“Well, that’s all she
wrote!” 

 

Janice closed the door after the last policeman
left. She moved to sit by Mel on the couch. By the time
the police investigated the incident and carted the men away, it
was late —or early— depending on one’s point of
view. Ratner confessed he and his men sabotaged Janice’s
last dig and were attempting to steal the scrolls.

 

“You know, Mel,” Janice started,
reflecting on Ratner’s basic idiocy and the fact that even
idiots get lucky sometimes, “it’s the ones you think
are stupid that you have to watch out for. I mean, Ratner is a
real loser, but he almost won tonight.”

 

Mel frowned. “Yes. He got
me. But I was scared ta death for ya.” She studied
Janice’s profile in the front parlor’s low
lighting. “After ya called my name, though, I knew
everythin’ would be fine. Funny thing is, I
could’ve sworn I heard ya tell me to hang on, that you were
comin’. It was like ya whispered it right in my
ear.”

 

Janice looked at Mel, a surprised expression on her
face, and then she shook her head, not wanting to bother telling
Mel that’s exactly what she was thinking at the
time. Instead, she watched Argo and Stuntman sleep, curled
peacefully on the floor not far from them. Stuntman’s
head rested on Argo’s leg. The animals were sleepy, but
after Mel and Janice had a cup of coffee to keep them awake during
questioning, the coffee and the excitement of the evening still had
them wired.

 

Mel snaked her arm around Janice and pulled the
archaeologist against her. Janice sighed happily and grinned
from ear-to-ear.

 

“What?”

 

“Don’t you feel it, Mel?”

 

“What?” Mel repeated her
question. 

 

“The love. You know. In this
room. It’s like we’re all one big
family.” Janice nuzzled her cheek into Mel’s
shoulder and continued, feeling more talkative that night than she
had in a long, long time. “I’ll be damned if I can
remember feeling anything like it. Harry and I loved each
other, but our relationship was different. It was like we were
more friends or colleagues than family.”

 

Mel considered her situation in South
Carolina. When her daddy died, she was the last of that branch
of the Pappas family and the mansion, which always felt like home
before, seemed almost deserted, a large part of it unused. The
times when she had no visitors, her voice was usually silent except
to give Leah her orders. She brought her mind back to the
present, to the archaeologist snuggled against her and the animals
asleep on the floor. “Yeah, I feel it and I hope it
stays this way for a long time.” Mel consciously
didn’t use the word “forever” because she
didn’t want to scare Janice away.

 

“Forever?” Janice asked
hopefully. Mel nodded and smiled.

 

Janice took Mel’s hand and gave it a few soft
kisses. Then she said, “I believe I was promised an
ample reward?”

 

“Well,” Mel whispered into
Janice’s ear, “let’s see. Ya haven’t
strung up Stuntman yet, though, Lord only knows how you’ve
managed ta restrain yourself, ya pulled a Houdini on Ratner, and
rescued me. Don’t ya think you’ve earned your
reward?”

 

Janice’s mouth went dry suddenly. She
swallowed and let out a lame, “Uh-huh.” She
couldn’t believe how much a Southern accent drove her crazy,
or that an incredibly classy, beautiful, smart woman wanted her,
much less that a prim and proper Southern belle was talking to her
that way. 

 

Mel kissed Janice’s head and replied,
“Much as I’m comfortable right here, I can think of a
better place to give ya your reward.” She rose, took
Janice by the hand, and led the blonde upstairs.