Being Emma (19 page)

“I have to video this…” Craig looked blankly,
as the president began to speak again.

“In second place is Craig Ferguson of Naples,
Nevada with a total of 338 points. Craig, please come up to receive
your medal.”

With a shocked look at his face, he turned to
Janie and then got a big smile on his face. She took a picture of
him smiling and then leaned over to give him a quick kiss.

“Get up there… They’re looking for you.”
Craig walked over to the president who shook his hand and placed a
medal with a ribbon around his neck. Janie got pretty decent video
of it to send to the folks back home. Dad and Bill left too early,
she thought…

He walked back in a bit of trance – It was
pretty surprising to him that he had done so well. Janie wasn’t
surprised. Craig had been an archer most of his life… He sat down
by her and she took his hand. They tried to leave as soon as the
first place winner was announced – Rod Taylor of Winnemucca, Nevada
with a total of 342 points. However, the president wanted to have
pictures taken of the three winners for the local papers. Finally,
they started filing out of the ballroom — Many people came up to
congratulate him and shake his hand. It was hard to get away, but
they were flying home today and needed to check out of the
hotel.

Arriving at the Las Vegas Airport, Craig was
still in a mild state of shock. Janie was nonplussed.

“I expected you to do this well. Why are you
so surprised? You’re a great archer, like your ancestors…”

“… Now Janie. Let’s not drag in my Scottish
ancestors who were in the Royal Company of Archers back in the
1800s. That has little to do with me today.” The airport was
crawling with people and they were heading to their plane’s
check-in counter. “There’s our check-in. Let’s get in line.”

“Sure and begorrah…”

“
That’s
Irish, not Scottish.” She laughed at that. “You mean ‘S math sin’ –
That means
terrific
in
Gaelic.”

“Oh… okay… I stand corrected.”

Grinning, they reached the counter and
checked in their luggage. With boarding passes in hand, Craig and
Janie headed up to wait for their plane. It was on time and got
them in the air with time to spare. They’d be in Reno by three and
home in Naples by four. Things looked good…

CHAPTER NINETEEN

The plane touched down early at the
Reno-Tahoe International Airport. Craig smiled at her… It was good
to be going home, together. After retrieving their bags and
equipment, they walked across the main building to the immense
parking garage to Craig’s car. Finding it, he loaded the back of
his SUV and then opened the door for Janie. When she was settled,
he closed her door and walked around to get in the driver’s side.
Opening the door, he heard her already on the phone.

“Certainly… Yes, sir… Now? ...Where are you
located? All right, sir, I’ll be there in probably fifteen
minutes.” She hung up and looked at Craig.

“What was that all about?”

“You’ll never believe it.”

“Try me.”

“The U.S. Secret Service wants to interview
me about that counterfeiting case.”

“Now?”

“Yes.” Craig thought about that.

“We just arrived back from Vegas this
minute.”

“… Apparently, they have their ways… They
asked to see me while I was still in town.”

“I’m not even going to ask how they knew
that.” Janie shrugged her shoulders.

In twenty minutes, Janie was sitting in the
U.S. Secret Service field office across from the high school on
Booth Street. Two men in white shirts and dark suits sat across
from her, and one was holding a folder with a report in it. She
guessed it was about the Naples counterfeiting case.

“Deputy Johnson, thank you for coming. I’m
Supervisor Ed Barker and this is my assistant, Ted Knowles.”

Janie
blinked.
Ted
and Ed?
She stifled a
smile that threatened to creep onto her face.

“We need to ask you some questions, if we
may.”

“Certainly, sir. How can I help you?”

Mr. Barker proceeded to ask her many
questions about the Naples case and her involvement with it. What
sort of research did she do? What sort of investigation techniques
did she use? When was her last training in interviewing witnesses
and suspects? Then he started asking more personal questions about
her education and background. When he asked about Craig, she
decided to ask a question of her own.

“Excuse me, Supervisor Barker?”

“Yes, Deputy?”

