Chapter 61
Jesse sat playing with her new laptop while Richie was making phone calls. She was looking for pictures and articles about her and Richie and found the ones from the National Enquirer and laughed. None of the pictures were very revealing and her face couldn't be seen in any of them.
While she was looking for information on them, Jesse also found an article about Richie having a street named in his honor in his hometown which led her to look more into his helping Kelly. She found the 'You Can Go Home' site too and decided to order one of the shirts. It also got her to thinking about how she could help Richie and Kelly.
"Mama, do I really have to go home tonight?"
"Yes sir. You have school tomorrow."
Stevie plopped down to pout.
Richie reached down and tousled his hair. "Buddy, not cool! You'll be coming to Charlotte on Thursday and we're going to hang out for the weekend. You'll be missing school on Friday now as it is."
"Okay," conceded the little boy.
"You'll have Uncle Frank and Uncle Dakota with you," said Jesse.
Ashley and Carly came in as Jesse went back to surfing the net.
"What 'cha doing, Jess?" asked Carly as she flopped down on the couch opposite her.
Ashley sat down with Jesse on the couch and spotted her engagement ring. Before Jesse could answer Carly, she grabbed her hand, "OH......MY......GOD! Jesse...that's a ROCK!"
Carly moved in too pushing Richie out of the way. "It is sooo gorgeous."
Jesse looked at Richie, her eyes dancing as she said, "Richie had it designed just for me."
"That is so sweet," sighed Carly.
"Girl, you won big in the game of love," commented Ashley.
"I've got a favor to ask you two."
"Shoot," they chorused.
"Be my bridesmaids?"
"Of course!"
"You need to get your passports," said Richie as Carly moved out of his way and he slid back closer to Jesse.
"Why?" asked Ashley.
Jesse leaned against Richie as he put his arm around her. "Because we're getting married in London, at St. Paul's Cathedral, the end of June before the guys come back to North America."
"NO WAY!" exclaimed both girls.
"We will be flying to London in a couple of weeks too for Jesse to talk to the designers for her dress. You two need to go with her so you can look at dresses for yourselves."
"Who else are you going to get as your bridesmaids?" asked Ashley.
Jesse looked up at Richie who said, "We're going to invite fans and from the ones invited, we're going to pick two to be bridesmaids."
"WOW! Aren't you taking chances having fans at the wedding?"
"There are going to be stipulations, no cameras or cell phones," said Jesse. "And don't worry about costs. Richie is going to cover everything related to the wedding."
"I guess we'll have to put a rush on our passports when we get home then," said Ashley. "When are we headed to London?"
"Jess will let you know the details. I'm looking at the week of May 10th though."
Ashley and Carly looked at Jesse as Carly said, "No wonder you didn't call us."
Jesse laughed, "I was a little overwhelmed and then Mama decided to interfere in my life."
There was a knock at the door and Richie went to answer it while the girls gathered around the laptop to continue talking about the wedding.
"Mr. Sambora?"
"Yes."
"I'm Agent Hunt, the one in charge of your girlfriend's kidnapping case."
"Come on in, Agent Hunt," greeted Richie. Extending his hand, he said, "I want to thank you for all that you did in getting Jesse back to me so quickly."
"Honestly, it was one of the easiest cases. Tina James really didn't plan the whole thing to prevent being caught."
"Small favors. I think she was expecting Jesse's father...not me."
Jesse looked up. "Blake!! It's good to see you again," she greeted.
"You look a lot better today."
"Love from a good man makes everything better."
"I believe it." Taking a seat, he said, "I wanted to talk to you about the case."
"How is it going?"
"Well, I'm not exactly sure how to tell you this."
Richie had moved to sit with Jesse and felt her tense. "Just tell us."
"Tina James and Todd Malone were small blips on the FBI radar. We're after the main man, Alexander Monroe."
"Is he the one she owed?" asked Jesse.
"Yes. He's a major drug dealer on the east coast and your mother and her boyfriend have turned state's evidence against him in exchange for immunity on the kidnapping and grand larceny charges."
Jesse hung her head and Richie rubbed her back. "Are you going to be able to convict him?" asked Richie, his voice controlled, not revealing any emotion.
"We're 80% sure we'll get a conviction."
Jesse looked up, her eyes glistening with tears. "Do I have any say in all of this?"
"I'm afraid not. It's out of our hands now and in the Attorney General's."
Jesse turned into Richie's chest but she wasn't crying. She wasn't sure how she felt. This was her mother despite the fact that she'd walked out on her twenty years ago.
"Agent Hunt, will Jesse have to be involved any further?"
"No, once James and Malone were given immunity, her involvement ended."
Richie lifted Jesse's chin to look into her eyes. "Jesse, it's over; you're safe; and you've got your ring back. Let it go. If it gets a bigger problem off the streets, then it's a good thing."
"I'm okay, Richie," she whispered. Looking at Agent Hunt, she said, "Thank you for everything you did."
"You're very welcome. I'm glad this turned out well."
"Me too," said Richie hugging Jesse to him. Agent Hunt stood and Richie said, "I really appreciate all that you did. Pick a show and I'll leave you tickets."
"I'd like that. Thank you."
"Just give Tony a holler and he'll set it up."
Shaking hands, the two men said good-bye.
"Jess, I've got to get ready for sound checks."
"Okay."
Richie looked at her and shook his head. He knew she had something on her mind so he grabbed her hand. "Come with me."
"Now?"
"Yes, I need your help."
Jesse looked at Ashley and Carly and Carly said, "We need to get our stuff together to head home."
"I'll talk to you before you leave."
