by Lee Kilraine
Neither would Paxton. Quinn was right. Sometimes it was easy to forget how great his family was. Dysfunctional parents like Delaney’s were a stark reminder of how great their parents were.
Quinn was in the middle of sharing some oatmeal raisin cookies when his radio crackled to life. A possible intruder in the backyard at the Joyner residence.
“If you don’t mind, I think I’ll ride along.” He was already in Quinn’s car; he might as well make sure everything was all right at Jo’s parents’ house. It was only right considering Paxton and Jo were dating now, at least according to the rumors.
“Probably just a raccoon or some other critter that got in their backyard.” Quinn shrugged. Other than the excitement in town last month with Kaz’s fiancée, Climax was pretty low-key, so a ride-along call for a raccoon rated high on the entertainment scale. “Although it’s the end of the school year. We start to get some crazy things happening about now, with high schoolers getting a little wild.”
“You mean senior pranks?” Paxton grinned, remembering some of the harebrained things he and Kaz had done.
Quinn nodded as he drove toward the south end of town. “That too, but just stupid stuff. Usually involving alcohol or end-of-the-year parties.”
Ten minutes after midnight, Quinn and Paxton pulled up to the curb across from the Joyners’ house with the patrol car’s lights off. “Teenagers are damn fast, and I’ll need every advantage to catch them. But I’d rather deal with raccoons.”
“I gotta tell you, Quinn, I’m hoping it is teenagers because I’m in no mood to wrestle an angry raccoon.”
“Raccoons are better than bears. You heard about the black bear sighting last week, didn’t you? I’d take a backyard full of drunk and stupid teenagers juggling raccoons over a bear any day of the week.”
“Damn, where’s Tynan and his bear-whispering skills when we need him?”
Pulling out his large flashlight, Quinn led the way around the side of the house, walking as stealthily as they could.
“Hear that? Sounds like someone’s in the pool.” Quinn turned his head around to Paxton with a grin. “Want to scare some teenagers? Maybe they’ll think twice before trespassing and jumping into someone else’s pool.”
“I’m in. And if I haven’t told you lately, you have a kick-ass job.”
“Well, I’ve learned to enjoy calls like this because some others really suck.”
Oh Paxton knew about those calls too, and wouldn’t trade Quinn anything to have to see the carnage of an automobile accident or have to notify a loved one or step into the middle of a domestic argument. Took a damn calm person for that, and that was Quinn all the way.
“On the count of three, you swing open the gate and I’ll catch them in the spotlight. Ready?”
“You bet,” Paxton said, taking hold of the gate handle and thumbing down to disconnect the latch. “One . . .”
“Two . . .” Quinn lifted his portable spotlight, ready to flick it on. “Three.”
Paxton threw the gate wide open as Quinn aimed the spotlight at the in-ground swimming pool. There was a high-pitched scream and the flash of a naked female body diving into the water.
“Not a raccoon,” Quinn said, walking into the backyard and aiming the light closer into the pool.
Whoever the interloper was, they’d swum up against the front edge of the pool to avoid the light.
Quinn called, “Come on out now; you’re trespassing and disturbing the peace.”
“Please turn off the light!”
Paxton shut his eyes, recalling the quick flash of the lean, naked body he’d glimpsed before it sliced under the water and he couldn’t stop the grin that formed. “Jolene? I’m pretty sure we’ll need to keep the light on to make sure you get out safely.”
Her head peeked up along the edge of the pool, her hands gripping on either side, holding on while she peered over. “Quinn? It’s me, Jolene. If you could please shut off the light, I’d be ever so grateful. And then punch your brother for me.”
Being the gentleman he was, Quinn shut the spotlight right off and punched Paxton in his shoulder. Not lightly either, but then, he’d always gotten along with Jolene.
“Ow.” Paxton rubbed his arm. “Are you always so accommodating to criminals?”
Quinn ignored him and called over to Jolene. “Sorry, Jo. Your parents heard some noise and called the police. I’ll go up and let your dad know everything’s fine.”
