One by one, the vehicles pulled away from the curb, turned, and were lost from view.
Claire breathed in the fresh, early morning air, and sighed. Alec looked down at her in concern, but she smiled a little.
“I kind of feel like I do when I finish a book.”
“Tired?” he wondered.
“If I stay up all night reading,” she laughed. “So yes, I guess. We stayed up all night finishing our mystery. But what I mean is, it’s over.”
“We can hope so, anyway,” Alec replied.
“What do you mean?” she wondered.
“The agents didn’t entirely rule out another visit by someone associated with this guy who’s after the serum,” Alec replied. Claire gave him a funny look.
“Yes, they did,” she disagreed.
“No,” he said seriously, shaking his head a little. “The words ‘highly unlikely,’ include the word ‘likely.’”
“What?” she laughed, giving him a funny look. “The word ‘understand’ includes ‘under’ and ‘stand,’ but what does that have to do with anything?”
“Nothing whatsoever. But… we need to come up with a plan to keep you safe.”
“Okay… like…” she prompted.
“That’s a good question. So… I think you’ll be safest, if you aren’t here at all,” he replied.
“But—Alec, I don’t want to move!” she said, appalled at the suggestion. “And—what are you saying, you wouldn’t miss me at all? You wouldn’t be able to come over for coffee every morning, we wouldn’t see each other nearly as much, and—I don’t like that idea at all!”
“Alright, I see your point,” he conceded.
Claire’s eyes narrowed. He looked much too serious to be anything but teasing.
“Good. So what do you suggest? I’m sure you’ve got something up your sleeve,” she replied.
“Now that you mention it, I can think of a place where you and Herschel would be safe. We could have coffee every morning—as long as it didn’t include jam—although, if it was confined to toast, I wouldn’t be opposed to you bringing the jam with you.”
“This new address wouldn’t be extremely similar to mine, would it?” Claire raised an eyebrow.
“It would. You’d need a new last name, too, in order to be completely on the safe side,” he replied, and she laughed as he smiled.
“Any old last name?” she wanted to know.
“No, I’m thinking something much more specific. How does ‘Claire Collins’ sound?”
“Are you really serious?” she asked. Her heart beat faster at the look in his eyes.
“I am completely serious, Claire Davis. Marry me, and all your problems will be solved.”
Laughter shone in her eyes as she smiled back at him.
“I’m beginning to think you might be just a little conceited, after all,” she replied, and he laughed.
“Maybe. What I know for sure, is that I love you with all my heart.”
“Okay, and I love you too, but, I think we need to give this some more thought,” she said seriously. Alec didn’t look a bit worried, and she finally laughed. “I like my house. Let’s live in mine.”
Alec grimaced.
“My house has a master bedroom, with an attached bathroom. One that isn’t pink, nor is it doll-sized.”
“Okay, that’s one mark on the side of your house,” Claire admitted. “But… what about the basketball court?”
Alec groaned a little.
“You’ve got a good point. So… what do you say we put in a long hall, and connect our houses. Herschel will love that,” he reasoned.
“Yes, he will,” she agreed, as she wrapped her arms around Alec’s neck, and he wrapped his arms around her. “If you really meant it, we can work out the details later.”
“I do,” he smiled.
“So do I,” she smiled back.
“Then there’s just one more thing to do,” he said with satisfaction.
“What’s that?” she asked softly, as she pulled him closer.
“Get married, of course,” he replied, and she laughed a little.
“Is that all?” she smiled.
“Get a ring, there’s that too. We’ll do that today.”
“Ooh, I like that. What else?”
“Just this,” he said softly, and kissed her.
About the Author
Melissa R. L. Simonin writes “good clean, feel good fiction with a sense of humor.” Her books cover a variety of genres ranging from romance, mystery, suspense, supernatural, historical, inspirational, and Christian fiction.
Once named, Melissa’s characters take on a life of their own. They have stories to tell, and it’s a race to keep up and write it all down. She learned by experience not to name characters until she’s ready to write, because once they have names the book is going to start whether she’s ready or not.
Melissa’s current series include The House of Bannerman, Mystery Lane, The Investigations of Jack Ryland, and Terms of Engagement.
Get the latest news on upcoming books and behind the scenes info you won’t find anywhere else by visiting http://melissasimonin.com
Also by Melissa R. L. Simonin…
Miles, House of Bannerman book 1
House of Shadows, House of Bannerman book 2
Darkness Falls, House of Bannerman book 3
The Lodge at Whispering Pines, House of Bannerman book 4
Depart the Darkness, House of Bannerman book 5
Camp Emmaus
Stonecastle Inn
715 Mystery Lane, Mystery Lane book 1
601 Suspense Street, Mystery Lane book 2
Isle of the Crescent Moon
Hiding Treasure
Last Chance Inn, The Investigations of Jack Ryland book 1
Cottonwood Hotel, The Investigations of Jack Ryland book 2
Terms of Engagement, Terms of Engagement book 1
Failure to Engage, Terms of Engagement book 2
Coming soon…
423 Apprehensive Avenue, Mystery Lane book 3
Ashes of Roses, House of Bannerman book 6
Disengaged, Terms of Engagement book 3
Lochlan Museum: The Case of the Collectible Killer Page 46
