Chasing Joshua

by Cara North

  “Fine.” Evelyn felt a little hurt he didn’t call her baby. She wondered if he was ashamed of her. Maybe he didn’t want them to know. The fussy toddler reached out and grabbed her nose. Funny, how she felt it in her heart. Joshua seemed right at home holding him, playing. That set off a longing she definitely wasn’t expecting to feel.

  “Look at you, little man.” Evelyn reached for the child, and Joshua handed him over. He trusted her to hold a child? Gray put the wig on Evelyn’s head crooked. Her natural hair was straight down her back. She had only tucked it under the wig this morning since she was just going to the library. “You’re a handsome little devil, you know that?”

  Watching her play with Gray made Joshua’s heart full. He had never been a sappy guy, but time had changed him. He wanted what he thought he was going to have with Candace, a family, but now he wanted more. He wanted a real family, a woman that loved him, and a child of his own. Evelyn seemed comfortable, and why wouldn’t she? She was a woman. It made him think about a future he was sure wasn’t in her plans, and that saddened him.

  Gray leaned in to give Evelyn a kiss. She puckered up and made a big sound for him. The child giggled and kissed again making his own big sounds.

  “Quit kissing my woman, Gray.” Joshua made a very telling joke, and there was no going back from there. His face blushed, and Evelyn looked at him with big blue eyes. He liked her brown eyes better.

  “Joshua?” three adult voices said in unison. Only one came with an uncertain look, Evelyn’s.

  “I’m just playing, damn.” Joshua kissed her on the cheek as he took Gray holding him up at arms length. “You’re stiff competition, buddy. She’s kissing you within minutes. She’s been in this house for days now and I’m still working on getting one.”

  The child stuck his tongue out and giggled some more. “Damn.”

  “Evelyn, look at what you taught him.” Joshua handed him back to Evelyn fast. “Shame on you, woman.”

  “No, actually his mother taught him that.” Ethan rubbed Grace’s shoulders.

  Evelyn looked toward them, and it appeared Grace was in shock. Her mouth was open, and she just blinked. Evelyn held Gray on one hip and walked to her old friend. “Let’s go out back and talk.” And over her shoulder, she said, “Joshua, can you start dinner?”

  “Yeah, Joshua you have guests for crying out loud.” Ethan winked at Joshua and Evelyn lifted a brow at him. “I am allowed to speak to him.”

  “Ethan, if she hurts you, I’m not going to rescue you.” Joshua started about the kitchen, and Ethan opened the refrigerator.

  “Like she could.” Ethan just reached for the margarine when Evelyn poked him in the side with her finger. He never heard her set Gray down, and he never heard her walk across the floor next to him. He jumped dropping the margarine. It was both a poke, and unfortunately, he was very ticklish, so it was a double shock.

  “Oh, I can, but I won’t. After all, I’d hate to miss the sequel to your video debut.” Evelyn winked at him and walked off.

  “Ethan, you said you had that at home!” Grace was blushing. The two of them had a history of mishaps, but now even friends were catching them. Grace wished she could be embarrassed, but by now she was used to being sexual. And since she wanted Ethan everywhere, they usually got caught.

  “Come on, Gracie. Joshua wouldn’t let me watch it.” Evelyn turned back to Ethan and whispered, “But he was at work all day.”

  Ethan’s mouth dropped. His face was full flush red. “Joshua.”

  Grace and Evelyn laughed as they headed out the backdoor to the yard. Grace picked up the toy bucket and scattered some things for Gray to play with. In the kitchen Ethan finally picked his jaw up and started about dinner.

  * * * *

  “Well, at least she didn’t point a gun at you.” Joshua loved it. Evelyn had put Ethan in his place in a big way. Kinky bastard deserved it. “The DVD’s up there. What I don’t get is how you used all my condoms in one day.”

  “Three hours actually.” Ethan picked up the bowl of margarine and tried to be cool. “And by what I saw when I walked in here, you know exactly how.”

  “No, actually I don’t because I didn’t have any condoms.” Joshua nudged his cousin out of the way with his shoulder. They were both large men, and though the country kitchen was big, the two masculine bodies made it seem small.

  “Oh, well, if it makes you feel any better, one broke, so I think you should thank me instead of being mad. I saved you from fatherhood.” Ethan popped him with a dishtowel.

