Flight of the Scarlet Tanager
Page 46
Teddy closed her eyes for a moment and then lowered her head to rest on Fitch’s chest. “You think your dad knows I’m living in the beach house, too?”
“Yeah, I think he’s onto us.” Fitch turned his head and whistled. A sleekly gray Weimaraner loped up the beach. He circled them joyfully and then began to dig a hole in the sand. “I think he might even know about me having my dog here. I’m trying to make him shed fur on every conceivable surface so that my stepmother won’t dare step in the house again.”
“I always wanted a dog,” sighed Teddy. She let go of Fitch and grabbed his dog instead, wrapping her arms around the enthusiastic hound. “But why did you have to name him that?”
Fitch reached down to scratch the gray head of his pet. “It’s a good name. What’s wrong with that name?”
“You named the dog that to irritate your father,” she accused.
“Well, it worked. Still works. He winces every time he hears it.”
“Good dog,” she said. “You’re a good dog. Aren’t you?”
“He’s bad, Teds. Wicked bad. That’s why he’s named Nuclear Fission.”
Teddy stood up. “Come on, Nuke. I’ve got to go to work.”
Fitch spread his arms out. “You don’t need to work.”
“Yep. I do,” she answered as she walked away. “As of yesterday.”
“What do you mean?” he asked as he watched her walk up the beach, the dog playfully bouncing around her.
“Not a billionaire anymore,” she called over her shoulder.
“Huh?” Fitch loped to catch up to her.
Teddy shrugged. “I gave most of it away. That’s what I’ve been doing in all those meetings for the last weeks. Charities. Stuff to help runaways mostly.”
“Wow,” said Fitch. “I didn’t see that coming.”
“Wanna break up now?” she asked politely, half serious.
“Because you’re not a billionaire anymore?”
“Yeah.”
“Are you kidding? You still have the best ass I’ve ever seen. And besides I haven’t gotten you to go parachuting yet. Or free-soloing down the face of a sheer rock face.” Fitch wrapped an arm affectionately over her shoulder. “There’s cliff-diving, skinny skiing, and let’s see, Jell-O wrestling, too.”
“Hey, I didn’t give it all away,” she elaborated. “Just most of it.”
Fitch made a face. “You know, I bet you’re still richer than my family is.”
Teddy grinned at him, enjoying the freedom she felt. “You just might be right.”
“I’m making a Christmas list,” he announced.
“You think I’ll like the university?” she asked. Her voice had changed tentatively. She had enrolled with him to go the University of Oregon in the spring. Her first time in school in years.
“Oh, yeah. I’m gonna have to fight off other guys with a baseball bat.” He patted her shoulder. “And you’ll probably get your Ph.D. before I do, too.” They came out at the parking lot and Fitch’s rusted Jeep sat there, next to a truck and some kind of mini-van. “You ever worry about Gower?”
She hesitated, and she couldn’t help looking slowly around her, as if she were scanning for someone who was concealed nearby, waiting for her to make a mistake. “Since they didn’t find him, yes, I do. But then I think he got millions out of my uncle before the end, and he made it out of the mansion before it burned down, so maybe he’ll be happy with that.”
Fitch couldn’t help repeating Teddy’s gesture. He slowly looked around him as well. The chances were good that Gower had fled the country. He was wanted for murder here, multiple murders, among other assorted crimes. But he had been an expert in intelligence and law enforcement for years. He knew how to evade his own. “He liked you.”
“In his own twisted way,” she admitted. “I think he admired me. For being the one that got away.”
They paused beside the jeep and Fitch opened the half door to allow Nuke to climb in, ready to head back to the beach house for their enforced isolation. Bishop was still pressing for his punishment, and Fitch was taking it in stride. But he wanted his family to include Teddy in family events and Edana had issued a Thanksgiving invitation to the pair, despite her husband’s wishes.
Fitch liked the idea of taking Teddy to Washington, D.C. to meet the rest of the family. There was all kinds of trouble the two of them could get into.
“What are you smiling at?” she asked.
“Nothing. Nothing at all.” Big disorder. He was wondering if anyone had ever scaled the dome on the capitol building and how Teddy would look climbing up the side of the white edifice. Really, really hot. “Let’s go before I really get into serious trouble.”
Teddy gave him a look before climbing into the passenger side of the jeep. “So when are you teaching me how to drive?”
“Anytime you want,” he answered with a laugh.
Teddy patted Nuke once more and laughed. “You are so up to something aren’t you?”
“Not me. I’m pure as the driven snow.”
“There isn’t any snow around here.”
“You know what I mean.”
“I’m afraid I do,” she said and leaned over to kiss him. “So knock it off.”
Fitch started the jeep and backed up. Nuke began to bark at a fat sea gull that had flown too close to the vehicle. Teddy looked at the bird and quietly chuckled. Doesn’t it seem like there’re birds everywhere?
The End.
About the Author
C.L. Bevill has lived in Texas, Virginia, Arizona, and Oregon. She once was in the US Army and a graphic illustrator. She holds degrees in social-psychology and counseling. She is the author of Bubba and the Dead Woman, Bubba and the 12 Deadly Days of Christmas, Bayou Moon, and Shadow People, among others. Presently she lives with her husband and her daughter and continues to constantly write. She can be reached at www.clbevill.com or you can read her blog at www.carwoo.blogspot.com
Other Novels by C.L. Bevill
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Mysteries:
Bubba and the Dead Woman
Bubba and the 12 Deadly Days of Christmas
Bayou Moon
Paranormal Romance:
Veiled Eyes (Lake People)
Disembodied Bones (Lake People)
The Moon Trilogy:
Black Moon (The Moon Trilogy 1)
Amber Moon (The Moon Trilogy 2)
Silver Moon (The Moon Trilogy 3)
Cat Clan Novellas:
Harvest Moon
Blood Moon
Shadow People
Sea of Dreams
Suspense:
The Flight of the Scarlet Tanager
Black Comedy:
The Life and Death of Bayou Billy
Missile Rats
Chicklet:
Dial ‘M’ For Mascara