“Thank you! Could you just tell Daddy I couldn’t sleep, so I went for a swim . . . and leave it at that?”
“Sure thing.” Quinn nodded, then pointed a finger at Paxton and hissed, “You behave and be nice.”
“Haven’t you heard? Jo and I are dating. Isn’t that right, Jo?” he called across to her. He’d only been teasing, but their friendship was tenuous at best, too fragile to handle his twisted humor. Especially when their past resembled a fencing match with words.
The drawn-out moment of silence was long enough for Quinn to punch him again before Jo responded. “I wish I could say it wasn’t true—but alas, your brother is the object of my affection. My main squeeze. My fatal attraction. He’s my ball and chain.”
“Just to confirm, we’re talking about Paxton, right? That brother?”
“That’s the one, although I’m beginning to second-guess that decision.”
“She digs me.” Paxton nodded his most convincing and serious nod at Quinn, reassuring him Jo would be fine in his hands while his brother walked around to the house to explain everything to Mr. Joyner.
“Uh-huh. Well, I’m going to leave you two alone and let the Joyners know everything is fine. Really weird but fine.” Quinn shook his head at both of them and left through the gate.
“Um, Paxton, would you mind leaving with him?” The water rippled around her where she clung to the edge of the pool.
A quick glance around had him grinning. It was dark out, but the full moon lit up the area in an almost fluorescent-blue glow. His gaze followed along the trail of clothing: flip-flops, jeans, T-shirt, bra, panties, and . . . nothing else. He moved forward to crouch down in front of her. “You forgot a towel, didn’t you? This is very interesting.”
“It’s in my car. A gentleman would offer to go get it for me.”
“We didn’t see your car out front.”
“I parked over on Clairmont. My towel’s on the backseat.”
Her face and shoulders shimmered with water drops, as if she’d been dipped in diamond dust. His mother had raised him to be a gentleman, but even a gentleman would have trouble fighting the urge to see her whole diamond-dusted body laid out on the pool deck. Under him.
“Guess I’ll wait for Quinn to get back.”
“Sorry. I got distracted imagining you without a towel. I’ll go get it, but on one condition.”
“You’re not seeing me naked.”
Sadly no, but the burning in his gut told him he’d be craving exactly that long into the night. “I’ll get your towel and then you drive me home. Deal?”
“I think I’ll just wait for Quinn to come back.”
“Quinn’s not coming back. We’re dating, remember? He’d think it was odd if I didn’t go home with my beautifully naked girlfriend.”
She huffed out a breath. “I don’t see why your family needs to think we’re dating.”
“Because the way this town runs on gossip, it’s safer to keep the circle of trust small. You and me.”
“And Georgie. I had to tell her because she knows how much we don’t get along.”
“You know, you keep saying that like you’re trying to convince yourself. I think you’re afraid to let go of that because when we kissed the other day . . . we got along really well.”
“That was sex . . . or lust . . . or insanity. Not the same as getting along.”
“It could be a new beginning, only you’ll never know it if you keep fighting it. Hell, it’s not like either one of us actually wants to date—but maybe over the next six months we
could learn to coexist.” He stood and backed up a step, giving her something to think about while he fetched her towel. “Unless staying enemies was your way of getting my attention.”
“You have an overinflated sense of yourself, Paxton Cates. Towel, please, and then I’ll gladly deliver you to your door. I might even break the speed limit to get you there faster.”
In short order, Quinn’s car drove off, Paxton fetched the towel and, like a gentleman, turned his back while Jo dressed, and then they were on their way across town to Paxton’s, and sure enough, Jo was going one mile over the speed limit. Looked like her days of speeding were behind her based on the number of times she frowned and glanced into her rearview mirror.
“Jo, relax. One mile over the speed limit isn’t even considered speeding. It’s not like Quinn’s going to circle around behind you and pull you over.”
“With my luck? What were the odds I’d go skinny-dipping for the first time in my life and the cops showed up?” Sounded like she was talking to herself, but she’d growled it out loud enough for him to hear. “You’re looking at a reformed criminal.”
