It was late when Colby finally arrived at Hannah's that night. He'd been listening to those audios all day and he had only begun his third CD. Having to stop and make notes and voice prints slowed the process down remarkably. He sighed with relief when he saw the lights still on in Hannah's apartment.
She was just sitting in the sofa when he went in. He was a little surprised, she was usually working on something or other. "Hey, beautiful," Colby said softly.
"Been out catting around with Rilla?" Hannah asked, coldly.
"What?" Colby was astonished. "Hannah, what are you talking about?"
"Robin called. She told me she saw you and Rilla in a very intimate embrace."
He saw her trembling. "Hannah, look at me. This is a very serious accusation. Robin can't be herself if she's seeing things like that."
Hannah whipped around. He realized then she hadn't been trembling in tears, she'd been quivering in suppressed fury. Her eyes were bright with anger, and unshed tears. She had her arms around herself, as though willing herself to control her anger.
"Don't belittle her!" she spat out. "Are you telling me you think Robin's blind?"
"I am NOT belittling her! I just can't imagine what it is she saw that would make her think that Rilla and I were in an intimate embrace. When is Robin saying this happened? I've been working all day! And I've been here with you every night this past week!"
"Well, it's very convenient for you to be working closely with Rilla then, isn't it?" Hannah's voice was rising with each word.
"Hannah, even criminals have their day in court! I don't even know what it is I need to be defending myself against. Are you and Robin, judge, jury and executioner now? When was this so-called intimate embrace that she saw?" Frustration edged every word Colby spoke.
"This morning." Hannah bit out.
"This morning? The only thing that Rilla and I talked about this morning were these cuff links and this tie pin. Rilla was tracing the design on the tie pin and admiring your handiwork! We weren't close enough for it to be an embrace! She wants to commission a set for her husband! She's a happily married woman, and I'm very happy being with you!"
"I am not my mother," she ground out through clenched teeth. Colby started in surprise. "I will not sit around at home, waiting for you to come home, while you're out catting around!" she spat out, still in a fury. "My father always proudly declared that he never cheated on her. But he was never there! He was always out, while she was home, waiting for him. I will NOT let this happen to me!"
"Sweetheart," he tried again, reaching out for her.
She pulled away from him, "Don't touch me! Just leave me alone!"
"You can't be serious!" Colby was furious now.
"Leave. Me. Alone."
"Fine! Shut me out! I'm just trying to work things out!" Colby stormed out the door and slammed it. Then he sighed and paused at the door. And guilt stabbed his heart as he heard her wracking sobs through the door. He reached for the doorknob, but stopped, and leaned his forehead against the doorjamb. He ached to go inside and comfort her, but decided that it might just be better to let her calm down on her own. He stayed there till he heard her sobs subside.
-----
Reggie kept looking nervously out the window, it was driving her crazy that Don hadn't made it back yet. She'd been invited to a prestigious racing event and she couldn't wait to tell him. She moved restlessly around her apartment, straightening things up as she went along. She checked the pot roast over and over again, just for something to do.
Finally, she heard the Suburban pull up, and she dashed to the door, high on the thrill of seeing him again.
She heard the key turn in the lock, then giggling, yanked the door open. Don laughed as he tumbled into her, just managing to prevent them both from falling over onto the floor.
"Miss me?" was all he could get out before she pulled him down for a kiss. He dropped everything as his arms went around her. She was removing his clothes as quickly as she could, almost frantic with need. Then she was moaning as his tongue swirled in to meet hers. He got her clothes off quickly. He picked her up and headed to the bedroom.
He got out of the rest of his clothes after dropping her on the bed, grinning at the face she made at him. She wrapped her legs around his waist as he picked up her hips a little. He thrust into her in a smooth motion. He paused in surprise, then grinned at how ready she was for him. "Stop smirking," Reggie murmured as she looped one arm around his neck to pull him down for a kiss. "Hard and fast, G-man, I need it hard and fast."
Later, as Reggie lay sprawled across his chest, Don said quietly, "Move in with me."
-----
Rilla decided to stop at Only You before heading into the FBI Office. It thrilled her to see the lovely designs in the store window. She'd been trying to find the perfect gift for Jared for their twentieth anniversary. She would have thought it'd be the opposite, but somehow, 20 years together seemed to make it harder to buy gifts.
She couldn't help smiling as she walked into the store. It had a lovely ambiance. She saw a woman with short, dark hair, and warm, friendly eyes at one of the display cases and knew she had to be Hannah. She moved towards her. "Ms. Evans?"
