Martin walked to his window and looked out. Aiden knew it meant he was supposed to wait, so he waited.
“You might think so Aiden, but it’s not true. Most agents would have hesitated. The smallest hesitation could have meant people in Idaho would have died. The remote was real. We located the explosives at Dworshak—enough to blow the entire dam. Because you acted first and thought about it later no one in Idaho died.” Martin sat back down. “You’re one of the best agents we have.”
“Thank you, sir.” Aiden swallowed the lump in his throat. Thought of his father and of Madison. Resisted the urge to touch the envelope in his pocket.
“Unofficially, we have apprehended the other nine operatives. Operation Dambusters is terminated. I think you’ve earned the right to know that. Of course, there are other threats.”
Martin’s face aged a few degrees, and Aiden realized there were things he didn’t know. Things he didn’t want to know.
“But this threat is past,” Aiden said. “What about Coyote?”
Martin shook his head. “Run to ground. We’ll catch him, eventually, if we decide we want to. For now, he’s probably more good to us out there.”
Martin glanced at the clock on the corner of his desk. “You asked to see me?”
“Yes, sir.” Aiden pulled out the envelope, slid it across the table. “I’m officially resigning my post as of today, sir.”
Martin looked at the envelope, but didn’t touch it. He raised his eyes to meet Aiden’s, and in that moment, briefly, Aiden didn’t see his commander’s eyes. Instead, he saw the eyes of his father before he’d left him in the cave...before he’d died.
“I’m not going to look at what’s in that envelope, son. In fact, I’m going to pretend you didn’t even put it on my desk. You’ve been through quite a lot the last six months. Since you’ve been with us the last seven years, you’ve been on twenty-three missions, which is more than we’d normally let an agent participate in, but you insisted. I knew you had something you were trying to prove.”
Martin stood, so Aiden stood. It was engrained in him. He was a well-trained soldier.
“Now you go on home. You’re off active duty for three months. I’ve been telling you to take some leave. Now you’re going to. You come back here in three months and we’ll talk. If you want to hand me that envelope then, I’ll consider it.”
He held out his hand, and Aiden shook it. Martin dismissed him without another word.
Aiden picked up the envelope and left the room. As he walked through the outer office, Carol smiled at him. He knew Carol didn’t listen in on Martin’s meetings, but he was willing to bet she had government issued ESP. Her understanding smile said as much.
He’d go home, spend time with Madison, reclaim his life. And in three months he’d come back and give the same envelope to Martin. Dambusters was over, the threat was past, and he was through being an agent.
AIDEN HAD NO DESIRE to open the door. He preferred to stand there and drink in the sight of her for a few more hours, maybe a few more years. Then the janitor rounded the corner of the hall, and he figured he’d better go on in before there were three of them in the room. He wanted those first moments alone. Needed her in his arms.
The sound of the sweeper making its way closer covered him opening the door, slipping into the room. He let the door shut behind him, leaned against the wall, placed the flowers he’d brought on the tardy, sign-in table.
“Do I have to sign in here if I brought you flowers?”
Her head snapped up and then she was flying across the room and into his arms, like he’d imagined while he’d crouched in the desert sand. She was softer than she’d been in his dreams, smelled impossibly sweeter. He buried his face in her hair, lost himself in the feel of her arms around this neck.
Then his lips were claiming hers, and he forgot about the missions and the school and the sweeper in the hall.
“I can’t believe you’re back.” She was laughing and pulling away at the same time, dragging him to the ridiculous tiki reading corner. “Have you been home? Why didn’t you call? I’ve missed you so much.”
She tugged him down on the floor pillows, covered him with a kiss of her own before he could answer any of her questions. He attempted to pull her back, but she laughed and scooted out of his reach.
“Watch it, cowboy. You might be on the school board, but that doesn’t mean you can do whatever you want in the tiki lounge.”
“You’re okay, Maddie? I missed you.”
“I’m fine. Of course, I’m fine. Aiden, I was so worried. What about you?” She reached out to run a hand up and down his arm, and he instinctively jerked away.
“What?”
“It’s nothing.”
“But—”
“Let’s talk about it later. Are you almost done here? I thought maybe I’d take you to dinner.”
And then her eyes were searching his, looking deep into his soul, and suddenly, he was tired. Too weary to keep up the mask. He jumped to his feet and walked around the room, picking up books and setting them down again.
“I could come back, if you need to stay. Or I could help. You know. I could help you do things.”
Aiden turned to look when she still hadn’t said anything, and found Madison had walked up behind him. She took those hands, the hands that could melt him with a touch, and placed them on both sides of his face. Kissed him ever so gently.
“Let’s go to my place, cowboy. I’ll make you some steak and eggs.”
“Steak and eggs?”
“What? You don’t eat breakfast for dinner here in Montana?”
Aiden knew she’d seen the hurt, knew the bantering was for his benefit, and he loved her all the more for it.
“Well, now I do remember my mama cooking steak and eggs up for my daddy every now and then after a hard day on the range.”
“You don’t say?”