  “Who says I want to be saved?” Joshua’s tone was too serious for the moment. He didn’t mean it to be, but he hadn’t meant to force their relationship out in the open earlier either. He wouldn’t make another move on her in front of anyone. Evelyn made it clear she was a man hater. He didn’t want to get pushed back in that category.

  “Shit man. I told you, this house makes you crazy.” Ethan thought back to his own experience here. He met Grace when he had banned all women from his life. She came up with a plan to shake things up a bit and shook him right to the core with love. “What does she think?”

  “Hell, I don’t know. One minute she’s threatening my life, the next she’s crawling into my bed.” Joshua shrugged. “She’s in trouble Ethan, and I have to protect her. Once that’s done, she’ll realize I’m just a school teacher. Not a cop, not a hero. She’ll leave and go back to a life of high adventure.”

  Ethan grabbed his cousin’s shoulder and then let go. He understood why she was important to Joshua now. He was in love. God help him.

  “You’ll always be my hero, man.” Ethan feigned a tear.

  “I need to change clothes ... Ass.” Joshua slugged him in the shoulder and headed upstairs.

  * * * *

  Grace settled into the hammock, and Evelyn climbed in next to her. Gray was occupied running around the yard playing with the wig.

  “I miss this hammock.” Grace held Evelyn’s hand. “And I missed you.”

  “Don’t get all mushy on me, Gracie.” Evelyn squeezed her hand. “I have a rep to protect.”

  “And a fine job you’re doing by the way.” Grace laughed. “Did you really watch that video?”

  “Hell no.” Evelyn laughed now, too. “But I can’t say I wasn’t tempted. I haven’t really experienced a lot, and with my impending death I have become a little curious to say the least.”

  “What?” Grace turned to look at Evelyn.

  “Joshua, God, he is amazing. His lips are like...”

  “Evelyn, forget Joshua, what are you talking about?” Grace was worried. No wonder Joshua had been acting weird. She thought for sure maybe Evelyn was trying to push him because she had admitted that she liked him. But no, something bigger was going on.

  “Oh, I have a bounty on my head. They accused me of killing a man. I didn’t do it of course. Something’s going on, and I have a feeling deep inside that it has to do with my father and my sister.”

  Evelyn shrugged it off. She watched Gray go around the yard shaking the wig and finally shake it at the Great Dane statue in the middle of the garden. She smiled, knowing Joshua had put that there. The thing was taller than Gray, but like his mother he was fearless. It was because she was so lost in thoughts of happiness for a change she didn’t realize Grace’s mouth was wide in shock. “Do you love Ethan?”

  “Evelyn!” Grace was amazed at how unconcerned she was with her life being threatened and how concerned she was with her life, and suddenly it dawned on Grace. Evelyn didn’t have a crush, a little hero worship for the guy who nursed her back to health. No, she was in love with Joshua. The man hater was in love. It all made sense now.

  “I mean how did you know you loved Ethan?” Evelyn was still oblivious to Grace’s reactions.

  “Hum?” Grace made her thinking, planning noise and started twisting a wild curl on her head.

  Evelyn’s head turned to see Grace watching her with that left brow up and her hair twisting. She knew something was
up. “What?”

  “You’re in love with Joshua, aren’t you?” Grace searched her eyes and hated those blue contacts because they hid her.

  “Don’t be ridiculous.” Evelyn felt like she had just got caught with her hands in the cookie jar. What a pointed question. She had to get away from Grace. She pulled out of the hammock and sat in the yard. Gray came running up to her like he’d known her all his life. “I can’t fall in love. I mean, Grace, this is me. I don’t know about men, not like that.”

  “Evelyn.” Grace nodded her head. Yep, Evelyn had it bad. “You do know about love. You love your sister. You loved Stella. You love your friends. Romantic love is a category all its own but only in the intimacy department. Love is love, E.” Grace smiled and shook her head. “Have you two ... you know?”

  “No, but I sleep with him.” Evelyn shrugged and then smiled at the child. Thank God Grace never judged her. She knew her current position regarding Joshua was a stretch of the imagination to those who knew her well.

  “He let you tie him up?” Grace was struggling with her six-month pregnant belly in the hammock. She felt like one of Gray’s toys that rolled and never got anywhere.

