After analyzing the situation, and what he knew about Connie, he decided it was best to wait before talking, and certainly before confessing his feeli...gs. If he told her now, he was sure that she wouldn't believe him. She would think he was doing it out of obligation, which wasn’t true, but it would be hard to convince her. One thing he'd learned during this rehearsal period was that Connie put on a good front of self-confidence, but it was often just a front. He didn't want to pressure her. . He watched as a tiny tremble ran through her and her eyes misted. Before the first tear fell, he'd straightened, pulled to her feet, and engulfed her in a giant hug. Her entire body shook as she buried her head into his chest. A deep vibrating rattle overtook her as he began to hum the same lullaby he'd put Kyle to sleep with earlier. Rocking back and forth, he kissed the top of her head, squeezing her tighter to him. They stood like that for five minutes. "I've got to go to work, Beanpole.". Juan and Jorge came in just then and we waved them over to the table with Maria following close behind with fresh coffee for everyone. Once we’d greeted each other and settled in with our coffee I told them I needed their help in finding the right men for a job I had. This piqued their curiosity, as I’d intended.“I need two men with strong personalities, a well-developed sense of fairness, who are good with a gun, willing to fight if needed, and can work on their own without supervision. I also. " Ken just shook his head and grimaced, saying, "And you know something else? In about five more years, Sam is going to look like her mother's older sister!" Then with a grin he continued, "Well, then, if the idea is to get even, how do we do it?"Well, honestly, with Kathy and me huddled together and trembling with fear, I really don't remember whose idea it was. But it sort of works like this: You see, we learned that Jim's birthday is a national holiday at the Conroys', while each of the.