With Private Eyes Part 31

Philip Ringle was the agent in charge. He seemed sharp, capable. He spoke with all of them together first, then Ethan asked to have a word with him privately.

It took nearly an hour to give the federal agent everything he had on Derrick Barone. When he finished, Ringle asked questions, then told Ethan he could leave.

Claudia was nowhere in sight. He looked in the big living room, in the kitchen, the library. No one knew where she was. Emily thought she might have gone upstairs to lie down or get a few moments alone.

It finally dawned on him that she didn't want to see him.

He could understand that, he told himself as he collected his coat. He'd give her time. Maybe she'd been grateful earlier for his presence-she knew, if the rest of her family didn't, what he'd just spent the past forty-nine minutes doing. Pointing the FBI straight at her brother.

The temperature had dropped, and the wind was icy. He turned his collar up as he trudged toward his car. Her rejection hurt. No matter how he explained it to himself, it hurt like blazes. He wondered how long it would take her to look at him and see anything except the man who'd put her brother behind bars.

Looks like snow, he thought, pausing to stare up at a sky even colder and grayer than his old Buick. h.e.l.l! Why am I leaving? So she was avoiding him. She still needed him, dammit,

She had to, or his world would never be warm again. He turned away from his car.

She was running down the steps, her hair flying out behind her like a golden banner whipped by the wind. And no coat on. "Ethan! Wait!"

Hastily he stripped his coat off. The second she reached him he flung it over her shoulders. "Crazy woman! It's freezing out here."

"Well." Her smile peeped out. "At least I didn't chase after you naked."

There was an odd sensation in his chest, kind of tight and warm, as if she'd hugged him on the inside. "Probably just as well," he said gruffly. "Your parents wouldn't understand. Not that I do," he added, searching her face. And hoping. Hoping hard.

"Why aren't you holding me?" she asked softly.

He grabbed her then and held on, and he didn't notice the cold wind or the first few flakes of snow that fell. "I thought you didn't want to see me. I looked for you. No one knew where you were. Emily thought you might have gone upstairs to be alone."

"Good grief. I was in the bathroom. When I came back downstairs Emily told me you were looking for me, and then I couldn't find you." She touched his jaw. Her eyes were tired, but clear. "Did you really think I blamed you for what Derrick has done? I've been foolish about a lot of things, including the kind of man who's right for me. But I do know right from wrong. What you did was right."

He swallowed. "I was afraid ... I thought your feelings might be pretty mixed. I know how much your family means to you."

"They don't mean more than you do. I love you, Ethan."

A second later, she patted him on the shoulder. "You're going to break something if you squeeze me any tighter."

"I'm sorry. I just ... I feel so good." And he wasn't sure he ought to, with all the misery cooped up in the big house behind him. But he couldn't help it. Claudia loved him. "I'll give you time," he promised. "Like you said you wanted. Time to think things out. I know we don't have much in common, and your family won't exactly be thrilled, but I'm giving you fair warning. I'm not letting you go."

"My family will be delighted. Especially if you keep me too busy to meddle in their lives. As for not having anything in common-good grief. Haven't you been paying attention? We're so much alike it's scary. You're hardheaded, always sure you're right. Just like me. You put family first, like I do. And you're always fixing things." She kissed him, lightly but lingering. "That's what you do for a living, for heaven's sake. Fix things. You're as much of a meddler as I am, only you get paid for it."

He'd never thought of it that way. It disconcerted him, so he kissed her again. Not lightly.

After a moment she said, "We'll live in your place, I think. I'd like to get married in the spring."

"That's too long to wait," he informed her, treasuring the warm weight of her body against his. "Next month."

"June."

"Christmas."

"Valentine's Day. And you're going to wear a tux."

Ethan laughed. He probably would.

end.