Disclaimer: I own nothing here and am just doing this for fun and to pass the time between episodes.


The first week of the con went smoothly enough for Nate to start making the preparations for the next phase. Eliot had several friendly interactions with the mark at the track, including having a few beers with him at the bar. Sophie had joined a gardening group and was getting closer to the wife.

Eliot would've paid money to see Sophie gardening. He couldn't imagine her ever putting her hands in the dirt, even if she had gloves on. But Sophie was sticking it out, bonding with the wife while weeding the community vegetable garden.

Eliot met Kayleigh at the bar three more times, each evening more enjoyable than the one before. On the fourth visit, she was already sitting in what had become their booth, a Rolling Rock waiting for him. He smiled as he slid into the bench across from her, thanking her for the beer.

"So, you're off on Tuesday?" he asked.

"Well, track's dark. I still have morning workouts, but from about 10 o'clock on, the day is mine."

"I sort of have Tuesday off too and was thinking we could do something."

"Were you?" she asked.

"I was."

"What sort of something?"

"Hadn't quite gotten that far with the plan yet. Hope you don't mind me saying so, but you don't strike me as a dinner and a movie kind of girl," said Eliot, trying to say that he understood the pressure of the weight requirements in her sport.

"That's because I'm not, especially not when I'm racing."

"Yeah, I get that. I wrestled in high school and boxed in the army."

She was silent for a moment. "I know a nice barn, it's a bit of a drive, about an hour away, but I know somebody there who'll let us borrow a couple of horses. The trails are beautiful."

Eliot smiled. "I'd really like that. It's been way too long."

"Good. That's settled then. I can drive. You want to meet me at the track at 10 on Tuesday?"

"Definitely."

----------------

The ride to the barn had been nice, but noisy without much of a chance to talk. Kayleigh drove a 1970 Ford pickup, which didn't have air-conditioning. The exterior of the truck was beat up and the paint job was washed out, but the truck practically purred when it started.

The place was on the edge of a forest park in the Adirondack Mountains. The scenery was beautiful and put Eliot in mind of a more rugged version of Kentucky.

At the barn, Kayleigh took him into the office to introduce him to the manager, a perky young blonde who smiled and giggled a lot. The two women caught up for a few minutes and then discussed which horses they'd be taking.

A few minutes later, Kayleigh had pulled the horses out of their stalls and tied them up in the aisle of the barn. She handed Eliot a grooming kit. He liked that she knew he was comfortable and competent, but didn't make a big deal of it. While they groomed the horses, she told him about his horse, Blackjack, a retired racehorse. Her horse, Tucker, was a pony trained for show-jumping.

When they were done grooming, Kayleigh led him back to the tack room. "So, English or Western?"

He shrugged. "Whatever you're going with."

"You sure?" she asked as she moved through the small room, checking the tags on the saddles.

"Yeah, I'm sure."

"You can post? Because if you want to sit the trot, I should maybe find you a different horse. His gate is a little.... bubbly."

Eliot let out a noise that was half amusement, half annoyance. "I can post."

"Huh. You really are a man of many talents," she said as she turned around. Finding him in her personal space, she looked up at him.

"Darlin', you have no idea." His voice had dropped in both pitch and volume.

She blushed a little, but then edged around him, picked up a saddle and handed it to him. "Guess I should plan to stick around and find out, huh?"

"Definitely, I'll make it worth your time," he said, smiling as she started to look flustered. She picked up another saddle then grabbed the horses' bridles and they went out to tack up.

The trail ride was everything Eliot had remembered about riding and more. He'd missed the feeling of flying during the galloping. He'd missed working with the horse. He'd missed how it let you get closer to nature in a way that hiking just never would.

He was reminded of that when they were walking along the edge of a lake, the horse's hooves gently splashing in shallow water. They came around a curve in the lake and saw two small deer drinking. The deer looked up, startled at first, then somewhat confused. The horses appeared less of a threat than a person, so they were able to get close enough to see the downy white spots in their brown coats.

When they returned to the barn, they groomed the horses again, then put them out in a pasture. Eliot walked close to her, practically feeling sparks each time he brushed her hand or bumped into her shoulder.

They returned the saddles to the tack room and cleaned off the bridles, flirting the whole time, the tension between them slowly increasing. Kayleigh turned to go, but found Eliot standing in front of her.

