Page 32 of Sound and Deception

Noah stood in front of his west window staring out into the last remnants of night. Although dim grey light from impending dawn touched the muscles in his shoulders, he remained largely in shadow, motionless. He only wore a pair of boxers, but seemed unbothered by the cool temperature.

His body looked taught, like a wire pulled to its extreme.

Or an active land mine.

I hesitated, my love and compassion for him battling with my caution. Images of Thanksgiving night reached me. For that instant, I’d been afraid of him, at least until he came back to himself. I cleared my throat. It seemed loud in the stillness, but he still didn’t move.

It seemed like complete idiocy, but I took another step forward. My heart blared in my ears. “Noah?”

I took one more half-step and reached out. “Noah?”

He spun around, his body exploding in a predatory snap. I stumbled backward, but managed not to fall by grabbing the back of the couch.

We stared at one another for a full thirty seconds before he blinked, and all tension oozed from his body. “Oh, my God, Klahanie. I’m sorry.”

His voice sounded raw and anguished, and my moment of primal fear evaporated. I walked forward and wrapped my arms around him. Without a moment’s pause, he did the same, the side of his face pressed to the crown of my head. “Just a nightmare. I didn’t mean to scare you.”

I rubbed his back in the predawn light, my tone soft and calming, at least I hoped so. My heart hadn’t slowed quite yet, but it was on its way. “It’s all right. You’re okay.”

We remained in our embrace as the grey light graduated to the soft cloudiness of a new pre-winter day. His body trembled against mine, but I held firm. “I’m not sure if I should ask this, but did you want to talk about it? It’s okay if you don’t. I understand.”

He didn’t speak for several minutes. When he did, I jumped. “I dream about some of our missions. A couple went very … badly.”

“I’m so sorry.”

He barked a humorless laugh a moment later. “Did you know a bomb’s concussion wave can yank the clothes right off someone in the blast radius? Weird, huh? It’s actually pretty common.”

Noah went quiet after that odd, random statement, and I led him back to bed. He slid his arm around me, and rested his head against my breast. Before he went to sleep, he mumbled something, and my throat caught and my eyes filled.

“I lost some good ones.”

Chapter Thirty-Three

How is everyone doing this brisk evening? Yep, we’re getting a bit of a cold front, and might see some flurries. Nothing is supposed to stick, so don’t panic. If you want snow to stick around, well, you’re just going to have to wait. Either way, stay warm, my friends.

I’ve officially got the word on the tree lighting. Head out this Saturday to the Square to watch Jay, Dean, Mike, Jimmy “Titan,” and, likely me, wrestle with the 20-footer. It might be entertaining. Just cover the kiddos’ ears in case we accidentally let any naughty words fly.

In other more questionable news, remember that talent show I mentioned a bit a go? Well, according to my close sources, it is on! If you have a special gift and don’t mind risking humiliation, reach out to Ms. Gem Plunkett, or Mr. Harvey Osmond! We all know that only someone connected with our education could plan something so diabolical, so be a good sport and step up! It’ll be payback for the tree entertainment. Ahem.

I’ve saved the best news for last tonight. Looks like Dr. Tim and Mrs. Heaton are now grandparents times four! Yes, sirree. Tim Jr. and his beautiful wife, Shelly, welcomed twins Rachel and Taylor into the world! The new bouncing babies join their older sibs, Daniel and Malcolm, to add more love and beauty to their burgeoning household. Congrats to all!

The DJ followed the report with “Father and Daughter” from Paul Simon.

Chapter Thirty-Four

Carl jerked his head to the side. “C’mere. I’ll show you.”

I stayed where I was, just outside the gate of the gazebo. “Can you fix it?”

The pump of the jacuzzi growled like a rabid dog. It wasn’t conducive to a relaxing experience for our guests, so I asked Carl to take a peek before I called a professional. Now, he gazed at me over his shoulder, those weird eyes fixed.

“Well, the water levels are okay, so I’m going to check the valves, maybe see if there’s a blockage in there somewhere. I don’t expect it’ll be a big deal, but—” He shrugged. “I’ll do what I can and let you know.”

“I appreciate that.” Even on the coldest of nights, people would haul their cookies over to have a soak. I couldn’t have a popular amenity down for long. I turned to leave, my mind filled with the day’s happenings. Mr. Chapman needed his linens refreshed—smitten with Gram, he hadn’t given any indication when he was heading home. The guests in number five requested their cabin be decked out with candles for a romantic dinner that evening. The guests in number one were leaving, so I needed to clean their bungalow. And Noah was coming by for a bit. He wanted to be around when I told Gram and Sunny I’d decided to move back. I think a huge part of him thought I’d change my mind.

I was certain Gram and Sunny already knew, but I wanted to make it official.

“Klahanie?”

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