Chapter 12
As evening fell, a light rain could be heard pelting the tin roof of the farmhouse. Tara had fallen asleep again on the couch so Myles had joined Craig, Danni and Annie in the kitchen for coffee. They'd been talking about Deputy Webster and his illegal activities while waiting for Hank to return from checking on the clearing of the roads before heading home.
"Deputy Webster may already be a little nervous," Myles told them. "He didn't seem too comfortable earlier when he learned Tara and I worked for the F.B.I."
"You don't think he'll try anything, do you?" Danni questioned nervously. Craig placed his hand over hers on the table giving a comforting squeeze.
"Hopefully, he's not too paranoid and believes our being here is purely coincidental," Myles clarified. "However, the three of you need to keep up the pretense that everything is business as usual until I can inform the rest of my team and return with help."
"Will do," Craig acknowledged as the two ladies nodded their agreement.
"I don't like leaving you like this, but with Tara hurt, I don't have any back-up to take him out while we're here," Myles explained, looking at each of them one at a time. "One of the first things we are taught at the Bureau is to never go into a situation without back-up."
"We understand," Annie replied. "We've been dealing with this for years, so a few more days won't be a big deal."
"We're just happy to finally have some help now," Craig continued.
"Are we going to tell Tara what is going on?" Danni asked.
"I don't think so," Myles maintained. "There's nothing she can do about it now, and if I did tell her, she'd probably be upset assuming I didn't think she could help," he told them with a smile. "She can be quite stubborn."
With that, they heard a thump followed by a strangled cry from the living room. Myles was immediately out of his chair heading for where the sound came from with Danni, Craig, and Annie close on his heels.
Myles came to an abrupt stop when he saw the scene in the living room causing Danni to collide with his back. Craig quickly caught her in his arms as she stumbled back, pulling her to him until she regained her footing.
Annie peered around Myles' tall frame to see what happened. Seeing Tara sprawled on the floor obviously in pain, she moved to go around him. However, Myles was quick to recover, and in two long strides was kneeling beside her.
"Tara, are you okay?" he questioned concerned. "What happened?" he asked, gently pulling her into his arms.
"I wanted to see if the view from the floor was better," Tara snapped, rolling her eyes. "What do you think happened?"
"Tara," he admonished, easily lifting her petite frame from the floor back onto the couch.
"I was trying to get up, but everything is so stiff, I ended up rolling off the couch," she whispered embarrassed.
"Why were you trying to get off the couch?" Myles asked, earning a glare from Tara. "Oh, uh," he stammered as Tara giggled at his awkwardness.
"It's okay, I can make it on my own," Tara smiled, pushing at his arms he still held around her.
"I don't think so," Myles said, swinging her up carefully into his arms.
Tara had to admit she was getting very comfortable being in his arms, letting him take care of her. With her one good arm around his neck, Tara clung to him as he carried her down the hall. A slight blush tinged her cheeks as she saw the grins on Danni and Annie's faces.
That's the same grin Lucy gets when she's looking at Jack and Sue, Tara thought blushing even more. Glancing up at Myles, she wondered, Could I be attracted to him?
Slowly, Myles lowered her feet to the bathroom floor. Tara was a little unsteady on her feet when he set her down so he held onto her waist for a minute.
"You okay?" he asked, looking down into her hazel eyes.
Tara just nodded as she backed away, her mind a mass of confusing thoughts. Relieved when he finally left, pulling the door shut behind him, she leaned against the sink.
Not wanting to believe she could be attracted to Myles, Tara was desperate for another answer for the butterflies she felt whenever he touched her lately. With a sigh, she realized there was no other explanation. I do have feelings for him, she pondered, her eyes widening at the thought.