Games (Timeless Series) (34 page)

Her jubilant laugh had him smiling
.

“I want you to know
, Simon. I am a crack shot.”

“Naturally,” he murmured
. His grin stretched as his amused gaze caught her laughing brown eyes. “I’m shocked I had doubts.” Picking up the file, his eyebrows shot up in question. “What’s this for?”

“You mean that innocent
-looking nail file?”

“I know what it is,” Simon replied without letting go of his grin
. “What I want to know is what do you do with it?”

“That i
s for me to know,” she said in a smug voice. “But I will tell you this much. Most people think it is harmless.”

His
quick bark of laughter filled the small room. “I’m not most people and I for one know better.” He then handed both to her. “You might as well take them back.”

She put them in her pocket
. “Yes, well, you should know something else. I am more than just a pretty face.”

The haughtiness in her voice drew another chuckle, but his answer was drowned out by
a commotion at the door, followed by pounding.

Simon quirked his eyebrow at Giselle, and sighed
. “Looks like our little love nest is being overrun by the cavalry.”

~~

Jake, Bucky, and Jamison stood outside the door Simon held open.

Disappointment set in for Giselle as the three men filed inside,
bringing an end to their perfect interlude. She wasn’t ready for her adventure or her time with Simon to end.

“Want some breakfast?” Simon asked.

Jake smiled. “No, but I’ll take a cup of the coffee I smell.”

Simon picked up the pot and held it up, glancing at the other two men with the question in his eyes
. When both nodded vigorously, he poured three cups and said while handing them out, “The horses are safe. I was able to help Giselle pull Fortuna out of the ditch that bastard left her in without too much trouble. Has anyone seen Black?”

Jake shook his head. “Hell no, he’s long gone
. I’m just glad Jamison had the courage to follow him. It would have been a sad day if we’d lost Fortuna or if something had happened to Giselle. Twin Oaks owes you a debt of gratitude.”

“
Thank God Jamison had the brains to come back and tell someone,” Simon said, his gaze alighting on her. “Some feel it’s their duty to solve everything without help.”

Giselle stuck her tongue out at him, ignoring his
reference to her part in trying to save Fortuna.

“Well
, it looks like you have everything here under control.” Jake smiled, clearly noting their antics. “We brought a sleigh in case you two didn’t feel up to riding. We can tie the horses to the back.”

“What’s the terrain like out there?” Simon asked.

“Not too bad,” Jake said, shrugging. “I’ve seen worse. This storm only dumped a couple inches of ice. If it warms up, which seems likely given how high the sun is now, most of it should be gone by tomorrow.”

“Good
. I’ll be able to make my appointment. Hopefully after that my case will be wrapped up.”

Giselle’s smile died
. She didn’t want to think of Simon leaving. The thought left her more subdued and quiet.

They
cleared the table and straightened up the place, tidying it as best they could.

Looking around, Simon flashed a halfhearted smile at Giselle and whispered so only she could hear, “Seems kind of sad to be leaving such cozy confines
. You were right. For a time, nothing intruded and I was able to forget my case.”

Too overcome with melancholy, she didn’t answer
.

He eyed her intently
. “Are you all right? You seem quiet all of a sudden.”

“I
am fine.” She smiled wanly. “I guess all of the excitement is just catching up with me.”

He returned the smile, mollified with her answer
. “All right, but we still need to talk.”

Giselle nodded.

~~

Back at the farm
Simon had no time to speak with Giselle, much to her relief. Their arrival had everyone out greeting them, throwing out questions and running around in a bevy of excitement. Both Simon and Giselle went to take baths and change their clothes. The flurry of activity didn’t stop until they were all seated in the library and most of the questions had been answered.

Giselle silently made her way to the door, hoping to evade Simon and his
talk
.

But, after standing up and excusing himself in the middle of answering one of Minnie’s questions, he followed.

She rushed up the stairs in an attempt to escape him.

“Giselle?”

She stopped
. Placing a smile on her face, she pivoted. “Yes?”

“You aren’t avoiding me
, are you?”

“
Non,
Simon. Why would I?”

He
slanted an eyebrow and his expression clearly stated he did not believe her.

Her smile became genuine
. “I’m just tired. Sitting there with all those questions wore me out.”

“
I understand, sweetheart. But we still need to talk. You’ve put me off long enough.”

“I know
.” Giselle did not want to hear the words she was sure he was going to say. “Let me rest first.”

She turned and started back up the stairs, feeling Simon’s heated gaze on her back the entire way
.

Giselle made it all the way to her bed before she broke down in tears
. Lying there, she let the memory of the most glorious night of her life, one spent in his arms, wash over her. She should have known that as a lover, Simon would demand everything she had to give. She could not imagine giving the same to anyone else. She would never marry Bradford, not after last night.

She smiled and stared into space, not bothering to wipe her tears away
.

From the moment she first spied
Simon walking toward her on the dance floor, he had swept her away as no one else had. Her heart and soul belonged to him now. For a few brief hours she had felt loved and cared for, nestled in his strong arms. She would take the memory to the grave, pulling it out on those cold winter nights when her yearning for more would overtake her.

Sighing, she put her arm over her eyes
. Her biggest problem now was keeping the yearning at bay until he was gone.
Non
! She wiped her tears and sat up, refusing to surrender.

