Page 1 of Too Hot to Sleep
Prologue
GEORGIA SMILEDin response to something her friend Toni said that she'd missed. The noise in the bar was interfering with her focus… among other things. "That's nice."
Toni set down her martini. "Okay, what's up?"
Georgia feigned nonchalance for the two women sitting across from her. "Nothing."
Becky and Toni exchanged glances, then Becky said, "Not nothing—something. You haven't been yourself lately, and not just tonight."
Georgia sighed and fingered the stem of her wineglass. "It's Ken… and me."
Both women looked alarmed. "What?" Toni demanded.
"Yeah, spill," Becky said, rolling her hand.
Now feeling self-conscious, Georgia gave a little laugh. "The thrill is gone."
Becky scoffed. "I'd believe that about any other couple, but not you and Ken. Even through three kids and sick parents, you two have always been hot for each other."
"Yeah," Toni said wistfully. "I knew when I married an obstetrician, there was a good chance he'd get tired of hoohaws after a while—including mine. But you and Ken have always been like newlyweds."
Georgia shook her head. "Not for a long while now. And we hardly ever talk. I thought when the boys went off to college, things would be different, but Cole's been gone since August,and nothing has changed." She bit back tears. "I'm worried we're headed for divorce."
Both women reached forward to clasp her hand.
"It can't be that bad," Toni said.
"You both have demanding jobs," Becky added. "Ken's Chief of Police now and things for us at the hospital have never been more crazy."
"You'll find your way back to each other," Toni said.
But Georgia didn't think so. She missed the way they used to be as a couple, but Ken seemed content to work, eat, and sleep.
"We're living separate lives," she murmured. "Now that the boys are gone, we don't seem to have anything in common."
"I'm sure that isn't true," Becky soothed. "How did the two of you meet?"
Georgia and Toni looked at each other and laughed.
"This must be good," Becky said.
"It's unbelievable," Toni said. "Mind-boggling when you think about it."
"Okay, now Ihaveto know," Becky said, looking back and forth between them. "Who's going to tell me?"
Toni lifted her hands. "This has to come from Georgia."
Georgia squirmed under their intent gazes. Thinking about the way she and Ken had met sent a warm feeling flooding over her that had nothing to do with the wine. But for this she needed reinforcement. She signaled the waiter to refill her glass. Then she took a deep drink, smiled at her friends, and said, "It started with a phone call…"
Chapter 1
June 2000
GEORGIA ADAMSgnawed on her thumbnail as she read aloud the instructions for her new landline telephone answering system in hopes the words would make more sense the third time through.
"When you select the dial pad mode, you are toggling the live dial pad option. When live dial pad is on, the hands-free option is activated if the auto answer feature was previously selected. See page 38-B, diagram H." Georgia pursed her mouth, then mumbled a curse word that was not in the manual, although she planned to call the company and suggest they include a handy reference page for expletives as soon as she got the bleeping phone working.
After hitting the "clear programming" button, she unplugged all three cords and started over at the beginning of the dog-eared book. Ninety minutes and three broken fingernails later, she achieved a dial tone and shrieked with success. Doing a victory dance on her sisal area rug, she spiked the instruction manual and gloated when it landed near her VCR that, after three years, still flashed "12:00." Thank goodness her VCR and television had been spared during the electrical storm that had zapped her phone. Positive that any minute she'd mysteriously lose the ability to dial out, she dropped onto her hard couch and dialed her friend Toni's number.
