California Schemin' - Kate George [51]
“Which is the thing he’s trying to save.” Madison furrowed her eyebrows. “I still don’t like it. She’s my assignment, and I can’t keep an eye on her if she’s at Wallace’s place.”
“Moose and I can both keep an eye on her there.”
“But not as your primary objective. Your attention will be on your assignment, not mine.”
“There are two of us, and I thought we’d already established that she’ll be safer there than not.”
Madison relented and uncuffed me.
Moose pulled the limo alongside of us, and I got in the back, silently cursing the FBI and any other covert agency I could think of.
The trip back to the house was short. We parked in the garage, and I walked through the house and out the back to sit by the pool. I took off my shoes, pulled up the legs of my jeans and stuck my feet in the water. We’d been right there at the mall, and I still hadn’t gotten a bathing suit.
The sound of water lapping woke me. I was lying curled in a chaise lounge, and a breeze was blowing around me, making me shiver. Clouds covered the sky, and the air was damp. It felt like rain.
I rolled off the lounge and got to my feet. I was stiff, and my neck was throbbing. I went in search of Hammie and found Moose in the kitchen eating chips. I dropped into the chair across from him, and he passed over the bowl.
“Want some? You slept through lunch.”
“Where’s Hammie?”
Moose couldn’t keep the smile from his face.
“You have got to stop calling him that, it undermines his authority.”
“You should stop encouraging me, then. You can’t even keep a straight face when you’re telling me I’m undermining him. Look, I’m supposed to be seeing a physical therapist. Hammie needs to take me to the doctor or something. I can’t even turn my neck.”
Moose pushed back his chair and walked to a console on the wall by the door. He pushed a button and spoke.
“Richard, we need you in the kitchen.” Moose released the button.
“Right, I’ll be down in a sec.” Hammie’s voice came from the wall.
“He was in the weight room.” Moose plopped back down in his chair. “Working off his frustration.”
Hambecker came into the room, wiping the sweat from his face with a hand towel. He had on sweats cut off at the knee and a sleeveless tee-shirt showing the muscles in his shoulders and chest. I pulled my eyes away.
“What’s up?”
“The princess here needs to see a doctor.” Moose nodded to me.
“I am not a princess. I injured my neck, and the ER doc told me to see a physical therapist, and then you abducted me. It hurts. I can’t turn my head. See? I need PT.”
“You can’t turn your head. You can lead us on a wild goose chase through the biggest damn shopping mall in Sacramento County, but you can’t turn your head. Right. Fine. I’ll get you PT.” He left the kitchen shaking his head.
“You’re not an easy keeper, you know.”
“I’m not an easy keeper?”
“Yeah, you know, you need a lot of upkeep.” Moose was standing with his back to the sink, leaning on the counter.
“I own a farm, city boy. I know what an easy keeper is.”
“I’m not a city boy, and don’t get all worked up with me for telling you the truth.”
“Listen, egghead. You wouldn’t be an easy keeper either if you were in my shoes, so lighten up.”
“Egghead? I thought an egghead was a smart guy. Oh, I get it; you’re calling me a smart aleck. Yeah?”
“Yeah. Smart Aleck. That’s it. You got me.”
I grabbed a handful of chips and headed for the little library. I doubted anyone would bother me there.
I was well into a mystery when Moose came in with his hands full.
“Here,” he said, “a hot pack for your neck. Lean forward.”
I sat up and leaned forward so he could drape a warm towel around my neck.
“Be careful. They stay hot, and you probably need to keep the towel between the pack and your skin so you don’t get burned.”
“Thanks, Moose. That feels great.”
He pulled a bottle from his back pocket.
“Ibuprofen,” he said. “It’ll help keep the inflammation down. Richard will get you a physical therapist, but it might take a day or two.” He smiled at me. “I’m sorry I said you weren’t an easy keeper.”
He left. I felt the