Page 662 of Cold Case, Warm Hearts

“You might as well get comfortable.”

She jerked her head back at him. “What?”

“I refuse to take you home angry. So you might as well get comfortable because I’m going to keep driving until you’re in a better mood.” His comment was so out of place that it struck her as funny. She laughed despite herself. He laughed too, and the tension between them eased. Sean turned up the music.

Sydney knew she should have remained angry, but it took too much energy. Sean’s opinion of Kendall didn’t matter anyway. What mattered was how she felt. What did she feel? She brushed the thought aside and let her worries get lost in the gentle rhythm of the song.

It was dark by the time Sean pulled into her driveway. Sydney smiled in spite of herself when she saw the lace curtain on Hazel’s window move.

Sean noticed it too. His eyebrow arched. “Your neighbor keeps close tabs on you, doesn’t she?”

“You’d just have to know Hazel. She’s harmless.” Then she remembered her jeep. She let out a moan.

“What?”

“My jeep, I left it at the sawmill.”

“Okay, give me your key, and I’ll have one of the guys run it over to you in the morning.”

She made a face. The last thing she wanted was to let someone else drive her jeep. She shook her head. “I don’t think so.”

“Come on, Syd, trust me,” he urged. Their eyes met, and a thrill ran down her spine. The attraction between them was nearly palpable. She had to get out of this truck and away from him before she did something stupid. She reached in her purse and removed the jeep key from the ring. “Here.” He reached for it, but she held onto it with a lifted eyebrow. “Guard this with your life.”

He laughed. “Will do.” He took the key and put it into his pocket.

Sydney reached for the door handle. “Well,” she chuckled, “it’s been interesting.”

He reached and caught hold of her arm. The air was electric. His face moved a mere inch from hers. “Don’t touch that door,” he said, his voice just husky enough to send a shiver of anticipation racing down her spine.

Like a fly caught in a spider’s snare, powerless to resist, she sat glued to her seat as his lips met hers and melted through to her knees like sweet poison. She opened her eyes and moved away from him. If he was as affected by the kiss as she was, he didn’t show it. A pleased expression came over his face. “I’ll bet Kendall never kissed you like that.”

Her hand came up and gave a satisfyingwhackwhen it struck his face. “I’ve been wanting to do that for a long time.”

She could almost hear Hazel cheering when she got out of the truck and slammed the door.

28

“A SOFT ANSWER TURNETH AWAY WRATH: BUT GRIEVOUS WORDS STIR UP ANGER.” —PROVERBS 15:1

When Sydney arrived at the sawmill the next morning, Barb met her at the door, holding a cup of coffee and wearing a tight sweater and a smug expression. “Sean and Mr. Roberts are already in the conference room. They were wondering why you’re late!” she said then took a sip of coffee.

The first comment that ran through Sydney’s mind was, Well don’t get too worked up over it or you’ll pop the buttons off that sweater. But she was trying to do better so she bit her tongue and said instead, “Barb, blue is a great color for you. You should wear it more often.”

Barb’s eyes widened, and she looked down at her sweater. Sydney breezed past her.

“Good morning.” Jake smiled and offered his hand to Sydney as he peered over his tiny glasses. It was the first time Sydney had seen him wearing anything other than a plaid shirt and jeans. Were it not for his potbelly protruding over his belt, he might have looked attractive in his black shirt and corduroy slacks.

“Good morning,” she said, noticing that Sean’s appearance was impeccable as usual. Her eyes were drawn to his cheek, where she expected to see a blotch. No trace.

“Sean was just going over the report.”

“Great.”

“First of all, I’d like to commend you and Sean on the progress you’ve made at the mill. It’s remarkable what you’ve been able to accomplish in a short period of time. According to the report, everything seems to be in good order. We just have to be sure to keep it that way. Have you come up with a safety incentive program for the workers?”

Before Sydney could respond, Sean broke in. “Sydney and I are in the process of finalizing that now that the OSHA inspection is over. Right, Syd?”

Jake looked back and forth at the two of them.

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