Kip’s expression changed. “Okay, maybe you’d rather I loved the job.”
“No,” Tam finally managed. “You took my breath away, that’s all. Not the first time, either.”
241
With an amused and slightly annoyed look, Kip prompted,
“And so your answer would be?”
“I want you to love me more than any job. Any job ever.”
“Was that so hard?”
“I don’t have a lot of practice at this.”
“You’re going to have to get some. With me. You only get to practice with me.”
Tam pulled Kip to her, gazing down into her lovely face.
“What would you like to practice first?”
Kip shivered and Tam felt a matching echo in her body. But she answered, “I would like to practice you keeping promises. I was promised mango sorbet.”
“Upstaged by your stomach. I’m wounded.”
“You love it.”
Her spirit unbelievably light, she said it with a smile because it was so easy. “I love you more.”
Kip snuggled her head against Tam’s chest. She fit so perfectly there. “I need you to say that again.”
“I love you.” Even easier. She wanted to float.
“Again—later. And tomorrow. And next week.”
“Every day, Kip.”
“Good.” She raised her head to find Tam’s gaze. “Where’s my ice cream?”
Laughing, she took Kip’s hand and they strolled the streets like any other lovers, peering in windows and finally in possession of two cones of mango sorbet. A bench on the pier was the perfect place to enjoy them. The cafe behind them was playing steel drum music that danced on the wind.
“I suppose I should call Mercedes.” Tam focused on her own cone, not daring to watch Kip for the moment. “Give her a press release.”
“This is delicious.” Kip wiggled closer, and draped Tam’s arm around her shoulders. “And yes, you probably should.”
“I think when we get to Freetown tomorrow we’re going to have to head home.”
“I know.”
242
They enjoyed their sorbet in silence for a bit. Tam surreptitiously watched Kip lick her cone. It was adolescent to get all warm and anticipatory and moist. She really didn’t intend to stop feeling this way. She wanted to feel like this most of the time. Whenever Kip was near, in fact.
“I think I feel sort of let down,” Kip said. “Nothing about you or us or this case has led me in expected directions but in the end it all resolved so easily.”
“You call that easy?”
“You know what I mean. For all the risk it felt like we took, it seemed easy.”
“It’s supposed to be like that.” She took Kip’s hand in hers.
“Most of the time, that’s exactly how it’s supposed to be. I’d like to think it was easy because we were together and everything we did together was right.”
Kip flashed her a brilliant smile. “You’re not so out of practice after all.”
“C’mon. There’s a hotel here.”
“Why go to a hotel when we have a cabin?”
Tam laughed. “Pay phone.”
“That makes more sense.” Kip blushed and let Tam pull her up to her feet.
It might have been that her relaxed tone showed, or that the steel drum music was audible, but Mercedes was not the least bit pleased to hear from her.
“I nearly didn’t accept the charges. I thought that can’t possibly be my boss, she wouldn’t wait until an hour after her lawyer called me to say everything was resolved. That must be someone else having some fun, but I took a chance.”
“I’m sorry, Mercedes. I hope I didn’t give you too big a scare.”
“Me scared? Never happened.” Her ire seemed to be abating and Tam more clearly heard the concern.
“Your timing was impeccable. How did you know to send a lawyer?”
“It was because of that model, that Wren Cantu. By the way, I worked all weekend. Was thinking someone might get in touch 243
some super stealthy way, or just, maybe, call, so you’ve got a hundred file closures waiting for you when you get back here from your ordeal, which I notice, has dance music.”
Tam laughed into the handset. “What about the model?”
“Wren Cantu called last night just as I was about to leave. It rang over from your private line and I thought it might be you.
She was really upset. She didn’t mind the reporters, but the FBI was simply too much. She didn’t know what kind of game you were playing, but... What was it she said? I think it was screw you. I asked her how she got your number and she said Nadia Langhorn gave it to her, saying you two were perfect for each other. I found that very interesting. I couldn’t reach Diane, but Hank was home—really, you should send his wife a gift. I think I woke her up.”
“And Hank told you that the Langhorns were heading here to clear my name.”
“Nobody ever tells me anything until it’s nearly too late.”
“I’ll tell you something.” Tam grinned at Kip, who had been patiently listening to her half of the conversation. “We have an Internal Audit Specialist vacancy. It seems Ms. Barrett has quit.”
Kip grinned at her.
“Has she now? To do what?”
“I don’t know, but hopefully whatever it is, it’ll be near me.”
Mercedes laughed, all her pique dissolved. “Congratulations on losing a fine employee.”
“Why thank you. I do have a spot of business.”
“Really? You’ve only been completely out of touch for three full days, so I can’t imagine what has come up.”
“So far, there are rumors swirling but nothing in the press yet about this, is there?”
“Not that I’ve found. I have a press release drafted. Diane approved the language, pending details from the lawyer, and I can send it on to our public affairs officer to do those blasts or whatever it is she calls them. She’s e-mailing me every three minutes. Just so you know.”
“I am grateful to all of you,” Tam said seriously. “I trusted 244
that you would all know what to do and I was right. Why don’t you read it to me?”
She listened and smiled at Kip to let her know all was well. As much as Ted’s and Nadia’s betrayal hurt it allowed for the loyalty and good sense of other people to shine.
The release was fine, worded as an early warning to clients that a criminal investigation of one of their own had been concluded with a successful recovery. With simple modifications, it would go out to press contacts as well.
Disaster averted. She knew that she didn’t have to tell Hank to get back with Big Blue and see if they wouldn’t reconsider the cancellation. He knew what to do. There was a thought—she was essential to the company, but maybe not quite as essential as she liked to believe. There was perhaps time in her day, in her weekends and in her life.
They chatted a little bit more, and Tam agreed they’d be returning home the following day. After she hung up, she filled Kip in on the details that hadn’t been obvious from Tam’s half of the conversation.
“What a relief,” Kip said. Hand in hand, they went back out to the crowded street where the heat was getting intense. “What shall we do until embarkation?”
Tam gave Kip a wide-eyed look. “There’s no rule that says we can’t go back aboard early.”
“Really?” Kip turned on her heel and made a beeline for the straw market. “I’d have skipped the ice cream.”
Tam hopped along behind her, dodging tourists and barkers.
She was having a little trouble keeping up. She hoped, sincerely, that it wasn’t a portent of the ways things would always be.
By the time they reached the cabin door, Kip’s hands were shaking so badly she couldn’t get the card key in place. Tam needn’t have smirked, but once the door was open she didn’t care in the least.