Page 19 of Delivering David

“Absolutely,” Kristopher agreed. “I’ll text him now.”

Hank’s return text asked that they hold their zoom meeting in two hours, giving them plenty of time to shower and eat.

“I put your suitcase in the last bedroom while Amos was wrapping your wrist,” Kristopher said. “That’s the one with the best view of the city, especially at night. You can see Knoxville lit up in all its wintertime glory. “

“That was thoughtful of you. Thanks for thinking of that,” Suzanne told him. “See you in the kitchen in a few minutes.”

“You’re going to need to re-wrap your wrist after you shower,” Kristopher pointed out. Amos left several extras and some of that salve he mentioned. Are you sure it doesn’t hurt?”

“The only thing that hurts right now is my empty stomach,” Suzanne declared. “See you in a few minutes. And I want to hear more about your working with Grant Miller.”

She left, considering just what she would ask him.

And how much he would be able to tell her.

CHAPTER 15

The blue tiledbathroom had stacks of fresh smelling towels and a huge shower box with a host of spray settings to choose from. There was even a built-in sound system, and she selected something labeled ‘calming string quartets.’ After washing her hair–a task not as hard as she had feared with her injured hand–Suzanne enjoyed standing under the prickling beat of water as she scrubbed her skin with a loofah and a peppermint liquid soap.

As the bright sweet smell soothed her weariness, she thought of everything that had happened in the past twenty-four hours and vowed she would do everything in her power to find David. He was alive, she just knew it. Anything else was unthinkable. They would find him and deliver him to his grandparents.

Feeling energized and hungry, she turned off the water, wrapped herself in a towel and blew-dry her hair. After dressing in black jeans, her favorite wooly socks–the carpet looked too deliciously soft to put on her shoes–and an oversize blue sweater she followed the aromas to the front of the suite. Soft piano jazz blessed the room where she found the table ready and her host waiting.

And oh, my goodness, what a handsome host. Kristopher’s change of clothing into simple but well-fitting jeans and a classic, long sleeved white shirt, showed him to be even better looking than before. Elaine had warned her that BP seemed to employ the best-looking men you’d ever seen. And as it was in almost every case, her boss was right. Kristopher-with-a K Brower was simply put, heart-stopping gorgeous.

“I hope I didn’t keep you waiting,” she said. “It’s been a long time since I used a showerhead with so many settings.”

He gave her a slow, lazy smile. “I took a long time myself. Lots of the women I served with in Afghanistan said the worst part of it was not being able to shower on a regular basis. Lunch is ready if you are.”

He came forward and pulled out one of the chairs at the table. “If my lady will be seated, I’ll bring in our meal.”

“You don’t have to wait on me,” Suzanne protested as he picked up the plates.

“You need to rest your wrist,” he replied, giving her a wink.

“OK, but don’t spoil me too much,” she warned as she sat. “I might get used to you doing it.”

“I’ll stop tomorrow,” he called over his shoulder as he headed back to the kitchen. He returned with their filled plates and pointed at the teapot and water pitcher on the table. “I hope you weren’t expecting a fancy kind of tea. It’s just Lipton.”

“My favorite kind,” she said, watching him fill their cups and glasses. Picking up her fork, she tried the moussaka and sighed in pure bliss. “Oooh,” she murmured. “This is fabulous. Patrick’s cooking, you said?”

“It is,” Kristopher said after swallowing his first bite. “He’s a genius in the kitchen and pretty good at a bunch of other stuff too.”

They talked about trivial things at first. Sports, music, favorite places to visit, and while a white Christmas could be pretty it could also be a pain if you had to drive.

“Okay,” she said as they finished, and he re-filled their teacups. “Tell me a little more about your past work with KPD. Which came first, them or the Army?”

He paused, as if deciding what to tell her. “I joined the Knoxville Police Department right after I graduated from UT Knoxville,” he said. “My wanting to go into law enforcement like my father’s father pissed my parents off to no end because they wanted me to go to medical school. I turned down several scholarships to places like Harvard, Vanderbilt and Duke. But I was twenty-one, so there wasn’t a lot they could do about it.”

This was not what she was expecting to hear, and it was a moment before she finally said, “Wow. I’m impressed. And then?”

“After several years with KPD, I joined the Army for five years and came back to KPD for five years and then went back to the Army again. And before you ask, let’s just say I like variety.”

“You’ve been in the Armytwice?”

“Yes,” he said simply, his tone carefully neutral. “Separated from them this past autumn, thanks to Hank Patterson. And now I have a question for you.”

“What is it?”

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