by Layne, Lyssa
“I know. Exciting isn't it? Just like the time I...” He rolled his eyes as Chris slapped her hands on her hips and gave him the evil eye. “Uh, I don’t want to hear it.”
Brad grabbed his damp pants and wiggled his way into them. He began to button his shirt and chuckled softly. Amazing how quickly one could get dressed under stressful circumstances.
Christine shook a finger under his nose. “Don't laugh. No laughing.”
He covered his mouth to stop the next chuckle.
Hell, she had to admit this was funny. Hilariously if she let herself think about the whole scene.
He grabbed her and kissed her.
She pushed him away, held a hand up, palm out and a stern look on her face. But excitement danced in her expressive eyes, stopped him cold, and took his breath away.
Damn Joe and his rotten timing. She was so beautiful. He reached out and touched her naked nipple with the tip of his finger. Christine closed her eyes and a small gasp of pleasure escaped past her soft lips. God, he loved her.
“Brad? Chris? Where are you? Brady wants to know if you want to go out to dinner tonight or whether to plan on staying in.”
Christine’s eyes snapped open. Brad caught the panic in them, followed the path they blazed to his finger on her breast. Her very bare breast. She turned her back and quickly buttoned her shirt.
He moved quickly, pickup up her bra from the edge of the blanket and tried to hand it to her just as Joe emerged from behind a bush. He stuffed the flimsy piece of lace inside the back pocket of his jeans and tried for a nonchalant stance. He sniffed. Joe was nobody's fool. He'd know what was going on out here. He shot a quick look at Christine.
She was buttoned, zipped, hair fluffed, and all in one piece.
He snagged a peek at himself. Can't say the same for yourself, can you, Ace? Shirt undone, pants unzipped, not buttoned, no socks, no shoes, and a woman's bra stuffed in his pants. Yeah. Like the whole scene was going to whiz right over the top of Joe's head. He'd never suspect a thing.
Joe joined them, suspicion etched in his dark eyes as they ping-ponged from Brad, to Christine, to Brad again. “Sorry, looks like I interrupted something.”
Christine narrowed her eyes.
He didn't sound too contrite to her.
“Naw, Chris and I were just enjoying the fresh air and sharing a picnic.”
“Uh-huh—” Joe nodded slowly, and dug his hand into his back pockets. “You're sure? You both look guilty as sin.”
Okay, so they were busted! Christine wrinkled her nose at Joe then shrugged at Brad and frowned.
He held out his hands in an offered apology, but his look was one of pure amusement. The rat.
“Gee thanks,” she said, hoping it came out as sarcastic as she meant it to be. They were both laughing on the inside.
Joe grinned. “Your grandfather wants to know what you want to do about dinner.”
Brad's tone became serious. “Personally, I think we need to stay put until we confirm Geiger is behind bars.”
“I told him that’s probably what you’d say, but he wanted me to check just the same.”
Christine cautiously stepped over to the blanket and picked it up. She shook it out, folded it and dropped it on the top of the basket.
Brad took the basket and handed it to Joe. He put an arm around her waist and held her to his side as they walked back to the house.
At the back steps, Joe turned his attention to Brad then Chris. He nodded slowly, then laugh low.
She leveled a glare at him.
“No wonder Brady knows you so well. You two are quite a pair.”
“Excuse me?” she asked.
Joe leaned in front of Chris toward Brad. With a quick flick of his wrist, he reached around Brad and pulled Chris’ bra from Brad’s pocket, and waved it in front of the blushing couple. “Next time, you might want to make sure you tuck this all the way into your pocket. I seriously doubt your grandfather would miss this little clue if you walked past him while it’s dangling from your pants like a big white flag.”
Chris caught sight of Brady making his way to the door. She gave Joe a look that had him taking a step backward. She yanked her bra from his hands and hid it behind her back.
