Finding Floyd (3 page)

"Yes," he said, smiling at her from where he
sat on the couch.

"Thanks for everything. If you hadn't come
along...well, you really did save my life. I was terrified. I kept
trying to crawl back to the house, but I'd get halfway up and slip
down again."

"How did you get trapped out there in the
first place, wearing nothing but a robe?"

"It was the stupid cat. Colby-Jack was just
sitting out there in the rain and wouldn't come in. When I reached
for him, I slipped on the top step and kept right on going, all the
way to the woodpile." She waved her arm to indicate her long slide
to the bottom of the yard.

"Where is Colby-Jack anyway?" asked Chris,
looking around the room.

As if he'd heard his name, the big tom cat
sauntered in. He stared at the fire for a moment, then hopped onto
the couch and made himself comfortable on Chris's lap.

"Bad Colby, doing that to Diane," he said
scratching the back of the cat's neck.

"Next time, you can stay out there and freeze
to death," Diane threatened, but Colby ignored her.

Sleeping in the lazy boy all night wasn't too
bad, but I'm so stiff. She looked at her reflection in the bathroom
mirror and dabbed lotion on her chapped skin. Her joints and
muscles were sore from the ordeal on the ice, but Chris had given
her two Advil and she felt better already. He's been so nice,
rescuing me and taking care of me. I guess I'll forgive him for all
those times he didn't call.

"Hey. Wait a minute." Diane's chin came up
and her blue eyes sparkled in anger. He's been too darned
attentive. How is it possible that Agent Owen showed up just in
time to rescue me? I don't believe in coincidences either. He must
have been following me, but how could he have known I was here?

Chris called her from the kitchen, "Hey
Diane, come in here. You've got to see this."

"I'm coming." Lost in thought, she walked
down the hall into the large sunny kitchen. Chris had the tea
kettle on the stove and it was just beginning to whistle. He was
standing at the window on the far side of the room. Following his
gaze she was awestruck by what she saw.

"Oh my god," she whispered. "It's beautiful,
Chris."

The storm had left a heavy coating of ice
over everything. Out on the driveway, his black Suburban was
entirely encrusted. Just beyond the car, a huge ancient oak tree
stood in front of the garage with thousands of tiny branches
glittering in the morning sun. Like an enormous chandelier covered
with a million twinkling lights, the sunlight made it all sparkle
like diamonds in ever changing patterns. As the storm ended, the
sleet must have turned briefly to snow, because everything was
dusted like powdered sugar on a cake, the wind swirling it
around.

"Wind is from the south," said Chris. "That
means it'll be warming today and all this will melt soon."

"Really? All that ice?"

Chris put an arm around her waist and drew
her to him, their lips mere inches apart. Her heart skipped a beat.
"It's just you and me together in the house today. Can't go
anywhere," he said in a hushed tone.

"Your water is boiling," she whispered, her
suspicions suddenly forgotten.

"Yeah, right." He drew back and headed for
the stove. "Choices at the B & B this morning are filtered
coffee or tea. We can make some eggs and there's a loaf of
bread..."

"I'll have the tea, what about you?" she
answered, smiling at him wondering if he had been about to kiss
her.

"Okay, coming right up. I'll put a stop to
this noise." Chris turned off the gas and reached for two mugs. The
whistling gradually subsided and finally ceased altogether.

She watched as he dropped a tea bag in one
mug and then poured water into a coffee filter sitting over the
other. He brought her tea over and looked again at the winter
wonderland outside the window.

"Enough honey?"

She sipped and stole a sideways glance at his
face. "Perfect, thanks." The man was amazing, with those chiseled
masculine features.

He took her cup, setting it beside his own on
the wide sill. Folding her into his arms, he began to kiss her
gently, then more deeply.

Diane returned his kiss with a rising passion
of her own. Her arms wrapped around his neck, holding him close. At
last, she pulled away, looking into his eyes and trying to read his
thoughts.

"Not so bad, being stuck here. Maybe we'll be
stuck for two or three days. The longer the better." He reached for
her again, but Diane stepped out of his reach.

"Well..." She narrowed her eyes. Do I really
want to trust this guy?

"We'll finally have a chance to get to know
each other. I really wanted to see you. You have to believe
me."

"Don't rush me. Let me think." She crossed
her arms and turned away from him.

