Written by Scooplet

Concept by Cheryl and Scooplet

Scarecrow and Mrs. King characters are the property of Shoot the Moon Productions and Warner Bros. Television. No copyright infringement intended. Not for commercial use. Sarah Stetson and Matt Granger are my creation, however, so please respect my right to claim ownership of them—I do not authorize permission to use them in stories not authored by me.

In Everything Give Thanks

Chapter Ten

It was not until they were back in the car that Sarah asked Matt about his trip. "I don't remember you mentioning traveling to India. I think I told you I went with my parents before they left the State Department. It was more of a vacation than anything, but Mom and Daddy always ended up working a little when we went overseas."

"You rode an elephant and got to see the Taj Mahal, right?" Matt did not look at Sarah, concentrating instead on the early evening traffic leaving downtown San Antonio. He glanced in the rearview mirror, wondering at the Chrysler 300 that had followed them from the parking lot.

"Yep. And got as sick as a dog one night. Poor Mom was not feeling too well herself, but she stayed with me. Daddy tried to help, but there wasn't much he could do. He finally found something on the street when the pharmacy vendors opened in the morning."

Matt listened, still watching the 300 in the traffic behind them. "Yeah. Traveling will do that to you. I learned the hard way to be careful when I was stationed in Afghanistan. 'Only eat it if you know what it is and who cooked it' was our mantra—when we had the luxury of following it. Sometimes it was eat or go hungry."

"Is that how you got to India? On leave from the Army?"

"Basically. At least that was the official reason. I had to meet some contacts, but I did a little sightseeing along the way. It was probably the only normal sightseeing I did the entire time I was stationed in Afghanistan. Lucky for me the Taj Mahal wasn't too far from where I had my assignment. You and your folks were all over the place."

"Yes. Goa was beautiful. Bangalore was crazy. But it was a good experience. I guess it will help that I've traveled, working at the Agency."

"You may not go to those places again on assignment, but if you have to research them, you'll know about them. Maybe we can go back together someday." The sedan was still several cars back. Keep talking, Granger. Don't let Sarah know you're worried.

"If we could go anywhere, where would you like to travel?"

"Europe. I would love to take you all over Europe. You're such a history buff and you know a lot about the history there. I traveled a fair bit when I was stationed in Brussels. It would be fun to see it again with you."

"Well, I specialized in the modern history, so I'm with everyone else when it comes to cathedrals."

"It seemed like you enjoyed the historical stuff we saw today."

Sarah sat up straighter, her eyes glowing. "Oh, I loved it. Thank you for taking me."

Despite the tension he was feeling over the car following them, Matt could not help but grin at Sarah's enthusiastic response. "There are a few other places here in Central Texas that you would enjoy. Maybe when we come in the spring I'll take you to Fredericksburg. It's an old German settlement west of my parents' house. There's a museum there dedicated to George H.W. Bush—it's all about the Pacific War. They have vehicles, a boat or two, a sub. It's really well done."

"I think I'd love it."

"You would. There are some nice restaurants, shops, and bed and breakfasts there, too. We could stay overnight." He took her hand, almost forgetting about the sedan following them. There was nothing he could do until the traffic cleared anyway.

Blushing a little, Sarah was almost shy when she answered him. "That sounds really nice."

He ran his thumb over her knuckles and played with her engagement ring before bringing her hand to his lips. "You know, there are places near D.C. I'd like to visit, too."

"There are a lot of great bed and breakfasts near the historic sites. Pastor Carlson was telling us to plan on getting away as much as we could until we start having kids. It's supposed to be good for our marriage."

"You're not embarrassed talking about this." It was more of a statement than anything else. Matt watched the 300 for a moment as it remained several cars behind them.

"I'm trying not to be." Sarah swallowed. "And my parents would let us use the cabin, too."

"Your mom suggested we stay there for our wedding night." He glanced over at her.

Now blushing furiously, Sarah looked down at their hands. "She talked to me about it—thought it would be nicer than some hotel room."

