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“Thanks for the offer, Mrs. Muffin,” said Chase. “That’s very kind of you.” He was looking slightly bewildered at this unexpected come-on, but Odelia wasn’t liking him well enough to come to his aid. If he thought he could handle killers and murderers so much better than she could he would have no trouble handling a septuagenarian with an overactive libido.

Which reminded her of something. She gestured at the two cats out in the yard.“Is that cat of yours fixed, Detective?”

“Why do you ask?” he asked, visibly glad for the change of topic.

“Because it’s the law. Cats are supposed to be spayed or neutered.”

“Are you afraid Brutus might sow his wild oats?” he quipped with a twinkle in his eye.

“I don’t care about his oats. I’m simply concerned that our new law officer is already breaking the law, one day after arriving in town.”

“Brutus is fixed,” said Chase with a shrug. “So your precious Persian has nothing to worry about.”

“Actually she’smy precious Persian,” said Mom, joining them. She was carrying another tray. “Finger food, Detective Kingsley? I made it myself.”

“Thanks, Mrs. Poole.”

“Marge, please.”

“You’ve got a lovely home here, Marge. And a great family,” he added with an appreciative nod at Odelia and Gran. Faced with three generations of women, it was obvious the cop was enjoying the attention, and the food, though he kept eyeing Gran a little warily as she sidled up to him.

“I like your guns,” she said, licking her lips.

“My… guns?” asked Chase, automatically feeling for his absent holster.

“Do you work out a lot?” she continued, making her point clear.

“Oh, those guns,” he said. “Um, yeah, I like to hit the gym a couple times a week. Matter of trying to stay in shape in case I need to chase a bad guy.”

“I can see how that might be important for a cop,” Gran said, and made a tentative gesture in the direction of Chase’s bicep, but restrained herself at the last moment. “Are you a meat-eater, Chase?”

“Yes, ma’am, as a matter of fact I am. Why, is this a vegan household?”

“No, of course not,” said Mom. “Just the idea. Though Odelia has gone through a vegan episode lately, haven’t you, honey?”

“Ever since she broke up with that no-good loser Sam Scurf.”

“My eating habits got nothing to do with Sam,” she said, mortified. She so didn’t want to discuss her dating life—or the lack thereof—in front of Chase.

“Who’s this Sam?” asked Chase interestedly.

“He was a crook and a loser,” Gran eagerly supplied. “She even brought him home once, and next thing we knew he’d embezzled half a million dollars from Armstrong& Tillich Bank. They caught him, though, and threw his ass in the slammer. But then Odelia always had lousy taste in men.”

She glared at her grandmother, but the old lady ignored her.“She once dated a cop, you know. Appalachian. Until Alec discovered he was wanted in a dozen states and had supplied false credentials.” She shook her snowy white head. “Always dating the bad guys, our poor Odelia.”

Odelia raised her eyes to the heavens, praying that Gran would lay off already, but the stories seemed to amuse and entertain, for Chase asked,“Any other known criminals she dated?”

“Oh, plenty, but if I told you I’d have to kill you,” Gran said with a grin, and then she did attach herself to Chase’s arm and gave his bicep a squeeze. “Oh, my. How much did you say you curled, Chase?”

“I, um…”

Even Mom now seemed to see the warning signs, for she swept in and took Gran into the house.“Let’s freshen up a little before dinner, shall we?”

“I don’t need freshening up,” Gran sputtered. “I’m fresh as a daisy.”

Chase seemed relieved at the removal of his stalker, and nodded at the house where the two women disappeared inside.“She’s a feisty one, that grandmother of yours.”

“Feisty and horny,” said Odelia before she could stop herself. She slapped a hand in front of her mouth, mortified. “I’m sorry. That came out wrong.”

Chase laughed, and she watched as twin dimples appeared on his cheeks. They made the already outrageously handsome cop look even more irresistible, and she admonished herself that after dating all the‘bad guys’ of her past, like Gran had indicated, she didn’t need to add another one to the list. The others might all have turned out to be crooks, but she had the distinct impression Chase Kingsley might give them a run for their money.

“Dinner is served!” Mom called out at that moment, and just in time, too, for Odelia had run out of things to say without making a total and utter fool of herself. Dinner at the Pooles had always been a demonstration in humiliation for her when there were men around, and tonight proved no exception. She just hoped they’d make it through dinner without Gran throwing herself at Chase, or providing a play-by-play of her granddaughter’s disastrous dating life or both.

Chapter 21