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.

I Know He Watches Me, Part Three

Chapter Fourteen

At the junction of the two country highways, Matt turned left. "Not far now, sweetie."

Sarah turned from the window and smiled over at Matt, but only briefly. Her eyes were glued to the side of the road, searching for wildflowers. Although they had stopped to admire and take photos of several patches of Mexican blanket and different varieties of yellow flowers, Sarah had not tired of watching for them. She had not been joyful like this since before the miscarriage.

Matt sighed softly in contentment. They should have gone looking for wildflowers sooner.

"You okay?"

Matt glanced over at Sarah, and saw her watching him with concern. "Oh, I couldn't be better. I'm happy to see you enjoying the drive."

His answer seemed to satisfy her, and she grew quiet again.

Although it was a relatively short drive of two hours, they were both a little tired of being in the car—it would be good to get off the road and spend some time walking around Fredericksburg, the historic hill country town that was their destination.

The party had not ended terribly late, but Lauren's drama over her relationship with Brian had kept them up even later. Sarah had said that they had been brought to Texas for moments like that one. He knew she was right, but a selfish part of him hoped they would not have any more of that drama.

Then, this morning Matt had feared that Sarah was still avoiding him. When he had awakened, her side of the bed was empty and cold. After dressing quickly, he had been surprised to find the hallway smelling of blueberry muffins. He had made his way out to the kitchen, where Sarah was pulling a double batch from the oven. Her hair hung in a braid down her back, and she had smelled faintly of roses and baking when he had touched his lips to that spot he loved on the back of her neck. He slipped his hands around her waist as she moved the muffins from the pans to the cooling racks.

She laughed softly at the encumbrance. "I can't move."

Matt did not let her protests stop him from holding her. "I remember you making me blueberry pancakes at my old apartment."

Sarah seemed to be only half-joking when she shushed him. "Hey, that's our secret. We weren't married. People will get the wrong idea."

He moved his mouth to her ear. "What? That we slept together before we were married? Because we did."

Sarah turned in Matt's arms and swatted at him. "You make it sound bad. All we did was sleep."

"I skedaddled out of that bed as soon as I woke up. You are an enticing woman." Before Sarah could protest, he kissed her. "I suppose you already went running."

He tried to keep his tone light, but Sarah studied his face before replying. "I haven't been up that long. I baked these while I was waiting for you."

He remembered grinning widely. "Good. You ready to go?"

"Just let me wash up these pans."

Matt had grabbed a towel and dried the mixing bowl while Sarah had scrubbed the pans. It had felt good to do something normal together. And the run afterwards, while slower than their usual pace for Sarah's sake, had felt good. Matt was grateful that there was a weight machine and a treadmill in the exercise room at their residence hotel in San Antonio. He was missing his regular workouts. And from the increased color in his wife's face, he could see the morning runs were helping her recover.

"A penny for your thoughts."

Glancing her way again, Matt smiled. "I was just thinking about how impressed I was with our run this morning. You're already getting back into shape."

"I'm slow."

"Not that bad."

"At least I don't look pale anymore."

He reached for her hand and kissed it. "You look lovely."

"Thanks." She regarded him for a moment. "You really didn't have the dream last night?"

"Really. Not even the one where you're okay. I don't remember dreaming at all." He released her hand as traffic ahead of them slowed. "We're almost there. It's just down this road to the airport."

"Airport?"

"Yeah. The hotel has an historical aviation theme. I thought you would enjoy the historical part."

"It sounds fun. Aren't we going to that Pacific War museum, too?"

"Tomorrow. Before it gets too hot, we'll tour the outside exhibits, which are modeled after a south Pacific island military base." He rubbed his stomach. "For now, I'm hungry. They said we could check in early, but I want to get to a restaurant soon."

"Fine with me."

Both Matt and Sarah did double takes when they realized their hotel looked like a Quonset hut. But once inside, they were taken with the 1940s Pacific War theme. The staff wore flight-crew uniforms and palms decorated the lobby. Big band music added to the ambiance, as did the vintage décor. Inside their room, the bed was constructed of mahogany and two distressed-leather armchairs stood by the window.

Matt barely had a chance to set down their luggage before Sarah was throwing her arms around him. "I love it, Matt. Thank you for bringing me here."

