“Don’t worry. It’s all perfectly natural.”
“It...is?”
“Yes. It is.” He brushed back her hair, loving the feel of it. “We should go inside.”
She swallowed. She could still taste him on her lips. He tasted of coffee and mint. She smiled slowly. “I guess so.”
He chuckled. He got out and helped her down. He held her hand all the way into the restaurant.
CHAPTER FOUR
“WHY DID YOU change your mind about where we ate?” Merissa asked when they were halfway through huge plates of chicken lo mein, which they discovered was a mutual favorite. “I mean, I’m not complaining, I love Chinese food. But why?”
“Same reason I hired a man to sweep my truck for bugs,” he said heavily. “It seems I hired the bad guy to put in a surveillance system for me.”
“Oh, my gosh!” she exclaimed.
“I’m usually more careful,” he said with a smile. “But I had no idea he was that close. You see, your premonition was right on the money. You really do have a gift.”
“I hate having it,” she replied.
“This time, it might save my life,” he said. “I’m grateful.”
She grimaced. “I was so afraid, turning up at your door in a snowstorm.” She laughed. “But I felt I had to tell you.”
“If you hadn’t, I’d be in a world of trouble right now,” he pointed out. “I had no idea that I was even a target after so long.”
“You wouldn’t have been, I think, except for the politician running for federal office,” she said. “He’s trying to get rid of any embarrassing loose ends before the campaign heats up. Imagine what his adversaries could do with information like his friendship with a drug cartel.”
“Yes.”
“This man you hired, to look for the bugs your adversary placed,” she began. “There’s a woman. She’s in very great danger.” She bit her lip.
“She’s a photojournalist covering a war in Africa,” he supplied, not even uneasy now about her gifts.
She nodded. “An unexpected thing will save her life,” she said slowly. “A necklace, of all things.”
“She’ll be all right?” he asked, concerned.
“She won’t die,” she amended.
That sounded ominous.
She drew in a breath. “Someone told a lie. It’s what separates them. He believed it.” She sipped hot tea. “It was said to protect her, but instead it destroyed her happiness.” She looked up at him. “She loves him so much,” she said heavily. “It’s a shame.”
He wondered if he should tell Rourke.
“Don’t,” she said, as if she’d read the thought. “Don’t say anything to him. Things are at a crossroads right now. If he acts too soon, she could die. Everything is connected. We live in a silver web of activity, binding all that lives on the earth.” She laughed again. “I sound like a tree hugger. Well, I am a tree hugger. But we’re much more connected than people think.”
“A butterfly flaps its wings and there’s a typhoon?” he teased.
“Something like that, yes.”
He leaned back in his chair and studied her warmly. “You’re amazing,” he said. “I’ve never known anybody like you in my whole life.”
“I hope that’s a compliment.”
“It truly is,” he confessed. He smiled. “And tonight is a beginning. Isn’t it?”
She started to say something. Her eyes grew opaque. She lost color. Her green eyes were terrified when they met his. “We have to go home. Right now! Please!”
He didn’t bother to ask what was wrong. It was enough that she knew something was urgent. He got up and paid the check and then led her out to the truck.
“At my house or yours?” he asked as he started it.
“Mine. And please, hurry!” she said. “It may be too late already!”
He didn’t spare the engine.
They pulled up in front of Merissa’s cabin and ran onto the porch. Merissa worked her key in the lock, fumbled and finally opened it.
“Mom!” she called frantically. “Mom!”
There were sounds of movement. A door opened. Clara came out into the hall, a little foggy, laughing.
“Here I am. What’s wrong?” she asked when she saw their worried faces.
“I...had a feeling,” Merissa said, hating to put it even into words, for fear it might come true.
“A feeling?” Clara asked gently, and now she was frowning, too.
Merissa relaxed. She laughed. “I’m sorry. I’m so sorry.” She turned to Tank. “I rushed you home for nothing!”
“It’s always good to check,” Tank replied gently. “I’m beginning to put a lot of confidence in your ‘feelings.’”
She smiled at him warmly. “Thanks.”
“What sort of feeling?” Clara asked, because she knew that Merissa didn’t give way to panic.
“I don’t know. Something dangerous. Something planned.” She closed her eyes. “Soon. Very soon.” She opened her eyes. “I don’t know what!” she groaned.
Clara hugged her. “Don’t worry, honey. We’ll be okay.”
“Just in case,” Tank said slowly, “I’m going to put a man over here, to keep an eye on the place.”
“That would be so kind of you,” Clara began.
Merissa frowned. “Do I smell smoke?”
They split up, going from room to room. All of a sudden, the fire detector in the back bedroom went off like an explosion.
Tank ran ahead of the women, rushed into the room and stopped dead. There was smoke coming from an extension cord. Beside it, a squirrel was squirming in agony.
“Oh, dear,” Clara murmured. “I forgot to close the flue in here... Squirrels love to come in the cabin and build nests in the ceiling.” She grimaced. “Is he dead?”
Tank picked him up. The squirrel was shivering. “He’s not dead, but he’s going to need some attention. I have a friend who’s a wildlife rehabilitator. I’ll call him as soon as I get home. Have you got a shoebox and an old towel?”
Clara
