Page 23 of Crash and Burn

“Thanks.” She started to walk away, but she turned back, her tone changed. “Really. I can't thank you enough. You don't owe me any of this, but I appreciate it so much.”

Her eyes darted away, as though it was tough to admit it was better not going it alone. Without her looking him in the eyes as she so often did, he reached out and touched her shoulder, to aim her back toward him.

“Maggie, I don’t mind.” He almost added,that's what friends are for,but he didn't want to give her the idea thatfriendswas all he was interested in. Instead he said, “This is a big deal. It’s definitely concerning. Don't ever think that you're overreacting. But we’ve got this.”

Then she shocked the shit out of him and threw herself into his arms, hugging him tightly. It was so easy to hug her back. He felt her pressed against him, her arms wrapped around his waist.

With one hand, he tugged her closer, while the other snuck up into her hair. He would have kissed her, but this wasn't the time.

It didn't matter anyway, because just then the doorbell rang.

Chapter Twenty-One

Maggie was just finishing up with her last appointment that morning, when she heard the knock at the door from where she sat in her office.

Her first reaction was to jump up and answer it, but before she could, she heard footsteps in the hall.Sebastian was here. The thought soothed her far more than was appropriate, and she wondered if the shy firefighter knew she was fighting a raging attraction to him?

Maggie kept her eyes on her client and continued the conversation. At least they should be wrapping up.

The older man’s goal was to split his property and give a piece to each of his children to build on. But it had taken Maggie a little more time than she’d planned to help him understand what the city ordinances were.

“So the property lines will go here, here, and here.” He said it with authority as he pointed to a rough sketch he’d drawn on a napkin before arriving.

Maggie replied the best she could. “I hope so. Ultimately the surveyors will make that decision. But you can request it of them.”

“This is going to take longer than I thought it would,” he complained.

“I know. It's a longer process than most people think, but that’s mostly because the city needs to sign off on everything when property lines change.”

Though he still seemed cranky, he understood. Maggie nodded, though she was listening to the conversation in the front hall with half an ear. She could have sworn she'd heard “FBI.”

She both wanted to and didn't want to shove Mr. Gentson out the door. The stubborn part of her refused to shortchange her client simply because someone was at the door. It was worse that it likely wasn’t some random visitor. Her heart thumped a little harder, afraid she’d heard correctly.

“So you have this—” She pointed to the documents she’d printed for him and reminded him what each one was. Then she watched as he reluctantly signed two of them. She took the check from him and slid it into the drawer, having left it on the desk while they worked.

A friend had warned her to take more than just electronic payments and that had been very smart advice. She'd had more clients insist on handing her checks or cash than anything else.

More of the conversation in the hallway filtered through. Though she couldn't make out the words, it sounded like Sebastian was holding someone at bay verbally.

“What else can I do for you today, Mr. Gentson?”

“That's it, ma'am. I just needed to get this ball rolling.”

“I’m glad I could help. I'll let you know as soon as we hear anything back.” She tried to keep her smile in place, and she was glad he was here, but just beyond the door was something she didn’t want to deal with.

At least he left with a smile. As he opened the door, Maggie suddenly became concerned about what he might hear as he headed out.

Sure enough, a man and a woman—both in stark dark suits—stood inside her front hallway. She must have heard correctly—these two couldn't have screamedFBIany harder if they tried.

Sebastian glared at them as though warning dogs to sit and stay. The agents only nodded to Mr. Gentson as he left, a confused look on his face. He managed a concerned expression for Maggie over his shoulder.

“I'm okay, Mr. Gentson. You have a good day.” She closed the door behind him and turned, even before she was facing the two newcomers, they were holding out badges toward her.

“FBI. Omaha,” the man announced.

Maggie made a point of leaning in and checking their badges against their faces, though she wasn't sure what the point was. Once she realized everything matched and that she wouldn’t know a fake if she saw it, she decided to play the kind hostess.

“Come on in.” She motioned everyone into the living room, then watched as the two agents followed her awkwardly while Sebastian brought up the tail position, almost like a sheepdog unwilling to let them turn and escape. She appreciated that.

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