Fires of Autumn (15 page)

After the
President and the Secret service took off, there was a charter bus waiting to
take the rest of the entourage to the ranch.  Because of the remote location,
there weren’t any hotels or resorts close by for lodging so temporary trailers
had been set up like a campground near the ranch.  It had been a nice drive up
to the ranch, a brilliant afternoon in spite of the storm they had passed
through, and Casey had calmed considerably as she sat with Chris Eckart and
watched the high desert scenery pass by.  They even saw two deer by the side of
the road, nibbling wet winter grass.  

 The drive
was over fairly quickly. As they were pulling onto the ranch property, Casey
got a call from Russ himself and told her someone would be over to meet her
where the trailers were located to drive her up to the ranch.  She quickly
found the small trailer she’d been assigned, dropped off her baggage.  As soon
as she emerged from the small but newer model trailer, a black Suburban was
pulling up.

She went
out to the car, seeing Colt behind the wheel. Without reacting, because she was
sure that, somewhere, someone was watching, she jumped in with her arm full of
IPads and her briefcase, and Colt pulled off back to the road.

“How are
you feeling?” he asked as they headed towards the ranch house.

“Fine,”
she said. “Thanks again for… well, you know, helping me work through it.  It
was very sweet of you.”

He glanced
at her. “Don’t think it’s too sweet. I have an ulterior motive.”

“What?”

“You still
haven’t agreed to be my girlfriend. I’m trying to score points.”

She
laughed softly. “You don’t have to do that.”

“Yes, I
do.”

She looked
at him, putting her hand on his arm. “No, you don’t,” she said softly. “I’ll be
your girlfriend.”

He stopped
the car in the middle of the road and looked at her, surprised and pleased.
“Really?”

She
grinned. “Really.”

He was
fighting off a grin. “Wow,” he said honestly. “I haven’t had a girlfriend in so
long I think I forgot what to do with her.”

She
laughed. “It’s like riding a bike. It’ll all come back to you.”

“Do you
think it’ll come back to me at the Sunrise Springs resort?”

She cocked
her head curiously. “What’s that?”

“It’s the
place I booked up the road for you and me.  I was going to lure you there and
force you to give me an answer.”

She burst
out laughing. “Are you serious?”

“Absolutely.
“

“How in
the world were you going to manage that?” she wanted to know.

He began
to drive again. “The President is on vacation for the next five days,” he said.
“The entire Secret Service detachment has a rotational forty-eight hours off,
including me. I haven’t had more than one consecutive day off in over a month,
so I’m technically off for the next two days.  I booked a room at the Inn at
Sunrise Springs about ten miles from here with the intention of taking you with
me.”

She
thought on that. “I’d love to go,” she said, “but I’m not sure what to tell
Russ. I certainly can’t tell him that I’m going with you.”

Colt
suddenly turned the car around, a perfect spin that had the front wheels
locking on the dirt road and the rear wheels spinning around 180 degrees. 
Casey held on to the overhead bar, shrieking with surprise and some delight,
like an amusement park ride, as he took off back towards the cluster of
trailers.  He swung back around behind them, looking to see who was out and
about to make sure he wasn’t noticed, as he put the car in park.  He held out
his hand to her.

“Give me
your key,” he said.

Casey did
as he asked, her brow furrowed. “What are you doing?”

“I’ll be
right back.”

He climbed
of the car and opened up her trailer, disappearing inside. Casey sat in the
passenger seat of the black SUV, confused, wondering what he was doing in her
trailer.  After a minute or so, he came out bearing her luggage.  Opening the
door, he loaded it into the back of the car, shut the door, and climbed back
into the driver’s seat.  Casey was more confused than ever.

“What did
you do?” she asked. “Why did you bring my luggage out?”

He pulled
out onto the main road and headed for the ranch once more. “Your toilet is
broken,” he said evenly. “The President will understand why you’re going to
stay at a resort ten miles to the east.  You can be back to the compound in
minutes if he needs you.”

She stared
at him, understanding what he’d done, and laughed softly. “You broke my
toilet?”

“It was
cheap, anyway.”

She
giggled and sat back in the passenger seat as they cruised along the dirt road
towards the big spread of Apache Gap. The man apparently had an answer, and a
solution, for everything.

It turned
out that Russ needed help arranging an impromptu barbeque that weekend for some
relatives, which Casey deftly handled.  She and Tracy sat in the big family
room and went over menus and other items while Casey got on the phone and on
the internet, arranging for meat delivery and hiring a catering company from
Albuquerque to do the cooking.   When the party was arrange and the sun was
setting, she happened to mention to Tracy that the toilet in her trailer was
broken, which prompted Tracy to insist she stay at the ranch house. 

Casey very
politely declined, mentioning she’d heard that the Sunset Springs resort was
rather nice, and rather close, and she’d already made arrangements to stay
there.  Tracy wanted to stay there, too, because she wasn’t thrilled with Russ’
relatives, but Russ shut that idea down.  Casey was pleased and surprised when
Russ gave her the next couple of days off, telling her he’d call her if he
needed her.  He seemed to think he was going to sit around and drink for the
next couple of days and not do any work, so she went right along with it.  It
was a vacation, after all, and he intended to take advantage of it.

Thrilled
that she was now free for a couple of days as well, she packed up her stuff and
called for a driver.  She had no idea where Colt was; he’d left her at the
ranch’s front door and disappeared, but she was mildly curious where the man
was because he had her luggage.  As the Secret Service night shift came on
board and people began to shift around, Casey went outside to wait for the car
that would take her back to her trailer, since she really had nowhere to go
until Colt came around.  As she stood out by the old-fashioned hitching post
near the corner of the ranch house property, a red Jeep Wrangler pulled up. 
When she glanced inside, she saw Colt sitting in the driver’s seat with street
clothes on.

