Authors: Ribbon of Rain
Chapter1 (35 page)
“Trusting is part of loving.”
Her softly spoken words pleaded with him to let the subject drop.
“As for second chances…my advice is to avoid the circumstance where you might need one.
Then you won’t have to worry about it.”
He stared at her for a long time.
She forced herself to hold his gaze.
“Forgiving is part of loving, as well, Kat.”
He straightened his shoulders and rose from the bed.
“Let me know if you change your mind.”
He left the room and didn’t look back.
Fat chance she’d change her mind.
She rolled off the bed and checked the clothes he’d brought.
A sheer silk nightgown, a pair of jeans and a T-shirt, along with several pairs of shoes.
Women’s clothes.
She tried to ignore her jealousy.
Ten minutes later she’d showered and dressed in jeans that were three sizes too big and a t-shirt that hung to her knees.
She looked in the mirror and saw an orphan from a third world country.
She’d just pulled her hair in a ponytail when someone knocked on the door.
“Yes?”
“Kat, it’s Cody.
Frank wants to know if you’re ready to talk.
By the way, Munson’s gone.”
“I’ll be right out.”
Kat entered the living room, head held high, her expression daring anyone to laugh at her outfit.
“Okay.
Fire away, Frank”
“First, I want to thank you for the heads up on Munson.
We can’t be too careful.
I’ll look into the matter.”
Kat’s cheeks heated up.
“I hope I didn’t over-react.”
“Not at all, young lady.
Now, how’d you know where to find the gems?”
Her cheeks grew even warmer.
“If I tell you, you won’t believe me.”
“Try me.”
She shrugged.
“My grandmother told me where to find them.”
Frank looked confused.
“You mean before she died?”
“No.
She told me that night…the night Carl grabbed me.
She spoke to me.
Told me they were hidden in a stump by the old raven tree.
She’d taken them from my father and put them there years ago.”
Frank cleared his throat, looking from Jude or Cody.
“Do you have…ah…frequent conversations with your grandmother?”
“Not until recently.
The first time was right after the plane opened fire on me.
She’s spoken to me several times since.”
Why did she bother to tell them?
They’d think she was loony for sure.
A huge weight lifted from her shoulders when she realized she didn’t care what they thought.
“She’s telling the truth.”
Kat looked at Jude.
Now what was he up to?
“And how do you know that?”
Frank asked.
“Because Sweetgrass Mendon spoke to me, too.”
Everyone’s eyes focused on Jude.
No one was more surprised than Kat.
“It’s true,” Jude said at Frank’s look of disbelief.
“And what did she have to say to you?”
“Well, to sum it up in a few words, she told me I had shit for brains.”
Cody laughed, and Kat stifled a grin behind her hand.
Jude was telling the truth, for sure.
“It’s true, Frank,” Jude insisted.
“When Cody left me in the woods, the lady spoke to me.”
Frank wrote something in his notebook before closing it.
“Then, I guess we have Sweetgrass Mendon to thank for the recovery of Mr. Nguyen’s stolen property.”
“That’s it?
I can go now?”
She needed to get away from Jude Callahan before he captivated her yet again.
“Not yet.
I’ve got a few more questions regarding
Shouldn’t take too long.”
He looked at his watch.
“Unfortunately, right now I’ve got an appointment.
I’ll be back later.”
Chapter 19
Kat fiddled with the cushions, uncomfortable with the silence that fell over the room once Frank had left.
“I might have over-reacted about Munson.”
“You don’t know that.
I would have been suspicious if I’d seen Munson pulling out a weapon for no apparent reason.”
“Jude’s right, Kat,” Cody added.
“You did the smart thing.”
Cody walked around the living area of the condo.
“Nice place you’ve got here, Callahan, but I’m feeling claustrophobic.
You two mind if I skip out for the night?
I’ve got some friends here in D.C.
I want to look up.”
Jude gestured towards the door.
“Go ahead.
Knock yourself out.”
Kat didn’t want to be alone with Jude, but was embarrassed to say so.
“Sure, Cody.
Have fun.
Don’t forget to come back and get me before you leave tomorrow.”
Cody made a hasty exit, and Kat wandered around the living room, stopping to pick up a framed picture on the mantel of the gas fireplace.
Two smiling faces looked back at her.
Both in their mid twenties.
“Your brother and sister?”
He sat on the arm of couch with his arms crossed, watching her.
“Yeah.
Taken a few months ago.”
“You mentioned your brother worked for the FBI.
I’m surprised he hasn’t shown up.”
Jude chuckled.
“Believe me, he would be right here in the thick of it, but he’s on assignment in another part of the country.
Hey, are you hungry?”
“Do you have anything decadent?
Like chocolate?”
“Make yourself at home.
I’ll see what I can find.”
*****
Jude checked his cupboards for chocolate.
What was wrong with her?
She’d never given any indication she liked sweets.
He pulled out a box of brownie mix and spied a can of fudge sauce.
Thank God for microwaves.
Soon he had a hot brownie, dripping with hot fudge sauce ready to take to her.
