CHAPTER 8
Jess wasn’t in the other twin bed when Sarah woke up the next morning, but Sarah could tell the bed had been slept in sometime during the night by the messed up covers. She had to assume Jess was taking her turn at the ‘guard duty’ Sam had mentioned the night before. Because the room was so small, she must have been exhausted to have slept hard enough to not be disturbed by Jess moving around.
Sarah lay in bed a short time before getting up. She had awakened just once during the night, confused because she wasn’t in her own bed at home with Sparky lying on the foot of her bed. Then it had all come rushing back to her – the fire, the trip to the police station, her own house and Sparky gone, and she had felt the fear and panic sweep over her. Then she remembered the words Sam had said in his prayer for her the night before. He had asked for peace for her, and for God to keep her ‘safe in the cover of His wings’.
As it all came rushing back to her this morning though, she didn’t feel very peaceful or safe. The pain of losing everything began building again in her chest, and the tears she thought she was done shedding built up again behind her eyes. She groaned, clenched her teeth together and took several deep breaths. Losing control of her emotions was not going to help her get through this. She had survived losing both her parents and she would survive this loss too.
Finally deciding it was time to get her day started, she grabbed some clean clothes and toiletries out of the bag Jessica had brought in for her from the car and headed for the bathroom. Twenty minutes later she had showered and twisted her damp hair into a French braid. The jeans and lightweight denim blouse were a little large, but at least they were clean.
She was once again ready to face the world and feeling awake enough to know she was hungry. Sarah headed down the hallway toward the kitchen where she found Sam pouring steaming coffee from the coffee pot into a mug that advertised a local printing place. He glanced up as she walked into the room and gave her what looked to her to be a tired smile.
“Coffee, Sarah?”
She tried to smile back at him, but was only able to come up with a half-hearted lifting of her lips. “Yes, thank you.”
As she wrapped her hands around the warm mug he handed her, she took a sip of the hot coffee. Looking around the kitchen she was very aware of the large man leaning back against the kitchen counter, his gray eyes studying her closely.
“Mmmm, good coffee. I like it strong. Where are the others, by the way?”
“Jess is downstairs checking things out front, and Bill’s doing the same out back.” He nodded toward the stove. “Hungry? I’m not a great cook, but I can fix you something.”
Sarah sat her mug down on the table and walked toward the refrigerator and opened it. A quick glance inside found eggs, bacon, shredded cheese and other various items that would make a great breakfast for all of them.
“If it’s okay with you, Sam, I’d like to make breakfast for everyone. It seems like it’s the least I can do for all of you.”
He rewarded her with a tired smile. “If you’re sure, that would be great. Just let us know when it’s ready.”
Sarah nodded and started opening cupboards and drawers looking for pans and utensils as he left the kitchen.
Fifteen minutes later, Sam turned from his post at the front window as Sarah came into the living room and announced breakfast was ready. He followed Jess and Bill into the kitchen where a table was set for four. Plates heaped with scrambled eggs, pancakes, and bacon sat in the center of the table, awaiting them.
“All right!” Bill announced before eagerly pulling out a chair and sitting down.
Sarah turned toward Sam and his heart warmed at the sight of a small smile on her face. If making them breakfast was able to make her smile, she could cook for them anytime. He was pretty sure Bill and Jess would appreciate it too since none of them were great cooks. Sam chuckled a little at the look of joyous expectation on Bill’s face at the sight of the food. Bill might be a big tough guy, but when it came right down to it, he was really just a kid at heart – with a big stomach.
“I wasn’t sure what you all would like to eat, so I fixed a little bit of everything. Hope this is okay.” Her eyes looked to Sam for reassurance.
Sam quickly spoke, wanting to assure her it was appreciated. “Sarah, this is great. Thank you.”
He and the gals joined Bill who was already seated at the table, and before they all dug into the food, he asked Sarah if it would be okay if he said a quick grace to bless the food. Jessica and Bill were used to his habit of saying grace before every meal, but he didn’t want to make Sarah feel uncomfortable. After she agreed, he bowed his head and said a quick prayer of thanks for the food and asked for safety for all of them throughout the day.