“Get in,”
he told her.

Casey
opened the door and climbed in. “Are you crazy?” she hissed. “Someone might see
us.”

He had his
sunglasses on in spite of the setting sun.  He didn’t say a word as he turned
around and headed out of the compound. 

“I’m your
driver,” he told her, quite logically. “I happen to be off as well so I’m
giving you a lift to the hotel. There’s nothing odd about that.”

She sighed
faintly, settling back in the seat.  “If you say so.”

He glanced
at her as they headed towards the front gates and the checkpoint that harnessed
the perimeter complex.

“You sound
doubtful,” he said.

She
shrugged, looking up at the sky and its shades of red and sunset gold. “If you
and I start associating with each other more than usual, people are going to
think there’s something going on. I just want to be careful, for your sake.”

He slowed
down as he came near the checkpoint with both Secret Service and local police.
“Don’t you worry about me,” he said, eyeing the man in the distance who was
preparing to approach the slowing car. “I can take care of myself.  And I can
take care of you, too.”

She didn’t
reply as he pulled the Jeep to a halt and rolled down the window.  The Secret
Service agent approached and waved.

“Sheridan,”
he greeted, seeing Casey in the passenger seat. “Hi, Ms. Cleburne.”

“The
President is having me drop Ms. Cleburne of off at the resort up the road,”
Colt told the man. “I’m continuing on into Santa Fe. Harrios has my contact
information and so does the shift supervisor, so don’t hesitate to call if you
need me. I also have a radio, so you can raise me on that if you need to. I’m
taking a couple of days to breathe while the President is taking it easy.”

The agent
grinned. “I didn’t think you did that kind of thing,” he said. “I’ve only ever
seen you on duty. Don’t tell me you actually have a personal life?”

Sheridan
wriggled his eyebrows. “I’m going to try.”

“Good
luck,” the agent stepped back from the car and waved them on.

Casey
remained silent as the Jeep pulled out onto the main highway and began to gain
speed.  Colt fussed with the radio, finding a station, before reaching over and
taking her hand.  She looked over at him, grinning.

“So now
what?” she said. “Has it all started coming back to you now?”

He looked
over at her. “What?”

“What
you’re supposed to do with a girlfriend?”

He
grinned. “We’re about to find out.”

“Sounds
either scary or intriguing.”

He
laughed. “I hope it’s neither. I hope it’s wonderful.”

She
clasped his big hand with both of her hands, gently caressing his big fingers.
“So did you get two rooms or one room with two queen beds?”

He cast
her a sidelong glance. “One room, king sized bed.”

“I see,”
she fought off a grin, looking out of the window. “So you expect me to sleep
with you?”

He
grunted, trying not to grin. “A guy can hope.”

“So this
is all about sex?”

His humor
left him. “No,” he looked at her. “It’s not that at all. It’s about spending
time with a woman I like a lot and want to get to know much, much better.  We
can sleep in the same bed and not have sex. I just want to spend time with you,
Casey. This has never been about sex.”

Her smile
faded. “I believe you,” she said softly. “I have to be honest and tell you that
the past week has been one of the best weeks of my life. I’ve enjoyed getting
to know you so much.  I’m really touched and flattered that you would go to so
much trouble to arrange something like this.”

He lifted
her hands, kissing them both, before lowering them into her lap.  “No trouble
at all,” he said. “I wanted to.  But I think you and I are going to have to
steal time together when we can get it.”

“No wasted
opportunities.”

“Exactly.”

He pulled
her hand back to his lips, kissing her fingers as they drove along the
highway.  Casey’s heart was pounding, with joy and anticipation for what was to
come. Spending time alone with Colt was an unexpected treat and she found she
was a little nervous as well. They’d never spent any length of time together.
She hoped and prayed it strengthened whatever was growing between them. 

The Inn at
Sunrise Springs was upon them before they realized it.  The sun was low on the
horizon as they pulled in to valet, turning the Jeep over to be parked as Colt
climbed out and went around to help Casey from the car.  He took her hand,
tucking it possessively into the crook of his elbow as they walked through the
lobby, past registration, and out into the grounds.  Casey wondered why they
hadn’t checked in, or where her luggage was, until they came to one of the many
casitas that dotted the property and he pulled out a digital key.  Opening the
door for her, Casey stepped in to a wonderland.

There were
dozens of candles, half-burned, and the smell of lemongrass was heavy in the
air.  The lights were dimmed as he took her by the shoulders and directed her
into the dining area, where a glorious meal was set out.  There was a bottle of
champagne on ice and a huge bouquet of desert-like flowers on one of the
plates.  Casey stood there and gawked.

“Oh, my
God,” she gasped, looking at him. “What is all of this?”

He
grinned. “I sort of remembered how to act with a girlfriend,” he said. “I
remembered they like to be treated nicely and that little romantic surprises
mean a lot.”

Casey
pointed at the table, awed. “Is this where you disappeared to this afternoon
while I was with Tracy?”

He nodded.
“I checked in and got the ball rolling,” he said. “How’d I do?”

Casey was
literally speechless as her focus returned to the table.  She moved forward,
slowly, finally fingering the giant flower arrangement on her plate. Everything
was so gorgeous and perfect. As Colt watched, she plopped down on the chair and
started to tear up.  He went down on a knee beside her.

“What’s
wrong?” he demanded softly. “Did I do too much? Not enough? Are you sorry you
said you’d be my girlfriend?”

She
started to giggle, wiping at the tears, and threw her arms around his neck.
“I’m just so overwhelmed,” she whispered. “This is the nicest thing anyone has
ever done for me. I didn’t know men like you still existed.”