Finding Home (6 page)

“Yeah, time to go.”

“You hurry home, Colton Harris.”

“Yes, ma’am.  I’ll see you
soon.”

“Bye, Colt.”

Ending the call, she went in to her
computer, hooked up her phone and printed out all five of the pictures he’d
sent her.  She knew the one of him in the white shirt and grey jacket was
going to make its way onto her desk at work.  The others she’d place in
her bedroom on her bedside table. 

She decided he needed more pictures
of her, just to be fair, so she spent the next hour or so combing through her
picture files on the computer, looking for shots that would be good to send
him.  She didn’t really have any professional quality pictures, but
luckily her friends were picture nuts and constantly tagged her in the pictures
they posted on their Facebook pages so she did have some good ones to choose
from. 

After finding and sending four that
she thought he would like, she finally changed out of her work clothes and set
about making her dinner.  While she ate, she looked around her small house
with a critical eye, knowing that if things continued to progress with Colt, he
would be coming to her house at some point.  How would someone who lived
in such a luxurious house as his view her little 1950s era house?  The
only updates she’d done since her parents died were to paint the walls and rip
up the carpet in the living and dining areas and sand and refinish the wood
floors instead.  The bedrooms still had the original carpeting that she
was saving up to replace.  Still, while small and old, she kept the house
clean and neat and organized.  Would it impress him that she was able to
maintain a house on her own or would it’s lack of sophistication be a turn-off
for him?  Coming into her neighborhood and seeing her house would be his
first real indication of the fact that she had not grown up in quite the same
way he had.  Would it make a difference to him, seeing where she
lived?  Knowing she didn’t really come from a wealthy family and actually
seeing the proof of it were two different things.  She wondered if he
really could accept her even though she came from a much different world than
his.

Colt had never cared about leaving
for one of these jobs for his former team leader until now.  Before, if
Claire and the girls hadn’t needed him, he’d accept the occasional job Mike
Casiano threw his way, just to break the tedium of civilian life.  As he
scrolled back and forth between the pictures Sarah had sent him, he knew his
heart and focus were really not into the job at hand, and that irritated
him.  He’d just met the girl, for Pete’s sake!  Just met her, and
couldn’t get her out of his head.  He thought about her all the time, no
matter what he was doing. 

God, he was behaving like a lovesick
teenager!  Glancing back down at his phone, at the picture of her on her
bed, he knew he was in trouble.  How could someone he just met be this
deep into his thoughts? 

“Hey,” his former colleague, Tessa
Kelly, now Tessa McCanton said, coming to sit beside him.  “Whatcha
looking at?”

He scrolled to one of the pictures
Sarah just sent and then turned the phone to face Tessa.  She looked down
at it and then back up at him, eyes wide in question.

“Her name is Sarah.  I just met
her on Friday.”

“Really?  And you’re sitting
here staring at her picture?  She must be something.”

He smirked at her.  “Well, she
just sent the pictures about five minutes ago so I haven’t had long to look at
them.”

“So, what’s the story with her?”

He turned the phone back around and
studied the picture, memorizing every detail.  He told Tessa how they met
and that he’d spent Friday evening and most of Saturday with her.  He saw
a slow smile spread across his friend’s face and it made him shift in his seat,
a little uncomfortable with her knowing smile.

“Oh, relax, Colt, I’m not going to
give you a hard time about her.  I think it’s great that you’ve met
someone.”

He chuckled.  “That’s because
you’re still in your newly wedded bliss phase wanting everyone around you to be
in love, too.”

“I want everyone I care about to be
happy,” Tessa amended.  “And if you find love, more’s the better. 
But I’ll spare you the mushy stuff,” she added with a wink.

“Speaking of, how are Shane and
Gabriel?”

“They are wonderful.  Though,
Gabe is teething now, so as much as I love him, I’m kinda glad for this little
side trip.”

Colt nodded toward the front of the
plane where their former CO and Tessa’s now step-father was seated.

“How’s Gib been?”

Tessa smiled.  “You wouldn’t
believe how different he is.”

“We’re all different on the civilian
side,” he pointed out.

“True.  Do you miss it?”

“Not so much anymore.  My girls
keep me busy.”

