“Jake…”
Effortlessly, he rolled her over until she was on her back looking up at him. “It’s true. I dreamed of waking you up with sleepy kisses…like this.”
And then he kissed her and it was slow and wet and just a little lazy but oh so good.
Lifting his head, he continued. “Then I was going to touch you…like this.”
Mallory gasped and then sighed as his hand cupped her breast and played with her nipple. He lowered his head and just before he put his mouth where his hand was, he looked up at her and gave her the sexiest grin she had ever seen.
“And when we were done, I was going to make you breakfast.” Then his mouth covered her breast and Mallory thought for sure there couldn’t be a more perfect moment. She was lost in sensation and need. She raked her hands up into his hair and held on while he teased and tormented her. It seemed to just go on and on and on. They rolled around, giving and taking, until they were both weak and breathless.
It was hard to say how much time had passed because the alarm clock had been knocked to the floor at some point. But when Mallory forced herself to open her eyes, she caught Jake smiling at her.
“I hope you were thinking pancakes,” she said with a wink.
Laughing, he pulled her in close and kissed her soundly before moving away and climbing from the bed. She admired his amazing body–fighting the urge to reach out and grab his ass one last time. Relaxing back against the pillows, she watched him get dressed before he told her he’d meet her in the kitchen.
She was so comfortable and feeling so damn lazy and all she wanted to do was stay in bed. Unfortunately, Mallory was too responsible to linger for long. Even though it was still early, she knew her mother was an early riser as well and would more than likely be anxious to get packed up and moved back home. Plus, Sam was due in today and there was going to be a lot going on. Sitting and playing house with Jake wasn’t on the agenda.
Which was really a shame because she could smell the coffee brewing and knew she wouldn’t mind waking up like this every day.
Sitting up, she looked out through the big wall of glass in front of her. Like the living room, one whole wall was made of sliding glass doors that led out to the deck, with an incredible view of the Sound. A view, she realized, that was better than the ones she ever had from her room over at Pops’ place. With a long and languid stretch, Mallory allowed herself one last look at the scenery before she kicked the sheets off and got dressed.
In the kitchen, Jake kissed her even as he placed a cup of coffee into her hands.
Bless him…
“I do have the makings for pancakes,” he said, turning to rummage through the pantry. “They’re not as good as Gertie’s or even the ones we used to get down at the diner, but they’re definitely not bad.” The boyish grin he gave her told her how nervous he was. “How many do you want?”
Laughing softly, Mallory walked up behind him and pulled him away from the food. “I was only kidding, Jake. I don’t normally eat breakfast and really, I need to get going.” Taking a sip of her coffee, she hummed with approval. “This is all I need.”
“Mal, come on. You need more than coffee. I can scramble us a couple of eggs…”
Stopping him before he walked over to the refrigerator, she shook her head. “I’m serious,” she said politely. “I’m sure my mother is more than ready to put a little distance between her and Aunt Georgia and I have her car. So essentially, she’s stranded and I’m the reason she’s still there.”
“Only for another hour,” he said with a wink before going back to the pantry. “Pancakes are quick!”
“Jake…”
Looking at her over his shoulder, he grinned. “It’s either breakfast or a shower. Together. Your pick.”
Sure breakfast was the most important meal of the day, but the thought of getting wet and soapy with Jake in a small shower certainly had its merits…
Nibbling on her lip, she weighed her options–shower, breakfast, or going to pick up her mother. Hmm…
Before she knew it, Jake was in front of her, taking the mug from her hands and placing it on the counter. Then, in a move she didn’t see, he scooped her up in his arms and strode back down the hallway toward his bedroom.
Mallory was laughing hysterically because she couldn’t believe they were seriously going to do this. “Jake!” she cried. “Oh my gosh, how can you even think about getting naked again?”
With a lecherous grin, he placed her on her feet next to the shower. “Making up for lost time,” he said as he turned on the hot water.
Her laughter died in her throat as his words sank in. They were wonderful, wonderful words, but…
Reaching out, Mallory placed a hand on his arm. “You know I’m leaving again, right?” She thought certainly he was going to reconsider, turn off the water, and opt for breakfast.
But he didn’t.
Instead, he leaned in close and kissed her. “I’m making the most of the time we have.”
And it was hard to argue with that logic because…more than anything, she wanted to make the most of this time together as well.
“I know I should be thankful–and I am–but I am mentally exhausted.” Those were the first words Susannah said once she and Mallory were alone in the car.
“It couldn’t have been that bad…”
“My cousin is exhausting! She never sits still and she’s always telling Beau and Mason what they need to be doing! Even when we lost power and were sitting in the dark, she was trying to tell them what to do!”
“Mom,” Mallory said, laughing, “how is that possible? What could she possibly expect them to do in the dark?”
“Oh my goodness, it was all ‘Beau, make sure you unplugged the unnecessary appliances’ and ‘Mason, I don’t think you secured the boards over the windows well enough because I can hear them banging.’ I’m telling you, it never stopped!”
“Ugh, no wonder Mason was murmuring about escaping!”
