Alex lay there feeling Joanne’s breath on his chest and knew she was fast asleep. He listened to the loud sounds of the cargo plane and wondered what the hell he was doing. The number one rule in this business was when he still worked as a computer nuke programmer, and it had always been, don’t get involved with a client.So far, he’d followed that rule diligently. especially with Sarah then.The name sent a twisted feeling straight into his empty stomach.There had been plenty of times he’d wanted to cross that line, but none like this. None like her. He’d felt the shock the first time he’d seen her. He’d known he should call the trip off but it was a promise he made in prison. before they’d left for Columbia. He’d even tried to keep her pissed at him by always flaunting a cocky attitude around. It had worked for a while. He could tell she was totally turned off by him, and at one point, he was pretty sure she had calmed her head to try and think before taking any unmarred decision.

She watched Alex lean back in his chair and realized she could imagine sitting here years from now, she wondered how things would be between them when they finally got to the States. she could imagine sitting with him listening to his stories. He took another sip of his beer and when he realized it was empty, leaned over and grabbed another from the small fridge under the outside bar.“What happened to the boy?” She leaned on the glass table; she couldn’t stand the suspense.“Oh, he’s fine. he’s safe somewhere in the States. It took some doing, and I don’t think I’d ever try to go into certain parts of the Middle East , but he’s healthy and happy. Or so his brother tells me. he and his girlfriend own the art galleries that sell his art. I can still remember the smile in hisbeyes when I showed up the night before his punishment was to take place. I was hanging from the banister outside his window, and when I showed up, he didn’t even scream.

In the last few years, she hadn’t really thought of what her father must have been going through. She thought that since Alex had met her father then she knew that he must have been okay. But other than that, he’d been so far from her mind. She started feeling guilty. Okay, so she’d been running for her life and fighting for the company, It wasn’t as if she’d had time to think of him, apart from the occasional letters she had her secretary write to him. Then her mind played over last night and today and she felt even more guilty.She should have called him those late nights, she remembered when she’d heard Alex talking to his foster mother. Damn.Dialing the phone, she waited as it rang. On the third ring, marshall picked up the phone. Hearing his husky voice, she almost cried. To think he’d seen her father go through hell like this for so long.“Hey, marshall. How are you doing?” She tried to sound lighthearted.“Hey, Joanne. I was just thinking about you and

After getting their luggage, they grabbed a taxi and less than thirty minutes later were walking up to his foster sister’s front door. The newer stone home was in an older part of town, and he knew they’d just finished renovating the whole thing. It was where they stayed while they were in town, but their larger full-time home was in a small town called Pride almost two hours away.As they approached, the blue front door swung open and a small girl with dark hair came running towards them.“Ales, Ales” she said over and over again. He laughed and pulled her up into a tight hug. She’d grown so much since he’d seen her four months ago. Her little chubby cheeks were still as kissable. But when she started talking, he noticed a few more teeth in her mouth.“How’s my sunflower?” He swung her in a circle and kissed her all over her face, causing her to giggle.He looked over and saw his foster sister and brother-in-law, standing in the front doorway.His foster si

They climbed a twisted staircase with shiny wood railings up to a landing. There she stopped and looked down at the living space. She could really enjoy the view of the large fireplace from here. There were large windows on either side and she could just make out the river in the distance.“How often do you get to stay here?”“Well, I try to make it home for the whole holiday season. The last few years, since I’ve been working alone, it’s been easier for me to schedule my time so I make sure I’m here more often. But I don’t get to stay as often as I’d like.”They walked into a large bedroom that had a mini version of the fireplace along the inside wall. The bed was huge, most likely a California king. She looked at Alex and realized he’d need a large bed to be comfortable in. The bed in his Lima home had been large, but not this large. She’d noticed his feet hung off it and thought that in this bed, he’d actually have room to spare.“We built it with three bedro