The platters were quickly passed around and it didn’t take long for the delicious food to disappear. Sam couldn’t remember the last time he’d had a home cooked breakfast this good. He noticed though, that Sarah didn’t eat much other than a strip or two of bacon, some scrambled eggs and a few sips of orange juice. Bill made up for it though and ate like he hadn’t had a meal in days. Sam smiled and shook his head.
Oh the ability of young men to be able to put away food and not worry about gaining weight.
Sarah watched the other three dig into the breakfast she had prepared. It made her feel good to do something for them, and she enjoyed cooking. After all, they were putting their lives on the line for her, so it was the least she could do. She pushed her food around on the plate and nibbled at a piece of bacon. It wouldn’t be a bad thing for her to lose some weight, she knew - but she also needed to keep up her strength, so she had to eat.
From the conversation around the breakfast table, it sounded like they were heading out today for another safe house. Sarah was relieved to hear they weren’t staying here. She knew Sam didn’t like the place, and if he didn’t feel they were safe here, she didn’t feel safe either. In a matter of just a day, she had decided to trust him. For one thing, she didn’t have any other options. Besides, there was a strength about him she couldn’t explain that made her feel safe.
After they finished eating and the three agents had left the kitchen, Sarah cleaned up the table. Because they were leaving, she threw out what few leftovers there were, then quickly washed the dishes and put them back in the cupboards for the next person to use. By the time she had the kitchen cleaned up and went back into the living room, the others were ready to leave, and it was a reverse exercise from when they had arrived the night before. Sam remained inside with Sarah while Bill and Jessica left the apartment first, checked the vehicle, and did a perimeter sweep of the street to make sure it was clear for them to leave.
Sam and Sarah quickly followed, and once they were safely strapped in the vehicle, Bill drove the car away from the curb. Sarah and Sam sat in the back this time with the other two agents seated in the front seat.
Sarah listened as Sam placed a call on his cell.
“Yeah, this is Morgan. Just wanted to thank you guys for the coverage last night. We appreciated it.” He paused for a moment and Sarah knew the party on the other end must be speaking. “Yeah, well tell your guys they did good. It was great to have a couple more pairs of eyes looking out for us.”
“What was that about, Sam?” Sarah couldn’t help asking after he disconnected the call.
Sam glanced over at her while he put his phone back in his pocket. “The Jefferson P.D. provided us with an unmarked car out front all last night with two plainclothesmen in it. Just wanted to let the Chief know we appreciated it.”
She nodded her understanding. “So, where are we going now?”
Sam didn’t answer her right away but gazed out the side window of the car. It seemed to Sarah that he was always checking out the surroundings. She supposed it was second nature to him because of his job. If he wasn’t constantly on the lookout, it might cost him his life someday. Eventually he turned back to face her. “Ju
st a couple of hours away. We’ll be out in the country with more open space around us. I think it will be a much better set-up than the safe house we just left.”
Sarah nodded and tried not to worry. She couldn’t help but wonder if there were truly anyplace they could take her where she’d be safe from this madman. But Sam had made it clear. He took the job of protecting her very seriously. It would be wonderful to find out that Manaquez had gone back to Mexico, but she didn’t think that was going to happen until she was dead.
As little tendrils of fear swept through her again, she realized worrying was going to drive her crazy if she didn’t get her mind on something else quickly.
“So tell me, Sam. How did you get into this line of work?”
Sam looked across the car seat in surprise at the woman who only yesterday had looked like a lost little girl to him. Today, with her long dark brown hair fashioned into some kind of braid, and dressed in cast-off clothes, she looked more like the attractive woman she really was. He mentally shook himself and tried to remember what she had asked him. Oh yes; about how he’d gotten into this line of work.
“I started out in the D.C. police department right out of college. A buddy of mine worked for the FBI, and we worked a case together. When the Bureau offered me a job shortly after that, I decided to take it.”
“Do you like what you do?”
