Page 100 of Heating Up (Nugget)
That made her feel better about the situation. Still, his reaction to the call sent warning signals up her spine. She tried to tell herself this wasn’t like the way it had been with Tim and Griffin. Aidan cared about her. But did he care about her more than he did Sue, or was this history repeating itself?
Chapter 19
Aidan’s phone rang again. Afraid that it was an unrelenting Sue, he hesitantly checked the ID. Not Sue, Rhys.
“I have to take this one,” he told Dana, got up from the picnic table, and found a private spot next to a nearby tree. “What’s up?”
“We got the results back on both the shirt and the lighter. The shirt’s got traces of accelerant on it. And you were right about the logo on the lighter: Rigsby Electrical. The problem is, he hands them out to clients like candy, so not exactly a smoking gun. Still, between the shirt and the lighter . . . You ready to take a ride over to the Rigsby farm?”
“I’m over at the Bun Boy and have to take Dana back to work. You want to meet there?”
“No, let’s go together. Come over to the station when you’re ready.”
He walked back to the table, where a family of five was loitering, making it obvious they wanted Dana and him to leave soon so they could have their seats.
“We’ve got to go,” he told her.
“Has there been another fire?” She immediately started collecting their trash and putting it in a neat pile on the tray.
“Not a fire.” He grabbed the tray from her hands and dumped their wrappers in a nearby garbage can. “Rhys and I have a lead to check out.”
“Oh?” She waited to hear what it was.
“I’ll tell you later, but it could be promising.” Although he didn’t think so. His gut told him it was a red herring.
“It’s not dangerous, right?”
“Not in the least.” He reached for her hand and held it while they returned the tray to the takeout window and walked across the parking lot to his SUV.
Halfway there his phone rang again. Thinking it was Rhys with a new plan, he started to answer. Then he saw the caller was Sue and muttered a curse under his breath. Why was she suddenly calling him all the time? Like the first one, he let it go to voice mail. He’d handle it later.
“Who was that?” Dana asked.
“A friend from Chicago. I’ll call him back after work.” He hated to lie to her. But he could tell that Sue’s previous call had bothered her and he didn’t want her upset. There was no reason for her to be. “I’m sorry I can’t help you more at the office.”
“Carol and I are fine. We’ve also got two crews there. It’s more important that you catch this jerk.”
When they got to her office it looked like the construction team had begun its work in earnest on the roof, and the cleaning crew had filled an industrial Dumpster with debris from the fire.
“You want me to carry those desks back in?” By now they should’ve dried.
“No, you go do what you need to do. We’ll take care of the desks. Besides, a little more air will help get the smoky smell out them.” She kissed him. “Be careful and I’ll hopefully see you tonight.”
He lingered, wanting to tell her how important she’d become to him, but he didn’t want to do it and have to rush off. Instead, he watched her walk from his truck to the building, admiring the sway of her backside. He’d never felt so relaxed in a relationship. No pressure to impress her or be more than he was.
A memory of his second date with Sue flashed in his head. She’d been upset with the way he’d dressed—a pair of dress pants and a white button-down shirt—and had canceled their dinner reservations. The restaurant had been her idea and he’d happily booked it, despite menu prices that cost as much as a week’s salary. But when he’d picked her up, she’d looked at his clothes warily.
“I thought you knew a place like this calls for a jacket and a tie,” she’d said. “It’s not a big deal, I’ll cancel.”
He’d insisted the restaurant would lend him a jacket if it had a dress code, but she wouldn’t hear of it.
“It’s fine. Really, I don’t mind if we don’t go there.”
Unfortunately, he’d been so blinded by her beauty that he hadn’t seen a major red flag. Now he knew if you looked up “passive aggressive” in the dictionary, a picture of Sue would appear. Her favorite mantra was “I’m not angry,” but she always was. She was angry that he didn’t do enough for her, that he didn’t spend “quality” time with her, and that he didn’t care about making a good impression, which was code for not being materialistic enough.
The idea that she’d fallen for a schoolteacher was laughable. Aidan would guess Sebastian made even less money than he did. Maybe, like Sue, he had a trust fund. Who knew?
On his way back to the square he played Sue’s messages on Bluetooth. The first one was a hang up. In the second message she hesitated. “Aidan? . . . Uh, it’s me, Sue.” And in a small voice, she’d continued, “I think I made a horrible mistake. I need to talk to you.”
