A Stranger Is Watching

by Linda Randall Wisdom

  She wondered what he would say if she told him it had taken a long time for her sleep in complete silence.

  She knew she should get up and wake him. She could urge him to come to bed where he could be more comfortable than sitting in that chair. It was certainly big enough for the two of them. Instead, she snuggled under the covers and fell back asleep to the sounds of Riley’s soft snores.

  The first thing Riley felt when he woke up was a nagging ache in his neck. The second hint that he felt like hell was another nagging ache along his right thigh. The third was a cramp that began at the bottom of his calf and moved upward. He gritted his teeth and struggled to decide which area of pain to take care of first.

  “I’m too old for this crap,” he muttered, wincing as he leaned forward to rub the cramp. Except the movement sent streaks of pain moving across his neck. “Damn!”

  “And here I thought you could sleep as easily in a chair as you could in a bed. My, my, and I thought you were such a tough guy, too.”

  He paused in his internal diagnosis to glance up. He found Jenna standing in the doorway looking like a picture of spring.

  She wore a white eyelet cotton tank top and a lilacsprigged calf-length skirt with a white ruffle at the bottom. Her feet were bare, but her toenails were painted lavender to match her skirt.

  “Where did you get that outfit?” he muttered, still feeling foggy and hating the feeling. He decided he’d been out of the game too long.

  “You suggested I do some shopping. It’s amazing how easy it is once you get in those shops. I found some wonderful things there.” She pulled the sides of her skirt out and curtsied. “I decided to wear this right away. The rest are being delivered. I even picked out a few things for you.”

  Riley rubbed his hand over his face. He was in need of a hot shower, coffee and food. As a sore muscle protected his movement, he added a good massage to the list.

  “You look nice.” He didn’t care if he sounded grudging. He knew he was doing well to sound coherent. He was positive his brain had left him sometime during the night at the same time his body had turned to aches and pains.

  “Just nice?” She adjusted the lilac ribbon holding back her hair. “I think I look pretty good, myself. Like a breath of spring,” she said the latter as if repeating what someone else had said to her.

  “Since it’s fall, I guess it’s easier to say you look like spring. People don’t tend to look like fall, anyway.” He rubbed his calf harder as the pain radiated through the muscle. “Damn!”

  “Here, let me take care of that.” She crouched down in front of him and brushed away his hand. She wrapped her hands around his calf and began kneading the knotted muscles as best she could.

  “Hey!” he yelped, trying to pull free of her grip. “That hurts.”

  “Big baby. It’s hurting because it’s starting to relax.” She tightened her hold and dug her fingers into the muscle. “Don’t fight it. It will go easier that way.”

  He gritted his teeth. “Oh, sure, easy for you to say. You’re not the one being tortured by hot needles stuck in your leg.”

  “There, I can feel the muscle starting to relax.” Jenna sat back on her heels. “Why don’t you take a hot shower. That should help even more. All that shopping made me hungry and I’m more than ready for some breakfast. The clerk in the dress shop said there are some great hiking trails around here. We can get maps from the concierge.”

  “I’m in pain and you want to talk about hiking,” he grumbled, limping into the bedroom. “We are not going hiking.”

  “I don’t know why. It wouldn’t hurt. By the way, next time you might think about falling asleep on the couch instead of in a chair,” she called after him with laughter in her voice. “That way you won’t wake up feeling as if you had been tossed into a cement mixer. Not to mention waking up sounding so cranky.”

  Riley’s response was clearly not meant for mixed company.

  “Isn’t this gorgeous?” Jenna’s voice rang out as she walked ahead of Riley with a steady stride. The path was cleared of pebbles or any holes that might harm a hiker.

  She spun around in a circle, her skirt billowing out around her calves. Her white tennis shoes were already colored a light tan from the dust, but she didn’t seem to care.

  Riley could only stand there and stare at her. He hadn’t seen her looking this happy and carefree since before their lives blew up in their faces three years ago. He couldn’t imagine how she’d kept it bottled up inside her for so long without exploding. As he studied the sheer joy on her face, he knew why he’d fallen in love with her back then. From the beginning, he couldn’t think of anyone else who could express happiness or joy the way Jenna could.

  And dammit, if he wasn’t careful, he’d fall in love with her all over again.

  If he cared to be honest with himself, he’d admit he’d never fallen out of love with her. But then, he never was honest with himself.

  Jenna’s eyes sparkled with delight as she stopped every so often to examine a small cluster of flowers growing alongside the path.

  “The mountain looks so bare, yet these flowers seem to grow right out of the rocks,” she exclaimed, touching the delicate petals with her fingertips. “This is the type of scene I would love to sketch and paint with all their colors.” Her smile faded as she turned her gaze to her bandage and barely visible fingers.

  “Come on, lady, I’m starved,” Riley said abruptly, grabbing her other hand and pulling her up. He knew he sounded like a coldhearted SOB, but he also knew Jenna. If she thought too long she would only grow morose. When they said artists could be moody, they were right. Jenna’s somber moods were rare, but when they hit, she always preferred to be alone. Since Riley didn’t consider himself one of the most cheerful guys around, he hadn’t felt rejected by her change in moods and just waited until it passed.