He thought about her question for a moment as he gazed out the car window again. Did he like it? He didn’t like having to shoot people, sometimes to kill them. He didn’t like having to go after evil people who were always out to hurt or kill other people. He had another agent tell him once that if he didn’t think about quitting his job at least once a month, he wasn’t doing something right. But Sam knew somebody had to do the job, and he seemed to be pretty good at it. He felt God had given him an opportunity to make a difference in the world through what he did. Until that changed, he’d keep doing what he was doing.
Sam looked back at her and shrugged as he gave her the only answer he could think of. “Most of the time. It’s what we do.”
Sarah watched Sam turn his face away from her, so turned her attention to the front seat. Something told her she wasn’t going to get much more out of him this morning. Sam appeared to be a humble man of few words.
“How about you, Jessica? How did you get your job?”
Jessica laughed and scooted around a little in the seat so she could look back toward Sarah and Sam. “It was a dare by my boyfriend – well my boyfriend at the time. He didn’t think I would even try out for the training program at the academy in Quantico - let alone get in.” She smirked. “Guess I showed him. It was tough,” she added. “Twenty weeks of intestinal fortitude while they teach you everything under the sun having to do with self-defense, martial arts, etc., etc.”
Bill chuckled, his strong hands firmly on the steering wheel. “I was a Marine before I joined the Bureau. Just got back from Iraq when a buddy of mine said he was going to training school to try out for a position in the FBI. I thought, hey, I should do that too. Lo and behold, they hired me!”
Sarah smiled at Bill in the rearview mirror. He still looked like a Marine with his buzz cut blond hair. Perhaps he didn’t wear the uniform anymore, but he still walked tall.
It seemed to Sarah that they had been driving for hours on the four-lane highway when Bill finally took an exit and headed down a two lane road through a residential area. They drove on for a time, and then took a narrow paved road with no white middle line. Mile after mile of countryside flew by the car windows with occasional farmhouses, barns, and telephone phones being the only distraction from the wide open fields. This part of Ohio was flat and you could see for miles in all directions. Sam was right; there would be no closed in feeling out here in this rural countryside.
Eventually they turned down a narrow tree lined gravel road. Another two or three miles and they turned into what looked to Sarah to be a private drive which led through an open area with freshly planted fields spread out on both sides. Ahead was a one story ranch house with a covered porch that ran the entire length of the front of the house. The cedar wood siding was faded and gray, but the house was of newer construction. There was a small fenced in area at the rear of the yard at one end of a weathered and faded red barn. The whole yard had a wide open feel to it, and she could see why Sam had chosen it over the previous night’s arrangement.
It looked like they had arrived at their destination.
The agents followed the same procedure they had at the other safe house with Sarah and Sam staying in the car until Bill and Jess had checked out the house. With the word ‘clear’ announced by Jess as she opened the back door of the car, Sarah and Sam followed her up the wooden steps, across the front porch, and through the old-fashioned heavy wood door into the house.
Sarah walked through the doorway into a small foyer that opened into a good sized family room with a cathedral ceiling and a rustic stone fireplace at one end. She wandered from room to room, amazed that this was a safe house. It looked like any other family home with two comfortable looking bedrooms. The smaller of the bedrooms was at the front of the house; the other ran the full width of the house and was huge with an attached master bathroom. A large open kitchen sat at the rear of the house with a small breakfast nook at one end. Shiny hardwood floors ran throughout the house and were covered with large multi-colored braided rugs. The overstuffed sofa and chairs in the living room were covered with tan colored canvas slip covers with bright pillows and accessories offering little pops of color in the décor. A cherry finished coffee table sat in front of the sofa and chair grouping.
The family room also opened up into a dining room where an oak arts and crafts style table sat surrounded by wooden chairs and benches. It was a bright, sunny room with lots of windows, Sarah noticed. They wouldn’t have any trouble seeing anyone coming toward the house from any direction, especially since the land was flat and there were no large trees anywhere near the house and barn. The only wooded area appeared to be east of the barn and a long way from the main house.
