“Pleased to meet you, Mrs. Prophet.” Nora extended her hand.
“Call me Angela.” The warmth in the words and firm handshake made her guest feel at home.
“I really appreciate your including me,” Nora responded. “I miss my own family.”
“Oh? Don’t they live around here?”
She explained about her background. As they chatted, Sam beamed at them both until he obviously realized what he was doing and rearranged his features into a more reserved expression.
Voices drifted through the breezeway from the rear yard, which lay out of sight around a corner. Suddenly a young boy about eight years old pelted into view. “Hey! Uncle Sam!” He flung himself forward and laughed in delight when Sam hoisted him into the air.
“How’s my favorite nephew?” Sam demanded.
“I’m your only nephew!”
“Well, you’re still my favorite.” He lowered the boy to the ground. “Pete, come meet a lady who blows things up.”
The boy regarded Nora dubiously. “He’s kidding, right?”
“No. I’m a bomb squad specialist.” She couldn’t help noting how much the boy resembled Sam, especially the straight shoulders and thoughtful air, although Pete’s hair was a lighter shade of blond and his green eyes resembled his mother’s. “My family owns a company that blows up buildings. Legally, of course.”
“Why do they do that?”
“Sometimes the owner wants to tear it down and build something else,” she answered. “Or maybe the place has been damaged and they’re afraid it might fall and hurt someone. We plant the explosives in just the right places and set them off in a special sequence so the walls fall inward. Boom! It’s exciting.”
“Can I watch sometime?” Pete asked.
“If you’re ever in Los Angeles, I’ll take you,” she said. “But right now I only set off little practice bombs to help train firefighters and police officers. And I hunt down people who blow things up illegally.”
“Like terrorists?” He sounded thrilled. “Are you on the trail of some right now?”
Nora caught Sam’s eye. “We sure are.”
“Pete, would you carry this plate of hamburgers to the back yard?” his grandmother asked.
“You bet. I’m starved!” Balancing the plate carefully, the boy retreated through the breezeway.
“I’m glad to see you like kids,” Angela commented as she laid more patties on the grill.
Sam caught Nora’s arm before she could respond. “If you don’t mind, Mom, we’re going to join the crowd, unless you’d like us to stay and help you?”
“No, I’m fine by myself.” She began humming a melody that Nora recognized as an old show tune—“People Will Say We’re in Love.”
She hoped that wasn’t meant as an observation about her and Sam. The fact that they no longer drew blood every time they interacted shouldn’t give people the wrong idea.
“Pete’s cute,” Nora commented as they walked. Not having much experience around kids, she couldn’t think of anything else to say except, “He kind of looks like you.”
Sam didn’t miss the implied compliment. “You think I’m cute?”
She didn’t intend to admit anything of the kind. “Not when you’re grumpy.”
“Me?” he protested. “When am I ever grumpy?”
“Only in the mornings.” She paused as if weighing the matter seriously. “And—let me see—the afternoons and evenings.”
“I have an earnest manner, that’s all.” If he’d meant to say more, he held back as they rounded a corner into the rear yard.
On a deck rimmed with potted flowers, guests lined up to fill plates from a buffet table. Nearby, a group of children played ball in the grass and a couple of toddlers scrambled over a large shaggy dog. It lay placidly surveying the scene as if unaware of the munchkins assaulting its flanks.
“That’s Carmichael,” Sam said.
“I’ve never heard of a dog named Carmichael.” Nora had grown up with two pooches named Tawny and Spot.
“My mother named him after a retired principal from the elementary school,” he explained. “Apparently there’s a resemblance.”
She chuckled. “Is the real Mr. Carmichael aware of his namesake?”
“I doubt the subject ever came up.”
Mary strolled over. “Hi! I’m glad you could make it.” Sam gently removed his hand from Nora’s arm as if he’d finally remembered that the point of coming tonight had been to convince his family they were nothing more than partners.
“I’m delighted to be here.” Nora glanced at the guests helping themselves to food. “Are all these people teachers?”
“Quite a few. Plus some neighbors and other friends. Let me introduce you.” She escorted Nora around, with Sam strolling beside them.
Nora caught curious glances from several young women and wondered if they’d attended in hopes of catching Sam’s attention. Well, he was free to flirt if he wanted to.
But she hoped he’d enjoyed their playful conversation enough to want more of it. Letting off steam was easiest with other peace officers or with old friends who didn’t require explanations about what she did or why she did it.
To her satisfaction, Sam stuck with her, although he and a couple of other men at their table spent most of the meal debating the merits of the Dodgers versus the Giants. Thanks to having grown up in a mostly male household, Nora had no trouble following the conversation. In fact, she frequently won the police department’s informal betting pool.
Sam cleared her plate and brought dessert without being asked. He had staked a claim to her without acting possessive, Nora noticed, and wondered if he even realized what he was doing. She would have warned him off except that, after a hard week, she relished being waited on.
Nora didn’t get a chance to speak to Mary again until later, when she went in the kitchen to help clean up. “This is a great party.” She stored some condiments in the refrigerator door. “I’m having a wonderful time.”
“So is my brother,” Mary said with a knowing smile.
