Three Days in Seattle

by Debra Burroughs

  Chapter 11

  Kate had changed into something more comfortable. She came down the stairs in her jeans and tennis shoes, finding Ryan at the kitchen island preparing dinner. The salad was made, and the potatoes were warming in the oven. The steak and chicken breasts were marinating in a glass pan on the counter. I guess I was right, she thought to herself, he is the perfect man.

  “Mmmm...something smells good,” she said as she walked into the kitchen.

  “That would be my mom’s Ooh La La potatoes,” Ryan answered with a smile.

  “Ooh La La potatoes? What’s that?”

  “Oh, it’s just some delicious potato concoction my mother makes on special occasions.”

  “What’s in it? Besides potatoes, I mean.”

  “Butter, sour cream, cheddar cheese, green onions. You know, healthy stuff like that,” he replied with a smirk.

  “Can I help?” she asked.

  “Well, I was thinking that before it gets too late I should take you to see the horses.”

  “But what about dinner?”

  “It’ll keep. Let me just turn the oven temperature down real low on these potatoes and they’ll be fine. The grill is heating up outside, but it won’t hurt anything to just leave it going for a while.”

  “I’d love to see the horses, if you’re sure it won’t ruin dinner.”

  “Everything’s good. Here, let’s go out this way.” Ryan opened the French doors from the dining area to the patio and let Kate through the doorway first.

  As Kate stepped out into the backyard, she stopped to take in the view. The sun was setting in the distance, acres of green grass and trees, cordoned off with white fencing surrounded the red barn that looked freshly painted. She found the country air and the picturesque view rejuvenating.

  She noticed Ryan watching her, as her face and body relaxed. “This is absolutely breathtaking, Ryan.”

  “Yes, it is pretty nice.” He moved closer. “I don’t want to rush you, but it will be dark soon, and I want you to see the animals out in the pasture. Are you ready to see the horses?”

  “Absolutely. Which way?”

  “I think they’re in the back section right now, near the barn.”

  Riley had been lying on the patio, and he sprang up, eager to go with them. Ryan took hold of Kate’s hand and led her to the pasture, Riley wagging his tail all the way.

  They stopped at the fence and waited for the horses to come to them. There were five of them in the pasture, a variety of colors. A blond stallion with a white crest on his head, and a chestnut mare trotted over to greet them.

  “They’re magnificent,” Kate remarked, once again wishing she had brought her camera.

  “It’s getting too dark to ride them, maybe some other time,” he suggested.

  “I’d like that,” she replied, looking at him. She understood what he implied, that he hoped she might be there with him again sometime. She stroked the mare’s long nose and patted her on the neck. The stallion muscled his way in between Kate’s hand and the mare, and nudged her forearm so she would pet him too.

  “Looks like someone wants your attention all to himself,” Ryan teased.

  “It sure looks that way,” Kate answered, as she rubbed his jaw.

  “I can’t say I blame him.” Ryan stepped in closer and stroked the golden horse’s nose. Kate could feel Ryan’s body almost touching hers, and it made her heart beat faster. She slowly turned her head and looked up into his deep green eyes. He caught her gaze and held it for a moment. She sensed he might lean down and kiss her, but he took a small step back and petted the mare. Awkwardly, she blinked and looked back at the horses.

  Her heart was beating hard now. Kate could feel the blood pulsing throughout her body. She wanted him to kiss her. Did I misread the look in his eyes? Is he not as attracted to me as I am to him?

  It had only been two days since they met, yet they were two intense days of close contact. She was finding him to be everything she had ever wanted in a man. Did I misinterpret his cues? Maybe it’s too soon, she thought, but it would only be a kiss.

  “Are you ready to head back to the house?” Ryan asked. “I should probably put the meat on the grill before it gets too late.”

  “You’re right, it’s almost dark.”

  They turned and headed back toward the house, the dog following close behind. Ryan reached down and took her hand again in his as they walked. Now, she was really confused.

