by Ruth Kyser
CHAPTER 18
SIX WEEKS LATER
Sam went through the open elevator doors, down the familiar carpeted hallway, and headed through the bustling squad room toward his team area. The place was busy this morning with ringing phones and people talking. They never seemed to run out of cases. They never seemed to run out of bad guys out there creating more work for them. And something told him, they never would.
He was surprised to discover he was actually glad to be back in Washington. It had taken way too long to clean up the mess in Arizona. True, the Bureau had a good bunch of agents out there. That wasn’t the problem. But what he thought was going to be only a two to three week assignment had taken a month and a half to complete. He didn’t mind working with the Arizona task force, but he didn’t care for the Arizona heat – especially in the summer.
Although he supposed it had its good side too. Because it had been a hectic six weeks, he hadn’t had time to think a lot about Sarah. Other than the evenings. Without anything else to keep his mind occupied, evenings often found his thoughts turning to her. He couldn’t help but wonder where she was and if she ever thought about him. No matter how much he tried not to, he thought about her – way too much. He had really hoped that after all this time his memories and thoughts of her would have lessened. So far, they hadn’t. It looked like he would be haunted by his love for her the rest of his life.
As he neared his team’s area, both Jess and Bill called to him from their desks.
“Sam, you’re finally back!”
Jess came hurrying over and gave him a hug, and Bill pumped his hand up and down in a firm shake.
“So glad to have you back, boss! Believe it or not, we’ve actually missed you!”
Sam chuckled. That admission wasn’t something he was used to hearing from his team. Oh, he knew they respected him and cared about him, but he also expected a great deal from them and worked them hard.
“What. You didn’t like working for the big guy?”
Jess groaned. “I have never done so much paperwork in my life. I’d much rather be working out in the field.”
Sam chuckled at her remark. He could so relate.
“So, how did everything else go while I was gone – other than the paperwork?”
He watched Bill stroll back to his desk. “Well, let’s see. We finished closing the Masters case, and then cleaned up two other cases for the Director – a missing person case and a cybercrime case. Like Jess said, lots and lots of paperwork! I thought the Bureau was going to try and use less paper, but it sure doesn’t seem that way most days.”
Before Sam could sit down at his desk, Jess spoke up. “Oh – don’t sit down, Sam. I almost forgot to tell you. The boss called down a little bit ago saying he wanted to see you upstairs as soon as you got in.”
Sam straightened back up from his almost seated position, rolled his eyes a little and stifled a groan. He had just arrived back in the office after being gone for six weeks and he was already being summoned upstairs. He was getting too old for this and hated playing politics, and the Director knew that. Sam just wanted to do the job and be left alone.
But he kept those thoughts inside as he reluctantly headed up the elevator where the secretary once again waved him through. Director Roberts met him at the door, hand already outstretched for a shake.
“Great job of tying up the loose ends in Arizona, Sam. I really appreciate you going out there on such short notice to help them out. I know it took a great deal longer than we planned on and I’m glad you were willing to hang in there until the job was done.”
“Thanks, sir. Yes, it would have been nice if we could have figured out that the attorney feeding us all the bad information was really the person behind the whole operation. Even with one of our operatives in the organization working undercover, it took us a while to figure it out. But we finally got him, along with the rest of the crew.”
Sam sat down in the offered chair while the older man took a seat behind the desk.
“So, what’s happening here, Director? Any problems I should know about?”
Director Roberts smiled and leaned back in his chair, lightly tapping the desk top with the pencil in his hand. “Not really. Your team closed two cases we’ve had open for a while. It was good to get those out of the way. I’ve worked them pretty hard. They’re probably glad to have you back. I’m sure they’re weary of being hounded by me.
Sam chuckled. “That’s okay, Director. You’re just doing your job.”
The other man chuckled along with him, then nodded. “By the way, Sam, I’m sure you’re already aware of this, but you’ve got a couple of great people working under you. Either one of them could be team leaders in their own right.”
Sam nodded. “Trust me, sir. I know.” He paused for a moment, hoping the Director wasn’t hinting he was going to take either of them away from him. “I just hope I’m not going to be losing them any time soon,” he hinted.
The older man shook his head. “No. They still have much to learn, and I can’t think of a better man for them to learn it from than you. Someday they’ll be ready, but not yet.”
“Thank you, sir. I appreciate your confidence in our work.”
“Well then, you ready to get back on the job here?”
The corner of Sam’s mouth twitched. “Ready as I’ll ever be.”
