Runaway for Christmas

Chapter 2-1

Chapter 2

TuesdayMegan finished her day in the office, wrapping up as many details as she could so that Janice wouldn’t be overwhelmed while she was gone. It wasn’t as if she was going way on some exotic vacation; she wasn’t even leaving town. She made her office manager promise to call her if anything major came up. Janice made two promises, the one Megan asked for and the one to herself—that there was no way she would disturb her boss unless the building was burning.

Once Megan was convinced that she had done everything she needed to, she agreed to leave early. She decided to have a nice dinner with her daughter before she headed out in the morning with Lucy. Mother and daughter enjoyed a nice meal at one of their favorite places to eat, Susie’s Diner. They talked and laughed, catching up on what was going on in their lives since they had last spoken. Megan couldn’t help herself. She kept staring at her daughter as if she didn’t recognize her. In a way she didn’t.

Emma had cut her long hair short since they’d seen each other just two days ago. Her long red hair had been similar to Megan’s; the coloring was a family trait, and even her cousin Paul sported the auburn curls. Emma’s hair was straighter instead of curly, more like her father’s. As Megan regarded her daughter, she saw just how much Emma had inherited from her late husband. She knew he would have been proud of the young woman their daughter had become. The short, almost pixie-style haircut was great on her, accenting her eyes and long neck.

All too soon, their evening was over, and they hugged each other goodbye outside the diner before getting in their cars to go in their separate directions. Megan watched as the taillights on Emma’s car disappeared into the black night before she pulled out onto the main road and headed back to her home. It was a short drive. Soon, she was pulling into the drive and entering the security code to open the gate. As the gate opened, Megan gazed at the beautiful sign hanging on it. It was her daughter’s design and Paul’s craftsmanship that welcomed all to her home. There was much love within the boundaries of her property and she was grateful that her family and friends were close. She felt bad for Aiden; he was here on his own, his only son still attending college in St. Louis, staying with Aiden’s parents between semesters.

Aiden. As her thoughts opened, just like the gate in front of her, Megan remembered the first time they’d met. It wasn’t love at first sight. In fact, she’d found him rude, arrogant, and condescending to both her and the local sheriff. But she changed her mind as they worked together to solve a murder and save themselves from a boat ride with no return. Their friendship was trying to work its way into something stronger, and it was also being helped along by her friends and family. Megan was fine with the slow pace they were taking. It had been a long time since she had allowed herself to get involved with someone. Her husband had died when Emma was a child. Her life had been too full with raising the little girl and starting her gardening business to support them to entertain a new relationship.

Blinking her eyes as the gleam from the gate hit them, Megan stopped her daydreaming and pulled forward, following the drive to the left and her home. She heard the excited barks of Barney and Gypsy welcoming her home. It was nice to have a welcoming committee. There were also two cats waiting for her, acting as if they didn’t care if she was home or not. As she opened the door, she quieted the dogs and made her way to the kitchen to feed the hungry animals and check her answering machine for messages. If Gypsy was still here, then that meant that Aiden had not returned from his trip to Washington, DC. As a consultant for the FBI and owner of his own private investigation firm, he often traveled. The convenience of the small landing strip on Megan’s property was one reason he was still renting the small apartment over one of the barns on the property. Megan was getting used to his coming and going, and they had worked out an agreement on the care of Gypsy. The agreement suited Barney just fine; he hated to be separated from his little friend.

Sure enough, Megan found a couple of messages. Hearing that Aiden would be one or two more nights away, she called him back and told him about her plans for the next couple of days. They agreed that she would take the puppy with her, rather than having Jake, Aiden’s assistant, take care of her. They talked for a while about the little things going on. Megan didn’t ask about his current case. If he could, Aiden would fill her in when he got back. She had learned to accept that there were certain aspects of his work he could not share with her, and she was fine with that. She heard the tiredness in his voice, and kept the conversation short, telling him she wanted to get ready for her getaway in the morning.

It wasn’t long after hanging up with Aiden that Megan was settling herself in bed with the current Mystery of the Month and the two cats. The two dogs had curled together, sound asleep. After an hour of reading, Megan closed her book and her eyes.

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