Another Man's Treasure (28 page)

“Do you go anywhere without it?”

“Only the shower or bed, and even then it's within arm’s reach.”

“Do you ever wear it as a sidearm or always the holster?”

“I worked for a police department and had the standard issue.  When I started working with the FBI, I started wearing the holster too.”

“What do you carry for a weapon?”

“It’s a Glock, more specifically a G21 Gen4. It’s pretty bad ass.  I carry other weapons too.  Why so much interest in guns, Frannie?”

“Well, I did some target practice and hunting with Sam.  He taught me a little about guns.  Yours holds what, a 10-13 round mag capacity?”

“Jesus, Frannie, you’re a wiz with computers and now guns.  What else am I going to find out about you?”

“Whatever you want to know. I’m an open book.”

“Tell me about Sam.”

“Sam...How much time do you have, Ross?  Sam was my life for a very long time.”

“I have all the time in the world for you, Frannie.”

The waitress approached their table with menus and water.  She had a syrupy sweet smile for Ross.  Francine burst out laughing.

“Sheryl, put your tongue back in your head.  Mr. Muscles is with me.  What are the specials?”

“Caesar salad with grilled steak, or grilled chicken with mashed and vegetable medley. Do you want a menu and a few minutes to think about it?”

“I’m good for the steak and salad.  How about yo; Hfont>

“Grilled chicken sounds great.  Can I sub the mashed for extra veggies?”

“Sure, no problem.  Drinks, y’all?”

“Iced tea.”

“Double that, thank you.” 

The waitress stuck her tongue out at Francine.  Ross hesitated as she walked away and began to laugh.  “Guess you told her.”

“Sheryl and I are friends from way back.”

“Back to Sam. Tell me about him...and you.”

Francine stopped and thought for a second. 
How to I explain Sam?

Wow…Complete opposite, that’s how.

“Sam was my high school sweetheart. We married right after graduation.  He would do anything to make me laugh.
He was…goofy and playful. 
Not like you at all. You would make two of Sam.

“He was gentle, reserved.  Sam blended in with the crowd.  He could talk and relate to anyone.  He was my best friend.”

Nothing unassuming about you, Mr. Muscles... You don’t blend…I don’t think you could hide in a crowd if you tried. Jesus, you’re gorgeous.  Opposite in every way.

Francine smiled at Ross, but not her usual dazzling smile.  She looked melancholy.  Ross reached over and took her hand.

“Frannie, I’m sorry.  I’m being insensitive.  It hasn’t been that long since his passing.”

“No, Ross, it’s ok.  I lost
my Sam more than year ago.  Before his diagnosis, he was sick for about 6 months.  When the docs said leukemia, it was stage 4 and I spent the last 3 months of his life with his chemo treatments and watching him waste away.  Dying was a blessing for Sam.  He made me promise to move on and not grieve forever.  My Mom reminded me of that a few months back.”

The waitress came with their food and Ross pulled his hands back so she could put their food down.  The smells coming from the food made their stomachs growl.  It occurred to her Francine that all the time she was talking Ross had held her hand and stared at her with those hypnotic blue eyes.
Damn, Mr. Muscles.  You are a keeper.  Now to convince you
to put that wall down.

“Thanks, Sheryl.”

“You’re welcome.  Enjoy.”

“Enough about me. I want to hear all about Ross Guthrie.”

“Not much to tell, Frannie.  What you see is what you get.”

“Hmmm...Guess I need to see a lot more.”

Ross stared at Francine and reached for her hand.  He stroked the back of her hand with his fingers and gave her a sly smile.  He just couldn’t take his eyes off this woman.  Beautiful, educated, playful, sensual… Francine was a self professed open-book kind of person.  Ross couldn’t wait to see the story unfold.

“Careful what you ask for, Francine.  You just might get more than you can handle.”

Francine took a long sip of iced tea.  She stared back at Ross, flipped her hand over so they were palm to palm and ran her nails over the inside of his wrist with the lightest of pressure.  Ross was an enigma.

“Challenge accepted, Mr. Guthrie.”

“Fair warning, Francine. I never lose.”

“Be warned, Ross, I never give up.”

