Finding Floyd (32 page)

She stared. It was Chris, dressed in jeans
and a red shirt. It was really him.

"Diane," he said, gripping her shoulders in
his large strong hands.

"Oh Chris, I didn't know you were coming! How
are you?"

"I'm great, now that I'm here with you." He
studied her, then wrapped his arms around her and kissed her.

She responded with passion as he deepened the
kiss.

Breaking away finally, he gazed at her again,
before speaking. "Diane, will you marry me?"

"What? What did you say?"

"I asked you to marry me Diane. Will you
marry me?

"Oh Chris," she stammered. "What about the
FBI?"

"Forget the FBI. I'm finished with that. I
quit."

"You quit? But what about Agent
Rodriguez?"

"What about her?"

"Well I thought, I mean, she's been your
partner," Diane looked uncomfortable.

"Forget her."

"Is she upset?"

"Are you kidding? She took all the credit for
capturing the Blowtorch so she got the promotion I was hoping for."
He smiled and kissed her again.

Diane pulled away and sputtered, "She took
your job?"

"I don't want it anymore. They wanted a woman
in the position anyway, but never mind all that. Will you marry
me?"

"If you're not in the FBI, what are you doing
for a job?"

"Sam Woodruff has hired me. I'm going to be
working for his private security company. Can I please have an
answer? Do you want to be Mrs. Christopher Owen?"

"Of course I do, Chris. I love you."

"I love you too." He leaned in, kissing her
passionately once more. Their lips parted and he asked, "Are you
okay with moving down to Floyd? I can sell the house if you don't
want to."

"No! Don't sell it. I love Floyd." Then she
gave him a look. "As long as no one is shooting at us, or
kidnapping us."

"Sweetheart, finding Floyd was good for me,
but finding you was infinitely better."

"Oh Chris, I love you."

"I love you too. Okay, now, can I ask you to
do one other thing right away?"

"Yes Chris. Anything you want. What is
it?"

"Please stop watering my shoes."

She looked down, realizing she was still
holding the hose. It had soaked his feet and legs to the knees. "Oh
dear!" She tossed the hose behind her and threw her arms around
him, holding on as tightly as she could.

"I wonder what all those young folks are
doing up in the Grove today," asked Ralph.

"Oh, I'm sure they're keeping busy." Julia
put down her book and smiled. "I do hope that nice Mr. Owen stops
his procrastination and asks Diane to marry him. She's such a
lovely girl."

"I don't know about these young kids today,"
grumbled Ralph. "Hell, they're not kids anymore. You're right about
that Owen fellow. He should marry Diane and move down here into
that big house he built. They're all of them good kids, but in my
day we sure didn't waste any time."

Blushing, her blue eyes twinkled with
pleasure as she held out her hand to admire the sparkling diamond
on her finger. "You're right, dear. They're not at all romantically
impulsive like you are."

"Romantically impulsive, I like that,"
chuckled Ralph.

The couple sat together on Julia's spacious
back porch, enjoying the perfect weather. They'd spent time over
morning coffee, planning their day together, finally lapsing into a
comfortable silence. As the people of Floyd made their way to work,
they could hear the distant hum of traffic. Julia put down her
empty cup and took up the paperback she was currently reading.

After a while Ralph rose and stretched. He
retrieved his empty over-sized mug and picked up Julia's cup. "Can
I get you more coffee, Dear?" he asked.

"That would be lovely. Thank you."

He glanced at her book. "Reading another of
those romance novels?" he wondered absently.

"Yes, I'm afraid so."

"Women seem to love those, don't they?" he
said. "What's that one called?"

Julia smiled and displayed the book cover.
"Romances do provide a diversion. The ladies over at the library
call this sort of thing brain candy."

"Ralph examined the book. On its cover a
young man was dressed as a continental soldier, his tri-corn hat
perched at a jaunty angle. A musket in one hand, he stood with his
arm around a blond blue-eyed girl. "Love in Rebellion, by Tori
Baxter," he read, chuckling. "About The Revolutionary War?" he
asked. "And who is Tori Baxter, I wonder."

"She's very popular," said Julia. "It takes
place during the Revolution in New York. Close to where you're
from. By the way, didn't you say the tavern you owned was called,
Paulding's Rest?"

"That's right."

"Well, one of the characters in the book is a
John Paulding. Is there any connection, do you know?"

"Oh yeah. There certainly is." He laughed.
"I'll be right back with your coffee and I'll tell you all about
it."

Thank you for reading my book. If you enjoyed
it, won’t you please take a moment to leave me a review at your
favorite retailer?

Thanks!

Melinda Peters