Chapter 8

Teasing Victor a bit, Harriett asked, "So this is an 'in private' conversation?"

Harriett was totally taken aback by his reply, "Yes, Harriett it is."

She led him into the den after checking on the boys playing in the backyard. Suddenly nervous and not knowing why, Harriett found that she couldn't sit still. Getting back up after she had taken a seat on the couch she paced to the big screen TV that Bud had loved so much and ran her hand over the top of it to see if it needed dusting.

He watched her waiting to see what she would do next. He thought that maybe enough time had passed that at least he could let her know that he was interested in her. But he wanted her full attention when he did so and right now she seemed very distracted. Then suddenly it dawned on the CIA agent trained in observation that the reason for her distraction or nervousness was the fact that he had told her he wanted a private conversation with her.

"Harriett will you please come over here and sit down?" Victor asked as he patted the cushion next to him on the couch.

She turned and looked at him with dread; suddenly not sure of this man she had come to think of as a friend. She had always been one step ahead of people, some even said it was like a form of ESP; she just had always seemed to know what they were going to need before they asked for it. It was how she had come to the notice of the young Bud Roberts and also how she had impressed everyone at the JAG offices, from Ensign Tiner all the way to Admiral Chegwidden himself.

Now she had a feeling that her friendship with Victor was about to take a major change. That he was about to tell her that he wanted more than friendship and Harriett didn't know if she was ready to hear that. After all it had only been four months since Bud's death. He had been the love of her life, as goofy and naive, as he seemed to the rest of the world, he had been her knight in shining armor. She didn't know if she could ever feel that way about someone else again let alone this soon. All those thoughts were buzzing in her brain as Victor waited for her decision about sitting down on the couch or not. Such a mundane decision when she felt that a much larger one was so very imminent.

Walking across the room she gave him a nervous smile as she finally sat down next to him. Although she practically jumped out of her skin when he simply reached out to take her hand, she tried to cover it with a shaky laugh, but he knew. Turning her eyes to his she pleaded with him for something she wasn't even sure of.

He saw her look but taking a deep breath began to speak anyway, "When I first started at JAG Bud told me that I couldn't use your desk, however when I told him that I would simply work from the floor then he relented and allowed me to use it until you returned. I thought anyone married to that silly man must be as ditzy as he or possibly even more so. But the next day he brought that wonderfully thoughtful list that you had written out and I had to rethink the 'ditzy' description. Then the day that you returned I took one look at you and thought how very lucky Bud was!" he looked at Harriett before continuing, "That opinion never changed over the years. The more I got to know you the luckier I thought him and it wasn't long until I realized those feelings had turned to envy. That was one of the reasons that when an opportunity to join a combat unit came my way I took it."

When he paused in his story, she took his hand and said, "Oh, Vic, I never knew."

To be continued….