"You're welcome." His stomach gurgled before he could say anything more.

She giggled a little. "We'd better go feed you."

After admiring more of their hotel, Matt took Sarah downtown for lunch. They strolled along the sidewalks the rest of the afternoon, ducking in and out of stores and purchasing gifts for the family.

Matt chuckled at Sarah's enthusiasm. "How are you planning to give these? Send them home?"

"They're for Christmas and birthdays. You know I like to shop all year."

"I thought you hated shopping."

"This is kind of fun."

For dinner they split a meal at the German restaurant near the museum. Sarah was still holding her stomach when they returned to the hotel. "Oh, I ate too much today."

"You ate a sandwich, part of an ice cream cone, and half a serving of schnitzel. I'm not even stuffed and I finished off your ice cream cone after eating my own."

"You forgot the cake we had for dessert. And at dinner we ate salad and all of those potatoes. Then there was the fudge this afternoon. You must have an extra compartment in your stomach or something."

Matt laughed and drew her near. "Maybe a little exercise will help."

Lowering her eyebrows, Sarah pretended to grow serious. "I don't know. We already ran this morning and walked all over town."

His fingers went to the top button on her blouse. "I had something else in mind."

"Oh?"

Sarah looked down and watched her husband's fingers on her buttons for a moment. When she raised her face again, his lips found hers. He tossed the blouse on the chair nearby and ran his hands over her back as his kisses moved down her throat and along her collarbone.

Sighing, she murmured, "You have good ideas, Mr. Granger."

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Upon waking the next morning, it took Sarah several seconds to remember where she was. She listened for a moment and heard Matt making a call in the bathroom. Although it was a bit of a reach, somehow he had managed to snake the room's phone off the desk and take the handset behind the closed door. She stretched and craned her head to look around. The clothes that had been tossed onto the armchairs the night before were either on hangers or folded neatly on top of their suitcases.

Matt ended the call and poked his head around the doorjamb. He smiled and walked over to the bed when he saw her sitting up. "Good morning, beautiful." He sat down beside her and kissed her, placing a hand on her sheet-covered knee.

"Who was that on the phone?"

"Room service. It will be about forty-five minutes. You can take a shower if you like."

"I see you already did." She reached up to touch his damp hair, the sheet slipping down with her movement. Pulling the sheet back up, she blushed a little. "I guess we never got around to unpacking our pajamas last night."

"I didn't mind." Matt's eyes twinkled.

"I know you didn't. At least I had that distinct impression early this morning."

A shadow passed over Matt's face, but neither of them acknowledged it. Matt had awakened them both with another nightmare. However, once again Sarah was there to comfort him, and as she had just implied, he had quickly forgotten the dream.

He caressed her arm and smoothed the hair away from her face. "We needed another honeymoon, beloved."

Resting her head on his shoulder, Sarah nodded. "Yes, we did."

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The museum was such a hit with Sarah that they went back after lunch to finish going through the exhibits. Late in the day they returned to their room to change for dinner. Matt wore a dress shirt and slacks, and Sarah wore the sleeveless dress that she had brought for the anniversary party that would be held in honor of Matt's grandparents the following weekend.

When she stepped out of the bathroom, Matt's gasp was audible. "You look gorgeous." He moved to her side and ran his hand over her back, enjoying the silkiness of the sheer pale blue chiffon. A light blue and green leaf-patterned tunic was just visible through the translucent fabric, which complemented Sarah's dark hair and fine features. The length—coming to a few inches above Sarah's knees—was perfect, in Matt's mind, for showing off his wife's slim, yet shapely, legs. "I remember when you came to the door the night I asked your dad permission to date you. You were wearing this dress. For a fleeting moment I wondered if I had the right to have someone as lovely as you for a girlfriend."

"Well, I don't know if I'm that lovely, but why not? You're a pretty amazing catch yourself."

"So you keep saying."

Sarah stood close to Matt and reached up to wrap her arms around his neck. "Because it's true, my love." When she kissed him, he held her tightly and kissed her back.

At last he pulled away. His arms still wrapped around Sarah, he stared into her face for a long moment. She waited, wondering what was on his mind.

Finally he sighed. A look of quiet joy came over his face. "I was just thinking of how blessed I am to have you as my wife. God is so good."