  “No, of course not. Here, hang on. I’ll help you.” Evelyn laughed at the sight of her old friend, so flustered wiggling in that hammock. She handed the wig back to the toddler and went to help Grace out of the hammock. “I can’t explain it, Grace. I haven’t been myself here lately.”

  “Do you want to stay here?” Grace was serious now, breathless from trying to get out of the hammock.

  “It depends.” Evelyn looked down.

  “On what?” Grace was more than curious now, about all of it.

  “Noel. I can’t stop till I find out what happened to my sister.” Evelyn helped the woman stand.

  * * * *

  Joshua and Ethan made dinner, and about six o’clock it was time to eat.

  “Ready when you are, ladies.” Ethan headed out to get Gray.

  “I got him.” Evelyn swooped him up under her arm like a duffle bag, and the child laughed.

  “You smiling at me, Evelyn?” Ethan drew his brows together, trying to look mean and dark.

  “Well, that face makes me laugh.” Evelyn handed him Gray and heard Grace laughing behind her.

  “What? I am a tough looking guy, Gracie, rough.” Ethan knew he was as physically imposing as Joshua was. Why didn’t this chick realize they were big brawny men, tough, strong guys? Evelyn was Grace’s size for crying out loud. She couldn’t hurt a fly.

  “She’s not afraid of anyone, Ethan. I know you like to look tough. You are, honey. Very scary.” Grace put a hand on her husband’s cheek and shook her head. Poor guy spent most of his life being thought of as a brute, and now a woman smaller than his wife thinks he’s a joke. Men never understood Evelyn. They were either scared of her abilities or repulsed by them. Maybe Joshua was the one for her. He had seen enough women in law enforcement to know a woman can hold her own, but he treated them all with respect and like ladies because that’s just how he was.

  * * * *

  Dinner was quiet, awkward.

  Evelyn had taken her contacts out and pulled her hair in a ponytail when she went to wash up. She sat next to Joshua, and the tension was so thick she’d need a sword to cut it. Ethan held Gray as he ate alternating between his bites and his son’s bites though Gray wanted what his daddy had most. The sight of Ethan holding his son so Grace could eat in peace made Evelyn reevaluate him. Maybe good men ran in Joshua’s family. She resolved to be nicer to Chase when she met him next week. It was only fair to give him a chance, and that poor man was married to Megan. Hell hath no fury like Megan’s wrath. Evelyn knew she was a bitch, but Megan was worse than a bitch, she was a diva with a capital D.

  “This is really good.” Grace had to break the tension. Ethan and Gray were the only ones talking, and that was to each other. She was at a table having dinner with an old friend, her husband, and his cousin, and no one was talking. She could see Joshua’s face, and he seemed so melancholy. It wasn’t like him.

  “Yes, very.” Evelyn was relieved at the chance to speak. She really didn’t know what to say. Grace and Ethan changed the dynamic in the house. Maybe he didn’t want his family to really know about them. She wanted to talk to him, to touch him.

  “Thank you,” both men answered at the same time. They gave each other looks.

  “Now, boys, I’m sure you both contributed to dinner.” Grace smiled a knowing smile. Joshua was just like Ethan. They may not have been born brothers, but they acted like brothers.

  “Yes, and it’s all delicious.” Evelyn looked at Joshua, but he looked back at his plate. Her chest felt heavy. She wanted desperately to connect with him. She felt more alone right now than she had ever felt. “Joshua, I can make a cake for dessert.”

  “If you want to.” Joshua nodded.

  “Will you help me?” Evelyn laid her hand on his arm. It was a desperate plea, and she knew it, but she also didn’t care. She wasn’t ashamed of him, and she desperately wanted his attention again. She didn’t want him to be ashamed of her.

  “Of course.” Joshua shifted his gaze to hers and smiled. Maybe she didn’t want to hide after all. He felt like an ass for revealing their relationship, and she bolted out the backdoor with Grace all afternoon. He felt distance sliding between them, reality crashing in on him. And fear of losing her had washed over him.

  “Don’t tell me you can’t cook?” Ethan laughed.

  “She can cook,” Joshua said at the same time Evelyn said, “I can cook.”