“Course afterwards they started smooching, and we weren’t allowed anywhere near their side of the house.”
Madison walked around the room, turning off lamps, then crossed to her desk and began packing things into her laptop bag. “Aiden Lewis, you are making that up.”
“No, ma’am. I’m sure steak and eggs were always followed by our being told to go to bed early.” He watched her in the half-glow from the hallway’s fluorescent lights, thought he could drink in the sight of her forever.
“Remind me again how long your mother and daddy had been married at the time?”
“Oh, a long time.”
“And we are not. So, I’m afraid you’ll only be having breakfast tonight.”
Madison walked past him with her chin high, but made the mistake of passing within his reach. He grabbed her with his good arm and pulled her close, nuzzling her neck until he was sure her heart was beating as fast as his own.
“What were you arguing with me about?” he asked.
“Can’t remember.”
“Just like a woman.”
“Um-hm.”
“I like my eggs over easy.”
“Got it. Over easy.”
“And I like my women sassy.”
“Which explains why you’re nuzzling my neck.”
“I missed you, Madison.”
Instantly, they were serious again, and both seemed to know instinctively how close they’d come to never sharing this moment. They held each other. Held on to the moment and the knowledge of the chance they’d been given, until the janitor came in, flipping on the light and apologizing profusely.
Madison pretended to check a few things around the room, but Aiden saw her wipe the tears from her eyes.
He was lucky to be home, lucky to have her. And he wouldn’t leave again. Not for USCIS or for anyone else. It was time to settle down. As Aiden walked Madison into the parking lot, he knew—without a doubt—he’d finally found the reason that made settling down the one thing on this earth worth doing.
He knew if Dean could see him now, he’d raise a toast to that.
MADISON SET THE COFFEE to percolate, removed the steaks from the microwave where they’d been defrosting, set them in the pan, and nearly jumped out of her skin when Aiden pulled her into an embrace.
“I cannot cook with you in here.”
“We don’t need to eat.”
“Correction. You most certainly do need to eat. When was the last meal you had?”
“Hmm. Sweetheart, I’m satisfied feasting my eyes on you.”
He began to nibble on the back of her neck, and Kit picked the same moment to yowl.
“Cat food is under the sink.”
“Domestic duties.” Aiden gave her neck one last nuzzle, then turned to retrieve the kitty food. “One bowl of cat food coming up, Sir Kit.”
Aiden fed the cat, then relaxed on the bar stool watching Madison cook.
“You might as well take your jacket off. I’m going to see whatever’s wrong with your arm eventually.”
Madison resisted the urge to turn around, forced herself to focus on browning the steaks, pulling eggs, butter, and fruit from the refrigerator. She could practically hear him sorting through his options, which were precious few.
Finally, she adjusted the stove’s burner to low, picked up her glass of water, took a long drink to settle herself, then turned to face him. As she suspected, he was still wearing the brown leather bomber jacket.
“Obviously, you aren’t ready to talk about it,” she said.
“It’s not something I can really explain.”
“Fair enough.”
“If you were to ask questions I’d have to lie.”
“Then I won’t ask.”
She met his gaze. The twelve days he’d been away had given her plenty of hours to think, enough time to realize when he came back—if he came back—she was going to give this relationship all she had. She didn’t have to know where he went or what he did. All she had to know was it was over. She didn’t have to know what the scars were from. She only had to know there would be no new ones.
Walking around the bar, she moved behind him and pulled the jacket slowly from his shoulders. She sat down on the bar stool next to him, let her fingers lightly touch the bandages covering his muscles. Her heart raced as her mind calculated the short distance from his arm to his heart, and in that moment, she breathed a prayer of thankfulness for those inches. When she’d settled her emotions, she finally looked up and met his eyes.
“You said you liked those eggs over easy?”
“Over easy will be fine.”
Her fingers were still lightly resting on his arm, but now she moved both hands gently up his shoulders, then to his face. She kissed him. Let her hands trail back down his arms, stopping again above the elbows, stopping where the bandages ended.
She let her forehead rest against his. Breathed in the smell of him, the miracle of him. He was here, this night, and she wouldn’t waste that gift.
“You might want to wash up,” she whispered. “Dinner’s nearly ready.”
She walked back into the kitchen. Heard him go into the bathroom, listened to the faucet run.
She wouldn’t ask. She wiped the tears away quickly. She didn’t need to know. Had no desire to hear the details. He was here now, and he wasn’t leaving again. It was enough.
That’s what she’d learned in the last twelve days. She’d discovered who she was and that just possibly Aiden Lewis was the man who could complete her, patch the holes in her life. He had a past. So did she. They’d work through that in time. As she moved the steak and eggs to the plates, she knew it was worth working through.
Madison forced herself to focus on the meal. She continued to glance at his arm when she thought he wasn’t looking. As far as the meal, she’d yet to take a bite.
“You going to eat that steak or fork it to death?”
“I’m eating.” Her chin came up in what she hoped was a don’t mess with me gesture.
