"You don't have to go. Stay and have some dessert with us." Marlene got four plates out of the cabinet and then set a coffee cake in the middle of the kitchen table. "Besides, it's not as if you had much choice about it considering Jack ordered Ricky to wash your car. The boy is lucky Jack isn't making him vacuum the interiors or wash the inside of the windows."
"I'm glad he didn't. My car wouldn't know how to act if it were to get polished up like that. Worse yet, it might expect me to keep it that clean from now on!"
Jack chose that moment to walk into the kitchen. "Okay, it makes me nervous to find you guys laughing like that. What are you two up to now?"
Caitlyn gave him a wide-eyed, innocent look. "Nothing. I was just saying that you and Ricky might have caused problems with my car for me. I'm not fond of washing cars, and I'm afraid it's going to demand that I keep it all polished and clean now."
He walked by his mother to lean against the counter next to where Caitlyn was standing. "Not a problem. Anytime you think it needs washing, you can bring it over here. Ricky loves washing cars."
He said that last part louder, no doubt making sure his young charge heard every word. Sure enough, Ricky came charging into the room. "Speak for yourself, Jack. I'm not the one trying to impress her."
"Right, and you're actually working so hard on all that fancy math just because you really like it."
Caitlyn wasn't sure who was blushing harder right now-her or Ricky. Jack winked at her, which only made matters worse. Luckily, Marlene took control of the situation. "That's enough, Jack. You cut the cake. Ricky, fix drinks for everyone. I'll have iced tea. Caitlyn?"
"Tea will be fine."
She took a seat at the table and stared in horror at the size of the piece Jack hacked out of the cake and sat in front of her. "I can't eat that much!"
"Sure you can."
He then fixed three more, one of which was half the size of the others. He plunked that one down in front of Ricky and grinned, clearly daring the teenager to protest. Instead, Ricky picked it up and offered it to Caitlyn. "If you'd rather have this one, I'm willing to trade."
"Thank you, Ricky."
"Hey, he's in trouble and doesn't deserve a big piece of Mom's best coffee cake." Jack glared at each of them in turn. Neither of them took him seriously, not with that glint of amusement in his eyes and the way the corners of his mouth were twitching as if he was fighting a grin.
Caitlyn took a bite of the coffee cake. It was every bit as good as it looked. She picked up her plate and held it out toward Ricky. "On second thought, maybe I do want the big piece."
Ricky slid his serving out of her reach. "Nope. Too late. You've already taken a bite of that one."
While Ricky watched to see what she'd say to that, Jack swooped in for a sneak attack and stole a bite of Ricky's cake.
The teenager pulled his plate in close to the edge of the table and blocked Jack's access with his cast. "Hey! You've got your own!"
Marlene, always the calm one, brought a halt to their shenanigans with a simple look. "Jack, I thought I taught you better manners than that, especially when we have company. Besides, aren't you supposed to be setting a good example for Ricky?"
Ricky didn't bother to hide a grin. "Yeah, Jack. I'm young and impressionable."
Her son didn't look the least bit repentant, even when he reached over to smack Ricky on the back of his head. "Watch it, brat."
When he winked at Caitlyn for the second time that evening, she couldn't help but laugh. "You're both incorrigible."
"And proud of it."
Marlene sighed. "All right, I give up. Just eat your cake, gentlemen."
As the four of them finished off their dessert in short order, it occurred to Caitlyn that she couldn't remember the last time she'd enjoyed herself so much. Considering how worried they'd all been about Ricky only a few hours ago only made the moment that much more special for her.
However, it was getting late and definitely time for her to hit the road. She'd already had a full day of appointments scheduled for tomorrow, and now she was going to have to squeeze in the one she'd canceled.
"Well, I should be going. Thank you again for the fish-and-chips, Ricky, and for the dessert, Marlene." She picked up her plate and carried it to the counter.
When she turned around, Jack was up and moving, too. He reached around her to set his plate next to hers. He wasn't exactly crowding her, but she still felt surrounded by the warmth of his big body and the scent of his skin. Jack's breath brushed across her cheek when he said, "I'll walk you out."
She might've said "okay," but it was just as likely she mumbled some kind of nonsense in response. Right now, she wasn't exactly thinking straight.
When she picked up her purse, he blocked the way toward the dining room. "The back door's closer."
Before they walked out, Jack stopped to look down at Ricky. "You should hit the sack, kid. I expect you over at the annex, cleaning supplies in hand, by seven thirty."
The teenager groaned and dropped his head down onto the table. "It's summer, man! Nobody gets up that early."
"I do. I have to work, and I want to give you your marching orders before I leave."
"Fine, but I'm pretty sure this counts as cruel and unusual punishment."
Jack didn't look at all sympathetic. "You'll live. Get done by lunchtime, and you can come help me on the next job."
To Caitlyn's surprise, Ricky looked decidedly happier. "No problem. How hard can it be to clean that place, even with just one hand?"
Jack's laugh was positively wicked. "Considering no one has touched the place in weeks, pretty hard."
Then he ruffled Ricky's hair. "See you tomorrow, Mom."
"Okay, son. By the way, I'm having lunch with a friend, and then I have a doctor's appointment after that." Marlene began loading the dishwasher. "And before you ask, it's just a routine visit to renew my medications."
Jack looked relieved. "Do you want me to pick up something for dinner on my way home?"
"No, I plan to put something in the slow cooker before I leave. We'll be fine."
Caitlyn had made it as far as the edge of the driveway while Jack was still inside talking to his mother about their dinner plans for tomorrow. She decided to slip away, figuring he had better things to do than play escort service. It wasn't as if she couldn't walk around to the front of the house all by herself.
Before she got very far, the screen door slammed shut and the sound of heavy footsteps headed in her direction. "Caitlyn, hold up!"
Jack caught up with her and immediately slung his arm around her shoulders, once again bringing her into the circle of his strength. "Sorry to keep you waiting."
"It's not a problem. I was going to head on out since it sounded as if the three of you needed some time to work out your schedules for tomorrow."
"I appreciate the thought. But if you had left, we would've missed out on something special."
The gleam in his eyes made it clear what that something might be, but she wasn't sure it was a good idea. "You mean something more special than your mother's coffee cake?"
"I sure as heck hope so."
In a sudden move, Jack tugged her into a space between two large evergreen bushes in the planting strip along the side of the house. "Jack, what are you doing?"
"I'm making sure we're in the one spot where we can't be seen from the street or from inside the house. I want a bit of privacy for this."
Then his mouth came down on hers. There was nothing gentle about his kiss. No, it was a take-no-prisoners campaign from the outset. Determined to give as good as she got, she wrapped her arms around Jack's waist and leaned her body into his. He murmured his approval even as his tongue darted in and out of her mouth, inviting her to join in the play.
When she'd first stepped out of the house, she'd thought there was a definite slight chill in the air, not at all unusual for a Seattle late-summer evening. But right now, the two of them were burning up the night. She reveled in the hard press of his chest against hers, leaving her aching for more. As if reading her mind, Jack slid his hands in between them to cup her breasts in his palms, squeezing them softly several times before once again dropping his hands back down to her hips.
He broke off the kiss to rest his forehead against hers. "Whoa, that's the second time today that we've gone from zero to sixty in nothing flat."
His breath sounded every bit as ragged as hers felt. He brushed his lips across hers again but made no attempt to pick up where they'd left off. "I didn't mean for that to get so far out of control this time."