Page 15 of Hot For You

“Just a little follow-up.” He held the beer bottle as if prepared to take a swig. “I’ll be calling you to set up a time to go over a few things.”

“Okay,” she said.

“But for now it’s time for you to loosen up, Reese,” Cody said with a grin. “By that beer in your hand I’d say you’re not here to work.”

“Sometimes it’s hard to shake off the job.” Reese smiled, his features relaxing again. “I’ll talk with you later, Ms. Thompson,” he said to Carilyn. To Cody he said, “Work on that grip.”

Cody saluted Reese who gave a nod to Carilyn before he slipped into the crowd and disappeared from sight.

She picked up her rum and Coke from off the high-top she’d set it on and took a sip.

“Did you get everything you needed when you went shopping with Leigh?” he asked.

Carilyn lowered her glass. “Pretty much. The most important thing was a new laptop, which I’m going to have to set up so that I can get to work when Leigh takes off for Europe.”

“What kind of work do you do?” he asked.

“I’m what you call a geek.” She smiled. “I’m a computer programmer.” She didn’t mention that she was also a hacker—but for the good guys.

He raised his eyebrows. “You don’t look like the geeky type to me.”

She grinned. “And what’s a geeky type supposed to look like?”

He returned her grin. “I guess I’m just going to have to change my way of thinking if geeks are as beautiful as you.”

She felt her face warm and was glad the bar was dim so that he couldn’t see her blush.

“So what do you do?” he asked.

“I contract for the government.” She set her now empty glass down. “I’m working on a big project right now that I can’t talk about.”

“A mystery woman,” he said.

Desperate to change the subject from herself, she decided to turn the tables on him. “So you’re not only a firefighter, but a cowboy, too?”

He nodded. “I have a little spread that I inherited from my parents.”

“How do you have time to work on it?” She tilted her head to the side. “With the kind of hours and schedule a firefighter works, doesn’t that make it difficult?”

“It can.” He pushed the brim of his hat up a little with one finger. “I used to hire 4-H kids and all of them did a good job. But now I have a ranch hand who handles things when I’m gone. Tom is semi-retired and lives on a place not too far from mine so he’s available when I need him. It’s easier having him than juggling the kids.”

“I’ve never been on a ranch.” Carilyn wondered how close real ranches were to what was portrayed in the movies.

“I’ll have to show you around my place,” he said. “If you don’t have anything planned tomorrow, you could come on over if you’d like.”

Carilyn hesitated. Was this getting too close to going out on a date with the man? She really did want to go out on a ranch. “Okay,” she said. “Mike is giving Leigh a ride to the airport around five in the morning so I’m free for the day. She’s leaving her car for me to drive while she’s gone.”

“Great.” He smiled. “I’ll give you directions. Smart phones aren’t always so smart once you head away from town.”

She found herself brushing down her skirt with her palms for something to do with her hands. “What time?”

“How about ten?” he said. “I can take you riding.”

“Riding?” She felt a twinge in her belly. “I’ve never been on a horse.”

“I’ll let you ride one of my gentlest horses,” he said. “She’s a real sweetheart.”

She gave him a nervous smile. “I guess I’ll trust you on that.”

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