on earth?” Mr. Cooke’s voice could be heard from over the fence.
Emily and Colin shot each other a look of surprise, dropped their hold on one another, and ran into the house.
“What do you think that was?” she asked, her gaze bouncing around the kitchen as they walked through it, making their way through the rest of the house. She ran to her bedroom and checked the nightstand for her gun. It was there, undisturbed.
Colin checked the living room, then the front porch.
Emily looked in the guest room, then met him back in the entry. “I can’t imagine what that was.”
“A car backfiring, maybe?” Colin shrugged his shoulders.
“It sounded like it came from inside the house.”
“I don’t know what to tell you.” Colin planted his hands on his hips. “We’ve checked everywhere.”
“Well, before they burn, I’d better check on the ribs and the potatoes. Maybe having dinner will calm us down. Why don’t you pour a couple of glasses of wine? The food should be ready in a minute.” Emily meandered back to the kitchen to see about the food, with Colin close behind.
She opened the oven to take the ribs out. “I found it!” she exclaimed.
“Found what?” Colin peeked over her shoulder.
“The source of the explosion.”
A deep belly laugh roared out of Colin. Emily had forgotten to pierce the baking potatoes and they’d exploded all over the inside of her oven.
Emily grimaced. “I guess we’ll be having ribs and salad tonight.” She began to laugh too, but her laughter soon turned to tears. She had wanted the evening to be perfect and she’d messed it up.
“Emily,” Colin said tenderly as he put his hand gently under her chin and lifted her face, kissing her cheek where a tear had trickled down. “I can have potatoes anywhere, any time. The only thing I want tonight is you.” He encircled her with his strong arms and held her close.
They stood in each other’s arms for a prolonged moment.
“Sorry to be such a cry baby.” She leaned her head against his chest and listened to the beat of his heart, feeling safe in his arms. “I’m so glad to have you back.”
“There’s nowhere else I’d rather be.” He lightly kissed the tip of her nose and let her go.
Colin poured two goblets of red wine and took them out to the deck. Emily plated the dinner and carried the dishes to the patio table.
“Mmm, the ribs look amazing. I didn’t know you knew how to barbecue ribs.”
“I don’t. Remember your suggestion for take-out?”
Colin laughed. “Either way, they look delicious.” He licked his lips and grinned at her.
“Maybe later we can have dessert.”
Colin’s eyes perked up.
“Down boy. I meant Camille’s chocolate torte.”
~*~
After dinner, they went inside and settled on the sofa. He stretched his arm across the back of the couch and she curled into the curve of his arm. They talked about his starting his job again as the detective for the Paradise Valley Police Department, about some of the cases she had been working on, and what they hoped for the future.
She reminded him of the story she had previously shared about the Asian girl she and Molly had found crying in the restroom of the hotel and the suspicions they had that maybe the girl wasn’t just a rebellious teenager, but something far worse.
“Let’s not talk about prostitution rings my first night back.” Colin kissed the side of Emily’s temple. “This evening is about us.”
“Yes, you’re right. No more shop talk tonight.” She smiled and looked up into his eyes and put her hand gently on his cheek.
He dipped his head down and kissed her softly. “I’m so glad to be back.”
Before she could respond, he moved in for another kiss, this time more forceful, more urgent than the last. His arm came off the back of the sofa and drew her closer to him, pressing her body against his.
Colin’s cell phone began to ring. Emily started to pull away so he could answer it. “Leave it,” he said. “They can leave a message if it’s important.” He kissed her again.
After five rings it stopped, but only momentarily. Again it began to ring, but he did not try to answer it, instead letting it go to voicemail. However, the third time the ringing started, Colin looked at Emily and shrugged apologetically. He dug the phone out of his pocket.
“Hello, Colin Andrews.”
“Colin, this is Ernie.”
“Hey, Ernie.” He looked at Emily, with one arm still around her, as she listened to his