Brady held the screen open. “So he found you two, huh? Glad you’re back I was afraid you two fell asleep out there. And them skeeter’s are gonna be coming out with the setting sun.”
Joe backed up behind Chris. In an attempt to save her some embarrassment, he took the lacy garment and dropped it in the picnic basket, out of Brady’s sight.
She’d have to remember to take it out of the basket when no one was around.
Brad led the way into the house with Christine sandwiched between him and Joe. By the time Brady brought up the rear, the picnic basket was out of sight and out of mind.
What an afternoon!
***
Brady and Joe drove into town, leaving Brad and Chris to light the briquettes in the barbecue pit. He pulled her into his arms for a dance to the soft sounds of Alabama's Forever is as far as I'll go. Brad place soft kisses to her shoulder, nibbled at her ear lobe and nuzzled her cheek.
“Happy?” Brad murmured.
“Hmm.” She sighed into his chest.
“It's nice out here, isn't it?” He maneuvered her around the patio.
She followed as if she'd been dancing with him forever. “Wonderful.” Christine snuggled closer. Wrapped in his arms, veiled in his love, he thrilled her. She wanted to explore every inch of him, right here, right now.
“What are you thinking?”
“How quiet it is here. How much I'm enjoying being here with you.” How much I want to be with you again, she wanted to say, but she stared, dazed by his compelling dark green eyes and smoothed her hand over impressively wide shoulders.
“Hmm. You smell nice. Like wildflowers on the mountain.”
“Thank you. Flattery is always a nice touch.”
He chuckled and dipped her body.
She squeaked in delight.
They danced to three more seductive songs before Brady and Joe returned.
After dinner, once the kitchen was cleaned up, Brad took her for a walk down the front drive. Joe and Brady joined them. The older man filling them in on the antics of Brad and Nick from childhood through the teen years, clear up until the time Brad left town.
Brad listened to his grandfather and saw his past through the older man's eyes and smiled.
Gramps seemed to have a very different version of those same memories as he did. He laughed at all the typical things he and Nick had done to get into trouble from teasing Grandma Jean by mixing up all her spices, putting them in the wrong bottles, to the biggie of being sent home for managing to take the principal’s car apart and reconstructing it on the roof of the administration building. “To this day, that’s the best senior prank that anyone ever pulled. And while Principal Timmons said he knew Brad was behind it, but no one could ever prove it or figure out how he and Nick managed it,” Brady said, pride apparent in his tone and shining in his faded brown eyes.
“It’s easy when you know how to hot-wire a crane,” Brad said. He joined the laughter his revelations brought to his audience. “Nick kept watch. I lifted the car. We moved the crane back and I unwired it.”
“That's what gave you away to Timmons, son, you were the only kid who knew how to work on any kind of machinery ever made.” Brady hooked his hands behind his back.
Brad loved the sound of Christine’s laugh. Her small hand tucked in his big mitt sent heat through his body and lust below his belt. If by some remote chance everything worked out, he'd be free to show her how much he loved her, to build a future with her. He'd love to be the father of her babies, to watch her as she grew round with them. He scanned his surroundings, around the lake and up into the trees. Had he ever felt this comfortable here? Not that he could recall. He was amazed to re-access his comfort zone, to see it through different eyes, adults’ eyes, not a young boy
’s. Could he have been wrong all this time?
On the way back from their walk, he heard the rumble of an engine turning onto the road. Brad flinched, pushing Chris behind him, unsure who the visitor might be, but he relaxed when he heard the Rolling Stones singing Satisfaction, blasting through the woods.
Nick.
Cautious optimism flooded him, when he saw Vince next to his cousin. Maybe this is what they’d been waiting for?
Vince and Nick stepped from the Camaro, Nick taking Gramps into a bear hug.
Vince shook hands, but the expression on his face was anything but pleasant.
Christine sensed the captain was deliberately ignoring her, not making eye contact. Something was wrong.
Brad squeezed her hand. Did he know what was going on? Was he trying to reassure her about something?
