JAKE: So you’re mean to me. I see how this is going to work.
ME: Would you rather me play nice?
JAKE: Does nice involve kissing and less clothing?
ME: Now that is tempting.
I chewed on my lip. There was nothing I’d like more than stripping Jake down and spending a little time between the sheets. Or in the bathroom. Or maybe on that big, comfortable sofa.
Lord, one night and the man had turned me into a sex fiend.
JAKE: You’re thinking about me naked, aren’t you?
I couldn’t stop the burst of laughter that sent a mouthful of soda across the car. The agent looked down at her slacks and picked up a napkin to dab at the moisture.
“I’m so sorry.” I grabbed some napkins and tried to pat her knee. “So sorry. I didn’t mean to spit on you. I’m awful.”
“It’s fine, Miss McGuire.”
“I’m really sorry.” I dug in my fast food sack for some more napkins. “I shouldn’t be allowed in public.”
“It’s really okay.” She smiled. “Must’ve been a funny message.”
I laughed and nodded my head, but the truth was I really was picturing Jake naked now. The light on my phone was blinking to indicate I had a new message.
JAKE: I was right.
ME: No, but I spit coke all over my new agent.
JAKE: Score!
ME: Haha. It’s late. Get some sleep. We’ve got a lot of work tomorrow.
JAKE: Yes, ma’am.
ME: Ew, don’t call me ma’am.
JAKE: Goodnight, MadLibs.
ME: Goodnight, Golden Boy.
Chapter 15
Jake
It had been over two weeks since I’d freaked out while Maddie had been in my bed. I still wanted to kick my own ass for scaring her. Her eyes wide with fear and her bottom lip quivering haunted me. I’d never hurt Maddie, I’d just needed her to be still.
Hell, I wanted to kick my own ass, period. She hadn’t asked again if I’d found someone to talk to, but it weighed in the back of my mind. If I went to the Marine psychologist, anything they labeled me with would end up on a permanent record. Not to mention it would be Sunday reading for my mother.
That was not something that I wanted to happen. My mother was the last person I wanted to know that I wasn’t functioning at one hundred percent. I could only see her doing one of two things: locking me away with round the clock monitoring or spreading the information in an attempt to garner more support.
My fingers clenched on the leash in my hand.
Puz looked up at me with a worried whine and I reached down to pet his head. The dog had weaseled his way into my heart with little trouble, but I still occasionally wondered how I’d ended up with some kind of poodle mix. Maddie had tied little red bows in the fur behind his ears the other night. Puz couldn’t have cared less as long as she was paying him attention, but I’d almost resorted to cutting them out when I couldn’t figure out how to undo the clips.
Little red bows on a half poodle added up to a whole lot of poodle. I’d been in the Marines and a poodle didn’t exactly fit the image. No, a German shepherd or maybe a lab would have been my first pick.
Instead I’d fallen in love with a half poodle missing a leg and the woman that had picked him out for me. Yeah, I was in deep shit considering that I’d managed to do the exact thing I’d been attempting to avoid. There was no denying how I felt about Maddie.
Puz stopped to look at a little toad jumping down the stairs in front of our brownstone and I held his leash tightly.
“Don’t lick that, Puz. It’ll give you a nasty stomachache.”
The dog looked up at me and I swear I could see in his eyes that he didn’t believe me.
“I’m serious, Puz. They secrete toxins to keep predators away.”
The dog sneezed and shook his head.
“Fine, go ahead and lick him. Learn the hard way.”
Puz looked at me with solemn eyes before moving up two steps and tilted his hind quarters to pee on the toad. He’d already gone so much that he could barely squeeze a sputtering dribble out.
“I didn’t mean you should piss on it! Geez. Go, toad! Don’t just stand there.” I moved my toes toward the little green guy and he hopped off into the bushes. “Is it a full moon tonight? What has gotten into you?”
Puz sneezed again and took the last few steps to sit next to the front door.