  Once inside the house, they set about making supper.

  “Steak or chicken breast?” he asked her.

  “I’ll have the chicken. And while you’re at the grill, I’ll set the table.”

  “Sounds good,” he replied as he jabbed a fork in the steak and then the chicken before laying them on a plate and seasoning them. “I’ll be back shortly,” he said as he started out the door to the patio. “The potatoes should be done and the salad is in the refrigerator.”

  “What about drinks?” Kate asked.

  “Check the fridge. There should be wine, soda, sweet tea, bottled water...I’m guessing. Pick whatever you like. I’ll just have some sweet tea,” he said, as he closed the door behind him.

  * * * *

  Ryan stood before the hot grill. The meats sizzled as he laid them on it. As the meat cooked, he peered back through the French doors into the lighted house and watched Kate set the table. She looked so at home there, he thought, and he wondered what it would be like to have a wife like her, a partner, a woman to come home to every night—that was beautiful both inside and out—a woman that would warm their home.

  He had come so close to kissing her just a few minutes before. With every cell of his body, he wanted to do it. He was drawn to her like he had never been drawn to any other woman, but as he looked into her eyes he remembered what he told his parents before they left, that he would not take advantage of her. Recalling that conversation pulled him back.

  He sensed she wanted him to kiss her—he read it in her eyes—but he knew, because of what she had just gone through at the morgue, she was vulnerable. If she had kissed him, he knew there was no way he could have refused, but he didn’t want to be the one to initiate things.

  They hadn’t spoken of her sister in the last hour or so, but he was sure Whitney was never far from Kate’s mind. He knew, because she wasn’t far from his, either.

  * * * *

  As Kate laid the last fork down and poured the iced tea, she surveyed the well-appointed kitchen and the inviting great room. She wondered what it would be like to have a home like this and a family of her own. This house made her feel comfortable and settled. When her tasks were finished, Kate stepped out onto the patio with a clean platter.

  “Mmmm...smells good,” she complimented.

  “Thanks,” he replied. “It’s almost done and then we can eat.”

  “Here’s a platter for the meat when it’s cooked. I’ll take the dirty one inside.”

  “Thank you, how thoughtful,” he called as she went inside. “I was just about to come in and get one. As soon as the meat’s ready, I’ll be in.”

  Kate felt his gaze follow her back inside the house. She wondered if he was as distracted by thoughts of the last few days as she was. The smell of burning meat answered her question.

  “Oh, man!” she heard him blurt out.

  She turned to see him quickly scrape the meat off the grill. He wore a look of embarrassment as he brought his burnt offerings into the house on the platter.

  “I hope you like your chicken well done,” he said, holding out the large dish for her to see his blunder.

  “Oh, my,” she giggled and took a seat at the table. “I guess it isn’t anything a good bottle of barbeque sauce won’t fix.”

  He laughed, too, his cheeks a little red.

  “Sorry about that.” He grabbed the barbeque sauce from the cupboard. “The time just got away from me, I guess,” he said sheepishly. He set the platter down on the table and took a seat, too. They filled their pla
tes with salad and potatoes and dug in.

  Ryan shared with Kate what it was like growing up in Boise, and she described her years being raised in Seattle, then going off to college in California. The conversation was pleasant and upbeat, but thoughts of Whitney niggled in the back of her mind. Likely Ryan’s too, for Kate could tell he was stepping around the subject of her sister, guessing he didn’t want to risk upsetting her. And Kate, too, avoided talking about Whitney, reluctant to dampen the mood.

  She still felt a little guilty about enjoying Ryan’s company when her sister might be struggling for her life somewhere, but as he had reminded her earlier, there was nothing they could do tonight but wait for word from the police.

  “That was really good, Ryan.” She placed her fork across her plate.

  “Mmmm, yes it was. I’m stuffed,” he replied as he patted his stomach. “I guess I didn’t burn the meat too badly.”

  “No room for dessert?” she asked.

