“This is incredible,” Polly commented, releasing his hand and moving past him to approach the water.
Yes, he agreed silently. It was. And so was she. He liked her. He had admired her and still did. But now he genuinely liked her. And if he’d read her right, those few times she forgot to put a wall between them, she liked him back.
He approached her, wishing life was simple enough that he could just take her into his arms and kiss the hell out of her and see if she reacted the way he believed she would. That was out of the question. Within the next few days, things were going to start happening. And those things would make a kiss now a betrayal.
He’d argued his point in an attempt to stop them. He really had. Had even resorted to begging the night before. But he knew that to do anything other than follow orders was not only grounds for dismissal, it could cost him more than a job. He’d known that coming in. Just as every agent did.
Catcher blew out a breath, certain he heard rumbling off in the distance. How appropriate. A storm was headed their way. Both literally and figuratively. It was really all The Agency had been waiting for. The opportunity.
Well the opportunity was on them with the weather forecasters predicting a gully-washer. Everything depended on timing now. The stage was set. The actors’ arrival imminent, and then the play would begin.
Damn! He hated himself for starting all this. More than likely, when it was all over, she’d hate him, too.
“I used to water-ski on this lake when I was in my teens.”
Catcher looked out over the calm, sun-sparkling surface of the lake, trying to hide his surprise. From his research into the town of Legend, he’d learned that the lake was motor-free. Only open to sailing and rowing for those who wished to fish or simply enjoy the water. “Really?”
Polly nodded, a slight smile on her lips. “It was something we all did, until a friend of mine got killed.” Her smile faltered. “We were having a party on an unusually warm winter Saturday. Typical teenage stuff. Football team won another championship the night before. Half-naked teens enjoying the freakishly warm weather. Beer and whiskey stolen from parent’s refrigerators and liquor cabinets. Couples having sex in the back seats of souped-up cars.” She glanced at him and the smile returned. “Not me, of course. I was a good girl.”
Catcher found himself smiling back at her. “You were, were you?”
“Matter of fact,” she said, mimicking a phrase he used often.
He laughed. “So you didn’t give it up to the football team in honor of their victory?” Polly punched him, making him flinch. Yes, she was definitely getting her strength back.
“No, I didn’t. But Candy Clark did. I think she got, or gave, half the team the clap.”
Polly laughed so hard at her own comment, Catcher couldn’t help but laugh with her.
“Coach would have benched the entire team if the season hadn’t already ended.” Polly sobered. “In the midst of the whole town deeply mourning Cameron’s death, there were a lot of grounded kids, me included, stuck at home. A month or so later a lot of the boys from the football team ended up at the local clinic, then went home with sore butts. I overheard my mother and a friend of hers weeks later talking about all the penicillin that was dispensed at the clinic where the woman worked.”
She shivered. “That was one time I was so glad to not have a boyfriend. Two of my friends ended up with the STD, too. That’s how they found out their boyfriends had cheated on them with Candy. It was quite the scandal when it all came out.”
Catcher shook his head. “Wow. And here I thought I’d stepped into a remake of Mayberry RFD.”
Looking back over the lake, Polly sighed. “The surface is like a shiny new penny. And a great many of those who live here do reflect old-fashioned values, even now. But like everywhere else on the planet, Legend has its dirty little secrets.” She glanced back, her eyes shining with unshed tears. “I’m one of them.”
Catcher took her hand, then gave in, and took her into his arms. He closed his eyes, wishing he could do so many things for her and to her and knew that his hands were as tied as his heart felt. “You are nobody’s dirty little secret,” he said softly against her ear.
Polly leaned back and looked into his eyes. “You want to be mine?”
CHAPTER NINE
Polly played with the toggle switch of her electric wheelchair as she stared out the mesh covered windows of the patio. Back and forth, back and forth, finally she slapped the control in frustration. She didn’t need the wheelchair anymore. Never even sat in it any longer. But she’d felt so agitated after returning to the B&B following Catcher’s oh-so-polite rejection, that sitting in it and controlling its movements was supposed to have satisfied her need to control something in her life. It didn’t.
