chapter Eighteen
“Hey, Jake.”
Averie gave him a sultry grin as she floated in the center of his pool, strategically arranged on a float for maximum sex appeal. She wore a tiny black bikini and an aura of come-and-get-me he couldn’t miss. Jake swallowed, wondering why his evening plans had just gotten hijacked—and how to get out of this unfortunate dilemma.
He really was hoping Sugar would call. It was time the two of them talked. He was missing a big chunk of her life, and he didn’t want to keep getting updates from Lassiter. He understood completely what Lassiter meant when he said Maggie C was a lot of woman. Sugar had not fallen far from the family tree.
“What are you doing, Averie?” He felt pretty sour at the moment. He didn’t want to be cruel, but he certainly felt out of sorts.
“Waiting on you. Dinner’s in the fridge.” Averie splashed some water over her legs and smiled. A beer sat in the holder in the float, and if his life hadn’t taken a drastic turn with the advent of Sugar in his life, Jake might have dived in.
Fortunately, he did have Sugar in his life. He just wanted more.
“It’s not a good time, Averie. As I may have mentioned before, you and I are over.”
She let her bikini top trail in the water and flipped over, but not before he’d had a chance to view dark-tipped mounds of female flesh. Okay, he’d have to be dead not to appreciate a half-naked—almost-naked—woman in his pool, with dinner served—but he really wished she’d disappear.
He’d take care of that in a moment. Right now, he needed to change. He was grubby from finishing up the patio with Lassiter. A shower would do him right. “I’m going upstairs to change. You really don’t have to hang around, Averie.”
“It’s no problem.” She spread her legs on the raft, lazily kicking at the water. Jake recognized trouble and fled upstairs, cursing to himself. If he could get rid of her, and if Sugar hadn’t called, maybe he’d head over there and act like he just wanted to say hello to Maggie.
Or maybe he’d just come clean and say he missed the hell out of her. Because he did. Every minute of every day he didn’t spend with her was beginning to seem too long, an eternity.
I’ve got it bad.
Funny how good it feels to be out of control over a female for the first time in my life.
Sugar rang Jake’s doorbell, hoping he wasn’t busy. Today was a huge day. It was a great day. Maggie had a clean bill of health, and to celebrate the good news, she and Lucy were taking Maggie to Pecan Fanny’s later. On a whim because she saw Jake’s truck—and a car she didn’t recognize, but it was probably one of the guys’ or even Vivian’s—Sugar stopped to proffer the invitation to join them in person.
She was so relieved her mother was cancer-free she was about to burst with the news.
Averie opened the door, wearing a smile, bikini bottoms, and a see-through, lacy black cover-up that didn’t hide her impressive breasts and peaked nipples.
“Hi,” Averie said.
“Hello,” Sugar said. “Is Jake here?”
Averie shrugged, the movement moving her large, bare breasts under the sheer fabric. “He’s in the shower.”
“Oh. I see.” Sugar looked at Averie. “What are you doing here?”
“What does it look like?” Averie asked.
“I know what it looks like, but what are you really doing here?”
Averie sniffed. “I brought Jake dinner.”
Ah. Dinner and an invitation. Sugar hadn’t been in the military without developing some chops and attitude of her own. “Jake!” she yelled up the stairs, stepping into the foyer so her bellow would carry through the house.
“Yeah?” he yelled back down.
“I want to talk to you!” Sugar glanced at Averie, who seemed stunned, her breasts tipped with the cool night air. “Can you bring a beach towel? Averie’s cold!”
Jake thundered down the stairs, his hair wet and wild and skewed in all directions, sans shirt, buckling khaki shorts and smelling like shampoo and shaving cream.
God, he smelled good.
“Jesus, Averie,” Jake said, “you’re hanging out everywhere.”
Averie blushed. “Am I?” she said. She cut Sugar a black look and stalked off.
“Looks like I got here in the nick of time,” Sugar said. “I think she’s after you.”