Her arms still wrapped around his neck, Sarah gazed fondly at Matt. "God has been good to both of us. I'm so happy He brought us together." She reached up to kiss his cheek and pulled back, her eyes alight. "You know, this dress triggered a good memory for you."

Matt's mouth tipped into a smile. "You're right." He bent his head to kiss Sarah softly on the lips. "I'd make a new memory of helping you back out of the dress, but we have a reservation."

Placing a hand on the side of his face, she smiled. "We'll get back to this later."

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For the fifteenth time that morning, Matt pretended to connect the wires in the cable box. From his perch high on the utility pole, he had a bird's eye view of the drop site. There were two other agents monitoring the same location, each of them with a different disguise. In his earpiece, he received occasional updates from the lead agent, Billings, who waited on a park bench. With his phone on his lap and a Bluetooth in his ear, he appeared to be engrossed in a phone conversation. The location was far from hot, so occasionally the agent masquerading as a homeless man, Scarletti, would chat with Billings. Matt, partly out of principle and partly out of practicality, remained silent, hopefully appearing to be engrossed in his work. While passersby would have wondered why the cable guy was talking to himself, no one questioned the seemingly crazy ramblings of the impoverished man with the shopping cart.

"This mess with the director is out of control. Did you hear that Richard Wong set the whole thing up? It's just one big attempt to slander the guy," Scarletti grumbled.

"He was blackmailing the director. That's the only way that jerk could have gotten the job of training the new recruits." Billings was matter-of-fact, with only a hint of sarcasm.

"Jeez. Why go to the trouble of blackmailing for that?"

"Maybe he wanted to work himself up to section chief." Billings was beginning to sound impatient.

"I heard he was a real di— Uh, I heard he was hard to work with. Hey, Granger, didn't your wife train under him?"

"Scarletti—"

"Right. He can't talk to us. I guess she doesn't report to Wong anymore, anyway." There was a quiet spell of perhaps thirty seconds, and Scarletti spoke again. "Even if Wong staged the whole thing, you gotta wonder why Barclay was at that chick's place."

"We don't know that he really was."

"Heads up. The target is on his way." Matt was happy to interrupt. The conversation about Richard Wong was giving him indigestion. He liked Billings and Scarletti, but at times, Scarletti did not always use discretion. Billings was rock-solid. For that reason, they made a great team. Scarletti respected Billings' seniority and Scarletti added energy to their partnership. Matt tried not to think about Scarletti having seniority over him—it was a fact he would have to accept, even if he could see occasional flaws in the other agent's methods. For one thing, he had been taught to keep silent on operations—conversation kept everyone from having their full attention on their surroundings. But lack of experience and a more relaxed attitude was to be expected. Many agents assigned to U.S. field offices had not been exposed to war zones or other similarly stressful situations.

Certainly the agents in D.C. were under duress this week. If the news of Gil Barclay's video had brought down morale at the San Antonio office, Matt could only wonder what it was doing in Washington. It had blown up while he and Sarah had been enjoying their weekend alone in Fredericksburg. Now it was Tuesday and the truth was only just beginning to come out. He prayed that Richard Wong's blackmailing would be brought to light properly and he would be sent to jail. He also sent up a prayer for Georgette and Gil Barclay. He could not imagine how difficult all the publicity would be for her.

The target approached the drop site, drawing everyone's attention. Matt had followed him with his helmet camera, adjusting the angle at Billings' prompting. Within five minutes, the target had been tracked to a late model sedan and was being followed to the freeway. The agents on site packed up and headed back to the office.

Once there, Matt took a detour to the Analysis section, where he found Sarah researching the criminal history of a drug cartel leader. She seemed glad for a distraction. "Hey. Did you enjoy being a lineman for a day?" She started humming a few bars of the Glen Campbell tune, "Wichita Lineman."

He laughed. "Sure. It could have been pretty boring, but it was fun watching people from up above." He paused and grew serious. "How are you doing? Everyone keeps talking about Richard Wong."

Sarah hesitated, as if she were trying to form her words. "Same here. It's hard not correcting them when they say things about Gil Barclay."

