The Ties That Bind

extra clerical help. That's just that many more fingers in the pot."
    Wes murmured agreement. "I'll make sure she understands. She's worked here long enough to know that when you slap a Strictly Confidential label on something, you mean business. Hell, the whole company knows it." He grinned. "And if there were a few poor souls who didn't know it, they got the point when you fired George Keller several months ago."
    "Keller knew better than to open his mouth about Sherilectronics business at a party. He got what he deserved." Garth closed the folder on his desk. "Okay, that's it, Wes. I'll be gone after lunch. I'll take all the Carstairs bid work papers with me for the weekend, as usual. Everything. I don't want anything left even overnight here in the office."
    "Hell, you don't even let those papers lie around the office during lunch hour, let alone overnight or over a weekend! Some folks might call you paranoid." Wes chuckled.
    "Some folks might call me careful. I've been burned before. I don't intend to let it happen again. If you need me, you can leave a message with my answering service. I'll get back to you."
    "All right." Wes got to his feet and headed for the door. It shut silently behind him.
    Garth took one more look at the clock and decided to call it quits. Everything was under control in this world, and all he could think about now was escaping to his other world, the one where the soft, sweet lady in the castle waited for him with open arms.
    He stood up and walked to the closet to get his jacket. His bag was already packed and waiting in the Porsche. In a few hours he would be with Shannon. An unaccustomed feeling of elation gripped him.
    The pattern of his life had been altered because of what had happened between himself and Shannon last weekend. An endless series of weekend escapes stretched out before him, promising renewal and satisfaction in a world that had nothing to do with the one in which he worked.
    Garth promised himself he would do everything in his power to protect his newfound refuge and the woman who maintained it for him. On his way to the door he scooped up the bid package and shoved it into his briefcase.
    In his mind he was already nearing Shannon's cottage, anticipating her warm greeting, the good meal she would serve him and the long night ahead in her arms.
    It was just barely possible, he thought as he climbed into the Porsche, that with Shannon to go to on the weekends, he might be able to deal with the increasing restlessness he was experiencing these days at work. Knowing that the weekends would bring him the peace and comfort he needed might make it possible for him to work though the strange mood that had been plaguing him for the past few months.

-4-
    GARTH WAS EARLY. She hadn't expected him for another couple of hours. Shannon tossed aside the squeegee as she heard the crunch of tires on gravel accompanied by the well-bred roar of the Porsche engine. Hastily she removed the last greeting card from beneath the silk screen, put it carefully on the drying table and then she raced for the door.
    "I didn't expect you until this evening!" she exclaimed, coming quickly down the front steps as Garth climbed out of the Porsche and reached for his leather overnight bag.
    "I got away early." He waited for her as she rushed toward him, his eyes warm with a deeply satisfied expression.
    Shannon laughed and stopped short just as she was about to throw her arms around him. "I don't dare touch you. I've got paint all over me."
    He leaned down and kissed her, something he'd been thinking about doing for the past few hours. A firm, sensually aggressive kiss that contained a wealth of waiting hunger. "Let's go inside. It's been a long trip."
    Some of Shannon's pleasure in seeing him faded at the words. "It is a long trip, isn't it? How much time does it take to drive it? Four hours?"
    "Almost." He stepped into the cottage and set down the bag. Then he brushed his mouth across hers again, lingeringly this time. "And worth every mile."
    "I hope you continue to think so next weekend and the weekend after that." Shannon tried to keep her voice light, but she was afraid some of her uncertainty showed.
    "As long as I know you're waiting, I'll be here." Garth hung his jacket up in the hall closet, his actions making him appear very much at home. Then he turned back to her. "Show me what you're doing that's got you covered in red ink."
    Shannon's mouth curved again as she led to the way to her