Noting her discomfort, Matt spoke gently. "It was thoughtful of your mom to suggest it. You know I came up with the condo idea so we could have more privacy, right?"

"Yes. Thanks for thinking of that." Sarah sat up straight again. "Today has been so nice, Matt. We're going to have so much fun on our honeymoon. I just love going places with you. Thank you."

"You're welcome, but we haven't even gotten to the restaurant, yet. It's kind of cool. A lot of Germans settled this area in the 1800s, so I thought you'd have fun seeing that part of things, too. It's not fancy—just a diner, really—but the food is really good." Glancing in his rearview mirror, Matt saw the 300 was still there. Since the traffic was beginning to clear, Matt released Sarah's hand and placed his back on the steering wheel. "I didn't want to mention this sooner, because I was enjoying our conversation, but there's someone following us."

"You knew that and you kept talking?"

"We were in traffic. It kept me from worrying too much."

"You know, I wish you would tell me stuff."

"Sweetie, I am now. I wasn't sure before." He checked the rearview mirror once again. "I'm going to try to lose him. The German restaurant is about 20 miles ahead, and I don't want this jerk ruining our evening."

"Okay." Sarah gripped the arm rest on her door.

"Hang on."

Matt floored the accelerator, expertly weaving through the moderate traffic. He frowned as the 300 easily matched their speed. "I wish I had the Charger right now."

Sarah did not answer, instead looking in her sideview mirror at the 300 as it changed from lane to lane behind them.

Increasing his speed, Matt was grateful when he saw the state trooper in the middle lane ahead. He wove around three cars, drawing closer to the trooper. Seeing the fast lane open, he moved into it and continued past the cruiser.

"Matt, he's going to pull you over." Her statement was matter-of-fact, but he could hear the tension in her voice.

"That's my intention. I'm not confronting this jerk in the 300 with only a handgun. I've got you in the car with me and he may have more firepower. Besides, I think he has someone with him."

As expected, the lights began flashing on the cruiser. Matt continued down the freeway until they reached an exit, finally slowing the Elantra and stopping in an empty parking lot on the access road. The cruiser pulled up behind them.

"Matt! The 300 exited, too." Sarah could not hide her anxiety.

Reaching over to take her hand, Matt gave it a reassuring squeeze before letting it go and unfastening the strap securing the Glock in his ankle holster. Just what is this jerk's game, anyway? He watched as the trooper cautiously stepped out of his vehicle. Matt breathed a sigh of relief when he saw that the trooper was not alone. His partner also got out of the cruiser, but rather than going to the 300, he walked up their rental car. What the heck was going on? Why don't they care about the 300? And these guys usually don't have partners.

Bending to look in Matt's window, the trooper, seemingly a veteran of the Texas Department of Public Safety, was perhaps forty years old. He quickly assessed their vehicle as he greeted them. "Good evening, sir. Hello ma'am." He tipped his classic Resistol cowboy hat at Sarah before turning back to Matt. "Did you know you were going ninety in a seventy mile per hour zone? This is not the toll road."

Something about the trooper's tone made Matt wonder if he even cared about the traffic violation. "I assume you'd like to see my I.D."

"Please pull it carefully. I want to see your hands at all times."

Sarah had seen the other trooper approaching, but she still jumped when he appeared at her window.

"Miss, if you could roll down your window for my partner, please."

Matt turned the key in the ignition so Sarah could operate her window, but he looked carefully at the trooper's badge number as he did so. "Sergeant Rodriguez, it it? Here's my I.D."

"Miss." The other trooper tipped his hat at Sarah.

Matt glanced over at her quickly, noting her impassive expression. It never failed to amaze him that despite her sensitive nature, she could be so calm under pressure.

The sergeant relaxed immediately once he saw Matt's federal identification. "Agent Granger, is it?"

"Yes. I apologize for the speeding. That 300 back there has been following us since we left downtown San Antonio—I was trying to lose him." Matt looked at the trooper quizzically, gauging his reaction.

