and
stepped in close to him. "I hope you did look, and I hope you're eating
your heart out right now."
He let out a slow, easy breath in an effort to
release some of his pent-up tension as he reeled in his line and cast it again.
She had no idea of the current state of agony she'd put him in.
One thing was clear. He'd have to keep up his
guard, or she'd snag him faster than she had her first fish.
*
* *
Their outing had ended much too soon for Ariana,
even if she had spent a good portion of the afternoon without her pants. Storm
clouds brewed on the horizon, prompting Milo to call it a day. It would be a
while before she'd let him live down the fact she'd caught two trout compared
to his one.
Dinner had been a feast. Milo had lived up to
his promise of delivering a meal to die for, but now that they'd finished
eating and cleaning up, her protector had dove back into the thick volume of
nonsense he was reading, and she was left to her own devices once again.
She let the screen door slam as she stepped out
onto the back porch and sank into the swing. Ominous clouds rolled across the darkening
sky as an unseen pressure thickened the air. A soft breeze carried the delightful
scent of rain although no moisture had hit the ground yet. It was the
proverbial calm before the storm. The threatening sky mimicked her life.
Right now, there were only stirrings of activity, but it wouldn't be long
before all hell broke loose. She was safe from the approaching thunderstorm,
and she could only hope she'd remain safe until she testified at her father's
trial.
She kicked the ground, sending the swing into a
rhythm of creaking and groaning that fit well with the pensive atmosphere. A
streak of lightning split the sky in the distance, and she counted off the
seconds to predict how long until the storm arrived.
Four seconds later thunder rumbled through the
heavens.
She loved it.
She tucked her feet beneath her as a swirling
wind gusted into the yard. Branches in the pines rustled against each other as
though jockeying for the best position to ride out the storm. The coffee cans
they'd used the previous night for shooting practice tipped and rolled off the
porch, the wind tumbling them toward the fence. She thought of jumping up to
go after them, but they were quickly plastered against the clumps of tall grass
along the fence and wouldn't be able to escape.
Another flash of lightning lit the sky,
followed by a huge, resounding boom that vibrated in her chest. This time, only
two seconds separated them. Fat droplets of rain splattered against the
covered porch, first one-by-one, but quickly the volume of singular sounds
increased, turning into one constant drum roll.
She jumped as streaks of white light filled the
sky, earth-shaking thunder hot on their tail. The pounding on the roof
increased in intensity as raindrops morphed into small pebbles of hail and
began to bounce on the grass. Her instincts warned her to seek shelter, but
she couldn't take her gaze off the fascinating light show.
"You should come in."
She jumped at the sound of Milo's voice and put a
hand to her chest. "I think you just took five years off my life."
He grasped her hand. "Come on. It's getting
wild out here."
She let him lead her inside, missing his touch
when he released her to shut the door. Just as he did, another thunderclap
shook the house. "Damn. That's some serious weather pounding out there.
It hasn't hit this hard for years."
"Don't you love it?"
"Yeah. Nothing like a good storm to liven
things up." He smiled and walked out of the kitchen.
She followed him to the front of the house and
found him back in his chair, his book propped on his lap. She could not spend
the rest of the evening cooped up in the house watching him read. "We should
do something."
He flicked a quick glance at her but went back to
reading his book.
Getting his attention was a little
stepped in close to him. "I hope you did look, and I hope you're eating
your heart out right now."
He let out a slow, easy breath in an effort to
release some of his pent-up tension as he reeled in his line and cast it again.
She had no idea of the current state of agony she'd put him in.
One thing was clear. He'd have to keep up his
guard, or she'd snag him faster than she had her first fish.
*
* *
Their outing had ended much too soon for Ariana,
even if she had spent a good portion of the afternoon without her pants. Storm
clouds brewed on the horizon, prompting Milo to call it a day. It would be a
while before she'd let him live down the fact she'd caught two trout compared
to his one.
Dinner had been a feast. Milo had lived up to
his promise of delivering a meal to die for, but now that they'd finished
eating and cleaning up, her protector had dove back into the thick volume of
nonsense he was reading, and she was left to her own devices once again.
She let the screen door slam as she stepped out
onto the back porch and sank into the swing. Ominous clouds rolled across the darkening
sky as an unseen pressure thickened the air. A soft breeze carried the delightful
scent of rain although no moisture had hit the ground yet. It was the
proverbial calm before the storm. The threatening sky mimicked her life.
Right now, there were only stirrings of activity, but it wouldn't be long
before all hell broke loose. She was safe from the approaching thunderstorm,
and she could only hope she'd remain safe until she testified at her father's
trial.
She kicked the ground, sending the swing into a
rhythm of creaking and groaning that fit well with the pensive atmosphere. A
streak of lightning split the sky in the distance, and she counted off the
seconds to predict how long until the storm arrived.
Four seconds later thunder rumbled through the
heavens.
She loved it.
She tucked her feet beneath her as a swirling
wind gusted into the yard. Branches in the pines rustled against each other as
though jockeying for the best position to ride out the storm. The coffee cans
they'd used the previous night for shooting practice tipped and rolled off the
porch, the wind tumbling them toward the fence. She thought of jumping up to
go after them, but they were quickly plastered against the clumps of tall grass
along the fence and wouldn't be able to escape.
Another flash of lightning lit the sky,
followed by a huge, resounding boom that vibrated in her chest. This time, only
two seconds separated them. Fat droplets of rain splattered against the
covered porch, first one-by-one, but quickly the volume of singular sounds
increased, turning into one constant drum roll.
She jumped as streaks of white light filled the
sky, earth-shaking thunder hot on their tail. The pounding on the roof
increased in intensity as raindrops morphed into small pebbles of hail and
began to bounce on the grass. Her instincts warned her to seek shelter, but
she couldn't take her gaze off the fascinating light show.
"You should come in."
She jumped at the sound of Milo's voice and put a
hand to her chest. "I think you just took five years off my life."
He grasped her hand. "Come on. It's getting
wild out here."
She let him lead her inside, missing his touch
when he released her to shut the door. Just as he did, another thunderclap
shook the house. "Damn. That's some serious weather pounding out there.
It hasn't hit this hard for years."
"Don't you love it?"
"Yeah. Nothing like a good storm to liven
things up." He smiled and walked out of the kitchen.
She followed him to the front of the house and
found him back in his chair, his book propped on his lap. She could not spend
the rest of the evening cooped up in the house watching him read. "We should
do something."
He flicked a quick glance at her but went back to
reading his book.
Getting his attention was a little
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