“And now you have her,” Tessa said,
nodding toward his phone.

“And now I have her,” he confirmed.

Over the course of the next ten days,
Colt texted Sarah when he could and called her once.  The job had turned
out to be nothing exciting and extremely tedious.  He had several long
days of just sitting in the tech van, monitoring the activities of the
suspected kidnappers.  It made him realize that he really didn’t want to do
that kind of work any longer.  The need for the excitement was really no
longer there.  Listening to Tessa’s conversations with her husband,
talking about their baby boy, made him see that maybe he hadn’t been looking
for anyone when he looked up and saw Sarah that day, but now that the
opportunity was potentially there, he thought settling down sounded
inviting. 

He found that even through texting,
conversation with Sarah flowed light and easy.  Her wit and humor were a
constant surprise and he looked forward to their stolen bits of talk whenever
he could get them.  He couldn’t wait to get back to her.

On the one-week anniversary of the
day they met, Sarah received flowers at work.   Colt sent a bouquet
of pale pink roses with a note that sent a shiver down her spine.  It
read: 
More than the promise of white, just a touch of something on its
way to red;  a whisper, a caress, a blush.  I’ll see you soon, baby.

Never in her wildest dreams would she
ever have believed she’d be the type to like being called ‘Baby’, but coming
from Colt, she found she didn’t mind.  The note was the most beautiful
thing she’d ever received.  She couldn’t wait to see him again, but she
had no clue when he would be back. 

For now, she tried to go back to her
normal life, the way things had been just a few short days ago, but it was
difficult.  In less than forty-eight hours, he turned her world completely
upside down.  At work, she tried to keep herself as busy as possible, but
once she was home, she stayed glued to her phone, waiting for some kind of
contact from him.  She refused to think about how pathetic that might be,
what it said about her, pining for a man she just met. 

The last time she heard from him, he
sent a short message saying things were heating up and she may not hear from
him for a couple of days.  That had been three days ago.  Now it was
the second Saturday that he’d been gone and she was really starting to get
worried.  He kept promising her that nothing he was doing was dangerous,
but then she couldn’t understand what would keep him so busy that he couldn’t
contact her unless it was dangerous.

She’d spent most of her day Saturday
with Janine at Evan’s baseball games.  When she got home, she went to the
grocery store and then tried to settle her mind by watching a movie.  It
wasn’t working.  She wanted to pick up the phone and text him but knew it
was probably better that she didn’t bother him while he was working. 

By the end of the day, she was
exhausted just from trying not to worry about him or think about him too
much.  She’d brought a blanket to snuggle with on her couch and was
scrolling through her pictures when there was a heavy knock on her door. 
Glancing at the time on her phone, she saw it was nearly two in the
morning.  Unsure of who would be knocking on her door that late, she
cautiously looked through her peephole and gasped when she saw who it
was.  She fumbled her way through the locks and ripped the door open to
see Colt standing on her porch, several days growth of beard on his face,
wearing a loose white button down shirt and jeans and looking absolutely
gorgeous.

“Colt!” she cried, rushing into his
arms. “How did you –“

He cut her off, crushing his mouth to
hers.  Sarah welcomed the kiss with equal passion, burying her hands in
his hair.  His hand smoothed over her hair and came to rest on her cheek
as he pulled back from the kiss.

“I think maybe you missed me?” he
said, his voice sounding amused.

“I did!  And how weird is
that?  I just met you!”

“Not weird at all,” he said, giving
her another quick kiss.

“Come in,” she invited, stepping back
from his embrace. 

He followed her in but stopped her
when she shut the door.

“You’re still dressed,” he observed,
“why aren’t you in bed?  It’s two in the morning.”

She laughed.  “I couldn’t
sleep.  See, there’s this guy and I hadn’t heard from him in a couple of
days and I was worried about him.  So, I was vegging out on the couch
watching bad movies and missing him.”

A dimple appeared in his cheek though
he didn’t smile.  He cupped her face in his hands and held her like that
for a moment.

“I’m sorry,” he whispered. 

“Don’t be.  It’s something I’ll
need to get used to if you’re going to be in my life, right?”

“I don’t take these jobs often and
after this one, I won’t be taking any for a while, unless an emergency pops up.”

