his ears.
“I guess I’ve lost track of time,” she replied, carrying the cordless phone out on the balcony and sitting in one of the chairs.
“That’s okay. Seriously, I figured you would take some time off because of your brother. But I’m glad you called, for I do have something to tell you. The talk around Washington is that the government has some big operation in the war against drugs underway,” Bob said, shooing away his secretary who had walked into his office.
Her curiosity aroused, Kate asked, “Whom are they targeting?”
“I don’t know anything specific, but I know you have good sources to consult,” Bob replied.
“Okay, thanks, I’ll see what I can find out and get back to you,” she said and hung up. She had wanted to bring up Rod’s name but couldn’t. She remained seated in the chair, holding the phone.
She had fallen in love with a man she hardly knew. She didn’t know what he did for a living. Business is what he said, but what kind of business? He had said he grew up in a little town on the Ohio River and had been in the Special Forces in Vietnam, but when and where exactly? He had never made any phone calls around her, except to call room service. Also, he had insisted upon washing every dish he had touched. The one time he had called her, he had not told her where he was. All the labels had been cut out of his clothes, and then there was that gun. He could be some kind of assassin for hire for all she knew. Yet from somewhere inside, her intuition was trying to tell her she would hear from him again.
Kate remained at St. Simon’s alone. She had taken her grandmother to Athens to visit her friend Betty, who lived in a retirement home. Her reporter instincts kept telling her to investigate Rod, but her heart was telling her to be patient and wait.
* * *
The following night around ten o'clock, she was sitting on Kathryn’s flowery chintz sofa underneath a Tiffany floor lamp, trying to read a book when the doorbell rang. She opened the door, and there was Rod, looking tired but okay.
In one stride he was inside the room and holding her in his arms. "Wow, I've missed you," he said, picking her up and swinging her around over the pale blue carpet.
After he put her down, she screamed, "It's been weeks, and I haven't heard a word from you! I didn't know if I would ever hear from you. Do you know how that makes me feel?"
"Kate, I'm sorry. It couldn't be helped. I've been in some heavy-duty shit. Luckily, it doesn't in anyway involve you or what we have. Have you ever thought about settling down? We both need to stop this globe-trotting nonsense. I'm getting too old for it, and I thought well, maybe you would want to have a child," exclaimed Rod all in one breath.
Bewildered, Kate dropped to the sofa. "Are you asking me to marry you?" She asked hoarsely.
"Yes, I'm being clumsy about it, but I definitely am." He knelt on one knee before her and took her hands into his. "I'm going to retire and do something different that doesn't include traveling. Neither one of us has a place to be, and it's about time we did," Rod declared.
Transfixed by the dark blue pools of his eyes, with her body feeling like lead, she pulled herself up, moved a few steps away, and turned to face him. "Before I answer, I would like to know what kind of business are you in."
Rod stood up and took a step toward her. "I can't tell you that, you'll have to trust me, trust our love. I have to see this project through to the end, but after that I'm free." His voice betrayed his longings.
Backed against her grandmother's prized Chinese breakfront, Kate asked in despair, "How can I give you an answer?"
"Don't give me an answer now. Think about it," Rod said lovingly. "All I know is that tonight I had to be with you." He then picked her up and carried her into her bedroom.
They undressed each other and climbed into her antique bed. In spite of her doubts, he made her feel as if she was already his. He told her he felt that he belonged somewhere for the first time in his life.
After replenishing their love, they fell asleep. A piercing ringing woke them at 4:00 a.m. She reached for the phone on the nightstand and after a moment spoke into the receiver, "Yes, he's here," and handed the cordless phone to Rod.
After Rod hung up, he told her gently that he had to leave. He also told her not to worry he would return. "I can't sit here and wait," she responded. "I'm returning to work."
"I understand," he said. "But please keep Kathryn informed of your whereabouts." Kate promised she would, but she did not tell him about the story she was going to chase.
While he showered and dressed, she went to the kitchen and made him coffee. She brought the mug of coffee to him on a small tray. He drank it quickly and then kissed her good-bye. "Don't worry. I love you," he said, going out the door.
* * *
She climbed back into bed and fell asleep, with her arms around his pillow. At nine o'clock she awoke, slipped into her blue silk bathrobe, and made her way to the kitchen. The sunshine was streaming through the sliding glass doors that opened to the balcony. As she was pouring coffee and water into the automatic drip coffee maker, she mulled over what Rod had told her. He had asked her to marry him. She knew she loved him.
"I wish he didn't have to be so secretive," she said out loud, knowing she had made up her mind about something. She rummaged through one of the cabinet drawers until she found a new pair of plastic gloves. Next she located a box of plastic bags and took one. Returning to her bedroom, she put on one of the gloves, picked up the coffee mug Rod had used, and dropped it into the plastic bag. She knew what to do because she had observed forensic evidence being gathered countless times at crime scenes. She opened one of the drawers to her dresser and dropped it in. It'll be safe there for the time being.
Going back to the kitchen, she poured herself a cup of coffee and sat down on a stool at Kathryn's counter table. "Well, I said I was going to work and I am."
Using her computer addresses, she punched up Guy's phone number. He was a pilot who ran a charter service out of Jacksonville and who also kept his mouth and ears closed and accepted his payments in cash. From time to time he had passed along information to Kate because he knew she would protect her sources. They arranged to meet at Crabber's on Fernandina Beach, for Guy didn't want to be seen around Jacksonville with her. He added he needed to collect a debt on the island anyhow.
Kate drove her grandmother's dark blue Eldorado Coup out of the ground floor garage area. Although she seldom drove, Kathryn kept the car maintained and licensed, mostly for her to have to drive during her visits. Compared to the newer, smaller cars, driving the car was like handling a semi.
"Well, beggars can't be choosy," she said, chuckling.
By the time she arrived, he was waiting out front, wearing khaki pants and a faded blue denim shirt. The ends of his longish blond hair stuck out from underneath his baseball cap. He looked older than his thirty-six years.
Being known as a great place for seafood, the casual restaurant overlooking the ocean was crowded as usual. But they managed to find a vacant picnic style table.
"Kate, there’s something big going on," he whispered. "Everyone is as nervous as a fox in a hen house."
"The people you shuttle are always nervous," Kate replied. "Let's order." She ordered crab cakes, and he ordered boiled shrimp.
