Finding Floyd (2 page)

Lifting her onto his back in the fireman's
carry position, he carefully retraced his steps following the holes
he'd cut into the frozen slope. When he reached the back steps, he
hauled them both up by the railing with his free hand. Kicking the
door closed, he rushed her to the hearth and stood her in front of
the fire.

Propping her up with one hand, he stripped
her soaking wet clothes off. Tossing her things aside, he grabbed a
blanket from the couch, wrapped it around the naked girl and pushed
her into a chair.

“I’ll get some towels.” Sprinting from the
room, he returned with a stack of towels and dropped them on the
floor. Lifting the trembling girl, he wrapped a large one around
her dripping hair. Draping another around her shoulders, he rubbed
her down like a child after her bath. Then he fed the fire until it
blazed high, lighting up the room. That was when he recognized
her.

"Diane? What the hell? What are you doing
here?" He pulled away to stare at her in amazement and the towel
slid down, pooling around her feet. The flickering glow of the
flames danced on her wet skin. Light played over the swell of her
breasts, down her stomach to the golden curls that topped her long
legs. His eyes roved over her gleaming body slowly until they met
hers again.

“You’re beautiful,” he said softly. He rose
up slowly, breaking the spell, and then enfolded her naked body
into a soft quilt.

Shivering, she stammered, "How did you know I
was here?"

"I didn't."

He kicked off his boots and began to undress.
She backed away, as he unbuttoned his shirt, tugged it out of his
pants and shrugged it off. He pulled his undershirt over his head
revealing broad shoulders and soft brown hair across his muscular
chest that tapered nicely to his trim waist. Finally, he unbuckled
his belt and stripped down to his boxers, tossing his clothes
beside her wet robe and pajamas. He threw the quilt over the
recliner and reached for her, but she drew back.

“What are you doing?” she hissed.

“I’m going to hold you for a while,” he said
ignoring her protests. Lifting her, he sank down in the large easy
chair, wrapped the big blanket around them both, and held the
shivering girl in his arms to warm her. “There’s no heat. Power's
off, remember?”

He was instantly aware of her nakedness, cold
against his warm skin.

“I’m okay,” she said struggling to sit up,
but his strong arms held her.

“Sure you are.”

“Honestly, you don’t have to do this.”

“Diane, give me a break. You're freezing.
There’s no heat. My clothes are drenched and I’m not going out any
time soon to get my stuff from the car.”

“Oh, okay. Sorry,” she said weakly. She
leaned stiffly against him, not relaxing.

“What’s the matter? Do you think I’m going to
bite?”

Diane turned and gave him a cool look.
“That’s exactly what I’m afraid of.”

Grinning, he tucked her head under his chin
and hugged her. “Smart girl.”

When she woke, Diane was alone, swathed in
blankets before dancing flames in the big stone fireplace.
Snuggling into the big comfortable recliner, she stretched her feet
towards the fire and sighed. Chris had held her, warming her with
his body until she began to relax and fell asleep.

She touched the towel he'd wrapped around her
hair. I must look like a mummy, but I don’t care. It feels so good
to be warm. Even the burning and tingling sensations in her hands
and feet had subsided.

She looked around for Chris, and then heard
him in the kitchen. She'd met the handsome FBI agent the previous
October while helping with her friend, Victoria’s, wedding. He'd
been in her home town to arrest a drug dealer, but his crazy female
partner, Agent Rodriguez, had arrested her instead. I know Chris
only pretended to be interested in me so he could catch that guy.
He was probably seeing Rodriguez the whole time. She looked toward
the kitchen. So, what’s he doing down here in Floyd?

"How do you feel?"

She turned to see him filling the doorway to
the kitchen, concern on his handsome face. "Much better, thanks."
She tilted her head to study him. Why did he have to be so nice and
so good looking? He was square jawed with beautiful blue eyes and
blond hair. Well over six-feet tall and powerfully built, his
muscular arms stretched the shoulders of his red flannel shirt. Her
heart gave a little flutter, just as it had when she first met
him.

"What do you take in your tea? I made you a
cup."

