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“It's nice to meet you, Maya.”
She estimated he was in his early forties, solely by the lines on his tanned face and his slightly receding hairline. He was tanned and trim and had the physique of a much younger man. Something about the lake and the mountains and the thin air in Tahoe made all the men better-looking than they had a right to be.
It was extremely disconcerting.
“So you're investigating the wildfire?” he asked.
“Yes, but this is evidence from an explosion that took place this morning.”
“We heard about that. Poor kid. We're praying that he pulls through.”
She didn't need to look at Logan to know that he was still seeing Robbie wrapped up like a mummy in the hospital bed.
“I need to find out where the explosive materials came from. Once you tell me what caused the explosion, I'll have a better idea where to look for other clues.”
“I'm glad I can help. Not just to clear your name,” he said to Logan, “but to catch the bastard who hurt Robbie.”
Logan didn't respond. His head was bent down, just as it had been in the hospital when he was kneeling beside Robbie's bed, overloaded with sorrow.
David must have sensed it too, because he efficiently took charge of them both. “No offense, you guys, but I'm not big on people hanging over my microscope. Logan, go use my shower and take whatever clothes you want.”
Shooting a lopsided grin at Maya, David said, “I'm guessing either you're a really big fan of Lake Tahoe”—he gestured to her tourist duds—“or something happened to your clothes.”
“No one is this big of a fan,” she said, smiling back.
Logan quickly explained, “Someone lit her hotel room on fire last night.”
David whistled. “Do you think it's the same person who did this?” He held up the mason jar.
Not wanting to disclose too much of what was supposed to be a confidential investigation, she said, “I'll be following up with the fire chief shortly to see if he's learned anything more. But at this moment, I don't know.”
David quickly got the point and backed off. “My wife is about your size, Maya. I'm sure she wouldn't mind loaning you a few things if you're tired of being a walking Lake Tahoe billboard.”
Glad for his practical suggestion, Maya followed Logan out of the barn and into David's A-frame house. The only time she'd spent in Tahoe since her brother's death was to investigate the fire that took his life. She'd always made sure to get in and out of town quickly, steeling herself against acknowledging its beauty. It had been easier to focus on the seedy aspects of Tahoe life—the drugs and the booze and the crime.
This trip was different. This time she couldn't run away, and even as she guarded herself against its charms, the beauty of the lake and the mountains and the trees seeped deeper into her pores.
Just as Logan and all his charm and good looks and heroicism pushed further past her defenses.
She turned away from the window and saw that Logan had stripped off his T-shirt. Her mouth nearly fell open at the beautiful, tanned lines of his torso. He had muscles in places she didn't know they came. And he was so much better built than any firefighter she'd ever seen.
“Since we've got to wait for David, a shower sounds good.” He smiled and his flash of white teeth was utterly mesmerizing. “You want one?”
Maya instructed herself to look away from his chest. And failed.
“No,” she croaked.
He let her look her fill, one corner of his mouth moving into a grin.
“Suit yourself,” he said, then headed into the bedroom off the kitchen.
Maya stood in the middle of the living room and worked like hell to tamp down her stupid hormones. As soon as she heard the shower start, she stepped into the master bedroom and tried to ignore that fact that Logan was only a couple of rooms away.
And he was naked. Her mouth went dry.
Her body urged her to accept his invitation to join him in the shower.
But even though she didn't think he was guilty of arson, she still couldn't allow herself to get involved. Not while she was working on a case. And definitely not with another firefighter.
Quickly, she pulled a pair of designer jeans and a T-shirt from the dresser. She drew the line at borrowing a stranger's underwear, however. She'd just have to stick to having the words “Lake Tahoe” scrawled across her behind.
Knowing she'd do something reckless and stupid if she was still standing there when Logan walked out of the bathroom in nothing but a towel, she locked herself in the laundry room to put on the new clothes. Both the jeans and T-shirt were a bit snug, but anything was better than the pink T-shirt and sweatpants she'd bought at the tourist shop in her motel.
She waited impatiently for Logan to return to the living room, and when he finally emerged she had to work like hell not to react to how ridiculously sexy he was in low-slung surf shorts and a T-shirt. Her only chance at fighting her attraction was to stay wholly focused on the investigation.
“How much longer do you think David will be?”
When he didn't bother telling her to relax, she knew he was just as anxious for some answers.
“Let's go ask him,” he replied.
David was still hard at work when they opened the lab door and stuck their heads in.
“Not done yet,” he said, locking a slide into place beneath a microscope before he looked up. “I'll bet you guys haven't stopped to eat today, have you? Our fridge is pretty much empty, so how about you head down to the Bar & Grill at the end of the road and I'll meet you there when I'm done.”
Maya felt Logan tense beside her. The Tahoe Pines Bar & Grill was the last place either of them wanted to go, but it would be beyond awkward to explain to David why heading to that particular establishment was a very bad idea.
And then her stomach betrayed her by growling, sealing the deal.
“You guys are hovering,” David said, so they went outside, closed the door behind them, and stood looking at each other on the flagstone walkway, neither one of them saying a word.
Finally, Logan shrugged. “I'm game if you are.”
“I guess I am pretty starving.”
All of a sudden the idea of taking a load off for a few minutes was a good one. Even if they were about to wade into emotional quicksand.
Maya knew she needed to be on her guard at all times around Logan. He was too good at knocking through her defenses, patiently pushing them away one by one. But she was so tired. And hungry, since it had easily been twenty-four hours since she'd last eaten.
o;It's nice to meet you, Maya.”
