Red Hot

by Cat Johnson

And there went my alone time with Red. But at least today had accomplished one thing.

  Two things actually.

  First, after I’d straightened out her security in the shop, she’d owe me one. And second, I now knew to keep an eye on my old teammate Carson when it came to Red.

  That might be the most important accomplishment of all.

  No one was moving in on Red. Not while I was around.

  THREE

  Red

  Cash clicked a few keys on the computer in the back office and suddenly a window for each of the three floors of Red’s Resale popped onto the screen. “You can get an overall view of all the cameras at once, or you can zoom in on just one.”

  “Wow.”

  I knew he was cute. I also knew he was cocky and full of himself. What I had not known was that Cash was secretly a computer whiz. At least, far better at this kind of stuff than I was.

  “It will record and store twenty-four hours of video with the free service. But if you want more than that, they have an annual paid service that gives you thirty-days of cloud storage,” he continued his tutorial.

  I shook my head. “Who knew?”

  Cash cocked one light brown brow high above his hazel eyes. “I would think you would have. You bought them.”

  “They were on special online last Black Friday. The price was so good I just clicked to buy them.” I lifted one shoulder.

  “Ah.” He looked mildly amused at my impulse purchase.

  Happy he’d accepted my explanation and hadn’t even criticized it, I moved on. “I don’t know how to thank you. This is really amazing.”

  “It wasn’t all that hard. If you’d known your WiFi password I’d have been done an hour ago.”

  There was the classic Cashel Morgan criticism I’d come to know and love over the years. Or at least know. Love, not so much.

  “Hey, I found the sticky note,” I defended. Eventually.

  “You did.” He nodded.

  I didn’t miss how his gaze dropped to take in the drawer I’d pulled apart to look for said sticky note. The contents were now all over the floor of my office.

  Subtly I took a step to the side to hide the worst of the mess . . . and stepped on a pen. It sent my foot sliding on the cylindrical obstacle, like wearing roller skates indoors. I toppled forward and landed face down across Cash’s lap where he sat in my desk chair.

  I dared to glance up and saw the amused expression on his face as he asked, “You okay?”

  “Yeah. Sorry.”

  He shook his head, his gaze taking in my prone position, including my gluteus maximus right there in front of him. “I’m not complaining.”

  No, he wouldn’t.

  I knew Cashel Morgan appreciated women. All women.

  That was the problem. In the ten years since high school he’d never settled down with one, not even for a short while. But that had been true of Stone too, and he was certainly settling in with Harper.

  I got my footing and pushed off him, ignoring the heat of his hands on my waist as he helped me stand.

  Cash had known me since kindergarten. Back when he put paste and glitter in my hair, so I could be a fairy, he’d said.

  If he was interested in me as anything other than a friend, it would have happened before now.

  I’d have to be happy that even though he didn’t want to date me, at least he wasn’t dating anyone else in Mudville.

  Clearly the issue was with him. Not me.

  So, there you had it. He was just a friend. And he’d done me a big favor today.

  “Thank you for doing this,” I said. “I really appreciate it.”

  “You’re welcome. But I didn’t look at the alarm system yet.”

  “Oh. That.”

  He narrowed his eyes. “What does that mean?”

  I huffed out a sigh. “The alarm doesn’t work because I don’t want to spend the money on the monthly service, so I canceled it.”

  “Red!” He let out a run of cuss words I was glad Gretchen and the customer she was ringing up couldn’t hear from the salesfloor.

  When he was done, I acknowledged his frustration with me. “I know. But it’s expensive.”

  “Getting robbed is more expensive. No? Not to mention the risk of getting murdered while you’re here alone.”

  I rolled my eyes. “It’s Mudville.”

  “So?”

  “So, the old biddies around here see everything. They’re better than an alarm system.” In fact, maybe I should ask my neighbor if she had seen what happened to the cape.

