found a few tools for the yard in a small shed at the rear of the triplex, along with an old push mower in serious need of oiling and blade sharpening.
Despite the heavy humidity pushing the heat index higher than normal for the area, for the next four hours Chase trimmed and box-shaped the hedge, then cleared the weeds from the fountain. Armed with a half-empty spray can of lubricant and a sharpening stone he’d found after searching a battered red toolbox in the corner of the shed, he sat on the wooden steps outside Dee’s unit beneath the shade provided by the overhang on her side of the wide front porch and started tearing down the mower.
“Mind if I ask what you’re doing?”
Chase looked up, surprised to find Dee looking at him, curiosity banked in her eyes. In accordance with the climbing heat index and stifling humidity, she wore a pair of khaki walking shorts with a plain white top tucked into the narrow waistband. With one white sneaker propped on the bottom step and her hand wrapped around the wooden railing, she looked as if she’d been ready to bound up the stairs until she saw him.
Using the shirt he’d pulled off over an hour ago, he wiped the sweat from his forehead. “I thought the place could use a little work.”
“Mrs. England has a gardener, you know.”
“Then she should fire him because he does a lousy job.”
She shrugged, then hesitated long enough to have him wondering if she was debating whether or not she could trust him not to touch her if she passed by him.
As if every nerve in his body wasn’t poised for action, he gave the mower blade his attention once again. The sun had begun its descent over the western horizon, yet the air was still heavy with humidity, causing moisture to cling to just about every surface of his body. The moist heat would have been completely unbearable if not for the light sea breeze that occasionally teased his skin and gently stirred the fronds of the palmetto trees overhead.
She must’ve decided it was safe, because after a few ticks of the second hand on his wristwatch, she climbed the stairs to her apartment. The jangle of keys was followed by the click of the door and the faint whoosh of cool air from the central air conditioning that brushed against his skin.
The screened door snapped shut about the same time her front door closed. Well, now what? he wondered. He had been waiting for her to return, so now what did he do? The equipment was set to record if she received or made a telephone call. Maybe he could even come up with a plausible excuse to gain entrance into her apartment again. The “my phone is out” trick wouldn’t fly a second time, but he could always pull the lame borrow an egg or cup of sugar routine if he got desperate enough. There was the Senior Health class, but it wouldn’t make sense for him to contact her so soon about speaking to the class when school wouldn’t be in session for another two weeks.
Before he could conceive a viable plan, her door opened. “Are you drinking enough water to replenish what you’re losing?” she asked abruptly, keeping the screened door between them.
He detected a note of irritation in her voice, but finished his stroke along the mower blade before looking over his shoulder at her. Definitely irritation. Her sable eyebrows slanted into a frown. He couldn’t see her eyes clearly, but he easily imagined the gold highlights sparkling due to her annoyance. Annoyance he’d bet his badge was unwanted.
The question as to the cause of her aggravation held all sorts of interesting possibilities, and had him curious as hell. Because she didn’t want to care if he was running the risk of dehydration? Or did her attitude stem from some other, more base instinct? The same base instincts he’d been unable to stop thinking about since they’d touched that morning in her compact kitchen.
“I’m fine, Doc,” he said, forcing himself to return to sharpening the mower blade and not try to see for himself if those gold highlights were indeed sparkling. He flicked his finger over the sharpened blade. Not bad. Satisfied, he started working the opposite side.
“By the way you’re sweating, I’d say you’re dangerously close to dehydration, unless you’re taking in plenty of water.”
A smile kicked into a grin when he glanced over his shoulder at her again. She’d been watching him. And paying attention. “Is that strictly your professional opinion?”
He couldn’t be sure, but he could’ve sworn her eyes narrowed slightly.
“It’s an observation,” she said, the husky nuances of her voice conjuring plenty of images, but not a single one of them professional.
“So you’ve been observing, huh?”
Her mouth opened, then snapped shut. Damn, but he wished he could see her eyes clearly.
“It’s not what you’re thinking, it’s… Just drink plenty of water. And that is my professional opinion.” The sound of her door closing was followed by the slide of the safety chain.
He shrugged and went back to the mower blade. Not exactly the kind of conversation he’d envisioned, nor would it even remotely classify as a success as far as getting closer to her.
He slid the stone along the dulled blade. Considering his lack of progress all week, he supposed today’s encounter ranked right up there with mediocre success.
She noticed him. She noticed him and it bothered her. If that was the case, then Chase knew it’d only be a matter of time before he located the right combination to unlock the secrets that would lead him right to Jared Romine.
He heard the gentle glide of metal against metal again, followed by the jingle of the safety chain.
He looked up expectantly as her door opened one more time. She pushed open the screen door and stepped onto the covered porch. “Have you eaten?” The slight irritation he’d detected earlier hadn’t dissipated. The gold highlighting her green eyes intensified, almost flaring to life.
God, she had the most intriguing gaze. He couldn’t help wondering what they’d do when banked in passion.
He shrugged and shot for a casual attitude he was far from feeling. He was close, he could feel it, and he had to play it cool so he didn’t blow it. “Not since lunch, why?”
She slid her hands into the front pockets of her khaki walking shorts and frowned. “I have some halibut defrosted. It’s too much for just one person and it’d end up going to waste…”
“You inviting me to dinner, Doc?”
She let out a puff of breath. “I guess I am.”
He grinned, and set the blade and sharpening stone on the step beside him. “Then you got yourself a date,” he said rising.
“Uh, this isn’t, isn’t a date.”
Chase just grinned. He didn’t care what she was calling it. He’d just gotten closer, and that’s all that mattered. Almost all that mattered, he amended.
4
“IT’S NOT A TYPICALLY southern dish, but it’s healthy,” Dee said, hating that her voice trembled. She added a covered casserole dish filled with rice pilaf to the breakfast bar next to the salad and glazed carrots, and hoped he didn’t notice how her hands shook nervously.
He
