Ruth had been mildly disappointed when she'd sat down for tea with Fiona and Wes to discover that Harry had mysteriously bolted. But he was a busy man who rarely took any time for himself; he worked almost every weekend, which was why she'd been surprised to hear he was at the Carters' when she'd dropped by. But no matter. She'd see him Monday.

Wes, however, didn't seem to take Harry's abrupt departure well, as far as Ruth could see. The boy was grumpy and somewhat violent with his ice cream and barely spoke to Ruth at all. But he was entitled to his displeasure, so she tried not to press him. She made a mental note to ask Harry about cricket with Wes when they took their walk at lunchtime.

When Monday rolled around, Ruth came to work feeling very refreshed from her weekend off. She smiled brightly at Harry through the window. He did not return the sentiment. His lips were pressed in a thin line and the look in his eyes seemed to almost be one of pain. She watched him with concern until he quickly turned his attention away from her. Ruth frowned, somewhat worried at his changed tone toward her, but she sat down and got to work.

At lunchtime, Harry was stuck on the phone. That wasn't too unusual. She knew he'd finish the call when he could and join her at their usual meeting place. She grabbed her bag and caught his eye as she went out. Ros was out on a call and Jo was diligently focused on her paperwork, so Ruth went on her way, assuming Harry would be following shortly.

Harry saw Ruth leave. He knew she was probably expecting him to join her. After all, that's what they'd done every day for weeks. But not today. Today he couldn't. Maybe tomorrow would be better. Maybe tomorrow he would be able to see her and not physically ache with want of her. He didn't trust himself to take a walk with her and hold her hand as though it were just another day. He wanted to reach out to her, hold her tight in his arms and never let her go, feel the warmth of her skin, smell her hair, taste every bit of her. Now that he had the image of her body in his head, he could scarcely think of anything else.

And heaven forbid she ask him why he was quiet, why he watched her with hunger in his eyes…what would he say? He couldn't very well admit to his obsessive lust, not when he had just recently gotten to a place where she was mildly comfortable in his presence. This revelation would probably disgust her and drive her away from his arms and even perhaps away from town. And he couldn't have that.

It was for all those reasons that Harry stayed in his office and behind his desk when Ruth had departed.

Ruth was gone for lunch longer than usual. So long, in fact, that Jo commented on it. "Harry, should I go find Ruth? She's normally back by now. Do you think something happened?" the young constable asked.

His heart sunk to his stomach. More than likely, Ruth was out on the lane by that house with the green door she seemed so fond of, waiting for him. "We needn't invade her privacy, Jo. Ruth is entitled to take more than half an hour for lunch if she chooses." He dismissed Jo and hoped Ruth would return soon and she wouldn't be too cross at him.

Ruth was indeed waiting for Harry by the house with the green door. Thankfully the day wasn't too cold or windy, so it was rather pleasant to be outside on that late spring afternoon. But as she waited, Ruth was plagued by the most horrific anxious worries.

Was Harry avoiding her? No, perhaps his phone call had just taken more time than expected. She should wait a bit longer in case he should show up. But he'd looked at her so strangely that morning. Was he cross with her? Had she done something wrong? They hadn't seen each other all weekend, which was rare in recent weeks. Perhaps something had happened to upset him. Had she missed something, being out of the police station for two whole days? Was it something else that had prompted him to insist she take the full weekend off?

On Friday, they'd had a lovely walk. They'd talked about their childhoods, how they'd both been a bit lonely as children. Harry had his brother, but he was forever protecting Ben from the world and fighting battles for his little brother. Ruth had been so very close with her father, but he'd been a very busy doctor and spent less time with her than he probably should have, only adding to her hero-worship of him when he had been able to pay attention to her. Had Ruth said something wrong? She knew that Harry had a strained relationship with his own children—had she struck a nerve in talking about her own father?

She had thought they were slowly getting closer. He held her hand whenever they walked down that lane on the cliffs, and she reveled in it. She'd even gone so far as to hold his hand and wrap her free hand around his arm so they could walk closer together, so she could rest her head on his shoulder. Oh he had such nice, strong shoulders. That muscly bulk made her feel so warm and safe. She'd thought about it, late at night sometimes, what he might feel like beneath the well-tailored suit, how he might hold her and touch her.

Ruth was getting ahead of herself. And for all she knew, something had happened to make Harry go off her. And if that was true, she needed to find a way to change his mind. She'd finally found somewhere that felt right, and Harry was what made it feel right, and if she lost him, perhaps she'd feel that urge to run again.

