Chris put Rita's bag in the overhead bin, and then parked his own next to it before sitting beside his partner. He looked at her and smiled. She took his hand and rested her head on his shoulder. The plane was a little more than half full - the Saturday flights out of Jackson were always less crowded than those departing on Sunday. They would arrive in Portland after sunset, which seemed somehow fitting. The proverbial sun was setting on this mission, and while they would remain Greg and Samantha Stone until they picked up their luggage in Portland, their assignment was all but over. The return to reality had begun.
"You ok, Sam?"
She took a deep breath. "Yeah, I am. A little tired, thanks to you."
Chris laughed. He was tired as well, and sore. The sore was easy to explain. Once they had returned to Idaho Falls on Thursday, Heidi Pressley and her boyfriend Alex joined them. Rita had ridden with Heidi into Jackson one last time to peruse the stores, and the two guys spent the afternoon snowboarding. It was easier for Chris to learn than traditional skiing, and he had a blast.
Rita and Heidi had a great time as well, though she was embarrassed when Heidi ventured into the outfitter store where Rita had been twice before. Katherine, the sales lady, asked Rita if she had shown the black halter dress to her husband yet. Heidi snickered and shook her head while Rita turned bright pink and mumbled a quick 'Yes, and he loved it' before figuring out how to quickly get out of the store. The four of them ate dinner together, played some cards, and watched part of a basketball game before Alex kissed his girlfriend and headed for his place.
Heidi left for Idaho Falls after breakfast the following morning, but not before giving them big hugs. "Thank you again for everything, including my life. I'm so sorry you have to leave tomorrow. The next time I visit my parents, I'll call and we'll catch up. If you're ever out here again..."
Rita smiled and answered, "We know what to do."
The plane turned onto the runway and paused for a moment as its engines throttled to full before accelerating down the runway. Rita squeezed his hand a little tighter and nestled her other hand around his arm. Takeoffs would never be her thing.
Chris yawned and smiled, his mind drifting back to yesterday. After Heidi left, he and Rita had been on the slopes again until mid-afternoon. Then it was back to the Lodge, where they cleaned up, did their laundry, and got things pretty much packed up for the return home.
"I'm glad I brought one of my bigger bags with me. I'm taking home more than I brought." She walked over and put her arm around Chris. "Thank you again for the outfit. I know that was part of the husband-and-wife cover, but you didn't have to do that. I hope it wasn't really expensive, because I can guarantee that Harry won't approve it as an expense. Can I pay you for it?" When Chris told her no, she asked, "Can I pay for half of it?" Chris shook his head a second time. "Tell you what," she said, her hand dipping to his waist, "This is your outfit, so I will only wear it when I'm with you. Sound good?" Not surprisingly, Chris was fine with that.
They ate dinner in the hotel Friday night, planning to hit the sack early, but that didn't work out quite as they intended. With the fake fire going and just the kitchen light on, they sat on the sofa for the final time, under a blanket, talking about their time in Wyoming.
"Chris, you said more than once that you'd like to live out here someday. Do you really think that?"
"I don't know. A part of that was the undercover wealthy doctor Gregory Stone talking. But not all of it..."
"So you might consider leaving the department and Palm Beach?"
"No, not really. Well, I don't know. Probably not, but it's gorgeous and pristine out here. The air is cleaner, clearer..."
"Colder. Much colder."
"Yeah, Sam, it's colder, but there are lots of ways to stay warm...hey look, there are a few flurries falling right now. There is an attraction to this place I can't escape. Rugged, untamed, natural, rustic - all those words we use in Palm Beach that have no meaning there. In the back of my mind..." he shrugged his shoulders, "...someday, maybe I could consider it."
"Christopher, would you leave me in Florida to come here?" There was a tiny bit of concern in her voice.
Chris laughed and put his arm around her, pulling her to him. "I don't have any plans to ever leave you, Rita. You should know that by now." He paused. "You know, you could always come to Wyoming, too. You were here a week as my wife and that worked out pretty well, didn't it?" He rubbed her shoulders. "It wasn't all business and you had a pretty good time, didn't you?"
"More than a good time on a couple of occasions." she said with a snicker.
"Yeah, after skiing for the first time, I know I absolutely love it! I'm going to put off that bonus week of vacation until late in the year and go skiing again."
"I really enjoyed that, too, but I was thinking more about our dinner at the Snake River Grill."
"The food?"
"Well, the food was great, but I really enjoyed the entertainment. I've never been so turned on as I was then - for my pretend husband," she laughed and shook her head as if clearing cobwebs, but she was warming with the memory.
Chris smiled, "I think I figured that out when we got back here. That was wild. And that black dress you bought...wow!"
"Can I confess something to you?"
"I have no God-like power to forgive, Rita, but confess away."
"When we got back here that night, I was going to...you know...I wanted to...let you..."
"I know. I wanted that, too, but I'm also glad we didn't. It was right that you stopped. I made you a promise and if I had broken it, you would have lost your respect for me. That would have been terrible!"
"No. I would never lose my respect for you." What she wanted to add, but couldn't, was how much she loved this week with him, despite its dangers. How much she treasured every moment laughing, talking, walking, driving, sitting. Every inch of his body, the way he touched her, the way he took control of her body. How he held her hair when she was sick, and rubbed her back when she finished puking her guts out. How much she loved him, completely and totally loved him. Samantha Stone loved her husband, almost as much as Rita loved her partner. She knew she would have to tell him...soon, but she couldn't...not yet. She was fearful of losing him.
"Rita, while we're confessing..."
