Hot for You (10 page)

“Ha,” she said, giving him a teasing smile as
she met his gaze. “I’m being a big pain.”

His expression turned serious. “I’m sorry
this happened, honey.”

“It wasn’t your fault.” She put her hand over
where his rested on her arm and she liked the feel of his warm skin
beneath her palm. “I had a great time.” She gave a wry smile. “Up
until the rattlesnake spooked Molly. Whatever happened to that
snake, anyway?”

His features hardened a little, as if the
thought of the snake being a danger to her stirred anger inside
him. “That’s what the snake shot was for. I buried what was left of
the head once I killed it. A rattlesnake’s fangs are just as
poisonous when it’s dead.”

“Oh.” She let out her breath. “I forgot about
the snake shot.”

“Are you up to going to the kitchen for
breakfast?” he asked. “Or would you like me to serve you in
bed?”

Carilyn would have shaken her head if it
didn’t hurt so much. “I can get up. I need to move around.”

He squeezed her arm. “Why don’t you swing
your legs over the side of the bed and take it easy when you stand.
Make sure you’re okay to walk.”

Her bruised body complained as she sat up in
bed and slowly slid her legs off the mattress and stood. His
T-shirt fell to mid-thigh and the tile was cool beneath her bare
feet. She felt sore, woozy, and wobbly but she gave him a smile.
“I’ll be fine. Just give me a chance to put on my jeans.”

He left the room and she grimaced as she
pulled on her jeans and then she stuffed her phone in her pocket.
She headed out of the bedroom with its rustic furniture, and
burgundy and forest green curtains and comforter.

“I had no idea that having a concussion could
affect me like this,” she said as she entered the kitchen and saw
Cody.

“Concussions can range from mild to severe,
and yours seems to be moderate.” He rested his hand on her shoulder
when he reached her. “If it gets any worse, we’ll get you to a
doctor. I know a couple of good ones.”

“Thanks.” She glanced at him and tried to
look like she was smiling and not grimacing. “I’m sure I’m going to
be okay.”

“I’ve know people who have seemed all right
at the start,” he said, “but then it progressed to something much
worse. I’ll just keep an eye on you.”

“Okay.” She really couldn’t argue with the
pounding in her head making it feel like it was splitting.

The kitchen smelled great, of pancakes,
bacon, and eggs. She figured her appetite was just fine when her
stomach growled.

“Have a seat.” He nodded at the kitchen nook
table. “I’ll bring you a plate.”

Ordinarily she would have insisted on
helping, but in this case she did as he told her and seated herself
at the round oak table. It wasn’t long before he was setting in
front of her a plate with two four-inch round pancakes, two strips
of bacon, and a good-sized portion of scrambled eggs.

“If that’s too much, you don’t have to eat
all of it,” he said. “By the same token, if you’re still hungry
when you finish, there’s plenty more.”

Carilyn picked up a forkful of eggs and found
them to be delicious and her stomach more than happy to receive
them. She poured maple syrup on her pancakes. “This is great.”

He chewed and swallowed a bite of bacon.
“Other than the headache, how are you doing?”

“Sore.” She cut into her pancakes with her
fork. “But other than that and the headache, I think I’m doing
well.”

He gave her a look of approval. “Good.”

While they ate, he told her a few stories of
growing up on the ranch with his brother and parents. It was nice
listening to him. He seemed to realize that it hurt her head to
talk but she didn’t mind hearing him speak.

“Thank you for inviting me and taking care of
me.” She pushed her plate away. “I like your ranch and I have to
say my first visit has been an interesting one.”

The corner of his mouth tipped up. “You are
one tough lady.”

“Why, thank you.” She grinned at him. “I’ll
take that as a compliment.”

“It was meant as one.” He smiled back at her.
He got up and started clearing the breakfast dishes. “Stay there,”
he said as she started to get up.

She settled back in her seat. “What do you
have planned today?”

“I’ve done the morning chores.” He put the
dishes in the sink and started rinsing them. “Now I have to finish
welding a new feed trough I’m putting together, and later I have
some 4-H kids coming over to look at a couple of calves.”