  He shifted his backpack that held their lunch. “You said we were hiking up this hill, not stopping to look at every flower along the way,” he grumbled good-naturedly.

  To his surprise Jenna’s mood instantly lightened.

  “As long as I’m out in the fresh air, I intend to enjoy every second of it,” she told him, slipping her hand out of his and sliding it around his waist. She stumbled when she encountered his gun snugly fitted against the small of his back. She withdrew her hand as if it had been burned.

  “We’re out in the open, Jenna,” he said quietly, easily reading the disquiet on her face. “I’m not about to take any chances.”

  Her arm fell away. “Sorry, I forgot. You took on this job because they pressured you into it.”

  He grabbed her wrist and spun her around. “You forgot something else, sweetheart. No one, and I mean no one, pressures me into anything.” His fingers tightened their hold. “The Marshal’s Service likes to make sure their charges remain in one piece. You asked for me, and I came. There was no way I was going to let them handle the case when I could handle it better,” he said without conceit. Just knowledge of what he was capable of.

  She tried to pull her arm free, but his hold was firm enough that her efforts were in vain. She knew that when she finally freed herself it was because he allowed it.

  “Very well. Then do your job, Marshal, and let’s get up this damn hill.”

  Riley stood there for a moment and watched Jenna, with her head held high, walk ahead of him.

  “Damn, she’s got a stubborn streak that wasn’t there before,” he muttered, his gaze warm with admiration.

  Jenna had a few choice names to call Riley, but none of them held even a hint of admiration.

  Her legs ached from the upward climb, and she was positive a couple of pebbles had found a new home in her shoes. She worried she’d have a blister, but she wasn’t about to stop to empty her shoes. Not after her haughty escape from Riley, who she could hear climbing behind her. Muttered curses fell from his lips with each step he took. Since she knew he couldn’t see her face, she smiled freely. The pebbles in her shoes and the ac
he in her legs suddenly didn’t feel so bad.

  When they reached the top of the hill they found they weren’t the only ones to take advantage of the private meadow. Another couple had spread out a blanket and were more engrossed in each other than the beautiful scenery around them.

  “I don’t think they’re dangerous,” Jenna said airily. “Can you imagine how much planning would have to be done in hopes we would show up at the same place they were in hopes they could rub us out.”

  Riley shot her a dark look that easily told her what he thought of her remark. He shrugged off his backpack and dropped it to the ground.

  “Did anyone ever tell you that a smart mouth gets you exactly nowhere?”

  “Ooh, tough talk from the guy with the badge.” She opened the backpack and pulled out the food containers and several bottles of sparkling water.

  She looked up and batted her eyes at him, giving him her most guileless expression. “Mr. Macho.”

  Riley muttered a curse as he dropped to the ground beside her.

  “I liked you better the other way,” he groused, opening one of the containers and pulling out a chicken breast. He bit into the meat and pulled it free with his teeth.

  “The other way. Of course. You’re talking about the Jenna who hung on to your every word. The Jenna who agreed with you without reservation. The Jenna who always gazed at you with open admiration like a lost little puppy.” She batted her eyes in a flirtatious manner that quickly turned mocking. “Get real, Riley. I was a naive child then. I saw the world as a mass of brilliant colors. A world that I felt was there to entertain me. Give in to my every whim. I didn’t look beyond tomorrow because today was too much fun.”

  She opened another container and spooned seafood salad onto a small plate. She stabbed her fork into the tasty contents then stopped. She looked up. All mockery was gone from her gaze as she stared at him. Now her deep blue eyes were shadowed with sorrow.

  “It didn’t take me long to learn what it meant to be afraid,” she said in a flat voice. “Funny thing, Riley. I discovered the world isn’t as nice as I thought it was. In other words, I grew up.”

  In the past his searing gaze would have sent her running because it was so powerful. She wouldn’t have known how to handle this side of him. Now she just stared back.

  “Sorry, tiger, I think you’ve lost your touch,” she mocked.

  Riley slowly lowered his gaze until they rested on her breasts. It wasn’t long before her nipples tightened against the soft cotton top. His eyes drifted upward, one brow cocked as if to say I don’t think so.

  Jenna calmly poured the sparkling water into two cups and handed one to Riley.

  “It may not be icy cold, but it should be sufficient to cool you off.”

  Riley’s grin was wolfish as he took the cup from her and lifted it in a silent toast.

  Jenna was also gracious enough not to gloat. She merely inclined her head in acceptance of his salute.

  “Oh, look brownies,” she murmured, checking another container. “And I do believe they have cream cheese frosting.” She dipped her finger into the thick frosting and lifted a bit to her lips. “Yes, it’s definitely cream cheese. Don’t expect to get any.” She protectively cradled the container in her lap.

  “You never can tell.”

  Considering their conversation during lunch, Jenna was surprised the air wasn’t so charged the grass had turned brown.

  After they finished eating, Riley helped Jenna clean up and then announced he was taking a nap. He lay back on the blanket and closed his eyes. It wasn’t long before Jenna could hear his snores.

