friend gave me some seeds for a hybrid beefsteak tomato. Lots of meat, fewer seeds. I’ll give you some, if you want.”
He saw the spark of interest in her eyes, before she masked it by folding her arms over her breasts and looking away. “No thanks. It’s too late in the season to plant anything now.”
He searched his mind for another topic, something she might be open to discuss that would give him insight into her private life. “So how’s Leo doing?”
Her expression softened immediately at the mention of her partner. “Grouchy as ever. The doctor put him on a low-cholesterol, low-fat diet. He swears they’re trying to starve him to death.”
“It wouldn’t hurt him to miss a few meals. He’s got to be a good fifty or sixty pounds overweight.”
“Closer to seventy,” she said, then shrugged. “His wife’s been hounding him for years to lose some weight. His doctor, too. But Leo loves to eat.”
“Y’all seem to be pretty tight.”
She shrugged again. “We’ve been partners since I joined the force. Leo may have his faults, but he’s a good detective. Nose like a bloodhound. Tenacity of a bulldog. Eyes like a hawk. I’ve learned more from him than I ever did in a classroom.”
“Maybe when he gets back from his medical leave, I’ll have a chance to work with him.”
“When Leo returns,” she informed him, “you’ll be going back to your regular duties as an officer. Remember? This is only a temporary assignment.”
Though every muscle in his body stiffened in denial at the reminder, Gabe managed to keep the emotion from his face.
Lifting his coffee cup, he took a long drink, then replied with a vague, “Maybe.”
Two
When Andi strode into the patrol room the next morning, Gabe wondered if she had a funeral to attend. Black skirt, black unstructured jacket, black closed-toe shoes. The only relief to her outfit was the stark white tailored blouse she wore tucked neatly into the waist of her skirt. Nothing in her choice of attire hinted at her femininity, yet she all but screamed sex as she crossed to her desk, drawing the eye of every male on duty, Gabe’s included.
Rather than the all-too-familiar ponytail, on this particular morning she’d twisted her hair up into a loose knot on the crown of her head. A pencil, honed dagger-sharp, pierced the knot’s center, holding it in place. He imagined himself sliding the pencil out and letting her hair tumble down around her slim shoulders. It was an intriguing image and one he’d mentally played through several times since the previous day when he’d seen her fresh from his shower, her hair down and dripping water onto her shoulders.
Frowning, he forced his gaze to the file he’d been reading before she’d arrived. He had no business indulging in sexual fantasies about Andi. Not when she stood between him and his chance of making detective. A bad word from her to Chief Prater could negatively impact his chance of promotion.
And why waste his time on her, anyway? he asked himself in frustration. She wasn’t his type. She was outspoken and bossy. What his oldest brother Zeb would call a ballbuster.
But, damn, if his blood didn’t run hot every time he so much as looked at her.
“Thunderhawk!”
He jumped, his carnal thoughts shattered by the chief’s bellowing roar.
“Yes, sir?” he said, rising.
“In my office.” The chief snatched the unlit cigar from his mouth, and added in a kinder voice, “You, too, Andi.”
Accustomed to the chief’s preferential treatment toward his partner, Gabe closed the file he’d been reading and headed across the room. He reached the chief’s door at the same time as Andi and stepped aside, letting her enter first. His gallantry earned him a scowl.
“Sit,” the chief instructed, indicating the two chairs opposite his desk. “Where are we on the McPherson case?”
Since the chief had directed the question at Andi, Gabe sat back and listened.
“We’re waiting on the results from the DNA test we ordered on the rapist’s semen,” she told him. “McPherson won’t walk this time. I can promise you that. The D.A. has assured me we’ve given him all he needs to win a conviction.”
The chief snorted a breath. “I’ll believe it when I see it. We’ve had that pervert up on rape charges before, and he’s walked every damn time. I don’t know who’s slicker—him or his lawyer.” Scowling, he rolled the cigar to the opposite side of his mouth and reared back in his chair. “What about the Fortune case? Anything new?”
“No, sir. We’re backtracking now to see if we missed anything the first time through.”
His scowl deepening, he snatched the cigar from his mouth and tossed it into the garbage can beside his desk. “I don’t like having an unsolved murder on my books, and this one’s been riding for over two months now.”
“I don’t like it any better than you do,” Andi assured him. “But without a murder weapon or a witness, we have little to work with. Once we identify the floater, I’m hoping we can establish probable cause and work it from that angle.”
Nodding his approval of her plan, the chief plucked a fresh cigar from the box on his desk and bit off one end. “There’s a charity ball Saturday night at the country club. It’s a given the Fortunes will be there. I’m going to finagle the two of you an invitation.”
Andi sat up straight in her chair, obviously not pleased with the assignment. “Why? We’ve interviewed every Fortune in the state of Texas and not a one of them was able to identify the body.”
“True,” the chief agreed, “but the only clue we have is the crown-shaped birthmark on the floater’s hip, and that keeps pointing us straight back to the Fortunes. Somebody in that family has to know something. I’d request DNA samples from the lot of them, but I don’t want to do that until we have something more substantial to base our suspicions on. In the meantime, I want y’all at that party. Mix and mingle. See what you can find out.”
He paused to run the cigar through his lips, wetting it, then shifted his gaze to Gabe. “You’re going to need a tux. It’s black tie.”
Gabe stifled a groan. He hated wearing a tuxedo. The last one he’d worn was three years ago at his brother Matt’s wedding, and he still remembered the hour-long battle he’d fought with the damn bow tie that had come with it.
“Couldn’t I just wear a regular suit?” he asked, hoping to avoid the torture.
“A tux,” the chief repeated sternly. “I don’t want you sticking out like a sore thumb.”
“There’s no need for him to go to the trouble of renting a tux,” Andi offered. “I can work the ball by myself.”
The chief shook his head. “If you show up alone, folks might wonder what you’re doing there. I don’t want anyone to suspect that you’re on police business.”
“He’s right, Andi,” Gabe said,
