Page 54 of The Fixer and the Fugitive

“Oh, that makes it normal then,” he said.

“We can eat it, but it’s hot. We should probably let it cool.”

“If only we could think of some way to pass the time. Think, man, think,” he said as he removed the oven mitts she was still inadvertently wearing.

“A walk? Like the three bears.”

“I’m more interested in what Mama Bear and Papa Bear might have gotten up to on their own without the baby,” he said, putting his hand on her belt loop and using it to tug her close.

“I didn’t think it was possible to make a children’s story inappropriate, but congratulations on your accomplishment,” she said.

“It’s all in the tone,” he said. “Tell me something.”

“What?”

“Anything. Tell me anything and also everything about Celeste.”

“Oh,” she said, spirits dimming. The morning had been so good. The last thing she wanted to do now was talk about herself.

“Start with something small and easy.”

“Nothing is easy,” she said.

“What’s your favorite food?” he prompted.

“This bread I just made,” she said.

A smile tugged at his lips. “Don’t try to use your adorability to distract me. What’s your favorite color?”

“Gunmetal gray,” she said.

He snorted. “Your favorite color is coincidentally the color of your gun?”

“It goes with everything,” she said.

“You’re hopeless,” he said, but he was smiling.

“That’s what I’ve been trying to tell you,” she said, standing on her toes so her lips brushed his. He gave up talking and gave in to the kiss, tugging her impossibly closer, one hand pressed against the small of her back, flattening her against him. The sound of tires on gravel once again registered, breaking them apart.

“Someone’s here,” she said.

“You know, for an orchard in the middle of nowhere, you get a lot of intruders,” Sam said.

“Tell me about it,” she replied, tapping his chest.

“Hey, I was here first. I have break-in dibs on the proprietor.”

“If only I had a nickel for every time someone claimed break-in dibs on me,” she said, shaking her head.

“How many nickels would you have?” he asked curiously. “You’ve never actually told me your dating history. Or anything else. Hint, hint.”

She ignored him and withdrew her gun. “You can’t take out your gun every time someone asks you a personal question,” he said.

“Watch me,” she said and opened the front door.

Chapter 26

As soon as she glimpsed the new arrival, she tucked her gun away. They parked and a man, or maybe boy, stepped from the driver’s side. Ever since she reached thirty, Celeste had a harder time transcribing the age of anyone younger. The girl who stepped from the passenger side was definitively a girl, short and petite with a heart-shaped face and distinctively auburn hair.

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