Page 13 of Hot For You

Cody shook his head. He wasn’t about to jump to any conclusions, and that included the possibility that one of the women had been a victim of the arsonist again, only this time not with fire. Still it nagged at him that Janice Barnhart hadn’t answered phone calls and hadn’t been in her apartment—unless she’d ignored their knocks. It all wasn’t sitting well with him.

He’d shared his theory with Reese about the Barbie dolls’ hair color, and how each had matched the women who were the victims of the fires. Reese had taken to Cody’s theory immediately, and like Cody, Reese was now concerned for the women’s safety.

Reese had already had police officers interview employees at local stores that sold Barbies but had come up with nothing that stood out. The arsonist was probably buying his dolls in the Phoenix area, or on the Internet, and that would likely be nearly impossible to provide some kind of clue. If the case didn’t break soon, though, the police would have to go public with the Barbie angle.

Frustrated, Cody continued to comb through the reports. He was good at mentally compartmentalizing tasks and other things, and he’d been able to set aside thoughts of Carilyn—for the time being. He had a job to do and he couldn’t do it if he was spending his time daydreaming about her.

When he’d finished going through the files, he finally allowed himself to think about Carilyn. She’d been so sweet to bake the cookies with no nuts for him. Images poured into his mind of Carilyn wearing an apron and placing a big tray of cookies on a table as children gathered around…two boys and two girls. He’d always wanted a big family, and four kids would be perfect.

“Whoa.” He shook his head, banishing the images from his mind. Where had those thoughts come from? He’d barely met the woman. But, damn. What a woman.

He pushed back his chair and stood. It was getting late and he needed to catch some sleep. He’d be seeing Carilyn tomorrow night and he couldn’t wait.

Chapter 6

Laughter and music spilled out of the Highlander and into the night as Carilyn and Leigh approached the bar. All day Carilyn had found herself looking forward to tonight despite the fact she knew she shouldn’t want to see Cody as much as she did. It was only yesterday afternoon that she’d seen him and it seemed like ages.

As if it might calm her nerves, she brushed her palms down her black skirt that reached mid-thigh. Her entire body felt jittery, as if she’d had half a dozen cups of coffee.

“I’m telling you, Cari,” Leigh was saying, “Cody was a little tongue-tied when it came to you.”

“I don’t think so.” Carilyn shook her head. “We talked about the investigation and he wasn’t that way at all.”

Leigh grinned. “But when it came to you and not some safe topic, he was a lot quieter than normal.”

Carilyn rolled her eyes. “You’re imagining things.”

They reached the front entrance and went inside the Highlander that was hazy with smoke. Carilyn scanned the dim room and saw a bar directly in front of them, two pool tables to the left, a mechanical bull on the right along with a jukebox, and lots of high-tops scattered all over the place. Carilyn had called it a “down and dirty” bar and said that’s where the firefighters who weren’t on duty hung out every Friday night.

Leigh leaned close and spoke next to Carilyn’s ear to be heard over the music and the crack of billiards. “I hear there’s poker in the back, invitation only.”

Carilyn spotted Cody leaning up against the bar, watching her, and for a moment she lost all sense of rational thought. Something swooped in her belly as she got a good look at him. He wore a western shirt with the sleeves rolled up to his elbows, Wrangler jeans, and brown boots, along with a Stetson. He looked every bit the cowboy that Leigh had said he was.

“Damn, he’s hot,” Carilyn said before she could catch herself.

Leigh gave a laugh. “I knew you were developing a thing for him.”

Carilyn glanced at Leigh. “Am not.”

Leigh nodded. “Are too.”

Before Carilyn knew it, she and Leigh had reached Cody. She realized for the first time that Mike was there, too, and he was giving Leigh a kiss.

“Hi.” Carilyn smiled at Cody.

His gaze held hers. “You look great, Carilyn.”

“Thank you.” She felt both pleased and self-conscious at once in the black silky blouse that scooped low in the front and dipped down in the back. She and Leigh had picked it out at a great dress shop they’d shopped at yesterday.

Leigh was clearly busy talking with Mike, so Carilyn focused on Cody. No doubt Leigh was making a point of giving Cody and Carilyn time to talk.

Carilyn’s gaze drifted around the room and she noticed men throwing darts at a dartboard near the pool tables where both men and women shot pool. She looked back at Cody. “So this is where the firefighters hang out?”

“A lot of the guys come here to blow off steam on a Friday night.” He leaned one elbow on the bar. “What would you like to drink?”

“Rum and Coke.” She watched him as he turned to the bar, caught the bartender’s attention, and ordered her drink.

She started to pull her wallet out of her purse but he shook his head. “I’m buying tonight.”

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