Gift of Fire

that a strange way to feel?”
    Verity unconsciously touched her stomach. “No,” she said. “I think I know exactly how you feel,”
    “You are still with Jonas?”
    “Jonas?” Verity glanced at him; he was standing in front of the window, watching the harbor activity. “Yes, I’m still with him.”
    Jonas looked over his shoulder, scowling. She smiled blandly back at him.
    “Good,” said Caitlin. “The two of you need each other. You’re so good for each other.”
    “Caitlin, I’m calling to ask a favor. Or rather, Jonas wants to ask a favor.”
    “Anything, Verity.”
    “Do you still have those old records from the Department of Paranormal Research?”
    “They’re filed in the basement. Why?”
    “I’ll let Jonas explain.” Jonas walked toward her and Verity handed him the phone.
    “I’ve got a list of names, Caitlin,” he said without preamble. “I need to know if you’ve got any information on them in those old files.”
    “Just a second, let me get a pen and paper.” There was a small clatter on the other end of the line. “All right, Jonas. Give me the names.”
    “Elyssa Warwick, her brother Doug, Oliver Crump, Preston Yarwood, and Slade Spencer. I think the last one, Spencer, may have a drug problem.”
    “I’ll see what Tavi and I can turn up. It’ll take a while, though. How soon do you need the information?”
    “As soon as possible.” Jonas threw a wry glance at Verity. “Verity has chosen a new career path for me. I’m in the middle of my first consulting case.” He read her the phone number off the phone.
    “Where is that area code?” Caitlin asked curiously.
    “The Northwest, near Seattle. The case is supposed to be part business and part vacation. We’re on an island in the San Juans.”
    “At this time of year?”
    “Yeah. Verity thought it would be a good substitute for Hawaii.”
    Caitlin chuckled softly. “Is she still of the same opinion?”
    “You know Verity. She insists on looking on the bright side. She was doing a good job of it, too, until she found out the bathrooms in this bed-and-breakfast place are down the hall.”
    “Quaint. Probably reminds her of some of the dumps her father and she lived in when she was a kid.”
    Jonas raised his eyebrows. He held the phone away from his ear and just looked at it for a moment before saying slowly, “How did you know about the kinds of places she lived in as a kid?”
    “Verity and I are friends,” Caitlin said quietly. “We’ve talked. I hope one of these days you and I will be able to be friends, too, Jonas. In the meantime, I certainly owe you a few favors. I’ll see if I can find any of these people in the old files.”
    “Thanks.” The clipped word was grudgingly spoken, but it was meant. Jonas hung up the phone. He turned around to see Verity digging high heels and pantyhose out of the seemingly bottomless duffel bag.
    “You’ve been keeping in touch with her,” he said in a strangely neutral tone.
    “We’re friends.”
    “You’ve got a strange notion of friendship.”
    “If you think my friends are strange,” Verity shot back, “you should meet my lover.”
    For an instant she thought he was going to lose his temper. But he shocked her by taking the remark seriously. “Do you really think I’m strange, Verity?” Jonas asked roughly. “is that what’s been bothering you lately? You’ve come to the conclusion that I’m some kind of freak?”
    She wished she’d kept her mouth shut. “Don’t be a total ass,” she scolded. “Of course I don’t think you’re a freak. I think of you as the sexiest thing to come along since black lace underwear. Now stop talking nonsense and get dressed. It’s almost dinnertime, and I’ve found a nifty place in the guidebook.”
    Jonas smiled slightly, but his eyes were still watchful. “Cute and quaint?”
    “I believe it has a nautical theme,” Verity remarked serenely.
    “Why doesn’t that surprise me?”
    She handed him a strip of silk. “Here.”
    “What’s this?”
    “Very funny. You know perfectly well it’s a tie.”
    “Is this a hint that I’m supposed to dress tonight?”
    “It is.” She collected her silk dress from the closet. “Wear something besides jeans with that tie.”
    “Right, boss.”
    ***
    An hour later, Verity confronted Jonas over her salad. This time the guidebook had not been misleading. The restaurant theme was painfully nautical. There were stuffed fish displayed on the walls, a display of