Finding Floyd

by Melinda Peters

  "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?"

  "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 sh
e 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."