“Good. Glad to have you back. I just wanted you to know I really appreciated you dropping everything and going out to Arizona for us.” He paused before continuing. “I felt it might be good for you to get out of D.C. for a while. Did it help?”
Sam raised his eyebrows a little at the older man’s question. Could the Director know how much he had struggled with the Master’s case?
“Yes sir, I think it did.”
Sam stood, ready to get out of the man’s office and away from his probing eyes. He reached out to shake the other man’s hand again. It seemed like the Director held on to his hand a little longer than normal and Sam would have sworn there was an uncharacteristic twinkle in the other man’s eye. What was Roberts up to this time?
As Sam left the office and headed back downstairs to his desk, his mind replayed the conversation he and the director had just had. He wasn’t sure what that had all been about or why he had been summoned, but quickly pushed the conversation into the back of his mind. It was time to get back to work.
One thing the Director had said still troubled him though. He had caught the Director’s mention that both Jess and Bill were capable of leading their own teams. He hoped he wasn’t going to lose them. The three of them were a good team who worked well together. And he sure didn’t want to have to go through the experience of training rookies again right now.
He had no more than sat back down at his desk and was trying to concentrate on the paperwork covering it, when he heard Bill clear his throat.
“Uh, Sam?”
Sam glanced up in the direction of Bill’s desk and was thrown completely off balance by the most beautiful pair of blue eyes he’d ever seen. They were looking out of the face of the young woman standing in front of him. It felt like his heart stopped for a second, then he blinked twice and slowly stood up.
She stuck her right hand out toward him.
“Hi. I’m Julie Henderson. I’ve only been working here for about a week, so I thought I would stop by and introduce myself.” She smiled a familiar smile that lit up her whole face, and Sam was sure his heart must have skipped a beat.
“I’m trying to meet everyone, although by the size of this place it will take me a while.” She chuckled and Sam felt his face relax into a smile.
He took a few seconds to study her closely. She was quite a bit thinner and the wire rimmed glasses were gone, and he had to assume she was wearing contacts that changed the color of her eyes to their current blue. Her hair was cut in some short, sassy looking, layered style, and was dyed a sandy light brown. Wearing a black skirt, w
hite dressy blouse and snappy black heels, she was striking.
He automatically reached out and took the offered hand and shook it, feeling the electricity go up his arm the instant their hands touched.
Wow.
Sam tried to steady his beating heart as he looked closely at her face. Gone was the impression of a little girl unable to take care of herself. She appeared to be very confident, and was not at all what he had expected.
She was gorgeous.
He nervously cleared his throat.
“Um, I’m Special Agent Sam Morgan, and it’s a pleasure to meet you,” he finally managed to mumble. He turned toward Jess and Bill while attempting to pull himself together. They had both been watching the interchange between the two of them, and he couldn’t help but notice the smiles on their faces. “And these are the other members of my team,” he said as he waved his hand in their direction. “Bill Parker and Jessica Thorne.”
Julie turned to each of them and smiled. “And I’m very pleased to meet both of you also.”
Jess spoke up. “So where are you working, Julie?”
“In Central Files – the archives.” She laughed. “The job title is “digital arc hiver”. But what it comes down to is that I’m a paper pusher. We’re in the process of digitizing all the old case files. It’s going to take some time, but the hope is to eventually have everything where you can easily pull it up from your computer – no matter how old the case file is. Hopefully that will make what you guys do easier, especially when you have to refer to an old file. Someday there will be no need to go digging in the boxes in the dungy basement for the old case files.”
Julie smiled as she turned to look back at Sam and his pulse kicked up a notch as their eyes locked. “In addition to introducing myself though, what I really wanted to do was come up here and thank you all. I’ve seen some of the case files you agents have taken on in the past, and the words “thank you” just don’t seem enough.” She paused for a moment and her voice was quiet when she continued. “But, thank you.”
She reached out to shake Sam’s hand again and smiled at them each individually one more time.
“Well, I guess I’d better get back to work now. It was nice to meet you all.”
Sam stood perfectly still and watched her walk away, his mind in turmoil. There was a definite bounce in her step and her laughter had expressed pure joy. She was…happy. He had been so worried about her and her future, and now…here she was. A surge of happiness swept over him – something he hadn’t felt in a long time. But now…here was Julie Henderson, a confident, strikingly lovely young woman he was very interested in getting to know better. After the Masters case, he had felt God was telling him to forget the idea of having a woman in his life. And instead, He had sent Julie Henderson. Sam was really hoping he would run into her again, and very soon.
