Chapter 30
Jack turned up the gravel driveway, anxious to get these interviews over. The blonde woman he'd left so abruptly back at the hospital consumed his thoughts the entire trip.
He felt a special bond to Sue, a closeness he'd never shared with anyone before. She made him laugh, made him think, and made him appreciate what he had. When she hurt, he hurt and when he hurt, he knew she'd be there for him.
But was there more? Jack wondered rolling to a stop in front of the farmhouse. Were they destined to remain just friends?
"Definitely not the kind of place you'd expect Harvard to stay at," Bobby joked as they got out of the car.
"At least not willingly," Jack grinned, but he couldn't help thinking how much it reminded him of home. He could remember several old farmhouses like this back in his hometown in Wisconsin. Even down to the goat on the porch, he smiled as he followed the taller agent up the front steps.
"Agent Bobby Manning and this is Agent Jack Hudson with the F.B.I.," Bobby announced to the young man and young woman who had come out the door.
"I'm Danni and that's Craig," the young woman stated after perusing Bobby's badge carefully. "You must be here about Tara and Myles. How are they doing?"
"Ah, good," Jack responded a little taken back by her abruptness. "Tara needed some surgery and she's in I.C.U. but they both should be fine in a few weeks."
"That's a relief!" Craig maintained.
"Yeah," Danni agreed. "Froggy was planning on going into Frederick to check on them in the morning," she told the men.
"Froggy?" Bobby questioned quietly, his eyebrows rising curiously as he glanced over at Jack.
"Hey, Froggy!" Craig hollered through the screen door. "Quit messing with your hair…we've got company!" he laughed, wrapping his arm around the young woman's shoulders as she giggled.
"I'm not messing with my hair, you smart-alecky know-it-all, I'm changing it back to my natural…" came the disembodied voice from inside the house. As a blonde woman came through the door, her voice immediately halted when she saw the two handsome men standing on her front porch. "Hi, there," she smiled, holding her hand out to welcome her visitors.
"Froggy?" Bobby questioned, doubtful a woman with her beauty could be tagged with a moniker such as that.
"Annie," the blonde corrected, glaring over her shoulder at the still chuckling couple behind her. "My nickname is Froggy."
"Ah, well, I'm Bobby Manning and that's Jack Hudson…"
"…we're with the F.B.I.," Jack interrupted, stepping between the tall Aussie and the woman to shake her hand. "We'd like to ask you a few questions about Deputy Webster," he informed her smiling broadly.
A man could lose himself in those eyes, he thought noticing the way her sweater accented their color.
"Um, well," Annie stammered, blushing under the dark-haired agent's intense gaze. "Why don't you come in?" she offered.
Turning back towards the door, she noticed the stray goat on the porch. "Craig, put Aubrey back in the fence AGAIN and join us inside," Annie instructed rolling her eyes at her naughty goat.
Jack quickly reached around her opening the door for her. He returned her tentative smile, placing his hand on the small of her back as she preceded them into the house.
"Close your mouth and quit drooling, Sparky," Bobby whispered, quietly over his shoulder. "You don't want to mess up her carpet now, do you?" he quipped at Jack's glower as they followed Annie inside.