“Yeah.” He pounded on his head, trying to dislodge water from his ear. “Hey, I want to talk to you.”
“Any time.”
He hopped up and down, still trying to get the water out. “I want to talk now.”
“I can’t. I dropped Lucy and Mom off at home. We’re going to Pecan Fanny’s for dinner.”
He perked up, grinning broadly. “That sounds like fun.”
She looked through to where she could see Averie sulking, waiting on Jake to return. His ex wore her bikini top underneath the cover-up now, and an obvious scowl. “I was going to invite you to join us, but—”
“I can be ready in five minutes.”
Sugar smiled. “Averie said she made you dinner.”
“Not to be mean or anything, but I’d rather join you and your family at Fanny’s.”
“Seems a little rude to desert your guest.”
He ran a hand through his damp, tousled hair. Sugar wondered what it would feel like to do the same, deciding it probably felt as good as everything else about Jake did.
“Showing up unannounced is rude,” Jake said.
“I showed up unannounced.”
“Showing up unannounced when you’re broken up is rude,” Jake clarified. “You and I are not broken up. In fact, we haven’t even gotten started yet. I have a bone to pick with you about that, Miss Cassavechia.”
It seemed safe to let him off the hook. Besides, Lassiter had told Maggie that Jake was at home with no plans, so clearly Averie wasn’t part of the night’s fun-with-Jake. “Meet you in thirty minutes?”
He grinned, making her heart thump. “Meet me, hell, why can’t I pick you ladies up?”
“That would be very nice.” Sugar smiled at Jake, feeling like today, which had started off with nervous tension for her mother, was looking up in a huge way. “See you then. I won’t say good-bye to Averie, but tell her I said ciao.”
Sugar headed back to her car.
“Sugar.”
She turned to look at him. “Yeah?”
“You’re honestly the coolest woman I’ve ever met.”
“I know. Hope you get the water out of your ears. If you can’t, I have a special technique we could try.” Sugar winked and got in the blue Oldsmobile, driving off with the top down, her red hair blowing in the wind, and Jake felt lust and love and a lot of other wild emotions carve out a hole inside him.
The only thing that was going to fill that hole was Sugar, he was pretty damn certain.
And for the record, he no longer had water stuck in his ears, but he wasn’t about to miss the chance to experience any technique Sugar was offering that involved her and him and hopefully lots of bouncing around.
Pecan Fanny’s outdoor patio was hopping with customers. Twinkling lights and an occasional hanging fern and potted palm spoke of the last warm days before the Christmas season got under way. Sugar nursed her margarita and when Jake’s hand stole over to her knee, she smiled at him.
Maybe she was a little tipsy, but seeing Maggie wrapped up in Lassiter, and knowing she was healthy, gave her heart such joy she might have been high just from the good news. And Jake leaning into her, giving her an enthusiastic kiss along her neck every once in a while, wasn’t exactly hurting her mood, either.
Lucy handed her a shrimp on a toothpick. “Try this. It’s hot as fire, but it’s good stuff.”
Sugar bit half the shrimp, offering the other half to Jake. He took it, nodding.
“Tasty stuff.”
Sugar considered the table of people sitting with them. Bobby had joined them, which rounded out the group. He sat next to Lucy, raising Sugar’s antennae. Then Kel and Evert showed up, and Cat came to sit in Evert’s lap, and it felt like the whole gang was there.
Almost.
“What’s going on with Kel?” Sugar asked, just for Jake’s ears.
“Still has a pissed wife. Still getting the big D.” Jake shook his head. “It’s not a good situation, because I know in my heart there’s no other woman for Kel than Debbie.”
Sugar frowned. “I haven’t met Debbie.”
“She’s just like Kel.” Jake grinned. “And his kids are a chip off the old block. Really, it’s like watching two little Kels following their dad around. They’re a great family.”
She eyed her margarita. “The food here is really good.”
“I know. It’s better than Bait and Burgers.”
“Not better,” Sugar said loyally, “different.”
