Obsession by Traci Hunter Abramson

involved with someone. “Do you have any other siblings? You mentioned a brother earlier.”
    “No, just an older brother and younger sister.” Charlie stirred the chicken again and then turned off the stove. “What about you? Do you have brothers and sisters?”
    “Just my younger sister.” Kendra’s lips curved up. “You might have heard of her. Sienna Blake.”
    “Right, the actress.” Charlie nodded. “You have quite a talented family.”
    “Sounds like I could say the same thing about you.”
    Charlie simply shrugged and then picked up a hot pad. He carried the food to the table and looked up at her. “Dinner is served.”
    “It smells wonderful,” Kendra said when he lifted the lid, not quite able to hide the surprise in her voice. “You know, I didn’t peg you for a guy who likes to cook.”
    “It’s my sister-in-law’s doing,” Charlie admitted. “I spent a few weeks living with them in Florida to help out when she was pregnant with her second kid. She was determined that at least one Whitmore learn their way around the kitchen—besides my mom, that is.”
    “Your brother and sister don’t cook?”
    “Not unless you count burnt toast.”
    Kendra laughed as she took her seat. Charlie retrieved a tossed salad from the refrigerator and sat beside her.
    “Do you mind if I offer a blessing on the food?”
    Surprise showed on her face, but she shook her head. She folded her arms, bowed her head, and listened to Charlie’s simple prayer. When he was done, she looked up at him, astonished.
    “You’re Mormon?”
    “Yeah,” Charlie said, clearly surprised by her question. “How did you know that?”
    “The way you blessed the food.” Kendra shook her head as this new development played through her mind. “I’m Mormon too.”
    “Seriously?” Charlie asked with the same tone of bewilderment that she had used moments before. “I didn’t know that.”
    Kendra’s shoulder’s lifted. “I think that may be the only area of my life the press hasn’t exploited.”
    “Have you always been a member?”
    “More or less. My grandparents used to take me and my sister to church when we visited them, which was a lot when we were growing up,” Kendra told him. “Then when I got older, I realized I didn’t really like my parents’ lifestyle, and I finally got their permission to get baptized.”
    “How old were you?”
    “Fifteen.”
    “You must face a lot of challenges being LDS in the music world,” Charlie commented as he passed a serving spoon to Kendra.
    When Kendra simply shrugged, he changed the subject. “I was kind of surprised when your grandfather called to tell me that you were coming up here. I thought you were on another one of your concert tours.”
    Kendra’s hand briefly tightened on the spoon. She scooped some of the chicken and rice mixture onto her plate before lifting her eyes to meet his. “Actually, I just finished my tour and needed a break.” She motioned toward the window. “Of course, I may end up with a longer break than I had planned for.”
    “I know what you mean.” Charlie nodded. “I didn’t expect to find this much snow here in Arizona.”
    “You sure came a long way for a few weeks off,” Kendra said. “Didn’t you say that you live in DC?”
    “Not anymore. I live in Phoenix now.”
    “Really?”
    Charlie nodded. He hesitated, as though trying to decide how much to tell her. “I love my family, but I needed to get out of their shadows for a while.”
    Kendra’s eyes lifted to meet his. Slowly, a smile bloomed on her face. “I guess we have more in common than I thought.”

Chapter 11
    Charlie looked over the police report from the bombing at Kendra’s concert and shook his head. He had hoped to find some obvious clues as to who had set off the explosive, but clues were apparently scarce in this case. The backstage security had been tight, surprisingly so. The band members, caterers, and concert staff had all worked Kendra’s concerts