S
he was Giselle Franklin, daughter of Marcus and Sophie Franklin, master at her game. If she thought of this as a game, she could do it. All she had to do was hold on to her emotions, and play to win.

~~

Simon kept looking at the door to the dining room, expecting Giselle to come waltzing through it at any minute. When it became obvious to all at the table that she wasn’t coming, he said, “Why isn’t she here?”

A feeling of dread went through him, remembering her sad mood this afternoon and how his attempts to cheer her on the ride back hadn’t worked
. He’d felt her withdrawing from him and the farther away from the cabin they got, the further she withdrew. Then when he’d caught up with her on the staircase, he’d let her go, wondering what had been going through her mind. She’d seemed so melancholy.

Surely thoughts of marriage and a life with him couldn’t make her sad
. Then he shrugged. If they did, she’d have to accustom herself to the idea. She could visit her family whenever she wanted. But like it or not, her life was with him now. She was his and he meant to have her.

Sophie offered, “Would you like me to check on her?”

“Yes
, please,” Simon said without hesitating. “I’m worried about her. She seemed awfully quiet today, which is so unlike her.”

“It seems you know her well
.” Her smile broadened.

Simon grunted an assent
. “I get this feeling she’s avoiding me and I don’t know why.”

“
Well, just to ease your mind, I will go right now.” Sophie pushed away from the table.

While waiting for her return
, Marcus asked, “So, what makes you think she’s avoiding you?”

Simon shook his head and sighed
. “I’ve been meaning to talk to her about our future. She keeps putting me off.”

Marcus frowned
. “I wonder why.”

“Lord only knows
. We’re going to be married as soon as I can make the arrangements.”

Marcus cleared his throat
. “Have you and Giselle discussed this?”

“No, but it’s a foregone conclusion
. You must know I wouldn’t spend the night with her and not offer marriage. I’d never dishonor her in such a way.” He didn’t like thinking he’d done just that a few nights ago.

“Well
, you seem to know what you’re doing. After all, you’ve gotten this far. Just don’t forget to tell her how you feel.” Marcus sighed and went back to his food.

“Oh
, for God’s sake,” Simon barked in frustration. “I’ve been trying to do that since I got her alone last night and the blasted woman won’t let me get it out.”

He glanced at the movement at the door and saw Sophie striding into the room
. Simon’s eyebrows shot up in question.

“She
is sleeping, Simon,” she said, shrugging. Her gaze flew to her husband. “I hated to disturb her.”

Disappointment surged through him
. Still, he was slightly relieved. Giselle wasn’t openly avoiding him.

When Simon finished eating, he stood
. “I’m sorry. I’m not very good company tonight. I have a lot on my mind. Could you all excuse me?”

~~

Four curious gazes watched him stride swiftly from the room.

Minnie turned to Maizie.
“I knew it!”

“Yes
, sister, they do make a splendid pair.” Maizie chortled. Turning to the Franklins, she asked, “Don’t you think so?”

Marcus grinned
. “Yes, but I have this feeling things aren’t totally settled between the two of them. If Simon thinks things are decided just because he spent the night with her, he has a rude awakening ahead of him.” He chuckled. “There could be additional fireworks before the smoke clears.”

Sophie sighed
. “Thank God we only had one like her. I do not think I could handle any more.”

“If that young man doesn’t muck it up, she’ll be his problem,” Marcus agreed, nodding
. Then he placed his hand over his wife’s and squeezed. “I’ll miss her when she’s gone. One thing you have to admit about Giselle, my sweet. Life with her has never been boring. I can’t wait to see what happens next.”

~~

The next morning, Marcus and Sophie Franklin, along with Simon, were seated at the table eating breakfast when Giselle glided into the room as if she were floating on air. Watching her serenely walk over and fill her plate with food and then take a seat next to his, relief washed over Simon.

“Good morning
. I trust you slept well?”

“Of course,” she said, flashing him a warm smile
. “And you?”

“Well enough
.” He leaned closer and whispered, “It could have been better.”

S
he glanced at him and the heated look he sent gave clear meaning to his statement. Both caused her to blush and look away. She studied her plate intently, then cleared her throat and asked, still keeping her eyes forward, “So, I take it you are just about to wrap up your case?”

“It looks as if Caroline Hillier is behind it all,” Simon said, nodding
. “Everything leads to her. Two men besides Black were involved in it. One of them was another hand she recommended. He’s shown up dead, but he was working on one of the farms where another horse was injured. I’m convinced he was behind it.”

“That
is good,
n’est-ce pas
? You will have it all wrapped up, so you can go home.”

“Yes, but I can’t seem to come up with a motive and that bothers me
. I’m missing something.”

Giselle shrugged
. “Who knows why people do things. The woman seems a little crazy. I would not put it past her to stir up trouble just to get you here.”

“What do you mean by that?”

Giselle rolled her eyes and sighed. “Simon, I have eyes and ears. She wants you. When she confronted me, it was obvious she thought I was her competition.”

His jaw dropped
. He stared at her totally dumbfounded. “She confronted you?”

“Yes, in the stable after you left.”

“That witch,” he muttered under his breath, spearing his sausage.
How dare she?
He was so angry at this news, he was ready to beat the woman. “I’m sorry, Giselle. I didn’t know.”