| Ann |
Return To Duty |
October 20, 2003 |
Disclaimer: I don't own the characters.
Author Notes: Thanks as always to my faithful beta reader.
Feedback welcome at aerm1@aol.com.
09:00 local
JAG Headquarters
"Bud, have you seen the Commander?" Colonel Sarah Mackenzie had been checking Harmon Rabb's office every half hour since she'd arrived at seven-thirty, but he had yet to make an appearance. She was beginning to be concerned.
"I believe Commander Turner went to Norfolk to depose a witness, Ma'am," Bud replied, his eyes never leaving the file he was perusing.
"Not him. I meant Commander Rabb." Mac heard the testy note in her voice but was unable to stop it. While Harm was occasionally late, he wasn't usually this late.
At her words, Lieutenant Roberts looked up, his eyes widened in shock. "He didn't tell you?"
"Tell me what?"
"He doesn't work here any more, Ma'am." Bud fidgeted under her scrutiny.
"He was transferred? To where?" Her lips were tight.
"No, Ma'am. He resigned his commission."
Her eyes pierced him to the core. "Why on earth did he do that?" She paled as the one reason she could think of occurred to her.
Bud gulped. "The admiral told him you were missing."
"Why didn't he just take leave?"
"The admiral wouldn't let him. He told him he had to stay here, Ma'am. So he quit."
Mac sank back against the doorjamb. "Oh my god." She closed her eyes, feeling ill. "Bud, what else did he do?"
"I don't know everything, Ma'am. I know that he tried to get the CIA to tell him where to look for you and Mr. Webb."
"Which they must have done, or he wouldn't have found us."
"I can't really say for sure, Ma'am. He did say something about selling his soul to the devil."
"What?!"
"That was after the wedding, Ma'am."
She really felt sick at those words. "What wedding?" she whispered.
"His and that CIA lawyer's. Catherine Gale?" Bud was beginning to sweat.
"He got married?" This could not be true. Could it?
"Not really, no. I conducted the ceremony. It wasn't valid. It's a long story, Ma'am. Perhaps you should get him to tell you. He was just doing a favor to get your location."
Mac took pity on the young man. "Thanks, Bud. I appreciate the information. As you were."
"Aye, aye, Ma'am."
She left his office, her thoughts troubled. What on earth had Harm been thinking? And where was he now?" She reached for the telephone and dialed his number as soon as she reached her own office.
"Hi, I'm not home right now. Leave your name and number at the beep." Harm's voice came over the lines, but it was his answering machine's message.
"Harm, if you're there, please pick up. I need to talk to you." Mac waited a few minutes, hoping that he'd respond, but finally laid the receiver back in its cradle. If he were there, he wasn't answering. A similar call to his cell phone came back with the depressing news that, "This is a number that is no longer in service." Since Harm's cell phone had been JAG issue, she shouldn't have been surprised. Nevertheless, the message had rocked her.
For the next two hours she tried to concentrate on work, but it was a losing proposition. Every time she glanced in the direction of the telephone, she caught her hand reaching for the receiver. The uncertainty finally pushed her out of her seat and to the Admiral's office.
"Tiner, I need to see the Admiral as soon as possible. Is he in?" She licked her lips nervously.
"Let me check, Ma'am." The Admiral's yeoman pushed the intercom button. "Colonel Mackenzie would like to see you, Sir."
"Send her in."
Straightening her uniform, she knocked on his door.
"Enter!" he barked at her. "At ease, Colonel." He continued perusing the paper in his hand for a minute before laying it on his desk. Looking up at her, he said, "Good to see you made it back from Paraguay in once piece, Colonel."
"Thank you, Sir. It's good to be back." She paused, unsure how to phrase her question. "Sir, if I may speak freely..."
"Go on."
"Sir, where is Commander Rabb?"
"How the hell should I know?" He stared at her with gimlet eyes. "I would have thought you, of all people, would know what he was up to."
"No, Sir. When we arrived in DC last night, he put me in a cab and said good-bye."
"He didn't escort you home?"
"No, Sir."
"Seems a bit odd, doesn't it?"
"Now that I think about it, yes, it does. But last night I was so tired, I couldn't really think about much of anything." She looked at her commanding officer. "Bud said that Harm resigned his commission to go find us."
"I'm not sure I'd put it quite like that." A J smiled tightly.
