Hart To Hart (16 page)

“You’re up,” he said, without turning around. She hadn’t been that loud and even had on her wool socks. How had he heard her?

“Yup.” She moved behind him and was about to wrap her arms around his waist when she stopped.

That was what she used to do when they were married. Leaving would be harder if she fell into that habit again.

“Hope you still like scrambled eggs,” he said.

“I do. That coffee I smell?”

“The black mug’s yours. I already added a drop of cream.”

Aw. He remembered. Ellie moved around him, picked up the cup, and brought it to her lips. The first taste was divine. “Perfect.”

Outside, the sky was a cerulean blue, and the ground was covered in a few inches of clean white snow.

Vic looked over at her. “If you want, we can go out and play after breakfast.”

“Play? I’m not getting naked in the snow.”

He burst out laughing. “I’ve really fucked things up, haven’t I? You must think I’m just a horny old man.”

“If the shoe fits.” She raised her brows.

Vic growled. “Watch it. I can still take you down. I only need one hand to tickle you.”

Yikes. She was so sensitive. The slightest finger wiggle and she was a mess. “Trust me, I remember.” She sipped her coffee and walked over to the kitchen table that was already set and sat down. “What time did you get up this morning?”

“Five.”

“Why so early?”

“Couldn’t sleep. I wanted to go through the names of the men I’d pissed off to see if any were potential suspects. Trust me there were a lot.”

Ellie leaned her elbows on the table and made herself at home. Even though someone wanted to harm them, it didn’t diminish the peacefulness of this morning. “Find any possibilities?”

“After breakfast, I’ll show you the most promising names.”

She didn’t hold much hope, but she’d look anyway. Vic brought over the food on a platter. She helped herself, relaxing for the first time in a long while. “You really think you’ll capture him?”

“Yes. Criminals slip up eventually. If it is the same person doing all of this, I’m a bit impressed that he’d travel from Virginia to Montana.” Vic ate his eggs, washed it down with coffee, and then set his fork down. “Here’s the thing. I get the sense he didn’t want to harm you in Virginia.”

“I was thinking about that. The only purpose of scaring me would be to drive me to you, but I didn’t come for you. No offense.”

“None taken, which makes me think this guy isn’t very thorough—just pissed and obsessed with what I’ve done.”

Ellie hadn’t wanted to ask, but she needed to know. “Do you think he missed Charlotte on purpose because he thought it was me?” Her palms sweated.

“I don’t know.”

So they were back to square one. After they finished, she cleared the dishes while Vic retrieved his laptop.

“Take a look at these four men. I’ve narrowed it down the best I could. They’ve all had a known address in Virginia at some point in their life and were related or associated with the men I’ve put in jail.” Vic turned the computer toward her.

She studied each man, trying to imagine him with or without a beard, with or without glasses, and even with different colored hair. “Sorry, I don’t recognize any of them. Can you forward these to my phone? Perhaps something will come to me later.”

“Sure. I’ll keep looking.”

Ellie didn’t know why she was so disappointed. Had she really expected it to be that easy? Part of her wanted to believe it would be. Then again, if she could point to the man, Vic would have arrested him, and she’d have headed home. The thought of returning to her life should excite her, but somehow it didn’t.

“Want to build a snowman?” Vic asked.

“A snowman?”

“It’s easy. Make a snowball and then roll it into a big ball. Repeat three times.”

“I know how to make a snowman.” They’d made many of them when Charlotte was little.

“Or we can do a snow woman if you want to be gender unbiased.”

She laughed. “I can’t imagine what you’d use for nipples.”

“Coal?”

She didn’t want to get into that discussion. She seemed to be taking after Vic since her mind had gravitated toward something sexual. Had they been this active when they first met? She mentally shrugged. That was so long ago she couldn’t remember.

“Works for me.” Ellie pushed back her chair. “Let me suit up. I’m not used to the cold like you are.”

Vic followed her. Only then did she remember she was in his room. She pulled on her jacket, hat, gloves, and boots. Vic did the same.

“Remember when Charlotte was really little, we had to fight with her to even play outside?” Vic asked. “She hated the cold.”

“She seems to relish it now.” Proof that people could change. “I remember when you started making a snowman, Charlotte watched you from the window. She wanted to help so badly, she finally gave up her fear and joined you.” Ellie leaned back with a smile.

“I remember. What do you say to making more memories?” Vic asked.

“Sure.” As dangerous as those might be.

Ellie and Vic stepped outside, the reflection of the sun off the snow nearly blinding her. She shielded her eyes and studied the surroundings. While there were a few homes nearby, basically they were out in the open with the majestic mountains in the background. “It’s so quiet,” she said.

Vic nodded. “That was the first thing I noticed about this state when I came out here—its vastness and its serenity.”

While it was cold outside, the lack of wind made it pleasant. “How about a contest?”

Vic shook his head. “You don’t learn, do you? I’m going to win. What will be my reward?”

“Nothing sexual.”

“Spoilsport.”

She laughed. “The loser has to give the winner a foot rub.”

“How does that not lead to sex? You know a good massage is foreplay.”

Ellie blew out a breath. Poor Vic. “If this is the way you treat your dates, it’s no wonder you’re alone.”

He pinched his brows together. “Ouch. I’ll have you know I could have any woman I want. I just haven’t found anyone in Rock Hard that has excited me.”

