Read Online Fires of Autumn by Kathryn Le Veque - Free Book Online

“Here’s
your stop.”
    He was
holding her hand and Casey turned to him, a genuine smile on her lips. “Thanks
for the escort,” she said.  “I’m not sure I would have made it here safely without
you.”
    Colt
cracked a lop-sided smile. “The halls of the White House can be dangerous.”
    Casey
nodded, realizing he was still holding her hand.  She released her fingers but
he didn’t release his, prompting her to gently but firmly pull her hand from his
grip.
    “You’d
better get going,” she said. “Russ will be waiting.”
    Colt did
nothing more than give her a smile and a nod, disappearing up the stairs to the
left.  Casey watched him go, thinking a lot of things at that moment, but
mostly that she thought he was very handsome.  She wasn’t one to linger on a
man but she found herself lingering on Sheridan.  There was a lot to linger on.
    Carmen
Hennderson found her shortly thereafter, cup of tea in hand, but Casey didn’t
need the tea any longer. Still, she took it from the woman, sipping her tea
while speaking with one of the lesser female Chinese diplomats who seemed to
have a thing for Disneyland.  Being a Southern California native, Casey was
able to converse intelligently on the amusement park she had visited at least a
couple of dozen times.  She was also able to intelligently discuss the cache of
Medieval coins recently found at a construction site in Anguo City, which
impressed the young Chinese woman.   Casey had been in Politics a long time.
She knew how to impress.
    Russ
appeared a short time later with his wife, Tracy, a vivacious woman with a fake
tan and a loud laugh.  Russ made the rounds to a few of the senior diplomats
before directing everyone upstairs to the Blue Room, where alcohol and food were
waiting.   The entire group herded from the room, into the corridor beyond and
up the stairs.  Casey, the very last person in the room, set her tea cup down
and followed.   She kept looking up ahead as Russ led the group, pretending she
wasn’t looking for Colt when she knew damn well that she was. Feeling silly, as
well as a little giddy, Casey joined the cocktail reception in the Blue Room.
    The event
dragged on into the night.  The Chinese liked their liquor and they loosened up
quite a bit as the wine flowed.  Russ brought out a bottle of Amarone from his
private reserve, a very fine Italian red wine, and shared it with the Chinese
ambassador.  It was enough to make him a bit tipsy, but only enough to make him
hilarious.  Casey worked the room, met aides and diplomats, and spoke of
archaeology, commerce and, more than once, Disneyland.  It was all very
cocktail-y and very Washington-esque, but not once in all that time did she see
Special Agent in Charge Sheridan again.  He and the other secret service agents
had made themselves scarce.
    As the
hour of midnight neared, the party was in full swing and Russ began making
demands for music.  Mrs. Hennderson phoned White House maintenance, and two men
brought in a compact Bose sound system and hooked it up in the adjoining Green
Room.   Soon, soft sounds of the Eagles were playing in the Green Room and half
of the group had moved in to the room, a few of them dancing.  Someone had
opened the doors that led out to the South Portico overlooking the south lawn
just to let some air in.  It was a very cold but very clear night.
    Casey had
just finished up with another female aide, now alone for nearly the first time
all night, and wishing she could get out of there.  She was exhausted and the
boys had soccer games the next day, so she would be up early with them.  As she
pulled out her lipstick to touch up her lips, a young Chinese aide approached
her and wanted to dance.  She graciously begged off but the man wouldn’t be
deterred. He spoke very good English and the more Casey declined, the more he
insisted. 
    Finally,
she resorted to lying, telling him that she had twisted her ankle and couldn’t
dance, but he still