Crouching down near her desk, Matt spoke in a whisper. "You know what Larry Chen said. Internal affairs policy. We can't let anyone know what we know. They'll wonder how we found out ahead of time." Matt watched as Sarah nodded in reply before patting her hand. "I have to get to my desk and write up my report. I'll see you later."

"See you." She grinned at Matt as he stood and made his way to the field section.

He would never get tired of Sarah smiling at him that way. Things were so much better between them since they had talked—and spent that weekend alone. Sarah seemed once again like the sweet young girl he had fallen for a year ago. Her body had healed, and so had her heart, for the most part. After all that had happened in their lives, he was grateful for that gift.

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The image was so vivid—Sarah, who had been crumpled not in the shower, but under the stairs at Jamal's hideout this time—was suddenly smiling at him, reassuring him. He could hear her voice, calling him. It was soft, but urgent. She sounded so concerned.

"Matt! Honey, wake up."

He opened his eyes. He had been dreaming again. As before, Sarah hovered over him in the dark, her hand on his shoulder.

His voice groggy, he mumbled, "I'm okay. Sorry I woke you again."

Sighing as she lay back down beside him, Sarah replied, "You don't have to apologize." She ran a hand along his cheek and over his chest. "I'm sorry you had another bad dream."

Turning on his side, he drew closer and wrapped an arm around her. "At least it ended well."

"It didn't sound like it." She sighed again. "You were practically sobbing."

"I don't know why I had the dream again. We had that great weekend."

"Work stress—you know, Richard Wong."

"I guess so." He ran a hand over her arm. "Love you."

"Love you, too." Her voice was sleepy now.

Matt lay quietly, listening to Sarah's breathing slow into an even rhythm. There was something reassuring about having her sleeping beside him. He had not realized just how much it had meant to him until he had been forced to go back to sleeping alone when he and Sarah had been separated those weeks she was in New York. It would be easy to be angry at Richard Wong for all he had done, but physically separating them for several weeks had not been nearly as bad as Wong's mistreatment of Sarah while she had been going through training.

Several coworkers had inferred that Wong had been responsible for the miscarriage. But Matt could not allow himself to think that way. He and Sarah, each on their own, had come to the realization that it would not do either of them any good to harbor bitterness towards Richard. And finally, each of them had learned to not blame themselves for things—at least they were taking steps to avoid that kind of thinking.

So why was he having that dream again? Dr. Kirby had called Matt at work that week—perhaps it was a follow-up, or perhaps it was friendly concern. The man must have known that Richard Wong was a topic of discussion in all of the Agency offices. But Matt had forgiven Wong. Matt lay there, trying to calm himself so he could go back to sleep.

Unbidden, a memory of a conversation with Pastor Carlson came to mind. It had been about forgiveness. Matt tried to remember why the topic had arisen, but that seemed inconsequential. The pastor's words were repeating themselves in Matt's mind. Forgiveness was an ongoing process. Perhaps his mentor's words had been in the context of grieving. Like grieving, anger often came in waves. One could be assaulted with an emotional response when one was least expecting it. Perhaps the gossip about Richard Wong had brought back some kind of insecurity or another emotion from all the turmoil he and Sarah had gone through that year. Perhaps the dream was just a way for his mind to work it out. There were a few things one could do to ease through the grieving process. With anger issues, it was important to address the anger and forgive again, if needed. But most important of all, Matt needed to pray for God's help.

Lying there in the dark, with his wife sleeping beside him, he began to pray in earnest.

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"That's good news, Gil. You've done a lot of good as director. It would be a big mistake to let you go." Lee sipped his beer and looked around the restaurant. They had chosen one far enough away from Capitol Hill to avoid the attention of the press or other prying eyes. Still, a few patrons had glanced their way more than once.

Using his fork to toy with the remains of his salad, Gil grew thoughtful. "I'm not ready to offer my resignation, yet. But I think Georgette won't mind when I decide to retire. For now, she's being supportive."

"She's an amazing woman."

"You don't have to tell me that."

Lee reflected on what the Barclays had endured at Richard Wong's hand. Not only was Richard being prosecuted on several charges, Gil Barclay was suing him for defamation of character. Gil was pushing for Wong to pay damages of some sort to Sarah and Matt, too. That seemed like more of a long shot.

"I heard Leah Wong has filed for divorce."