“Are you hungry?  Can I get you
anything?”

“I’m good.”

“Thank you for the roses, by the
way.  They are beautiful,” she said, nodding to where they sat on a small
accent table.

“Again, nowhere near as beautiful as
you.  And to answer your unfinished question from earlier, I looked you up
the old fashioned way…in the phone book.  I probably should have waited
until tomorrow to see you, but I decided when I was on the plane that I
couldn’t wait.”

“I’m glad you came.”

“Yeah?” he asked, pressing his lips
to hers.

“Oh, yeah,” she whispered, kissing
him.  His answering groan emboldened her.  When he lifted her, she
wrapped her legs around his waist as he carried her to the sofa and sat with
her astride his lap.

“I thought about you the whole time I
was away.  You occupied my every thought, obsessively so.  I’ve never
had this kind of reaction to someone before.”

“Never?”

“I’m thirty-two years old, Sarah, and
I’ve never been in love.  I’ve had dates but no one I that I couldn’t walk
away from.  No one who took up my every thought when I wasn’t with them,
until now.  Why is that, can you tell me?  I just met you,” he said,
forehead pressed to hers.

“If you know, maybe you can explain
it to me,” she whispered, loving the warm melty feeling that flooded her at his
words.  She had her hands on his neck, toying with his hair.  After a
few moments, he leaned his head back on the sofa and he closed his eyes. 
“You are exhausted,” she noted.

“I’ve been up for fifty-two
hours.  As much as I hate leaving you, I should probably head home.”

“That’s a thirty minute drive and
you’re barely keeping your eyes open,” she crawled off his lap and knelt at his
feet, removing his boots.

“Sarah,” he started but she shushed
him.

“You’re here, no need for you to risk
heading home and falling asleep at the wheel.”  His eyes were on her as
she began working the buttons of his shirt, then smoothed it off his broad
shoulders.  “Now, then,” she said, getting up and covering him with the
blanket that was on the sofa.  “I’ll be right back.”  She crossed to
the coat closet near the front door, pulled out another blanket then came back
to the couch and sat beside him.  “Lie down, put your head in my lap.”

“Are you sure about this?”

“Yes.  This couch is really,
really comfortable.  That’s why I bought it.  It’s soft and comfy and
that’s all that mattered.  Now, lie down.”

“Yes, ma’am,” he finally relented,
shifting so that his head rested on her thigh. 

Once he was settled, Sarah stretched
her legs out before her and then began to softly stroke his hair.  She
loved the feel of it.  It was thick and soft and curled around her
fingers. 

“That feels really good,” he told her
softly.

“Good.  Just relax and go to
sleep.”

He took a deep breath and within
minutes she felt his body relax as he finally let go and gave in to the pull of
sleep.  Sarah couldn’t remember ever feeling closer to anyone than she did
to Colt just then.  He was exhausted, but he came to her before going
home.  She couldn’t even begin to describe how it made her feel to know
that he looked her up in the phone book and came to her house straight from the
airport.

In the dim light from the hallway,
she could just barely make out his tattoo, and couldn’t wait to see it better
in the morning.  Feeling bold now that he was asleep, she stroked her hand
lightly down his neck and over his shoulder and pectorals, just enjoying the
feel of his warm skin under her hand.  It was thrilling to feel his
muscles, so much power underneath her fingertips.  He was a big guy,
heavily muscled.  Never in a million years would she have ever dreamed
that one day someone who looked like him could be interested in her.  Yet,
here he was, on her couch, asleep with his head in her lap.  Absolutely
a-mazing!

When Sarah awoke the next morning, she
was confused by her surroundings.  She was in her bed, but she knew beyond
a shadow of a doubt that she’d fallen asleep on her couch with Colt’s head in
her lap.  So, how had she..?

Her question was answered when there
was a movement across the room and she saw Colt walk in, bare chested, top
button open on his jeans mimicking the picture he’d sent her.

“Good morning, beautiful,” he said
softly, coming to sit on the side of her bed beside her.

“Good morning,” she echoed, raking
her fingers through her hair.  “Did you sleep well?”

“I did,” he said, reaching out to
tuck a lock of her hair behind her ear.  “Sorry I crashed on you last
night.”

