Chapter Thirteen

 

After spending a couple hours combing stores for enough lights and ornaments to cover the tree, they stopped for hamburgers.

Once they entered the fast food restaurant, Ki suggested the others find a table while he ordered their food.

"So what does everyone want?"

Syd held up her hand as Jamie and Heidi began talking at the same time.

"No, I'm not letting him get caught in the trap I got caught in," Syd told them. She looked up at Ki. "Heidi will have the Tiny Tots Meal with an orange soda for her drink and ask that her hamburger be made up plain. She doesn't even want cheese on it. No pickles on Jamie's cheeseburger. He doesn't want them to even touch the meat and he can handle a medium Coke." She smiled at her nephew. "They can share the, fries that come with Heidi's meal. I'll have a cheeseburger with everything on it, large order of fries and a large Coke. Got that?"

Ki's eyes glazed over. "I hope so."

"I'll help." Jamie jumped off his seat and happily followed Ki to the order counter.

"Auntie Syd, can we keep Ki?" Heidi pulled four paper napkins from the dispenser and carefully placed one where each of them would sit.

Something twisted deep within Syd. "Honey, he's not a puppy. We're staying in his cabin now, but pretty soon we'll have to go back home because Jamie has to get back to school."

"And I get to go to school soon ‘cause I'm five now."

'She smiled and nodded. "Yes, you will."

Heidi looked over her shoulder where Ki and Jamie were standing at the counter. Syd noticed that Ki was speaking to the girl taking the orders while Jamie stood beside him trying to imitate Ki's natural loose-hipped slouch.

"But Ki doesn't have anybody like you have us," she told Syd. "If we kept him, he'd have all of us. He likes us more than he used to. I can tell. He doesn't make nasty faces at us like he did and he doesn't say bad words all the time. I think he would be better off with us," she stated.

Syd smiled. She reached across the table and used her fingers to brush the little girl's feathery bangs to one side. Not because they needed it, but because she felt the need to touch her. As she looked in Heidi's face, she saw her own features stamped in miniature. Even the slight bow of the upper lip was identical to hers. The little girl was already showing Syd's inherent tendency to jump before thinking. Syd only hoped Heidi would learn to temper that part of her personality, as she had, before it was too late.

"Ki has a life of his own," she reminded her. "But I don't see any harm in our borrowing him for a while."

"Okay, we have a Tiny Tots Meal with an absolutely naked hamburger and a small orange soda." Ki began unloading his tray. "Jamie made sure no pickle dared come near his cheeseburger and here's your cheeseburger with everything on it and large fries." He placed Syd's meal in front of her.

"If you ever get stuck with your writing, you'd make a terrific waiter," she told him, smiling her thanks.

He bumped her with his hip as he slid onto the bench seat beside her. "Nah, too much work."

Syd stuck a straw in the top of Heidi's cup and divided the fries between the two kids.

Ki looked around the colorful restaurant. The Christmas music was loud to compensate for the noise from the younger clientele and the decor was well on the brash side. Then he looked at Syd who was as colorful as her surroundings.

"If anyone had told me I'd ever be sitting in a fast food restaurant with a beautiful woman and two kids I'd suggest they seek professional help," he told her under the cover of the kids' chattering to each other. "If I'm not careful, my whole reputation could be destroyed.”

Syd's smile froze on her lips as she thought that maybe Ki hadn't changed as much as they thought he had. "I don't think you have too much to worry about."

 

SYD AND HEIDI OPENED boxes of tree lights and ornaments while Ki and Jamie left again to pick up the tree. Syd had finished unraveling the strings of lights and testing them to make sure all the bulbs lit up when Ki's truck appeared at the top of the road.

"Look!" Heidi squealed, jumping up and down, clapping her hands with glee.

"This tree is not for you guys," Syd told the dogs who stood beside her as she watched Ki and Jamie hop out of the truck. Ki began loosening the ropes that had secured the tree to the top of the truck. There were black smudges on his sweatshirt and another smudge on his cheek.

Heidi looked up. "Why not? Cocoa and Bogie love trees."

"They can only play around outdoor trees, not indoor ones," she explained, opening the door and stepping outside. "It looks taller than it did at the tree farm."

"Just be glad you weren't the one cutting it down," Ki puffed, maneuvering the tree onto the ground. "The guy assured me this heavy duty stand would easily hold it. If it doesn't, we could be in a lot of trouble."

"It took Ki and three other guys to put the tree on the truck. They all cussed," Jamie said helpfully.

Syd patted his shoulder. "I wouldn't worry. It was probably for a good cause. I checked the lights for you," she told Ki. "We're in luck. They all worked beautifully. We also cleared a corner for the tree." She looked at it with a critical eye. "I hope we cleared enough room for it. It looks awfully big."

