Playing With Fire

by Alison Bliss

  Lovely.

  I added the last pieces of cut-up raw bacon to the pot of pinto beans and washed my hands, admiring the antique milk glass bottles in the window over the kitchen sink. “Is there anything else I can do for you, Mrs. Miller?”

  “Yes,” she replied, never looking up from the potato she was peeling. “You can start calling me Floss.”

  I turned and smiled at her, though she didn’t see it. The kind, little old lady sitting at the island in the kitchen was adorably sweet. She reminded me of Popeye’s Olive Oil, except her hair was gray and she was shorter than even me. She kept her hair pulled into a tight bun at the base of her neck, and even through the handmade blue jean dress, I could see how stick-thin she was.

  “Okay, Floss. Anything else I can help with?”

  She pulled another potato from the bag and began peeling. “No, dear. You’ve been helping since you arrived. I think you’ve done plenty already.”

  “I can peel these potatoes for you. I’m happy to help,” I said, reaching for one. “I don’t mind at all.”

  She swatted my hand. Hard. “You sure don’t,” Floss stated firmly. “I said you’re done. Now don’t make me tell you again, young lady.”

  I blinked, not sure what to make of her harsh tone.

  Unfazed, Floss went back to work peeling the potato. “You’re a guest in my home, dear, and guests shouldn’t be doing all the work.”

  Bobbie Jo sat at the nearby kitchen table with a smile on her face. “I warned you Floss was going to get onto you if you didn’t sit down.”

  True. But she didn’t say the old woman would turn physically violent.

  Emily stepped into the room with one hand up her shirt, adjusting her bra. “Okay, I fed Lily, and she’s out like a light.”

  “Do you need me to move Austin?” Bobbie Jo asked her. “He fell asleep on my shoulder, so I laid him in Lily’s playpen.”

  “Nah. I put her in the bassinet and wheeled her over beside him in the living room. They look so cute sleeping next to each other.”

  “Aww,” Bobbie Jo said, leaning to catch a peek of the little ones sleeping together.

  “Bet you two mommas won’t be saying that in another twenty years or so,” Floss said, giving me a knowing smile.

  “Oh, jeez,” Emily said with a laugh. “Jake loves Austin like his own son, but he’ll kill that boy if he comes anywhere near Lily after puberty.”

  “Cowboy swears it’s going to happen,” Bobbie Jo said, grinning.

  At the mention of his name, I felt my body warm. “Well, they are so close in age,” I told them, nodding in agreement. “It’s probably kismet.”

  “Nope, it’s all in God’s hands.” Floss winked at me. Then she gestured to a pitcher of iced tea and a pack of clear plastic cups on the counter. “Now that the babies are down for their naps, why don’t you three take some iced tea out to the fellas? I’ll keep an eye on the young’uns.”

  Emily lifted the pitcher as Bobbie Jo reached for the stack of cups, leaving nothing for me to carry. And I desperately needed something to hold onto with my shaky hands. I wasn’t entirely sure I was ready to face Cowboy after what happened between us.

  “I could stay behind and help with—” Floss cut her eyes to me, daring me to finish my sentence. “Okay. Well, if you’re sure…”

  I was anything but.

  To busy my trembling hands, I opened the back door off the kitchen and allowed Emily and Bobbie Jo to walk out first while I peeked over the railing. On the ground, the men all congregated around an old barrel-style smoker, where Hank was basting huge slabs of beef he must’ve put on the grill before we’d arrived.

  Floss had introduced me to her husband, Hank, when he’d popped inside to grab what he called his lucky barbecue fork. I still wasn’t quite sure what sort of “luck” a barbecue fork could hold, but I found him to be a charming man.

  Jake ribbed his uncle about “rubbing his meat,” while Ox and Judd stood off to the side, playfully arguing over which of them looked better in a Speedo. It wasn’t hard to recognize either of them, since Ox was almost always the littlest guy in the crowd and Judd was the giant.

  Cowboy lounged in a nearby chair with one booted foot kicked over the other. He stared out into the pasture, as if he were lost in deep thought, and was relatively quiet compared to the others.

