The Pagan Stone Page 0,51

of it had been monumentally bad shit. But in writing it down, he began to see there were a handful of locations where it happened repeatedly.

Still, it didn't all make sense. He'd experienced the worst of his life-pain, fear, grief, and fury-in that damn apartment over the bowling alley. Though incidents occurred there during every Seven, he couldn't recall a single major one. No loss of life, no burning, no looting.

And that itself was odd, wasn't it? A town institution, his childhood home, Cal 's family's center in a very true sense, Fox's favorite hangout. Yet when the infection raged, and people were burning, breaking, beating hell out of each other, the old Bowl-a-Rama stood almost untouched.

That earned a big why in his book, with a secondary, how can we use it.

There was the old library, and the three of them had certainly put in time there. Cal 's great-grandmother had run the place. Ann Hawkins had lived there, and died there during the early days of the Hawkins Hollow settlement. Fox had suffered a major tragedy during the previous Seven when his fiancée took a header off the roof.

But... But, he mused, sipping coffee, it was the only tragedy he could remember in that location. No burning or pillaging there either. And with all those books as fuel.

The middle and high schools, hit every time, and the elementary virtually untouched. Interesting.

He shifted to study his drawing of the town map and began to speculate not only on the hot spots, but the cold ones.

The mild irritation of the knock on the front door turned into another kind of speculation when he found Cybil on the other side.

"Why don't you just come in?" he asked her. "Nobody else knocks."

"Superior breeding." She closed the door herself then tilted her head as she gave him a slow once-over. "Rough night?"

"I'd've put on a suit and tie if I'd been expecting company of superior breeding."

"A shave wouldn't hurt. I'm charged with discussing something with you. Should we discuss it standing here?"

"Is it going to take long?"

The amused glint in her eye struck a chord with him. "Aren't you the gracious host?"

"Not my house," he pointed out. "I'm working in the kitchen. You can come on back."

"Why, thank you. I believe I will." She strolled ahead of him in what he thought of as her sexy queen glide. "Mind if I make tea?"

He shrugged. "You know where everything is."

"I do." She took the kettle off the stove, walked to the sink.

He wasn't particularly annoyed that she'd come by. The fact was, it wasn't exactly a hardship to have a beautiful woman making tea in the kitchen. And that was the sticky part, he admitted. Not just any beautiful woman, but Cybil. Not just any kitchen, but for all intents and purposes right at the moment, his kitchen.

There'd been something intense between them the night before, when she'd kissed him, when she'd shed tears for him. Not sexual, or not at its core, he admitted. Sexual he could work with, he could handle. Whatever was going on between them was a hell of a lot more dangerous than sex.

She glanced over her shoulder and he felt that instant and recognizable punch of physical attraction. And there the ground held firmer under his feet.

"What are you working on?" she asked him.

"My homework assignment."

She wandered over, then gave his map an approving nod. "Nicely done."

"Do I get an A?"

Her gaze flicked up to his. "I appreciate bad moods. I have them often myself. Why don't I skip the tea, get right to the point, then I can leave you alone to enjoy yours?"

"Finish making the tea, it's no skin off mine. You can top off my coffee while you're at it. And what is the point?"

Wasn't it fascinating to watch her face while she debated between being pissed and flipping him off, or being superior and doing what she'd come to do.

She turned, got out a cup and saucer-and, he noted, ignored his request to top off his coffee. She leaned back against the opposite counter while she waited for the water to boil. "Layla's considering an alternate location for her boutique."

He waited for the rest, lifting his hands when it didn't come. "And this needs to be discussed with me because...?"

"She's considering an alternative because she's concerned about your feelings."

"My feelings regarding ladies' boutiques are pretty much nonexistent. Why would she..."

With a nod, Cybil turned to turn off the burner under the sputtering kettle. "I see