Hutch dropped the bag on the floor next to Casimir, using the door jamb to step passed him.
"Like it or not, we have a mutual interest in this, and I believe the key to making the amulet work lies within the three of us," Casimir explained from behind him.
Turning around, Casimir was standing in the hallway, bag in hand.
"I never…" Hutch clenched his jaw, silencing himself.
"You never would have destroyed this to hurt me?"
Hutch shook his head. "I'm not like you. I wouldn't hurt a kid, not even one of yours."
"I'm relieved to hear it," Casimir replied, stepping towards him. "And now that we've established our positions, I'd like for you to come with me."
"Where?" Hutch asked as Casimir moved passed him and towards the door.
"To my lab. You should know where it is, since it's where your co-op is going to be taking place."
"My co-op? You want me to…" Hutch was flustered; struck by confusion.
Casimir had what he wanted, he didn't need him and he had just forced him into giving up a secret. He expected Casimir to be pissed at him. To take everything and leave him behind. He was certain he'd blown any possibility of them working together in any aspect, let alone maintaining any sort of legitimate cover.
"You think that little power trip is going to phase me, Hutch? I've known you for far too long to let your outbursts affect what we need to do. I've also raised two teenagers; I doubt you'll be able to surprise me, again, at this point."
"But I'm not really a teenager," he muttered, rubbing at his brow that was beginning to ache from his chronic scrunching.
Casimir chuckled as he put on his coat. "Sure, you aren't."
"You know I'm not."
"Yet, your reactions are telling me the opposite. Get your coat and the box. I'll be waiting for you outside."
"Hold up. I need to let my mom…" Hutch groaned and ran his tongue against his teeth, causing Casimir to laugh even louder as he headed out the door. "Dammit," he huffed. "Freaking proving his point, right in front of him. Stupid brain."
Leaving a note for his mother explaining he might be home late, he put on his coat, shoes, and hat, before grabbing the box and heading out the door, being certain to lock up behind himself.
Turning around he had expected to see a luxury brand car, like a BMW or Cadillac, sitting in his driveway, but instead there was a solid black, Ford Expedition with the Eddie Bauer emblem displayed proudly on its side.
"Nice," Hutch said as he approached the SUV, hearing the doors unlock.
"You can admire it from the inside. Get in," Casimir remarked, standing on the driver's side running board with the door open.
Quickening his pace, Hutch opened the passenger's door and climbed in.
The interior was beige. The leather seats monogrammed with the Eddie Bauer signature embroidered into the headrests. The cup holder held a metal traveling mug, and the console was filled with pens, coins, a mint container, bits of paper covered with random notes, and a black, pine tree air freshener hung from the rearview mirror.
"She's yours?" Hutch asked, as they bucked their seat belts.
"Yep. Celina picked it out a couple of years ago," he replied as he started the engine. "And before you ask, yes, she was right, it was worth buying, and it's preferrable to riding in any carriage. Although, I must admit that it is still a far cry from riding Haundar. Best damned eranth I ever owned."
"I hear that. Still not used to being in these things," Hutch said as Casimir backed out of the driveway.
"It gets easier. Once you learn to drive for yourself, it becomes a whole new sense of freedom."
"A new sense, huh?" Hutch snickered, as Casimir put the truck in drive, and they headed off down the road. "Right up there with, family man?"
"Ha! Even better than being a king."
The drive would take them east of the city center, up into the wealthier area known as Cauthard Hills, where the roads wound their way through dense forest, passed private mansions, and thousand-acre ranches. They had been in the truck for near forty minutes, when Casimir turned onto a gravel driveway, stopping before an iron gate that stretched between two rounded stone walls. Pressing a remote located on his sun visor, the gates swung open, and they pulled inside. The gate closing behind them with another press of the button.
Giant pine trees, two rows thick, lined the front of the property, blocking it from view of the main road. And beyond the gate, a rolling green pasture, surrounded by white board fencing, and lined by rows of manicured apple trees was separated from the surrounding forest, by the driveway they were on. At the end of the driveway, sat a well maintained, two-story, farmhouse built of stone, and red, vertical siding, with white accents. Attached by a breeze way was a three-car garage, and to the left, a set of matching red barns. Pristine flower beds edged the house, filled with crushed white stone, and shrubbery decorated with Christmas lights. The dense, deciduous forest, blocked the view of anything else, isolating the property into a quiet slice of paradise.
"This is your home," Hutch stated, as they pulled up to the garage.
"And my lab, is in a building behind the house," he replied as the door in front of them opened. "You'll have to excuse me though, because I've been away on business for the last four days. I'd like to say hello to my family before we get started."
"Understandable," he replied, as they pulled into the garage.
"I certainly hope so. No offense, but compared to them, you aren't my main priority. Besides, I figured by now, you were at least as hungry as me," Casimir said as he parked the truck and turned off the engine. "I also suspect that Celina is looking forward to seeing you again."
"And the box?" Hutch questioned as Casmir opened the door and got out.
"Bring it with. My family knows everything, Hutch. From the best of it, to the worst. You don't need to pretend anything around them. Just be yourself."
Hutch sighed as he opened his door and slid out. "I'm not even sure who that is anymore."
Casmir was quick to grab his duffle bag from the back of the expedition, and Hutch suddenly felt like a kid again, as he followed him through the breezeway and into the house. Entering a mud room through the side door, he was struck by how organized and comfortably warm it felt. Across from him was a bench, mud trays sitting beneath it, with coat hooks above. To the right was the door to the laundry room, and along the far wall, was a large closet and to the left was a powder room.
Hutch watched Casimir as he took his duffle bag into the laundry room and emerged with a small gift bag in hand.
"You can put your shoes under the bench, and leave the coat and box on it," he instructed, as set the gift bag down and pulled the bag of myrrget from his pocket, handing it back to Hutch. "We should keep all of this together."
Hutch nodded, not entirely certain of what to say. As Casimir removed his shoes and hung up his coat, he did as he had been instructed, carefully setting the bag back into the box, leaving it behind on the bench, when he followed Casimir further into the house, where the sound of music and joyful chatter was emanating.
The air was thick with the scent of savory herbs, and even the ceramic tiles of the floor felt warm beneath his feet. At the end of the short entry hallway, the home opened up, with a front foyer and staircase to the right and to the left, where the tiles transitioned to hard wood flooring, a country style, galley kitchen, with black quartz countertops came into view. Beyond it, a living room, and to the left, in the corner a dining room. The walls were a pale yellow with oak wood trim to match the floors. The drapery was multiple layers of golden paisley sheers and heavy cranberry curtains. Paintings wore expensive looking frames, and the furniture was rich in color, fabrics, and woods. The décor was simple but felt luxurious. It was organized, pristine, and yet still managed to look as if it were lived in.
At the stove, Celina was stirring something in a pot, and Clara was sitting at the center island.
"Guess who made it home in time for dinner?" Casimir remarked as he stepped into the kitchen.
Celina whipped around, tossing the spoon she had been holding on the counter, as she rushed towards him, leaping into his awaiting arms. She clung to him as if she'd half expected for him never to return.
"I missed you," she said, stroking at his cheek, before kissing him.
"I missed you too," he replied, when she finally let him speak. "But look, I brought company."
"Oh dear! I'm sorry you had to witness that," she exclaimed, her face turning red as she un-grappled herself from Casimir and began wiping her hands on her apron. "It is so good to see you again, Hutch." Moving closer to him, she set her hands to his cheeks, her smile capable of melting the ice from the most frozen of heart, as she whispered to him, "Thank you for bringing him back to me, yet again," before embracing him. "Welcome to our home."