“You weld, too?” she said.

He nodded. “You learn a lot of things growing
up on a ranch.”

“You also like kids,” she said. It was clear
by the way he smiled when he talked about the 4-H’ers.

“Yep.” He grinned. “Hope to have a few of my
own running around some day.”

“How’s a guy like you still single?” Her face
warmed as the question came out without her thinking about it. Her
head injury must be worse than she thought.

Cody shrugged. “Just haven’t found the right
woman.” He looked at her. “I’ve been looking, though.”

The intensity of his gaze sent a warm rush
over her.
Dumb, dumb, dumb to say something like that,
she
told herself.

He went on, “I have a couple of exes who live
around here.” He set the dishtowel he’d been holding onto the
countertop. “I try to stay friends, but it doesn’t always work out
that way.”

“I have one of those,” she said. “An ex who
would never have worked as a friend, but that was a long time ago.
Sam, on the other hand, you can’t help but like and stay friends
with.”

“Any chance you and Sam will ever get
together again?” Cody asked.

“No.” Carilyn shook her head. “Like I told
you before, he’s a good guy. But as far as us getting together,
I’ve moved on and he’s moved on. Friends are all we’ll ever
be.”

Cody slid the last plate into the dishwasher
and she was grateful when he changed the subject. “Are you going to
be all right while I’m out working?”

She smiled. “Don’t worry so much, cowboy.
I’ll be fine.”

“Just want to make sure my patient is okay.”
He gave her a quick grin. “If you’re up to it, you can watch TV in
the living room or guestroom. Otherwise, get some rest.”

“Now that I’m up and have had breakfast, I’m
feeling much better.” She pushed hair out of her face. “I think I’d
be fine driving home.”

He shook his head. “You’re staying with me
for a full twenty-four hours. If you have to go home, then I’m
going with you and you aren’t driving. Got that?”

She raised her hands. “Okay, okay. I’ll be
good.”

“I’m glad to hear that.” He gave her a quick
grin. “Now behave yourself.”

“Would you have a computer I can borrow to
check my email and surf the net?” she asked.

“You can use mine.” He gave a nod in the
direction of the hallway. “It’s in my office.”

She followed him to a room with a large
rustic-style desk along with a wood file cabinet and piles of
papers on the file cabinet and on the desktop. He went the laptop
desk and keyed in the password.

He moved away from the office chair. “Have a
seat.”

“Thank you.” She smiled at him, not ready to
tell him she could likely hack into his computer with minimal
trouble with her skillset.

She eased into the chair and scooted it up to
the computer. His wallpaper was a picture of the ranch taken after
a rain, with water glistening on blades of grass and the sky
reflected in the water puddles on the ground. “It looks like a
professional photographer took the picture you’re using for your
wallpaper,” she said to Cody.

“An old friend stopped by the ranch and took
it,” Cody said. “She’s an amateur, but her work looks
professional.”

Carilyn nodded. “It sure does.”

“You probably aren’t going to feel like
spending a lot of time on the computer,” he said. “But regardless,
take a break after an hour at most.”

“Okay, doc.” She smiled. “I’ll lie down if I
start to feel bad and I’ll take that mandatory break when it’s
time.”

“Good girl.” He rested his hand on her
shoulder and squeezed. “Do you have your cell phone?”

She dug it out of her pocket and held it up.
He took it from her and pressed a few buttons. “I’m putting my
number in your contacts.” When he finished, he handed the iPhone
back to her. She took it and saw “Cody McBride” listed in her
contacts along with a phone number beneath it. “Call me if you need
anything.
” He stressed the last word.

“I will.” She held up her fingers and crossed
them. “Promise.”

He surprised her by bending over and kissing
her on top of the head and then drew away. “I’ll be back in a
bit.”

She smiled at him as he looked at her one
more time then turned and walked out of the office. She stared
after him, enjoying the backside view like she had done the first
time she’d ever seen him. Damn, he was hot.