  Harper joked they should get matching neighborhood watch T-shirts and she was right.

  There was nothing the town gossips missed. If I didn’t remember to close my curtains, the old ladies knew everything that was happening inside my apartment. But the joke was on them because usually there was a whole lot of nothing happening at my place.

  Certainly nothing of the romantic variety.

  “Red, you need to take your security seriously,” Cash continued to lecture me.

  The shocker was that Cash was taking anything seriously. He was the joker of the family. He’d been voted Class Clown in the Mudville High Senior Class Polls. But he wasn’t joking now.

  Our gazes met. I’d been about to make a joke myself but being faced with a serious Cash knocked the desire right out of me. At least the desire to make a joke. The other kind of desire was still there. Growing in fact.

  I’d crushed on him since I used to sit in the stands through all sorts of weather just to watch him play. My high school football obsession had less to do with my school spirit and more to do with my lusting over Cash.

  I’d always been into the young immature joker. But this new mature serious version—that ramped up my interest to a whole other level.

  And apparently my renewed and amplified schoolgirl crush stole my ability to defend myself. I had no excuse for my actions, so I had to change the subject.

  “Um, so I want to pay you for doing this. Connecting the cameras.”

  His frown was deep and almost angry. “Fuck that. You’re not paying me.”

  Darn it. Now I’d insulted him somehow. “Um, okay. Sorry.”

  His gaze hit on the coffee maker. “That thing work?”

  “The coffee maker? Yeah. I even have sugar and creamer and everything.”

  Cash nodded. “Brew me a cup, give me another one of those honey buns and we’ll call it even.”

  That didn’t sound even to me, but I knew better than to fight with a man that stubborn and hardheaded—literally. He’d taken a direct hit to the head in high school during a game that would have leveled any human. But Cash had hopped right back up and finished the quarter.

  “Okay,” I agreed and moved to grab a clean mug.

  As I filled it with water for the single serve coffee maker, I considered that my owing Cash Morgan a favor wasn’t such a bad thing.

  There were all sorts of tantalizing ways I imagined he could collect on the debt. The question was, after all these years, would he?

  As he continued to concentrate on the computer screen instead of me, even as I leaned over him and practically stuck my boobs in his face as I grabbed a coffee pod, I was afraid I had my answer.

  FOUR

  Cash

  The Muddy River Inn was hopping. Nearly every table was full and the lone waitress was running to take care of them all.

  The bartender had his hands full too, keeping up with the drink orders from the tables as well as the nearly full bar. The only empty stool was the one next to me.

  “Well, well, well. Imagine finding you here.” Boone’s voice from behind me had me turning on the bar stool.

  “Where the hell else would I be?” I said, loud enough he’d be able to hear me over the music blaring from the jukebox.

  “True that. Ain’t nowhere else to go around here.” My younger brother pulled off his jacket and hung it on the back of the empty barstool before settling his ass in for what would, no doubt, be a lon
g visit.

  What he’d said was right. There was nowhere else to go around here. And with freezing rain falling now, and the prediction it was turning into snow before too long, going anywhere far was out of the question.

  I sure as hell wasn’t going to hang around at home. I’d already had to carry in firewood and put the Christmas boxes away, thanks to Stone being conveniently occupied with Harper at her Aunt Agnes’s house and Boone taking on another side job. I wasn’t going to sit there waiting for more chores to come my way.

  Besides, the sadist in me wanted to be here in case Red walked in with that bastard Carson. Hot wings, my sweet ass. That man had more on his mind when it came to Red than chicken.

  “Hey.” Boone backhanded me in the side and knocked me out of my own head.

  “What?” I asked, annoyed.

  “I’d asked if you were ready for another one but forget about it now. Buy your own damn beer.” He scowled.

  “Sorry. I didn’t hear you.”

  “Obviously and I don’t think it’s because Carter is cranking the music. What’s up with you?” Boone asked, frowning as he pinned me with his stare.