Sam came to, not sure how long he had been standing and staring off into space. Both Jess and Bill still stood behind their desks watching him with those silly grins on their faces. He steeled his face to quit smiling and sat back down at his desk. He was letting his mind wander way ahead. Julie Henderson had just started working here and he was aware she was quite a bit younger than he was. And he knew she knew what he did for a living. Oh, who was he kidding? When it came right down to it, she probably wasn’t the least bit interested in dating someone like him. He had a dangerous job. Not all women could handle that.
He turned his attention to the files on his desk.
“Back to work, people,” he growled.”
TWO DAYS LATER
Sam headed toward the elevator, feeling like it had been an extremely long day - but it was finally Friday and the weekend stretched before him. He didn’t have any exciting plans, but there was always laundry to do and books to read. And it would be great just to be home for a weekend of relaxation.
The elevator dinged as the doors slid open and he raised his head and looked into the face of one Julie Henderson. He felt his lips turn upward in a silly grin as he entered the elevator.
“Long day, huh?” she asked.
He chuckled. “Aren’t they all?” He nervously glanced over at her. After all those days of talking with her so easily, why did he find it so difficult now to find the words to even start a conversation? What in the world was the matter with him?
“So, how are you settling into the Bureau and your new job?”
“Oh, I really like it,” she surprised him by looking right at him with those beautiful eyes and it was almost his undoing. His heart did a little flip and he needed to wipe his hands down the side of his trousers to get rid of the extra moisture on them. He wasn’t afraid of dealing with well-known felons, but this little gal looked at him and he was terrified.
Get a grip, Morgan!
“I enjoy the work I’m doing and I feel that in the long run it will be very helpful to the Bureau. If I could just find an apartment, I’d be good. I’m really tired of living in temporary housing.”
Sam thought for a moment. Was this God leading him, or his own wishes pushing him to action? He couldn’t be sure, but the opportunity was too great to ignore. He finally decided to take the plunge.
“Well, it so happens that I know of an apartment available not far from here, Julie. It’s actually in the same complex where I live, if you’re interested.”
Julie smiled up at him, that gloriously beautiful smile that lit up her whole face and left him breathless - that smile he had thought he would never see again.
Thank you, God.
“I would be very interested in seeing it - if it’s not too much trouble. I’m really tired of living out of a motel.”
He knew he was grinning again and felt like he was a teenager. Would she think him too presumptuous if he asked her out on a date?
“How about I buy you dinner and then we can go check with the landlord and see if it’s still available.”
She shyly smiled at him. “Well, if you’re sure it wouldn’t be too much trouble. That sounds great.”
Sam chuckled and felt the heat rising under his shirt collar. He just hoped he wasn’t making a fool out of himself, but he honestly couldn’t help it where she was concerned. The idea of spending even part of an evening with her was exhilarating.
Too much trouble? You have to be kidding!
“By the way, Agent Morgan. You wouldn’t happen to know of a church in the area you can recommend, would you?”
The elevator door reached the ground floor and the door opened. The outside entryway doors and the parking lot lay ahead of them. Now that he had found her, Sam didn’t want to let her get away.
“Well, as a matter of fact, I do. The church I attend is wonderful; the people are like family, and the pastor is a real Bible preaching and teaching preacher. Maybe you would like to go with me this coming Sunday and try it out?”
Sam waited expectantly for her answer while he held the building’s doors open for her to go out first.
Julie glanced back over her shoulder at him, a definite sparkle in her eyes and a teasing grin on her face.
“I think I’d like that, Agent Morgan.”
Sam smiled back as he hurried to catch up with her, his heart overflowing with joy.
“How about you call me, Sam?”
He sighed in contentment. It looked like an early retirement and the ranch in Montana were just going to have to wait a few more years. He was sure once his dad and uncle met her, they would more than understand why he wasn’t ready to retire yet.
Yup, he was definitely going to stick around here just a little bit longer.
THE END
Thank you so much for reading my book. If you’ve enjoyed it,
you can check out my other books at
“Bluecreek Ranch” – Book 2 in the “True Cover” series
“Second Chances” – Book 3 in the “True Cover” series
“The Dove and The Rav
en –
A Christian Historical Romance”
“Endless Season”
A contemporary Christian Romance
“The Whispering Sentinel”
“The Healing Hills”
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