by Becca Maxton
“We’re not in Vegas.” Rafe rolled his eyes when she came up with both fives.
“Go, girl.” Kai clapped like a madwoman. “Great start.”
Ten minutes later, he and Rafe were already in the crapper with a few bucks in the bank and virtually no properties. If he was going to lose, which he hated, at least it would be to the gorgeous woman bouncing around in her seat across from him. Pushing back his chair, he took a second to finish his drink. “Anyone need another beer while I’m up?”
“I’ll come with you,” Sofia said. “Let’s bring some chips out too.”
As he walked around the corner from the living room, he felt her every step behind him, anticipating the second he could touch her. With no words, he put his hands on her upper arms and backed her against the fridge, his head coming down quick to kiss her hard and hot.
“Oh my God.” Sofia whispered as he kissed down her neck and across her collarbone. He smiled against her skin at the way she drew out her words. “This is so…bad.”
“Are you bringing the chips or what?” Rafe shouted from the living room.
He raised his head. “Keep your pants on.”
“Well, if you insist.” Sofia pressed her lips together.
Sassy. Sexy. Flirty. This is going to be a long afternoon.
Over the next two hours, Sofia just happened to make two trips to the kitchen and he three more. By his estimate, they were leaving the table together every ten minutes to make out like teenagers in the kitchen. The last time, they got only as far as the hallway, right around the corner from the living room.
“That’s it for me,” Kai said at three-thirty. “I have to pick up the kids from school.” He chuckled when Kai and Sofia high-fived each other. “Thanks for helping me whup my brother’s ass. Bye, Rafe.”
“See ya, Kai.” Rafe helped Sofia pack up the game as Jim walked his sister out.
“Thanks for coming over.”
“It was fun. Oh, and by the way,” Kai whispered, “it was pretty obvious what was happening with the fourteen trips to the kitchen together. Rafe and I got quite the little show the last time.” She patted his arm with a smirk. “Mirrors reflect, you know. Like the one between the living room and the hallway.”
“Damn.” He smiled sheepishly.
“I really like her. And I like that you like her. And –"
He interrupted Kai’s ramblings, turning her toward the door followed by a gentle push. “Out you go.”
Kai turned when she reached the bottom of the steps. “Did Dad tell you he wanted to have everyone out to the ranch on Saturday when Sofia’s mom is here?”
“He mentioned it.”
“Good. I like having you home and getting to see you often.”
“Me too.”
“Love you, Jim.”
“Love you, Kai.”
Jim returned to find an empty living room. The sliding door to the deck in the back was open. The late afternoon breeze threatened to upheave papers on the coffee table. He put a rock he used as a paperweight on top of the bids he still needed to review and opened the screen door, stepping outside. Tan, shapely legs and the sexiest bare feet with red toenails were all he saw over the back of the chaise lawn chair.
He came around the chair, gesturing for her to scoot over. “Where’s Rafe?”
“He’s taking a nap.” She lay next to him on her side.
“Kai knows.”
Sofia put a hand on the middle of his chest and sat up. “How?”
“She and Rafe were apparently counting the number of times we left the kitchen together. She says it was fourteen.”
“It wasn’t that many times.” Sofia brushed her hair behind her ear and laid her head on his shoulder. “Well, that’s embarrassing.”
He tipped her face up with a finger under her chin and kissed her softly. “Not to me. I feel like the luckiest man alive every time I touch you.”
Her arm slipped around his middle, squeezing as she laid her head down again. “We’re getting good at kissing.” She sat up again. “My lips are swollen.”
Jim thought he’d die from his instant hard watching her run a finger over her lips.
“What’s the plan when your mom gets here?”
“Mm, good question.” She put a leg over his and molded herself to the side of his body before glancing up. “I tell my mom everything.”
He ran his hand along her side, squeezed her ass gently, then left his hand resting on her naked thigh. “Everything?”
Her fingers fiddled with the buttons on his shirt as she nodded.
