My Deadly Valentine by Valerie Hansen

why I can’t imagine that she’s threatening herself. Did you get any fingerprints from the last note?”
    “Naw. The preacher’s sendin’ it off to his citified friends, though. Maybe their lab can find more clues.” He guffawed. “If there’s any to find.”
    “What about this time? I didn’t see any notes by the thermostat. Did the fire department find anything odd?”
    “Not on paper,” Harlan said. “C’mon. I’ll show you.”
    Following, Jace continued to scan his surroundings. He was becoming familiar enough with the stock in the shop to guess that little or nothing had been disturbed. Perhaps the heater connections had always been poorly installed or maintained. A building as old as this one would have been retrofitted many times and anything was possible.
    “There,” Harlan said, pointing. “On that wall.”
    Jace’s heart began to race. There was no paper that they could send to a lab this time. The letters had been scrawled directly on the wall.
    It said,
Hot as where I’m going to send you soon, sweetheart.
Get ready.
    Rachel could tell Jace was upset as soon as he returned to her and she looked into his eyes. “What is it? Was there a bomb?”
    “No.” He took her arm and guided her away from the small crowd that had gathered in front of the shop and on the courthouse lawn across the street. “But there was another warning.”
    “What—what did it say?”
    “Pretty much the same as before,” he told her.
    “Where is it? I want to see.”
    “Later. There’s no hurry. Let the others get their pictures and pick up their gear first. The message isn’t going anywhere.”
    “Why not? Isn’t Harlan going to give it to Pastor Logan?”
    “He can’t this time. It’s written right on the wall.”
    “How awful.” Studying him so she wouldn’t miss any clues to his mood, she asked, “Do you still think I had something to do with all this?” Because he didn’t answer immediately, she went on. “Because if you do, I can sort of understand why. I’ve been thinking about it and I can see that the shop is getting a lot of free publicity. The problem is, it’s not the kind of image Eloise and I want for our store.”
    “I know. And I apologize for doubting you. It just seems incredible that you have no idea who is so mad at you.” He smiled slightly. “Harlan thinks you may be doing this to get my attention.”
    “Oh, really?” Her hands fisted on her hips and she stared at him. “Does he honestly believe I can’t get a date without raising a ruckus? He must have been talking to my dad after all.”
    “I don’t think so. I imagine somebody will soon, though. The way the gossip is flying there’s no way your father isn’t going to find out sooner or later.”
    “Most likely sooner,” Rachel said. “I can hardly wait for the lecture.”
    “He cares about you.”
    She sighed loudly. “I know. It’s just that he refuses to let me live my own life. He’s tried to fix me up with half the men in town.”
    “Including the electrician?” Jace’s eyes narrowed as he looked past her to scan the milling crowd.
    “No. Not that I recall.”
    He had already been standing close to her side. When he moved even nearer, his presence caused her to notice a lack of oxygen in the crisp air.
    “This is becoming more than a job to me,” Jace said softly. “You do know that, don’t you?”
    “It shouldn’t be,” Rachel countered, determined to keep her emotional distance even if she did crave the protectiveness of his physical presence. “I told you. I don’t date cops.”
    “Never?”
    “Never ever. Not in a million years.” She shook her head theatrically, hoping to soften her statements and still make a point. “Nope. No way. Uh-uh.”
    “I think I get the idea.” To her relief, he was smiling.
    “Good. As long as we understand each other.”
    His eyes began to twinkle with mirth and his grin spread. “I take it that also means I should forget the fact that you kissed