Spring River Valley: The Spring Collection (Boxed Set) by Clarice Wynter

Senator Diele ’s life, no one knew for sure if it was because the gas leak was an accident or if she’d simply had a last-minute change of heart.
    Evie studied her words, vacillating between deleting the article altogether or saving it to remind herself that she could write something just as sensational as the national papers.
    At four thirty her cell phone rang, interrupting her troubled thoughts, and she cracked her first smile of the day when she saw the words The Evil Twin pop up on her caller ID. “Hey, where’ve you been all day?”
    “At a seminar,” Tanner said. “And helping Quinn get settled back at his place.”
    “It’s good that he’s home. He’ll be okay?”
    “Physically , yes. Keeping him from going insane from boredom is going to be a chore, though.”
    “He’s not the type to enjoy any rest and relaxation?”
    “Not for a minute. But speaking of R&R, I was hoping you could come over tonight. We can get some dinner and hang out.”
    Nothing had ever sounded so good. A quiet evening alone with the man who made her heart race was just what she needed to forget her bad day. “What time do you want me?”
    He laughed. “I want you all the time, but whenever you can get here is fine. I can order some Thai—I’m a passable cook, but I’m still at that stage where I desperately want to impress you, so no firehouse food yet.”
    “I’m not picky. PB&J works for me too.”
    “I’m out of PB, believe it or not. And J also.”
    “I get that you don’t spend a lot of time at your apartment.”
    “I’d like to change that.”
    “We’ll start in half an hour. I’ll come over as soon as I’m done at the office.”
    “See you soon.” Tanner hung up, and Evie hid her grin. Why did the thought of spending the evening in Tanner’s small apartment sound so appealing? She just wanted to hide away from everything and be with him. Maybe now was the time to start worrying about how serious her feelings were for someone she’d only just met. She’d promised herself she could keep this relationship light, and that was for her own good, but just the sound of his voice had her skin tingling and memories of their night together replaying in her mind.
    She considered calling Bailey for some moral support, but her friend was less about reason these days and more about romance, not that she wanted anyone to talk her out of spending another blissful night with Tanner.
    Jittery with anticipation, she quickly tapped the keys on her computer that would send her useless article to the trash bin and powered down, happy to put Janet and a front-page headline out of her mind for the evening.
     
    * * * *
     
    When his doorbell rang, Tanner practically flew across the room to answer it. He hadn’t been able to get Evie out of his mind all day, and ever since he’d called to invite her over, he’d felt like a bit of a slouch. He should have taken her out somewhere nice and shown her the type of evening she deserved, but all he wanted was to get her alone. He promised himself that on Friday when he’d set up the double date with Taylor and Evie’s friend Bailey, that he’d be ready to share her, but tonight he wanted her all to himself.
    His huge grin faded when he opened the door to find a uniformed police officer standing there. Momentary panic had his heart thudding. Had something happened to Evie? But who would know she was on her way to his place?
    “Tanner Croft?” the officer said, his no-nonsense tone designed to put the fear of God into anyone.
    “Yes.” His next thought was Taylor. Since their family lived much farther upstate, he was also his brother’s emergency contact. “Is something wrong?”
    “I’m sorry to bother you. I’m Detective Carl Hart, Stanton PD. If you have a few minutes, I’d like to ask you a couple of questions about the house fire on Adirondack Drive on Monday night.”
    Tanner sighed, his shoulders slumping. “Sure, come on in. You had me worried for a minute