Proof of Innocence

“You look plum wore out,” the cheerful lady behind the front desk said, her concerned brown eyes washing over Erin’s soiled T-shirt and jeans with a keen interest. “Did you two go on a long hike today?”

“Yes,” Chase answered with a smile. He glanced down at Valor. “And we chased this fellow around a lot. We’re ready to settle in for the night.”

The woman’s gaze moved from Erin to the dog at their feet. “What a beautiful animal.”

“Thank you,” Chase said. He’d already removed Valor’s working vest so no one would ask too many questions. “He’s tired, too. He loves to...search the countryside.”

“Chasing squirrels, huh, boy?” The lady chuckled, her white hair as stiff as the fake pink flowers clustered in a pretty red vase next to the antique cash register.

The woman glanced at Erin, causing Erin to realize that she hadn’t spoken.

“Yes, always chasing something,” she said, her tone forced. Chase hadn’t clarified anything with the desk clerk. Erin wondered how he’d handle the room situation.

“If it’s available, we’d like the deluxe suite with the sitting room,” he said, pointing to some pictures underneath the glass on the counter.

The old lady nodded. “Our best suite. Roomy and private.”

Chase didn’t respond. He simply paid the bill and kept smiling. Erin took in her surroundings, a habit she’d developed after being forced to watch her back. The inn was clean and uncluttered with the front entrance and lobby here and a long hallway to the back of the house. If she had to run...

“All set,” the woman said, handing Chase a receipt. “I hope you have a good stay.”

Chase glanced toward Erin, his green eyes going soft. “Thanks. I hope so, too.”

Erin managed a smile to hide the way her throat tightened and went dry at that glance. Now that they were inside, the glow from the lamplight clearly showed her all the features of his face for the first time.

He’d aged into someone she recognized and yet didn’t really know. His dark blond hair was cut in a crisp military style that stood in curling spikes across his forehead, and he had a few laugh lines, or maybe worry lines, around his eyes. He was buff and tan and healthy. Her heart, which had shriveled up in a corner to die when she’d lost all hope, seemed to unfold like a blossoming rose. She didn’t want to depend on this man. She could turn and bolt out the door, but she was so weary. She felt safe just being near him.

Chase looked as good as she remembered and then some.

While she was dirty and tired and mousy. And then some. A far cry from her sorority days and the whirlwind social life of the nation’s capital.

But she was relieved. She couldn’t help the relief that pushed through her numb system like a cooling wind to prove she was still alive. This kind of comfort could come only from knowing someone she’d once loved had found her when she thought she’d be lost forever. Erin glanced at a still life on the wall of a stream flowing down a mountainside. This was how she felt each time she sat in the dark and prayed, the image of Christ front and center in her frazzled mind. Lately, she’d almost given up on that image. But Chase stood here, an answer to a prayer she hadn’t even known she’d prayed.

“There you go,” the woman with the name tag that said Janey told them. “You’re all set. Breakfast is from six until nine each day and if you’d like, I can send up a midnight snack to tide you over. Since you’re arriving so late and all.” She glanced at the go bag Chase had grabbed from the SUV and then she let her gaze sweep over Erin’s torn, dirt-stained jeans, old hoodie and ratty T-shirt. “There’s a washer/dryer combination in the hallway to my left if you need to wash some clothes.”

Chase didn’t take her up on that offer. “We’ll take the snack. With hot tea and coffee.”

“And I’d like some water,” Erin added, touched that he remembered her preference for hot tea. “With lots of ice.”

“Okay. I’ll get right on that.” The woman smiled at Erin. “And you can enjoy a good, long bath, honey.”

“That sounds perfect,” Erin replied, true joy racing through her heart. It had been a long time since she’d had a bubble bath.

But when they got upstairs, she watched Chase checking all the windows and doors and decided that in spite of the wonderful, old-fashioned claw-footed tub in the adjoining bathroom, she might not get that bath. A quick shower would have to suffice.

Because they didn’t have time for the luxuries. Chase was here on a mission to either bring her in as a wanted murder suspect, or to help her prove her innocence.

And tonight was all about her convincing him on which option he should choose.

