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sarcasm and told her,
"Put your seat belt on. You too, Alexandra."
    His big, solid vehicle and insistence on
safety made her feel cosseted and at the same time vulnerable.
    The pumpkin farm lay about thirty minutes out
of town. Warm sun streamed in through the car window heating her
skin. After a while Maggie let herself relax. The investigation
seemed a lifetime away and unimportant. For today she'd forget
computers, hackers and her real life, and enjoy the moment.
    Eyes half-closed, she listened in amusement
as Alexandra chattered on about pumpkins and the best way to carve
them, as told by self-proclaimed expert, Bobby.
    Other than answering Alexandra's numerous
questions, Jared drove silently through town. The rolling hills and
wooded areas surrounding Council Falls and the river soon gave way
to flat farmland. Field after field of drying cornstalks waved in
the breeze. Islands of color made up of trees and brushes dotted
the fields. Set far apart, houses and barns appeared and
disappeared as they traveled.
    She breathed deep. The scents of new car,
leather, the faint smell of burning leaves and occasional odor of
well-seasoned manure wafted through the car. Beneath them all lay a
more enticing aroma – the woodsy tang of Jared's cologne.
    "We're here." Jared's voice roused her.
    She blinked and opened her eyes to find him
looking at her an odd almost pained expression on his face. "I'm
sorry. I must have dozed off."
    "Burning the candles at both ends?" he
asked.
    A yawn caught her unawares.
    His gaze focused on the movement of her
breasts as she raised her arms over her head in a stretch. Then he
jerked his head around and got out of the car.
    Her nipples tightened in response to his
interest. Or was it the cool air pouring in from the open car
door?
    "Come on. I think Alexandra's in a
hurry."
    Maggie looked out the window. The girl was
already out of the car headed toward a field strewn with orange
boulders.
    She got out of the car and shivered. Though
the sun was warm on her head, a cool breeze blew across the flat,
open ground of the pumpkin field. She rubbed her hands up and down
her arms.
    "Where's your jacket?" Jared asked.
    "I think I forgot it." She gave him a
sheepish look. "I can't seem to remember this isn't
California."
    He heaved a sigh, but it held no censor.
"Here. Take mine."
    "What about you?"
    He shrugged out of his leather jacket and
draped it over her shoulders. She shivered again, but not with
cold, as his warm hand brushed against the nape of her neck.
    "I have a sweatshirt on. I'll be warm
enough."
    Maggie slipped on the jacket still warm from
Jared's body. She inhaled the smell of well-worn leather and
cologne. It smelled like home.
    She stiffened. Home had never smelled like
this. Home had stunk of stale cigarette smoke, booze, vomit and
rancid food. She shook off old memories. That part of her life was
over. No matter what else happened in her life she'd never end up
back there.
    Following him across the field where the SUV
was parked, she stumbled over a rut. He caught her upper arm to
steady her. Tiny electrical shocks raced up her arm. Her gaze
locked on his. Sexual awareness flowed hot and heavy between them.
Neither of them spoke or moved. Breath caught in her throat.
    His eyes went blank and he jerked away.
    "Let's catch up with Alexandra before we lose
her to the Great Pumpkin." Voice cool, he pointed toward the field
swarming with dozens of children and resigned parents. Laughter and
shouts filled the crisp fall air.
    The next few hours passed in a pleasant blur.
Maggie chased Alexandra from pumpkin to pumpkin. Like connoisseurs
of fine wine they compared the attributes of each pumpkin, size,
shape, color and even smell. Distracted at first, soon Jared
entered the game, thumping each pumpkin with his knuckles and
declaring whether it was filled with seeds or contained Peter
Pumpkin's wife, making Alexandra giggle.
    By the time they chose a dozen pumpkins of
various shapes and sizes, two