LAST NIGHT HAD been the most thrilling moment of Claire’s life. Vic had told her he loved and needed her. Lying there on the bed with him and his son, she’d felt complete. But she’d awakened this morning still on the bed wearing the same clothes, and both of them were gone.
Why hadn’t Vic awakened her? Maybe he and Jeremy had gotten up early and had gone out to the barn. She’d never intended to sleep in there all night. Vic must have fallen asleep, too.
She picked up her boots and hurried out of the room to her bedroom. After setting her boots inside, she walked through the house and found Jeremy in the family room watching cartoons.
“Jeremy?”
“Hi! Dad had to go to work. He left you a message on the counter.”
“Thanks.” She rushed to the kitchen and saw the note.
Claire,
Kit called me at six this morning. We’ve decided to get an early start on this case. You’ll be under surveillance to keep you safe. When I get home, you and I have a lot to talk about. Please tell me that last night wasn’t just a dream. You did say you loved me, right?
Oh, Vic—she pressed the note to her chest, dying with love for him.
“Jeremy? I’m going to shower, and then I’ll fix your breakfast. I thought it would be fun if we went to the library this morning and picked out some books to read.”
“But I want to play with Daken.”
“You can do both. Want to call Nate and see if he wants to go with us?” She bet his mom was trying to think up ways to entertain her children now that they were out of school.
Claire kept them busy all day. Since she hadn’t heard from Vic by six in the evening, she took the boys to the Dairy Queen for Hungr-Buster burgers. They topped off dinner with chocolate chip ice cream Blizzard shakes for dessert.
Pretty soon it was time to take Nate home and get Jeremy ready for bed. Her phone rang at ten o’clock. The second she saw the caller ID, she picked up.
“Vic?”
“Sorry I couldn’t get back to you until now.”
“I knew there had to be a reason.”
“Kit and I are in Luckenbach. I’ll explain everything later. All I need is the answer to one question. You’re going to marry me, right?”
What a time to ask her. Joy that he’d asked her, plus pain that he might be gone a long time, buffeted her in waves. Tears trickled down her cheeks because he wasn’t here to take her in his arms. “Yes. After last night, how could you think anything else?”
“Just making sure. Now I can breathe. We’ll talk out all the details when this is over. But this much I can tell you. We got a break in the case while we were looking at a set of tapes. It has leapfrogged me to the higher-ups faster than I would have guessed. If I get the answers I want, then this case can be closed and we can celebrate.”
She shuddered. She couldn’t think about celebrations when he and Kit were in terrible danger. After the powers that be had arranged to kidnap Jeremy, they would definitely eliminate Vic if they could. But she needed to keep that concern to herself. He’d just asked her to be his wife. If she was to break down now and beg him not to do it, what kind of a fiancée would she be?
“This means you could be gone for a while.”
“Hopefully not too long. You’ve got Carol’s and Clint’s help if you need it, plus twenty-four hour protection. Give Jeremy a kiss for me. I’ll contact you as soon as I can. You won’t be able to reach me by phone. If you have any questions, call headquarters. They’ll keep you informed and convey any messages either way.”
“Vic—please be careful and come back safe.”
“When I do, I’m going to love you senseless. Are you ready for that?”
She fought the tears. “Hey, Jim—you’re talking to Elaine. Remember?”
His deep chuckle came over the phone. “I love you, Claire.”
“I love you. More than you’ll ever know.”
When she heard the click, she could hardly bear to be cut off from him. Last night he’d broken the silence and had let her know how he felt. How unfair was it that he was snatched away from her at the very moment he told her he wanted to marry her?
No way could she keep this news to herself. After she got ready for bed, she sat down to call her parents. Her mom answered.