“Vince?” Brad said.
“Can we go inside and talk?” His superior officer pointed to the house.
Brad stood his ground. “No, tell me here, now. What’s going on?”
Christine's breath hitched. There it was again. A slight aversion of his gaze from the ground to a spot over her head. She removed her hand from Brad's. Whatever Roberts said, she'd be ready. But ready for what?
“I don’t know how to tell you this—if Geiger was responsible for Marty’s death, we’ll never know. By the time we arrived he was already dead. I called a team to do a thorough search while we headed up this way. I’m worried that whoever killed Geiger, might be coming up here next.”
“Why would you assume that?” Brad broadened his stance, flexing his arms before he crossed them.
Vince looked down. “I mean after everything else that’s gone wrong, this would be the worst possible thing to happen. Call it a gut feeling.”
“What else?” Brad growled his impatience.
“I don’t know how to tell you this.”
“Tell me what?
“Not you, Brad. Miss Jansen.” He turned toward Christine and took her hands in his.
“What?” She squared her shoulders. “Tell me.” Every nerve in her body tensed and a chill seeped into her soul.
“Jared. He’s gone.”
Christine staggered under the weight of Vince’s revelation.
“What do you mean, he's gone? I don’t understand. Joe said he was fine that he’d be at your house with your wife taking care of him.” She yanked away from Brad’s hold and fisted her hands.
“I wish that were the case. I was at the hospital waiting for him to get his release papers. Said he had to relieve himself and went into the bathroom, but he never came out.” Vince shifted his stance. “At least, not back into his own room. He went out the other door into the adjoining room and disappeared.”
“You lost him? You mean he’s not dead?” Christine took a deep breath and let it out in disgust. “How could you do that? Tell me how a big city cop can lose one man? What's wrong with you?” Her good leg buckled and Brad grabbed her. She turned into his chest and let out a horrified cry then broke away from his grip and moved toward the woods.
“You promised he'd be all right. You promised!” She yelled then dashed into the cover of the trees as fast as her leg would allow. How was this even possible?
“Chris!” Brad call her
She shook her head and swiped tears from her cheeks.
Brad clamped a hand around her wrist.
She wrenched away from it, from him. She made her way further into the woods, as far as she could get from Brad, his boss, everybody. Someone would pay dearly if anything happened to Jared, if he was dead because of their negligence. She'd make sure of it.
CHAPTER TWENTY-SIX
Brad found Christine leaning against a giant Redwood trying to catch her breath, near the river.
She appeared to be clutching the tree for security, as much as anything else.
He stepped near and placed a hand on her shoulder.
She turned and peered up at him.
He saw the unspoken questions in her tear-filled eyes. He didn't know what to say to ease her pain, because there was nothing remotely adequate to say. Instead, he acted, pulling her close hoping she would accept the comfort he offered, praying she wouldn't reject him. She had a right to. He'd made a promise and failed to keep it.
She pressed her face into his shoulder and sobbed. He cupped a hand to her head and wrapped her into his embrace.
He didn't speak, simply let her cry it out. Like the sharp stab of guilt, her racking sobs aced into his heart.
“Honey, he’s gone, not dead. I know I let you down, but frankly, I think he’s safer on his own, than with anyone else right now.” No way could he make it up to her. No way would she let him. Not now.
He didn't know how long they stood under the pines and didn't care. He'd be here for her as long as it took.
When the cool evening air settled in, he took off his shirt and draped it around her shoulders.
She tilted her head up and he wiped her tears away with the pad of his thumb.
He wrapped himself around her again, tried to keep her warm, safe. Would she ever feel secure around him after this? The whole damn situation was his fault. Another innocent person was caught in the web, thanks to him.
“What am I going to do without Jared?”
“Come on now. You're talking as if Jared's dead. I know how close you are. I also know it's not going to be easy for you until we find him.” He kissed her temple.
