The Stranger's Sin by Darlene Gardner Page B

keeping step beside him as he carefully navigated the stroller over a stretch of slightly uneven sidewalk.
    At sixty-two, Teresa was five years younger than Charlie but could have passed for a decade younger than she was. Not that she tried. She had classic features, blond hair that made it difficult to see the gray and an aversion to cheating the aging process. Teresa was that much lovelier because she was completely natural.
    “You know why I couldn’t call you.” Charlie lowered his voice to a whisper so Toby wouldn’t hear, which he realized was silly. The baby had drifted off and wouldn’t understand what was going on even if he was awake.
    “So, if you had been having a heart attack and, God forbid, you’d died, I wouldn’t know about it until I read your obituary in the newspaper?”
    He usually loved the way her mind worked. She took a situation and zeroed in on what was most important, which was why she made such a good insurance agent. But in this case, she was exaggerating.
    “Indigo Springs is still a pretty small town,” Charlie said. “Somebody would have mentioned me dying before you saw it in the paper.”
    He couldn’t be sure if she stamped her foot because they were, after all, walking. “You know what I mean, Charlie Bradford.”
    “I know you’re making a big deal out of nothing,” he said. “Have a little compassion, woman. Do you know how embarrassing it is to go to the emergency room for heartburn?”
    “That’s not the point.”
    “Although I’ve gotta tell you the doctor was pretty understanding,” he continued as though she hadn’t interrupted. “I had my heart checked out after Emily died, but he said you can never be too careful about these things.”
    “Are you all right?” She laid a hand on his arm, her blue gaze searching his face. He was reminded that six years ago her husband, Bill, had also died of a heart attack. “Is there something wrong with you that you’re not telling me?”
    “I scheduled a physical Monday just to be sure, but the E.R. doc said it was nothing that laying off spicy foods won’t cure,” he said. “But, you know, my bloodpressure would be lower if you used that pretty mouth of yours to smile at me instead of arguing with me.”
    She smiled, just as he hoped, but it was a grudging smile. “I don’t know why I put up with you, Charlie Bradford.”
    “Because I’m hands-down the sexiest man you’ve ever known,” he suggested.
    She laughed.
    “I don’t like the sound of that laugh. Who do you know sexier than me? Anybody under sixty doesn’t count.” He waggled his eyebrows at her.
    “You make it really hard to stay mad at you,” she said.
    “Then don’t stay mad,” he suggested. “We’re still on for tonight, right? Eight o’clock.”
    “Yes, we’re still on,” she said. “But don’t think for a minute that we’re not going to hash this out.”
    They had been walking in the area of town where pedestrian traffic was lightest, but now more people were on the sidewalk. Most of them were tourists paying attention to the businesses lining the street rather than to Charlie and Teresa, but he couldn’t be too careful.
    “We can hash it out when there aren’t so many people around,” he said in a soft voice.
    She huffed out a breath, loud enough that he heard it. “I suppose you’re not crazy about us walking through town together, either.”
    He didn’t reply, because she knew very well his position on the subject.
    “Fine,” she said. “But one way or the other, we’re settling this tonight.”
    He nodded, already trying to think of ways he coulddistract her when tonight came. She picked up her pace, putting distance between herself and the baby stroller. The rigid set of her shoulders gave away her displeasure.
    She looked like a woman who’d had enough.
    A touch of what felt like last night’s heartburn returned, making his chest hurt. This time the reason wasn’t spicy food, but a sick feeling that she might