“I understand why you’d ask about me and this
case, but what does Mr. Ferguson have to do with any of this?” Ted
glanced at Ed. He handed him a large envelope, which Barker passed
to Janie.

“To be blunt, Deputy, the U.S. Secret Service
would like you to apply for a position with them. The assets you
would bring to the Service are commendable – You have a degree in
Law Enforcement from the University of Nevada, Reno and three and a
half years of experience in a Sheriff’s Office. You have a black
belt in Tae Kwon Do and are an amateur archer. You were brought up
on a ranch and are an expert horseman. In short, Deputy, you’re
young, smart and talented. Plus the work you did on this
counterfeiting case showed real knowledge of the crime and a
tenaciousness needed to find the perpetrators. They’re hard to
find.”

Janie was totally surprised. It was so
unexpected that her mouth dropped open for a second, but only a
second.

“You want me to apply for a position with the
U.S. Secret Service?”

“Yes, ma’am. We could use you specifically in
our counterfeiting section.”

“What does any of this have to do with Mr.
Ferguson?”

“We presume he’s your boyfriend.”

“Yes, sir.”

“Will you be marrying him within six months?”
Janie blushed.

“I’m not sure, sir. He hasn’t asked me.”
Barker smiled slightly.

“Well, if he does, we will need to do a
background check on him as well as you. When you’re married or even
engaged, it’s a package deal with the Service.”

“I see…”

He fished a business card out of his inside
jacket pocket and handed it over to her.

“I’ll need your answer within twenty-four
hours. To be frank, I have several counterfeiting cases and I could
use you. That said there’s no guarantee that you would be
hired.”

Janie gulped and then she smiled. When Ted
and Ed stood, so did she. Barker extended his hand to shake
hers.

“Good work on that Naples counterfeiting
case, Deputy. I hope to be hearing from you soon.”

“Thank you, sir.” She looked from Ed to Ted
and left the room. She practically skipped out of the building.

Craig was waiting for her in the parking lot,
standing by the car. He had noticed her good mood. As they got in,
he asked her, “How’d it go?”

She looked into his handsome face and
smiled.

“You won’t believe this either.”

“What?”

“They asked me to apply for a position with
the U.S. Secret Service.” Craig looked at her in surprise and then
put his arms around her.

“Oh, Janie… How fabulous!” He thought a
minute and pulled back. “Are you going to do it?”

She looked at him slyly. “It all
depends…”

“On what?”

She paused before speaking.

“Are you going to ask me to marry you?” Craig
was astonished and sat back in his seat. He ran a hand through his
hair.

“For God’s sake, Janie… You want to do this
sitting by the federal building in a parking lot?”

“Yes. My decision depends on it.”

“Explain that...”

“If we’re married or engaged, they do a
background check on us both. If I’m hired, I’m sent for fifteen
weeks of training to Georgia.”

“That’s wonderful…”

“But…”

“… But?”

She gazed into his eyes and spoke from the
heart.

“I won’t do it without you. I won’t accept
the position, if it’s offered, I won’t leave town, I won’t do any
of it unless you come with me. You’ve been with me my whole life,
Craig. I can’t do without you now… I need you with me.”

His eyes filled with tears. He’d been waiting
for this moment for most of his life. “… Ah…”

“It’s a new adventure for me, Craig, and I
want it to be for us. You know how I’m always wanting to go on new
adventures.”

He cleared his throat and finally spoke.
Craig took her hands in his.

“Janie, I’ve had the ring for a month now and
I asked your father for his permission last week…” She blinked,
caught off guard.

“Of course, I want to ask you to marry me,
but could I please do it in a more romantic setting?”

She smiled at that comment. “Will you marry
me within six months?”

“Sweetheart, I’ll marry you tomorrow if you
like.” She beamed at him.

“Good… Then I’ll fill out the application as
soon as possible.”

“Is there a deadline?”

“Yes.”

“Are you sure you’re ready to be Janie
Ferguson?” She took his hand, turned it over and kissed his
palm.

“I think I’ve been Janie Ferguson most of my
life, haven’t I?”