"If it's okay with you, the driver would like to talk with you. We just needed to verify that you were Agent Matthew Granger. Had to make it look like a regular traffic stop."

Matt grew increasingly edgy as he observed in his sideview mirror the driver and a passenger exit the 300. He started the car. "Sergeant, unless you tell me what the heck is going on, I'm flooring it. I don't know who the guys in the 300 are, and I don't like being followed. In fact, it's policy for us to lose all tails." Matt offered Rodriguez a pointed look.

"No need to get nervous. We were wondering about the 300, too. When we called in your plates, our dispatcher told us that the 300 is with you. Agent Billings gave us a courtesy call after you started evading him. Agency is all he'll say. You should be getting a call, too, any moment."

"Troopers usually don't have partners." Matt's statement was casual, as if he was mildly curious. He thought the sergeant was legitimate, but he wanted to be sure.

"We're on our way back to Austin from a training conference. Couldn't let the young hotshot going ninety on I-35 get away with it." The sergeant smirked at Matt.

Matt smiled politely in return. "Well, I'm just glad I got your attention."

Matt's phone rang. He passed it to Sarah so he would not be distracted from the troopers and the men in the 300. "Please answer it."

Rodriguez's partner, who had stayed a polite distance from the Hyundai, drifted back to the cruiser while Sergeant Rodriguez took a step back.

"Rene. This is Sarah… Yes, we're both uptight. What's this all about? Who? My dad did what?" Sarah's shoulders slumped in relief as she put her hand on her forehead in exasperation. She listened to Rene, and then finally spoke. "Okay, just a minute." She looked at Matt unhappily. "My dad had this guy from the San Antonio office tail us to make sure we were okay. He brought along his partner, too. I guess Daddy's nervous like Rene—only he called his buddy instead of us because they couldn't reach us. Rene wants to talk to you."

"Please tell him I'll call him when we're done here. The guys from the 300 are standing near the cruiser now, talking with the troopers. I want to speak to them."

"Rene, we'll call you back." After ending the call, Sarah held the phone in her hand, looking uncertainly at Matt.

Wondering at her expression, he took her hand. "You okay?"

"Not really. It's really strange about the phone thing—Rene said they couldn't reach us. I'm nervous about these guys."

Matt searched her face, trying to determine if it was fear or intuition. He turned off the ignition once again. "I'm going to talk with them outside. You can get in the driver's seat if you want."

"If something happened, I wouldn't leave you."

He smiled ruefully, knowing there was no point in arguing. "Maybe not, but you have more control of the situation in the driver's seat."

"Okay. Do you have your knife with you?"

"It's under your seat. Keep it hidden. And Sarah, I think these guys are legitimate. They're Agency. The troopers are still here. I'll be okay. You'll be okay." He leaned over and kissed her forehead quickly before pulling the Glock from his ankle holster and stepping from the car. He stuck the gun in the pocket of his leather jacket, his hand still on it as he walked away.

Sarah was glad she had worn jeans as she maneuvered herself behind the steering wheel. She reached down for the knife and keeping it the sheath, hid it next to her purse. She watched Matt as he spoke to the sergeant and the two agents. Watching him check their credentials, she was relieved when he flashed a polite smile at the men. As he walked back towards her she noted that he seemed to have relaxed. She waited until he opened the driver's door before she went back to her seat.

"You know, you could have gotten out of the car and walked around. These guys aren't so bad." He buckled in, watching with a troubled look on his face as she hid the knife under the seat once again. "I'm really sorry this has ruined our date."

Furrowing her brow, Sarah defended herself. "I'm still nervous. I want to hear what Rene has to say." Seeing Matt's expression, she relented. "But we still had a good time today. Dinner can be nice."

Soon they were heading north once again towards the restaurant. Sarah called Rene, this time turning on the speaker.

"Hey, man."

"Rene. Sarah's here, too." Matt was miffed. I would like to have one trouble-free day on this vacation.

