Chapter 11

Frank stretched his long legs even further out towards the warming fire and felt his head nodding again. Nancy had made the executive decision that he take it easy that night and not get involved in any investigating until the next day when his head was fresher. He appreciated that arbitrary pronouncement as he'd had two pretty poor nights' sleep. The constant obsessing about his brother had become all-consuming – burning feelings of culpability torturing his brain both day and night without a moment's peace.

Yes, he welcomed the arrival of this witty, sassy girl who would take no nonsense from anyone.

He propped his chin up on his hand and regarded his friend lazily from where she was curled up in the easy chair opposite, her face in the novel she'd bought earlier. "When did you start wearing glasses?" he asked suddenly.

She looked up and snatched them off self-consciously. "For your information, nosy, I've had to wear them ever since you've known me, just for reading occasionally. I get a headache if I read for too long in poor light. Anyway, I thought you were asleep."

"I like them, they suit you," he said.

She reddened a little, "Yeah…well, now you know," she said, replacing them back on her nose and returning to her reading.

Frank pursed his lips. "Good book?"

"Yes, it's very good actually, but would probably improve on me if you'd only let me read in peace."

His knee had started aching, as it was prone to do in wet and cold weather, the result of an old football injury, so he got up and started to pace the room to stretch it. He went to the bookshelf and ran his finger along the titles on offer, swinging his leg back and forth. None took his fancy; in fact, he found he'd read half of them already in the past.

Sighing loudly, he went to the window and looked out at the snow that had settled, his hands in his jean pockets. No one had entered or left the house since they'd returned from their trip to the florist and jewellers and their footprints had long since been filled in by freshly fallen and drifting snow. They had parked the car at the back of the property and away from the road so it couldn't be seen. It also appeared that luckily, they were the only guests staying presently.

Sighing again, he drummed his fingers against the window ledge absent-mindedly. Eventually, he turned back to his friend. "You've got incredibly small feet," he observed, randomly. "I bet they're half the size of mine."

"Are you bored by any chance, Mr Hardy?"

"Just slightly."

"A brain as big as yours has to be kept busy by some sort of mental activity, I suppose," she remarked.

"Do I detect a hint of sarcasm?"

"As if…" Nancy deadpanned.

"That 'special friendship' I was referring to earlier is starting to slide away again."

"In that case, I challenge the Great Frank Hardy to a game of Gin Rummy!" she said, pulling a box of cards out from underneath the book.

"How long have you been hiding them?" he asked, pushing his chair closer to her and the little table.

"I was in the Girl Scouts, I always make it a point to be prepared." She emptied out the box and began shuffling the cards, "although I have to warn you…" she said, ruffling them, "…that I'm pretty good at this." She fanned them all out in front of him, lifted up the end one and used the edge of the joker card to flip them all over in turn; finally, she finished by tapping them all together and then breaking the pack in one hand.

"I think I've changed my mind," he muttered, blinking rapidly.

"Chicken," she said and dealt out ten cards each into perfect little piles and then turned one face-up onto the coffee table.

"Where did you learn to shuffle and deal like that?" he asked, picking up his pile and sorting them out into order in his palm.

"A misspent youth – do you want that card or not?"

"Not." He drew one from top of the down-turned pack and selected one of his own cards to discard, which Nancy immediately took up and added to her own.

They played in silence for a while until Frank finally broke the peace with: "Can I ask you something personal?"

"I'll let you know when you've asked it."

"What happened between you and Ned?"

There was a pause before Nancy responded. "Ohhh, now that is personal. We just grew apart I guess. I was on the road for too much of the time and he became bored of waiting around for me. And to tell you the truth, the magic had pretty much gone out of it for me when he finally left." She knocked on the table, calling Gin and placed all her cards down to show him her hand.

"Well done!" he conceded and took up the cards to take his turn shuffling, albeit in a slightly more clumsy manner, dropping half the cards onto the floor at one point. They didn't bother to work out their points, satisfying themselves instead with just winning hands.

"Well, come on then, Mr Hardy, if I've had to put my heart on my sleeve, spill the beans about you and Callie."

"Pretty much the same as you, I suppose. Although another guy caught her eye while I wasn't around."

"Yowch!"

"Yeah – but to be fair to them, Callie did end up marrying him, so perhaps she was with the wrong dude in the first place. Didn't feel like that at the time though - felt like I'd been kicked by a mule."

"I'm sorry."

"Ancient history. And you know what they always say, these things happen for a reason."

"That's true enough." Nancy knocked again and displayed her cards.

"Dammit!"

She picked up the cards and started to shuffle and deal out another hand.

"Remind me never to play Poker with you for money." Frank remarked, laying claim to his next hand of cards. "I was sent an invitation to Callie and Sam's wedding."

"No! Really? Did you go?"

"Joe insisted I did. He said it would be good for me, help me to gain a little closure. If you ask me, he'd been watching far too much Oprah!"

Nancy laughed softly. "Joe's so funny sometimes, funny and lovable. And tell me, did it give you 'closure'?"

"What do you think?"

Nancy looked over her glasses at him trying to gauge his thoughts. He eventually returned her look and they both burst out laughing.