  “Whoa Big Dog, I’m not accusing. You know Grace caught the stove on fire.” Ethan pushed her red curls behind her ear and kissed her cheek. “I love this woman, I do, but she can’t cook.”

  Evelyn tried not to laugh. “She can cook some things.”

  “Yes, that’s true,” Ethan agreed. “Not that I care, she makes up for it in other ways.”

  Grace, unlike Evelyn, was a lady. A real lady, she didn’t swear, she used manners, and so when she cursed, Evelyn realized a whole lot had changed. Not just men and babies. Grace was stronger, more confident. Free.

  “Damn Ethan, they have it on DVD. They don’t need the live show. I’m good but really.” Grace blushed as she said it, but Ethan brought out the naughty side of her. It didn’t matter at this point. Everyone in the family had caught them in the act or on the verge of it, as evident by Joshua’s squirming.

  “Grace!” Evelyn was just flabbergasted.

  “Oh, she’s worse than he is, but let me remind you there is a child present.” Joshua pointed at Gray.

  “Oh, he got me, too. Let me tell you. That’s the day you start being more careful.” Ethan shook his head. “Thank God he’s too young to understand what he saw.”

  “He doesn’t even remember it.” Grace waved her fork in the air.

  “It’s all those romance novels she reads. I tried to tell her she could write one by now. Woman tries to act out every scene she reads.” Ethan stood with Gray who was now getting fussy. “Almost broke my back once.”

  “Oh, um, the bedroom.” Evelyn remembered all the gear she had in there. Joshua knowing she had all that stuff was one thing, but Ethan and Grace, she wasn’t ready to let everyone in. Grace had seen her train, well, show off, but she had no real idea how dangerous her job was. Evelyn always made it sound easy, and that she was always in control. A lot of times she felt like it was easy, but when it was personal, like Noel, she always made mistakes.

  “They don’t use that room, no worries.” Joshua stood and started clearing the table.

  “Hold on, Ethan, I’ll take him. You go get the stuff out of the car.” Grace smiled and kissed her husband.

  Evelyn watched and wanted. Grace and Ethan didn’t hide their feelings or their sex life apparently. She wanted that, too. “God, they make me sick.”

  “Yeah, I know.” Joshua frowned at that statement. What he envied most about Ethan as an adult was his relationship
with Grace.

  “No, I mean sick like why can’t I have that, sick.” Evelyn didn’t want him to think anything other than the truth. Though having that kind of relationship seemed impossible for her to ever achieve.

  “You can.” Joshua stepped behind her as Ethan walked out the door and Grace headed up the stairs. With no one else in sight he kissed her neck. Evelyn leaned into him, and his arms moved around her. “God, I wish they weren’t here.”

  “Why, you don’t like them?” Evelyn’s eyes were closed, and she was falling quickly into lust again.

  “I like having you alone. They interrupted my dinner, interrupted my plans,” Joshua whispered as his hand slid farther down her stomach toward her sex. Thankfully Ethan cleared his throat before his hand got there.

  “Sorry to interrupt, Josh, think you could give me a hand here?” Ethan’s smile was devilish. Joshua shook his head.

  “See.” Joshua kissed her on the shoulder and stepped away.

  Evelyn cleared her throat and straightened herself out. It was embarrassing to get caught twice. Joshua seemed comfortable in front of Ethan, but what about Grace? Was that her move?

  Joshua and Ethan came in with the portable baby pen and other bags. Joshua set the pen down in the living room and followed Ethan up the stairs. Grace returned with a sleepy Gray, dressed in his truck pajamas.

  “E, you think you can pop that open for me?” Grace rocked the little boy slowly back and forth. “He’ll sleep for a while, get up around two a.m. and go back to sleep around four.”

  Evelyn had put together a lot of things in her life, but somehow popping up a playpen seemed harder than putting up a shelter half in the field. It only took a minute, and it just seemed too fast and flimsy to hold him. “Are you sure that’s right? I’ve locked everything in place?”

  “Yes.”

  “No, let me check again. It seems too unstable for a baby. He could tip it over.” Evelyn didn’t want to seem crass, but hell, this was a child.

  “E, I swear you did it right. It will hold him. He’s not Hercules.” Grace laid the child in the playpen while Evelyn circled it several times. Grace smiled at her friend. Evelyn was always very protective of those she cared for.