"I guess she didn't buy his lies to the press—hopefully he actually told her the truth." Gil stared down at the table for a moment.

"You're a good man to hold off on that lawsuit."

"I want to be sure the family isn't hit. Let Leah switch the kids' college accounts to her name as custodian. Wong's family will suffer enough from his loss of income. If he's in jail and unemployed, he won't be able to pay child support or alimony."

"Wong is likely to lose. I'm not a big advocate of lawsuits, but this is the only way to really make sure he shuts up about you."

"I guess Francine is glad to have him out of the office. She's already put Grace Tanaka in charge of the freshmen." He stared knowingly at Lee. Gil knew that Grace and Sarah had worked well together. Grace would be lobbying for Sarah's return, even if she went to Analysis.

Lee still wanted to ask the question. "So, what does that mean for Sarah and Matt?"

"It means I can finally choose where to place my people. There's a smart young gal with a Master's from Georgetown who could really add to Analysis. And her husband was one of the sharpest agents in the D.C. office. Now he's been relegated to backup for Scarletti and Billings."

With his thumb and forefinger, Lee spun his beer glass, watching the last ounce or two swirl around. "Billings is sharp—I worked with him once. Amanda had a bit of trouble with Scarletti. He's not always on the ball."

"Then I should end Matt's agony and have Human Resources bring him back to D.C."

Looking up, Lee's brow lowered. "You're not going to like my response to that."

Gil Barclay leaned back in his seat. "You want me to send them to Farnsworth Manor? Tristan Bates has said he could use the extra help. Summer in England can be beautiful."

"They're not pawns to be moved from here to there. Sarah's in her third office in six months. She's still newly married, really, and they lost the baby less than two months ago. Matt has had a rough time with all of this, too."

"Really, Lee? You want me to keep them in a field office? Sarah can't do diddly there—not compared to what she could do working for Jamie. I see her taking over that department—or at least moving up the ladder—if Jamie ever decides to move into the private sector."

"Private sector? Jamie?" Lee was playing dumb. Jamie had mentioned something about a recruiter.

"You know I have my ear to the ground, Lee. That head hunter—whose phone number is on our alert list—called him three times at work in the last month."

Lee did not address Gil's comments further. He knew Jamie was staying put for now, but that was Jamie's business. "My point, Gil, is that those kids need some recuperation time. They've been through some hell, thanks to Richard and those cartel thugs—don't forget about them. Matt could use some time running backup. It pays less, but it might be good for him. You know he's a candidate for burnout. Let him work under less pressure for a while." Lee sat up and smiled to himself. "When I spoke with Sarah the other night, she seemed pretty tickled to be in Analysis, even if it would be even more interesting here in D.C."

Gil Barclay had listened patiently as Lee made his point. "I remember a time when pride would have had you bringing your daughter and son-in-law back to Washington, no matter what."

"I've learned a thing or two over the years. Almost losing Sarah more than once has taught me a lot."

"She's a lot safer in San Antonio—she doesn't ever venture into the field, and Matt has a low profile." Gil was pondering Lee's words. "Does Matt like being near his family?"

Lee laughed, remembering Sarah's comment. She would never speak badly about Matt's family behind their backs, but had not been hard to read between the lines. They did not have much privacy around his sisters. "I'm thinking they would like to be back in their place in Arlington at some point."

"It's hard visiting family when you're newly married. I remember trying to go home after being gone for years at college and law school." Gil chuckled at some memory.

"I could be wrong. They may not want to come back here." Lee smiled sardonically.

"Oh, of course they will. Tell you what, Lee. I'll have Human Resources write up paperwork for a 45-day term in that office—they'll end up being gone about two months total, figuring in weekends and the PTO I forced on them. Just long enough to recuperate a little—and for Matt to have a good influence on Scarletti." Gil smiled a little. "That ought to give enough time for the worst of the Richard Wong mess to be over."

"Then, in a few months, he'll have court hearings."

"Let's hope the press doesn't consider him newsworthy by then." Gil signaled for the bill. When Lee started to protest, Gil put up a hand. "Let me get this. I appreciate all the support you've given me, Lee." After paying the server, Lee and Gil walked out to the parking lot together. The afternoon had already grown warm. Gil ran a hand under his collar. "Those kids won't miss the humidity, I'm sure. It's hot in San Antonio, but not as humid."