  I followed the girls downstairs, but as we reached the bottom, Cowboy was the only person who looked our way. He tilted a bottle of beer to his lips, but his eyes never left mine. Unaware of his watchfulness, Emily and Bobbie Jo turned and headed for a nearby picnic table. But I just stood there empty-handed, feeling as useless as I probably looked.

  Cowboy’s gaze burned into me, searing me from the inside out, as if he were reading my soul like a book. My gaze fixed on him, too, trying to decipher the hidden meaning behind the look he gave me, but I couldn’t think about anything other than the way his lips had felt on mine the last time we were together.

  A low whistle broke us from our trance-like state as Jake slapped him on the shoulder and snared Cowboy’s attention. “Going to sit around all day ogling the women or are you going to give us a hand?”

  “I wasn’t ogling,” Cowboy told him, glancing back at me to see if I heard, then his attention fell back on his friend. No doubt he noticed my blushing cheeks.

  Jake grinned. “Yeah right. This is you we’re talking about.”

  Cowboy glared at him. “I said I wasn’t ogling!”

  The surprised expression on Jake’s face was enough to convince me I wasn’t the only one who thought Cowboy overreacted.

  “Damn it, Jake. Leave the boy alone,” Hank said, closing in on the two of them. “If he said he wasn’t ogling the girls, then drop it. Don’t piss off the help.”

  As Jake walked away, Cowboy grinned at Hank. “Afraid I’d get mad and leave before saddle-breaking that horse of yours?”

  “Nope. I know I can count on you, son.” He leaned in a little closer, but didn’t bother whispering. “Now quit ogling the women and get back to work.”

  The other men snickered.

  Cowboy shot to his feet and tossed his empty beer bottle into the nearby trash can so hard it broke as it clanked against the other empties. Then he shook his head. “Everybody ’round here thinks they’re a goddamn comedian.”

  He lit out for a swampy-looking pond at the back of the property, probably to blow off some steam. Everyone sat silent and slack-jawed for a moment until Cowboy was out of earshot.

  Then Ox said, “Man, who kicked him in the sac?”

  I wasn’t sure, but judging by Cowboy’s avoidance of me all week, and his sudden annoyance after seeing me again, apparently I had. And considering the smile and wink Hank gave me as he plopped down in a nearby plastic lawn chair, the old man agreed.

  Thank goodness no one else had noticed me standing there and could connect me to Cowboy’s bad attitude or his sudden disappearance.

  “Hey, fellas,” Jake said, gazing directly at me. “Look who’s here. It’s Anna.”

  Crap.

  The moment Jake mentioned my name, all eyes shifted onto me. Like he’d just crammed me under a very uncomfortable microscope. But even though I hadn’t seen some of them in ten years, each of them had a smile on their face. At least somebody was happy to see me.

  With the others on his heels, Jake headed directly for me and gave me a friendly one-arm hug. “I had no idea you’d be here today.”

  “Bobbie Jo talked me into coming at the last minute.” I offered him a genuine smile. “By the way, I saw your precious baby girl upstairs. You must be so proud. Lily’s a doll.”

  “Of course she is,” he said with a wink. “She takes after her daddy.”

  Ox tapped Jake on the shoulder from behind. “All right, Barbie, move it along. You’re holding up the line.”

  Emily chuckled from somewhere behind me, and Jake glared at Ox. “If she starts calling me that, I’m going to kick your ass.”

  Ox didn’t look c
oncerned, though. He moved past Jake and leaned in to hug my neck and gave me a quick peck on the cheek. “Hey, girl,” he drawled. “Bobbie Jo said you moved to our neck of the woods.”

  Ox moved aside to make room for Judd, who’d been waiting patiently for his chance to greet me. And he needed a lot of room. I’d thought it was impossible for him to get any bigger than the last time I’d seen him, but sure enough, he looked like he’d nearly doubled in size.

  Judd swept me up in a big bear hug that cracked my back. “It’s great to see you again, Anna.”

  When he put me down, I had to take an extra deep breath. “Thank you. It’s nice to see you, too,” I wheezed out.

  “See, Jake?” Ox said. “That’s how you take turns. Learned that in Kindergarten, ya know?”

  “Shut up,” Jake said.

  Emily must’ve approached from behind me, because suddenly she was standing next to me. “Don’t mind Jake. The bonehead’s been grouchy for weeks now.”