“Say it a few more times and you might believe it.” She was getting off track. “Will you promise to be an impartial judge when you see what I build?”

“Absolutely. Is there a time limit?”

“Yes. Whoever finishes first gets to call time.”

“Deal.”

Ellie really hadn’t thought this through. She had initially thought she’d build a snow woman, but that was too common. She was an artist and creativity was her game. While Vic began rolling snow to make a ball, she decided to go with an ice-fishing scene. Getting on her hands and knees, she began to dig a hole that would represent where a person would fish, and then she’d craft a fishing pole of sorts next to it. On the side of the hole would be a pail and some fish.

“Do you remember the one Christmas when we took Charlotte sledding?” Vic asked.

She was about to say they’d taken their daughter sledding only one time together, but it hadn’t been his fault he couldn’t be home. With a few exceptions, Vic had called to wish them a happy holiday.

“Yes. Charlotte mentions it from time to time.”

He blew out a breath. “Yeah, I bet she does because it was so rare for me to be there for her.”

The pain in his voice tore at her. Ellie didn’t want to turn the day into remembering all the sadness. With the hole dug, she made a pole. She next fashioned a fairly large fish with his mouth open. If she had time to scrounge up some stones for the eyes, she would add them. Next came the pail. She thought she was done, until she studied the fishing pole. Damn, but she needed a line.

Ellie sat on the ground and unlaced her boot. She then stuffed the eyelet in the end of the rod. She glanced over at Vic who seemed to be making excellent progress. Ellie needed to find those stones for the eyes. They’d add a lot to the finished product.

Vic placed the head on his snowman. Darn. She needed to delay him. She made three snowballs. If he looked over, because she’d stacked them, he’d think they were part of her design.

When he wasn’t looking, she heaved one at him and hit him squarely in the back. He turned around.

“You want to fight? I’ll show you a fight.”

Vic rolled a handful of snow into a ball and tossed it at her. It didn’t have a lot of force, which enabled her to step out of the way. “Missed. Ha, ha.”

As he bent down to make another snowball, she picked up two from her arsenal. Just as she rushed closer to make sure she wouldn’t miss, Vic pounced on her and stuffed the snow down her front.

She froze both literally and figuratively. She patted her chest to help absorb the cold, but that only made the snow turn to liquid and drip down to her waist. “That wasn’t fair.”

His eyes widened. “Fair? Who threw the first snowball?”

“I did, but you should have confined the fight to throwing not stuffing.”

“Really?” Vic was now standing inches from her, but she could tell he was baiting her to do something else.

“Really.”

“Nineteen years of marriage and I didn’t think you would stoop so low.” He nodded to her chest. “You need help getting warm?”

By now, her body had heated the wetness. “What do you think you could do?”

“Lick it dry?”

When had he turned so ridiculous? And fun. And charming. “I think we should judge our work now even though I’m not quite done.”

“Okay, I’ll look at yours and you can look at mine.” He grinned.

“We are talking about our sculptures, right?”

He laughed. “Certainly, I’m not sex crazed.”

“Uh-huh.”

With her head held high, Ellie walked past him and studied the lopsided snow person. “Why is the head bigger than the body?” It was the strangest snowman in the world.

“That’s an imitation of me. I have a fat head.”

“Meaning you are a fat head?”

“Yup.”

This was becoming rather strange. At least he’d given the figure feet and a nose. He hadn’t found any objects to make the eyes or mouth yet though. “You gave this snow person abdominals?” She’d never seen a snowman with rippled stomach muscles. “Snowmen are supposed to be round, not flat.”

He said nothing. She walked back to where he was staring at her work. “Is something wrong?”

“No. It’s remarkable. How did you think of this?”

The awe in his tone pleased her. “I am an artist, remember?”

“A painter, not a sculptor.”

It wasn’t that good. “So do I win?”

“Hell yeah. One foot massage coming up. I can’t wait. Let’s go.”

Somehow, she had a feeling Vic would not limit the touching to just her feet.

Chapter Fifteen

“W
hat would you
like to do for the evening? Cards or a board game?” Trent stood in the living room at a cabinet filled with games.

Charlotte sidled up next to him. “How about chess?”

All day long, Trent had acted like she was fifteen and he was some old man. She wanted to show him that while she didn’t excel at math or science in school—or any subject other than art for that matter—she wasn’t dumb. Just disinterested.

“You really know chess?”

When her father had been home, the two of them liked to play and Dad was really good. His mind worked about ten moves ahead. “Why don’t we try and see?”

“Okay.” Trent set the board on the coffee table between them. “You can have white.”

That meant she’d go first. Her standard opening involved moving her pawn in front of the knight.

“Hmm. What should I do?” Trent mimicked her move.

The start of the game was often the same. Next she put her bishop in the spot where the pawn had been, thus protecting her rook from being captured by a sneaky bishop.

“I see you have played before.”

She liked the grudging respect. Trent moved another pawn. She wasn’t sure of his strategy, but she methodically marched her pieces forward. While Trent moved quickly and decisively, she managed to capture his King. “Checkmate!”

Victory never tasted sweeter.

He blew out a breath. “I have to say I misjudged you, Charlotte. Care to try again?”

They had nothing else to do. It wasn’t as if he’d suggested they have wild passionate sex by the fireplace or anything. If he had, she would have answered the same. “Sure.”