“You’ll tell her we kissed?” He leaned to kiss the delicate skin at her collarbone. His hand hovered in the air before cupping her breast when she nodded. “And that I touch you here?” He bent his head, his finger tugging the V-neck to her shirt lower as he dragged his lips across the soft skin at the top of her breast. “You’d tell?” Eyes closed, she nodded. His hand slipped under her shirt unclasping her bra. He brushed his thumb across her nipple. “This too?”
“You’re making me crazy.” Sofia sighed. “Touch me.”
Jim shifted her flat on her back, up on his arms looking down. “Show me where, sweetheart.” He held his breath as she slowly dragged the hem of her shirt over her stomach and above the loose cups of her pink bra with black polka dots. She bit her bottom lip, eyes fixed on his. He slid his hands beneath her, encouraging her to arch her back so her bra fell open and her breasts were revealed to him. Lowering his head he pressed her nipple between his lips. Fluttering his tongue, he licked and pulled. He lifted up again, his hand running along one of her thighs. She pulled both legs up, cradling his body intimately. Lowering again, he repeated his ministrations on her other breast.
He let go her breast with a soft pop and left a row of kisses across her stomach. “We need privacy.” He mumbled, kissing both her breasts again and laying his head on her chest. “I can’t get enough.” He lifted his head, wanting her understanding of how much he wanted her and how much that meant to him.
“I want to be with you too.” Her sexy smile set his world spinning, her fingers through his hair pure heaven. Her words.
Perfection.
“Is this the last of the beer?” His eyes met hers at Rafe’s voice coming from inside the house. He appreciated his buddy’s discretion by announcing his arrival. Leaning on his elbow, he clasped Sofia’s bra again and pulled her shirt down.
Rafe opened the screen door and stepped out. “You two lovebirds want to get a pizza?”
Two pieces in, Sofia pushed her plate away, rubbing her belly. “I’m stuffed.”
“You’re a lightweight.” Rafe folded his slice of pizza and shoved another bite in his mouth.
“You eat pizza like a New Yorker.”
“I eat like a man.”
Jim wiped his mouth enjoying the two of them sparring. He might otherwise be jealous. Somehow knowing the people he liked also liked each other…well, it worked. “That reminds me. Tell me about this Biker Joe persona.”
Jumping up from her chair, Sofia became more animated than he’d ever seen her.
She lifted her arms in front of her, as if about to tell the best ghost story to a group of campers. “So, Rafe picks me up from your Dad’s, right? He’s wearing a white t-shirt, jeans and sunglasses. Normal, right?”
Damn, she’s cute.
He nodded, laughing as embarrassment swept across Rafe’s face.
“We get everything planned.” Sofia motions her hand like a wave. “We’re driving.”
“What are you driving, a boat?”
“Shh, listen. Rafe is going to be in the lobby after my appointment and then I can facilitate his love connection with Doc Cindy.” At this point, Sofia bent forward with a hand on her knee cracking up.
This woman. Funny too.
Standing up straight and clearing her throat, she barely managed to get any words out. Stumbling forward, and much to his pleasure, Sofia took a seat on his lap before continuing.
; “Dr. Wheeler and I come out of her office. And there’s Biker Joe with a blue bandana on his head, leather jacket and a ridiculously long silver key chain hanging from his pants.”
“I don’t like either of you,” Rafe announced.
“Then what happened?” Jim asked, slipping his arm around her waist.
“Alright, Miss Sassafras.” Rafe pushed his chair back, walking over and putting his hand out. “Let’s act out what happens next. I’ll be me.”
“Otherwise known as dumbass,” Jim quipped as he lifted Sofia from his lap.
“Shut up, dipshit. Sofia, you’ll be Doc Cindy.”
After making a goofy face, she headed toward the other side of the patio.
“Where are you going?” Rafe asked.
“I’m making my entrance to the lobby.”
Jim moved to the edge of his seat, prepared for an Oscar-winning performance. From across the patio, Sofia walked, flinging her hair with one hand and struck a pose with her hip jutting out.