"I'm sorry it just didn't work out, but when
I'm undercover, any communication can expose me and every member of
my team to danger."

"Hmmm." She looked at him over her shoulder.
If he'd really wanted to, he'd have called me.

Picking up their mugs, he handed one to her.
"Forgive me?"

Not knowing quite what to say, she nodded,
sipped, and then grimaced. "Yuck!"

"What's the matter?" he asked.

"This is your coffee. It's like mud and it's
bitter. How can you drink this stuff?"

"Oops, sorry about that," he said grinning
and switched the cups. "I guess that kiss kind of rattled me."

"Sure." She laughed. "One kiss and I'm able
to disorient the tough, disciplined, highly trained FBI Special
Agent Christopher Owen."

"Yeah, let's see if you can do it again."
This time he reached for her, gathered her in his arms, pressed his
lips gently to hers and didn't let her go.

She tasted coffee, but now it tasted
wonderful. She wrapped her arms around him and deepened the kiss.
They stood, lips and tongues exploring, hands caressing, until they
were startled by a loud crack that sounded like a gunshot.

They jumped at the sound. Outside the wind
was gusting furiously, blowing snow high into the air. The old
windows of the farmhouse rattled and shook. A fusillade of loud
cracking noises came from the big oak. Parting, they looked out at
the wind whipped tree. It was swaying perilously in the wind. Ice
chards broke from the high branches and shattered on the frozen
ground.

"Look at the oak tree. I hope it doesn't come
down." Chris looked concerned.

Hit with an even stronger blast, a few
branches snapped and came hurtling to the ground sending up
sparkling showers. When the next strong gust hit the old tree,
laden with its unaccustomed burden of ice, the whole thing came
crashing down across the driveway. As they watched, a large circle
of roots tore loose and parted company with the ground. Smaller
limbs and glittering ice sprayed in all directions as it fell. The
trunk missed Chris's Suburban by mere feet and the topmost branches
came to rest only a few yards from the house.

Stunned, neither of them spoke for a moment.
The only sounds were the moaning wind outside and rattling window
panes.

"Oh my god," gasped Diane. "It just missed
your car."

"Yeah, that was lucky, but it's totally
blocking the garage doors," he said.

"What am I going to do? I'm trapped
here."

"Chris tried to reassure her, "We'll work
something out after the ice melts."

Colby Jack jumped onto the kitchen table and
strolled over to look out at the change in the landscape. Bella
came trotting into the kitchen, stood for a minute with tail
wagging and went to the back door.

"Bella needs to go out. I better put her on a
leash, otherwise she'll end up down at the bottom of the yard like
you," said Chris. He found the leash hanging on a hook and clipped
it to her collar. Bella ran out, followed by Chris and a curious
Colby Jack. As they left, a cold gust blew into the room and she
shivered, watching them through the window.

When he returned Chris asked, "Is your car in
the garage?"

"Yeah, and I guess I won't be using it any
time soon." She gazed out at the fallen tree, which now solidly
blocked the way to the old carriage house. "Really lucky it didn't
hit the garage, or your car," she said.

"It's a miracle," he laughed. "Trust me
though, when some of your neighbors see that, guys with chain saws
will be all over it. How about some breakfast?"

"Okay."

They spent the rest of the morning
alternately playing gin rummy and snuggling up together on the
couch. Chris kept the fire blazing so that at least the living room
was warm. Bella and Colby-Jack lay snoozing, near the hearth.

As promised, the power came back on at noon.
Chris went down to the basement to insure the plumbing and heating
systems were working as they should. When he came upstairs, he
found Diane washing up the dishes that had accumulated.

She looked over at him. "Is everything
okay?"

"Everything is up to speed. You getting any
hot water yet?"

"Some. I used the tea kettle to get the
dishes started."

"It'll be hot before you know it. Hey, did
you have any plans for dinner?" He walked past her and opened up
the door to the big pantry.

"What are you doing?"

He turned and grinned. "I'm going hunting in
the deep freeze."

"I didn't want to use up all Sandy's stuff. I
bought some canned soup. We could have that. And there's some
yogurt, and salad things."

His voice was muffled as he bent over the
chest freezer. It sounded like he said, "Nice, but that's not
happening." He emerged triumphantly waving a package of steaks and
a loaf of Italian bread. "I need some real food. "How about steaks
cooked cowboy style in the fireplace, garlic bread, and a big
salad?"