“Do you think you can out last me, Frannie?”

“Ross, I can rock your world, no doubt about that.”

“We’ll see about that.  How’s your food?”

“Fine, but I am ready for dessert.”

“I don’t do dessert, but you feel free.”

Francine slipped off one of her high heels, ran her foot up Ross’s leg, and let it rest between his thighs.  Ross calmly set down his fork and reached under the table and tickled her foot.  Francine squealed and jerked her foot away quickly, and Ross laughed.

“You don’t play fair, Ross.”

“Do you, Francine?”

“I am just trying to find out what I want to know.”

“Did you find out enough or would you like to try the other foot?”

“I might need a closer inspection.”

Francine smiled coyly at Ross while he paid the check.  He took Francine’s elbow as he helped her from the booth, slipped his hand to the small of her back, and ler b="+0">Frt it rest there as they left the restaurant.  Ross opened the truck door for Francine and waited for her to get settled, then walked to the driver’s side and got behind the wheel.

“Ross, thank you for lunch. I had a good time.”

“It was my pleasure, Francine.”

Francine leaned over to give Ross a quick kiss on the cheek. 
Damn, I would love to kiss that gorgeous mouth.

Ross turned his head, pulled Francine in close, and kissed her.  She wrapped one arm around his neck and her other arm was pinned between them.  The kiss lasted longer than Ross had intended, but the feel of Francine’s lips on his was too intense to stop sooner.   Francine pulled back slightly and looked deep into Ross’s eyes and smiled.

“Now that is what I call dessert.”

“Francine that was just an appetizer.”

Ross kissed Francine once more before they headed back to the farmhouse.

Oh, sweet Jesus…that kiss was better than I anticipated.

Jude left Ross and Francine behind to enjoy their lunch; he was far too on edge to even think about eating.  Besides, the look Francine threw him definitely said
don’t even think about accepting.
The information he had for Miranda circled his mind like a tornado.  Jude mulled over one scenario after another. 
How do I tell her?  Will she believe me?  Will this finally end her night terrors?

Jude also knew Miranda would fire questions at him so fast he wouldn’t have time to answer one before she asked another. 
Yup, that’s my Miranda…I am going to have to kiss her between questions to get her to shut up. 
Jude smiled to himself and thought this wasn’t such a bad idea…question, kiss…question, kiss.   He pulled into the driveway of Miranda’s house and took a deep breath. 
Here we go.
   Jude walked in and looked around and shouted to her.

“Miranda,
where are you?”

“I’m upstairs unpacking.”

Jude ran up the stairs and found Miranda in the spare room surrounded by boxes.  He sr b="tairs tood in the doorway with the flowers he purchased in town and grinned.  Miranda was sitting on the floor with paper and belongings strewn all over the place.  She looked like a kid on Christmas morning.  Jude crossed the room, sat next to Miranda and placed the flowers aside.  He pulled her onto his lap and wrapped his arms around her and kissed her fervently.  The kiss was tender and filled with love and passion.  Jude handed Miranda the flowers and smiled.

“For you, baby.”

“Wow, what did I do to deserve this?  You have only been gone 2 or 3 hours.  Did you miss me that much?”

“I miss you every second I am away from you, Mandy.  Besides, we need to celebrate.”

“Celebrate what?”  Miranda searched Jude’s face for some hint. “Are you going to tell me or just grin at me, Jude?”

“Come downstairs and let’s
have something to drink.  I can’t wait to tell you what we found out!”

“Jude
… c’mon, tell me!”

“I will Mandy, I will tell you everything, but let’s go downstairs first.  I could use a beer.”

“Cold beer sounds good right about now.”

Jude kissed her quick and they went downstairs.  Miranda sat on the couch. Jude grabbed two beers from the refrigerator, sat next to her and opened them.  He took a long drink of the beer and a deep breath.  Jude cupped Miranda’s face and kissed her long and deep, getting lost in her touch.

“Jude, I would love to sit here and kiss you all day, but you are killing me!  Tell me what you found out.   Is it David…Hank?  Good news…bad news?  WHAT?”

Before she could fire off one more question, Jude kissed her quickly and laughed.