“You’re done, right? Got it all out of your system?” I shook my head and dug my keys out of my pocket. “I don’t know why I’m talking to you. You’re probably wondering the same thing, huh? It’s not like we speak the same language. Otherwise you wouldn’t have tried to eat that squirrel last weekend.”
Puz had two stitches on his top lip where the squirrel had taken a good bite out of his flesh. He’d gotten blood all over the seats in my truck because he wouldn’t be still on the way to the vet’s office. Then he’d lay on the table and whined while the nurses fussed over him. The little monster had eaten up the attention. When they were done he’d hopped up and bounded around as if nothing had happened while I paid the bill.
Maddie had brought him a squirrel-shaped chew toy that night. I’d had to cut the squeaker out and then try to sew it back together just so I could get some sleep. Thankfully she hadn’t seemed to notice the lack of noise on her last visit or she was bound to buy another one just to annoy me. She liked to do that.
I smiled to myself. And I loved it.
Maddie pushed me, needled me, kept me on my toes. She also seemed to have an infinite amount of patience when I had rough days. It was as if she understood where my lines were and when to not cross them. With her around I didn’t have to pretend I was perfect. She accepted me for who I was.
I hadn’t had any sort of panic attack or anxiety-induced anger since we’d started spending so much time together. Maybe I didn’t need to talk to anyone about it. It wasn’t like I wanted to drag up all those painful memories and relive them while someone else took notes.
Wouldn’t that be counterproductive?
I got Puz settled for the day and left the grocery list for the housekeeper on the kitchen island. It was so much easier to pay her a little extra to have her run that errand. Maddie had started keeping a running itinerary on the board next to the fridge. She had listed things like avocados, pasta, and special cheeses. It was fun to go food shopping with Maddie because she knew what she was doing. I just stared blankly at the wall of cans and debated which Chef Boyardee pasta would make the best lunch.
Not exactly a healthy way to live, which is why I had been going out to eat at some of the healthy places around town. That wasn’t an option now that Maddie and I were dating. The media swarmed us whenever we went anywhere together. I hoped that would calm down eventually.
There was a knock on my front door as I grabbed my stuff to leave. I opened it expecting to see one of the PR people with an itinerary, but instead my youngest sister looked up at me.
“Hey monster.” I pulled her into a hug. “What are you doing here?”
“It’s a teacher work day so I’m off from school. I thought I could come help at the house.” She squeezed my waist and looked up at me. “That’s okay, right? Maddie said I could help.”
“Yeah, I just didn’t know it would be today.” Puz jumped around our legs trying to get my sister’s attention. He had fallen in love at first sight of my sister. His little tail wagged so fast I thought it might fly off. “You better tell him hello before we leave or he’ll pout all day.”
“There’s my big guy!” She reached down and scooped the furry beast in her arms while he peppered her face with kisses. “I missed you too. Yes I did. I missed you!”
“Do you want anything before we leave?” I wrinkled my nose when he stuck his tongue in her ear. “Something to drink? Sanitizer for your face?”
She laughed and sat Puz back on the floor before wagging her finger at him. “Be good, Puz. Be good and I’ll bring you a treat next time. Yes
I will!”
“He’s a dog, not stupid.” I rolled my eyes while she baby-talked.
“This is how you talk to dogs, Jake!” She punched my stomach. “Isn’t that right, Puz? You talk to them like they’re sweet little babies, because that’s what they are. Isn’t that right?”
“If you keep talking like that I’m going to hurl.” I gently pushed her out of the doorway. “Go lay down, Puz. Get in your bed.”
He looked at me and sneezed again before walking to his giant cushion. His little tail was wagging so hard I was worried he would knock himself off balance.
“Why is he sneezing? Is he sick?” Ari looked up at me with worried eyes.
“The stitches tickle.” I put an arm over her shoulders as we walked to my truck. Our constant companions, the Secret Service, followed just a few steps behind.