"That sounds really great! Do you cook?"

"A man's gotta eat, right?" Unwrapping the
thick steaks, Chris put them on a pan to thaw. "And don't worry
about Sandy. I'll replace her stuff. Trust me. She won't mind a
bit."

"I know it will use a lot of hot water, but
I'd really appreciate a nice long bath. Then I promise to come up
with something for dessert."

He gave her a long look. Her nipples peaked
as his eyed drifted over her breasts, down to her thighs and back.
"Dessert, huh."

"I, um, was thinking apple crisp." She
swallowed. "There are plenty of apples, and it'll be fast."

"Were you? Sure, apple crisp," he
whispered.

She started for her bedroom and hesitated.
"Well, you think about it. Let me know what you'd like."

"I'll do that." Chris gave her that
devastating smile and turned to the frozen meat, appraising it.

Diane slipped away to her quarters for a long
soak.

After sharing what turned out to be a
delicious dinner, Chris insisted that she return to her first floor
bedroom, while he took the couch again. Puzzled by his mood change,
she reluctantly closed her door and leaned against it.

Nice! He'd rather sleep on the couch than in
here with me. What's with that? From what he said and those looks
he gave me...I really thought he liked me! Now I feel stupid. I'm
so glad I didn't come right out and invite him to spend the night
with me. It's just like last October when he was after that guy.
He's just pretending to be interested in me. But why?

Chris stood for a long moment staring at the
closed door, feeling like a fool. I should be in there with her!
Damn it! I'm here to catch a fugitive who has a remote connection
with Diane. I've never felt this tempted before, but the boss would
have my ass if he knew I slept with a potential suspect. Is she
really a potential suspect? It's conceivable, but I know she's
innocent. He sighed and regretfully turned away from her door and
headed for the couch and some much needed sleep. I'll figure it out
in the morning.

Owen woke in darkness to the ringtone that
signaled an incoming text message. He'd trained himself to sleep
lightly and wake easily. Sighing, he lifted the sleeping cat off
his chest, grabbed his smart phone from the coffee table and
squinted at the luminous screen. Colby-Jack scowled at him, unhappy
with the disturbance.

Owen sat up and rubbed his face. "Shit! A
text at this hour can't be good." Scrolling through his messages,
he sighed. "Seriously? It's four o'clock in the morning and I've
already got messages from the boss in New York and another from my
favorite ex-partner, Agent Rodriguez." He shook his head, disgusted
and then silently began to dress.

Quietly, he gathered his things and went into
the kitchen with the cat trailing behind him. "I can't just walk
out on her," he muttered. "I've got to let Diane know I'm leaving,
but the last thing I want is a personal text on my work phone." He
kept his two worlds strictly separate. Unfortunately, he'd left his
other phone at home.

Hunting through the drawers, he found pen and
paper. Taking his time, he wrote a note to Diane explaining to her
about the text from his boss. He thought for a moment, tapping the
pen nervously on the table surface, before deciding to omit any
mention of Agent Rodriguez. Telling her how much he'd enjoyed their
stolen day together, he promised to be back as soon as he possibly
could. Signing the note, he left it in the center of the kitchen
table where she'd be sure and see it first thing.

He turned off the lights and slipped
noiselessly onto the porch. As he'd predicted, warm air had arrived
from the south and thawed the ice overnight. There was barely a
trace of it on his vehicle. Starting the engine, he switched on the
headlights, and saw the incredible wreck of the ancient oak tree in
front of him. A minute later he was on the road, headed north.

When the first morning birds began their
song, Colby-Jack leapt onto the kitchen table to watch them. For
ten minutes he studied them as they fed from the dish of sunflower
seeds outside the kitchen window. His tail swished nervously until,
bored, he strolled down the table to Owen's ballpoint pen. With one
paw he reached out and he batted at it. In full attack mode, he
rocked it back and forth between his paws until it fell from the
table and disappeared. Disappointed at the loss of his toy, he
sniffed suspiciously at the sheet of paper, sat on it and began to
clean his face. Then gathering all four paws beneath him, he
launched himself halfway across the kitchen and ran to the living
room to see the view from the windows there. He sent Owen's
carefully composed note sailing into the air. It fluttered to the
floor where it slid out of sight beneath the refrigerator.