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"Right, rest." He kissed her again, then a third time, lingering until she drew back and gently pushed him away. He backed up, his hands behind his back, and smiled. "See you in a few hours."
“See you.” She opened her door and stepped inside, her mind muzzy with fatigue and Gavin.
CHAPTER8
Four hours later,Gavin sat at the kitchen table, downing a bagel and eggs and sipping on his third cup of coffee. He'd seared his tongue with the first cup, became alert with the second, and now, he was enjoying the aroma and taste of the third.
Across from him, Rachel spread cream cheese and jam on her second bagel, licking the remainder of the jam from her fingers before biting into the pastry. Gavin grinned. She had a third bagel on the plate and had glared at him when he suggested she was eating for energy. “Of course, I’m eating for energy. That’s what eating is designed for.”
She wasn't nearly as pleasant on three and a half hours of sleep as she was on a full night's worth, but she chatted with Mrs. Finch amicably during the meal.
The others, having had several more hours of rest than they, had already eaten and gone on their business by the time the two of them made it to the kitchen. Senator Mitchell had commandeered both Bear and Vince to accompany him to the office and Gavin caught the look of guilt that crossed Rachel’s face at the news. Dallas, looking up from a packet of paper, had assured her the Senator was fine with the change, he’d even mentioned she needed her rest. “He said they’ll be back by lunch and he isn’t planning on going anywhere else today.”
Rachel and Gavin returned to the room, though Rachel admitted as they walked through the door, she didn’t have much to do. “I don’t want to look at the stills or the videos until the Senator gets here.”
“Why not?” Gavin said as he removed his cell phone and placed it beside the sleeping laptop.
“Not sure. I just think the two of us looking at the photos will be more effective.” She shrugged, “Intuition?”
“Never disregard it.” He glanced at his laptop and huffed. “Maybe I need to trust mine more.”
She frowned. “Have you spoken with any of Hank’s men about their progress or lack thereof?”
He shook his head then grimaced. “And I need to. Thanks for reminding me I’m not the only one doing this.” He dialed his phone and waited for the call to go through. “Did you rest any?”
She nodded, “After my brain finally turned off. It was fuzzy enough so it didn’t take long. You?”
He smiled at her. “I was a little distracted by other things but yeah, after a few minutes I slept.” His look brought color to her cheeks and she glanced down at her own laptop, closed and waiting.
When his call connected Gavin spent the next fifteen minutes comparing notes, giving his opinion on the code, and troubleshooting. When he ended the call Rachel gave him a questioning glance. He shook his head, "They haven't had any more luck than I have but at least we could commiserate."
They worked, or rather Gavin worked and Rachel went through the last few day’s worth of communication taps from the Senate office building. Several tags popped up and she started making notes of time stamps and locations, then worked on enhancing those video clips. Soon, she was as focused on her task as Gavin was and time flew by.
"Lunch," Dallas called as she strode into the room. "I feel like one of those bellboys in the old movies Sadie forces us to watch. Any progress?"
“Maybe,” Rachel said and Gavin shrugged his shoulders. Dallas gave a moue of dissatisfaction. “I need more action, folks. It’s getting boring around here.”
When they looked at her steadily, she sighed. “I did it again. Okay, come and eat or I’ll let Mrs. Finch know to bring you shakes again.”
Gavin scratched his ear and examined his screen. “I need a break.” He glanced up at Rachel. “You?”
She nodded and left the enhancement program running. “Definitely.”
They entered the kitchen to find the Senator laughing at Bear, his face relaxed. Gavin blessed the big, burly man who lounged at the table, his foot crossed over one knee. The Senator needed someone like Bear around to break the tension. God knows, Rachel and he weren’t in for the entertainer of the year award.
“What’s so funny?” Rachel asked as she took a seat beside Dallas, who was serving herself salad.
"I was just telling the Senator about a touch football game Hank got together a couple of months ago. The residents at Brighter Days played the ranch hands. Prostheses were flying, people were riding piggyback—"
“It was madness,” Dallas finished with a flap of her hand.
“And great for the rehab patients,” her husband said quietly and she sent him a smile. “It was. It’s hard to be light-hearted about being an amputee at first but the game made us all laugh.”
“How so?” Rachel asked. “If the prostheses were coming off—”
"Oh, Hank and Hannah, the head of the rehab ranch came up with an idea of making all things equal when that happened. Hence the three-legged players and the piggybacks." Bear chuckled. "Fun times."
The Senator shook his head. “You are an odd assortment at times.”
