Page 3 of Bachelor Cop Finally Caught? (Hot off the Press! 2)

“Yeah, well, thanks to Baby I almost had to switch from the bass section of the church choir to the soprano section.”

She smiled and nodded toward his empty plate. “Would you like anything else to eat? I have some leftover birthday cake that Serena insisted I bring home.”

“Cake sounds good, if you have an extra slice.”

“I have plenty,” she assured him and rose to cut him a piece.

“I’m sorry I had to miss your party. I got tied up at the station and didn’t get away until after eleven.”

“Which explains the dark circles under your eyes.” She studied his face as she set the dessert plate in front of him. “You aren’t getting enough rest lately, Dan. Serena thinks you need a vacation.”

“She does, does she?”

“When’s the last time you took more than twenty-four hours off?”

He shrugged. “It’s been a while,” he admitted. “But I won’t be taking a vacation anytime soon—not with some crackpot trying to burn down every building in the damned town.”

“He usually waits a few weeks between hits. You should have time to take a break while the other investigators pursue leads.”

“That’s the thing—we have no leads,” Dan growled. “The guy’s slick, I’ll give him that. He’s not leaving clues.”

“He’ll screw up—and when he does, you’ll catch him.”

“Yeah, but that means he’ll have to strike again first. We’ve had one death because of this guy so far. I don’t want anyone else endangered, including our firefighters.”

“You’ll catch him,” Lindsey predicted again.

“Damn straight. But not if I’m off on a vacation. Besides, who takes vacations this time of year?”

“People who are tired and need a rest?”

Dan only shrugged and filled his mouth with another forkful of cake.

“This has been nice,” he said a few minutes later, when his plate had been cleaned and the last sip of iced tea drained. “You and I haven’t had a chance to sit down and talk much lately—not without you holding a notebook in your hand, anyway.”

“No. You’ve been so busy we’ve hardly seen each other since B.J. was home for Dad’s funeral.”

The mention of her late father made Dan’s smile dim a little. “So, you’ve been doing okay? Living here by yourself, I mean.”

“I’m fine,” she answered gently. “I miss my dad, of course, but he was so ill and so debilitated that I knew he was ready to go. And I’ve been on my own before, you know. I lived alone for three years before I moved back two years ago to take care of Dad.”

“You let me know if you need anything, you hear? I promised B.J. I’d keep an eye on you.”

Her teeth gritted. “Thanks, but I’m quite capable of taking care of myself.”

“Of course you are.” He glanced at his watch, which kept him from seeing the way her brows dipped in response to his slightly patronizing tone. “As much as I’ve enjoyed this, I’ve got to go. I have things to do at the station.”

She walked with him to the door. “Try to go home at a reasonable hour tonight,” she advised him. “You won’t be doing anyone any good if you collapse from exhaustion.”

He chuckled and reached out to ruffle her hair again. “You sound just like my sister.”

“Well, I’m not your sister, and if you do that to my hair one more time, I’m going to sink my teeth into your hand.”

The snarled threat only made him laugh. “Now you really sound like my sister.”

Clenching her teeth tightly together, she opened the door, then forced herself to say pleasantly, “Bye, Dan. Thank you again for the birthday present.”

“You’re welcome.”

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