"You know, we might as well just get it out of the way. It's going to have to happen some time," he said.

"What?" she asked.

"I think you know." He brushed her hair off her face and then slid his hand to her shoulder, which was narrow enough that he was able to caress her neck with his thumb.

"No," she said with a smile that told him everything he needed to know. "I really have no idea."

"In that case, I better tell you," he leaned down, pleased to see that she was stretching up to meet him half-way, her hands running up his chest to his shoulders.

He let the first contact be soft and light, grinning when she pulled him closer. She tasted like cherries and smelled like an intoxicating mix of grass and jasmine. He nearly lost it for a minute but then caught himself, pulling back with a grin, loving the way she looked at his mouth for several long seconds before looking up at him.

He leaned down again, this time to whisper in her ear. "Told you. First one's just practice, everything gets better after that."


They'd been in the truck for about twenty minutes and were passing through a small town when she slowed down and looked over at him. "Want to stop for lunch?"

He looked up, surprised. "Yeah, I could go for lunch, but-"

"Normal people eat lunch. Don't feel like you have to keep to my ridiculous eating habits."

"Okay, thanks."

She parked the car in front of a diner and they took one of the booths that lined the side window, looking out over a stream.

They'd just placed their order when the door of the diner swung open. Eliot looked up and cursed under his breath. What the hell were Nate and Sophie during here? No chance it was random. No chance of that at all.

Kayleigh looked confused, then glanced over her shoulder. "Isn't that-"

"Yep."

"What a surprise to see you here. Sophie and I were just enjoying an afternoon drive and thought we'd stop for lunch. Okay if we join you?" said Nate, sitting down next to Kay before they even had a chance to respond.

Eliot looked an apology at Kayeigh and then shot a dagger of a look at the intruders. Sophie gingerly sat down next to him, acting like he was a dog that might snap at any minute.

Nate did most of the talking, babbling on about the beauty of upstate New York and the benefits of the fine country air. It was shaping up to be an awkward lunch.

"Can I talk to you for a minute?" asked Eliot, not even waiting for a response. He was up and out of the booth almost quicker than Sophie could get out of his way.

Eliot stalked outside, Nate a few seconds behind him. "What the hell is going on?"

"We need Kayleigh to do something for us."

"Then why didn't you just call her and ask her? Why do you have to track us down and crash in like this?"

"It's easier to get forgiveness than permission?" said Nate tentatively.

"How did you even....nevermind. I'm gonna kill Hardison," Eliot growled.

"Don't be too hard on him. He didn't know you were with her. It was bit of a surprise to me, in fact."

Eliot pressed his palms into his eyes, wishing he could will Nate away. But no, the guy was still standing there, along with all the frustration he'd caused. "OK. Fine. Get in there, ask her and then get out. And if she says no, that's it."

Nate had that annoying smile, the one that said he'd just played a shot perfectly. Eliot pushed past him and back into the diner, this time sitting next to Kayleigh, taking the chance to whisper an apology in her ear. He felt her hand on his knee and was relieved.

"Kay, how much do you know about our work?" asked Nate.

She looked uncomfortable. "Um, you know, I know in general that you help people and that some of that help might be....of a dubious legal nature, but I don't know the specifics. I do know that Alec likes working with you."

"Well, good. Then I'm hoping you'll understand what I'm going to ask you. We're running a con right now on a guy who's been ripping off the parents of sick children. Eliot and Sophie are pretending to be married, and are getting close to the guy and his wife. On Thursday night, they're going to have a dinner party and we need you to be there as a guest."

"That's it? And I just have to be me? I don't have to pretend to be anything?" She sounded relieved.

"Yeah, that's right. You just need to pretend like you're friends with them. But, Kay, not too good of friends," Nate said meaningfully, looking from the her to Eliot.

"Sure, no problem. I can do that."

"Good. You've asked, now you can leave," said Eliot in a tone that clearly announced that he would brook no arguments.

"Of course," said Nate as he stood up. "I'll call you with the details." He made a vague gesture and then left with Sophie in tow.

"I'm so sorry about that."

"No, it's fine."

Eliot started to get up to sit on the other side of the booth, but Kayleigh caught his arm. "Stay here. I kind of like it."

He smiled and settled back down. But it was difficult to keep his mind on her and their conversation. Something was up with Nate, he just couldn't put his finger on it.