Click and move. Click and move.
She worked her way over several big, flat, gray stones to the other side of the bank, hardly bothering to check where her feet went. The camera was an extension of herself, bringing the world up close yet holding it in reserve, a vantage point never more precious to her than in the past five months.
Frank was gone, having never fully recovered after a series of grand mal seizures that left him unable to speak. Perhaps it was better that way. There was no way to completely explain what he had done, even if illness was at the root of it.
The resulting publicity from her part in the investigation had left her feeling as if she’d been caught in a firestorm. After the first few days, she had no protective skin left. But that didn’t stop the onslaught. Days turned into weeks filled with federal inquiries and more testimony to give. Finally, after nearly a month, she had been allowed to leave town. She had retreated to her parents’ home in Tennessee to wait for the media circus to die down.
She worked as a stringer for AP in her home state. But after two months she realized she missed the faster pace of D.C. More than that, she missed the independence of her life with her own place in the world. Even if that meant facing up to the reality that Brad had disappeared, for the second time, from her life.
Brad hadn’t made personal contact since the day of the foiled bombing. Her attorneys, and the FBI, had made it clear that in order to keep her testimony untainted, she had to break off all contact with anyone else involved in the investigation. She knew it was the right thing to do. But still, not seeing him a final time left her with the restless, incomplete sensation of reading a book only to discover there was no final chapter.
Now she was back in D.C., doing her job. Ignoring the questioning glances, and her own regrets. Isolated, contained, she was trying to reestablish her life.
“You come here often?”
Georgie lowered her camera at the sound of a voice she hadn’t heard in months.
Brad and Zander stood before her on the gravel path that led from the road down to the creek.
She blinked to adjust her eyes to a more natural up-close and personal view of the world. “Hi.”
“Hi.” He was smiling but his gaze was unfathomable, as if he didn’t know what sort of reception to expect. “I stayed away as long as I could.”
She smiled at him. “It was too long.”
He smiled then, a quicksilver slide of warmth that went through her like a hot flash. Just like that, the world righted itself.
He opened an arm and she moved in next to his body as he hugged her shoulders. He felt good, he smelled better.
Impatient to check out the hundreds of new scents on the wind, Zander tugged at his leash. Brad unhooked him and then the pair followed more leisurely after his canine.
They walked on in silence for a few minutes.
“I’m not over it, you know. I’m trying but I can’t let it go.”
Brad didn’t say anything for a moment. Then he paused and turned her in his arms to face him. “You’re loyal and stand up for what you believe. I admire that in you more than you know. You did all you could for a sick and deluded friend. Time to think about yourself.”
Georgie slipped a hand around his waist, beneath his jacket. “You never called. I thought we were over.”
He leaned over and kissed her hair. “I thought I made it clear. We had to wait.”
“That was after you left me in my panties.”
He shook his head. “Maybe we owe each other something like a real beginning.”
“Maybe we do.”
They had paused at the edge of the creek bed where Zander was barking and splashing, chasing imaginary prey. It seemed the perfect place for a kiss.
When they broke apart, there was more than a promise of a beginning in Brad’s gaze. There was joy, and good times, and lust. “Before we go any further, I need to know how serious you are about a relationship. For instance, have you been taking any nudie pictures lately?”
Georgie grinned. “Why?”
“Because I’ve been spending a lot of time in the gym these last months working off excess energy.”
“So you think you’re pretty buff, huh?”
“I’d be more than willing to show you a few things.”
Georgie laughed and bent over, using both hands to pet Zander, who had come barging in between them at knee level. He was happy and slobbering, and wet from the belly down. “Uh-oh, doggie breath.”
“Love me, love my dog.”
Georgie slanted a glance up at Brad. “How about I love you? But I want dinner first.”
“Does that mean you’ll let me take my clothes off for you?”
“It means I’m hungry.”
“Me, too.” He leaned down to catch her expression. “We are talking about the same thing?”
Georgie grabbed her camera and held it as if weighing it. “If I were thinking strictly about myself, I’d been thinking something really quite shocking.”