  “Nothing.” I wasn’t going to open this topic of discussion with my little brother.

  Besides, there was really nothing to say. She could have wings with whoever she wanted. It wasn’t like I’d asked her to have wings with me.

  Not that I wouldn’t enjoy having wings with her—I’m sure we’d both have a good time—but having wings with Red would complicate things.

  As Boone stared at me like I had dick antlers, I realized somewhere during the debate happening in my head, wings had become equated with sex in my brain.

  “Whatever.” Boone rolled his eyes at me then glanced to see where Carter was. “Hey, I’m kinda hungry. You wanna share an order of wings with me?”

  I nearly choked on the swallow of beer I’d had the misfortune of taking when he’d asked the incredibly poorly timed question.

  After I finally recovered from my coughing fit, I wiped away the moisture from my eyes that almost choking to death had caused and shook my head.

  When I could see again, none other than Carson was standing in the doorway. Fuck.

  I turned away from the door and realized Boone was still waiting for an answer. “No. I don’t want wings.”

  Boone shot me an incredulous glance. Probably because I’d never said no to food before. “Suit yourself. I’ll eat them all on my own then.”

  I didn’t have an appetite any longer because I had a bad feeling Carson wasn’t going to be alone for long, especially when I saw him make his way to a little table for two in the back.

  Yup, that would be the table I’d choose if I was meeting Red tonight. Nestled in the corner away from the crowd and the noise.

  As I scowled, shooting him daggers he didn’t even see, Carson stood and, eyes pinned on the door behind me, lifted one arm, waving someone over.

  I didn’t need to turn to see who it was. I did anyway, twisting in my seat after a bracing swallow of beer.

  There she was, standing just inside the doorway stomping the snow off her boots on the mat. Her cheeks were pink from the cold outside. Her blue eyes bright as she looked around her.

  My only solace was that she saw me first, before she spotted Carson. That wasn’t hard since the door was right by the bar.

  She gave me a tightlipped smile and a small wave before her gaze cut to the seating area. It didn’t take her long to spot Carson with as tall as he was. Not to mention that, in addition to his arm flailing to get Red’s attention, he was now striding forward.

  I watched her smile. Watched him press one hand against her back and lead her toward the table. I even turned so I could follow their progress all the way to the back where he pulled her chair out for her.

  “Ah. Now I get it.”

  Lips pressed tight, I turned back to face the bar. Elbows braced against the rail I sighed and asked, “Get what?”

  “Why you’re in such a piss poor mood you don’t even want Lainey’s hot wings.”

  Fucking wings. Even the sound of the word grated on my nerves as I remembered Carson’s invitation to Red.

  I bet they’d taste even better if I share them with you.

  Ugh!

  The sound of my little brother laughing had me frowning.

  I felt the scowl settle in. I had a feeling it wasn’t going to go away any time soon. And Boone’s laughing at me didn’t help.

  “Fuck you,” I grumbled.

  Boone was undeterred. It took more than me cussing at him to affect my little bro. But my outburst had been more to make me feel better than to hurt him. Unfortunately, it failed. I still felt like shit.

  “You should have asked her out long ago. She always liked you.”

  I remained quiet, knowing he was right.

  “Now? I don’t know. Looks like it might be too late.” Boone’s gaze cut to the back corner of the room.

  I refused to look again, but I couldn’t let his misinterpretation of the situation stand.

  “No. This is a business meeting,” I corrected.

  Boone’s brows lifted. “What kind of meeting?”

  I wasn’t about to go spilling Red’s business in public so I tried to keep it vague. “He’s just giving her a copy of some paperwork.”

  “Seems to me there are other ways to deliver a piece of paper than meeting at a bar at night.”

  Inwardly, I agreed. Outwardly, I was getting ornerier by the minute.