"Yeah...?"
"I shouldn't say this out loud, but this has probably been the best week of my life. Being with you - just you - in the place has been fantastic. Honestly? I don't want it to end." He leaned over and kissed her cheek.
"You're a dangerous man, Christopher Lorenzo."
"You make me a dangerous man, Rita Lance." he shot back.
There was silence and Chris worked hard to shut off the obvious back-and-forth fire-stoking that was going on. The undercover job was over; they were just Chris and R...
"I'm still wearing my diamond," she whispered, taking a devious, very risky chance.
"I know. I haven't taken my ring off, either...see?" He held his hand up and she looked at the band, glittering in the firelight. His hand slid back under the covers, resting on the fringe of her shirt just above her waist. "Why do you bring that up?"
Rita moved her hand to his thigh, rubbing the thick fabric of his jeans. "Oh, I don't know..." She took a deep breath. "You know, these rings say we're still married, and we'll be that way until Portland. I think those were the orders from Captain Hudson."
"Orders? I'm not sure..."
"They sounded like orders to me, Chris," her hand drifted over his chest to his neck.
There was silence again - each waiting for the other.
Chris couldn't help himself. "So...you want to make out for a while?"
Rita turned and looked at him in mock surprise. "What? Really? What are we, fifteen?"
"I think we've already had this discussion. No, we are not fifteen, and nobody's parents are nearby. Harry is in Palm Beach and Hudson is in Jackson. I'm just saying...if you're interested, I might be, too." She sucked in her breath as his hand drifted up under her shirt and then stopped. She felt herself flushing. He looked at her, biting his lower lip...waiting...
"So we'd be doing this as the Stones, right?"
"I guess so, but we probably shouldn't do it at a..."
"Shut up, Gregory!" Samantha Stone turned and forced her mouth on his, and her warm lips swept away any hesitation. After a minute, she got up and exhaled, "Mmm...be right back..."
Oh no...Chris thought to himself. He knew what was coming and he knew he would not resist her. Three minutes later, she re-appeared in the doorway, wearing that crazy awesome black dress. Oh no...if beauty could stagger a man, she had knocked him out cold.
Samantha walked over to him, leaned down, and cupped his face with her hands. She whispered, "Hello, lover..." and thrust her tongue between his lips, whimpering a little with desire. As she swirled it in his mouth, she straddled his thighs and sat down on his lap. "Pull the blanket over us and take your shirt off."
"What?"
"I didn't stutter, Greg. Take it off! Here..." She pulled his arms up, then reached down and yanked his shirt over his head. She smiled and kissed him again. "That's much better. Your body..." She lightly ran her hands over his bare chest, sighing with satisfaction before leaning down and kissing his shoulders, then working kisses down his skin and across his chest.
Gregory Stone had the best life - and the best wife - in the world...
The seat-belt sign chimed, signaling their freedom to move about the cabin, and Chris popped back to reality. Rita caught his little jump and chuckled. "What are you thinking about, Christopher?"
"Don't ask."
"Our meeting with Captain Hudson this morning?"
That had been another exercise in frustration. The FBI was still working through the data gleaned from Heidi's diskette collection, but it was going to take time. It was now clear the newspaper article from Palm Beach that found its way to Wyoming had really hurt the cause. "We'll be very fortunate if we can find any ties overseas. Maybe one of the people we arrested will talk, but so far, no one is saying anything." If there was any good news, it was that the FBI wouldn't remove any babies from households until a definite tie-back to the original families could be found, but that was the lone bright spot in a pretty dark sky. Captain Hudson shook his head. "Sometimes they just go this way. The good guys don't always get the wins they want. However, you two - once again - did a fantastic job. We put an end to a serious crime ring, even if we only got part of it. It's been a pleasure to work with you again, and who knows, maybe it will happen again in the future." He hugged both of them. "Safe travels back to Palm Beach, and stay in touch."
Chris looked at Rita and smiled. "No, that's not at all what I'm thinking about."
She laughed. "I wasn't, either. I shouldn't say this, but I was thinking about how much I loved that sofa in the hotel room. And the bed. And the tub. And the shower, though we weren't in that together. What are we going to do, Sam?"
"Well, let's finish this flight today and get back to Palm Beach tomorrow."
"No, I mean about us. We spent a week out here acting like married people. Well, in most respects that's how we acted. It all ends in a few hours. Are you going to be alright?"
Chris thought for a moment. "I don't know. I don't think I have a choice, so I'll be fine." But that was a fool's endeavor. He loved this woman - but how to tell her without scaring her away...
Rita looked down and whispered, "Yeah, me neither," before looking at him. "And don't you dare ask me if all our physical interaction and romantic behavior meant something, because I'll tell you 'no', and I can't stand lying to you."
Chris laughed and squeezed her.
Rita walked through the doors of the Palm Beach PD to a chorus of 'Hellos, How are yous, and Welcome backs'. In the corner, there was Chris, pouring himself a cup of coffee. She sat down at her desk and he walked over with the pot, filling her cup with a smile. "Happy Monday, Sam."
She ran her fingers through her hair and returned the smile, but before she could say anything, Harry was standing in the doorway of his office. "Chris, Rita, a word please?"
They shut the door and he pointed at the chairs. When they sat down, he started. "I spoke with Captain Hudson yesterday. You guys did a great job - not that I expected anything less. It sounds like you had a narrow shave, but uh...you pulled through again. We're going to lunch today - the three of us - to visit more about it, but I just got off the phone. You have work here. There's a new wrinkle in the Archie Crawford murder case..."