He angled his body toward her, resting up against the passenger door, mostly because his knees were up against the dashboard in her sensible sedan. But it also got her attention, which he was finding he liked. A lot.
“You’ve seriously never been skinny-dipping before?” Paxton’s gaze took her in from her wet hair down along her body, where her clothes clung to her still-damp skin. “Even though your parents have had that pool since junior year in high school?”
“Tonight was a first.” She threw a glance over at him before turning back to the road ahead. “How would you remember when my parents put in the pool?”
Paxton shrugged. “Good memory, I guess.”
“Oh my God. You were one of the boys who jumped our fence and went skinny-dipping the night of junior prom. Are you the one who mooned me?”
“No. You didn’t see my ass. Pretty sure that was Jordan Brown because I was the first one over the fence when the back porch lights flicked on.”
“Unbelievable. That would totally explain the sprained ankle and crutches you had the next week.”
“It would.” He stretched his arm along the bench seat, enjoying her little wiggle to let him know he was encroaching in her personal space. She’d be shocked if she knew how much thought he’d put into encroaching in her space in every location and position lately. Hell, he was shocking himself. Shocking because his imagination quickly escalated from encroaching to invading to entwining before moving on to thrusting. Pull it together, Pax. Whoa, wait. “How is it you remember my sprained ankle?”
She kept her gaze on the road ahead, but he leaned forward to see her eyes flick his way and back quick as a firefly blinks its light. Her shoulders shrugged, sending the long wet strands of her hair forward. “I don’t know. You probably tried to trip me with your crutches or something.”
He never had, but he’d let her get away with that rather than admit that maybe, just maybe, she’d been a bit fascinated with him back in high school. Because honesty made him admit he’d been fascinated with her too. He’d always figured the one constant holding them together was dislike. But maybe it hadn’t been that at all. Something to ponder.
When Jo pulled her car onto his driveway, Paxton stayed sitting relaxed in his seat. He leaned closer to her, picking up one of her damp curls and twining the silky strands around his finger. She glanced at him but turned back to face forward, avoiding his gaze.
“We’re here.”
“I know. But we’re dating now, so I thought I’d wait a bit. Let the windows steam up, just in case Mrs. Perkins is peeking out her window.”
“Mrs. Perkins won’t be peeking out her window at one in the morning.”
“It’s always the little details that unravel a story. And as a lawyer, I’ve heard a lot of stories over the years. Plus, wasn’t cuddling and kissing on your list of couple things to do? I don’t know about you, but I haven’t been part of a couple in two years, so I could use the practice.”
That got her head to swivel around to him. Her big eyes glittered at him. “Practice? You think we need to practice kissing?”
“Well, not you, no. Me. Remember the last kiss and we hit noses? That was all my fault. I’m a little rusty.”
She moved her head close, inches away to stare into his eyes, probably trying to see if he was pulling her leg. He kept his sincere facing-the-jury face on, which worked pretty much every time.
“Okay. One kiss and then you need to get out of my car.”
“Jo, if you keep sweet talking me like that, I won’t want us ever to be apart.”
Oof! She managed to elbow him in his diaphragm.
“Let’s go, Counselor.” She squeezed her eyes shut and puckered up her lips.
And suddenly Paxton didn’t want to play around. “Jo?”
Her eyes fluttered open. “Yes?”
“Nothing. I just wanted us to see each other first. I mean who we are now—not the jerk and not the princess.” He tilted up her chin and touched his lips to hers. Slowly . . . languidly, he tasted her sweetness while he ran his fingers along her jaw, down her neck where her pulse fluttered under his fingertips. Sanity returned slowly and he pulled back, and they stared into each other’s eyes. “Thanks for the ride home. And thanks for fogging up the windows so the neighbors will talk.”
Chapter Ten
“I don’t think I should be here, Paxton.” Jo grabbed his sleeve, pulling him close in order to speak softly. “This feels weird.”
He grabbed the end of her ponytail, which was draped over the front of her shoulder, playing with the curls at the end. “You know my family. How is it weird?”
