They ate the minestrone soup—he’d prepared from scratch—at the breakfast bar dividing the kitchen and dining room. He had good manners too. No slurping or burping—disgusting habits her brothers displayed at home and probably in public.
His dining room table was covered with clutter, same as hers. When he caught her staring at it and started to explain, she said, “I can’t eat on mine either.”
“Mine’s always been a horizontal shit collector. I figure I’m doin’ good if I can confine the paper mess to one place.”
“Do you work out here more than in your office?”
“More than I’d like to. My PC is in my office, but I’m only in there if I’m printing something out. I prefer my laptop. The Internet is faster, the screen is bigger, but I can’t seem to give up the desktop since I’ve got years’ worth of information stored on it. Why?”
“Just wondered where we’re having the long-overdue business discussion.” She smiled. “As soon as we’re finished eating.”
Riss’s cell rang and she switched it to speakerphone. “This is Riss Thorpe.”
“Riss! I was starting to worry I’d have to sic the sheriff on your cranky male nurse since he refused to put you on the phone.”
Cranky male nurse. “Not his fault, Tito. I’ve slept like the dead.”
“You sound good.” A pause filled the air. “So how about we switch to FaceTime? I miss seein’ that pretty face of yours, Red.”
She forced a laugh. “Dude. I have serious bedhead, I’m not wearing makeup and I’m still in my damn pajamas. If you saw me like this, you’d drop your phone.”
“I’m worried about you, chica.”
“And I appreciate that. So what’s up?”
“Look, I know you’ve got a broken arm, and no pressure, but any idea when you’ll be back behind the wheel?”
“Jesus. Are you fucking serious?” Ike snapped. “She’s dealin’ with way more than just a broken arm, buddy. She’s had surgery and—”
“Tito, hang on a second.” Riss poked the mute button and got in Ike’s face. “Don’t do that again. You have no right to blab my private business to my boss.”
Ike scowled. “Your boss?”
“Yes. Tito owns the trucking company that lines up seventy percent of my jobs. And I do not need you”—she drilled her finger into his biceps—“fucking that up for me. If Tito understood the extent of my injuries, he’d write me off. I worked too damn hard to get in with his company to allow that to happen.”
“Riss. He’s gonna know something is up when you turn down every job for the next two months.”
“There’s nothin’ saying that the doc won’t release me early. And until I know for sure I can’t drive anything, anywhere, for anyone, I am keeping my options open. So back off.” She started to leave the room.
But Ike stopped her. “Uh-uh, chica. I’ll keep my mouth shut, but I wanna hear every word of what this guy expects from you and what alternative reality you’re willing to tell him to keep him on the hook.”
“You get one warning from me. Stay out of my business.”
Riss locked her gaze to Ike’s and pasted on a smile before she clicked off mute. “Sorry, T. My cranky male nurse is pissy because I’ve asked for my third sponge bath today.” She lowered her voice. “He’s starting to suspect I like havin’ those big, rough hands of his all over me all of the time.”
The muscle in Ike’s jaw flexed, but he stayed mum.
Good boy.
“I’m sure he’s enjoying it too. Anyway, I’ve got a couple of short runs comin’ up. Nothing too taxing. Deliveries you could do in your sleep. You interested?”
She said, “Always,” and hoped Tito didn’t hear Ike’s snarl.
“Awesome. Take care of my girl and I’ll call next week with the deets.”
“Thanks, Tito. Have a great weekend.” She hung up just as Ike exploded.
“What the fuck, Riss? Did you not hear anything I said? You are on medical restrictions. There is no way—no way in hell—I’m letting you take those runs!”
“Letting me? First off, I make my own choices. And secondly, let me repeat, I make my own choices.”
Ike’s nostrils flared. His eyes darkened with fury. Somehow he kept his hands on his hips even as he loomed over her.
And . . . wow. The man was one sexy beast.
How hadn’t she noticed that before?
Normally, she’d get nose-to-nose with him. But if she ventured any closer, she might be tempted to see if his angry kisses were as intoxicating as his sweet kisses. And his erotic kisses. Or any kisses at all, really.
She took a step back and put a lid on the lust. “Now. Can we have a civilized discussion?”
“No.” He flashed his teeth at her. “I’ll be upstairs working off this goddamned mad.”
And then he was gone.
Okay. She realized this was the first time she’d truly been alert and alone for a week. It was ridiculous she didn’t know what to do with herself.
Since her pain was manageable, she skipped the pain meds and opted for a beer. She snagged her phone and called Jade.
“Is this really you, Riss? Or Ike calling with an update?”
“It’s me.”
Jade squealed. “I’ve been so worried, but I didn’t want to bother you. I need to see your face. Hanging up to FaceTime you.”
The call ended.
What the heck was up with people needing to see her? She looked like hell.
Ike’s sweet compliment about her looking fresh faced and feminine popped into her head. It seemed out of character for him. During their truce they quit insulting and taunting each other, but they hadn’t tossed out random compliments.
The FaceTime icon appeared. She propped the phone up and hit accept call.