"Sir?"
"He resigned to go find you. Finding Webb was strictly incidental."
"I see." But I don't, she thought. I don't understand any of this. "Sir, why did Harm feel that he had to resign his commission?"
A J took a deep breath. "Because he wanted to go find you. And I wouldn't let him have leave."
"He must have had some on the books, Admiral. Harm never takes a vacation." She was becoming alarmed.
"He had plenty of leave, Mac. That wasn't the issue."
"Then what was the issue, Sir?" She stared at him, daring him to lie.
"Orders, Colonel. No uniformed military were to be allowed into Paraguay on that operation."
"Sir, Gunnery Sergeant Galindez and I were both there on that assignment. So forgive me if I have trouble believing you." She was rapidly becoming more confused. "Whose orders?"
"The SecNav's. And you weren't there as a member of the uniformed services. You were a member of the CIA."
"Nice someone told me that. No wonder we were left hanging out to dry." She frowned. "That still doesn't explain why Harm couldn't take leave to go down there."
"If I'd given him leave, he'd have still been a member of the armed forces, Mac. And any action he took would have been an act of war." He shrugged. "Plus, with you gone, I needed him here."
"Funny, he doesn't seem to be here." At the startled expression on the Admiral's face, Mac gasped slightly. "I beg your pardon, Sir. I didn't mean to say that."
"No, you didn't mean for me to hear it." He gave her a concerned look. "Look, Mac. I know that you've been through a hellish experience in the past few weeks. If you need some time off to recover, get your bearings, I understand. I'm sure you have sufficient leave to take a couple of weeks off."
She stared at him, her jaw slack in disbelief. "Let me make sure I understand you. You couldn't let Harm have leave because I was away TAD, but you can let me have leave now that he no longer works here?" Pulling herself to attention, she said, "I'd like to take you up on that offer of leave, effective immediately."
"Very well. Dismissed."
"Aye, aye, Sir."
Chegwidden watched as she walked toward the door. Just as she put her hand on the knob to open it, he said, "Oh, Colonel, if you happen to talk to Mr. Rabb, would you please tell him that he has some paperwork he needs to finish taking care of here? I need to see him within the next two weeks."
"Yes, Sir." She pulled the door open and stepped through. Refusing to meet Tiner's gaze, she strode quickly to her office where she shoved some files in her briefcase and grabbed her cover. Shutting off the light, she walked out, closing the door behind her. Mac cast one more glance at Harm's darkened office, then made her way toward the elevator. If he wasn't at his apartment, she didn't know where to even begin to look. But she had to find him. She had to explain.
11:00
North of Union Station
Harm's apartment
"Harm, please answer if you're there. I have to talk to you."
Mac's voice sounded more upset with each message, but Harm gritted his teeth and continued putting things in boxes. Surely she'd eventually decide that it was pointless to keep calling and give up. He considered turning off the answering machine, but rejected the idea immediately. If he did that, she'd know for sure that he was home. This way, she wouldn't know that he was ignoring her calls. A part of him wanted to talk to her, but the more rational side of him argued that there was no point. She had made her choice, and it wasn't him. It had probably never been him, and he'd been deluding himself for the past two years thinking that he ever had a chance with her as anything other than as a friend. As usual, he had waited too long and lost her. He couldn't even really disagree with her choice very much this time. Except for his incredible talent for running operations that invariably went south, Clayton Webb was a decent guy. And after almost dying to protect Mac, he deserved some happiness. But there was no reason for Harm to torture himself by staying in Washington to see it.
Harm sighed heavily and reached for another pile of newspapers. He hadn't realized just how much stuff he had in his kitchen until now. He wondered how long it would take to get everything packed up and put in storage. The sooner he could leave, the better it would be for all concerned. Finishing another box, he began on the next. The blues CD he had playing wasn't doing much for his melancholic mood. Perhaps he should change it to something a bit more cheerful. Then again, that might make him feel even worse. At least with Eric Clapton in the background, he could pretend that it was the music that had him feeling down.
Loud pounding on his door interrupted his thoughts. "Harm! Open up! I know you're in there." Mac's voice was insistent.
Debating for an instant whether to try ignoring her, he put down the glass he was wrapping and made his way to the door. If he didn't open it, she'd probably fish out the spare key she had and barge in anyway. Harm reluctantly turned the deadbolt and pulled the door open a few inches. "Hi."
