Monday, March 22

Jackson glanced at the clock on his desk and realized it was finally late enough to call the Collin County prosecutor’s office.  He grabbed his cell phone and went into one of the conference rooms, pulling the door closed behind him.  Even though there was a phone on his desk, it was too out in the open and he didn’t want Dinsley to walk by and find out that he was going outside the Bureau to find out about him and the case.

“Good morning, Jenna Monroe’s office,” Trista said once she answered the phone. Read more »

Sara watched the look of momentary truce fly between Michael, Veronica and Lincoln before Lincoln said, “It doesn’t matter.” Then the truce died. “What matters is that you tried to have sex with my girlfriend!”

“We were drunk. It doesn’t count.” He met Sara’s gaze for a split second and quickly averted his eyes. “Besides, we didn’t actually sleep together and you weren’t together at the time. For once, Nika’s right. You’re both making a big deal about nothing. I was only trying to help by mentioning it in the first place.” Read more »

Ignoring the lingering drowsiness spreading through her satisfied limbs, Sara forced herself to dress quickly. This whole thing was ridiculous. No one ever liked being snowed in, but her friends had planned to stay the entire weekend anyway. With the exception of Jane – whose annoyance she understood – the rest of them had no reason to be melting down like this was the last civilization on Earth.

What was wrong with everyone? They’d been there for one night, not two years. Read more »

Something was wrong. She could sense it the moment she opened the bedroom door. There were no sounds of running water. Sara had spent long enough talking to Nika that Paul should already be in the shower by now. What the hell was he doing?

Jane’s warning echoed through her brain. Against her will, she closed the door behind her with only the faintest of clicks. Everyone in the house was accounted for, so that could only mean he was on the phone with another woman. Read more »

Against her will, Sara felt guilty about what she was doing. From the stack of bridal magazines, she looked like one of those women who’d secretly been planning her wedding even though she hadn’t found the groom yet. In reality, any thoughts of wedding planning – or even having some semblance of a normal life – flew out the window the night her mother died and the night Michael broke her heart.

Of course, both those things happened on the same night… Read more »

“Are you on drugs,” she blurted before the full ramifications of what she was hearing washed over her.

“No. We both know I don’t do drugs.”

Sara ripped her hands away from Michael. “I don’t know anything anymore, but Read more »

To say Sara was upset would be the understatement of a lifetime. This was unforgivable. The whole situation was her friend’s fault and couldn’t be undone. Not now. Fury filled her veins. Read more »

Sara stifled the growl of frustration. “What do you need now, Nika?” Read more »

With effort, Sara tore her gaze away from the glass – and Michael’s gaze – to turn to Nika.  She spoke after the briefest of pauses.  “Just looking at nature.  It looks peaceful out there.” Read more »

Sara tried to gather her thoughts to answer her friend.  “Huh?” Read more »

Thinking naught of her commando clothing situation, she raced back up the stairs to the source of the commotion, giving Michael an eyeful from behind her.  Sara stopped short at the top of the stairs taking in the surreal scene unfolding in front of her eyes.  If the look of guilt on Lincoln’s face wasn’t so genuine then she would think she was being Punk’d. Read more »

Sleep simply would not come for Sara.  It didn’t matter how long she spent envisioning total blackness, it would not take her from her current state of consciousness.  Tossing and turning was perhaps more pointless than sheep counting.

Why was it that her bed felt so empty in the darkness?  She always slept alone.  Tonight shouldn’t feel so different. Read more »

Time passed quickly during the rest of the evening.  After Paul had taken the book to Sara’s room for safekeeping, he’d taken up residence in the spot beside Sara on the couch, his arm draped around her shoulders in a comfortable manner.  Uncomplicated chatter – led by Nika – dispersed any lingering tension that might have remained. Read more »

The door was moving up her back.  No…wait….She was sliding down the door.  It was really over.

Who was she kidding?  This was over before it ever began.  Michael was the same person now he’d been five years ago.  Holding onto some false hope he might ever be hers was insane.  It was masochistic.

It was heartbreaking…all over again. Read more »

Still fighting her nerves, she continued to play the game, attempting to guess the contents of the gift bag.  It would be markedly easier if Michael’s intense blue gaze wasn’t boring into the side of her head while the seconds ticked by on the kitchen clock.  Tick tock, tick tock, tick tock…each resounded in her head like the stomps of an elephant, smashing the fragile hold she retained on her sanity.  Only the unwavering gentle kindness she found within the calm blue depths of Paul’s eyes kept her fingers steady as she held it in her hands.  One would think playing a guessing game would be easy when the contents was known, but now that she knew what the bag contained there was little else she could think of.  All she had to do was make a guess – any guess – and she could get on with this yet nothing came to her mind except for the diamond ring she was sure was inside. Read more »