She knew he liked her. He had to. It couldn’t just be the job or he wouldn’t have spent so much time with her when they weren’t doing her physical therapy. She wasn’t naïve. She knew when a man was attracted. And in spite of her looks, Catcher was attracted. She’d stake her life on it.
So why was he keeping her at arm’s length?
“I have a penis.”
Startled, she swung her chair around. Even sitting, she had to look down at the child standing before her. He had the cutest bowl-cut straight brown hair, large blue eyes, and his hand was down his pants where he was clearly playing with himself. Scarring pulled when she pressed her lips together to keep from laughing.
“You have a penis?” he asked, completely serious.
Shaking her head, she glanced at the door, wondering where his parents might be. Clearly this was the new guests’ youngest family member. “No. I don’t. Where’s your mommy?”
“She told me to go watch TV. Daddy wants to play with her. He has a penis. But Mommy don’t. Micky says it fell off. I don’t like the TV. I want to play, too.”
Okay…
“I’m Caleb. I have a dog. His name is Jack. I get to start school. Can you walk? Mommy says you ride in that chair ‘cause you can’t walk. My friend’s name is Micky. He stayed at home. I get to spend the night at his house. Jack can’t go. He poops on the carpet. Micky has a cat. It poops in a box.”
“Caleb!”
At the sound of his mother’s voice, he glanced at the doorway, then grinned devilishly at Polly. “Bye!” He raced from the room without a backwards glance.
“I have a penis!” Caleb shouted from inside the house. “Let me go! I don’t wanna watch TV! No!”
Polly blew a long breath between her lips, a little dazed. The kid was a chatterbox and clearly a handful, but cute. Fortunately, his parents seemed to have snagged him. She smiled, wondering what it would be like to have a bad little boy of her own.
“Looks like you made a new friend.”
The smile melted as she faced Catcher. As usual, he came in looking like he was fresh off a surfboard and high on life. Damn him. “Yes. He has a penis and is quite delighted about it. Looks like you guys get obsessed with them from the get-go.”
Catcher nodded, thoughtfully. “True enough. They accommodate several of our favorite activities.” Taking on a very business-like demeanor, he continued. “And now that we have that discussion taken care of, we need to get started on this afternoon’s therapy. I want to focus on your legs.”
“How about you focus on your own legs and have them take you elsewhere.”
Surprise lit Catcher’s eyes. “Ahhh… So we’re feeling feisty. What are you mad about?”
“You’re an ass.”
He held up his hands, palms out, looking innocent at hell.
“I didn’t do anything!”
“Yes, you did.”
“I did not. I don’t know what you’re talking about.”
“That makes you an even bigger ass!”
He studied her for a moment. “What’s going on, Polly?”
Polly looked away. Then back. “Nothing. Forget about it. Let’s get started.”
Half an hour later, Polly was re
gretting her decision to work with him. The pain was relentless. That’s all there was to it. And Catcher Stevens was one sadistic son of a bitch. “Let go of me, you bastard!”
He stepped back from the weight bench to study her. “We’ve barely begun.”
Polly nodded as sweat poured from every pore and each breath ached. “I know. I can’t do it. It’s too much.” It was a bitter pill to swallow to realize the pain could defeat her. She’d been doing so well, but Catcher was upping her workout and she was spent. She’d had pain before, had in fact endured torture, but this was different. Her body just couldn’t take it anymore. “I need to get up. The strain in my back is killing me.”
Catcher stayed where he was. “Then get up.”
She threw him a glare. “I thought you were supposed to help me.”
He looked as mad as she felt. “I am helping you. Get up.”
“Your mother wears combat boots.”
Surprise and a throaty laugh lightened Catcher’s features. “Wow. For someone with a garbage mouth, you sure can be silly.”
Tears filled her eyes instantly, infuriating her. “I haven’t been called silly since grade school. And I was trying to be polite. You and your mother seem to have a very close relationship… Are you inbred?”