"Hi, yourself." When he made no move to let her in, she forced the issue. "Are you going to let me in? Or do you want to stand in the doorway while we talk?"
He pulled the door open the rest of the way and stood back while she walked in. "Shouldn't you be at the office?"
"The Admiral offered me two weeks leave. I decided to take him up on it." She moved toward the kitchen island. "Harm, what the heck is this?" She waved a hand at the boxes stacked on the floor.
"I'm packing. What does it look like?" He opened the refrigerator door. "Do you want something to drink?" He reached in and pulled out a bottle of water.
"Sure. Thanks." She caught the bottle he tossed her with practiced ease.
Getting another bottle for himself, he said, "Have a seat." He wandered over to the sofa and waited for her to join him.
Sinking down on the cushions, she opened the bottle and took a long drink. "Harm, are you going to tell me why you're packing up your kitchen? Doesn't your *wife* like your choice in china?"
He winced at her words. "How did you hear about that?"
"Bud told me." She cast a sideways look at him. He was leaning back on the cushions, his head thrown back, one hand shielding his eyes.
"Great. I could have sworn he promised not to say anything." Harm rubbed his forehead, trying to stay the headache he could feel building.
"Thank you. I'm sure it was above and beyond the call of duty." She grinned at his puzzled look.
"You're not mad?" Now he really was confused.
"Not about that, no. If that is what it took to get information, I understand." She took another swig of water. "I don't think I can ever thank you enough for showing up when you did. Your timing was perfect."
"I'm sorry that it took so long. I should have gone when I first got worried. Then you wouldn't have had to go through all that." Harm rose and went in search of aspirin. "You had to have known that I'd come for you."
"I knew that you would if you could. But I also knew that you might not be able to." She was about to rise to follow him when he came back to the sofa. "Which I understand is pretty much what happened."
He shrugged. "It doesn't really matter anymore. Anyway, thanks for stopping by. Have a nice vacation. I hate to rush you out, but I've got a lot to do." He started to stand, but a slim hand reached out and grabbed his.
"Not so fast, Sailor."
He tried to shake her off. "As Bud no doubt also told you, I'm no longer a sailor. And I really do have a lot to do before the day after tomorrow. So if you don't mind, I'd like to get back to my packing."
"But I do mind. We need to talk. And the first thing we can talk about is why you are packing." Her grip on his hand tightened.
"Mac, please." He knew he sounded pathetic, but her presence was killing him. "The movers are coming in less than forty-eight hours, and I've just begun to pack."
"Harm, tell you what. You give me an hour of talking; I'll help you pack."
"Fine." He leaned back against the sofa cushions. "Talk."
"Why are you packing? What are movers coming for?"
"I'm packing because it's cheaper than paying the movers to do it. The movers are coming because I'm putting my stuff in storage until I decide where it's going."
"Why would your stuff be going anywhere?"
"Because I'm leaving Washington." His tone was flat and his expression bleak.
"Harm, I don't understand."
"I resigned my commission, Mac. I don't have a job. Since I spent most of my savings on the 'Vette, I can't afford to stay here unemployed for very long." God, how he wished she'd just leave. Every word she spoke was like another twist of the knife in his gut.
"That reminds me. Admiral Chegwidden asked me to tell you that you have some paperwork to finish up. He wants you to see him within the next two weeks."
"Screw him."
"Harm!"
"What? Why should I care what he says or thinks? If I didn't do the paperwork right, he should have told me before I left the office last week."
"Well, for one thing, in case you've forgotten, he could do to you what we did to Jeremy Duncan."
"Hell." Harm swore softly under his breath. "Sorry about the language, Mac."
"It's all right. I've heard worse." She laid a gentle hand on his arm. "Besides, I think maybe there is more to his side of the story than you know."
"It doesn't matter. I'm still leaving."
"Harm, you can't do this. You've spent your whole life in the Navy. You only have two years to go till you can retire. You leave now, you throw that all away." Her brown eyes pleaded with him. "If you do, I'll never forgive myself."
Stunned, he said, "What's that supposed to mean?"
"You resigned your commission to come save me. I can't sit here and let you throw your career away when I think that the Admiral is going to let you come back."
"Maybe I don't want to go back to JAG." He rose and went to stare out the window.
"Then get some other job in the area. I'm sure someone at the Pentagon would want you on his staff."