“Poor Puz. I can’t believe you let a squirrel get him!” She glared at me as I opened the passenger door for her.
“Let him? Are you kidding? I couldn’t keep the dog away from the little bastard! Puz got exactly what he wanted: a mouth full of squirrel. And the squirrel got a mouth full of Puz. How is that my fault?”
“You shouldn’t have let him get so close to it.”
I closed the door and rolled my eyes as I went around to my side of the car. “It was in my backyard. It’s not like I had him on a leash and took him over to a tree and said, ‘sick ’em!’”
“How am I supposed to know that?” She crossed her arms, but there was a small smile on her face.
“Did you decide to do manual labor because you wanted to punish me or because you missed me? Because right now, I’m not sure.”
“Why can’t it be both?” Her smile turned smug.
“God, puberty is a bitch. I should send out apology notes to everyone I badgered when I was your age.” I laughed.
“They wouldn’t be able to read them. Your handwriting is atrocious.” She reached for the radio controls and fiddled with them until she found a station she liked.
We lapsed into a silence and I thought about how much I had missed being around my sisters. They drove me crazy on a regular basis, but that’s what sisters were supposed to do. They were also a comfort because they knew you better than anyone else. You didn’t have to explain why you were thinking or doing something because they already knew what your reasoning was behind it all.
Of course, that didn’t stop them from pointing out when they thought you were wrong.
Trina fell in love with Ari as soon as we got to the worksite. It wasn’t long before she was wearing a hard hat and carrying a clipboard like the older woman. It wasn’t like my sister was a stranger to telling people what to do. She’d been doing it since the day she was born. It would take a strong man to handle her when she grew up.
The house was almost complete except for a few odds and ends. We needed to put on switch plates and touch up some of the paint. One of the French doors that led to the backyard was crooked and would need to be adjusted, but all in all things had really pulled together.
“It’s amazing how fast it went.” Maddie’s warm voice had me turning around to look at her. Those fairy eyes sparkled up at me in the morning sun and I bent down to give her a quick kiss.
I would have loved to have taken longer to savor the moment, but there were already a ton of cameras pointed in our direction.
“Good morning.” She smiled up at me.
“Good morning.” It would have been a much better morning if I had woken up with her next to me.
“I’m sorry I didn’t make it over last night. I was at Senator Fletcher’s office until almost eleven.” She frowned and I noticed the dark circles under her eyes. “There are so many rules and things to organize. They poll everything! What words to use, when we should submit the bill, who makes a solid supporter. This morning I woke up and thought I needed to poll what jeans I should wear.”
I turned her around and looked down at the denim cupping her ass. “These pollsters have good taste.”
“Shush.” She laughed but it ended on a yawn.
“Why don’t you take today off?” I took the paint can that she had set down near our feet. “We’re only doing touch-up things today.”
“I’m fine.” She rubbed at her face. “I just need some coffee.”
“Maddie, what time did you go to sleep last night?”
“Um, a little after one.” She shrugged and held her hand out for the paint can but I moved it out of her reach.
“So this morning, not last night at all.”
“What’s your point, Simmon?” She narrowed her eyes. “I had a late night but I’ll trudge along.”
“A construction site is not a safe place when you can barely keep your eyes open.” I put the paint can down on a bench and turned her toward where her agent was standing. “Tony, Miss McGuire needs to go home.”
The man already had Maddie’s jacket in his hands. “I told you to call out today. You look exhausted.”
“Don’t gang up on me.” Maddie jerked the coat out of his hands and shoved her arms in the sleeves. “And thanks for the compliment.”
“It’s not his fault you haven’t gotten any sleep this week.” I brushed some of the hair away from her face.
“You know what I’ve been working on and there is so much more to do.” She rubbed her hands over her face again. “I’m in so far over my head.”
“The senator is going to make sure you have someone on your side the entire time.” I pulled her into a hug. Damn the cameras and the press. They already knew we were dating. A little PDA wouldn’t be shocking now. “I also have a lot more confidence in you than you apparently do. Nothing stops Maddie McGuire when she puts her mind to it.”