  She lay back on the cloth prepared to enjoy the warm, afternoon sun. She knew that while Riley appeared to be deeply asleep, there was still a part of his brain on alert. If anyone came too close to them, he would have been sitting up, looking as if he hadn’t just been asleep.

  She turned her head slightly, seeing the couple across the meadow. Apparently, they were so engrossed in each other they didn’t mind having observers.

  Jenna quickly turned away. Partially to give them privacy and partially because watching the lovers brought a warm ache to the center of her body. The only problem was, when she turned away, she was looking at Riley’s body.

  Closing her eyes didn’t erase the sight of the lovers from her brain. There was no doubt lust ran rampant in their veins. And right now, it was starting to run hot in her veins.

  She opened her eyes and found Riley lying on his side, his head propped up on his hand. His dark eyes betrayed no emotion, but his body didn’t have the ability to hide it.

  Jenna said nothing. She just closed her eyes again. It seemed like an eternity before she heard the rustling sounds of Riley’s body settling back down.

  Jenna was grateful Riley didn’t say anything about the charged moment on the mountain during their walk back to the resort. Nor did he say anything when they entered the bungalow.

  But she did notice that he went outside to the small pool and swam continuous laps for the next two hours.

  When he finally pulled himself out of the water, his chest was heaving and his body shook from the overload. He brushed past her and went into the bathroom. Moments later, the shower was drumming against the tile.

  She knew she had a lot to think about. Riley’s reason to be with her may have been for protection, but there was more than that between them. They also shared a past. A very intimate past. He told her that was over. After all, she was the one who had ended their relationship.

  In retrospect she knew she should have talked it over with him three years ago. She should have insisted to the marshal in charge of her case that she needed to see Riley. She should have sat down with Riley and explained to him why she was entering the Witness Relocation Program. Why she felt she had to enter it alone.

  She wondered what she would have done if she’d known then he was planning to leave the Marshal’s Service, anyway.

  She also wondered what would have happened if she hadn’t been in the wrong place at the wrong time. Would she and Riley still have been together? Or would Riley’s insistence on no children, and his dark intensity, have pushed her away in the end? Would she have left because she needed more than he could give? So many questions and so few answers she could give herself.

  From the beginning, she knew Riley was a straightforward person. He knew the dark side of life and had even lived it at times. That was his reason for not wanting children. He feared they would end up in that dark side. He hadn’t stopped to think that a child of theirs could never be anything but a part of each of them.

  Jenna knew little about Riley’s life before they were together. It seemed they always had something to talk about other than themselves on a personal level. Now she wished they had talked more about themselves.

  She scanned her memory. She knew he had no family. At least, he’d never mentioned any to her. She hadn’t met too many of his friends, and he’d pretty much kept her away from people he worked with. His apartment was so sterile, it could even have passed for a motel room. That was why he’d moved into her loft.

  She stifled a soft sigh of regret. She missed her loft with all its windows and a postcard view of the beach.

  It had been the first time she’d lived on her own, so she’d allowed her creativity to blossom. Window treatments had been bold primary colors while cream-painted walls were covered with her paintings. Other walls were painted in equally bold colors to denote the different rooms.

  When Riley moved in with her, his idea of decorating was to bring his clothing in a couple of suitcases and a lockbox for his weapons.

  That was something else she learned: law enforcement didn’t refer to them as guns but weapons. And law enforcement officers didn’t always have glamorous jobs where they worked undercover, driving around in fancy cars and hobnobbing with the upper echelon of criminals.

  She knew little about Riley’s work. He had kept quiet about it, and she knew better than to ask. Instead she tr
ied not to worry, the nights he wasn’t there. She never told him of the fear she experienced when he was gone without a word for days on end. She refused to watch any television program that featured police work of any kind. She never wanted to think he could be hurt and bleeding somewhere. Or worse.

  In the past few days she’d come to know more about his work than she had before. And what she saw, she freely admitted she didn’t like.

  Even during dinner nothing was said about the tension that radiated between them that afternoon.

  Jenna was startled when she saw the couple she’d seen earlier. They may have been sitting across from each other in a formal dining room, but the expressions on their faces said they would have preferred a great deal more privacy.

  “I know they like to recommend all the fresh fish here, but I’d still rather have a good steak,” Riley muttered, glancing at the menu.

  “You might want to remember fish is healthier for you,” Jenna murmured, already deciding on scallops.

  “Good. Because I’m still having a steak.”

  “You had steak last night. Why can’t you try something else?”

  “Last night I had New York cut. Tonight, I’ll have filet mignon. How’s that?”

  “No difference in my mind.”

  Jenna tried to be discreet, but she couldn’t help feeling curious about their fellow diners. A few faces were familiar, but there were also some new ones. Some sported painful-looking sunburns as they shifted uncomfortably in their chairs.

  “It looks as if more than a few guests should have considered sunblock today.” She picked up a soft breadstick and bit into it. She smiled as the taste of garlic and butter exploded in her mouth.

  Riley winced as he glanced at the sunburn victims.

  “I guess they were thinking more about getting a tan than the effects of too many hours under the sun,” he said in a low voice. “How long do you think it will take before they start peeling?”