"Mac, you don't understand. I can't stay in DC now."
"Why on earth not?" She rose to join him at the window.
"I thought I could do it when you were engaged to Brumby. I almost killed myself trying to get back in time for your wedding. But I can't do it a second time."
"Do what?"
"Stay here and watch you marry another man."
"What the heck are you talking about?"
"I saw you, Mac. I heard you. I'm glad that you're happy. But I can't watch it again. It just hurts too much."
Mac put her hand up to his face and turned it so that she could look into his eyes. "Harm, if you think I'm going to marry Clay, then we need to talk even more than I thought. Now come sit down and explain this to me. Because frankly, I'm confused."
"Fine." He returned to the sofa and sat on the edge. "Mac, you told Webb that you liked being married to him. He told you he loved you. You told him you'd been single too long. You kissed him." He buried his face in his hands. "All I have ever wanted is for you to be happy. Even if that means you're with Clayton Webb. But I'm not going to stay around and watch it this time, Mac. I'm sorry. If I was really a good enough friend, I wouldn't be so selfish. But it damned near killed me to see you with Mic. I can't watch you with Clay."
She shook her head at him. As usual, Harm was rushing full speed ahead, running on emotions, not stopping to get all the facts. "You know, Harm, sometimes you are really way out in left field. Did you hear me say that I love him? No. Did you hear me agree that when we got back to the States, I'd pursue a relationship? I didn't think so. As for why I kissed him, I was trying to shut him up before you heard him. I guess it was too late."
"Why didn't you want me to hear him?"
"Gee, Harm, I don't know. Maybe because I know you and knew you would jump to conclusions. Which, I might add, you did."
"Mac, you could do a lot worse than Clay. It's obvious he has feelings for you." Harm was having trouble believing that she might not be interested in Webb.
She laughed quietly. "So what? I learned that lesson several years ago. I'm not settling for second best again." She draped an arm across his shoulders. "Harm, I'm not going to marry Webb. I'm not even going to date him. Okay?"
He looked up at that. "You mean that?"
"Of course I do." She gazed into his eyes. "Where were you planning on going, anyway?"
"I'm going to Pennsylvania to see my grandmother. I've been thinking that I might open up a law office in Bealsville. If I move up there, I can help her as she gets older."
"That's thoughtful of you. But is it really what you want?"
He shrugged. "I don't know. I'm not sure what I want anymore."
"Harm, what were you going to do if you hadn't overheard that little conversation with Clay?"
"You mean after we got back here?"
"Yeah. Assuming we were all in one piece."
"I was going to tell you how I feel about you." He swallowed hard. "And ask you if you might be interested in..." He stopped, unsure how to say what was in his heart.
"Harm? Now that you know that there is nothing between Webb and me, what's stopping you from going with plan A?"
"Good question." He turned to face her. He suddenly had the feeling that it was now or never. Admiral Chegwidden's question came back, unbidden. "What are you willing to risk to keep her?" He drew in a deep breath. "Okay. Plan A it is." Harm took her hands in his and looked deeply into her eyes. "Mac, I love you. I have for a very long time. Is there any chance at all that you might be interested in taking our relationship beyond friendship? Because if there is, I'm ready to let go."
His revelation was met with silence. Stunned that he had finally opened up to her, Mac sat on the sofa staring at him, her eyes wide with surprise. As his words hung between them, he jumped to his feet and went to the kitchen. Leaning over the sink, his knuckles white where he clenched the counter, he fought the bile rising in his throat. He should have never said a word to her. Harm swallowed hard, then spoke, his voice low and shaking. "I'm sorry, Mac. I shouldn't have said anything. It was stupid of me to think that after all this time you might be the least bit interested."
Mac rose and followed him to the kitchen. She grabbed his arm to get his attention. "It wasn't stupid. I was just stunned. Harm, I love you too. Webb was right: you are oblivious. I have been interested in much more than friendship for years." She grabbed the phone and handed it to him. "Now call and cancel the movers. You're not going anywhere."
He looked at her, a question in his eyes. "Are you sure, Mac? Because if we take this step, I'm not sure we'll be able to go back if I screw it up."
"Then I guess you better not screw it up." She leaned forward and kissed him. "And I have faith that you won't. Now call the movers."
"Yes, Ma'am." He made a quick call and set the phone down on the coffee table. "Now what?"