  “Maybe later. There’s probably ice cream in the freezer. Mom always has ice cream of some kind.”

  Kate stood and began to pick up both of their plates.

  “Here, let me get that,” Ryan offered. He took the plates and glasses to the sink while Kate picked up the salad bowl and half-empty baking dish and came to stand beside him at the sink.

  “I’ll have to get the recipe from your mom for those potatoes. They were delicious,” Kate commented.

  “I’m sure she’ll be happy to share it.”

  “I’ll get the stuff into the dishwasher, Ryan. Why don’t you go and sit down? I’ll just be a minute.”

  “Okay, if you don’t need me.” He walked into the great room and was about to take a seat when he saw the logs and kindling. “Hey, it looks like Dad got the fireplace ready to light. Would you like a fire tonight?”

  “That would be wonderful,” Kate answered, thinking about how warm and cozy it would make that room. A roaring fire was one thing she missed about living in her condo in Southern California.

  “Do you mind if we watch a little of the Boise State game on TV? Most likely it’s more than half over by now, but I’d like to see if my alma mater is ahead.”

  “Sure,” she replied, smiling down at the dishes she was sticking in the dishwasher. Kate felt so at home, so comfortable in this house—and with Ryan.

  She watched him click on the widescreen TV with the remote control and find the ESPN channel. There before her eyes was the bright blue turf of Boise State. She could see it vividly from where she stood.

  She decided to finish cleaning up before joining him on the sofa and enjoying the blazing fireplace. “You weren’t kidding when you said the turf was blue,” she remarked from the kitchen, getting no response from Ryan.

  “Ryan,” she said a little louder, moving toward the great room.

  “Yeah?” he responded, intently focused on the game.

  “You weren’t kidding when you said the turf was blue.” She laughed as she walked over to sit down next to him. “It’s kind of Smurf blue, isn’t it?”

  “You didn’t believe me, did you?” he teased.

  “Well, what’s the score?” she asked, changing the subject.

  “Boise State 21, Virginia Tech 14. They’re just one touchdown apart.”

  “Go Boise!” she declared, throwing a fist in the air, wanting to sound like she was supporting Ryan’s team. In truth, she knew very little about football. The sum total of her football knowledge was that she knew when a touchdown was made and that there was usually a kick for the extra point after, but simply rooting for the home team seemed fun and a nice diversion.

  “Woo hoo! Go Broncos!” Ryan called out in response to a great play his team just made. “I’ll bet Mom and Dad are having a great time at the game. They love their BSU Broncos.”

  Then Virginia Tech scored again, and the game was tied. It was early in the fourth quarter. Boise State got the ball, pulled off what Ryan explained was a Statue of Liberty play, known as a trickeration, and the receiver made an unexpected beeline to their end zone and scored. Touchdown!

  Kate and Ryan were on their feet cheering. Their lead didn’t last long as Virginia Tech scored again, tying the game once more.

  With only thirty-five seconds left on the clock, Boise needed to score again to win. Otherwise, they would be going into overtime. Kate was getting into the game with the help of Ryan’s play-by-play announcing. She had a death grip on his forearm as the ball was hiked to BSU’s quarterback. He threw the ball to one of the receivers, apparently with the precision of a surgeon. The ball was caught near Boise’s ten-yard line and the receiver ran it in for a touchdown with only three seconds left on the clock.

  Kate and Ryan jumped to their feet again, whooping and hollering with excitement as Boise State won. She threw her arms around his neck and kissed him. He started to put his arms around her, but then she let go, not sure if she should have done that.

  He looked surprised, as if he was wondering what to do next.

  Kate decided she liked kissing him—it felt right. So, she eased her arms back around his neck and kissed him again, letting him envelop her in his arms this time. He returned the kiss, first softly, then deeply.

  Their embrace was interrupted by the jangling sound of Kate’s phone ringing in her pocket. Her first thought was that it might be news about Whitney. Ryan let go of her and she hurried to answer it.