Jade’s gorgeous face filled the screen. Her almond-shaped eyes zeroed in on Riss’s cast. “Omigod! I didn’t think it’d be that big!”
“Ain’t that what you said the first time your husband dropped his pants?”
“Yes, and your continued jealousy about that awesome fact is so unbecoming.” Then Jade scrutinized Riss’s face. “Scratch that. You look good, Riss. Better than I expected.”
“I’ve done nothin’ but sleep. It sucks. Today is the first day I’ve gotten out of bed except to pee.”
“Lovely visual. GG said that Bernice left the shop early to help you with ‘lady stuff.’ Please tell me it wasn’t to wax your hoo-ha.”
“Dude. No. That’s gross. Aunt B washed my hair. It was weird as fuck.”
“Why?”
“Because she didn’t volunteer.”
“Then how’d she know?”
“I guess Ike asked her to come.”
Jade made a shooing motion offscreen. “Go away, perv. I’m FaceTiming with Riss.”
“Hey, Riss.” The side of Tobin’s face came into view as he placed a loud kiss on Jade’s cheek. “Tell Ike I said hey.”
“Yeah, I’ll get right on that.”
“Speaking of Ike . . . how are things going with you two sharing close quarters?”
Riss waggled her beer. “I’m drinkin’ downstairs and he’s punching the shit outta something upstairs.”
Jade winced. “That bad, huh?”
“Actually, it hasn’t been bad. We just had a . . . disagreement.”
“Think it’ll blow over?”
“Like a lead balloon.”
“I’m happy to see you’re back to your ornery self.” Jade shot a quick look over her shoulder. “You can always move in with us if you and Ike keep butting heads.”
“Thanks, but you’re a newlywed. All that happiness and constant loud sex would be way worse for my mental health than Ike running hot and cold with me.”
“What’s that mean . . . running hot and cold?”
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Riss swigged her beer. “It’s weird. I don’t want to strangle him all the time. And no, I can’t blame that abnormal reaction on pain meds because it started when Ike and I agreed to a truce before your wedding.”
“Omigod, Riss. Have you fucked him?”
It threw her when Jade dropped the rare f-bomb. “No.”
“Blown him?”
“No.”
“Then why is it weird?”
“Because it doesn’t freak me out to imagine doing those things with him.” Holy shit. What possessed her to admit that? She glared at her beer like it’d morphed into some kind of freaky truth serum.
“That’s it! He’s brainwashed you, or overmedicated you, or dick-charmed you, and I won’t stand for it. Pack a bag. I’ll be there to get you in twenty.”
Riss laughed. Dick-charmed. “I appreciate the concern, but this . . . situation has been building between me’n Ike for a while. It’s time we dealt with it.”
“So it is personal?”
“Mostly business.”
“Fine. I’ll let it go. But keep me posted, okay?”
“You’ll probably get sick of hearin’ from me, sweet cheeks.”
Jade grinned. “That’s so cute.”
“What’s cute?”
“How you’ve picked up Ike’s idioms. But the only person I’ve ever heard him call that is . . . you, sweet cheeks.”
“Piss. Off.”
Jade laughed again. Then she pressed her lips to her fingers and touched them to the screen. “Love you. We’ll swing by soon. With honeymoon pictures.”
Yay.
Riss closed her eyes. A whirring noise and the steady slap slap slap of athletic shoes hitting a rubber treadmill echoed down the stairs.
You can’t run away from me any more than I can run from you, buddy.
She finished her beer and picked up the list of callers Ike had jotted down. She crossed Tito and Jade off the list. Next she dialed Ron’s number on speakerphone.
“Desert Plains Distribution, how may I direct your call?”
“Ron Fiora’s office, please.”
“Thank you. Please hold.”
Crappy Muzak was the worst part of being on hold.
A click, then, “This is Ron.”
“Ron. Riss Thorpe.”
“Riss! How are you? You seemed a little out of it the last time we spoke.”
“I was. Blame it on the post-op pain meds.”
“How’s your recovery going?”
“I seem to be sleeping through it.”
He laughed. “Well, you sound like you’re getting back to normal.”
There won’t be a normal for me for a long damn time.
Fuck. She did not want to lose this job, but maybe honesty would pay off and the loss would be temporary. “That’s the thing, Ron. It’ll be a couple months until I’m back to normal. Eight weeks is the doctor’s best guesstimate before the cast comes off. Then PT at least twice a week for god knows how long after that.”
Ron said nothing.
“With my other job . . . I can find drivers to take my runs until I’m back on my feet. I’m aware that is not an option with Desert Plains.”
“No, it isn’t. I’m sad to be losing such an exemplary driver. We don’t get many applicants willing to deliver to the state penitentiary.”
“I was grateful for the opportunity. If you don’t fill the position in the next three months, would you consider calling me so I can reapply for it when I’m at full recovery?”
“Absolutely. I’m putting a reminder on my calendar right now.”
“Thank you.”
“My pleasure.” He paused. “HR will mail your last paycheck to the address on file.”
“Perfect.”
“Take care, Riss, and good luck.”
