On Wednesday they only worked half a day, leaving Sean free to pay a visit to his aunt and uncle while Emma caught up on some paperwork. Emma’s truck wasn’t in the driveway when he got home, but he could hear music, so he knew somebody was home.
Sean found Emma in the kitchen and he almost turned around to go anywhere else. She had the refrigerator pulled away from the wall and was cleaning the baseboard trim behind it with a toothbrush. While the view of her ass was sweet since she was on her hands and knees, it didn’t bode well for his frame of mind.
But when he got closer and saw the coils on the back of the fridge had not only been vacuumed, but were actually gleaming, he got a little worried. A person whose refrigerator coils could pass a military inspection couldn’t be right in the head.
“You okay?” he asked.
She didn’t stop scrubbing. “Sure.”
“Liar.”
“Whatever.”
“Emma, stop for a sec.”
Much to his surprise, she listened. Tossing the toothbrush into a bucket, she sat back on her heels and turned her head to look at him. “What’s up?”
“Where’s Cat?”
“Said she had some errands to do so she took my truck and went into town. She’s probably just sneaking off to see Russell.”
Clue number one. “She’s sixty-five years old. I doubt she needs to sneak off if she wants to see a man.”
Her jaw tightened. “Then why didn’t she tell me that’s where she’s going?”
“Maybe she’s not. Maybe she has errands to do.” When she rolled her eyes, he had to bite the inside of his cheek to keep from laughing at her. “Why don’t you let me push the fridge back and I’ll take you out to lunch.”
“Why?”
“Because you clean when you’re upset and taking a toothbrush to the back of the fridge means you’re on the ragged edge. I’ll take you down to Concord for a Jasper burger. They can fix anything.”
She laughed, but it was on the bitter side. “Yeah, ’cause I need more Kowalskis in my day.”
“Hey, whatever it is, I didn’t do it.”
“I’m just not in a good mood today.”
He grinned and rocked back on his heels. “This is because of my magic penis, isn’t it? Four nights of it too much for you?”
“Ha. Don’t flatter yourself, Kowalski. I’m only having sex with you so I can sleep in my own bed again.”
The renewed color in her cheeks let him know she was full of crap. “So if I offered to do you right here on the kitchen floor, you’d say no?”
“I’d have to say no just to prove my point now.”
“Damn.”
Emma sighed and pushed herself to her feet. “You know what? A Jasper burger sounds really good, actually. It seems like it’s been forever since I had one.”
After she wiped down the baseboard and retrieved the bucket, he pushed the fridge back into place for her, then waited for her in the truck.
She was distracted on the drive down, staring out her window and sighing a lot. Figuring she’d feel better after a burger and a beer, he let her stew in silence.
Kevin’s bar was quiet and he was nowhere to be seen, much to Sean’s relief. He didn’t really want to get any crap for taking his fake fiancée out to lunch, though he hadn’t thought of that until after he suggested Jasper burgers.
Paulie, the stacked redhead, was behind the bar but, other than a casual wave, she didn’t show much of an interest in them. Sean found a table in a dimly lit back corner and ordered a couple of beers and Jasper burgers for each of them.
Once their waitress set their glasses down and went to place their food order, Emma seemed to relax a little, but her mouth was tight and she was tapping the toe of her sneaker against the table leg.
“So what are you upset about today?” he asked when he got tired of the silence.
“Nothing.”
“You afraid Cat’s going to fall madly in love with Russell Walker and want her house back?”
With the way her head jerked back and the expression on her face, he was afraid for a second the other patrons would think he’d slapped her. “You’re an asshole.”
He shrugged. “I’ve been called worse.”
“No doubt.”
“If you just tell me what’s bugging you today, I won’t have to guess.”
She looked for a second like she was going to lash out with something bitchy, but then her body slumped in the chair and she sighed. “I want Gram to be happy. I want that more than anything. But seeing her with Mr. Walker was…weird. And I always miss Gramps, but it just hit me especially hard, I guess, seeing her with somebody else.”
Tears shimmered in her eyes and he reached across the table to hold her hand. “I think that’s pretty normal, Emma.”
“And they’ve known each other forever. Just because she watched the fireworks with him doesn’t mean she’s going to run off and marry him. They’re friends.”
“Have you asked her?”
“No.”