Pulling her hair from his hand so he’d focus, she stood close to him, looking him directly in his eyes. “Sure I know them, but I don’t know-know them. And the really weird part is pretending to like each other in front of your family. I’m getting some strange looks.”
“Only because everyone is amazed you’d date me. I’m sure they’re thinking you’re too good for me.” He slid his big, warm hand along the nape of her neck and gently pulled her into his chest, his lips pressing against her temple. “Relax.”
Oh sure, relax he says as he turns her legs to mush with a casual kiss while his whole family gives them the side-eye. She poked her finger hard into his abdomen. “You didn’t deny pretending to like me.”
“I’m not pretending. I think we’ve grown on each other.” He wrapped an arm around her waist. “I like you. And it didn’t even hurt a bit admitting it. Want to give it a try?”
Jo felt her lips wiggle at his cajoling. The heat in his eyes was very persuasive. “I guess I like you too.”
“Oh, whoa, reel it in a little, Jojo. Your enthusiasm is sure to go to my head, and then you’ll have an arrogant, overconfident boyfriend to contend with.”
She laughed up at him, punching him lightly in the chest, only to have him grab her fist and pull her hand up to his mouth to place a kiss on her palm.
“Seriously, relax. This is the perfect place to practice being a couple because everyone here likes you and they tolerate me. We can’t go wrong tonight.”
He was right. Tonight was about becoming more comfortable with each other and helping convince others they were a couple. Cecelia and Seamus were wonderful people and good friends of her parents. And any awkwardness between them could be chalked up as new-relationship jitters.
“Good point, except I’m a little embarrassed that Quinn caught me skinny-dipping last night.”
“You know Quinn; he won’t say a thing. The only thing you have to worry about is that I might not rest until I talk you into skinny-dipping with me.”
“I hope you’re kidding because you, sir, have a gifted tongue and might just get me into trouble.”
His eyes glittered hotly into hers. “Jo, darlin’, if my gifted tongue gets you anywhere, I can guarantee it won’t be trouble.”
> The breath caught in her chest and she had to pat her breastbone to get it moving again.
“Jolene Joyner, you’re looking damn fine.” Paxton’s brother Tynan got up off the couch and gave her a hug. It didn’t last long because Paxton bodily separated them.
“Tynan, you big oaf, get off her. Jolene, you know Ty, right?”
“I do.” All the Cates brothers looked similar; they were all tall, dark-haired, and ruggedly handsome. Tynan had gone right into the military after high school, but he was also the most outgoing, so she knew him. “Tynan was a year ahead of us in school.”
“Yes, but because you were a smarty-pants we had AP chemistry class together.” Tynan frowned. “Why is it we never dated?”
Jo looked around to see that Mrs. Cates was on the far side of the kitchen, out of hearing range. “Well, for one thing, we were lab partners and I let you copy off my tests. I don’t think you wanted to mess that up.”
“I have a confession. I wasn’t copying off your tests. Pretty sure I was flirting.” Tynan grinned and then grunted when his fiancée, Lu, elbowed him in the ribs. “Hey, hey, now. That was young, immature, testosterone-fueled Ty. You and the Army have made me a better man, Lu.”
Lu reached over and gave Jo a light hug. “I’ve been meaning to talk with you, Jo. Are you interested in waiting tables at the diner once school’s out next week?”
“I’ve already committed to working a few hours a week at Aunt Marie’s Bakery and tutoring, but trust me, you wouldn’t want me for a waitress. I waited tables in college and I was terrible at it.”
Mrs. Cates rushed over from the kitchen, wiping her hands on her apron as she went. “Jo, it’s wonderful to see you. I’d say your mother and I are overdue a chat because I had no idea you and Paxton were dating. What a lovely surprise!”
“You know, it surprised us too.” Paxton squeezed her hand and steered her away before the nervous giggle she was holding in released.
“The only person here you may not know is Kaz’s fiancée, Mira.” Paxton directed Jo’s attention to the woman standing next to his twin.
“I’m happy to finally meet you, Mira.” Jo reached out and shook the woman’s hand. “I’ve heard a lot about you.”