The largest bedroom, which Jess stated was theirs, was an attractive room with painted walls in a warm heritage blue. Two twin beds with high-backed white headboards were made up with crisp white cotton linens covered with colorful patchwork quilts. The bathroom had a tile-walled walk-in shower stall, double sinks, and fluffy towels on the shelves.
It was quite the safe house!
While the others brought in their bags and luggage, Sarah headed for the kitchen, hoping for a stash of food. She was hungry and wanted to make lunch for everyone. The kitchen was beautiful, with walls and kitchen cabinets both painted the same soft white color. Dark gray granite countertops offered plenty of working area, and fairly new stainless steel appliances including a dishwasher added to her joy. A well-worn round oak table with four chairs sat at the end of the kitchen in a small nook. It was perfect, and had the circumstances been different, it would have been a real pleasure to cook in a kitchen this beautiful.
She was disappointed though with what she found, or in this case didn’t find, after rummaging around in the cupboards and freezer. There was enough food she could come up with something for their lunch, but somebody was going to have to make a grocery run. This place wasn’t stocked nearly as well as the apartment they had just left.
Sarah had made the decision that morning that she would do the cooking for them. The three agents assigned to protect her had the tough part; they had to keep her alive. The least she could do was make sure they had full stomachs to do their jobs, and she had to do something to keep busy or it would drive her crazy.
Sarah reached into the freezer and pulled out a loaf of bread she could quickly thaw in the microwave. With that and the cheese she found in the refrigerator, she went to work making grilled cheese sandwiches. Some canned soup would have to complete the menu for the noon meal. Digging around in the freezer som
e more she also found some packaged pie crusts that she pulled out to thaw, along with some canned apple pie filling in a cupboard. She would have much preferred to prepare a pie from scratch, but she would have to use what was at hand. A freshly baked apple pie for dessert with dinner sounded pretty good. Now, if she could just come up with something to prepare for dinner’s main course.
About that time Sam strolled into the kitchen, leaned up against the lower cupboards and watched her closely. His face wore a bemused expression.
“Looking for something in particular, Sarah?”
She glanced over at him, always thrown a little off balance by his slow, irresistible smile. “I hope one of you can go to town and do some grocery shopping. There isn’t a lot here to feed you all.”
Sam nodded. “Write up a list of what you need and I’ll send Jess into town after lunch. You okay?” he added, reaching across the space between them and gently touching her arm.
She nodded. His touch was gentle but affected her in ways she didn’t understand. What was it about this man?
“I think so. It helps if I keep busy, and I enjoy cooking.”
He gave her one of his handsome grins. “Good. We enjoy eating – especially Billy Boy.”
She laughed a nervous little laugh thinking that yesterday she didn’t think she would never laugh again.
“I’ll have some lunch ready for us shortly.”
He threw that smile her way again and strode from the room. She felt the heat come up into her face and was glad he had turned away and left. Sam Morgan was a good looking man. Good thing he couldn’t read her mind.
Sarah dug around in the kitchen drawers until she found a small pad of paper and pencil and proceeded to make a list of all the items she needed to get them through a few days’ stay. She didn’t know how long they would have to be here as Sam hadn’t been too forthcoming with information but she guessed she really didn’t need to know at this point. She was guessing it would at least three or four days, if not more.
She tore her list off the notepad and walked over to stick her head out the kitchen door.
“Lunch is ready, you guys. Just soup and sandwiches, but it will have to do.”
As the three agents trouped into the kitchen, Sarah handed the list to Sam, and then sat down to join the others at the table. After a quick prayer by Sam, they all dug into their food.
Sarah nodded toward the grocery list sitting on the table next to Sam’s soup bowl. “I hope it isn’t too much, Sam, but there really isn’t a lot in the freezer and cupboards.”
He glanced down at the list briefly, then back up at her. “No problem. Like I said, we have to eat.” She felt his eyes sweep over her face before he turned his attention to Jessica. “Jess, when you get a chance, please run into town and pick up these things. We don’t know how long we will be staying here and we can’t eat without food.”
Bill looked up from his food. “You want me to go, Sam?”