"Thanks for giving them some time away, Gil. I know you could have had Human Resources handle all of this. You have enough to worry about—looking out for Sarah and Matt means a lot."

"Like I said, you've been really supportive, Lee, and I thank you for it. I owe you for staying on as section chief for so long." He jingled his keys thoughtfully. "Besides, your girl is an asset to the Agency. I want to make good use of her talents in the right department this time. She should have gone straight to Analysis, not New York. And I know Matt is a good man. Francine speaks highly of him." Gil winked conspiratorially.

Lee laughed out loud. The Francine of the old days would have been critical of anyone with as little Agency experience as Matt—no matter their level of talent or previous experience.

The two men shook hands and went their separate ways. Lee was thoughtful as he climbed into his BMW. Before he drove away, however, he found himself bending his head and offering up a prayer of thanks. It was a foreign action for him, but he felt the need to do it. Gil Barclay had not only agreed to allow Sarah and Matt time to get over all the turmoil in their lives, but he had virtually guaranteed that Sarah would have the job she wanted in Analysis. He could not wait to hear the excitement in her voice when she eventually learned of the news. For now, he could go home and tell Amanda.

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The sixtieth anniversary party for Sharon's parents, William and Florence, was well underway. Several longtime family friends had shown up for the event, as well as distant relatives. At the moment she was feeling a bit overwhelmed from meeting all the new faces and had escaped outside for a small break. She wrapped her bare arms around herself when a slight breeze came up, ruffling her dress.

Although Sarah was a bit overwhelmed at the moment, Sarah had found herself caught up in the joyful party preparations when she and Matt had arrived at his parents' home mid-afternoon the day before. She was particularly fond of Florence, and Matt had reminded her more than once how happy he was that his grandmother was fond of Sarah, too.

The feeling had been reinforced when the two women had found themselves alone together just before dinner the evening before. Matt and his father had just finished their work outside, and Matt had ducked into the bathroom for a shower. Sharon had insisted Sarah take a break with Florence in the living room, while Sharon, Lauren, and Emma finished dinner preparations.

"Really, Sarah. Lauren hasn't started her new job, yet, so the girls have been kicking back. You've been working a new job all week and you haven't sat down since you got out of the car today. I'd make the girls put the food on the table themselves, but we'd be eating at midnight." Sarah's mother-in-law had laughed and turned to the kitchen, while Florence had led the way to the living room, where they had sat down together.

"How you holding up, sweetie?"

Confused at first, Sarah had replied, "Actually, I'm a lot better. It was fun to help decorate for your party this afternoon. And I'm so excited for Lauren and Brian."

Florence nodded. "That's quite a rock he gave her. I tell you, she'd better appreciate that man. He has a heart of gold, putting up with her silly ways."

"He loves her the way she is."

"No kidding." Florence grew more serious. "But when I asked how you were holding up, I meant about losing the baby. I know it might seem unkind to bring it up, but you and I haven't talked, and one shouldn't try to sweep important things under the rug."

Sarah had already learned that Florence was a direct person. Rather than be offended at having to discuss a difficult topic, Sarah was relieved. "Actually, it's nice that you are asking. Sometimes people feel awkward or uncomfortable…" Sarah's voice had drifted off.

"That's true. Do you and my grandson talk about it? It's important to talk sometimes."

"You speak as if you've had some experience." When Florence only nodded, Sarah continued. "It hasn't always been easy, but Matt has been good to me. I wanted to blame myself, but he wouldn't let me."

"Oh honey, don't go down that road. Sharon told me what happened—what the doctor said. We're all just so grateful that the Lord spared you. Of course, Matt is the most grateful of all. That boy is certainly smitten with you. Even more than when we saw you both last fall."

Reddening, Sarah was not sure how to answer. She managed, "I wasn't really expecting marriage to bring us closer together—we were already pretty close—but it has."

Florence leaned over and patted Sarah's hand. "Time will just strengthen that bond. I'm praying for you both every day."

"Thank you, Florence. That means a lot."

"Of course, honey. I can't always do a lot anymore, but I can pray for my darling grandchildren—and that includes you."