“No, it’s better.” Jake waved over another round of drinks and ordered two more platters of appetizers. “Don’t tell anyone, but Fanny’s closing up shop.”
“Oh no!” Sugar looked at Jake. “This place seems part of Pecan Creek.”
He nodded. “I know. I’m working on it. I’m the new mayor pro tem, you know.”
Sugar sighed as she bit into a jalapeno popper. “Congratulations. Did you want that job or did Vivian raise your hand?”
“Both.” He sounded distracted. “It’s good for me to take on some more responsibility in PC.”
“Okay, Mayor.”
He squeezed her knee and was about to say something smart when a glass flew to the ground and Kel’s chair tipped over.
“Whoa,” Lucy said, standing. “What the hell, Kel?”
Kel looked at Bobby. “What are you doing, man?”
Bobby blinked. “What are you doing?”
“Hey.” Jake stood, menacing, bigger than Sugar realized he could be when he was all puffed up with annoyance. Evert held Kel back, and Cat moved chairs away from the broken glass. “Knock it off, Kel.”
“He’s, he’s—” Kel glanced at Lucy, who stared back at him, perplexed.
“Kel.” Jake went to drag his friend off. Sugar followed. “Dude, she has no idea what you’re upset about. You’re making an ass of yourself.”
Kel pulled his arm out of Jake’s grasp. “What’s going on?” Sugar asked.
Jake helped his buddy toward his truck. “You go back and calm everybody down.”
Sugar blinked. Jake muscled Kel into his truck, no easy feat because Kel was a tank, but he looked like he had it in hand, so Sugar went inside and found her sister and mother.
“What was that all about?” Lucy asked.
“I have no idea.” Sugar looked at Bobby. “Do you know what was wrong with him?”
“Yeah,” Bobby said, sounding very uncomfortable. “Yeah, I do.” He looked at Lucy. “Hey, I’m going to have to go.”
Lucy looked at him. Sugar saw surprise pucker her sister’s brows. “We haven’t had dinner yet,” Lucy said.
“I know.” Bobby looked regretful. “I’m sorry. Thanks for inviting me.”
The big man left the patio, headed to his huge camo truck without saying anything to Jake and Kel, which Sugar thought was strange. All these men were totally tight.
“That’s weird,” she said to Lucy.
“It is,” her sister said. “And it sucks.”
Sugar turned to her sister. “Are you crushing on Bobby German?”
Lucy sighed. “Believe it or not, I’ve finally met the man who makes my body rock.”
“Bobby?” Sugar glanced back out at the camo truck as it disappeared from the gravel lot. “I didn’t see that coming.”
“I didn’t, either.” Lucy sighed. “I never thought I’d meet any guy I couldn’t outthink. But Bobby’s brain is a maze, and it’s got me dizzy with infatuation.”
“Bobby?” Sugar blinked.
“Don’t say a word,” Lucy said. “I’ve been keeping it to myself because I couldn’t believe it, either. But once I kissed him—”
“You kissed him?”
“Yeah.” Lucy smiled. “He asked me to sit with him on the roof of Bait and Burgers, and I told him he was dumb. And he said if I’d come up there with him, he’d show me something I’d never forget. I told him I wasn’t climbing on a roof to have him swing a shrunken salami at me.”
“And?” Sugar demanded, fascinated in spite of herself.
“Turns out it wasn’t a tiny Tootsie Roll he wanted to show me,” Lucy said, and Sugar held up a hand, wincing. Jake was still in the parking lot with Kel. She could see the two of them jawing like mad, which didn’t seem to bode well.
“It was a telescope,” Lucy said, and Sugar said, “What?”
“I said, it was a telescope.” Lucy beamed. “He knows every star and every constellation in the sky, Sugar.”
Sugar stared at her sister. “Oh, I see.”
Lucy nodded. “It’s so romantic, Sugar, I can’t even tell you. I think I fell like a rock for him right then.”
“Oh my God.” Jake came in the front door, and Sugar looked at him. She’d fallen pretty hard for Jake too, though she wouldn’t admit it. “I know exactly what you mean.”