“I hope so. He’s worked hard all week.” Nora intended to do her best to keep the conversation impersonal.
“That’s not what I meant.” Beating around the bush obviously didn’t suit Sam’s sister.
Since they were alone, Nora answered frankly. “If you assume there’s anything going on between us, there isn’t.”
“So you think.” Her hostess fixed plastic wrap over a casserole dish.
Nora knew she ought to drop the subject, but she couldn’t. “What does that mean?”
“I’ve watched Sam around a fair number of women over the years,” his sister said. “He’s affable and good-natured with them, but…”
“Sam? Affable and good-natured?”
“You don’t see him that way?” Mary asked, distracted from her point.
“We fight all the time.” Come to think of it, that was no longer entirely true, Nora had to admit. “At least, we did at first.”
“Is that a bad thing? I mean, it shows he has strong feelings, doesn’t it?” Mary filled the sink with sudsy hot water.
“Strong negative feelings,” Nora said.
“Do you really think so?” Mary scrubbed potato salad remnants from a bowl. “I think my brother needs a strong woman.”
“But she has to be the right strong woman. Someone compatible.” Taking a dish towel, Nora dried the bowl as Mary immersed a glass baking dish into the soapy water. “More domestic than I am, for one thing.”
“I’m not sure men put such a high priority on a woman’s cooking and cleaning skills,” her hostess said. “You know…well, maybe I shouldn’t mention this—”
“What is it?”
“His gaze follows you. He always knows exactly where you are.” She handed Nora the now clean baking dish for drying.
Nora didn’t know whether to be flattered or perturbed that Mary had noticed so much. “I’m sure it doesn’t mean anything.”
; “Maybe not. It’s just that I’m close to my brother, and the two times I’ve seen you together, he seems different. I thought maybe you could shed some light on it.”
“I’m afraid I know less than nothing about how Sam interacts with women.” Impulsively, Nora seized on the chance to satisfy her curiosity. “Do you have any idea why he broke up with Elaine Warner? She happens to be a friend of mine.”
“Mine, too.” Mary considered before replying. “I’m sure he enjoyed her company, but I don’t think he had any idea how serious she was getting. When it dawned on him, well, my brother doesn’t have the world’s smoothest social skills. I guess he figured he needed to make a break before things went any further.”
The explanation made sense but didn’t entirely explain what had gone wrong. “I’m different from Elaine,” Nora said. “I back off from guys who try to move in on me because I don’t want anyone running my life.”
“Does that mean you prefer to stay single?” Mary worked her way through a set of glasses, handing each carefully to Nora.
“Not exactly.” She’d always assumed that eventually she’d get married. “But I’m a risk-taker. I don’t like being tied down or taking the safe way out.”
“In what way?” came the response.
“I don’t want some guy telling me I can’t go scuba diving or rock climbing,” Nora said. “I tried bungee jumping once, too. It was great, although my muscles hurt for a week afterward.”
“That could be a problem for my brother, I mean, if you two were to get more involved,” Mary said. “He’s very protective of people he cares about. If he learns I’m dating someone, he manages to show up and look the guy over.”
“Doesn’t that make you feel smothered?”
“No, because I understand. He took it hard when Dad died. We all did, but it was worse for Sam because he kept thinking he should have saved Dad.” Mary let the water out of the sink and dried her hands on a dish towel.
“I know. He told me.”
“He talked about Dad? That’s unusual.” One task completed, she poured water into the coffeemaker. “Anyway, the department insisted on counseling, which helped, but he’s always checking the house for safety problems. He paid for us to install an alarm system, too.”
Would she feel cared for or stifled if Sam started coming around her apartment making repairs? Nora wondered. It might be fun for a while, but then she’d probably resent it.
“There’s nothing wrong with taking care of your family,” she said. “But I don’t need anyone watching over me.”
“Well, good luck. Unless I miss my guess, Sam may start playing knight in shining armor any day now.” After measuring coffee grounds into the basket, Mary flipped the Brew switch.
“Relationships can develop fast when people work together practically day and night, but I know better than to read too much into it.” Nora had seen it happen between other officers. “Even if he starts liking me, I wouldn’t expect it to last beyond the end of this investigation.”
“I suppose it’s good that you have such a healthy perspective.” Mary set out a stack of disposable cups. “You understand his work. Most women don’t have a clue.”
“Most men can’t figure me out, either,” Nora conceded.
“Do you think it puts them off? Your being a bomb specialist, I mean.” Mary leaned against the counter. “It’s not exactly what guys expect from a woman.”
“Some of them start edging away as soon as I mention it,” Nora said. “Others see it as a turn-on. But they always assume it’s a passing phase, that I’d take a safer job if I were married and had kids.”
“Wouldn’t you?” Mary asked.
Nora shrugged. “Any guy who’s interested in me has to take the whole package. If he can’t handle what I do for a living, he’s Mr. Wrong.”
Her hostess didn’t answer. As they walked outside, Nora wondered if Mary had decided she was the wrong woman for Sam, and was annoyed to discover it bothered her.
