woman—her stone gray hoodie zipped against the early morning chill while she walked his dog up a teeter- totter.
It tilted down at his weight when he passed the center, but rather than jump off, as Simon expected, he walked straight down.
“Good!”
Jaws got a treat, a pat before she directed him to the tunnel.
“Go through.” She moved down the outside as he—probably, Simon thought—wound through the inside. He wiggled out the far side.
After his reward, she turned to a platform. Simon watched his dog leap on command, preen at the praise, then trot down the ramp on the other side and straight to the ladder of the slide.
“Hup!”
Without hesitation he climbed up, navigated the slide down.
Amazed, Simon started over as Fiona turned Jaws to a lower platform. At her command, he jumped over it and, at the next, scrambled up a pile of logs.
“Call the circus,” Simon said. At his voice, Jaws broke ranks and charged over.
“Morning.” Fiona gave her dogs the release signal.
“Yeah.” She’d done something to her hair, he noticed. Some kind of braiding deal at the sides that merged into one at the back.
Where the hell did she find time to do that stuff ?
“What are you doing up and out this early and playing recess?”
“I have morning classes, including a one-on-one with a behavioral problem.”
She stepped in to him the way she did, kissed him the way she did—light and easy. He liked light and easy well enough, but... He pulled her back in for stronger.
“Off.” She held a hand down to Jaws as he jumped, skimmed the other through Simon’s hair. “Your hair’s still wet. So you found the shower and the coffee.”
“Yeah.” She smelled like spring, he thought, with just a hint of heat. “I’d rather have found you in bed, but I settled.”
“The dogs needed to go out, and since we were up and out, I thought I’d work with Jaws. That was his third round with the obstacle course this morning. He thinks it’s great fun, and he’s picked up several skills. If you want to leave him here today, he can hang with the boys, and I’ll work with him some between classes.”
“Ah...”
“Or if you want him with you, you can just drop by later and we’ll work in a session.”
Stupid, Simon thought, that he’d gotten so used to the dog he’d hesitate over the offer of a day without the responsibility of him.
“Keep him if you want. Any special time I should come back for him?”
“Anytime. Play your cards right and you could get that steak dinner out of it since I know you’ll be back. If I’d known you were coming by yesterday... Why did you come by yesterday?”
“Maybe I wanted sex.”
“Mission accomplished.”
He grinned at her, ran a finger over one of those fancy braids. “The sex and pizza were a bonus. I had a reason, but I lost it with everything.”
“There was a lot of everything. I’m glad you were here, whatever the reason.”
“It’s in the truck. I’ll get it. Here.” He pushed the empty mug into her hand.
“What’s in the truck?”
“The reason.” Jaws grabbed a stick and bounded along with him. “We’re not going for a ride yet.” To keep his legs from being bashed and poked, he took the stick. “Give.” Then tossed it.
The entire pack of dogs gave merry chase.
Simon lowered the tailgate, climbed in and tossed aside a tarp. He muscled the chair out of the truck.
“Oh my God, is that
She lit up, he thought, as if he’d given her diamonds. “It’s mine. I’m not sitting on that piece of crap when I’m over here.”
“It’s beautiful. Look at the color! It’s, what, Caribbean Vacation, maybe? It’s fun!”
“It works with the house, the trim.” Though he shrugged, her reaction brought him ridiculous pleasure. “It won’t look half bad around you.”
“It’s so smooth.” She ran a hand along the side arm. The minute he set it on the porch she plopped into it. “Oh, and it’s comfortable.” Laughing, she rocked. “An easy ride. So, does it suit me?”
“Yeah, it suits you.” He picked up the old chair.
“What are you going to do with—Oh, Simon!” She winced when he snapped one of the rungs—which also gave him ridiculous pleasure. “Someone could use it.”
“It’s crap.”
“Yes, but, I should at least recycle so—”
He broke off another rung. “There. Recycled crap into kindling. Or”—he tossed it, and sent the dogs into another mad dash—“dog toy.”
He needed to go, he thought. If he was up this early, he ought to be working.
“When’s your first class?”
“The one-on-one’s first. They ought to be here in about a half hour.”
“I’m going to get more coffee. Is there anything around here that resembles breakfast food?”
“Simon, you don’t have to stay. I’m going to be alone here sometimes.”
“I make you a chair and you can’t spare a bowl of cereal?”
She rose, laid her hands on his cheeks. “I have Froot Loops.”
“That’s not a cereal. Frosted Flakes is a cereal.”
“Out of stock. I do have Eggos.”
“Now you’re talking.”
It took a few days, but in the middle of her last afternoon class, Fiona spotted the mid-level American-made car easing down her drive—and thought, The feds.
“Keep working on bringing your dogs to heel. Astrid, you’re hesitating and tensing up. You have to show Roofus you’re pack leader.”
She stepped away from the class, turned to walk to the car. Her own tension eased when she saw the driver get out.
He wore a dark suit over a stocky build, and the flecks of gray in his hair had multiplied since the last time she’d seen him.
“Special Agent Tawney.” Fiona held out both hands. “I’m so glad it’s you.”
“Sorry it has to be anybody, but it’s good to see you. My partner, Special Agent Erin Mantz.”
The woman wore a suit as well, trim over a compact build. Her hair fell in a sleek blond tail, leaving her strong, serious face unframed.
“Ms. Bristow.”
“If you could wait? I have about another fifteen minutes to go. And, no offense, but I’d rather not announce to my clients that the FBI’s on the premises.”
“No problem,” Tawney told her. “We’ll have a seat on the porch, watch the show.”
“I’ll wrap it up as soon as I can.”
Mantz stood where she was for a moment. “She looked pretty happy to see you. Not our usual reception.”
“I was with her after she escaped from Perry. She felt comfortable with me, so I was on her during the trial.”
Mantz studied the terrain, the house, the setup from behind dark glasses. “And here you are again.”
“Yeah, here I am again. Perry’s in this, Erin, there’s not a doubt in my mind. And if there’s one person in this world he hasn’t forgotten, it’s Fiona Bristow.”
