Burn You Twice - Mary Burton Page 0,57
at her, liking the way the pink skirt hugged her hips and the apron nipped at her narrow waist. “Like the earrings.”
“They’re Ann’s.” She filled the cup. “Said they would help with the tips.”
The beaded earrings dangled and brushed the side of her jaw. “Have they?”
“Can’t complain. What are you doing here? Doesn’t your mother have a big dinner planned?”
“I wanted to see you.”
A ghost of a smile tipped the edges of her lips. “Your mom can’t be happy about that. She had a feast planned.”
His mother had started decorating for Christmas the day after Thanksgiving, transforming the house into a holiday extravaganza. “Do you get any time off? Mom invited you to dinner.”
“That’s nice. Tell her thank you. But I promised Mr. Tucker I would close up at ten p.m.”
“Where are Tucker and his dad?”
“Hunting. It’s their Christmas tradition.”
He kept his hands on his lap so he would not be tempted to touch her. He loved the feel of her skin. A bell behind her dinged, and she turned toward the cook as he put out two hot plates of pancakes. She gathered both and set them in front of two cowboys sitting at the end of the bar.
Joan made the rounds, dispensing butter packets, extra napkins, and coffee before she returned to him. “I’ll be back at the house by eleven.”
“Why don’t you come out to the ranch? Ann’s there this week.”
“Thanks, but I’m also scheduled to open the diner early. But you can swing by my house after my shift,” she offered with a sly grin.
“I’d like that.”
Just watching her in her pink uniform with the tiny white apron made him so hard that he was pretty sure there was no blood left in his brain.
The cook’s bell rang again, and Joan was off for more platters of food. Another lost soul with no place to be on Christmas arrived and took a seat at the end of the bar. Joan chatted easily with him, lingering an extra moment to make his holiday a little better. Gideon recognized Elijah Weston.
Later, while he was alone with Joan in her house, he asked, “What’s the deal with Weston?”
“I know him from school.” As she released her dark hair from its ponytail, the slight scent of pancakes and maple syrup made him even more attracted to her.
“You’re comfortable with him.”
She unbuttoned the uniform’s pearl buttons that trailed down between her breasts, and then she shrugged off her dress. When she stepped out of it, her smooth skin glistened in the soft light. He caressed her shoulder, hooking his thumb in her bra strap. “You like him?”
“I want you.” The clasp between her breasts unhooked, and just like that, coherent thought abandoned him completely.
Weston had been woven tighter into Gideon’s past than he had ever realized. Like a spider, he was always there, lurking.
Ten years of perspective now exposed Joan and Elijah’s strong connection in college. They were two lost souls with no real family. Loneliness was a potent connection that could bind tighter than the best sex. Gideon sat up and walked over to his map. He was not sure if Joan was under Elijah’s spell or if she simply saw something others did not. Either way, he wanted to keep her close until he could untangle this case.
He texted Joan the image of his map. I’m headed to Helena to investigate a fire tomorrow. You in?
Bubbles appeared immediately. Yes.
CHAPTER SIXTEEN
Missoula, Montana
Tuesday, September 8, 2020
8:00 a.m.
Joan parked in front of the police station and glanced at the fire map Gideon had texted her. His makeshift collection of Post-it notes on a child’s map was a very powerful graphic detailing the regional fires over the last ten-plus years. The clusters were unmistakable, though whether the fires were the work of one or multiple arsonists was impossible to tell. But it was a pattern that could not be ignored.
Out of the car, she hoisted her purse on her shoulder and pushed through the front door. At the front window, she introduced herself to a deputy she had not met before. “I’m here for Detective Bailey.”
The deputy picked up the phone and announced her arrival. “He’ll be right out.”
“Thanks.” She turned toward a bulletin board filled with wanted posters, resisting the urge to pace.
The door opened to Gideon, who regarded her with a mixture of distrust and keen awareness. Cowboy lean, he wore jeans, a light-blue dress shirt with no tie, a black leather jacket, and scuffed boots. His weapon and cuffs were