Lover Beware

“Well,” she hedged, “I guess that’s not altogether true. There is the exception of my sisters. They expect me to boss them around, though, because I’m the oldest and I’m very good at bossing.”
    “Did you want to come back here, Sarah?” The sound of the sea was soothing. It did sound like home.
    “More than anything. I’ve felt the pull of the ocean for a while now. I’ve always known I’d come back home and settle here. I just don’t know when I’m going to manage it. Damon, your house has no security whatsoever. Did it occur to you they could waltz in here and grab you again?”
    Damon tried not to read too much into that worried note in her voice. Tried not to think that it was personal. “It’s been months. I thought they would leave me alone.”
    Sarah whistled softly. “You even lie with that straight face and those angelic eyes. I’m taking notes. That one is right up there with swearing at the ceiling. You wanted them to come after you, didn’t you?” It was a shrewd guess. She hadn’t known him long enough to judge his character yet, but she’d read the files thoroughly and every word portrayed a relentless, tenacious man, focused on his goals at all times.
    “Wouldn’t you? They forced me to make a choice between information that is vital to our nation and my friend’s life. He was looking at me when they shot him, Sarah. I’ll never forget the way he looked at me.” He rubbed his throbbing temple. The vision haunted his dreams and brought him out of a sound sleep so that he sat up, heart pounding, screaming a denial to the uncaring night.
    “What kind of a plan do you have?”
    Damon felt his stomach knot up. Her tone was very interested. She expected a plan. He had the reputation of being a brain. He should have a plan. His plan had been to draw his enemies to him and dispose of them, first with his cane and then he’d call the sheriff. He doubted if Sarah would be impressed.
    She sighed. “Damon, tell me you did have a plan.”
    “Just because you walk on water doesn’t mean everyone else does,” he muttered.
    “Who told you I walked on water?” Sarah demanded, annoyed. “For heaven’s sake, I only did it once and it was just showing off. All my sisters can do the same thing.”
    He gaped at her, his eyes wide with shock. She kept a straight face, but the laughter in her eyes gave her away. Damon did the noble thing and shoved her off the bed. Sarah landed on the floor, her soft laughter inviting him to join in.
    “You so deserved that,” she said. “You really did. Walk on water. That’s a new one. Where did you hear that? And you believed it, too.”
    Damon turned on his side, propped up on one elbow to look down at her. “I started the rumor myself at Inez’s store. For a minute there I thought I was psychic.”
    “Oh, thank you so much; now all the kids will be asking me to show them. The next time you come calling I’m going to sic the dogs on you.”
    “What makes you think I’m going to come calling?” he asked curiously.
    “I never told you about the paint preservative. You’re a persistent man.” She leaned her head against the bed. “Do you have a family anywhere, Damon?”
    “I was an only child. My parents died years ago, first my father, then six months later my mother. They were wild about each other.”
    “How strange that would be, to grow up alone. I’ve had my sisters always and can’t imagine life without them.”
    His fingers crept of their own accord to find the thick mass of her hair. She was wearing it in a tight braid, but he managed to rub the silky strands between his thumb and finger. How the hell did she manage to get her hair so soft? Mysterious Sarah. He was fast beginning to think of her as his Sarah. “Do you like them all?”
    Sarah smiled there in the darkness. She loved her sisters. There was no question about that, but no one had ever thought to ask if she liked them. “Very much, Damon. You would, too. Each of them is unique and gifted in her own way. All of them have a great sense of humor. We laugh a lot at our house.” He was tugging at her hair. It didn’t hurt, in fact it was a pleasant sensation, but it was causing little butterfly wings to flutter in the pit of her stomach. “What are you doing?”
    “I snagged my watch in your braid and thought I’d just take it out,” he answered casually. He was lying and he didn’t even care that it was a lie and that she knew it was a lie. Any excuse