  Jake poked Emily in her side, making her squeal with laughter, then wrapped his arms around her waist and nuzzled his face into her neck. “I’ll show you a bonehead.”

  “Uh-uh-uh.” She shook her finger at him. “The doctor said six weeks. You’ve got two more days before I’m allowed to—”

  Jake clamped his mouth over hers, muffling out the last word.

  “Did she say duck?” Ox asked, grinning.

  Judd chuckled. “Nope. Pretty sure it was truck.”

  “Maybe she meant luck,” Bobbie Jo said as she joined the group.

  I shrugged. “Could’ve been suck.”

  Jake pulled his mouth from Emily’s and everyone blinked at me. I blushed, realizing they took it differently than how I meant it. I was just throwing out a rhyming word like everyone else. Or so I thought.

  Jake laughed and said, “I like the way you think.”

  “You would.” Emily rolled her eyes at him. “Don’t give him any ideas, Anna. The man’s relentless as it is.”

  He winked at her. “Pot and kettle, baby.”

  She grinned at that and winked back at him. I could see why Emily was so smitten by her husband. Jake was as good-looking as ever with his dark hair and steely gray eyes. And as funny and beautiful as Emily was, I could definitely see why Jake had fallen so hard for her. I was glad to see he ended up so happy.

  And Bobbie Jo stood next to them with a genuine, heartfelt smile on her face, proving how glad she was that Jake found someone else to love. As far as ex-girlfriends go, he couldn’t have asked for a better one.

  “So, Anna,” Ox said, snaring my attention. “Didn’t you live in Houston all those years ago? What brings you to our neck of the woods?”

  I nodded. “There was an opening at the library, and Bobbie Jo was able to put in a good word for me. Her mother knows the director.”

  “You’re a librarian?” Ox asked, letting loose one of his boisterous chuckles. For a tiny guy, he had one of the loudest, most entertaining laughs I’d ever heard. “Perfect job for you. At camp, you always had your nose in a book.”

  “Yes. I…um, suppose I did,” I replied meekly, realizing that everyone—including Cowboy—probably remembered me as a boring, mousy girl.

  “I didn’t even recognize you when you first walked down the stairs,” Judd said seriously. “Man, you sure have changed since the last time I saw you. You’re all grown up.”

  Though I was sure he meant it as a compliment, I felt the familiar heat of embarrassment creeping up my neck as everyone stared at me. It was terrific seeing so many recognizable faces, although I’d always hated being the center of attention. It overwhelmed me and gave me the urge to stick my entire head into a book, rather than just my nose.

  But I tried to play it cool. Even if my hands were feeling clammy and I was beginning to break into a sweat. The jacket I had on wasn’t helping matters.

  “So, what have you been up to all of these years?” Jake inquired.

  “Not much, really,” I said vaguely. “What about you guys?”

  Jake’s keen eyes fixed on me and he cocked his head, as if he knew I was deliberately taking the focus off myself and steering the conversation back to them. It’s not like I had anything to hide. Nothing more than usual, anyway. I just didn’t like talking about myself that much.

  Hank pulled at his belt as he rose from his plastic lawn chair. “All right, boys. Break’s over,” he called out. “Let the womenfolk be. You can catch up with them over supper.”

  “Why not now?” Jake asked.

  “Because I said so. You boys need to go find Cowboy. I’d do it myself, but it’s too far of a walk. I have enough damn pins and screws in my knee to declare myself a robot.”

  “We could always get you one of those souped-up scooters to drive around on the property.” Jake grinned as he baited his elderly uncle.

  “Those are for old people,” Hank said seriously. “Now go find Cowboy and get to work. I don’t pay you all to sit around.”

  Jake chuckled at that. “You don’t pay us at all, you old coot.”

  “That’s because I dock wages for smart mouths. Right now, all of you are dangerously close to going in the red and owing me some money.”

  The men rolled their eyes at Hank’s idle threat, but they didn’t hesitate to get moving. Bobbie Jo and I grinned as Jake leaned over and gave Emily a quick kiss and then whispered something in her ear that made her face light up.

  As the boys walked toward the pond, Hank turned to me. “Honey, can I get you to do me a small favor?”

  “Um, sure,” I said warily.