“Mmnnn.
I smelled it in the other room.”
He turned at the sound of her voice.
She leaned against the kitchen doorway, looking beautiful.
Funny, his sister wasn’t overweight.
But seeing Kat in her clothes made him realize how tiny she was.
The love he felt for her nearly choked him.
“I was about to bring it to you.”
“I’d better eat at the table.
Otherwise, you’ll be cleaning fudge sauce off your carpet or your couch.”
She lowered herself into a chair and then pulled her legs up and sat yoga style.
Jude sat at the opposite side of the table and watched her dig into the oozing chocolate brownie with gusto.
His eyes followed the spoon as it disappeared inside her mouth.
“It’s delicious.
Aren’t you going to have one?”
Her tongue licked some fudge sauce from corner of her mouth.
“Ah, no, I’m not hungry right now.”
At least not for food
.
“Want something to drink?”
“Nope.”
She raised another gooey spoonful to her mouth, lapping off the hot fudge before tackling the brownie.
Mesmerized, Jude continued to stare at her.
He wasn’t sure how long his mouth had been open before he realized it, but he bounded out of his chair in embarrassment.
He kept his back to her and wiped the counter so she wouldn’t see his erection.
“Are you ready to go to bed?”
“What?”
He groaned.
“I mean, you told Frank you were tired.
Do you want to rest for a while?”
“Yes.
Thank you.
But I’d like another brownie.”
Grabbing the Teflon pan of brownies, he put them on the table, along with the container of hot fudge sauce.
“Help yourself.
I’ll go change the sheets.”
He hurried from the kitchen without looking back.
*****
Kat slumped at the table and pushed the second brownie around the plate with her spoon.
As soon as Jude left the kitchen, her voracious appetite had gone south, and her resolve to resist him was headed in the same direction.
The sooner she got out of here, the better.
She had no self-control where he was concerned.
Even if she could forgive him for his lapse in judgment about her, something else would happen.
Their relationship had been doomed from day one.
She scraped the brownie down the garbage disposal, and then put the plate on the floor for Red.
“You could do with a little spoiling.”
Red slurped the crumbs in record time, thumping his tail with appreciation.
Kat patted the dog’s head.
She rinsed the plate and tucked it in the dishwasher.
Resigned to facing Jude, she straightened her shoulders and headed to the living room to wait for him.
*****
Jude’s face softened at the sight of Kat curled up on the couch sound asleep.
Red was stretched out on the floor, snoring.
The temptation to get a Chessie was strong.
He’d never experienced the bond between dog and man before.
Like being whacked with a two-by-four, reality hit him in the head.
He didn’t want just any
Actually, he wanted the package deal, Red and Kat.
He lowered his body into an overstuffed chair, taking advantage of this opportunity to love Kat with his eyes.
Every once in a while her fingers or arm would twitch, as if bad dreams plagued her sleep.
Probably nightmares.
The last few days had been hell for her.
She’d had to accept her parents’ deaths, had been deceived by a life-long friend, and had been forced to kill others, not to mention the emotional roller coaster ride he’d taken her on.
No wonder the woman was exhausted.
After watching her for thirty minutes, he knew she wasn’t going to wake up any time soon.
He gathered her in his arms, holding his breath as she snuggled close to him.
He took a deep breath.
This may be the last time he would be able to enjoy the smell of her.
He’d never forget her scent, a combination of the chamomile shampoo she’d last used, and her own distinct feminine scent for which he had no description.
He only knew that it made him hot for her.
Her lashes fluttered when he put her down on the cotton sheet and pulled the puffy down comforter to her shoulders.
Red followed him in the room and looked up at the bed, a wistful look in his eyes.
He gave Jude his best Chessie smile.
“No.
Down.
On the floor.”
Red groaned, but curled up on the rug next to the bed.
“Smart dog,” Jude whispered.
On his way to his bedroom the phone started ringing.
He ran to his room, leaped across the bed and grabbed it before Kat woke up.
“Hello—are you sure?
All right.
We’ll be ready up here.”
Chapter 20
Jude hunkered in the closet in Kat’s room.
Red sat next to him.
The closet door was slightly ajar, allowing him visual access to whoever entered the room.
Adrenaline surged through his veins, pumping the blood to his heart.
A phone call from Cody alerted him that Munson had entered the garage.
Seems Kat hadn’t been paranoid after all.
Cody’s friends hadn’t been around, he’d returned early, arriving right behind Munson.
At least that had been Cody’s story, and he was sticking to it.
Jude guessed that he’d never had any intention of meeting his friends.
He’d planned to hang out in the garage to guard Kat.
The bedroom squeaked open.
A thick shaft of light spread across the carpeted floor.
He readied his Beretta.
A growl rumbled low in Red’s throat.
Jude touched the dog’s head, and he quieted.
Agent Munson stepped into the room, keeping his back to the wall.
He held his weapon with two hands, the barrel pointed towards the ceiling.
His foot closed the door.
The window provided the only light.
Jude’s eyes were fully accustomed to the darkness, so he saw Munson clearly.
