dragons."
"You too," he called as she staggered back to the truck. "You too."
* * *
Her shopping was blissfully uneventful. When she returned she found Kyle's sleek black sports car parked in front of the castle. Sara locked the back of the truck and left it filled with baby food and disposable diapers, all hidden inside plastic garbage bags. She'd unload them during the middle of the night.
The disposable diapers and plastic bags grated on her environmentalist's conscience, but she had to have them, just this once. With Kyle on hand she couldn't tote baby products around in open paper sacks. Nor could she wash loads of cloth diapers in the laundry room right off the kitchen.
Sara made certain that Noelle was fast asleep inside the wicker basket before she entered the castle. Daisy ambling along beside her. She strained her ears but heard no indication that Kyle was moving about. Maybe he was taking a nap. After all, he'd spent all night on the roof planning his invasion and chipping away at the mortar that held her chimney cap in place. Sighing with relief, Sara hurried to the nursery and settled Noelle in her crib. Then she went back to the truck, got two small sacks filled with Kyle's grocery requests, and took them to the kitchen.
Afterward she cruised back toward the bedrooms. Outside his door she called, "Kyle?" in a polite tone, and knocked. When there was no answer she tested the doorknob. Unlocked. Sara glanced into the room. The end of his tote bag could be seen peeking from behind the heavy damask draperies on the sides of a kingly bedstead. His dirty clothes were draped over the shell of a knight who stood guard in one corner.
Sara's mouth twitched with amusement. The suit of armor was wearing Kyle's Hawaiian shirt.
But where was Kyle? As if in answer, Daisy woofed and trotted toward a tall, narrow window across the room. She put her front paws on its stone sill and reared up so that she could peer out the beveled glass. She woofed again.
Sara frowned and went to the window. And then she began to laugh. Earlier he had thought her geese so funny.
Across the garden Kyle sat astride the limb of a giant oak tree. He was looking down. Her attack geese were looking up.
----
Chapter Five
Stretched out on his stomach along the couch in front of her fireplace, Kyle shifted his legs slowly and winced. He felt Sara's hand pat his shoulder gently, and her sympathetic attention made his embarrassment even more acute. During the course of his old career he had outwitted some of the smartest terrorists in the world; now he couldn't outwit a flock of fat, waddling birds.
"What happened?" she asked.
He tried to sound grandly disgusted. "I came back, cleaned up, and decided to bring in some firewood."
"You should have taken my geese seriously after the way they chased you this morning."
"I thought they were all honk and no action."
Sara sat cross-legged in the floor, near enough that he could touch her if he wanted. He always wanted even now, when the comers of her mouth kept curling upward at his expense.
"I only wanted to bring in some firewood. To be a good guest."
"I know. I promise not to laugh out loud anymore."
"I brought in two armloads from the woodpile without the geese noticing me. Then I got greedy. I went back for a third load. They noticed."
"And then?"
"They took revenge for every quill pen and down pillow ever made. They pinched me with those damned beaks. I haven't been grabbed so much since I rode to the top of the Empire State Building in an elevator full of drunk women."
"Would you like some liniment for your pained dignity?"
"Yes."
While she was out of the room he got up and gingerly padded to the huge hearth where he'd stacked his first two loads of firewood. The third lay scattered around the base of the tree he'd climbed.
By the time she came back, carrying a mysterious jar, he'd built a fire. The aromatic scent of burning oak filled the castle's great room. The room was suspended
"You too," he called as she staggered back to the truck. "You too."
* * *
Her shopping was blissfully uneventful. When she returned she found Kyle's sleek black sports car parked in front of the castle. Sara locked the back of the truck and left it filled with baby food and disposable diapers, all hidden inside plastic garbage bags. She'd unload them during the middle of the night.
The disposable diapers and plastic bags grated on her environmentalist's conscience, but she had to have them, just this once. With Kyle on hand she couldn't tote baby products around in open paper sacks. Nor could she wash loads of cloth diapers in the laundry room right off the kitchen.
Sara made certain that Noelle was fast asleep inside the wicker basket before she entered the castle. Daisy ambling along beside her. She strained her ears but heard no indication that Kyle was moving about. Maybe he was taking a nap. After all, he'd spent all night on the roof planning his invasion and chipping away at the mortar that held her chimney cap in place. Sighing with relief, Sara hurried to the nursery and settled Noelle in her crib. Then she went back to the truck, got two small sacks filled with Kyle's grocery requests, and took them to the kitchen.
Afterward she cruised back toward the bedrooms. Outside his door she called, "Kyle?" in a polite tone, and knocked. When there was no answer she tested the doorknob. Unlocked. Sara glanced into the room. The end of his tote bag could be seen peeking from behind the heavy damask draperies on the sides of a kingly bedstead. His dirty clothes were draped over the shell of a knight who stood guard in one corner.
Sara's mouth twitched with amusement. The suit of armor was wearing Kyle's Hawaiian shirt.
But where was Kyle? As if in answer, Daisy woofed and trotted toward a tall, narrow window across the room. She put her front paws on its stone sill and reared up so that she could peer out the beveled glass. She woofed again.
Sara frowned and went to the window. And then she began to laugh. Earlier he had thought her geese so funny.
Across the garden Kyle sat astride the limb of a giant oak tree. He was looking down. Her attack geese were looking up.
----
Chapter Five
Stretched out on his stomach along the couch in front of her fireplace, Kyle shifted his legs slowly and winced. He felt Sara's hand pat his shoulder gently, and her sympathetic attention made his embarrassment even more acute. During the course of his old career he had outwitted some of the smartest terrorists in the world; now he couldn't outwit a flock of fat, waddling birds.
"What happened?" she asked.
He tried to sound grandly disgusted. "I came back, cleaned up, and decided to bring in some firewood."
"You should have taken my geese seriously after the way they chased you this morning."
"I thought they were all honk and no action."
Sara sat cross-legged in the floor, near enough that he could touch her if he wanted. He always wanted even now, when the comers of her mouth kept curling upward at his expense.
"I only wanted to bring in some firewood. To be a good guest."
"I know. I promise not to laugh out loud anymore."
"I brought in two armloads from the woodpile without the geese noticing me. Then I got greedy. I went back for a third load. They noticed."
"And then?"
"They took revenge for every quill pen and down pillow ever made. They pinched me with those damned beaks. I haven't been grabbed so much since I rode to the top of the Empire State Building in an elevator full of drunk women."
"Would you like some liniment for your pained dignity?"
"Yes."
While she was out of the room he got up and gingerly padded to the huge hearth where he'd stacked his first two loads of firewood. The third lay scattered around the base of the tree he'd climbed.
By the time she came back, carrying a mysterious jar, he'd built a fire. The aromatic scent of burning oak filled the castle's great room. The room was suspended
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