"Thanks." He scowled at the large tree trunk as he tried to shift it into the large metal stand. "Out of here, dog. This tree would flatten you into a pancake." He used his foot to gently push Bogie away. He was instantly overbalanced by the heavy tree. "I need help here!"

Syd jumped to grab the other side before Ki and the tree toppled to the ground.

"I really hate to ask this, but will you be able to get the tree inside the cabin without any problems?"

"We will get it into the cabin," he told her, crouching down so he could tighten the screws that dug into the base of the trunk. He looked up from his task. "You couldn't have tried to talk her into a smaller tree, could you?"

"Heidi's like me. She can't be easily swayed," she said without apology, still holding on to the trunk. She resisted the urge to release one hand to scratch at the itching sensation that was traveling up her arm. A wave of nostalgia came over her, and memories surfaced of her father wrestling with their Christmas tree as he worked to get it to fit in a tree stand. "Shouldn't you put it in the stand after you get it in the house?"

He glanced up with a look that bordered on extreme frustration. "You've never had a live tree, have you?"

"Not since ... " She had to think a moment. "It's been a long time."

“Then do me a favor and just stand there holding the damn tree while I get it in the stand outside before I take it inside, just in case I have to cut off any lower branches."

She shrugged, unable to comprehend his frustration.

"This is going to be great. Just think of it," she said softly. "All the lights off except those on the tree. Maybe a fire burning. Soft music on the stereo." She paused until Ki looked up. "And me. What more could a man want?"

"A good stiff drink. Hey! Dammit, Syd!" His scowl was no match for her look of pure innocence. "Don't let go of that again."

It took a. lot of huffing and puffing on Ki's part, directions from Syd, and Heidi and Jamie keeping the dogs out of the way, but eventually the tree was set in the comer Syd and Heidi had decided on. Syd helped move the stereo equipment over another eighteen inches.

"The rest is up to you,” Ki sighed and dropped onto the couch. He scratched his forearm and pulled fir needles off his sweatshirt. "I'm too old for this. No wonder Mom has one of those little artificial trees. This is too much work!"

Syd stared" at the tree as if afraid it would suddenly list to one side.

"I'll get you something to drink," she offered, patting his shoulder on her way to the kitchen.

As Syd passed Ki's bedroom, the phone rang once then suddenly stopped. She stopped in the bedroom doorway when she heard several high-pitched tones. It wasn't until then she realized that his computer modem was receiving information.

"One of your admirers is calling you," she teased. "I hope your computer has enough memory to handle it all."

She barely had the words out of her mouth when Ki skidded to a stop in front of her.

"Good, l was waiting for that," he said. "It's stuff about a book I'm thinking of doing after I finish this one. Tell you what, don't worry about anything to drink for me right now." He went into his room and, for the first time in days, closed the door.

Syd stared at the door, stunned by Ki's abrupt change in personality. And, feeling that twinge deep down that usually warned her something was not right. The last time she had that feeling, she narrowly escaped with her life, She imagined she could hear the steady hum of his laptop, although she, knew the sound was only in her mind. She dreaded to think what danger his new project might be putting him in.

"Ki, what are you doing?" she whispered before she turned away. '

 

KI SAT ON THE BED hitting the down arrow in steady, progression as he read first the note Gary sent him, containing a warning to delete the information as soon, as possible. He quickly scrolled downward. And what he read chilled him to the bone.

He ignored the rest of the fir needles still stuck to his sweatshirt and his itchy skin in desperate need of a hot shower. The information scrolling down the screen was too interesting to leave. And damn scary.

"Syd, what have you been doing all these years?" he murmured in horrified fascination as he scrolled from information on one assignment to another. What started out as what would be considered relatively easy missions for a rookie agent soon escalated. He now understood a lot of things about her.

Syd's admission was true. She was a danger junkie. The more difficult and dangerous the assignment, the more she excelled. He learned she could slip in and out of situations and identities as easily as a chameleon. Many agents had their strengths in certain areas. Syd’s seemed to be in the weapons area. She was conversant with every military weapon available and had the ability to use most of them. She also was considered a valuable ally for many of the major arms dealers in the world. In the time she had dealt with many of them, her cover had been blown only a few times. Anyone who discovered her identity was no longer living. And she was able to return to her own life because it was kept so far from the one she lived.

Ki felt a bone numbing cold seep into his veins.

When he had requested information about Syd, he had expected it to be routine, her personal life, perhaps a few reports about her past assignments. He hadn't expected anything this complete.

