Hot Like Fire (Dafina Contemporary Romance)

by Niobia Bryant

  Kade's eyes flared as he leaned down to Garcelle. "I'm not dating anybody," he spit out.

  "Hah!" Garcelle said, with a sarcastic laugh. "If a man and a woman go out to eat, to the movies, and all that good stuff ... they are dating, baby."

  Kade flung his hands in the air.

  "That woman is a barracuda in disguise. A wolf in sheep's clothing.. . ," cried Garcelle.

  Kade turned his back to her as he reclaimed his seat. "You don't even know her to have an opinion about her."

  "Hell, do you really know her?"

  "Better than you know your boyfriend, Rico Suave, I bet," he countered around a mouthful of his sandwich.

  "Rico Suave?" Garcelle came around the island to face him. "Is that a racist comment?"

  Kade dropped his sandwich on his plate. "Oh God, not that shit again."

  "What? You don't like Latinos?"

  "I ... am ... not ... a racist!" Kade yelled at the top of his lungs. "And you know that, Garcelle."

  Yeah, she did, but so what.

  "You ain't a good judge of character, either, baby," she said under her breath as she moved away from him.

  "Zorrie is a good friend of mine and nothing more.

  "Keep dating your wife's best friend. I don't care," she said dismissively as she started putting things back in the refrigerator.

  Kade came up behind her, and Garcelle felt the heat of his body cloak her. When his hands came around to cover her hands, she thought she would pass out from wanting him so bad.

  "You care," he said huskily. `Just like I hate seeing you with ole boy."

  Garcelle allowed herself to lean back against the hardness of his body.

  "But I am not dating Zorrie or anyone else, because you're right ... I'm not ready."

  Those words pained her so very deeply.

  He pressed the side of his face to hers as he whispered, "If I did date, it would be you, Garcelle. It would be you. Only you."

  Her heart hammered, and she felt weak as her core moistened.

  The front door slammed, and Kadina's footsteps echoed in the hall. Kade and Garcelle moved apart. The sudden distance did nothing to stop her racing pulse or the heady thump-thump of the pulsing bud between her legs.

  Kadina burst into the kitchen, dripping wet, just as thunder roared and clapped around the house. ,,It started raining, just like you said, Daddy."

  Garcelle and Kade both laughed at the sight she made.

  "You look like a drowned squirrel, cupcake," Kade said, reaching out to lightly pinch her nose. "I told you it called for rain this afternoon."

  "It started all of a sudden," Kadina said as she smiled up at him like he was her hero.

  "Go and get out of those wet clothes before you catch a cold," Garcelle told her.

  "I'll be right back," Kadina told them before she tore off at a full run.

  As soon as she left them alone, Garcelle felt Kade's eyes rest on her. "So you're off for the rest of the day?" she asked, trying to sound normal so that maybe she could convince herself that this whole situation was normal.

  "Yeah. Looks like I got home just in time to beat the rain."

  Garcelle chanced a look at him, and her heart responded in a flash. "Since you're home, I'm going to cut out and go home early if that's okay."

  Kade nodded as he took a 'halfhearted bite of his sandwich. "Are you leaving early because of me?" he asked in a low voice.

  Garcelle grabbed her purse and keys from the counter. "Tell Kadina I'll see her tomorrow. Tell her we'll go to one of the ranches and ride horses," she said quietly before she strode out of the kitchen, completely ignoring his question.

  Garcelle walked out the front door. The rain was coming down so heavily that it looked like the windows had been smeared with Vaseline. She paused on the porch, trying to decide if she should wait it out until the rain lightened or just make a run for her car.

  The front door opened behind her, and she looked over her shoulder at Kade. They shared another one of those long, hot stares before she turned away. He stepped onto the porch, beside her.

  The slight chill from the rain left her, from being so close to him. He reached for her hand, but Garcelle dodged his touch. She looked up at him, and their eyes locked. She felt herself getting lost in the depths of him. She did a full turn to break the hold. "Good-bye, Kade," she said in frustration before she dashed down the steps, into the pouring rain.

  just as she reached her car, she felt a hand on her shoulder, turning her around. The rain pelted their bodies, drenching them both. He brought his hands up to her face to tilt it forward as he lowered his head to hers. They pressed their mouths together. Garcelle closed her eyes as she raised her hands and wrapped them around each of his wrists.

  Steam could have risen from the heat of their bodies as they shared a slow and sensual kiss. Their tongues tentatively touched for the first time before circling and suckling as they stepped closer to each other. They both trembled. Their hands shook. She felt his hardness. He knew he had made her wet.

  Garcelle broke the kiss as she panted for air. "Don't, Kade," she warned.

  "Don't what?" he repeated.

  "You've said you're not ready. I've said you're not ready. So no more long stares or kisses or touches or standing close or any of that."

  "Garcelle-"

  "This isn't all about you and you trying to deal with your wife's death, Kade. I have feelings. All the looks, that kiss, all of that affects me, and then I have to deal with you pulling away because you're not ready. I can tell you're torn, but I have to look out for me, you know. So unless you want me to quit working for you, just stop. Stop. Please."

  Kade nodded as he reached for the keys and unlocked her car door. "You're right, and I'm sorry," was all that he said.

  Garcelle climbed into the car. She watched as he walked up the stairs and into the house, without looking back at her.

  Kade had forgotten how much he enjoyed sitting beside the lit stone fireplace in his den. Sometimes he'd read; other times he'd watch television. Today he sat quietly, reflecting as he watched the rain shower outside his window. He let his head fall back against the leather club chair where he sat as he twisted the gold wedding band on his finger.

