Finding Floyd by Melinda Peters Page A

revealed a healthy dose of cleavage. "Whoa! That dress
was made for you, girl. It's fabulous."
    "What?" She stared at Vicky, wide-eyed and
then looked down. "Oh. The dress. Thanks, but you won't believe
what happened here today. Everything's freakin' crazy! All these
people just showed up this morning. Expecting breakfast!"
    "Well, the word breakfast in 'Bed and
Breakfast' might be the reason," Vicky teased.
    Diane began to pace. "Apparently it's
something these people do on Saturdays when the weather is good and
this was the first Saturday with decent weather. Sandy told them
she'd be away, but they came anyway. And that isn't even the
weirdest part."
    "That's some crowd you have down there. We
thought you'd be all alone."
    "I thought so too." Diane let out a sigh, and
flopped into an easy chair opposite her. "Until Chris Owen showed
up."
    "What?" Vicky frowned.
    "Chris was here," blurted Diane.
    "Chris? You don't mean that FBI Agent."
    "Yes, I do mean Chris Owen, the FBI Agent. He
showed up here yesterday. I think," Diane said, her voice trailing
off as she looked out at the rolling blue hills.
    "You think? You're not sure it was him?"
    "It was him all right." Diane sighed.
    "What would he be doing in Virginia?" She
frowned, and then her voice rose. "Is he following you? If that guy
arrests you again, he's in big trouble."
    "Well, he did save my life so, I'm actually
glad he came."
    "Oh my god!? Was that crazy guy who
threatened Terry and John with the gun here! I thought they put him
in prison."
    "No." Diane smiled. "It was nothing like
that. Thursday night there was a killer ice storm. It was like a
skating rink outside. Anyway, I went out and somehow I slipped on
the back porch steps and slid all the way down the hill to that
pile of wood at the bottom."
    "Oh no! Diane, did you hurt yourself?"
    "Not really, but then all the lights went out
and I couldn't drag myself back up the hill! Vic, I was so
scared."
    "Oh my god Diane! So what happened?"
    "I kept trying to crawl back up, but I kept
sliding back down. I was only wearing my nightie and robe. I was so
cold I started shaking." Diane gave a shiver just remembering the
icy night of terror.
    "You could have died, frozen to death out
there!"
    "I really thought I was going to freeze.
Then, out of nowhere, this guy comes along and rescues me, and it's
Chris Owen. It was crazy! I hadn't seen him since your
wedding."
    "You're right, that is pretty weird." Her
brows rose in disbelief. "But I can't think that was a coincidence.
He must be following you!" Tentatively, she asked, "So, then what
happened?"
    "I was all crusted with frozen sleet and my
teeth were chattering so hard I couldn't talk. My hands and feet
were totally numb. Chris built up the fire, peeled off my clothes
and rubbed me down with towels. He wrapped me in blankets. That
much I remember. He really did save my life," she said
solemnly.
    She sat back and swiveled in the desk chair,
digesting Diane's story for a moment. "I want to know why that guy
is still following you." She sat up, smiling and saying, "Well it's
a good thing he was this time. So, the hot FBI guy got you naked in
front of a roaring fire. How was that?"
    She shrugged. "Then nothing happened. The
power was still out. I went to sleep in the chair."
    "Well, what about after you woke up? Did you
two get cozy?" Vicky teased
    "No." Diane looked disappointed. "I haven't
been with a guy in so long, I don't even remember how." She paused,
looked at her hands for a minute and smiled dreamily. "In the
morning everything was covered with ice out there and we watched
that big tree blow over. We were totally iced in all day yesterday.
Just the two of us. It was romantic. We sat together on the couch
in front of the fire and he kissed me. I really wanted to drag him
into my room for a night of wild, meaningless sex, but..."
    "So--did you?" she asked mischievously. "It's
really not your thing Diane, but hey, the opportunity..."
    Diane sighed. "That's where it