He scanned reports Syd had written after her assignments. He even looked through personal reports about Syd that included intimate details Ki had no desire to know. The more he read, the sicker he got.

Before he switched off the computer, he had the good sense to hide the file under a false name. He trusted Syd not to snoop, but he decided it wouldn't hurt to be a little paranoid. Just in case.

Ki headed for the shower. He hoped he could wash away the memories along with the dirt. He already sensed it wouldn't be all that easy.

 

SYD FELT KI’S ABSENCE, as he didn't come out for the rest of the, afternoon and had to be called several times for dinner. When he emerged, he was quiet and didn't look at her.

"I made, a quick trip into town while you were working and picked up a pizza," she said

"You have to see the tree." Heidi pulled on his hand as she led him into the combination living family room. "Doesn't it look pretty? Except Bogie kept trying to eat the ornaments and Cocoa played with some of them. Auntie Syd turned on the lights. See, isn't it pretty?"

Ki stopped short at the fairy tale sight before him.

He thought of the back breaking trouble of hoisting the tree onto the truck. The rough bark that abraded his palms. The tree almost falling on him. All of that didn't matter now.

Syd had taken a white sheet and draped it under the tree to add to the illusion. Tiny bright colored lights twinkled among the dark green branches. Twirling glass balls reflected the lights. The silver foil icicles were clumped unevenly in places, probably due to Heidi's enthusiastic assistance, but it didn't matter. The magic was there.

"I found a stepladder in the kitchen and used it to reach the top branches," Syd said with great satisfaction as she came up to stand behind him. "It turned out even better than I thought it would." She ran her fingers lightly down his spine. "So, now we have the tree and the lights. We just need the soft music and me."

Ki found he couldn't get into the spirit. He managed a smile that was only a ghost of his usual one. He turned away without any comment or reaction to her teasing caress.

"Yeah."

Syd's gaze was a troubled one as she watched him return to his room.

"Ki, are you having trouble with your book?" she asked, just before he stepped inside.

"Yeah, I am," he said quietly. "Don't expect to see me for the rest of the evening. I'm going to see if I can iron things out."

"All right."

Syd watched him close the door behind him with a quiet click that seemed to signify so much. She felt an uneasy lump in the pit of her stomach. His hesitation before he answered had been so slight that most wouldn't have noticed it. But Syd was well trained and easily noticed even the slightest inaccuracies in human behavior. Something was bothering him, all right. But it wasn't his book.

 

"THE TREE IS SO PERFECT, Auntie Syd," Heidi told her as she crawled under the covers later that evening.

After dinner, Syd had kept them occupied playing games until it was time for baths and their bedtime. "With our tree, Santa can find us real easy."

"I didn't think he'd have had any trouble finding us before," Jamie muttered, glancing at Syd as he slid under his own covers.

As Syd looked at their faces, she realized the dark shadows had disappeared from under their eyes and the strain had left their faces. Heidi hadn't woken up in the middle of the night with bad dreams for quite a while and Jamie also slept much better. She could see them turning back into the exuberant kids she remembered before Shane's and Jenny's death. The ones she had prayed so hard to see again

She gathered Heidi up in a bone crunching hug. She could smell the mingled scents of shampoo and the raspberry soap Heidi insisted on using in her bath since it had been her mother's favorite.

"I promise you the best Christmas I can give you," she whispered, kissing her cheek.

"We'll have a good Christmas," Heidi insisted, confused by her statement. "Jamie n' me will have you and Ki with us. That will make it really good."

"Except I don't think Ki likes us anymore."

Syd's head shot up at Jamie's statement. She had no idea he had noticed the same thing she had.

"Why do you say that, Jamie?"

"He didn't talk during dinner and he looked at you funny. Almost like he did when we first got here. Does he know you're a spy?"

Syd nodded. "I told him, but he'll keep our secret."

"And he'll keep Mean Mr. Leo away, too," Heidi decided, having already chosen Ki as her new hero.

"You know what?" Syd tapped her forefinger against Heidi's nose. "I don't think we need to worry about Mean Mr. Leo anymore." She adjusted Heidi's covers, then made a show of tucking Jamie in although he always insisted he was too old to be tucked in.

Syd changed into a nightgown and robe before she returned downstairs. On her way into the kitchen, she peeked toward Ki's room. The door was still closed. It remained closed as she curled up on the couch reading a book. When she put it down, she couldn't remember one word she'd read. She finally gave up and went back upstairs.

She lay in bed with a dog on each side of her to keep her warm. It wasn't the same as Ki's arms around her. And as she lay awake, she still couldn't escape the uneasy feeling that refused to go away.