Catcher approached her, his grin still in place, his aqua eyes shining with humor. “Now there’s my girl.”
“Kiss my ass.”
“Bare it.”
Polly couldn’t prevent a grin of her own. “Help me up,” she cooed, batting her eyes.
“I help you up—I’m seeing that ass.”
“You see it, you kiss it.”
Nervous feminine laughter filled the room, causing Catcher to turn and Polly to struggle to see around him.
“I’m sorry to interrupt. I thought maybe Caleb snuck out here.”
Polly forced herself to sit, swearing silently as shards of pain pierced every inch of her torso. She grasped Catcher’s arm, drawing his attention back to her. He leaned down and helped her to her feet. Breathlessly, leaning into his strength, she considered the young mother. “How long has he been missing?”
Looking a little ashamed, she shrugged. “I’m not sure. I sat him in front of the TV an hour ago so my husband and I could have some alone time.”
Catcher squeezed her slightly, preventing the reprimand she was about to give about leaving such a small child unattended for that length of time. She glanced at him and saw the warning in his eyes. Surprised at his gall, she ignored him. “Have you checked every room in the house?”
The woman nodded.
“All the closets?”
Again, a nod.
She turned to Catcher. “Find Suzie. We need to have her check her rooms. Since I’ve been here she hasn’t locked off her private suites.” She turned back to face the young mother, who only now seemed to realize how serious the situation could be. “Your name, please.”
“Oh, sorry, Leigh. Leigh Graves. My husband’s Jack, John really, but the family calls him Jack. Oh, dear. I’ve really messed up.” She wrung her hands as tears filled her eyes.
Polly nodded. “Leigh, get busy looking anywhere you can think of—your car, the yard, there are woods behind us that lead to the lake. If you don’t find him within the next ten minutes, report back.” She turned to Catcher. “Have Suzie call the sheriff’s office to make them aware we may need to have them deploy. Call the high school and have someone get a hold of Jim Hood. School’s out, but he spends summers on the field building his next season’s teams. Chances are he’s got a lot of healthy young boys we can use.”
She turned back to Leigh Graves. “Go, Ma’am, now!”
Mrs. Graves fled from the room. Polly turned to Catcher. “The kid’s a handful and was probably bored out of his mind. After making the calls, get outside and start sweeping the woods. I’m going to clean-up, change, and will meet you out there in ten minutes.”
Catcher nodded slowly, one brow raised slightly. “Yes, ma’am.” He grinned. “At your service.” He started to walk away then turned back. “By the way, nice ass.”
Polly smiled to herself as she struggled with her feelings where he was concerned. He’d gotten to her, again. It was irritating to find she couldn’t hold a mad where he was concerned. She hurried as fast as her now aching body allowed, feeling justifiably irritated at Catch for making her so sore right before she was needed to help find the child.
Though the chances were great that he was just hiding to get them all spinning in circles, the danger of the little boy drowning in the lake or getting lost in the woods was too great a risk for them not to react swiftly.
She made her way to her room and debated a shower as lightning flashed at the window. She counted silently until thunder followed, gauging the storm to be fairly close. She reconsidered showering as it would take extra time and at best, she was slow. But drenched in sweat and probably smelling to high heaven wasn’t going to arouse the authoritative persona she always preferred to present.
Something inside of her had kicked into gear when Caleb’s mother announced his disappearance. The need to be needed, to save the world from that which was bad, had fed her most of her adult life—had in fact justified her life. To have that need back now, for the first time in months, made her almost feel like herself again.
It was good to be back, though she knew her body would never function as well as it once had. But that didn’t mean she couldn’t orchestrate a search party. Or that she couldn’t pay Catcher Stevens back for the pain he was making her endure.
She snagged a clean pair of sweats and headed to the richly appointed bathroom that had been enhanced dramatically since her arrival. Besides a large, deep tub with jets there was a huge all-glass walk-in shower with bench and handrails Suzie had installed for her use months earlier. Heat lamps, and a handicap accessible toilet had also been added, and though she no longer wheeled herself into the bathroom, she still appreciated the heat lamps when the warmth penetrated her skin and soothed her joints.
