Page 37 of Hot For You

If anything, she had to count herself lucky. If he’d been around these past days, she might have done something she would have regretted.

She had argued with Cody about going back to Leigh’s, but in the end she’d agreed to stay put at his house for safety’s sake. However, she’d insisted that when he was back that she was going to go to Leigh’s to clean up the mess that had been made when it was ransacked.

The metal pole on the porch swing was cool beneath her palm as she gripped it while she pushed the swing to and fro with one foot. She was waiting for the mail carrier to show up to deliver the package that contained what she needed to get to work. Cody had said the mail carrier, Gisele, arrived between 10:15 and 10:30 like clockwork, unless it was rainy or stormy. Today was another clear day, so she figured there shouldn’t be a problem in the mail carrier arriving on time.

Tom, the retired rancher who worked for Cody, was out in the barn cleaning the stalls. From what Cody said, the rancher didn’t mind the dirty work that he did to supplement his retirement. Cody had felt more comfortable about leaving Carilyn at the house because Tom was there, and the older man kept a pistol in a holster hanging from his belt. He had a weapons permit and always “packed heat” as he referred to it. Tom was a nice man and she liked him, and it did make her feel better to know he was armed.

Dirt boiled up from the road in the distance and Carilyn watched to see if it was the mail truck. When it came closer, she saw that it was and she waited for the truck to cross the cattle guard, travel down the long driveway, and pull up in front of the house.

She rubbed her palms on her jeans, got up from her seat, and met the postal carrier as she got out of the truck.

“Are you Carilyn Thompson?” The woman with graying hair asked as she came toward Carilyn.

“Yes.” Carilyn smiled and took the clipboard from the carrier. “You must be Gisele.”

Gisele nodded. “That’s me.”

“Nice to meet you.” Carilyn signed, and then gave the clipboard back to Gisele.

“Have a good day.” The carrier gave Carilyn the small box, turned away, and went back to the postal truck before driving off.

After Gisele left, Carilyn headed into the house. It was cool inside but bright because the shades were open. She went to Cody’s office where she’d been setting up her laptop and she settled into the office chair. It took some time to load all of the software.

When she was finished loading software, she went to the kitchen and fixed herself a peanut butter and jelly sandwich along with a tall glass of milk. She took it to the office and ate while she finished organizing the computer’s desktop just the way she liked it.

“Phew.” She leaned back in the chair when she was finished. The PB&J sandwich and glass of milk were gone and she toyed with the idea of another sandwich but decided to stay where she was and work instead considering she was a few days behind now. She’d have to wait to track down Firebug, too, because she needed to do her job. When she was ready she’d set up a tracer program.

Soon she was lost in her work. She enjoyed contracting for the government, which was much better than actually being in a permanent position with Uncle Sam. She had freedom in the number of hours she worked, the days she worked, and the ability to do whatever it took to get the job done. It would come in handy some day when she stayed home to raise a family.

That thought made her think of Cody and what it would be like to have a family with him.

She groaned, shook her head, and got back to work.

When she finished, she felt tired and realized she’d overdone it. She’d been working for hours with only a long enough break to fix herself lunch. She’d been feeling a lot better overall, but she hadn’t fully recovered from the concussion. Now she was exhausted and her head ached.

She always kept her email closed when she worked so that she wouldn’t be distracted by anything that came in. She’d also been worried that she’d receive something else from Firebug. When she opened it she saw a couple of emails from friends, several work-related emails, and a message from Sam. Thank God there wasn’t one from Firebug. She even checked her spam folders, just to make sure.

Her gaze lingered on the new one from Sam. She had meant to respond to him when she’d received the first one, but had forgotten to. He was probably concerned about her because she’d always been good about replying to him, even after they had broken up.

She clicked on the email to open and read it.

* * *

Carilyn,

Are you off on one of your jaunts in some exotic locale with Leigh? Where? When do you return home? I need to see you.

Love,

Sam

* * *

Carilyn worried her lower lip as she reread his email. He had signed both emails with “love Sam” and she wasn’t sure how to take that. Surely he didn’t want to get back together with her?

She leaned back in the chair and stared at the computer screen. She had no intention of getting back with Sam again, if that was what he wanted to talk about. But then again, she might just be jumping to conclusions. For all she knew, he had met someone and was inviting Carilyn to the wedding.

Did that thought bother her? She tilted her head to the side as she considered it. Yeah, she had to admit it would be difficult seeing Sam in love with another woman. At the same time, Carilyn also realized that she had moved on. It might be hard to see him marry another woman, but she could accept it.