Like a fucking supermodel.
“Hi,” she said in a sultry voice Jim hoped he’d hear next time they were alone. “I’m Dr. Wheeler. People around these parts call me Doc Cindy.”
His dick throbbed against his zipper.
Stand down.
Enthralled, he looked expectantly to his buddy.
“Mooney,” Rafe shouted, grabbing Sofia’s outstretched hand and kissing the back of it. “Rafe Mooney at your service.” He added, clicking his heels together and bowing.
An hour later, Jim carried the empty pizza box into the house and dropped it into the recycle container.
“Want me to ride along?”
“Not really.” Jim laughed at Rafe’s question as he helped Sofia maneuver her jacket over her cast. “When are you free of this thing, honey?”
“I hope tomorrow. Kai told me I could stop by the clinic.”
“Goodnight, Mooney,” Sofia added with a salute to Rafe. “Until Friday my friend.”
“Until Friday.”
He drove Sofia home and kept it simple with a walk to the door and a quick kiss. He examined his vibrating phone when he got back in his truck.
Rafe: Even though you and your woman made fun of me… I made plans to be in Four Bears tomorrow night.
Jim: All night?
Rafe: Yep. Make the most of it.
Jim: Thanks
Rafe: Hey, I remembered something from the other day. Your dad had me take a sculpture to the senior center gardens after your mom died. She wanted it near the river.
Chapter 15
Wednesday morning, Sofia slept in late, took a long shower and texted her mother to confirm the time she and Jim would pick her up at the airport the next day. The day started cloudy, but changed to a blue-sky day by eleven, when she finally emerged from her room.
“Hey, Kai,” she said to Jim’s sister standing at the kitchen counter. “I didn’t know you were coming by today.”
Over her shoulder, she smiled. “I brought some food to put in Dad’s freezer. He’s out in the barn. I was going to make him a sandwich for lunch. Do you want one?”
“No thanks. We ended up getting pizza last night. I’m still full.”
“That was fun yesterday. I love having Jim around all the time. I can even stand Rafe.”
Sofia laughed and sat at the table. “How do you feel about me and Jim, you know…”
Kai took two pieces of bread out, spinning the bag and refastened it with a twist-tie. “It’s none of my business.”
“Can I ask you something?”
“Sure. What’s up?”
“How did you know you wanted to have children? I mean, did you always want them or was it like your biological clock ticking?”
“It definitely wasn’t a biological clock ticking since Will came along early.” Kai wrapped Ben’s sandwich in plastic wrap, put it on a plate and stuck it in the refrigerator. “I wasn’t expecting to get pregnant so young.” She pulled out a chair, sitting kitty-corner to Sofia. “How much has Jim told you about what it was like after our mom died?”
“Not a lot. He told me your ages when she passed away. He mentioned your dad was lost.”
Kai nodded and glanced toward the back door as if making sure Ben wasn’t about to come inside. “That’s a nice way to put it. Dad pretty much checked out for a few years.”
“He left?” Sofia’s voice rose an octave.
“No.” Kai patted her hand reassuringly. “He didn’t literally leave, but he was depressed and went through the motions of being a father, but that was about it.”
“I’m so sorry. That must have been devastating for all of you.”
“It was. Mom was…special.” Kai smiled. “I got her the longest. We all kind of scattered, running from grief in different directions. Jim ran off to the Army. Jett’s still running. My way was boys. Plural.”
“Not Leo, I take it?”
“No. Leo wasn’t in the picture yet. I did meet him the same year I got pregnant. He’s ten years older than me. I think he liked me from the start. He was a nurse at the hospital where Will was born. I grew up fast by becoming a mother, but it still took time to go from being a girl to a woman.”
Sofia smiled when Kai blushed a soft pink. “Leo seems like a wonderful husband and father.”
“He is.” Kai nodded. “So, yeah. I don’t know if it was a conscious thing either way, at least with the first baby. Once Leo and I were married, we talked about it and both wanted kids. Leo’s the only father Will has ever known. Not long after, Jocelyn was born and the twins. We thought we were done. Then came Suze.”
