Poisoned Petals

seriously.”

Thankfully there were no messages from Nightflyer waiting on her computer. She opened Explorer and went to Google Holles’s name.

Steve sat back in his chair as she scanned for information. “I don’t see anything saying he’s really a wanted fugitive from Idaho.”

“No.” She continued looking at entries. “But his thesis for college was about poisonous plants. That must count for something.”

“I don’t know.” He yawned. “I don’t think anyone is going to arrest him for that.”

Peggy thought for a moment. Nightflyer might have all the answers she needed about Holles. She’d wait until she talked to him before going any further. “You’re right.” She turned off the monitor and sat back with a sigh. “I don’t know what to do next.”

“I have a few ideas.” He kissed her slowly, passionately, his hands traveling up from her waist, across her breasts.

Peggy was surprised. She wasn’t sure what to expect from this romance that had come on her so suddenly and unexpectedly. They were very good friends. She and Steve kissed and hugged all the time, but they’d never discussed deepening their relationship.

She thought about it sometimes in bed at night, even though she knew she wasn’t supposed to. Being over fifty didn’t make the urge go away, but she’d decided it wasn’t necessary. If he didn’t think of her that way, she’d take what she could get. She wasn’t twenty anymore with desire coursing through her veins like wine. She was a sedate, matronly woman who’d already experienced her grand passion.

But that kiss made her pulse beat faster, her heart pound. The surprise she experienced when he felt her up (she wouldn’t dare call it that for fear no one said it anymore) must have shown in her eyes when she opened them to find him looking back at her.

“Are you okay?”

She knew he meant. Are you okay with what I just did? She nodded. “I was just . . . surprised.”

“In a good way?”

“Of course.”

He frowned. “Of course? Could you clarify that statement?”

Their conversation was interrupted by pounding on Peggy’s door. Her father bellowed, “It’s too quiet in there, Margaret Anne! What’s going on?”

“Can’t he remember when he was young?” Steve rested his forehead against hers.

“I think that’s the problem.” She grinned. “He remembers too well!”

“We’ll talk about this later. Okay?”

“All right.” She knew her voice sounded a little breathy and faint. She hoped he didn’t take that the wrong way.

Shakespeare and her father were waiting in the hall for them. “Can’t you get on the Internet without having your bedroom door closed?”

Peggy felt her face get hot. “That’s enough, Dad.” She flushed easily anyway. She wasn’t embarrassed by what happened between her and Steve. It was ridiculous at her age. She kept her back straight and her chin high as she went downstairs, despite the look of complete amusement on Steve’s face.

PEGGY HATED TO LIE to Steve. But she couldn’t take her eyes off her watch as they sat around talking. She was already planning how she was going to slip out of the house after everyone was in bed. Only her father was likely to be awake, and he’d be engrossed in a book. She might even be able to tell him the truth without him insisting he had to come. But it would be better for him not to know. Of course this would have to happen at a time when she had a house full of company!

She had to admit she was curious to see what Nightflyer would look like. Her heart pounded, and her face felt flushed. She wasn’t romantically interested, she kept telling herself as the minutes dragged by and she lost track of the conversation. She was curious because she knew so little about him. That was all. It was a midnight fling with adventure for a woman who didn’t have too many adventures in her life.

That sobered her. What if he was using her somehow? She didn’t like to admit to being vulnerable. She was a sane, rational woman. A scientist.

This is different. I’m meeting him because he has information about Luther and Darmus. It wasn’t the same as sneaking out to meet John when they were dating. She wasn’t a teenager anymore. She knew what she was doing.

But now that she had some doubt in her mind about how sane and rational it was to meet a man she’d never met in Myers’s Park at midnight, the time suddenly began to fly. She found she couldn’t hold on to the minutes. Paul and Sam said their good nights and left. So did Steve. She walked him out to his SUV and kissed him in the light from the new crescent moon.

“Good night, Peggy.” He smiled and nuzzled her neck. “Anything on tap for tomorrow?”

“I’m going to plant a white garden and talk to Al. That’s about it.”

“I’ll call you in the morning.”

“Okay.”

He studied her face. “Something wrong?”

“No.” She yawned. “Just tired. It’s been a busy week.”