"Hmm." Her eyes twinkled. "I can probably think of something." She reached for him and pulled his face toward hers. "I know you're worried about losing our friendship if the romance doesn't work out. But the way I see it, we've been best friends for seven years now. And a lot of people would say that friendship is the best possible basis for romance, assuming you want the relationship to last. Since our friendship has withstood just about every conceivable problem any relationship could ever face, I figure that we're a shoe-in." And then she placed her lips on his, her tongue seeking entrance to his mouth. Her fingers threaded through his hair as she kissed him deeply.
He groaned beneath the onslaught. He was overwhelmed with emotion. Half an hour before he had been packing his belongings, planning to leave Washington as soon as he could. And now he was sitting on his couch being devoured by the woman he had given up hope of ever having as more than a friend. Harm felt moisture in his eyes, but he closed them tightly. Returning her kiss, he gathered her into his arms, unsure if he could ever let her go. His hands moved frantically on her back as his tongue dueled with hers. A small part of his brain told him to slow down. If one of them didn't put on the brakes, they might become lovers before their first date. And if he knew anything, he knew that he wanted this change in their relationship to be as close to perfect as he could make it. And that meant flowers, and candle-lit dinners, and walks in the moonlight.
When they came up for air, he pulled back a bit. "Mac, that was...um...wow!"
"It certainly was. You know, if that is what we've been missing all these years..."
"Don't go there, please. I feel like a big enough idiot as it is."
She took pity on him. "All right. You have had a rough first half of the year."
He nodded. "I'm glad someone thinks that. I sure hope that the second half is better."
"Can't possibly be worse, can it?" she teased.
"It'll be worse if I don't find a job." His expression was grave.
"Harm, you have a job. I thought I told you. Why else would the Admiral want to see you?"
"Because I messed up the paperwork, perhaps?" He hunched a shoulder. "I could have easily done that. I was in sort of a hurry."
"I suppose that could be it. But I didn't get that impression while I was talking to him." She chewed on her lips. "Did he try to talk you out of quitting at all?"
"No. He just said, 'Do what you have to do.'"
"And that doesn't seem odd to you? I mean, he tried like crazy to talk you out of going back to active flight status. He tried to talk you out of resigning to go look for Sergei. Now why wouldn't he try to talk you out of quitting to go look for me?"
Harm looked perplexed. "I hadn't really thought about that. I was just so crazed with worry about what was happening to you, that when he refused to let me go, I got in his face and said I quit."
"And he just let you go?" she persisted.
"Yeah."
"Not a single comment about 'are you nuts?'"
"Nope. Not a single one."
"I think you were played, Harm. Just like a trout on a fly." She gave him a blinding smile. "And I'm really glad you took the bait."
He leaned forward and kissed the tip of her nose. "Me too."
"So will you go see the Admiral?"
"Perhaps I'll call him. If he's not going to let me come back, I'm not really sure that I want to have to run the gauntlet at JAG ops, just to get bad news."
Mac nodded in understanding. "I can see that." She leaned forward and picked up the phone. "Here you go. I'll just go see if I can find something more comfortable to put on in your room while you call him."
"Ma...ac."
"Hey, don't you want any help putting all that stuff back in the cabinets?" She smiled broadly at her as she walked off in the direction of his bedroom.
Rolling his eyes, he placed the call.
Mac wandered back into the kitchen area, dressed in a pair of his running shorts and a tee shirt that said Property of the USNA. "So what did the Admiral say?"
"Before or after he chewed me a new six?" Harm grinned at her.
"After, of course."
"He said that he thought I had enough sense to realize that he had set me up and that he was surprised that I hadn't shown up for duty this morning."
"Really. That's giving you a little too much credit for devious thought patterns, I'd say."
"Me too. Anyway, apparently, it all comes under 'deniability' and he didn't officially process my resignation."
She smiled triumphantly. "So you're still at JAG?"
"Yeah. And he offered me two weeks leave. Said he thought I probably needed the rest." He gave a lopsided grin. "And then he told me to be sure and keep it out of the office." Harm held out his arms in a tentative gesture.
Mac walked into his embrace. "Good. Maybe he'll stop having us oppose each other in court."
"He said something about that. Said he felt for Sturgis and Bud."
She giggled. "They're both big boys. They'll manage."