As soon as the call ended, Ike bellowed behind her. “Are you shitting me that you’ve been workin’ at the state pen in Rawlins?”
“Go away, Ike. I cannot deal with you right now.”
“Tough. Shit.” The chair next to hers spun out. Then she and the big sweaty cowboy were sitting knee to knee.
Except his knees were bare. And muscled. And covered in golden hair.
Did she mention muscled?
“Start talkin’.”
Riss raised her head and deflected his glare with one of her own. “I can’t discuss it. I signed a bunch of NDAs.”
“Because you worked in a fucking prison filled with rapists, murderers and pedophiles.”
“No. I worked for a distributor that delivered supplies to a fucking prison filled with rapists, murderers and pedophiles.”
“Cut the sarcasm.” He leaned in. “Since it sounded like you just turned in your resignation, then the NDAs don’t apply. So I wanna know why you’d agree to be a prison delivery girl, when you started and what you delivered.”
“I hate that you’re bein’ this way.”
“What way?”
“Your usual way—a self-righteous bossy prick who believes he has the right to question my decisions about what jobs I’ve taken so I can pay my bills.”
His eagle-eyed gaze never strayed from her face.
“It was hard as hell passing the screening process for that job, but I’m damn proud I did it and I will not let you shame me for it. So just to shut you up about it, I can say that I started workin’ for them two years ago. It’s a state government contract and I was legally bound not to disclose my employment. When I made deliveries I never had contact with more than the four inmates. They unloaded the truck. I remained with the guards. So yeah, workin’ as a prison delivery girl paid extremely well and was by far one of the easiest jobs I’ve ever had and it blows donkey dick that I have to quit.”
“Riss—”
“And I don’t even wanna think about how I’ll replace that income.” She turned to walk away.
“Wait.”
She did.
“I’m sorry. I was out of line.”
A quick apology . . . not what she expected from him. “Ya think?”
“I wasn’t shaming you. It just tripped all of my triggers when I imagined them inmates staring at you, hating that they probably fantasized about doin’ sick things to you.”
She faced him. “Would it ease your overactive imagination if I told you I wore a shapeless uniform that gave no indication that I was female?”
“Darlin’, nothin’ masks the fact you’re all woman, all the time.” His focus dipped to her chest and skated down to her belly, across her hips and back up to her mouth. “World-class curves, baby. You own that shit.”
“You flattering me to get out of the doghouse?”
He cocked his head and gave her puppy dog eyes. “Is it workin’?”
“A smidge.”
“I really am sorry I let my mouth run unchecked.”
“I believe you.”
“But?”
Riss shook her head. “Let’s leave it at that.”
“I can’t. You need to know why the prison is a hot-button issue for me.”
This couldn’t be good.
“My dad was in there.” He ran his hand through his hair. “I was probably five when he was sentenced to six months for possession. My mom used to take me on visitation days and I hated the way the other inmates leered at her and made crude comments and lewd gestures.”
“In front of you?”
Ike nodded.
“That’s awful.” It churned her stomach to imagine sweet-faced, towheaded, innocent Ike in such an ugly situation.
“Anyway, my dad got out of jail long enough to knock my mom up with my sister Jen. He also made new prison friends, and just for fun, they robbed a bank. Or should I say tried to rob a bank because they got caught. My mom wised up and divorced him. We never
saw him again. So for all I know, he could still be in there, or maybe he died, or maybe he got transferred or released. I’ve never cared enough to find out.”
“Ike. I’m sorry.”
“So I can’t wrap my head around you bein’ there, no matter how well it pays.” He clenched his hands into fists.
“Since it’s a state contract, I also deliver to the women’s prison in Lusk and to various military installations. And so I have the experience to admit I’d rather deliver to the prisons. Way less hassle than the bullshit the government puts me through.”
“I didn’t know you had regular runs, Riss. That made me realize there’s so much I don’t know about you.” Ike’s gaze sought hers. “And so much you don’t know about me.”
Clearly he was embarrassed about his self-involvement. Or maybe he expected her to say something snarky about his dad being in prison. The only way he’d know she didn’t give a damn about his father’s past was to show him all she cared about was the here and now. “The only way to fix that is to get to know each other better, right?”
“Right.”
“So let’s hang out and watch a movie.” Do not suggest Escape from Alcatraz, Riss, not even in jest.
Ike granted her a crooked smile.
“What?”
“It’s killin’ you not to toss out any prison break movies as options, isn’t it?”
“Yes!” She laughed. “I sorta hate that you can see past my poker face.”
“Then we’re definitely playing cards tomorrow night. But first . . .” He erased the distance between them. “Gimme a damn hug.”
“You need a damn hug from me a lot, Palmer.”
“I’ve gotten used to them on the regular, Thorpe.”
Ike repositioned her cast before he wrapped his arms around her.
She could get used to this too.
Chapter Ten
Early the following afternoon Riss slung her laptop bag over her left shoulder and headed to the kitchen. Given Ike’s reluctance to talk business now, coupled with him avoiding her the months prior to their truce, she knew this meeting wouldn’t be the good news she needed.
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