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“Well, I am an invalid.”
She laughed out loud. “That’ll be the day. You didn’t seem like much of an invalid last night!”
To her surprise, he leaped off the bed and, catching her with his good arm, jerked her up against him. His lips came crashing down on hers with a savagery that stole her breath. “I lied about the invalid bit,” he admitted, dragging her back to the bed and burying his face in the lush thickness of her hair.
“I know.”
“I thought maybe I needed an excuse to get you back into bed.”
“Never,” she whispered against his lips. They tumbled onto the rumpled sheets together.
* * *
“You’re married?” Alan’s chin nearly dropped to his knees. “To Flannery?” Disbelief nearly choked him. “But you can’t be…. He—he—”
“He’s my husband,” she replied. Polishing an apple with a paper towel in the station’s cafeteria, she ignored the opened box of pastries and settled for a cup of coffee instead.
Alan tried desperately to recover. “Well, I
read all about Johnston’s escape,” he said, “and I know that you must have been terrified. I mean, talk about nightmare déjà vu! But marriage? My God, Kaylie, what were you thinking?”
“That I loved him,” she said, offering him a bright smile as she poured a thin stream of decaf coffee into her cup.
“You thought that once before.”
“And I was right,” she said, refusing to argue with him. She set the glass carafe onto the warming tray. “We—uh, just took a wrong turn.” She took a sip from her cup and stared at him over the rim. “We won’t make that mistake again.”
Alan looked about to argue further, but snapped his mouth shut instead. Throwing his hands into the air, he shook his head. “Well, I guess there’s nothing left but to congratulate you.” To Kaylie’s amazement, he hugged her. “Good luck, Kaylie. You know I’ve only wanted what was best for you. I hope this time you’re happy.” She almost sloshed coffee all over him.
“I am,” she assured him. “And thanks.”
* * *
Margot was ecstatic. Kaylie and Zane arrived on her doorstep with a bottle of champagne and celebrated. “I’m so happy for you!” she said, tears streaming from her eyes. “I’m just sorry it took that awful Johnston to get you two together.”
“At least that’s behind us now,” Kaylie said. “He won’t be released for years—maybe ever.”
“You hope,” Zane replied, his expression guarded.
Kaylie wanted to ask him more, but Margot changed the subject and she forgot about the maniac for a while. After all, Lee Johnston was out of their lives forever!
* * *
The next two weeks sped past in a blur. Kaylie moved into Zane’s apartment in the evenings after work, and Zane, still recuperating, divided his time between the office and home. They talked, laughed and made plans for the future, and slowly Franklin accepted her. At first the dog lay next to Zane, never leaving his side, but as the days passed and Kaylie became a permanent fixture in the apartment, Franklin relaxed, even following Kaylie after mealtimes.
Occasionally Zane and Kaylie argued, but Kaylie tried to keep her temper in check and Zane did a decent job of letting her maintain a certain level of independence.
All in all, the marriage seemed to work, though sometimes, if Kaylie’s name or picture appeared in the tabloids, Zane would explode about “invasion of privacy, libel, and yellow journalism,” and threaten to “sue the living hell out of those bastards,” but once he was assured that Lee Johnston was locked up for a long time, Zane took everything in stride.
A model husband, she thought as she pulled into her parking space at the station one morning. Fog had blanketed the city, lingering in a chill mist that seeped into Kaylie’s bones.
Unconsciously, she glanced over her shoulder, to see if the car that often stopped at the curb when she arrived at the station was in tow. But no silver Taurus emerged from the fog and she told herself to stop worrying; Johnston had been apprehended—no one else would follow her. Besides, she’d only spotted a car a couple of times. Once in a while a blue station wagon would occupy the same spot. Obviously the drivers were just another couple of early-morning commuters. Maybe they even carpooled together.
She locked her car and walked briskly into the studio where Tracy met her in the reception area. “Here are the updates for today’s show and you’re supposed to join an emergency meeting with Jim and Alan in Jim’s office.”
“Emergency?” Kaylie repeated. “What happened?”
“There’s a problem with scheduling, I think. One of Friday’s guests is backing out.”