"Yeah. And if they don't, well, who really cares?" He gave a small sigh. "I must admit, I am relieved that I still have a job."
"Me too. Especially since I didn't really want to have to follow you to Pennsylvania." She looked thoughtful. "Hmm. I've got two weeks leave. The admiral just gave you two weeks leave. How about we go somewhere?" she suggested.
"Do you mean like a vacation?" He flashed her a brilliant smile.
"Yes. How about the beach somewhere? The eastern shore maybe?"
He nodded. "That sounds good. We can eat crabs, walk on the beach in the moonlight, swim..."
"Get to know each other better?"
"Mac, how much better could we know each other?"
"Good grief! You really are oblivious." She hugged him tightly. "I'll explain it to you later. In the meantime, we have some work to do."
"We do?"
"Yes, Harm. We have reservations to make and dishes to unpack."
"Oh. That. I guess I had forgotten."
She shook her head in resignation. "You're so predictable. You always need me to come up with the dispassionate plan. What would you do without me?"
"I hate to think. And I certainly never want to find out."
"Not gonna happen, Squid. Now, you start unpacking. I'll call the travel agent. How long do you want to stay?"
He cocked his head. "Hmm. The day before we have to return to duty?"
"You sure you don't want to spend part of the time at your grandmother's?"
"Yes. We can fly up there in Sarah some weekend. Right now, I just want to be with you." Thank goodness he hadn't called his grandmother yet.
"All right. Just thought I'd make sure. How soon do you want to leave?"
"How soon can we be ready to go?" he asked, one eyebrow raised.
She laughed and headed toward the telephone.
Harm turned to the task of undoing his work from the morning with a much lighter heart than he'd had a few hours before.
Her phone call finished, Mac joined him in the kitchen. "We're all set. I got us a room in a bed and breakfast right on the beach in Ocean City."
"That's great." He continued unwrapping dishes and glassware.
"Here, let me help you with that. The sooner we're finished here, the sooner we can leave."
"Works for me."
They worked in companionable silence for several minutes. Looking up from a sinkful of soapy water, Mac said, "You know, you're more fun to be with when you aren't being Harmlet."
"Harmlet?"
"Yeah, that's how I think of you when you get all moody and brooding."
"Mac, that's mean. I don't get moody or brood."
"Oh yeah? If you don't, then how come I'm standing here washing newsprint off your dishes?" She flicked soapsuds at him.
"What was I supposed to think when I saw that kiss?"
"That I was kissing a friend who was dying in front of me. A friend of yours as well, I might add."
He shrugged, wordlessly, embarrassed at his unwarranted jealousy of Webb.
"See? you're doing it again, Harmlet."
"All right already. I give up. As long as you're nice to me, I won't want to brood, will I?" He laughed at her expression, then flicked her with a dishtowel.
She snatched the towel and yanked it. "Big mistake, Squid."
Harm toppled off balance as she pulled on the towel. He fell into her arms. "Was it?" He grinned down at her before pressing his lips to hers. "I thought it worked out rather well," he said a few minutes later.
She grinned back at him. "Just finish the dishes. We still have to pack and get on the road."
"Aye, aye, Ma'am." He put the last of the dishes back in the cabinet. "There. All finished."
"Good." She motioned toward his bedroom. "Now get in there and pack."
"I'm going, I'm going." He headed obediently up the stairs.
"Be sure and bring your swim suit."
"Uh huh. Do I need a coat and tie?"
"Only if you're planning on taking me somewhere fancy to eat."
"Scratch that, then. I'm thinking newspapers full of crab shells."
She sighed blissfully. "All-you-can-eat?"
"If that's what you want, Mac. Your wish is my command." He finished throwing clothes in a suitcase and returned to the living room.
"Hasn't anyone ever told you to be careful what you wish for?"
"I might just get it?"
"Yeah."
His arms wrapped around her waist. "Good. I hope that's true."
"It is, Harm, it is." She leaned into his embrace. "This time, it's going to happen. A good man, a great career, and lots of ..."
"Steamed blue crabs."
Mac dissolved into laughter at his remark. "You know what?"
"What?"
"You finally did it."
"I did? Did what?"
"Said something funny." She darted away and grabbed her purse. "C'mon, Harm. We've got less than an hour to be on the highway."
"I'm coming, I'm coming." He followed her out the door, thinking what a difference a day could make.
The End