“That poor boy–well, man. Georgia is always on him for something, but Beau is no better. If I were Mason, I’d be looking for jobs overseas just to get away from them.”
“You know he’ll never do that. For all the ways we’ve joked about it over the years and even hearing you talk about the situation now, you know there’s a part of him that wouldn’t be able to handle living too far away from here and not getting praised all the time.”
“I don’t know,” her mother argued lightly. “I think he’s finally getting ready to snap. He seemed more annoyed than amused this week.”
“It could just be all the other circumstances that are bothering him.” She paused. “I know I bailed yesterday while all the arrangements for Pops were being made, but maybe this whole thing is bothering Mason more than he’s letting on.”
“Maybe, but I still think he’s just biding his time until he can break free of Beau and Georgia’s stranglehold on him. You know they weren’t happy when he didn’t get in to law school…”
“I think he purposely made sure that didn’t happen.”
“I wouldn’t doubt it,” Susannah said. “Still, they should be happy that he has a good job here with the town and is a decent young man, but they are always pushing for more!”
“It’s so weird because they’re not like that with Parker or Peyton. You would think it would have been the girls they were overprotective of.”
But Susannah shook her head. “They’re on the girls to marry well and be proper Southern belles. Which–FYI–I don’t think is ever going to happen.”
“Which part?”
“The proper Southern belle part,” Susannah explained and immediately seemed flustered. “You know I love them both and I don’t mean that in a bad way. Far from it. Those girls are strong and independent women and they aren’t looking to be socialites. You ask me, they’re looking at world domination more than anything else.”
Mallory couldn’t disagree. Her cousins were both fiercely independent and didn’t like
answering to anyone. And last she checked, neither were looking to get married or settle down any time soon.
“That must make Aunt Georgia crazy,” she said with a laugh.
“I’m sure it does, but she doesn’t even talk about it. Every conversation was about Mason!”
“That’s a lot of pressure on him. Now I kind of feel bad for the years Sam and I made fun of him.”
“Well, you should, but I understand why you did.” They turned into the driveway at Pops’ place and they both grew silent for a long moment. Just the sight of the house and the destruction all over the property was enough to distract them. It wasn’t until they were parked that Susannah spoke again. “Speaking of Sam, did you talk to him at all today?”
“Mom, it’s ten in the morning. I doubt Sam’s even awake yet.”
“That’s not true. It’s a Wednesday so it would be a workday for him. Plus, he promised he’d get on the road early so he could get here for lunchtime. I hope he really did that.”
Mallory had her doubts but she wasn’t going to voice them right now.
They climbed from the car and gathered the first round of luggage before trudging up the steps to the house. Neither spoke as they walked through the doors. The house smelled a bit musty and it was still far too quiet for Mallory’s liking, but this was their reality right now.
“I’m going to open some windows,” her mother said as she put her bags down at the foot of the stairs. “You do the upstairs and I’ll do the ones down here.”
They went off in their own directions and it was the perfect way to keep her mind off of the fact that it was only the two of them here now. Sure, Sam would arrive later on today and soon there would be construction crews here repairing the house, but right now it was too damn quiet. By the time they met back up at the bottom of the stairs, Mallory thought the silence was going to make her crazy. She was just about to comment on it when the doorbell rang.
“I’ll get it,” Susannah said, and Mallory went to walk into the living room when she heard her mother talking to Jake.
Jake? What was he doing here?
When she’d left him earlier after a very sexy romp in the shower, they had agreed they were both going to be very busy for the next several days and they’d see each other when they could–no promises. So why was he already seeking her out?
Walking back to the entryway, she smiled. “Hey.”
“Jake’s already got a crew scheduled to come and work on the house!” her mother said excitedly. “Can you believe it? It’s so fast!”
If Mallory wasn’t mistaken, Jake actually blushed. “It’s not a big deal, Susannah. You know Zeke would have already had people here. Coleman Construction is his baby and everyone was more than willing to come here and make the house a priority.”
Sooo…he wasn’t here for her. He was here on business.
For some reason that bothered her a little more than it should.
“Why don’t you come into the kitchen and we can sit and talk about how this is all going to go?” Susannah suggested, leading the way. Jake followed after giving Mallory a wink and a smile. She still wasn’t sure what she was supposed to do.
Her mother hadn’t questioned her staying out last night–hadn’t even mentioned the possibility of Mallory going to see Jake–and Mallory certainly hadn’t volunteered that information. So now she was unsure if she was supposed to out them or simply let things be and play it cool.
“I am so not good at this sort of thing,” she mumbled to herself as she made her way to the kitchen.
Jake had his tablet out and was sitting next to her mother at the table already. Mallory sat and joined them, listening as Jake explained all about the schedule of work that needed to be done.
“The first priority is tree removal,” he was saying. “Considering half the trees in Magnolia Sound are down, it wasn’t easy to convince a crew to come here. Their first priority is to get all the roadways cleared. But I happened to find a company willing to do it–they wanted to jack up the price on me, but I worked out a deal with them to give them first dibs on any and all upcoming Coleman projects that require tree removal.”