“What if he didn't go on his own, but somebody took him out of the hospital? If he is alive, we don't even know where to look for him.”
“The cap would have heard a struggle or Jared would have yelled out. I think he walked out of the hospital of his own accord for whatever reason. And I think he’ll let you know when he's okay. God, Sweetheart, I'm so sorry about all of this. It's my fault. I should be the one—”
“Don't say that!”
“Why the hell not? If it hadn't been for me, Marty's family wouldn't be falling apart, you wouldn't have been hurt, and Jared wouldn't be missing.”
“You're not being fair to yourself, Brad.”
“To hell with fair.” Brad swore and turned away.
Christine closed her eyes, stepped back away from Brad. “I can't do this right now. A part of me is dying inside. My best friend is missing.” Her gaze shifted toward the lake. “You know what he did for me? If he hadn't taken me under his wing and showed me that being crippled was only a state of mind, I'd probably still be in that awful place.”
“I'm sorry.”
“I understand, really I do, but someone I owe my life to is missing.” She lifted her fisted hands to her shoulders, then lowered them to her sides.
“Don’t you think I know that? Don’t you get it? If something bad has happened, you're never going to be able to think about Jared and not blame me.”
“I’m not blaming you for anything!”
“Maybe not now, but you will soon enough.”
“I know you have a lot of issues from your past, and believe me, I do appreciate how hard those memories are on you. But, you don’t own the monopoly on hurt feelings. I can be hurt all on my own, without any assistance from you.”
Brad placed his hands on her shoulders. “I'm sorry, Baby. You're right, of course.” He didn’t know what else to say. He turned and walked away.
Her chest hurt. The odds of Jared being dead were great. After all they’d already killed two people and numerous attempts on their lives. While she had a great deal of memories, had learned more than enough lessons, she couldn’t help but wonder what her life would be like without him. She jumped at the sound of a breaking twig.
“If there’s one thing I’ve learned about Jared, he’d be furious if he found out you’re the one who is thinking of him as dead and buried. For heaven's sake, quit acting like he gone for good,” Brad muttered. “God, he'd be the first to tell you to knock it off.”
“What?” Chris gaped at him. Her eyes swam with unshed tears as she turned and walked
into the house and made her way to her room without saying a word to anyone.
She threw herself on the bed. Where was Jared? Was he hurt? As much as she wanted to go find him, there was nothing she could do. Christine closed her eyes and shuddered.
No, she couldn’t fall bait for her own fear. She needed to be positive and use the courage Jared had breathed into her and believe he was safe.
She stood by the window overlooking the front of the house, her head pressed to the cold pane of glass. Mentally she made a list of what to do when she this thing blew over. She’d have to work out of her apartment. Contacting her insurance company was number one. At this point finding a new office was a definite must. There was so much to do, but none of it held her heart. She felt as if her passion was gone.
She flinched as a hand settled on her shoulders.
Brad.
His scent mixed with the barbeque filled the room, making her hungry for more than food. She tensed then threw herself into his arms. All she wanted at the moment was this. This was her passion. Brad held her heart, her soul, her passion to life. What he’d given her today was the best day of her life. She’d never forget their afternoon together.
“Chris, I want to apologize for my behavior. I was thoughtless and inconsiderate of what you were going through.” He started to reach out for her, but she stepped back bumping into the wall.
“Would you do me a favor?”
He didn't look up. “Sure, name it?”
Christine stepped to the door, picked up her backpack, opened it and drew out two envelopes. “Next time you go into town would you please mail these for me?” She sealed the first one making sure it had the proper postage then handed it to Brad. She checked the second to make sure the pictures were in the correct order.
“Before you seal that, can I show the picture to Vince and Joe? That one photo is still bothering me.” Maybe they could define what was bothering him.
“Sure, let me get it.” She handed him the envelope. “I’m really tired now, I think I need to just lie down. What’s on the agenda for tomorrow?”