“Don’t be.  I didn’t mind,” she
pushed the covers aside and tried to stand but his hand on her arm stopped
her.  “Are you hungry?  I can make breakfast and…”

He cut her off by leaning in, tagging
the back of her head in his hand and pulling him to her to give her a
kiss.  She held herself back for only a minute before fully melting into
him, opening her mouth to his insistent tongue.  He groaned against her
lips and slipped his arms around her, pulling her close and cradling her
against his chest as he deepened the kiss.  Again, he overwhelmed her,
forcing her mouth so wide she thought his tongue would surely touch the back of
her throat.  Her arms twined about his neck, hands clutching his
hair. 

He tore his mouth from hers and they
were both panting, Sarah gasping as his lips began a sensual study of her neck,
trailing to her collarbone.  One of his hands moved and was now cupping
her right breast, beginning a slow exploration of her, causing her to moan in delight. 
She felt herself beginning to fall backward beneath his weight and before she
knew it, she was on her back watching as his hands pushed her shirt up, slowly
revealing her champagne colored lacey bra.  His head dipped to kiss the
swell of her breasts and Sarah knew she was lost. 

In the back of his mind, Colt knew he
needed to stop.  That was what the rational part of his brain was telling
him.  That they hadn’t known each other that long and he didn’t want her
to think he was some sex obsessed Neanderthal, but she felt so good.  And
he knew that was no excuse.

With a groan, he pulled back. 
Sarah was looking up at him and the look on her face nearly melted him. 
Total trust shone in her eyes. 

“Don’t stop,” she whispered.

“Baby,” he started, but she leaned up
and captured his mouth.  He held her tight and returned her kiss and
determined to let her drive what would happen next.  He had no doubt she
would have given him everything had her doorbell not rung just then.

“Ignore it,” she said when he pulled
back.

He started to lean back down to her
but stopped when they heard a kid’s voice calling for her.  Sarah
stiffened, eyes wide and then scrambled up from under him.  Adjusting her
clothes, she scrambled to the door, yanking it open.

“Evan?  What’s wrong?”

He gave her a funny look she couldn’t
quite place.  “There’s a truck in your driveway,” he stated.

She raked her fingers through her
hair.  “Yes, I have company.”

Evan’s face changed and she knew that
Colt must have walked up behind her, and that the boy recognized him.  She
saw Evan’s eyes dart to her then back over her shoulder to take in all that was
Colt.

“You must be Evan,” Colt said,
extending his hand to the pre-teen.  “I’m Colt.  You pitched a good
game a couple of weekends ago.”

“Thanks,” Evan said, shaking Colt’s
hand.  “I didn’t know you knew Sarah.”

“We met a few weeks ago,” Sarah told
him.  “Did you need anything, Evan?”

“Huh?  Oh, no, I just wanted to
check on you and see if you were coming to my game later today.”

Sarah smiled at him, touched at his
sweetness.  She knew he considered her to be like a big sister to him and
it meant something to her that he was checking up on her.

“I will be there,” she promised him.

“OK, cool.  I guess I’ll see you
later then.”

“See ya,” she echoed, then shut the
door.  She turned to face Colt, seeing that he’d put his shirt back on,
though had only done up a few of the buttons, so that his tattoo was
showing. 

“So, the tattoo.  What does it
symbolize?”

“It’s a Samoan tribal design, with
some Aztec symbols worked in here and there,” he replied.

“Any particular meaning behind it?”

He shrugged.  “Some.  I
guess the most prevalent one would be Strength.”

She stepped closer to him, her hands
going to his buttons.  “May I see it up close?”

“Be my guest,” he answered.

She bit her lip and opened his shirt,
smoothing it off his shoulder.  The design took up his entire left
pectoral, encompassed his shoulder and upper arm and continued on down his
shoulder blade in the back.  To be honest, she’d never really cared much
one way or the other about tattoos, but looking at his now, she decided his was
really freaking hot!  But then, she conceded, she thought everything about
Colt was hot.

“It’s really cool,” she said, tracing
her hand over his muscles.  “I don’t think I could ever sit still long
enough for something like that…especially not where needles are involved.”