"Thanks. There's a jar of honey on the
counter. Could you put in a spoonful?"

He was back in a moment setting a steaming
mug at her elbow, then tucked the blankets more snuggly around her
legs. "Warm enough? You really scared me. I was going to call 911
if you didn't wake up soon, but I don't know if they could even get
here with all the ice."

"It's okay. I'm fine now." She sipped at her
tea.

"Just a minute," he said, and returned with a
mug of his own. "Are you hungry?"

"No, I had dinner already." She met his
concerned look. "Thank God you came along. I was really frightened
out there alone in the dark. I thought for sure I'd freeze to
death."

"I'm just glad I got here in time." He sat
down next to her.

"Hey, how did you make tea? There's no
electricity."

"It's a propane gas range." He leaned back
gratefully into the deep comfortable couch in front of the
fireplace. "All you need is a match and poof, you've got a
flame."

"Oh yeah, I guess you're right." She eyed him
suspiciously over the rim of her mug. "So, what are you doing way
down here, so far from New York? Did you follow me?"

"Didn't I mention that I'm building a house
in Virginia?" He studied her face curiously.

"Well yeah, but that was a long time ago. I
must have forgotten." Diane turned to watch the flames. Tears stung
her eyes. It had been months since she'd heard from him.

As though he'd read her thoughts, he asked,
"Can you forgive me for not calling you? I was under cover."

She looked away. "Forget it, Chris."

He looked at her with brows raised in
question. "I did save your life this evening. That should at least
count for something."

"Come on, Chris. You could have. Just forget
it."

"Hey, in my line of work you don't exactly
make your own hours. The FBI tells you when and where to go, and
you do it. I really did want to get up to see you, but I was
undercover." He poked the fire with a length of wood and tossed it
onto the flames. Springing to life, the blaze spilled it's warmth
into the room.

To change the subject she asked
indifferently, "Are you here to work on your house?"

"Well..." he went back to the hearth and
began adding more wood to the fire.

"Or is it FBI business? Tracking another
criminal or maybe you're here to arrest me again?" she asked,
sarcastically.

He sat down silently, studying the
flames.

"I get it. This is another one of those, 'You
could tell me, but then you'd have to kill me' things, right?"

"Something like that," he said, giving her
one of his charming smiles.

Damn it, why does the guy have to be so cute?
Those blue eyes and his smile are too much. She looked up to see
him watching her.

"I must look awful." She took the towel from
her head and ran her hand through her long hair.

"You look pretty good from where I'm sitting.
I'm really glad you're here."

"Uh huh, sure. Thanks," she said
doubtfully.

Chris studied her thoughtfully. What are the
odds that Diane would be down here now, right where I'm hunting a
suspect? It's the same group of bad guys with ties to her hometown.
It's just like last fall. She was in the middle of that situation
too. I did briefly suspect her during that investigation in Pippins
Grove, but...

"Diane, why are you here?"

"What do you mean?" Dropping the towel, she
turned to face him.

He rubbed his chin and shot her an appraising
look. "In law enforcement we don't believe in coincidences."

Her jaw dropped. "Oh my god. You are here to
arrest me!"

"No. I'm just curious." he said frowning. "I
stay here frequently and Sandy's never mentioned you."

Diane sat up suddenly and the quilt slipped
down, exposing one perfect, round breast. "Sandy is a girlfriend of
mine. We were roommates at Penn State," she said indignantly.

Chris's eyes darkened as he watched the other
breast slip out. They were absolutely perfect. The most beautiful
breasts he'd ever seen.

"We keep in touch. We're still good friends,"
she said and tossed her tangled blond curls over her shoulder.

Her breasts swayed as she talked and Chris
stared, hypnotized.

"Since Sandy moved down here from New York
City, it's been harder to get together. Not that it's any of your
business, but she asked me to house sit so she could take her mom
on a cruise." Following his gaze, she looked down at her bare
chest, gasped and pulled the quilt up to her chin. She glared at
him. "You could have said something."

He grinned. "And miss the show? Not a
chance."