"Hey, Sarah. I'm sorry to ruin your date, but…"

"Why didn't you just call me in the first place?" Matt did not care if he was being rude. "Or why didn't the chief call me for that matter?"

"Listen, man. I know you're mad, but we couldn't reach you."

"What? I've had a signal every time I've checked my phone."

"They lost your signal for a good thirty minutes after you left the riverboat tour."

"They were tracking us?"

"Only after they couldn't get a call through. Phillip was rather uptight about it, so he tracked you both—the software showed everything but that thirty-minute stretch. You were really booking it on the freeway just now, man. Phillip clocked your car at ninety-five."

"The rental agency tracker? He's not holding back."

"Listen, man. He meant well—he was worried. You and Sarah have not exactly had an easy go of it recently."

Matt did not want Sarah to dwell on their recent past. He ignored Rene's comment. "Does he think the phone was jammed?"

"Most likely. There were no cell signals at all in that section of the Riverwalk for a good half hour after you got off the boat. They finally found you on a closed circuit camera when you went in the gift shop. Chief Stetson started this whole thing, so when he heard that they couldn't find you, he pitched a fit with Francine and insisted on finding someone to shadow you both until things settle down. You're stuck with these guys. Chuck Billings and Joe Scarletti. They'll follow you home."

"I know their names. I talked with them. They're behind us on the freeway now. But I told them that there are no hotels near my parents' house and we cannot take them in. I'm not telling my parents what I do."

"No worries. They'll get replacements if they need to. They'll keep out of sight."

Sarah had been looking for an opportunity to jump into the conversation. "Rene. Why is my father so worried? What's going on? Is everything okay with him and my mom? I haven't heard from them."

Seeing Sarah's worried expression, Matt placed his hand on her shoulder and gave it a gentle squeeze. He did not fail to notice that Rene was too quick to answer her.

"They're fine, Sarah. Your dad is just spooked about the Russians. After the whole cartel thing…"

Sarah, too, was not eager to remember the cartel. "I get the picture. Thanks, Rene."

"And now that you know my phone is working, I expect to be updated regularly." Matt had not quite cooled off. "Texts only unless it's urgent, please."

"I'll tell people to text you. That was a nice move with the state police, by the way."

"They have more firepower than I do with just the Glock." Matt glanced in his mirror at the 300. "Look, We've gotta run. This is supposed to be a date."

"Later. Try to have fun. Bye, Sarah."

"Goodbye, Rene."

"We will." Matt ended the call and glanced over at Sarah. "Are you still worried?"

"Maybe a little. I just have this funny feeling. But it's not about us. I think something's going on with my dad and mom, and no one wants me to know."

Matt smirked. She's probably hit the nail on the head, but it won't help to dwell on it. "Your dad wouldn't be pitching fits if anything was wrong with him."

"You'd be surprised. And although I see your point, I want to call him."

"Don't you think we should wait until tomorrow? It's after midnight there, going on one a.m."

Sighing, Sarah looked out the window. "Okay. I'll call him tomorrow."

"He's probably fine, Sarah. Try not to worry." He took her hand again and held it until they reached the restaurant, then wrapped his arm around her as they walked inside the building.

She glanced back through the glass doors at the 300, parked across from the entrance. "What about their dinner?"

"They'll eat in the car. Scarletti already called in their order—this place has food to go."

"Matt," Sarah remonstrated him. "Why can't they eat at a table? They could keep a better eye on us, if they must."

"That's exactly why I want them to eat outside. Look at this place."

They were standing in a gift shop just inside the restaurant's entrance, but Sarah could see into the dining room. A few booths and a number of tables, none of them secluded, provided seating for the restaurant patrons. She could easily count the heads of everyone in the room, since they were all visible. There would be no privacy from the agents.

"I see your point. They're working. We're on a date." She smiled at him.

His eyes twinkled when he smiled in return. "Thank you for understanding." Relieved that Sarah was not pressuring him further, Matt stepped over to the hostess. Soon they were seated side by side in a booth.