Finally, Ruth couldn't wait any longer. She'd been out for an hour already, and she needed to get back to the station. Harry obviously wasn't coming to meet her. And as soon as she returned, she would march into his office and ask him why.

She should have known, however, that her determined plan wouldn't be allowed to come to pass. The phone rang almost as soon as she walked in. Colin was reporting some vandalism at the computer shop. The summer was nearly upon them, and it was probably some of the local kids having a laugh over mucking about with the pretty window boxes of beautiful flowers that Malcolm put so much pride and effort into maintaining in front of the store.

Ruth took down the information and passed it on to Ros, who chose to take it as an opportunity to train Jo.

"You want to try lead on this?" she asked the younger woman.

Jo was pleased as punch. "Really? Can I?"

"I hope you can. If you can't, I'll take over. But sure, it's your case until you ruin it," Ros replied.

Ruth smiled, knowing after living with the woman for a little over a month that this was Ros being sweet. And she should be. Jo was so eager for Ros to teach her, and Ruth never quite understood why the seasoned detective resisted her role of mentoring Jo.

The two officers went out on their investigation, and Ruth got caught up in her file organization. Time ticked by swiftly and the light outside in the late afternoon began to dim. She looked up and saw that Harry was watching her. He wasn't smiling like he had been only a few days before. His eyes were dark and full of…something. Ruth couldn't quite place it.

With a determined huff, she stood and crossed the empty station to his office door. She opened it without knocking, as had become her custom. "Harry, have you got a minute?" she asked, plucking up all her courage to confront him, despite her thundering heart.

"What can I do for you, Ruth?" he inquired politely.

She detected a slight waver in his voice which confused her. "Are you feeling alright? I mean, did something happen over the weekend, or are you ill or hurt or something?" she asked him bluntly.

"I am in perfectly fine health," Harry replied, aloof as ever.

Ruth didn't like that answer one bit. "I expect your phone call at lunch went rather long?"

"No, it was only Towers on the weekly assessment. I was off with him after about ten minutes, same as always." Harry was being purposefully evasive. He couldn't believe she was standing there, talking to him as though it were any other day. As though he wasn't looking at her with desire he couldn't quite hide from his eyes. As though he wasn't gripping the arms of his chair so tightly he thought his fingers might snap off.

"Then did I do something wrong? Because I've been wracking my brain all day trying to think of why you're avoiding me, but I'm at a loss, Harry. I thought…well, I don't quite know where I stand with you and I thought I did when I left here on Friday and now…" she babbled.

"You've done nothing wrong, Ruth," he interjected softly.

She fell silent. If she didn't do anything wrong, what was going on with him?

Harry sighed. This was no good. He shouldn't have though he could just hide from her until he could get a proper handle on the situation. She was far too clever and timid and insecure to not worry about his behavior toward her. Of course she saw that something had changed between them. Because something had changed between them. What, on Friday, had been a light flirtation and gentle affection had been transmogrified into a fire of want that he'd successfully suppressed since the first moment he saw her. Christ, she was beautiful. That soft, dark hair that had tickled his neck when she'd leaned her head on his shoulder while they walked. That creamy skin that had always tempted him to touch and taste. And those eyes, oh but her eyes! That bright blue full of sharp intelligence and empathetic kindness and hidden wonder.

But now, as he stared into those eyes he loved so well, Harry saw hurt and sorrow, and he knew he was the cause. No matter how it embarrassed him, he knew he had to tell her the truth. She deserved to know why he'd been avoiding her, why he had refused to join her on their daily walk, why he was watching her despite the physical pain he caused her. He was rightfully ashamed by his stupid lack of control. Even now, his trousers were growing a bit tight thanks to her nearness reminding him of what he now knew she looked like beneath that cardigan and long skirt. But none of that shame was more important than making sure Ruth knew that he wasn't upset at her, that he didn't want her. Quite the opposite was the case, in fact.

"Ruth, I should tell you…"

He was interrupted by the ringing phone. "Hang on, Harry, I've got to get that." Ruth hurried out to do her job.

Harry exhaled in relief, trying to calm down and prevent a panic attack over this whole foolish mess. He watched her scribble down details before hanging up the phone and returning to his office. He was about to continue with his confession when he noticed the crease of worry in her forehead and the sheer terror etched in her face. "What's happened?"

"That was Fiona. Wes Carter has gone missing."