  “Yeah, well, that’s how they decided to do it so just leave it alone.” Scowling, I reached for my pint glass, downed the remains and pushed the couple of dollars on the bar in front of me forward for Carter’s tip. “I’m gonna go.”

  “Home?” Boone asked.

  “Yeah. No. I don’t know. Maybe.” I had nowhere else to go on a shit night like this, but I hated to admit that to Boone. I stood and reached for my jacket. “I’ll see you later.”

  “All right.” Boone eyed me and I suspected what he was thinking. He’d be in no rush to see me later if I was still in this crappy mood.

  I couldn’t blame him. I couldn’t stand my own company at the moment. I shouldn’t expect anyone else to.

  My indecision about going home or not ended as I found myself parked down the block on the side street of Red’s place. From there I could see the shop and the old carriage house in the back yard that she’d converted into an apartment for herself.

  If Carson came home with her, I’d see it.

  This wasn’t stalker behavior at all. Nope.

  I sighed and cut the engine and the lights, settling in for the duration. Whether she came home with Carson or if she didn’t, I knew I wouldn’t be able to rest until I knew which.

  I expected a long cold wait.

  What I didn’t expect was to see the beam of a flashlight skitter across the small yard in the back of the shop.

  What the fuck?

  FIVE

  Red

  Carson was handsome, no doubt. And the deputy sheriff’s uniform he wore on the job didn’t hurt. Not one bit.

  Harper had been right to base a character in her next book on him. He had all the makings of a romance hero.

  So why did my stomach drop when I saw Cash walking out the door? And why did I keep checking my phone to see what time it was or if I had any texts instead of paying attention to the man seated next to me?

  Because I was a glutton for punishment, apparently.

  Did I have a problem? Was I only interested in men who didn’t want me? If my obsession with Cash was any indication, I might have issues.

  “Oh, I almost forgot.” The warmth of Carson’s hand landing on top of mine on the table caught my attention.

  “Forgot what?” I asked, pulling my hand out from under his and reaching for my glass.

  “The report.” Looking undeterred that I’d extricated my hand from his, Carson reached into the inside pocket of the jacket he’d hung on the back of the cha
ir.

  He drew out a folded piece of paper. “Here you go.”

  I took it, staring first at it and then up at him. “Thanks. Um, what am I supposed to do with it?”

  He laughed. “Nothing. Just keep it with your important papers. Just in case. We have a copy at the department.”

  So, I really didn’t need it at all then. And chances were good I’d misplace it and never be able to find it again if there ever did arise a need. And then I’d have to go to the sheriff’s department to get another copy anyway.

  I kept all those predictions of what no doubt would be the future of this paper to myself and tried to seem grateful. “Okay. Thanks.”

  “No problem. My pleasure.” He smiled and I was treated to a flash of straight white teeth.

  This man was male model handsome. And a model citizen. He’d probably be a model boyfriend too.

  The problem was, there was no spark. I liked him well enough—but that was the extent of it.

  Could I base a relationship just on friendship alone?

  I smothered a laugh at my own silliness. Who said Carson even wanted to start a relationship with me? Maybe this was exactly what he’d said. Just two people sharing some really good hot wings.

  “So, did you notice anything else at the shop? Anything missing or moved?” he asked.

  I shook my head. “No. But we got really busy right after lunch. I wouldn’t have had time to notice anything.”

  He nodded and pulled out his wallet. He slid a business card out and across the table to me. “If you do, you give me a call. Okay? My personal cell phone number is on there. Day or night, you contact me if you need me.”

  Great. Something else for me to misplace. I picked up the card and put it on top of the folded report. “Thanks.”

  “No problem.” He smiled and laid his hand over mind again.

  And I had my answer. I wasn’t being silly. Judging by all the hand holding, it was looking like Carson did want to start something with me.

  One more time I slipped my hand from beneath his and reached for my glass. It was like my own private drinking game. If this kept up and I had to drink every time Carson tried to hold my hand, I was going to be trashed before the food arrived.