Page 11 of Close Quarters

“You can drive.” She unfastened her seatbelt and opened her door.

A bit confused, but not willing to argue, he climbed out, changing positions with her.

“Feel better?” she asked as he put the car in gear.

“Much. Thank you.”

Katie crossed her arms and closed her eyes.

“Why’d you change your mind?”

“Because I thought you might have a heart attack before we got back if I didn’t. You about shot through the roof when I hit that pothole.”

He sighed. “I know it’s something I need to work on, but it isn’t usually an issue.” He glanced at her with a glare.

One corner of her mouth lifted, but her eyes stayed closed.

Alex blew out a breath, shaking his head. She sure knew how to push his buttons.

“So are you going to go to sleep on me now, since you aren’t driving?”

“Maybe. Do you want me to stay awake?”

“No. Sleep if you want. You put in a long day.” They’d found six bodies in the same area and were bringing two back with them today. They still needed to comb the rest of the property, but he was hoping there was only the one burial site.

“So did you. You and Dr. Pressley.” She opened her eyes. “Speaking of, we need to make some more room when we get back so she can spread out tomorrow.”

“Oh, so you’ll make room for Mandy, but not me? I see how it is.” A smile teased his mouth.

Katie smiled back. “I don’t know her as well, so I don’t want to rock the boat. And why do you call her Mandy when she introduced herself as Amanda?”

“I’ve known her several years. Both being in forensics, we cross paths at conferences now and then. And we might have gone on a few dates over the years,” he admitted.

“Dates?”

“Yes, dates.”

“That’s all?”

“Yes.” He glanced at her with a frown. “Why are you so curious? Jealous?”

She scoffed and crossed her arms. “No.”

Even in the dim light from the dashboard lights, Alex could tell she was blushing. He didn’t mind that she was jealous. She might drive him nuts with her desire to run the lab her way, but he found her brilliant and intriguing. Not to mention sexy. More so now that he was making an effort to get to know her.

“So, why isn’t it more?” Her voice was quiet, barely audible over the hum of the tires on the road.

Alex shrugged. “Probably for the same reason my engagement failed. Time constraints. And we live in different cities.”

“Denver isn’t that far. You could live in between.”

“That’s still an hour either way in good weather. I like Mandy, but we’re better as friends.”

“Why?”

“She’s not really interested in anything long-term. I am.”

“But if she were?”

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