Page 92 of Trapped with the Covert Ops Soldier

Epilogue

The rowboat wasn’twhere Abby left it. Again.

Someone had moved it so it hugged the short dock on Lost Lake.

Smitty tugged on their linked hands as they walked toward the worn wood extending over the water. “Come on, I’ve got a surprise for you.”

“I thought there wasn’t any dynamite left,” Abby said, dragging her feet. It had been a month since Smitty had moved in with her, started his job as a Deputy Sheriff in Bandit Creek, and she’d gone back to work at her clinic and the town hospital.

People had stopped trying to get into her shed mostly because the shed had been moved to the yard for the Lost Lake Mine Museum. The museum staff had added a vintage style sign to the doorway of the shed reading:Back Entrance to the Lost Lake Mine ~ Enter at Your Own Risk!

It was now the most popular stop for any tourists who were in town. And there were some. The publicity Bandit Creek had received thanks to the attempted murder and kidnapping of the localmilitary herodoctor had brought more than a few tourists, thrill seekers, and hobbyist gold-panners to town.

An old gold mine full of ghosts with a secret entrance made for great news.

Too bad what had been left of the tunnel under her property had been filled in by the precision placement of explosives by Smitty’s Army friends. They had detonated more than enough to ensure that there were no voids or openings left that might tempt anyone.

There wasnoway to get into the mine.

“Can’t we just go for a boat ride?” Smitty asked in hisI’m innocentvoice.

“On Lost Lake?” she asked with as much suspicion in her tone as she could manage. “I thought you said you didn’t want to go anywhere near the lake. Something about ghosts and leaky boats not mixing well?”

“That was Jack, not me.”

“Right.Jack.” She looked at Smitty sideways. “When did you two become buddies?”

He shrugged. “We’re not buddies, exactly, but we do have a common goal.”

“Oh? What’s that?”

“Keeping you happy.” The look he gave her was hot enough to melt her panties.

“You and Jack have less in common than you think.”

Smitty laughed and reeled her in for a quick, but thorough kiss.

They reached the boat and Smitty got himself in it and seated so he could row them out. He extended a hand, so she took it and let him guide her to the other seat at the back of the small craft.

“I’m going to be late for work,” she said as he untied the boat and pushed them away from the dock. “And so are you.”

“Nope, I cleared it with the Sheriff and your receptionist.”

Ah ha, so he did have a reason for this little trip.

“Cleared what, exactly?”

He grinned at her and winked.

Oh boy.

He rowed until they were far enough away from the shore that no one would be able to overhear their conversation or see what exactly they were doing.

He finally pulled the oars in and set them down along the hull. Then he leaned forward to brace his elbows on his knees.

“So,” he began. “You seem to be doing better than when I first arrived, right?”

“Yeah, quite a bit,” she replied, not quite sure where this conversation was going. “Having someone I trust in the house has been really...” How could she put into words how powerful his presence in her life was? She’d been on the edge of breaking down into a million pieces when he arrived to steal her dynamite, her fear, and her heart. “...life changing.”

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