  “Hello, this is Kate.”

  “Hi, Kate. This is Detective Porter.”

  “Is there any news?”

  “Well, the computer tech was going through your sister’s computer a second time and I think we may have found something.”

  “What? What did you find?”

  “I’m not sure that it means anything, but my gut is telling me it might. It’s a photo Whitney had saved on her computer as ‘Suki & guy.’ It looks like she snapped a picture of a photo with her phone, so it’s not real sharp. The tech didn’t think it meant anything earlier, when he was scrolling through the files. However, tonight I was standing over his shoulder when the file came up in her list of saved photos, and I remembered that yellow sticky note we found in your sister’s room. Remember? The one that said ‘Suki & guy’ with a question mark on it?”

  “Yes, I remember that. What do you suppose it means?” Kate asked.

  “I don’t really know. I thought maybe you could take a look at the picture and tell us. Is there a computer where you’re staying? I thought I could email the photo to you.”

  “Let me check.” She turned to Ryan. “Detective Porter has a photo he wants to email to me. Is there a computer here I can use?”

  “Sorry, Dad told me it’s in the shop for repairs when I was here last weekend.”

  “No, Detective Porter, there isn’t a computer here,” she said.

  “Hmm,” Porter responded. “I wonder if there’s any other way to get it to you.”

  “What about my iPhone?” Ryan suggested. “He could email it to me.” He quickly wrote on a scrap of paper.

  Kate picked up the paper. “Okay. You can send it to my friend Ryan’s email address, and he’ll get it on his phone. Send it to Ryan at RyanWilsonHomes—all one word—dot com.”

  “I can do that,” the detective responded. Kate could hear the clicking of the keyboard strokes in the background. “I’m sending it now. You should have it in just a minute.”

  “Okay, here it comes,” Ryan said. He opened the email attachment and handed Kate his phone so she could see.

  The image came up on the screen, but the photo was too small and grainy to identify the people in it. If it had been a close-up photo, it would have been easier. Unfortunately, it was a full body shot that had been taken from a distance. Plus, it didn’t help that it was a photo of a photo either.

  “I’m sorry, but I can’t tell from this little picture. The faces are too tiny,” she told Detective Porter.

  Ryan reached over. “I can spread it out and make it larger. See if this is better,” Ryan
said as he used his fingers to spread the photo diagonally, zooming in.

  “No, that made it grainy,” Kate said. “I wish I could see it on a full-size computer screen.”

  “Is there anybody else you know in town who has a computer?” Porter asked.

  Kate repeated the question to Ryan.

  “It’s pretty late here, Kate. This town rolls up the sidewalks at ten,” Ryan said.

  She explained it to the detective.

  “When will you be back in Seattle?” Porter asked.

  “We have a flight out early tomorrow morning,” she replied.

  “That’ll have to do.”

  “I’ll come to the police station directly from the airport, about nine o’clock. I can take a look at it then.”

  “Okay, try to get some rest and we’ll see you in the morning. Goodnight,” the detective said.

  Kate clicked off her phone and sat down on the sofa. Then Ryan sat beside her.

  “Do you know what this means, Ryan? This is the first lead in the case. If I can identify the people in the photo, it might help get my sister back.” She was talking fast, her spirit was energized and her mind was racing. She hadn’t even had a moment to process the kiss, and now this possible break in the case.

  “Yeah, I agree. It could be an important piece in figuring out who took your sister and why,” Ryan said.

  “Yes, exactly—who took my sister and why. If the police can figure that out, then there’s more of a chance of finding her alive and getting her back, don’t you think?”

  “Yeah, I do.”

  She shot up off the couch and onto her feet. “I have to do something,” she said, shaking her hands. “I’m just so excited. I can’t sit still.”

  He noticed the dog whimpering, at the French doors, to be let outside. Ryan stood too, and took one of her wiggly hands in his.

  “Why don’t we take the dog for a little walk?” he suggested.