She snorted and I pressed a kiss to the side of her head. “My little pug.”
“Jerk.” She laughed against my chest.
“My little felon pug.” I chuckled and jerked when she dug her fingers into my ribs.
She stood up on her tiptoes and pulled my face down to hers for a kiss. Her warm mouth made my blood heat up but I kept it short and sweet. She needed to go home and get some rest. There was no reason for her to stay here where she might get hurt.
Maddie sighed and pulled away. “I’ll call you later.”
“You better.”
“C’mon, Maddie.” Tony motioned for the car.
“Tell Puz I got him a new squirrel.” She winked at me before scampering off to the black SUV.
“Tony, make sure she gets some rest.” I stepped toward the man.
“I’ll make sure Maddie does what she wants to do.” The man squared his shoulders and gave me a good look over.
“Okay.” It was going to be like that, I supposed. Tony had been Maddie’s guard for a long time and I remember my father mentioning how it was odd to have such a long-term assignment.
I narrowed my eyes and reassessed the man in front of me. He was older than I was but still in good shape. It was easy for me to imagine another man falling in love with Maddie. She made it easy. In fact, I was surprised there weren’t a hundred men trailing behind her.
“Whatever you’re thinking, stop. Maddie is like my little sister.” His deep voice was laced with amusement. “And I watch out for her like she’s my little sister.”
“So, you’re making sure my intentions are honorable?” I ran a hand over the back of my neck.
“Something like that.” Tony nodded his head. “Don’t screw up, Jake.”
I didn’t know what to say so just nodded my head.
“Jake! They’re going to let me use the nail gun!” Ari’s voice floated back to me and I jerked.
“That was one of the most frightening things I’ve ever heard. Go take care of your sister.” Tony nodded at me again before going to get in Maddie’s car.
Worried that my sister might accidentally nail someone I jogged to the house and went to help. The last thing I wanted to do was explain how my little sister killed someone at the worksite.
&
nbsp; Chapter 16
Maddie
“Where did you get that thing? It’s huge.” I stared in the door with wide eyes.
“That’s what she said.” Cyrus laughed from his wheelchair.
Jake laughed from where he was leaning against the back of a giant couch. “You missed all the fun. You should have seen us trying to get it in the house.”
“Did you take out a wall?” The couch was almost the size of the living room, with just enough space for a coffee table and television.
“My aunt bought it for us as a housewarming gift.” Kyla breezed into the living room and I envied how perfect she looked. It was as if she wasn’t about to have a baby any minute. No matter the fact that it was hotter than hell outside.
“I’m sorry I wasn’t here in time to help.”
“You’ll make it up to me somehow.” Jake wrapped sweaty arms around me and I squeaked.
“I’m not worried about you,” I answered.
“Well, we’re not upset either,” Kyla shouted from the kitchen. The woman hadn’t stopped moving since I’d arrived.
“Has she been like this the whole day?” I looked up at Jake.
“Yes. If we could bottle that energy and sell it, we’d be rich.”
“She’s nesting,” Cyrus explained. Despite his earlier joke I noticed that he had circles under his eyes.
“You doing okay?”
“I’m fine.” He waved his hand in the air. “Didn’t sleep much last night.”
“Excited about the house?”
“Yeah.” He smiled, but it only enhanced the paleness of his face.
“Well, what can I do to help?” I shot a look up at Jake and caught his frown. He was looking at his friend with a worried expression.
“You’d be best asking Kyla. I’d probably tell you the wrong thing.” His laugh was a little more genuine. “Never get in the way of a nesting mother.”
“Right. Then I’ll go get my orders from the General.” I mock saluted and went in search of his wife.
Three hours later I was sitting on the floor in the closet of the nursery, cleaning the baseboards. My back ached and my knees would have bruises, but there wasn’t a speck of dust on any baseboards in this house.
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