“Is it hard having a special needs daughter?”
“It’s hard having five kids. Period. Suze has her unique set of challenges. We all do, don’t we?”
“I guess that’s true,” Sofia agreed.
“Would you like to have kids someday?”
She expected the question. Naturally, it would come up. Despite that, she wasn’t prepared. “I’m not sure.” She cringed, kicking herself for not practicing a better response. “I didn’t think about it until my brother died. I feel like I owe it to my parents.”
“Is that what they expect?”
“They’d never come right out and say it, but...”
“Maybe it’s something you could speak with your mom about when she’s here?”
“Maybe.”
She and Kai both looked at the door when Ben’s boots thumped on the back steps. “If you ever want to talk more, let me know,” Kai murmured.
“Thank you.”
A late afternoon rain shower left everything muggy when the sun broke through and steamed the earth. Sofia read, enjoying a quiet day with Ben as he dozed in his recliner. When her phone vibrated and Jim’s name appeared on the screen, she picked up and whispered hello as she moved down the hall to her bedroom. “Hold on. Your dad’s asleep. Okay, I’m in my room. How did work go today?”
“Good. I’m on my way over.”
“Do you want to stay for dinner tonight?”
“What are we having?”
“That’s not polite,” Sofia said with a chuckle. “You can’t ask that before you say yes or no.”
Jim’s deep laugh rang out. “Yes, I’d like to stay.”
“We’re having lasagna. It’s heating in the oven.”
“Sounds perfect. I was hoping you’d come back home with me after.”
“Sure, I could come over for a while.”
“To stay over. Rafe’s in Four Bears for the night.”
“Are you asking me what I think you’re asking me?”
“Yes.”
She loved his directness and answered without pretense. “Okay.”
“That was easy.”
“Hey, be careful or you won’t get any pie for dessert.”
He groaned. “You made pie too? What kind?”
“I made two. Strawberry-rhubarb and blueberry.”
“My favorite is blueberry with a dollop of sex on the side.”
Sofia got up from sitting on the edge of her bed, moving the curtain aside to look out the window. “Only a dollop?” she asked as his truck pulled in front of the house and he got out. Careful not to wake Ben, she tip-toed down the hall to the kitchen to greet Jim.
He opened the door, his phone still to his ear. “You made a whole pie, right? So one dollop per piece.”
She placed her phone on the counter, slipped her arms around him and leaned back. “That’s a lot of pie.”
“One nibble at a time,” he whispered against her smile, then kissed her breath away.
She stepped out of his arms when the timer on the oven went off.
“Is dinner ready?” Ben called from the living room.
“Yes, and we have a guest.” Sofia smiled when Ben opened the swinging door to the kitchen. “Jim’s here.”
“Hey, son. Lasagna first. Then pie.” Ben rubbed his hands together.
“I’m all about pie.” Jim winked in her direction.
“I’m going to wash up. Be right back.”
Sofia rolled her eyes when Ben left the room. “You get to figure out how to explain why I’m staying at your house tonight.”
“We’ll just tell him the truth.” Jim answered.
“No. We. Will. Not.” Sofia laughed. “You have to come up with a reason.”
Jim popped an olive from the relish tray on the table into his mouth. “He’s going to know.”
She walked over and poked him in the side. “Think of something. We can’t just tell him.” She backed up until her hip met the counter, giggling as Jim tickled her waist.
“Tell me what?” Ben asked as he came into the kitchen again.
Jim faced her with a silly smirk on his face only she could see. “Um,” she peeked around him to look at Ben, “Jim says I have to stay at his house tonight because of the early start we need to make for picking up my mom from the airport tomorrow.”
“Oh.” Ben pulled his chair at the table and sat down. “That makes sense. More pie for me, then.”
“Nice try, Dad.” Jim gave her waist a squeeze and turned around. “We’ll take ours with us.”