“You can do that?” Mallory asked.
“I can,” he confirmed. “Right now we’re all moving forward as if nothing has changed. Zeke hasn’t been involved in the day-to-day operations for a really long time, but in cases like this we always conferred with him first. Considering this is his home, I’m sure he would have agreed.”
She nodded.
“Once all the trees are removed, we’ll start on the house.” He paused. “Actually, we’ve already tarped off the front of the house and I’ve hung plastic at the doorway to the damaged wing so the elements can’t get through the main part of the house. We’ll do our best to make sure the work on the addition doesn’t interfere with you. We’ll try to keep it as separate and unobtrusive as we can. The first step is to have a crew come in and remove the back deck.”
Both she and her mother nodded.
Jake swiped the tablet screen and showed them a diagram of a deck. “This is what was already here,” he explained. “I think that was completely functional and it was fine for all these years. However…” He swiped the screen again and showed another diagram. “This is something a little more…shall we say…modern. Zeke was all about keeping things simple, but I think we can all agree the house needs to be updated.”
“God, yes,” Susannah said.
Laughing, Jake turned the tablet toward her. “This will have built-in seating and flower boxes. We’ll incorporate a pergola at the far corner so you can have some shading and we’ll widen the stairs going down to the lawn.”
“I love it!” Susannah cried. “But…okay, I know this is going to sound incredibly naïve of me, but…how are we paying for all of this, Jake? We haven’t finished filing claims and we have no idea what’s in Pops’ will…”
“I know what you’re saying, Susannah,” he said calmly, “but I’ll let you in on a little secret. Zeke has a home renovation account he’s been putting money into for years. I’m the only one who knows about it and I’m the co-signer on the account.”
Both Mallory and Susannah gasped in surprise. “What?!”
He nodded. “It’s true. Zeke’s always known this house needed some serious TLC. He just couldn’t bear to watch it be done–unless it was an emergency or it wasn’t too painful, like the summer you and I worked on his office and the boathouse,” he said to Mallory.
“I remember a pipe bursting that summer too and he was sick over the renovations to the bathroom,” she said with a small laugh. “He inspected the bathroom every day for about two weeks after it was done.”
“He was still inspecting it last week,” Susannah said with a sad smile. “We’d been talking a lot about doing work around here, but he never told me about this account.”
“If I know Zeke, he wanted it to happen this way,” Jake said quietly. “Not that he wanted the house to be damaged, but he wanted to make sure the funds were here for you to do the work after he was gone.” They were all silent for a moment. “He and I talked a lot about it–the house–whenever we got together. He would ask what I would do to the outside, what would I change here on the inside…but ultimately, it’s going to be up to you, Susannah.”
Both Mallory and Susannah looked at him oddly. “Well, we don’t know that for sure, Jake,” her mother said. “I’m sure the house is going to be either divided up between all of us or…I don’t know, maybe Pops stated in his will what he wanted done with it.” She paused. “I think we should stick to the basics for now to make the house stable and secure again. We won’t get into anything design-wise until after the funeral.”
Jake nodded, but he had a small smile on his face that told Mallory he knew more than he was saying, but she didn’t want to mention it right now. Maybe later she’d ask him about it.
There was a loud noise outside and they all stood. “Looks like the tree removal crew is here,” he said.
“Already?” Mallory asked, following him to the front door, her mother right behind her. “I didn’t think you meant they would be starting today.
“No time like the present,” he replied, stepping out onto the porch to greet the crew.
“Mom, are you okay with all of this? I mean…it’s happening so fast.”
Susannah nodded and waved to the man Jake was talking to before looking at Mallory. “This is the way it has to be and honestly, I’m relieved the cleanup is starting today. All the hanging limbs are making me nervous–like they could fall and do even more damage than we already have.” She shook her head. “It’s going to look strange around here once it’s all cleared, but we have to think of it as a fresh start and keep on going.”
It sounded logical, but there was a security in the way things were that Mallory was sad to see anything change. All the changes meant that Pops was truly gone and wouldn’t be coming back. She swallowed hard and willed herself not to get emotional–after all, this was just tree removal they were dealing with right now.
Before she knew it, there was a team of workmen in the driveway with various large pieces of equipment and the cleanup immediately began. Jake jogged back up the front steps and came in through the front door smiling.
“Okay, they’re going to get to work and it’s going to be pretty loud out there for a while. They’re going to remove the tree from the house first and then once that’s taken care of, they’re going to walk the property and start cleaning up. We need to figure on them being here for the next couple of days. Is that all right?”
Susannah nodded and laughed softly. “Are you kidding me? It’s more than all right. The sooner things get cleared up, the better I’ll feel. It’s like I keep waiting for something else to fall on the house or on the property.”
He nodded too. “I’m doing my best to make sure that doesn’t happen.” They walked back into the kitchen and sat down again. “So I need to ask you something,” he began hesitantly, “but if you don’t want to talk about it right now, that’s okay.”
“O-kay…”
“The funeral. Will you be having everyone back here or…”
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