When Tommy walked into the kitchen the next morning, he found Bud sitting at the table, drinking a cup of coffee. Aunt Karen, looking flustered, was at the stove. Kim, grinning like a Cheshire cat, was sitting at the table with Bud.
"Morning, boss," Bud said, smiling broadly.
"Morning," Tommy replied, sitting down.
"Ah...Tommy," Aunt Karen said, "there's a strange truck in the driveway. Do...do you know anything about it?"
"I bought it yesterday," the young man said.
His aunt turned, her mouth open. "Wha...you did?" she stammered.
"I thought it would be nice if I had my own vehicle," he said.
"I saw it. It's really far-out," Kim said. "You going to go four-wheeling in it?"
"I already have," Tommy said.
"The chief said the price I quoted him is fine," Bud said. "We start training September 1."
"Good," Tommy said. "We'll do it evenings or after school, though. Remember, I'm in school in September."
"If I had your money, I'd quit school," Kim said, drawing a dirty look from her mother and a startled look from Bud.
"Kimberly!" Karen said and gave her daughter a stern look.
"Am I missing something?" Bud asked.
"Well, since you're almost family," Tommy said, "I might as well let you in on it."
"Let me in on what?" Bud asked. His mouth dropped open when Tommy explained how much money he'd been left by Lee Kwan.
"Jesus H. Christ!" Bud said slowly when the teenager finished his story. "I had no idea Sensei was worth that much money. You'd have never known it from the way he lived."
"That's for sure," Tommy said. "He lived in that little apartment over the dojo, and never owned a car. I'll tell you, when I found out, it blew me away."
"Yeah, well, it tells me something about you, kid, that you plan on staying in school," Bud said. "Lot of guys wouldn't. If I'd had something like that happen to me when I was your age, I might have quit."
"Talking about quitting," Tommy said, "You could quit the force and go to work for me full-time."
Bud shook his head. "Not yet," he said. "I got nineteen years in. One more and I qualify for my pension. You make me the same offer in a year, I might take you up on it."
"I'll make it and I'm counting on you taking it," Tommy said.
Bud stood up. "I got to get going," he said. "I got follow-ups to do on some cases." He walked over, put his arms around Karen and gave her a kiss, which she returned.
"See you later, babe," he said, then headed for the door.
"I have to get going, too," Kim said, standing up and heading for the door. "I told Maggie I'd be in early this morning. We got in a shipment of some really neat new stuff that I'm going to help unpack. Who knows, maybe I'll find something I like?" Then she, too, was gone, leaving Tommy and his aunt alone.
His aunt looked at him and reddened a little. "Ah, about Bud..." she said softly, "it, you know, got kind of late last night, and, well..."
"Hey, I'm glad you and Bud are hitting it off," Tommy said. "He's a neat guy and you're a neat lady. Couldn't find a better couple if you looked."
Karen smiled at him and sat down. Her look turned serious. "I-I've been thinking about...you know...about us," she said. She had been wanting to talk with Tommy. Now that her relationship with Bud seemed to be going somewhere, she felt even guiltier about what she and her nephew had been doing, but she had also been worried that Tommy might be jealous of Bud.
"What about us?" Tommy asked.
"Well, what we did..." Karen said. She paused, "I-I don't know what Bud would think if he knew..."
"Don't worry, Aunt Karen, I'm not going to tell him," Tommy said. "I want you guys to be happy. As far as I'm concerned, what happened between you and me was wonderful, it's over now, and nobody needs to know. Ever."
Karen smiled, leaned over, and kissed her nephew on the cheek. "Not only are you wonderful," she said, "you're sweet and wise, too." She sat back. "I'll miss what we had, a little." She winked at him. "You were the best ever for me."
Tommy felt his face get hot. He stammered, "Ah...well, I...ah, I got to get going." He got up and headed for the living room, and phoned Donna. She said she'd love to go for a ride in his new truck. He told her that they might go swimming and she said she thought that was a great idea, too. They agreed to meet at the mall.
As he drove toward the mall, Tommy tried to think of some place he could take Donna where there wouldn't be other people around. Then it came to him. He and his father once stumbled onto a pond deep in the woods when they were doing research on the local bear population. There was a road to the pond, but it was primitive. His truck should be able to make it, though.
He pulled into a small store and bought things for a picnic lunch, then he continued on to the mall. Donna was waiting on a bench just outside the entrance. She smiled and got up when Tommy stopped.
Tommy gazed at the slim blonde approvingly as she walked toward the truck. She was wearing form-fitting acid washed denim shorts and a black top that displayed a lot of flesh and had string ties down each side. It wasn't until she slid into the truck that he realized that what he thought was her top was probably her swimming suit.
Donna smiled at him. "Hi," she said. "I love the truck. Is this the one you talked about the other night?"
Tommy started off. "Yeah, it is," he said. "I decided I might as well go for it."
"This truck is pretty fancy," the girl commented. "Wasn't it expensive?"
"Actually, it wasn't too bad," Tommy replied. "It's a year old and I got a good deal."
While Tommy drove out of town and into the country, Donna put a tape in the tape player and leaned back in the seat. "Oh, wow!" she said, "This thing has a fantastic sound system."