Soon, when she was strong enough to leave the Bed and Breakfast, and little Peter got his room back, he’d grow up with the most multi-functioning bathroom in the county.
Polly took as quick a shower as she had in months. Once out, she gritted her teeth through the struggle of dressing, grateful for the padded bench that was another wonderful asset from the bathroom’s remodeling. Finally, after what felt like way too much time, she made her way to the front of the house.
Catcher was there, as was Suzie and the now clearly frantic parents. There was no need to ask if they’d found the child. She turned to Suzie first. “Status report.”
Suzie blinked in surprise but caught on quickly. “Sheriff and crew are on the way. Catcher says Jim and his staff are bringing at least thirty boys. Called Martin’s office and they’ll call in everyone else.”
Polly nodded and turned to Catcher. “Report.”
“Perimeter around the house is clear, nothing noticeable on the path between here and the lake or here and the road. We’ll need to wait for help to do a sweep.”
She nodded, turning to the child’s parents. She opened her mouth as lightning immediately followed by thunder made everyone jump. The need for speed was flowing through her veins, pounding with each heartbeat, but she didn’t want to reflect the panic she felt.
She waited until the boy’s parents were looking at her again, their own fear reflected in their eyes. “Go back up to your room and look again. Everywhere—the closet, the suitcases, under the bed, the bathroom’s tub. Yell for him. He is more likely to respond to your voice than any of ours.” She started to turn away, then turned back. “Don’t worry. We’ll find him.”
The couple glanced at each other, then turned back to her. Polly just hoped she hadn’t fed them a lie. She heard vehicle after vehicle pulling into the driveway and looked at the small crew already assembled. “Let’s go, people. Daylight’s burning.”
CHAPTER TEN
“You didn’t
have to be here for this. We could have reported back to you.”
Polly held tight to Catcher’s arm as she struggled to negotiate the path back from the lake. It took considerable effort to walk and talk at the same time as the pain was screaming throughout both legs. “You said I needed exercise,” she panted. “Shut up.”
“You had a hard workout today. This isn’t necessary.”
They pushed on, rain dripping from the branches above, but she and Catcher were protected from the worst of the downpour by the canopy of branches and leaves overhead. They’d been searching for three hours, with it alternately sprinkling and pouring rain for over two. With the help of her cousin Jim and the boys trying out for next season’s football team, as well as Caleb’s parents, Brad Matthews, and local law enforcement, they’d pretty much swept the entire area and were heading back to the house. As they cleared the trees, the rain hit full on.
Without warning, Catcher swung Polly up into his arms and jogged on the soppy turf. The jarring motion had pain exploding throughout her entire body, leaving her too breathless to protest. When he entered the screened door of the enclosed patio, she nearly cried in relief. “My room. Please, my room,” was all she could get out.
“Oh, hell, I’m sorry!” he said, heading through the house.
Polly heard Suzie and Lilly’s questions about her condition, but she couldn’t answer. Catcher’s, “She’s hurting,” seemed to satisfy them as the next thing she knew she was in her room, the door closing, and her feet hitting the floor.
Intense agony was all she could feel as her legs gave. Catcher held her tight, gently laying her soaked body on the bed. She didn’t protest as he left her, then returned a moment later with a towel he wrapped around her head. Next, he was stripping her. First her t-shirt and sports bra, then the matching short and socks.
She didn’t care that she was nearly naked, with only the skimpy strip of bikini panty covering her. Except that the air-conditioning’s cool breeze was making her hurt. She rolled into a ball, pulling the now wet comforter with her. Catcher pulled it off her and pulled her up into a sitting position. She was certain a moan escaped, but black spots were clouding her head, making her feel drunk, making her want to give way to oblivion. Finally, it was just too much and she gave in as something very warm wrapped around her.
Unforgettable Heroes II Boxed Set Page 56