* * *

Chase took Valor for a quick walk, telling the way-too-interested Janey that the big dog needed to have a bathroom break. She nodded and explained where the dog walk was located. That was fine by Chase since it allowed him a chance to patrol the perimeters of the property and check around bushes and shrubs. Satisfied that the place was secure for now, he glanced up at the window where the deluxe suite was located. The room where Erin sat right now, jotting down notes she wanted to present to him when he got back. A small balcony was centered near two French doors, but it should be safe since it would be difficult for anyone to climb up the side of the house to get in. Difficult, but with a big oak tree nearby, it could be done if a person was determined. He and Valor would keep watch all night.

When they turned back toward the front door, Chase heard a twig snap down past the slope in the yard. Valor’s ears went up while Chase’s system buzzed with a new awareness.

He could release Valor to search, but this could be a trap, a means of distraction to draw them away from the house.

Not wanting to take any chances, he kept an eye on the front entrance and hurried Valor along so they could get back. He’d already had a quick shower, but a new sheen of perspiration worked its way down his spine, and not from the snap of a twig. Erin Eagleton had always made him sweat.

It had been obvious from their first glance several years ago that Erin was way out of his league. She’d been the popular socialite cheerleader at the small, private high school they’d both attended. And Chase had been the poor kid who’d been given a football scholarship to the school where all the politicians’ children had first dibs on everything. She’d lived in one of the gated estates that dotted the countryside surrounding Washington and he’d lived in a standard farmhouse that his hardworking family had hung on to for nearly a century.

First class meets middle class and love at first sight for him. Maybe even for her. They’d both fallen hard, and then they’d been torn apart way too soon.

But that was all over now. Erin had been dating Michael Jeffries for years. No way she could have killed him.

It had been common knowledge that Erin and Michael were considered a power couple along the Beltway. She was the beautiful daughter of a popular senator and Michael was the son of Congressman Harland Jeffries. She and Michael were often seen together all over Washington, attending high-level parties and dinners. The kind of parties that a rookie K-9 officer who was former Secret Service usually patrolled rather than attended.

Reminding himself that he was part of an elite unit of officers, soldiers and special agents who had been handpicked by the president’s special in-house security chief, Margaret Meyer, Chase hoped he could earn his merit by bringing Erin back alive so they could get to the truth.

She was here and safe for the time being. He hurried back upstairs, remembering how she’d looked in a huge white terry cloth robe she’d found in the closet, thrown over a pair of black running shorts and a T-shirt he’d dug from his go-bag. At least the extra clothes had been clean. Baggy and cute on her, but clean.

And she looked...beautiful.

Tired, worried, fragile and beautiful.

It had taken a lot of willpower for him not to rush across the room and hold on to her forever. They might not have forever if he couldn’t clear her name. They might not have a forever even after he cleared her name. Erin would want to go back to her posh life and leave him to get on with his simple life.

Which now only reminded Chase that he didn’t have time to go down memory lane and he sure didn’t have time for daydreams of how Erin looked all fresh faced and blushing.

Waving good-night to Janey—did the woman ever go to sleep?—he took the stairs two at a time and rapped on the locked door twice. “It’s Chase.”

Erin opened the door with a cup of tea in her hand. Someone from the staff had brought up food earlier. He’d checked the waiter and the food and waited for her to come out of the bathroom so they could eat. But his appetite had disappeared at the sight of her. Using the excuse of walking the dog, he’d bolted out of the suite with a terse order for her to lock all the doors and stay put.

Now he was hungry. For food. For her story. For just being with her again. “Mind if I eat while we talk?”

“No,” she said, motioning to the pushcart full of tiny crustless sandwiches along with fruit and cheese and two giant chocolate chip cookies. “Your coffee is in that little pot.” She pointed to a silver carafe.

Chase settled Valor with a treat and then came to sit on a cushiony blue love seat across from her cream-colored leather chair. After downing two of the ham-and-cheese sandwiches, he poured some coffee and rubbed a hand over his hair. “Everything looked okay outside. We should be safe for the night.”

She nodded. “I can’t seem to stay awake.”

“That’s the letdown,” he explained. “You’ve been living on adrenaline for months now.”

“Oh, and here I thought I was just tired.” She bit into a slice of rich cheddar cheese and grabbed a couple of plump grapes.

“You are tired, but... Erin, before things get crazy tomorrow, I need to hear the whole story and then I’ll tell you what I know.”

He didn’t want to give her any details that might color her own perception or blur her story. They could compare notes after he got her statement down.