Page 57 of Misadventures Of A Single Mom

“Ha! Sure, you will. Tell Ty I said hello. Say, want me to swing by with another gift box for you? Just tell me what you need and I’ll leave it on your doorstep.”

My hand dropped lower to press against his erection. “Ty’s got everything I need.”

One quickie later,we were finally able to control ourselves. I showered, put on a pair of sweats and hoodie, and pulled out the shrimp ring from the fridge.

We sat shoulder to shoulder on my couch watching a James Bond marathon, Ty’s arm thrown over the back of the couch. His hand rested on my shoulder. The shrimp, cheese puffs and beer were spread out on the coffee table in front of us. Ty turned down the stinky cheese with a similar face the boys made. Must be a guy thing.

“Goldie wanted to see if I knew more about Morty’s murder.”

Ty tossed a cheese ball in the air and caught it with his mouth. He crunched a few times then said, “I called my parents when you were in the shower. They said the police have no real leads as there’s no way to take fingerprints. There aren’t anyfootprints or tire tracks to give someone away. It must have been raining when Morty was dumped there.”

“Are your parents all right?” If my mom had found a hacked up body in a pig sty, she’d probably have a nervous breakdown. But, she’d probably have a nervous breakdown being near a pig sty.

“They’re fine. Taking it all in stride. They’re more worried about you.”

“Me?” I raised my eyebrows. “Really? That’s sweet.”

He popped another cheese ball, had a swig of beer. “I called the sheriff who I met that night. He didn’t have much new either. The only thing they’ve been able to say definitively is that Morty had meth in his system.”

I wondered which body part they’d analyzed to discover that and cringed at the thought. I grabbed a shrimp, ate it, and tossed the tail onto the plastic tray. Not very ladylike, but I’d already gotten the guy. With all the unladylike stuff I’d done already, tossing a shrimp tail wasn’t going to make much of an impact.

“Meth, meth, meth. Everything’s meth around here. Crazy robber guy, Kelly’s neighbor’s kid?—”

“The house in Churchill, about five or six calls in the past two weeks.”

I pointed my beer at him. “Exactly.”

Ty’s cell rang.

“Strickland.” Ty listened. “Where?” Listened some more. “I can’t come now. I’ve had a few beers. Right. Seven. I’ll be there.” He hit End and turned to me. “Wildland fire. In the National Forest north of Big Sky.”

“Do you have to go? Now?” It was dark out. Late. “Sorry, I forget fires don’t stop because it’s nighttime.”

He smiled. “I can’t go now. I’ve had too many beers to head out but they want me in the morning. I’ll meet up with a crew coming in from Helena and go down.”

“How big is it?”

Forest fires happened all the time out West. Lightning strikes, negligent campers, tossed cigarettes could create a catastrophic fire that burned acres and acres of wilderness. If it was big enough, firefighters from all over the country came to help fight it.

“So far, just a few hundred acres, but it’s going to be windy up there. It’ll grow more before it’s contained.”

“Do they know how it started?”

“No bad weather in the area, so it wasn’t lightning. Probably a camper, but they won’t know for a while.”

I stood up and started cleaning up the food debris. “You should get some sleep. Sounds like you’re going to need it.”

Ty stood, too. Turned off the TV. “Your bed or mine?”

16

The sun just came up when the alarm went off. I groaned and burrowed deeper under the blankets. Ty moved in close and let his hands roam over my body. “I can’t get enough of you,” he whispered.

I half groaned, half sighed. His hands felt good, but I was sore in places I hadn’t known existed. “When I get back, love, I….” He kissed the back of my shoulder. “Remember we talked about sex versus relationships?” His voice was rough from sleep.

My brain was mostly asleep. “Mmm?”

“This isn’t just sex, Jane.” Ty sighed. “I’ve…I’ve fallen for you.”

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