“It was touch and go for a while there. Your
brother told me I’d wait a long time for you.”

“I love you, Craig.”

“And I adore you, Janie.” They kissed in his
car in the not-so-romantic parking lot by the federal building. “We
need to go home, sweetheart. It’s been quite a trip…” He winked at
her.

“I’ll say…”

“How long do I have to keep any of this to
myself?” He put the key in the ignition and started the car.

“About as long as it takes to get us home.
And take me to my apartment first, please. I need to pack.” She
looked over at him.

“Pack?” She nodded.

“Yes. Do you want me to move in with you?” He
stopped the car before taking it out of the parking lot, while
shaking his head.

“Do I get to ask you anything first?”

“I suppose when we get around to having
children, you can ask me that.” He laughed and started the car
again. It would never be dull with Janie Johnson Ferguson.

* * *

The next day there was a phone call from
Sonoma to Naples…

“Just what the heck happened in Las Vegas
anyway?” Jeanne was beside herself.

“… I can only guess, Jeanne,” said Lily. “All
I know is Craig came in second in the state tournament…”

“And Janie’s moved in with him…”

“Right and she’s applying for a position with
the U.S. Secret Service.”

They both paused and exhaled deep
breaths.

“That’s a lot, Lily… Something must have gone
right in Las Vegas.”

“But you know, Jeanne,” Lily smiled, “what
happens in Vegas…”

“… Stays in Vegas…” they answered together
with a laugh.

“… What about Diane?”

“Their new friend, Sharon, moved in with
her.”

“Well… Stating the obvious, he must have
finally told her that he loves her and ditto for Janie.”

“Yes,” Lily chuckled. “Sandy did tell me that
he noticed some mighty warm looks between them when he and Bill
were there watching the shoot… For a while, I thought I would have
to lock them in a room somewhere forcing them to talk to one
another….

Jeanne grinned at that. “I bet they did much
more than talk, Lily…”

“Indeed. I hope so… Craig was looking pretty
miserable… And by the way…”

“Yes?”

“Janie said there would be a background check
after her interview if all goes well. The check will last several
months and we will all be contacted for interviews about her and
probably him too.”

“Wow, really… How terrific for them both –
Love and a fabulous future. Sam and I are so happy we could
pop.”

“Sandy and I are thrilled too. I was
wondering how the Mike Church incident would play out, but
apparently, it helped get her out of the rut she was in. Luckily,
she saw Craig for all his worth.”

“It was so plain for all of us to see they
were in love, but so difficult for them.”

“Love takes time for some…”

“Very wise, Lily.” Jeanne smiled at her.

“Sometimes I get lucky.”

“Okay, gotta go... Sam needs his lunch. See
you at the roundup.”

CHAPTER TWENTY

A day later, the men had ridden their horses
out to a northern section of the Johnson ranch to check the herd.
Jason, the foreman, had also asked that they count the number of
calves again, since the number had surely changed from several
weeks ago. They had stopped to spread out for different vantage
points and sections of the herd, and began their work.

When he finished, Jesse rode over by Craig.
Jesse leaned back in his saddle, wiped his hands and took his hat
off to brush off some dirt.

“How many did you count?”

“I saw about fifty. What’d you get?”

“Probably close to thirty. Wonder what Colt’s
count is?” They looked over to their right as Colt came galloping
up. His horse kicked up some dust and Jesse’s horse moved away from
him.

“How many?”

Colt smiled. “Forty…”

“That makes a hundred and twenty, give or
take a few. That should make Dad pretty happy. That’s a lot of
money on the hoof…”

Colt looked up. The big Nevada sky was
darkening fast with sprays of orange and yellow painting the
horizon. “Beautiful sky tonight.”

“You’re quite the romantic, aren’t you?”
Craig smiled at him.

“…
You
must be too… What
did
happen in
Vegas, Ferguson?” Colt’s eyes twinkled. “It must have been some
trip…”

Jesse agreed. “I was wondering about that
myself. You guys take off for the state tournament barely speaking,
and when you return, she moves in…” He smirked. “What gives?”