As if in proof, she popped a piece of steak into her mouth, but then her eyes slid from his eyes down his arm to the bandage and the chewing stop. She set the fork down, tried to swallow, failed, tried again.
He handed her the glass of water.
“It’s okay, Madison. It might take a while to accept the idea you have an injured man.”
“You’re my man, are you?” She spoke around the bite of steak she was still trying to chew. “Think you could fix a few things around here?”
“Of course, I could. What kind of things?”
She cleared her throat and glanced around, her mind suddenly blank. Then she spied the list on the refrigerator, hopped up, retrieved it, and handed it to him. “I’ve been meaning to give this to management, but I don’t really like the idea of a stranger being in my apartment. It’s all small stuff, and I feel silly even bringing it up now.”
“Are you kidding? I got my man card taking care of stuff like this.”
“You? You’re...rich, right? So you probably hire someone to do these things.”
“Ha! Not the Lewis way.”
“Well, it’s nothing big—leaking faucet, door hinge that squeaks, toilet that runs all night.”
“I’ve got this. I’ll stop by tomorrow and take care of it while you’re at school.”
He stuffed the list in his pocket and squeezed her hand. It felt good to talk about normal things, everyday things.
“Didn’t realize you Texas girls knew how to cook like this.”
“Excuse me? I come from the land of steak and taters.”
“How did you manage to fight those Texas cowboys off?”
“What makes you think I did?”
Aiden started laughing hard enough that Kit joined them to find out what the commotion was about. By the time dinner was over, some of the tension had eased. Aiden had even managed to prod her into talking about her classes.
“School’s going well. I love the kids. They’re even enjoying The Crucible.”
“Tell me you are not making them read that book.”
“I don’t pick the readings. The state does. You should know that. You’re on the school board.”
“I try to skim curriculum issues and stick with sports and facilities. I remember junior English though. I hated The Crucible.”
“Are you kidding? All that passion and romance and illicit love?”
“Are we talking about the same Crucible?”
“There’s only one I know of. Unless you’re confusing English with Chemistry. We’re reading the one by Arthur Miller. You know, the one where they burned the witches.”
“Maybe. I think I only read the Cliffs Notes.”
“Typical boy.”
Aiden swiped her with his dishrag, which sent Madison around the corner into the living room, flopping down on the couch.
“Other than the grading, which is always a pain, and the problems with my laptop, everything is going great.”
“Why is grading a problem?” Aiden asked.
“Too much of it. All those essays take time.”
“You really read those things? I figured teachers just stuck a grade on top.”
Madison hung her head back, petitioning heaven for patience.
“And the laptop?”
She sat up immediately, looking perplexed. “It’s the strangest thing. My laptop works fine at school, but when I’m home it acts bizarre.”
“Bizarre how?”
“As if someone else is controlling it, but I know that’s impossible.”
AIDEN TRIED NOT TO overreact to what she was saying, but a sense of dread turned his stomach to lead. Keeping his voice light, he asked, “Sure it’s not the operator?”
Aiden moved over beside her on the couch, put her legs on his lap and began massaging her feet. Her groans told him he was touching the right spots.
“Nope. I’m actually very good on computers. It might be my wireless router. I guess I should take it in, but I haven’t had time.”
“Are you receiving an intermittent signal?”
“No. Strong
, steady light. Strange, right?”
Aiden continued massaging her feet.
Madison’s hands moved to her pendant, began worrying the angel. “The mouse starts moving on its own. Opening files, things like that. Sometimes I won’t even be sitting there. Maybe I’ve watched too many Bourne movies. I’ve started to wonder if someone is remotely manipulating my files. But who would be interested in an English teacher’s files?”
Aiden was way ahead of her. Files could be manipulated remotely. Any mid-level techie could hack into a wireless router. Or she could be remembering wrong. “Sweetheart, maybe you’re working too much.”
“Seriously though, it’s strange. I’ll walk out of the room for a drink, or to check on Kit, and when I come back something is open I know I wasn’t working on.”
“What else?”
“Files will begin opening all over my computer. Sometimes my emails will open on their own. I think my computer has gone schizophrenic. Then I’ll go into work, and it seems to act fine. So, I think it might be my wireless box here. I need to take it in and have it checked. Or maybe I should buy a new one.”
“I could look at it for you. I’m pretty good with computers, you know.”
She nodded, grew suddenly quiet. When she glanced again at his arm, he noticed tears in her eyes.
“Don’t cry, Maddie.”
She nodded as if she agreed with him, but then she was in his arms sobbing.
“Hey. Hey. What is this about?”
But it was as if all the fears she’d held inside had finally broken free. She cried until his shirt was wet and she’d begun to hiccup. Then she sat up and scrubbed away her tears, smearing her makeup in the process.
“I was scared you wouldn’t be back, and you are. I was afraid we’d never...”
“You don’t have to worry about that now. You never have to worry about that again.”
She nodded, believing him, and he understood that her love for him was deep enough to bridge the past, the secrets, the things which he could never tell her.
They sat there until Kit was fast asleep and the clock told him he should go.
“When will I see you again?” she asked.
Coyote's Revenge Page 20