Touched, Sarah had not realized she was crying until a tear rolled down her cheek. She swiped it away, but not before someone else had noticed.

"Grandma, are you making my girl cry?" Matt stroked Sarah's hair before resting his hand on her shoulder.

"Since you're such a spy, I guess you can answer that one for yourself."

Sarah, who had been looking down at her lap, had felt her eyes widen with surprise. If only Florence had known that her teasing comment had held much more truth than she realized.

Now, standing on the driveway under the stars, Sarah felt that same affectionate touch on her shoulder once again as Matt joined her.

"Hello beautiful lady. Have I told you how lovely you look tonight?"

"Yes, my sweet husband." While they were dressing earlier, Matt had reminded her how much he liked the dress she had brought for the party.

He wrapped an arm around her shoulders and pulled her against him. "A penny for your thoughts."

Sarah smiled at the familiar phrase and turned to Matt. "I was just thinking about how kind your grandmother was yesterday."

She waved a hand at the lights that Matt and David had hung in the trees around the house and at the cars parked along the driveway. "This is all so nice. You and your family celebrating your grandparents' anniversary—all the people showing up for it."

Moving his hand down her arm in a soothing gesture, Matt looked serious. "Yet you seem a little sad."

"I can tell from your expression that you probably can guess what I'm thinking." But it was important that she say the words anyway—they had both seen what miscommunication could do. "Please don't feel badly that I've never experienced this sort of thing." Reaching up, she placed a hand on Matt's face. How was it possible that someone could become so dear in such a short time as only one year? she wondered to herself. "I was thinking that because of you, now I get to have another grandmother and a grandfather. Not only that, but I get to help celebrate something amazing like sixty years of marriage. That is a gift."

"That's a sweet thing to say." Gathering her in his arms, Matt touched his lips to Sarah's forehead. "I love you."

Resting her head on his shoulder, Sarah enjoyed their close embrace. "Are you sure you won't mind spending most of our summer out here? Francine made it sound like we could come back sooner, if we wanted."

Matt was incredulous. "Made it sound like? She was more obvious than that—she wants us back now." Sarah could feel the rumble in his chest as he chuckled. "I'm so proud of you, earning that spot in Jamie's department. Gil Barclay's comments in your personnel file are impressive. Most new agents don't get such a glowing recommendation."

"Oh—thanks." Sarah blushed at the compliment. "So, do you think we should go back to D.C. now?"

"Yes, if you are eager to start with Jamie."

"But what about you?"

When Matt did not answer right away, Sarah began to feel that her earlier concerns were correct about Matt resenting his role in the San Antonio office. But he surprised her.

"You know, I think, if you can handle waiting a few weeks, it would be good for both of us to spend the summer here."

Sarah leaned back so she could search Matt's face. "Really?"

"Yeah. The first couple of days, I have to say, I felt like I was twiddling my thumbs—you know, wasting my time." He gazed off at the twinkling lights of Austin in the distance, and then looked back down at Sarah. "But then I realized that it was kind of nice to let someone else take the lead for a change. I know Rene is the lead agent, but we're more of a team than anything. We've got each other's backs out there. And the risks are sometimes high." His eyes widened almost imperceptibly and he backpedaled. "I mean, they can be high. Rene and I are careful."

Sarah laughed softly. "I know you're careful. You don't have to reassure me. I know what you're up against."

"Of course you do. I guess what I'm saying is that's it's nice to finally have us both off the front lines for a little while. I think it's why I haven't had that dream the last several nights."

"I hope you don't ever have the dream again." Her eyes met his. "Honestly, I'm glad to be off the front lines permanently. I appreciate all that everyone, including you, has done to help prepare me for confronting dangerous situations, but I'd rather use my head to investigate and analyze." She placed her hand on his chest. "Honestly, it's nice to have you out of the line of fire for a while. But at some point you're going to miss it. It's what you've wanted since you were a boy."

He watched her face, smiling faintly. "Have I told you I love you lately?"

She kissed his cheek. "Yes. And I love you."

"I know you do, because you are basically telling me that I should go live my dream again at the end of the summer."

"That's exactly what I'm saying."

His eyebrows lowered. "As long as you're happy in your job, too."

"I'm sure I will be."