Hannah's eyebrows rose just a little, she'd never seen this woman before.
Rilla's smile widened. "I'm Rilla Davison, Granger described you to me yesterday." Then her eyebrows creased together in a slight frown. She could have sworn that Hannah's eyes chilled. She shrugged that off and continued, "He was wearing this wonderful set of tie pin and cuff links yesterday. I'm hoping that you'd have the time to make a set for my husband, Jared."
"I see."
A quizzical glance in Hannah's direction didn't enlighten Rilla. She forged on. "Our twentieth anniversary is coming up in a few months, and I think this would make a perfect gift. Would you be able to take this commission? How do you go about doing this? Granger's tie pin just seemed to reflect him to the bone. Would that be possible for someone you don't know?
Hannah regarded Rilla for a second, surprised that Rilla had been sharp enough to see Colby in her design. And pleased. Not many people noticed that sort of thing.
"You could tell me about your husband, things you love about him, things he likes," Hannah replied softly, curious now, about this woman.
Rilla's eyes lit up as she started talking about Jared, and before either of them realized it, they'd talked for about half an hour. "Oh, goodness, I didn't mean to be here this long. I'm going to be in later than I'd anticipated," Rilla exclaimed as she looked at her watch.
"You won't get into trouble, will you?"
"Oh, no, I'm a contractor, and I've been working a lot of hours. I just don't like to give anyone the opportunity to complain. Face time still matters, even if you put in more than your fair share of hours," Rilla explained. She smiled as she continued, "This particular contract has turned out to be easier to work on than I had expected."
Hannah raised an eyebrow.
Rilla laughed. "Well, just in the interpersonal sense really. I've never thought about it much, but agents are people too. I just never expected to get along with them as well as I have. Sinclair and Granger, in particular have been friendly. The banter has made it easier. And listening to Granger talk about you, well, it's been heartwarming. When I first met him, I thought he would turn out to be a bit of an alley cat, but he's always talking about you, and his eyes light up when he talks about you. It's very sweet. And very unexpected."
She paused then said thoughtfully, "You know, if I could have had children, I would have liked a son like Granger." She laughed. "Ignore that. It's just fanciful thinking."
Hannah smiled, softening. "You think of Colby like a son?"
Rilla grinned, "Don't tell him. He'll be unbearable. Some holiday weekend, when Jared comes out to join me here, I want to introduce them. I think they'll get along really well." She looked at Hannah curiously, she seemed to have relaxed a little. "Was something wrong earlier? You seemed a little on edge when I first came in."
Surprised at the older woman's acuity, Hannah hesitated, "It's... nothing. Really. Just some rumors."
"Rumors?" Then Rilla's eyebrows shot up as she made a wild connection. "About Granger and myself? What kind of rumors?"
"Rilla, it doesn't matter now."
"Yes, it does! What kind of rumors?" Rilla was angry now. "There's been nothing but friendly banter. That's just sick!"
"I'll take care of it, Rilla, I promise. It's just been a really difficult situation, and I don't want to make it worse. Please just let me handle it. And, don't mention it to Colby either. I have some patching up to do there."
-----
Colby was ready to tear something apart. The CDs were yielding a lot of information, but no names were used and they would only be able to use them as evidence if they could match the voice prints to actual people. He was still worried about Hannah, but it looked like another long day with the blasted CDs. He saw Robin come in with sad eyes and wondered where Don was. He saw Rilla come in with storm clouds in her eyes and wondered about that. Everyone seemed worried about the case, and worried about something else. His cell phone rang just then, and he answered it with some trepidation when he saw Hannah's number.
"Colby?" Hannah said softly, then hesitated.
"Hey, sweetheart. Are you okay?" he replied gently.
"Yeah. A little embarrassed. I'm sorry about last night. I guess it's a good thing that you find out about my filthy temper early on," she said quietly.
"It was fairly minor compared to others I've seen."
"Rilla stopped by the store this morning. Anyway, I'm convinced now that nothing happened between you two."
Colby went on the alert, "What happened at the store?"
Hannah sighed, "Nothing really. We went over what she wanted for her husband. She knows now that someone said something, but she doesn't know who, and I'd rather she not know. I don't want her to have problems with Robin. I really like her, Colby. Anyway, will you come by tonight? We can talk some more."
"I'll come by as soon as I can, honey, and I'll try to make it earlier than it was last night. Don't fret, okay?" he said gently, wishing he could reach out and hug her. "I'll see you later."
-----