Sam shook his head. “After lunch, you and I are going to scout out the rest of the farm. I want to explore every nook and cranny of this place.” He glanced over at Sarah, and his gray eyes seemed to glow when they locked with hers. “This is really good, Sarah. You’re a good cook.”
“Thanks, Sam, but it’s not much. Get me some supplies and I’ll do even better, I promise.”
Sarah smiled shyly at him and felt her cheeks grow warm at his compliment. She couldn’t remember when the last time she had blushed, but it seemed Sam Morgan had the ability to make her do so. She was very attracted toward him but knew she needed to guard her heart. The last thing she needed was a romantic relationship right now, after all. She had just gotten over losing Matt and she couldn’t afford to open her heart to be shattered by another man. Sarah quickly dropped her eyes and picked up her spoon to eat her soup.
It didn’t take long for them to finish their meal, then Sam and Bill headed out the back door. Jess helped her clear the table, and then grabbed the grocery list Sarah had written up and also headed out the back door. Sarah glanced out the window and saw Jess meet up with Sam and Bill coming around the corner of the barn. The three of them stopped and talked for a few moments, then she saw Jess hurrying back toward the house.
“Everything okay?” she asked the other woman as she came back in the door.
Jessica grinned at Sarah as she rummaged around in a kitchen drawer. “Yup. Sam just wants me to put our vehicle in the barn and take the pickup truck that’s stored in there instead. Local license plate and such. No sense drawing attention to ourselves by driving a vehicle with an out of state government issued plate.”
Sarah watched as Jess hurried out the back door again. It seemed these agents thought of everything. She wouldn’t have even thought of something like that, but then they were the professionals.
After cleaning up the kitchen, Sarah went into the family room and sat down in an overstuffed chair. She had kept so busy in the kitchen she hadn’t taken the time to really look at the main part of the house yet. The sunlight pouring in the windows made the hardwood floors glow. The attractive room held a sofa and a couple of overstuffed chairs cozied up to a large coffee table in front of the sofa. A bookcase lined one of the inside walls and looked to be stuffed with books, jigsaw puzzles, and board games. She would have to investigate them later.
It looked like the FBI agents had moved right in and set up shop. There was a laptop computer sitting on the coffee table in front of the sofa. Other satchels and bags sat on the floor at one end of the sofa. She couldn’t help but wonder what was in them, but then again maybe she didn’t really want to know. They were probably filled with more weapons, bigger guns, and other tools of their trade.
Sarah wandered around the room, stopping for a moment with the tips of her fingers resting on the wooden mantel above the fireplace. It was odd to have a fireplace mantel with no photos on it. If this were a normal family home, there would be photos of happy events cataloging the family’s lives. But this wasn’t a normal home. No matter how cozy the décor, no matter how comfortable the chairs, this was still a safe house where she was hiding out from a bad guy. She sighed, trying to relax, then stood and walked over to the row of windows that faced the side yard. She couldn’t seem to sit still. Of course, it might have had a lot to do with both her house and her place of employment being blown up and the fact that somebody out there was trying to kill her. How was that supposed to make her feel?
She watched Sam and Bill walk back into the yard and it wasn’t long before she heard their footsteps coming up the porch steps.
“So, what does it look like out there?” she asked.
Sam and Bill both took seats on the sofa with Bill taking up residence in front of the laptop.
She watched Sam take a deep breath and lean back into the ample cushions of the sofa before answering her.
“I like this setup much better than the last one. It’s flat and open. There’s one hundred and sixty acres of farmland around us – mostly leased and farmed by a neighboring farmer. The only wooded area is at the East end of the property, and the only other way onto the property is a dirt road going through those woods. That trail has a chained and padlocked livestock gate across it at the road side.” He leaned back with his arms behind his head and stretched. “That leaves just the main drive in to the farm. One way in and one way out. Much better.”
Sarah nodded. “I suppose I should feel much safer, right?” She sighed and tried to keep her high strung emotions out of her voice when she asked the question that haunted her. “So, how come I don’t?”