Calder Pride (Calder Saga 5)

Logan managed a belated nod and snapped his gaze away from Cat and back to the fire marshal, half-irritated by his absorption with her. From the instant he saw her standing there, the sight of her had been like a potent whiskey racing through his bloodstream. Thirsty again, he looked back to take a second drink.

A silver concho belt cinched the waist of an emerald dress that matched and deepened the green of her eyes and turned her hair a more shining black. A playful wind teased at the hem of the dress’s full skirt, then molded the fabric to her and showed each ripely curved line of her body, a body he remembered in intimate detail.

There was a coolness to her expression now, but he knew the fire that lay just beneath it, the fire of both her anger and her passion. He had aroused both, and he could do it again. She knew it as well, and hated him for it.

The scuff of sauntering footsteps sounded behind him. Logan turned with an impatient swing of his shoulders, expecting to see Emmett Fedderson. His piercing glance collided with the mocking eyes of Lath Anderson.

“Heard there was some excitement here last night,” he remarked with seeming idleness.

“A little.” Recognizing the sudden shortness of his temper, Logan turned back, his glance running again to Cat.

Lath saw it. “That Cat Calder is quite a looker, isn’t she?”

“Keep your mouth off her, Anderson.”

“Now, there’s a picture,” he said with a marveling shake of his head. “Tell you the truth, about the only thing better than having my mouth on her, would be having hers on me. Just thinking about it is enough to make me hard.”

Lath glanced sideways to gauge the effect of his words, and shock ripped through him. Echohawk’s eyes were on him, cold and wicked like the black muzzles of a shotgun ringed with gray steel.

“One more word, Anderson, and you’ll find yourself spread-eagled on the ground eating concrete.” The tightly murmured words held a warning note of thinly repressed fury.

“Hey.” Backing up a step, Lath held up his hands in mock surrender and laughed to cover the fear churning through him. “How was I to know you had ideas in that direction yourself?”

“You’re wrong about that.” The reply was snapped out, giving lie to the denial.

“If you say so.” Lath shrugged, relieved when those cold eyes were directed elsewhere, and fully aware jealousy didn’t get any greener than what he had just witnessed. He looked to where the man was poking around in a pile of ash next to a charred gas pump. “Anybody know how the fire got started?”

“With a match.”

“You mean it was deliberately set?” He feigned surprise, and saw Echohawk wasn’t convinced. Confident again, he didn’t care.

“Where were you last night between midnight and one o’clock?”

“Me? You surely don’t think I had anything to do with starting this fire, do you?”

Logan gave him a level look, his temper once more under control. “According to Emmett, the two of you had words last night after he refused to reopen your family’s charge account with him. He said it wasn’t the first time you’d argued over it.”

“He said that?!” He whirled around as Emmett came out of the store, saw him and hesitated. “Am I glad to see you, Emmett. The sheriff here just told me something real distressing. He claims that you said we argued over my ma’s account with you. Now, you got to come here and set the record straight.”

Emmett shuffled wearily to them, his expression hard and bitter and careful. “What I said was a fact, Lath, and you know it. You was upset ’cause I wouldn’t reopen that account.”

“Sure, it grieved me, but I never said one cross word to you about it, did I?” he challenged.

“Well…no,” Emmett gave in, grudgingly. “But you was mad. I could see it in your eyes. And I remember the way you said ‘no gas.’ Well, I don’t have any gas now.”

Lath shook his head in a gesture of sad bewilderment. “It hurts me, Emmett, that you think I would have done this. Why, you’ve known me since I was a little shaver.”

“And I didn’t dare turn my back on you then, either, or you would have had a half dozen candy bars stuffed inside your pants.”

“Now, Emmett, I never took nothing that wasn’t paid for.”

“You’re damned right you didn’t, ’cause I always charged ’em to your ma’s account,” Emmett countered, a dark flush of anger purpling his face.

“This fire’s got him all upset, Sheriff,” Lath declared. “All I ever did was to ask him politely to consider reopening my ma’s account. Emmett’s never been anything but a fair and honest man, so I know after he’s had time to think about it, he’ll admit what I’m saying is true. Isn’t that right, Emmett?” He clamped a hand on the man’s shoulder, giving it a small shake.

“He was polite enough with his words,” Emmett conceded sourly.

Before he could say more, Lath threw a bright grin at Logan. “See? I knew he’d clear things up for me.”