Page 2 of Too Much Heat

“You didn’t.” But hell, he wouldn’t stand for her being razzed over that. Everybody made mistakes.

“Whatever. These Neanderthals are nowhere close to what Colton had to deal with.”

“Calling them names isn’t going to help your case.”

“I could report sexual harassment.”

His eyebrows shot up. “Is someone sexually harassing you?”

“For your information, it’s called a hostile work environment, Captain.”

He sat up straight. “Did you write down examples?”

“Yes, as a matter of fact.” She practically threw the papers she held on his desk.

He bolted up. “Listen to me, rookie. You will respect this office no matter how angry you are at me. I’ll look at that” he gestured to the papers “but I suggest you leave now before I write you up for insubordination.”

Her face turned beat red. She was light-complexioned so that betrayed everything she was feeling. But instead of saying more, she turned and strode out.

Walking over to the sideboard, he got a cup of coffee, closed his door and sat back down. First, Erin, now this.

Sunday dinners were a staple in the Romano family and Jimmy’s widow still attended them. She’d sat down next to him and kissed his cheek…

“Hi, handsome.”

His older sister, Caroline, rolled her eyes. Julia shook her head. His mother and father looked down at their plates. They were probably embarrassed by her behavior. He was going to have to tackle this head on. He waited until the meal was over and Erin stood. “Come help me clean up, Joey.”

Caroline started to rise, too. “I’ll do it.”

“No, Caro, I’ll take care of this.” Under his breath, he murmured, “Once and for all.”

As soon as they got to the kitchen, she pounced. Took his mouth in a searing kiss. Or what would have been searing. He grabbed her arms and literally set her away. “Do not ever do that again. Don’t call me pet names or sidle up and brush against me.”

She burst into tears. “It’s just that I miss Jimmy so much.”

The hole that was constantly in his stomach widened. But he wouldn’t give into it today. “My brother died three years ago. You should go on with your life. Get a grip. Or I’ll tell Ma I won’t come to dinner if you’re invited.”

“I want to go on with you.”

“Hell, Erin, you can’t replace Jimmy with me.”

“He’d like that.”

“No, he knew how I felt about you.”

Joe and Erin never got along. Some people thought he was jealous of their relationship, of how she took up Jimmy’s time, but that would be like being jealous of himself. No, he saw how self-centered she was, how she used sex to control him and how she hurt him with her selfishness.

“You’re so mean, Joey. Why?”

“Because I can’t stand you fawning over me. Stop sexually harassing me like this, Erin. I mean it or I’ll take steps…”

As he drove home, he couldn’t suppress other memories either and the floodgates opened. There was another woman who caused him acute grief.

After Jimmy died, his sisters sobered him up enough to go see the family that had lost their children in the fire. They went with him.

Diana Hartfield hadn’t been happy when she found him at her door. Neither had her twelve-year-old son. Her husband had been behind her with a blank expression on his face. Diana told him in no uncertain terms that they held him responsible for their twins’ death. For several nights, he dreamed about the twolittle kids who’d died. In most of them, Diana was screaming that this was all his fault.

It didn’t matter. He agreed with her. He couldn’t save Jimmy or the twin boys. Hewasresponsible for their deaths. He pulled over to the side of the road, trying to banish the memory. It hurt like hell every time he recalled what he’d done.

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