SAM FIGURED HE OUGHT to be disappointed. This evening had been a failure, at least in terms of his original goal: to convince his mother and sister that he and Nora had nothing in common.
He hadn’t missed his mother’s comment about Nora liking children. And for heaven’s sake, did his sister have to corner her in the kitchen and give her the third degree? At least, that’s what it had looked like to him through the window.
He’d expected everyone to understand that, as partners, they fell naturally into a kind of comradeship. Sure, there might be a few male-female sparks, but that didn’t mean anything.
“What did you and Mary talk about for so long?” he asked afterward in the car.
She didn’t beat around the bush. “You.”
“Any aspect of my charming self in particular or just me in general?” He hoped his light tone hid the depth of his curiosity.
Nora took a corner so fast he had to hang onto the armrest. “She described you as very protective.”
“That’s true.” What guy worth his salt didn’t take care of the people who mattered to him? “What else?”
Nora kept her eyes trained on the road. A good thing, especially at these speeds. “She takes the fact that we argue as a good sign.”
“A good sign for what?” Sam asked, although he already had a suspicion.
His partner sighed. “Your sister thinks you like me.”
He decided to ignore the romantic implications, since that was what he’d expected his sister to look for. “I do like you. Most of the time we work well together, when you aren’t jumping to conclusions or trying to rush things.”
“I never rush things!” Reaching a stop sign, she tapped the brake just long enough to survey approaching traffic, and then shot forward.
“Or when you aren’t running stop signs,” he put in.
“I did not!” She gave her hair a shake for emphasis.
“Rolling stops don’t count.”
“I came to a complete stop for at least one nanosecond.” In the convertible, she had to raise her voice to be heard over the road noise. “I’m careful about these things. As a matter of fact, I’ve never received a ticket.”
“Ever get stopped?”
“Once or twice, but that doesn’t count.”
He decided not to pursue the matter. Maybe the car really had suspended its forward momentum for a fraction of a second. And maybe Nora got away with flouting rules because cops were suckers for good-looking women in convertibles.
Too quickly for his taste, they reached Sam’s house. He didn’t like the idea of Nora driving the rest of the way home alone in the dark, but he had to admit that an armed policewoman wasn’t exactly helpless.
At the curb, she put the car into park. Sam felt in no hurry to get out. Even though they’d be working together on Saturday, he wanted to linger for reasons he didn’t care to examine.
For lack of anything better to say, he ventured, “You never answered my question about why Mary thinks it’s a good sign that we argue. If she’s trying to play matchmaker, you’d think she’d get the point that she’s wasting her time.”
“She said it shows I arouse your passions.” Nora slanted him a mischievous look. “I claimed to doubt you had any passions.”
He reached out to finger a wind-tangled strand of her hair, relishing the soft texture against his work-roughened skin. “You’re right. I don’t.”
“You could have fooled me the other night.” She tilted her head as if enjoying the contact.
Sam leaned across the gearshift. “I didn’t need to fool you. As I recall, you met me halfway.”
“I’ve been known to act without thinking. Surely by now you know I’m impulsive.” Her eyes widened, daring him to answer.
Her suggestive tone and relaxed body language issued an invitation that Sam couldn’t resist. And didn’t want to.
He slid his mouth onto hers in a gentle kiss that left the door open. If he’d misread the signals, she could pull away or pass it off with
a joke.
Instead, Nora angled toward him and touched the hollow of his shoulder. The kiss intensified, exhilarating Sam. His hand traced the curve of her throat above her blouse and moved down to cup her breast.
The intimacy of the contact jolted through him. It took strength of will not to hurry as his desire flamed.
Sam lifted his head. “Shall we continue this inside?” The words barely made it through his suddenly dry throat.
Nora caught her breath. “We’d be tempting fate.”
“That’s not all we’re tempting.”
In the moonlight, her eyes glittered. “It would be…unprofessional.”
“Who cares?” He couldn’t think about that right now. Sam ached to trace the sheen of her naked body with his tongue, to lift himself over her and unite them with long, slow thrusts. He wouldn’t have been surprised if the intensity of his longing made him glow molten red in the darkness.
“I can’t,” she whispered.
“Why not?” His voice came out raspy with frustration.
“Because if it doesn’t work, we’ll make each other very, very miserable,” she said regretfully. “It happened to me before. It’s the reason I left the LAPD and moved to Courage Bay.”
“Ex-boyfriend?”
“Ex-fiancé,” she confirmed. “When things didn’t work out, he blamed me for the breakup and let everybody know.”
“That’s not my style. In fact, I’m known for my good nature.” Remembering their earlier discussion, Sam added, “Except for mornings, afternoons and evenings.”
“I just can’t.”
He drew back. “Okay. Some things I’ll argue over, but either this happens spontaneously or it doesn’t.”
“Thank you.” Nora sounded shaky but relieved.
In a way, he was, too. An unplanned sexual liaison might thrill them both for a while, but now that rational thought intruded, Sam had to admit it could create painful problems in the long run.
He’d never felt such a tangle of opposing emotions with a woman before. When Dan ordered him to team up with Nora, he’d known she was going to drive him crazy. He just hadn’t figured it would happen quite like this.
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