SMKSMKSMKSMKSMK

Sarah yawned and stretched as Matt pulled up the driveway to his parents' home. During the traffic stop, Matt had told Scarletti and Billings that the neighbors in the next house over were gone for the week. Billings parked on their driveway, just out of sight. As a courtesy, Matt had filled up the gas tank a few miles down the road, giving the agents the opportunity to use the restroom and visit the convenience store.

"What are these guys like?"

"Late twenties, early thirties. Billings is married, but I didn't see a ring on Scarletti's hand."

Sarah was thoughtful as she unbuckled her seatbelt. "It's too bad we can't tell your parents about them. It would be nice to give them something to eat or at least let them hang out in the living room or whatever." I'm glad I bought them the German pastries at the restaurant.

"They can do their job better outside, anyway. If we really were in some kind of danger, they could see whoever's coming. They'll get a break before we even get up in the morning. I think they said the other agents were Jones and Guerrero. They'll stay at a hotel about twenty minutes away and switch off."

"What a lot of expense."

"It won't be fancy." And if the threat is real, it's worth it. He tried to think of something to lighten the mood. "And don't forget, they have your baked goods. They were grateful when I brought them over." Matt grinned at her as he reached for his door handle.

"Wait, Matt." Sarah reached out and put a hand on his arm. "I'm sorry about all this."

"We shouldn't be apologizing to each other. We didn't cause this."

"Well, my dad did—or at least some crazy Russian did. I hope you still don't think our date was ruined. I loved the German food. And it was really nice to be alone with you today."

When he smiled at her in the darkened car, Sarah could just barely make out Matt's eyes as they crinkled up at the corners. She loved how his eyes smiled, too. Reaching out to run her fingers over his jaw, she could feel his rough stubble under her fingers. Leaning towards her, he closed his eyes as his lips touched hers.

A step sounded quietly on the paved driveway behind the car, and they broke apart. Matt pushed Sarah down in her seat. "Stay there," he hissed as he quickly unsnapped the strap on his holster and pulled out his gun. As he checked the mirrors, his shoulders sagged in relief.

"It's okay. Scarletti must be checking the perimeter of the house." He got out of the car. Sarah waited until Matt had shared a whispered conversation with the agent. After he helped her out of the Hyundai, they went to retrieve their bags from the trunk.

"Matt, wasn't that risky? What if someone had seen him? Your sisters are probably still up—maybe even your parents."

"That's why I told him to wait until later." He closed the trunk and gestured with his chin for her to follow him. "Come on. Let's go inside. You're tired, and it's been a long day."

SMKSMKSMKSMKSMKSMK

Rolling to her other side, Sarah picked up her phone and checked the time. It was still early—only six thirty. When they had gotten home the night before at ten o'clock, Lauren and Emma had been up watching a favorite movie. She and Matt joined them on the couch, but Sarah had given up the idea of staying with them when her eyelids began to droop. After following her down the hall to kiss her good night, Matt had gone back to watch the rest of the movie with his sisters.

Now she was wide awake and the rest of the house—or at least the Granger offspring—were all still asleep. Her thoughts went to her parents once again. I should wait until Matt is up to call them. He'll want to know what's going on, too. But since the moment she had awakened almost a half an hour ago, the feeling of worry had grown. She threw back the covers and went to don her sweats.

It was still dark when she crept out of the garage, cell phone in hand. The air was cool, but not as cold as it had been two days earlier. Her heavy sweatshirt would suffice. Ranger came bounding up to her, demanding attention. Surprised to see him out of his shelter at this hour, she spoke quietly to the dog and ruffled his fur. As she walked to the far side of the driveway, Ranger bounded along near her companionably. Sarah wanted to be well away from the house when she made her call. Wild boars or no, she could not risk the family overhearing her conversation with her parents. I'll just stay near the driveway.

