Free Love at First Sight by B.J. Daniels

pencil, she leaned over to take some measurements on the piece of pine in front of her.
    “I got to thinking after your phone call…”
    She looked up then, waiting. She wasn’t going to make this easy for him.
    “…I can’t leave yet.”
    “Oh?”
    “I’m worried about you,” he said, wondering why the words had been so hard to say. Probably because she didn’t seem like the kind of woman who’d want to be worried about. Nor was it any of his business and they both knew it.
    “Why are you involving yourself in this?” she asked as if thinking the very same thing. “This isn’t your case. You’re on vacation.”
    Well, not exactly, huh. He shrugged and smiled. “Maybe I like the way you eat lemon-jelly doughnuts.”
    She laughed. The sound had a great ring to it. “Now I know you’re not serious.”
    He’d never been more serious. But where was hegoing with this? What did he hope to accomplish here? The answer seemed to come out of thin air and yet it was as clear and concise as any thought he’d ever had.
    He wanted to get to know her better. A whole lot better.
    A thought like that should have shocked him. This was happening much too fast. Or at least the thought should have surprised him. But he had a hunch he’d felt this way from the moment he saw her at the hotel—as crazy as that was.
    “What are you doing for dinner?”
    Her eyes widened. He loved the way they changed color, reflecting her mood. Right now they were as warm and bright as a Caribbean sea in sunlight.
    “Are you asking me for a date?”
    He thought about it for half a second, then nodded and grinned. “Yeah, I guess I am.”
    She smiled then, too, a slow, easy smile that sent a shot of heat through him.
    As good as it felt, it made him feel guilty. “I have to be honest with you. I have a little more in mind than dinner.”
    She raised a brow, shifting her weight to drop a hand to her hip again, but said nothing.
    “I’m worried about you,” he blurted out. “I don’t think you should stay in a motel right now. It’s too easy for the killer to find you if he’s motivated enough, and I think he is. So, the safest place I could think of was with me.”
    “With you?”
    “At my place in the mountains,” he continued, surprised that’s where he intended to take her. He hadn’t taken anyone up there. Not even Denny, his closest friend.
    “It’s not anything fancy, that’s for sure,” he found himself saying. “In fact it’s pretty primitive but—”
    She started to speak, but he interrupted her, determined he wasn’t going to take no for an answer if he could help it. “It’s only twenty minutes out of town. I’ll bring you back in the morning.” He stopped and looked expectantly at her, ready for a fight.
    It must have showed in his expression because she laughed. “I was only going to say thanks. To tell you the truth, I wasn’t looking forward to a motel tonight.”
    He smiled in relief. “Then it’s settled.”
    “I guess I can finish this tomorrow,” she said. “But tomorrow, I’ll find a place on my own to stay.”
    He let it go, saying nothing. He’d deal with that problem tomorrow. At least for tonight, he knew she’d be safe.
    Her gaze held his as she untied her tool belt and dropped it on the workbench.
    “I’m not really dressed for a dinner date, though,” she said, glancing down at her dusty overalls.
    “You are for this date,” he said, unable to remember a time he was as excited about a dinner date. “The atmosphere and dress are casual, the cook is pretty good even if he says so himself and the view—wait until you see the view. You can see for miles.”
    That was the idea. From the ski lodge, he’d be able to see anyone coming for her. And he didn’t mind that he’d have her all to himself.

CHAPTER SEVEN
    Karen sat back and let the spring night blow by the Jeep windshield. Country-and-western music spilled from the radio to the hum of the tires and the wail of the wind.