"But once we have kids, I'm not staying in the field. Rene says he can't wait to get back out there, but I've seen what it did to you and your brothers when your mom was taken hostage. It wouldn't be fair to you, and I'd never feel content doing it."

"Let's just cross that bridge when we get to it. For now, we'll just make reservations at that place in Fredericksburg again and think up some other fun things to do while we're here in Texas."

"You haven't seen the country around Kerrville. The rivers around there are beautiful. We could drive there easily from that hotel."

"You'll have to take me."

When she smiled up at Matt, he responded by touching his lips to hers.

"Would you two get a room?"

At the sound of his sister's voice, Matt and Sarah pulled apart, but he recovered quickly from his surprise and shot back, "Lauren, that's just the problem. We have a room, but no privacy."

"Yeah, and with Grandma and Grandpa in the room across the way this weekend, I'm sure it puts a damper on things." Lauren laughed at her own humor.

Remembering Lauren's interruption from the previous week, Matt and Sarah exchanged grins, but did not say anything as they followed her back into the house.

SMKSMKSMKSMKSMKSMK

"They seem happy, don't you think?" Amanda watched for Lee's reaction.

The phone call with Matt and Sarah had not been long, but it had told him enough. "Yes, I do. I think this will be good for them." Lee picked up his coffee mug and took a sip.

Amanda regarded her husband a moment and turned back to arranging the deli meat and cheese on the tray. It would only be a short time before Phillip and Jamie and their families arrived for their bi-weekly family time. The Sunday lunches had not been the same without Matt and Sarah, but Amanda had to agree with her husband—their youngest and her husband needed some time in a less stressful environment. And they needed time alone together.

"I'm glad they have some nice weekends planned. They hardly had any time alone together for months. That's hard on a couple."

"If anyone would know that, it would be us." Lee stepped up behind Amanda and slipped his hands around her waist. He leaned around and kissed her cheek.

Amanda chuckled at the memory. "And when we finally were together every night, we were living in a houseful of people. You just about went nuts."

"Ah, but Amanda, it was much better than being in my apartment without you. And you know how I came to love your mother—I already loved the boys."

"Still, the cabin was a nice place to get away."

"It still is. All alone in the woods with my wife…" He nuzzled her neck playfully and she swatted at him.

"The kids will be here any minute."

Moving away so Amanda could work, Lee was quiet for a moment before venturing, "Amanda, I should tell you I asked Gil to let them stay there for a little while. I thought it would be good for Matt—probably Sarah, too."

Now Amanda turned around to face Lee. "Oh?"

"Yeah. The kid was just about burned out. You saw how he was at the hospital with Sarah. We talked after she had come home. He was not doing well. I'm sure her time in New York didn't help his state of mind, either. He was blaming himself, piling on the guilt…"

"…sounding like someone I know very well—at least that's how he was back in the day." Amanda wrapped her arms around Lee. "You did the right thing, sweetheart."

"Well, you've taught me a thing or two. It's not the first time I've reassigned someone temporarily—or suggested it, anyway."

"Yes, but in this case it was your son-in-law—and we both know you did it out of concern for him. You've really developed a big soft spot for Matt over the last year." Amanda gave Lee a kiss on the cheek. "One more reason for me to love you, Scarecrow."

"Aww, Amanda." Lee moved to hug her back, but the doorbell rang. He glanced at the door, and then back at Amanda before going to answer it. "It won't be for long. They'll be home before the end of summer, and then we'll get to see both of them all the time."

"That's right." Amanda smiled to herself as she listened to Lee enthusiastically greet their family out in the foyer. In a month or two they would be back to having all three of their children's families gathering together. For the first time in a long time, Amanda felt a sense of peace. All she wanted for her children was good health and happiness, and it finally seemed that would become a reality for all three of them. With a pang, she remembered the baby Sarah had lost, but that feeling of hurt was soon followed by a feeling of hope and assurance that there would be more grandbabies someday. For now she could enjoy Phillip and Jamie's children.

Reaching for a towel, she had just finished wiping her hands when a pair of slender arms encircled her waist.

"Hi, Grandma!" Jessica chirped. "I couldn't wait to see you today."

"Me, too, Jessica." Amanda smiled and hugged her granddaughter tightly to her. Life was good, and she intended to enjoy it.