“Jake’s into astronomy too?”
“I don’t know. I haven’t asked him.” She should. As soon as she got him alone, she’d ask him a lot of things.
Jake slid into his seat. “Is everything all right?” Sugar asked.
“Yeah.” He drank his beer, waved the waitress over with another one.
Sugar glanced at Lucy, not convinced. Clearly Jake wasn’t going to discuss it. Lucy shrugged and picked up a carrot stick, nibbling at it.
“Bobby left,” Lucy said, and Jake said, “Yeah. I saw him leave.”
Cat and Evert leaned close to the table. “Should we go check on Kel?”
“No. Kel’s going to go cool off. He’ll be fine.”
Lassiter stood up, helping Maggie gather her purse and new cell phone Lucy and Sugar had insisted she purchase. “We’re going to head out, kids.”
Sugar was relieved that Lassiter was taking her mother home. She went to hug Maggie. “I love you, Mom.”
Maggie gave her and Lucy a warm hug back. “I love you both so much. I’ll see you tomorrow.”
Sugar returned to her seat. “Wow,” she said to Lucy. “I think Mom’s getting swept off her feet.”
Lucy picked up another carrot. “Given her good news today, I would too, if I were in her shoes.”
Bobby pulled up in his camo truck. “Hey, Lucy!”
Lucy stood. “Hey, what?” she yelled back.
“Wanna go look at the stars down by the creek?”
Lucy hugged Sugar good-bye, hugged Cat, then Evert, then Jake. “You kids be good!” She shot out the door, hopping up on the running board as she launched herself into Bobby’s truck.
“I did not see that coming,” Cat said, laughing.
“None of us did.” Sugar smiled.
Jake sighed. “Sugar, would you mind if I call it an early night?”
“That’s fine with me.” She looked up at him. “You got water in your ear?”
“No. I’m fine.” He shook his head, paid the tab.
Sugar blinked. She’d been teasing, trying to throw him a hint. He totally hadn’t bitten.
“I hate getting water in my ears,” Cat said. “I always had to use that swimmer’s ear stuff when I swam on our team.”
“Yeah.” Jake nodded. “I used to get ear infections when I was a kid. No fun.”
“Sometimes when Cat is lecturing me, I pretend like I’m hard of hearing,” Evert said with a grin.
“When do I lecture you?” Cat asked, mock-exasperated.
“I don’t know. I figure you will after we get married. I’m going to be the old guy who gets a hearing aid and turns it down when he doesn’t want to hear his wife.”
“Romantic,” Jake said.
“Married?” Cat said. “When did we decide we were getting married?”
Sugar and Jake looked at Evert. His handsome Droopy Dog face lit with mischief as he winked at Jake. “I’m hoping right now.”
He got down on one knee and took Cat’s hand in his. “Cat Jenkins, will you marry me, so I can spend my life as the happiest man on the planet?”
“Oh my God!” Cat’s hands flew to her mouth. She stared at Evert. “Yes. Yes, I will!” She threw her arms around Evert, and he lifted her off her feet, twirling her around Pecan Fanny’s. She locked her legs around Evert’s waist, and he carried her out the door, beaming.
“That’s a shocker,” Jake said. “No one tells me anything.”
Sugar smiled. “Busy day in Pecan Creek.”
“Yeah. It was.” Jake threw some tip money on the table. “I can’t really top that exit.”
“Oh, come on.” Sugar smiled at him, taking her hand in his. “We could walk on our hands. That would be an exit.”
Jake looked at her. “We need to talk.”
The smile slid from Sugar’s face. His handsome face was so serious that Sugar knew whatever it was Jake wanted to talk about, she wasn’t going to like it.
She kind of envied Cat’s freestyle exit, and Lucy going off with her camo-truck-driving date, and even Maggie’s demure ride off into the sunset with Lassiter. “If we need to, we need to.”
Jake stood. “We need to. In fact, we needed to a long time ago.”