Page 8 of Hot For You

“Ha!” Leigh’s grin was wicked. “Behind every joke is a grain of truth.”

“Not this time.” But even as Carilyn shook her head, she couldn’t help thinking of the incredibly sexy firefighter/cowboy. Despite what she’d said to Leigh, she couldn’t deny that she really might like to get to know him better.

Chapter 3

On the trip back to the firehouse, Cody kept thinking about Carilyn and how much he was attracted to her. It had been a long time since he’d had such a strong reaction to meeting a woman—hell, he didn’t remember ever feeling this attracted to anyone. She was the kind of woman a man wouldn’t be able to keep his hands off of once he had her.

Damn, she was cute with her fiery red hair, clear green eyes, and that sprinkling of freckles across her nose. From what he’d seen of her, she had a sweet personality and he had a feeling she was a kind and generous person—he was usually right on with first impressions. She had also handled all that had happened well, considering her car had been torched and her belongings destroyed in the fire.

He pictured the moment the women had gotten together. From the enthusiastic way she and Leigh had greeted each other, it was obvious they were very close. Now why did Carilyn look so familiar to him when she’d never been to Prescott? He didn’t forget faces. It was going to drive him crazy until he figured it out.

He’d wanted to ask her out, but had found himself tongue-tied, something he’d rarely experienced with the opposite sex. The only other time he could remember was when he’d asked Mindy Hoffer to the senior prom—and that had been a very long time ago.

If given a second chance with Carilyn, he hoped he’d have the balls to ask her out. Why the hell he felt like a love-struck teenager around her, he had no idea.

When he arrived at the fire station, Cody took a quick shower and put on clean clothes. He headed out to the bay while lost in his thoughts. He had a few things to take care of and he always took care of things when they needed to be done.

Mike Lawson walked into the station just as Cody was finishing checking his turnout gear.

“Hey, Lawson,” Cody called out, catching the other firefighter’s attention.

Mike gave a nod and headed in Cody’s direction. “What’s up?”

“Saw Leigh earlier.” Cody hung his helmet on its hook above his other gear.

“I heard.” Mike grinned. “She mentioned that she thought you might have a thing for the gal who’s going to be housesitting for her.”

Feeling a little sheepish, Cody shook his head. “That obvious, huh?”

Mike hooked his thumbs in his front pockets. “Leigh thought so.”

“How about meeting at the Highlander for drinks this Friday night? Bring Leigh.” Cody braced one hand on the fire truck. “I’m off that day.”

“I’ll arrange it.” With an amused look, Mike added, “And tell Leigh to bring her friend, right?”

Cody grinned. “You’ve got it.”

“Tell me about the car fire.” Mike sobered as he changed the subject. “Leigh had the impression from her friend that it could be arson.”

Cody gave Mike the details. “Looks like it could be the same bastard,” Cody said as he finished.

Mike’s expression turned hard as Cody spoke. “We’ll get him,” Mike said, determination in his voice.

Cody nodded. “You’re damned right we will.” He thought about it a moment as he raised his ball cap and pushed his fingers through his hair. “So far we don’t have a motive and the only consistent thing between all of the fires is the fact that a doll was left at the point of origin.”

Mike nodded. “That’s not enough.”

Cody set the cap back on his head. “It sure as hell isn’t. Damn, but we’ve got to find him before someone gets killed.”

It wasn’t until Mike had left that Cody finally remembered where he’d seen Carilyn before. The last time he’d been in Leigh’s home he had seen a photograph with her, Leigh, and another woman. Even then he’d thought she was cute.

He shook his head. At least that mystery was solved.

As he left his gear and the truck behind to head from the garage into the fire station, he came to a complete stop as a thought occurred to him. All four businesses and homes had belonged to women. All of the Barbie dolls had different colored hair and the different shades matched each woman’s own hair. A blonde woman owned the dress shop, the dance studio was owned by a brunette, the home was owned by a woman with black hair, and then the redheaded Carilyn owned the car.

Why hadn’t he seen it before? It had been the red-haired doll, whose hair matched Carilyn’s, which had given him the new piece to the puzzle.

He frowned at the implications. The arsonist might hate women and he might be targeting women in general. Or he could be fixated on each woman involved.

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