week, and Riley didn't return until early August. When he came home, he was stunned at how much progress Diana had made on the car. The entire engine had been rebuilt.
"I wanted you here for this," Diana said, nearly giddy at the idea of what might happen. Riley hadn't even entered his home yet and placed his luggage next to the garage door. Diana was wearing a grease-stained white shirt with black jeans, her hair pulled up out her face. She smelled like oil with dirty fingernails. She sat in the driver's seat, and took a moment before putting the key in.
"Please work," Diana said, and turned the key. The engine hummed, then sputtered as she put the peddle down a little. "Come on, come on," Diana chanted as the car cleared its throat. It roared to life, and she put the peddle down to wake up the neighbors. "Yes!"
Three months of work, and the car turned over. It was breathing. There was still work to do. Brakes and tire realignment for starters, but the car was alive.
"Yes! Yes! Yes!" Diana cheered, drumming her fingers on the steering wheel in triumph. She left the driver's seat and jumped into Riley's arms. "We actually did it."
Diana kissed him with joy, and made it known to him she had a means of celebration in mind. He quickly pulled her shirt up and off her body, discovering she wasn't wearing a bra, and started to suckle her breasts immediately. He walked her backwards to the car and lowered the hood to place her on top of it.
Clothes were strewn around the garage, and they made love on the hood of the car while the engine purred. The vibration from the car tickled Diana, but she ignored it as Riley held her legs open and lowered himself inside of her.
The elation of a task nearly complete, coupled with a long absence, made the session short and sweet. After they finished on the hood of the car, they sat in the back seat, Riley remaining shirtless while Diana worse his. He leaned his back against the inside wall, and Diana rested her body his.
"That was fun," Diana said, the brevity not bothering her in any way.
"Yeah it was," Riley said, and kissed the top of her head. "You did a lot without me."
"I was bored," she admitted. She was proud of herself regardless.
"Filming starts next month," he said.
"I know," she said. That meant Riley would be away in Georgia for the five-month filming schedule. "I'm retired. I can visit whenever I want."
"Why don't you just come with me?" he asked, and Diana exhaled while shaking her head. He was asking her to live with him in Georgia. "Come with me."
"I have a sixteen-year-old daughter starting school in two weeks," she said. "I'd love to go, but that's not what's good for Whitney." They sat quietly for so long, the silence began to innerve them both. "Is this the build up for a fight?"
"Doesn't have to be," he replied.
"We have conflicting responsibilities that puts us in different places. It's either we make it work or it doesn't," she said, and tilted her head to watch him blink in thought. "I want it to work."
"Me too," he said. "I'm already looking for a house in Georgia," he said. Diana understood his reasons, but it felt like he was laying down roots away from her.
"What're you going to do with this one?" she asked.
"For now, keep it. I still have a tenant."
They got dressed and walked across the yard to the house. Tilly was in the living room, having splayed out several outfits on the couch. Tomorrow was the day, and she was nervous about wearing the right outfit for court. The judge was going to decide on family reunification.
"You're over thinking it," Diana said. Tilly looked over her shoulder, and picked up a simple blue dress, Diana nodding in approval.
"I'm done, no second guessing," Tilly said, placing the dress on a hanger and then onto the back of a chair. "It actually might happen."
"It will," Diana said with a smile. "Howie is coming home tomorrow."