David Granger was enjoying the early morning quiet in his study, lit only by a reading lamp next to his favorite armchair. It was a well-worn piece of furniture. When they had remodeled the house and redecorated the living areas, David had insisted on keeping the chair, but it had been relegated to his study—a happy circumstance, in his opinion. With teenage and now college-age children and their friends often occupying the house on the weekends, he could escape to his study and have a quiet retreat. On the occasional days he worked from home, he often eschewed his desk for the relative comfort of the armchair, too. While that would probably be the case later this morning, for now he was taking advantage of the stillness of the house to read his Bible.

A noise outside the house startled him. Although he had just been out feeding the dog and checking on the horses, this noise was not from an animal. There it was again. He went to the window and scanned the driveway and path leading to the stable. He thought he saw Ranger at the edge of the driveway, but the dog was loping around, apparently carefree. Probably chased some critter and gave it up. David went back to his armchair and sat down again. He glanced through the open doorway of his study to Sharon in the bedroom beyond, but seeing that his movements had not disturbed her sleep, he began reading his Bible once again.

A moment later he heard the sound once more. Putting down his Bible, he grabbed his jacket from where he had hung it on the hook near his door went outside to investigate.

SMKSMKSMKSMKSMK

Lee took advantage of the lull in activity after lunch and went to stretch his legs. As he walked the halls of old mansion, he considered all that had transpired.

Things were coming together with the plans for the next day's operation—while Amanda was immersed in helping with the technical arrangements, he had run out of things to keep him busy. I hate having nothing to do, but it's better if Amanda's occupied. He knew that her busyness kept her mind off the threat to the family and herself. He smiled ruefully. Margaret and Emily had perhaps had that very notion in mind when they asked her to help head up the technical planning. While Amanda had always been handy with the computers and other electronic gadgets they had utilized over the years, Phillip was really the whiz of the family. Still, she could draw on his expertise. Lee knew that was probably also making the time pass more swiftly for Phillip as well. No sense in everyone sitting around worrying.

As his mind went to the call he had received from Phillip the night before, he winced. Phillip had been thoughtful enough to give Lee a "friendly" heads up that Matt had not been happy to be surprised with a tail on the freeway. Using the rental company's tracking device in the car and some fancy software, Phillip had followed Matt's rapid progress on the interstate: at one point he had clocked him at ninety-five miles per hour. Because of the cell phone blackout, no one had notified Matt that an Agency car would be shadowing them to his parents' house—even after Matt's service had been restored. Chalking it up to the typical minor communications snafus that occurred when staffing was light during holidays, he decided not to pitch a fit with Francine. At least they had made it a priority to keep an eye on his family. But he felt chagrined that he had not tried to call Sarah.

As if on cue, his phone rang. He answered it quickly. "Sarah? Hi! It's early there."

"Yes, Daddy, it's me. I couldn't sleep any longer."

"Are you having a good time with Matt and his family?"

"Yes, when we aren't being tailed by strange cars. Poor Matt was trying to keep me distracted and not freak out. Then he tried to lose them. He finally got the highway patrol to pull him over so he could call the other car's bluff."

"Smart thinking, as usual. Always nice to have backup. You should remember that trick—I should tell Francine and Wong to incorporate it into one of the training lessons."

"Don't worry, I won't forget. Between you and Matt hovering over me and giving me advice, I should have every self-defense technique memorized."

At Sarah's sarcastic tone, Lee knew he needed to make things right. "I'm sorry, Sarah. I should have called you myself. Your phone had been out of service—your mom and I figured you and Matt were on a date, so we didn't want to disturb you. I guess we made it worse."

"I get the whole thing about the timing. It's okay, Daddy."

Behind Sarah on the trail that wound near the outbuildings, David had frozen in his steps. His intention had not been to eavesdrop, but as he had been investigating the strange sounds he had heard, he had nearly run into Sarah. Not wanting to intrude, he was beginning to retreat when he overheard her remark about the highway patrol. Matt wouldn't endanger Sarah by playing games on the interstate. But now she was talking about self-defense. What had happened on their way home last night?

"I'm worried about you and Mom."

"Oh, we're okay, Pumpkin. Enjoying time with Emily."

"You were going to the International first. You changed your plans?"