She estimated he was in his early forties, solely by the lines on his tanned face and his slightly receding hairline. He was tanned and trim and had the physique of a much younger man. Something about the lake and the mountains and the thin air in Tahoe made all the men better-looking than they had a right to be.
It was extremely disconcerting.
“So you're investigating the wildfire?” he asked.
“Yes, but this is evidence from an explosion that took place this morning.”
“We heard about that. Poor kid. We're praying that he pulls through.”
She didn't need to look at Logan to know that he was still seeing Robbie wrapped up like a mummy in the hospital bed.
“I need to find out where the explosive materials came from. Once you tell me what caused the explosion, I'll have a better idea where to look for other clues.”
“I'm glad I can help. Not just to clear your name,” he said to Logan, “but to catch the bastard who hurt Robbie.”
Logan didn't respond. His head was bent down, just as it had been in the hospital when he was kneeling beside Robbie's bed, overloaded with sorrow.
David must have sensed it too, because he efficiently took charge of them both. “No offense, you guys, but I'm not big on people hanging over my microscope. Logan, go use my shower and take whatever clothes you want.”
Shooting a lopsided grin at Maya, David said, “I'm guessing either you're a really big fan of Lake Tahoe”—he gestured to her tourist duds—“or something happened to your clothes.”
“No one is this big of a fan,” she said, smiling back.
Logan quickly explained, “Someone lit her hotel room on fire last night.”
David whistled. “Do you think it's the same person who did this?” He held up the mason jar.
Not wanting to disclose too much of what was supposed to be a confidential investigation, she said, “I'll be following up with the fire chief shortly to see if he's learned anything more. But at this moment, I don't know.”
David quickly got the point and backed off. “My wife is about your size, Maya. I'm sure she wouldn't mind loaning you a few things if you're tired of being a walking Lake Tahoe billboard.”
Glad for his practical suggestion, Maya followed Logan out of the barn and into David's A-frame house. The only time she'd spent in Tahoe since her brother's death was to investigate the fire that took his life. She'd always made sure to get in and out of town quickly, steeling herself against acknowledging its beauty. It had been easier to focus on the seedy aspects of Tahoe life—the drugs and the booze and the crime.
This trip was different. This time she couldn't run away, and even as she guarded herself against its charms, the beauty of the lake and the mountains and the trees seeped deeper into her pores.
Just as Logan and all his charm and good looks and heroicism pushed further past her defenses.
She turned away from the window and saw that Logan had stripped off his T-shirt. Her mouth nearly fell open at the beautiful, tanned lines of his torso. He had muscles in places she didn't know they came. And he was so much better built than any firefighter she'd ever seen.
“Since we've got to wait for David, a shower sounds good.” He smiled and his flash of white teeth was utterly mesmerizing. “You want one?”
Maya instructed herself to look away from his chest. And failed.
“No,” she croaked.
He let her look her fill, one corner of his mouth moving into a grin.
“Suit yourself,” he said, then headed into the bedroom off the kitchen.
Maya stood in the middle of the living room and worked like hell to tamp down her stupid hormones. As soon as she heard the shower start, she stepped into the master bedroom and tried to ignore that fact that Logan was only a couple of rooms away.
And he was naked. Her mouth went dry.
Her body urged her to accept his invitation to join him in the shower.
But even though she didn't think he was guilty of arson, she still couldn't allow herself to get involved. Not while she was working on a case. And definitely not with another firefighter.
Quickly, she pulled a pair of designer jeans and a T-shirt from the dresser. She drew the line at borrowing a stranger's underwear, however. She'd just have to stick to having the words “Lake Tahoe” scrawled across her behind.
Knowing she'd do something reckless and stupid if she was still standing there when Logan walked out of the bathroom in nothing but a towel, she locked herself in the laundry room to put on the new clothes. Both the jeans and T-shirt were a bit snug, but anything was better than the pink T-shirt and sweatpants she'd bought at the tourist shop in her motel.
She waited impatiently for Logan to return to the living room, and when he finally emerged she had to work like hell not to react to how ridiculously sexy he was in low-slung surf shorts and a T-shirt. Her only chance at fighting her attraction was to stay wholly focused on the investigation.
“How much longer do you think David will be?”
When he didn't bother telling her to relax, she knew he was just as anxious for some answers.
“Let's go ask him,” he replied.
David was still hard at work when they opened the lab door and stuck their heads in.
“Not done yet,” he said, locking a slide into place beneath a microscope before he looked up. “I'll bet you guys haven't stopped to eat today, have you? Our fridge is pretty much empty, so how about you head down to the Bar & Grill at the end of the road and I'll meet you there when I'm done.”
Maya felt Logan tense beside her. The Tahoe Pines Bar & Grill was the last place either of them wanted to go, but it would be beyond awkward to explain to David why heading to that particular establishment was a very bad idea.
And then her stomach betrayed her by growling, sealing the deal.
“You guys are hovering,” David said, so they went outside, closed the door behind them, and stood looking at each other on the flagstone walkway, neither one of them saying a word.
Finally, Logan shrugged. “I'm game if you are.”
“I guess I am pretty starving.”
All of a sudden the idea of taking a load off for a few minutes was a good one. Even if they were about to wade into emotional quicksand.
Maya knew she needed to be on her guard at all times around Logan. He was too good at knocking through her defenses, patiently pushing them away one by one. But she was so tired. And hungry, since it had easily been twenty-four hours since she'd last eaten.
