LITMIR.BIZ

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toward his empty plate. “Would you like anything else to eat? I have some leftover birthday cake that Serena insisted I bring home.”

      “Cake sounds good, if you have an extra slice.”

      “I have plenty,” she assured him and rose to cut him a piece.

      “I’m sorry I had to miss your party. I got tied up at the station and didn’t get away until after eleven.”

      “Which explains the dark circles under your eyes.” She studied his face as she set the dessert plate in front of him. “You aren’t getting enough rest lately, Dan. Serena thinks you need a vacation.”

      “She does, does she?”

      “When’s the last time you took more than twenty-four hours off?”

      He shrugged. “It’s been a while,” he admitted. “But I won’t be taking a vacation anytime soon—not with some crackpot trying to burn down every building in the damned town.”

      “He usually waits a few weeks between hits. You should have time to take a break while the other investigators pursue leads.”

      “That’s the thing—we have no leads,” Dan growled. “The guy’s slick, I’ll give him that. He’s not leaving clues.”

      “He’ll screw up—and when he does, you’ll catch him.”

      “Yeah, but that means he’ll have to strike again first. We’ve had one death because of this guy so far. I don’t want anyone else endangered, including our firefighters.”

      “You’ll catch him,” Lindsey predicted again.

      “Damn straight. But not if I’m off on a vacation. Besides, who takes vacations this time of year?”

      “People who are tired and need a rest?”

      Dan only shrugged and filled his mouth with another forkful of cake.

      “This has been nice,” he said a few minutes later, when his plate had been cleaned and the last sip of iced tea drained. “You and I haven’t had a chance to sit down and talk much lately—not without you holding a notebook in your hand, anyway.”

      “No. You’ve been so busy we’ve hardly seen each other since B.J. was home for Dad’s funeral.”

      The mention of her late father made Dan’s smile dim a little. “So, you’ve been doing okay? Living here by yourself, I mean.”

      “I’m fine,” she answered gently. “I miss my dad, of course, but he was so ill and so debilitated that I knew he was ready to go. And I’ve been on my own before, you know. I lived alone for three years before I moved back two years ago to take care of Dad.”

      “You let me know if you need anything, you hear? I promised B.J. I’d keep an eye on you.”

      Her teeth gritted. “Thanks, but I’m quite capable of taking care of myself.”

      “Of course you are.” He glanced at his watch, which kept him from seeing the way her brows dipped in response to his slightly patronizing tone. “As much as I’ve enjoyed this, I’ve got to go. I have things to do at the station.”

      She walked with him to the door. “Try to go home at a reasonable hour tonight,” she advised him. “You won’t be doing anyone any good if you collapse from exhaustion.”

      He chuckled and reached out to ruffle her hair again. “You sound just like my sister.”

      “Well, I’m not your sister, and if you do that to my hair one more time, I’m going to sink my teeth into your hand.”

      The snarled threat only made him laugh. “Now you really sound like my sister.”

      Clenching her teeth tightly together, she opened the door, then forced herself to say pleasantly, “Bye, Dan. Thank you again for the birthday present.”

      “You’re welcome.”

      Some impulse made her speak, just as Dan started down the front steps. “I’m thinking about selling the house.”

      He stopped and turned to look at her in obvious surprise. “No kidding? Why? Is it too much for you to keep up?”

      “No. I can handle the maintenance. I’m considering looking for a job in a bigger city. Dallas or Atlanta, maybe.”

      “Oh.” He shoved his hands in his pockets, looking as though he didn’t quite know how to respond. “Well…I can see where you’d have better career prospects in a bigger market, but…you’d be missed here.”

      She noted that he didn’t say who would be missing her if she left. “I haven’t really made a final decision yet. I’m just mulling it over.”

      “I see. Well, you do what you think is best for your future. I’ve gotta go, okay? See you around.”

      “Yeah.” Lindsey leaned against the doorjamb and watched him climb into his car. “See you around, Dan.”

      Sometime later she carried the unicorn into her bedroom and set it on the dresser. Her childhood collection had been packed away since she’d left home for college—not that Dan would know that. It had been years since he’d seen the inside of her bedroom.

      He probably still pictured ruffles and teddy bears, she thought glumly.

      Stupid man.

      She caught a glimpse of herself in the full-length mirror attached to one of her closet doors. A low groan escaped her as she studied the grubby clothes that dwarfed her petite figure, and the fuzzy house shoes that would have looked more at home at a teen slumber party. She ran a hand over her spiky hair and glared at the smudge of dust on her unpainted cheek.

      “No wonder he still thinks I’m twelve,” she muttered. She winced when she remembered his ex-wife, with her perfect hair, perfect face, perfect teeth, perfect breasts. Lindsey turned sideways and poked out her chest, eyeing the results in the mirror. “Pitiful,” she grumbled. “Just pitiful.”

      She mentally replayed the way she’d bantered with Dan, swapping put-downs and bad jokes, pretty much the way she and her brother carried on when he was home. When they met on a professional basis, she and Dan usually ended up yelling at each other—and she’d admit that she usually started it. Maybe it was just a teensy bit her fault that he hadn’t seen her as a sexy, desirable woman.

      If she gave up now and moved away, putting her dreams behind her, would she always regret not giving it one more try? She’d never been a quitter, and had never been hesitant to go after something she wanted—except for Dan. What did she have to lose—except her dignity, her pride and her ego?

      The grubby woman in the mirror suddenly looked a little pale, but there was a new look of determination in her green eyes.

      Dan Meadows was about to find himself with a brand-new problem on his hands.

      Chapter Two

      “What are you doing here already?” Dan’s secretary said, glaring at him from his office doorway.

      He looked up from the paperwork littering his desk and said, “Excuse me?”

      “I heard you didn’t leave here until after ten last night. Now here it is not even eight in the morning and you’re already at it again.” Hazel Sumners shook her head in exasperation. “You are not Superman, Dan Meadows. You need rest.”

      He heaved a gusty sigh. “I’ll have you know I got nearly eight hours’ sleep last night. That’s plenty of rest for a grown man.”

      “Rest involves more than a few hours of sleep,” she scolded. “How about leisure time? You know—fun? You didn’t even take time off for Lindsey’s birthday party Friday night.”

      “I saw Lindsey on Saturday,” he retorted. “I didn’t totally ignore her birthday.”

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