"Yeah. Listen, Sarah. I know you know something is up. This isn't a secure line, so I can't tell you much."

"That's okay. I just really wanted to hear your voice."

"Are you being careful, Pumpkin? Where are you right now?"

"I'm out walking. The dog is with me."

"Matt isn't with you?"

"He was still sleeping, I guess."

"Uh, Sarah, I wish you'd go inside. Is it even light out there?"

"The sun is about to come up. It's getting light."

"So you were out walking by yourself in the dark." Lee did not even try to hide the worry in his voice. "Look, Sarah, I need you to listen to me. This is a serious threat. You can't be out by yourself. I'm going to message both you and Matt about this."

"Daddy, please stop worrying about me. I'm practically an agent myself. This isn't like what happened last month."

"God, I wish I could just tell you what's going on. Trust me on this, Pumpkin. They've already pulled the cell phone jamming stunt. Who knows if someone just heard what you said? Don't talk about yourself anymore. Please go back to the house, okay?"

"Okay, Daddy, I'm going back now. Matt will probably be up soon, anyway. Don't freak if I tell you we're going running. He'll be armed."

Hearing Sarah's words, David walked quickly back towards the house, detouring along a back way to the stable so no one would know he had followed Sarah on her walk.

"As long as he's armed, I guess it's okay. You have others there."

Sarah knew that her father meant the other agents. "He always is armed, Daddy." She felt a knot in her stomach. Lee's concern was starting to scare her.

"I'm not hanging up until you get back to the house. Tell me about your day yesterday."

Sarah forced herself to remain cheerful. It'll do no good to get worked up. "Oh, it was really cool, actually. We went to the Alamo."

"Really? The colonel took me there as a kid when he was stationed in San Antonio. I loved hearing about Jim Bowie and all the other heroes. What did you think?"

"I loved all the exhibits inside."

"A historian's dream, I'm sure."

"Yes—I wish I knew more about pre-twentieth century history, though. Anyway, Matt took me to the Riverwalk afterwards." She stopped for a moment, remembering Rene's phone call. "But I guess you knew that. We ate Mexican food."

"That TexMex is spicy, isn't it?"

"Yes, but not as killer as the food we ate in India. There was a mariachi band. They played for us."

Lee could see where this was going. "And you were embarrassed. Now, Sarah. They know a beautiful girl when they see one."

"I think Matt loved it. Gah."

Lee chuckled at his daughter. At least she isn't an egotist like I used to be.

They continued chatting until Sarah reached the edge of the driveway. "I'd better end the call, Daddy. The house is still dark, and I don't want to wake anyone—it's just barely seven here."

"Listen, please say hello to Matt for me and greet the family. I'll tell your mother you said hi."

"I love you, Daddy. Please be careful."

"Don't worry about us. Love you, too, Pumpkin."

As she pocketed her phone, a noise by the stable startled Sarah. Relief quickly flooded her as she saw the light and peering through the open door, realized it was David checking on the horses. She joined him.

"Good morning."

David glanced over from where he was offering Coconut a treat of some sort. "Good morning. You're up early, Sarah."

"Yes. I get up early at home to go running. I guess I'm still not on Texas time." She stepped over to rub Darcy's neck and was rewarded with a soft nuzzle on her arm. "I thought I'd call my parents before we got busy and it was too late. I missed them yesterday."

"I hope all is well in London."

"They're fine. My dad said to say hello."

"I look forward to seeing him again in January. We only met in passing. It was your mother who we really chatted with. It will be good to get to know your father a little better."

"My father feels the same way."

"You've told me how he likes horses. I hear he has a collection of some nice guns—Matt says he has an antique or two."

"Yes. He grew up on Air Force bases, so perhaps that's where he developed his interest in them." Having turned back to Darcy, Sarah did not see David look at her strangely. "Well, I think I'll go see if Matt is up and wants to take a run. I'm itching to do more than just walk."

"See you at breakfast then."

David regarded Sarah thoughtfully as she exited the stable.