  “Floss needs some fresh eggs to boil for her potato salad. There’s a stack of buckets along the far wall in the barn. If you would be a dear and get me one, I’d appreciate it.”

  “Absolutely. In fact, if you want I could even…”

  I was just about to offer to gather the eggs for him, too, but Emily stood behind him, shaking her head violently. She flapped her arms like a chicken, then sliced a finger across her throat, as if we were playing some weird game of charades that I hadn’t signed up for. I wasn’t sure what any of it meant, but gathering the eggs didn’t look like anything I wanted to be involved in.

  “No problem,” I told him, bewildered by whatever came over Emily. “I’ll be right back.”

  Chapter Eight

  Inside the musty-smelling barn, I’d just found a small bucket when Cowboy’s voice sounded outside the door. Not ready to face him alone, I panicked, hurried into the nearest horse stall that was filled with a few hay bales, and ducked down to keep from being spotted. Thankfully, the stall sat against the back wall in the center of the room, leaving me a clear view of almost the entire barn.

  My plan was simple: wait for him to leave, then do the same.

  Through the narrow slats on the stall gate, I watched in silence as Cowboy stepped inside, followed seconds later by three shadows that turned out to be Jake, Ox, and Judd.

  “Should’ve known you guys would follow me in here,” Cowboy griped, clearly still upset. “It’s not like you sissies have anything better to do than harass me.”

  He kicked a metal pail that clanged against the stall I was in. Startled by the loud sound, I jumped as the silver bucket shot out a few feet away from the gate and knocked over several wooden-handled shovels leaning against the wall.

  Jake, Ox, and Judd stood in the barn doorway giving Cowboy a slow clap for his bad aim. I couldn’t help but grin.

  “You guys are dicks.”

  “Aw, come on, Cowboy. We’re just playing around,” Ox said. “Besides, when the hell did you ever start looking at Bobbie Jo like that?”

  Judd chuckled. “Yeah, you looked like you wanted to rip her clothes off.”

  Not looking the least bit amused, Cowboy whirled on them. “You sick sonofabitches! That’d be like me screwing my own sister,” he snapped, throwing his hands in the air. “And for your information, you bunch of nitwits, I wasn’t looking at her. I was looking at… Aw, shit. Forget it.”<
br />
  Even though it made sense that if Cowboy hadn’t been looking at Bobbie Jo, he would’ve been looking at me, Ox and Judd didn’t catch on. I mean, obviously he wasn’t referring to Emily. At least not while Jake stood there. But leave it to the FBI guy to be the only one to pick up on it.

  “Anna?” Jake asked, raising an eyebrow to his friend. When Cowboy didn’t answer, Jake laughed. Loudly. “Really?”

  I ground my teeth together, offended by his question. Thanks a lot, Jake.

  Then he added, “I mean, she’s a cute girl and all. But since when did you become a sucker for a woman with a brain?”

  That comment had me biting my lip and stifling a laugh.

  Cowboy shrugged, but still didn’t say anything.

  Jake shook his head and grinned. “All right, Cowboy. Spill it.”

  “Spill what?” Cowboy asked, shifting uncomfortably.

  “I want to know what’s going on with you and the woman who dresses like a grandma.”

  I cringed. This was precisely why people shouldn’t eavesdrop.

  Then Jake said, “You’ve been behaving strangely today and I’m betting it has something to do with Anna. You started acting funny the moment she showed up.”

  “I don’t know what you’re talking about,” Cowboy said.

  Jake sighed. “Don’t play fucking games with me. Or with Anna, either. You know exactly what I’m talking about.”

  Cowboy leaned back, hooking one arm over the top railing of a nearby stall, as he gave the others a cool look. “I’m not interested in playing games with anyone.”

  “But you’re interested…in her?” Jake asked, his expression souring.

  “So what if I am? You got a problem with that?”

  I blinked rapidly and felt my heart rate speed up.

  “I do if you’re leading her to believe that whatever’s going on between you two will be a mutually monogamous relationship.”

  Cowboy shoved off the stall, shuffled a few feet away, and kicked at a clump of mud mixed with hay. At least I thought it was mud…until the barn’s pungent odor of manure worsened. Then he spun around to face Jake, irritation lighting up his face. “I guess this is your way of telling me to leave Anna alone…all because you don’t think I can be faithful to a woman.”