Rolling her eyes up to the ceiling she
mentally shook her head. This was ridiculous. She sighed and looked
at the beautiful photo wallpaper of the ranch. It was a beautiful
place.

She pulled up the Internet browser, went to
her email client, and logged in. She wasn’t surprised when she saw
a hoard of emails and she groaned. Trying to focus on the screen
while she had a concussion was bad enough. Maybe she’d just come
back to it later.

Just as she was about to close out the
browser, the title of an email caught her attention. She frowned as
she looked at it. The sender was “Firebug” and the subject line was
“Redhead.”

She moved the cursor and clicked to open the
email. Her blood went cold and chilled her veins when she saw the
four words in the body of the email.

You’re next, Carilyn Thompson.

***

Carilyn chewed her thumbnail as she stared at
the email. She hadn’t chewed her nails since she had suffered from
a panic disorder all those years ago, but the email had brought on
the sudden burst of anxiety.

You’re next, Carilyn Thompson.

What did it mean? Who was “Firebug”? Was he
the person who had torched her car? How did he know her name? How
had he found her?

The questions blew through her mind, making
her head ache even more. She took deep breaths and slowly blew out
through her mouth, trying to calm the jittery feeling that was
taking over her body.

Okay. She wasn’t a hacker for nothing. She
could trace this sonofabitch down. All she had to do was calm
herself, put on her analytical cap, and find him.

The IP address led her nowhere and she didn’t
have the software she needed to take her very far. Still, she did
everything she could. The person who’d sent her that email was good
at hiding his tracks from what she could tell. She was going to
have to get on her own laptop, install software, and dig
deeper.

When she’d gone as far as she could go, she
leaned back in the office chair. Her head was splitting and she was
having a difficult time focusing. It hadn’t helped her search not
being able to think clearly thanks to the concussion.

Being busy trying to track “Firebug” down had
kept the anxiety at bay. But as she sat in the chair staring at the
email again, panic started to claw its way up her throat. She
closed her eyes and clenched her fists on the desktop. She was not
going to let this person destroy the years of hard work it had
taken to get to where she was now.

Again she took deep breaths and let them out
slowly. She worked to focus outward and not on the way her skin was
crawling and the tight ball forming in her chest. She swallowed and
unclenched her fists before clenching them again.

Her headache and mental confusion from the
concussion was making it harder to concentrate on relaxing. But she
shoved her way through it, determined not to let this get the best
of her and destroy her hard-won control.

She pushed back the chair, but stood too
fast. Her head swam and she had to brace her hands on the desktop
to steady herself. When she felt like she could walk, she raised
her head and walked toward the office door.

The front door closed hard and she jumped.
Her heart thudded, as if it might be the mysterious e-mailer who
was coming in the front door of Cody’s house. Which was completely
crazy. The person would have no idea she was here.

But he’d known her name. Her full name. And
he’d found her email address.

Rational thought clashed with irrational
ones.

What if Firebug knows where I am now? What
if that’s him?

No, that was impossible. No one but Cody knew
where she was.

What if Firebug has been following me?

She would have noticed anything
suspicious.

Would I really have noticed?

The back and forth in her mind was about to
drive her crazy and it was only ratcheting up the anxiety that was
making her chest hurt.

She heard the sound of heavy shoes on tile.
It sounded like boots. Without really processing what she was
doing, she picked up a heavy glass paperweight with a scorpion
trapped in the glass and held the paperweight in her fist. She
backed up against the wall beside the door and raised her arm. She
held her breath.

Another footstep. Closer.

At the door.

“Carilyn?” Cody called out.

Air rushed from Carilyn’s chest and she
sagged against the wall as Cody stepped into the room.

He frowned. “Are you all right?”

She managed a nod.

“You look upset.” He was still frowning.

“I’m okay.” She tried for a smile.

He nodded toward her hand. “Planning on
playing a little baseball?”

She glanced at the paperweight she was
holding and immediately felt silly. She put the object on the
desktop. “I just got a little spooked.”

Now Cody’s expression turned to concerned.
“What happened?”