Diane rolled her eyes and sank back into the
chair. "What are you doing here, anyway?" She sounded angry. "There
aren't any reservations and Sandy put a notice on the website that
she'd be closed for the next two weeks."

"I didn't know Sandy was away. I've been
staying here since I first started coming to Floyd. I knew Sandy's
mom and dad when they ran it, before he died. March is a slow
season here, so I sent her an email and came down knowing there'd
be a vacant room."

"Sandy never told me anything about how to
run the B & B. All she asked me to do was take care of the pets
and plan some flower gardens around the house."

"Flower gardens?"

"My brother and I run that nursery and garden
center in Pippin's Grove, remember?"

"Oh right."

They were both silent for a minute, listening
to the crackling flames in the fireplace. He'd lit a pair of
candles and set them on the mantle. Together with the light from
the fire they sent flickering shadows across the room.

"I'm really sorry for Agent Rodriguez's
unprofessional behavior last fall. Putting those handcuffs on you
was wrong." He shook his head. "She can be a little extreme."

"A little extreme!" Diane shot him a look of
disgust. "She's a lunatic."

"You look beautiful when you're angry." He
chuckled, remembering. "Man, were you ever angry that day."

"You're damn right, I was mad at you! I'm
still mad at you. I don't care if you did save my life." She
crossed her arms and slumped down in the chair.

"I said I was sorry. Forget about Rodriguez.
I won't be working with her again."

"Okay, okay, I don't want to talk about her."
She sighed and settled into the blankets.

The dog yawned and stretched in the warmth of
the fire and then stood up and shook herself. Looking hopefully at
the two humans, as if considering which of them was most likely to
pet her, she settled on Chris and went over and sat down before
him, tail thumping on the carpet. She was rewarded with a big hand
stroking the fur at the back of her neck.

"How are you Bella? Did you miss me girl?" he
crooned.

She wagged her tail and nuzzled his hand.

"Even the four-legged women are after you,"
said Diane sarcastically.

"Come on girl!" Chris stood up and headed for
the front door. "I'm going to take her out," he said as the dog
danced enthusiastically around him.

"I'm going to get cleaned up while you're
gone. Be careful out there!" she warned.

"I'll put her on the leash. She'll pee and
come right back in. Bella's a smart dog. She won't stay out there
any longer than necessary. I'll go out the front where at least
it's level ground."

A wide porch ran along the front of the
spacious home, around one side and along the back. On the property
there was a barn and a four-bay garage, which had originally been
the carriage house. Upstairs were four large bedroom suites where
guests stayed in addition to rooms over the garage.

Diane was staying in the private family rooms
on the ground floor. It was already very cold in the bedroom.
Shivering, she dressed in a heavy sweatshirt, pants and thick
woolen socks.

Looking in the bathroom mirror, she dabbed at
her face with a damp washcloth and sighed. There was a bruise on
the side of her chin and the skin on her cheeks was red and
chapped. At least Chris found me before I froze to death, but I
look awful. I haven't seen the guy for months and when I do, this
is how I look. My hair's a mess, I have no makeup on and I look
like I had one of those awful chemical peels. She tried to brush
the tangles from her long curls.

Then she smiled at herself in the mirror.
Nice sweatshirt! Now that's attractive. Pulling it off over her
head, she rummaged through her suitcase for her favorite red
sweater. She debated on whether to put on a bra, and decided he'd
never know the difference.

Chris was back inside when she walked into
the living room.

"You okay?"

She nodded. "Much better, thanks." Looking
around the room she suggested, "Why don't we sleep out here by the
fire? It's freezing in the rest of the house."

"Sure. If you're comfortable enough in that
easy chair you can sleep there and I'll take the couch. No power
means there's no well pump and no running water. There's plenty of
bottled water, but don't flush the toilet, unless it's absolutely
necessary. We'll be all right. I called the power company and they
expect to have service restored by tomorrow morning. They're
usually pretty good with their estimates."

She had pictured them cuddled together near
the fire. I'm such an idiot. He's not interested in me. She drew in
a long breath. "Okay, that's good. Chris?"