"What on earth possessed you to accept relationship advice from Joe, the guy who, at one time, had a girl in every port?" Nancy asked finally.

"Goodness only knows. I think I was feeling a bit fragile and you know, he is my brother and he was worried about me. It made him feel better."

"Bet you felt just fine-n-dandy afterwards!"

"Oh…just swell! You should have seen me. I made a complete ass of myself trying to convince everyone around me that I was having a terrific time by making groovy moves and shapes on the dance floor. Even Joe, with his thick hide, admitted that insisting I go was a bit of a disaster. Chet near enough had to sit on me in the end to keep me down."

"How embarrassing!"

"Humiliation is the word that trips off my tongue. I wouldn't care so much, but I'm a pretty good dancer usually."

Nancy was concentrating hard on her card hand. "Yes, I remember." she agreed. "You've got great coordination. You're pretty much the whole package. I've always said to Beth and George that any guy that comes along will have to score pretty highly to beat you in my little red book. He'll have to be a dancer, be as good-looking as you, and be at least half as intelligent. Alas, but to no avail…"

Frank stared at her in astonishment, his mouth dropping open.

Nancy gasped, her hand rushing to her mouth "I can't believe I just said that out loud," she spluttered and jumped up from her seat to stagger to the window, her face beet red. "I just betrayed my cool exterior – big time!" She took her glasses off and laid them on the window ledge so she could fan her face with her playing cards.

"Don't stop there…" Frank teased, "…it was just getting interesting!"

Nancy groaned and buried her face into her hands.

Mrs Holliday entered the room at that point and paused in the doorway. "Everything all right?" she asked.

Frank coughed and rose from his seat to go and stand behind his friend. "Fine, thank you Mrs Holliday. I think Nancy was sitting too close to the fire, she'll be okay in a minute."

"Oh, right you are. Can I get anything else for you?"

"No thank you – unless…" he turned to Nancy and placed his hands on her shoulders, "…Is there anything you need…anything that you're really hankering after…perhaps?"

"No thanks." Nancy replied through gritted teeth. "I'm good."

"In that case," said Mrs Holliday. "I'm turning in. Breakfast will be on the table at 9.00 in the morning. Could I leave you to turn off the fire before you come up?"

"Will do, goodnight Mrs Holliday."

Their hostess left the room and they listened as she mounted the stairs.

"I'm so embarrassed," Nancy muttered.

Frank was laughing. "Don't be," he insisted, rubbing her upper arms. "You're so funny! And for what it's worth, what you just said…well…I'm flattered. Strangely, Callie used to always say she suspected there was something brewing deep down between the two of us."

Nancy turned around in surprise. "So did Ned! It didn't matter how much I assured him, he always said that he was uncomfortable whenever you were around."

Frank smiled down at her. "Well, I suppose if this is a time for honesty, Callie possibly wasn't entirely wide of the mark. I don't know about you, but I always sensed you were a bit of a kindred spirit, that we hit it off well."

Nancy regarded her friend silently. "And if I'm being brutally honest, the reason why the magic went out of it for me with Ned was because of our friendship."

"So why are we both single?"

"Am I single? Aren't you assuming?"

"Well…are you?"

"Yeah, I am, as it happens."

Their verbal game of tennis wound to a halt and they awkwardly contemplated the issue in silence for a few seconds until Frank finally and ever so gently snaked his arm about her waist, and brought his other hand up to cup her face. Locking her into his intense gaze, he bought his head down until his mouth was level with hers, then with one more look into her eyes, they were tenderly kissing.

Everything Frank had imagined was true – her hair smelled great, her skin was soft to the touch, and she tasted of mint. But best of all, it felt so right! He buried his fingers in her hair and clasped her closer still, supporting her weight and feeling her body arching and moulding against him, their embrace growing urgent, and the years of waiting intensifying his feelings and the experience.

"No, stop," she said breathlessly, pulling back and placing her fingers against his mouth.

Bewilderment. "What's wrong?" he asked, taking her hand away and holding it against his chest. "Was I not good?"

"No, it's not that, you were great – more than great, that kiss, it was electric! You're a great kisser. I'm just afraid…afraid that this is only happening because you're vulnerable and not in a good place at the moment."

Frank laughed. "Nancy, when have we ever been in a good place? We're always either getting conked on the head, or being kidnapped and tied up, having our rooms ransacked, being interrupted by our parents, seeing other people, on the other side of world from each another, having our friends, family or my brother hanging around – and we love them, we really do, but they don't help when it comes to romance, and the privacy dial is set permanently to zero. This is probably the most private moment we've ever had together. So, if we wait until we're 'in a good place' we'll be waiting forever…and I don't know about you, but I'm sick of the wait!"

Nancy smiled. "Me too!" grabbed the front of his pullover and dragged him in again to instigate the second kiss.

Eventually, their lips parted, but they stayed entwined, enjoying the moment.

"Nan?" Frank finally asked.

"Hmm?"

"Do you really keep a little red book, and if so, do I get extra points for being a great kisser?"

He received a dig in the ribs for his trouble.