  He had a lot on his mind. Memories. Regrets. Desires. His past. His present. His future.

  "Daddy, whatcha doing?"

  He looked up as Kadina walked into the den in her Dora the Explorer pajamas, wiping the sleep from her eyes. His heart swelled with love for his child. `Just chilling. You had a good nap?"

  She nodded. "I always get sleepy when it's raining," she told him as she climbed up to sit on the wide arm of the chair. She hooked her feet beneath his leg.

  "You got that from your mama." Kade turned his head to look at his daughter. "A day like today? She could sleep all day."

  "We don't talk about her a lot." Kadina reached for his hand to play with. "Does it make you sad, Daddy?"

  "Not as much," he answered truthfully. "Does it make you sad to talk about her?"

  Kadina shook her head. "Talking about her makes me remember stuff about her, and that don't make me sad at all, Daddy."

  "Then I think we should talk about her more often." Kade tickled her sides, and the sound of her laughter filled him with joy.

  "You know what, Daddy?" Kadina asked as she reached up to twist her fingers around his naturally curly silver hair.

  "What?"

  "I like when Garcelle and Aunt Zorrie are here, or when my uncles and auntie come over, but I like when it's just me and you."

  Kade raised himself a bit in the seat to kiss her forehead. "Me, too, cupcake," he told her. "In fact, Aunt Zorrie was supposed to come by and bring some movies for us to watch, but why don't we call her and tell her we're gonna chill out tonight. Just me and you."

  Kadina's eyes lit up. "Can we order pizza?"

  "We can do whatever you want." Kade reached in the pocket of his sweatpants for his cell phone.

  "Are you calling Au
nt Zorrie now?"

  Kade nodded. "Unless you've changed your mind."

  She shook her head. "At first I thought Aunt Zorrie was here to see me, but I think she just wants to see you."

  From the mouths of babes.

  First Garcelle and now his daughter. Couldn't a man and a woman just be friends?

  11

  Garcelle used the rubber band on her wrist to pull her hair up into a ponytail before she reached into the dryer for the warm load of clothes. She dumped them into the basket and made her way through the kitchen and up the stairs to Kadina's bedroom. "Excited about spending the weekend with your grandparents?" she asked as she sat the basket on the end of Kadina's twin-size bed.

  Kadina was sitting on the lavender window seat, looking out at the clouds. "I guess," she said, with a sad tone in her voice.

  Garcelle folded the last piece of Kadina's clothes and pressed it down into her rolling overnight case. She sat on the window seat, beside Kadina. "Something wrong?"

  "I hate leaving Daddy all by himself."

  Garcelle reached out to stroke Kadina's head before she lightly tugged on her ponytail. "Trust me. Your papi will be just fine for the weekend while you're in Walterboro with your abuelos."

  "I tried to get him to go to the horse race with Uncle Kahron. Uncle Kahron always says he has fun."

  Garcelle nodded. "Yes, my father, uncles, and my little brother went as well."

  "I wish Daddy woulda went."

  "I'm sure your father will be just fine," Garcelle said.

  "I guess."

  Garcelle rose and moved back over to the bed to zip Kadina's overnight case and sit it by her bedroom door. "This is a nice picture," she said, picking up the five-by-seven picture frame holding a photo of two teenage girls and a teenage boy.

  "Auntie Zorrie gave it to me." Kadina pulled her knees to her chest as she picked at an old scab. "It's my mama, Aunt Zorrie, and Daddy when they were younger.

  Garcelle lightly touched Kade's smiling face with her index finger. It was odd to see him young and thin, with jet-black curls. He was younger, but the promise of his handsomeness in his adult years was already there. She sat the frame back down on the corner of the dresser. "They've been friends for a long time," she said before she went over and straightened the few wrinkles in the comforter on Kadina's bed.

  "Aunt Zorrie said she was there when Daddy met my mom," Kadina said. "She used to always tell me a lot of stuff I didn't know about my mom. They were best friends."

  Garcelle looked up at her. "Used to?"

  "Now she changes the subject when I ask her things about my mom. She always wants to talk about Daddy."

  I bet she does, Garcelle thought as she tooted up her mouth. "Let's head to the ranch."

  Kadina jumped to her feet and slid her book in the side pocket of her overnight case. "Garcelle?"

  Garcelle led Kadina out of the room and down the stairs. "Yeah?"

  "Are you and my daddy mad?"

  Garcelle paused as she held the front door open. "Uh ... no, of course not. Why?"

  They continued down the stairs and out the front door. "You guys don't talk much," Kadina said as she got into the backseat of Garcelle's car.

  "Your dad and I are cool as ever, sweetheart," Garcelle lied. She and Kade had deliberately not shared each other's immediate space since that day in the rain. "Top down?"

  Kadina buckled her seat belt. "Si. Gracias."

  Garcelle smiled at her as she worked on lowering and securing the manual convertible top.

  "I wouldn't want you and Daddy to be mad," Kadina continued.

  Garcelle hopped into the car, and soon they were headed down the long and bumpy drive to the main road. "Me, either," she said, more focused on checking for oncoming traffic before she made a right turn onto Highway 17 and headed to Walterboro.

  "You two should kiss and make up."

  Garcelle eyed the little girl in the rearview mirror, with an alarmed expression. "Grown-ups don't kiss and make up."

  "Grown-ups who like each other do."

  Garcelle said nothing, wanting the whole conversation to end.

  "Everybody knows you and Daddy like each other like girlfriend and boyfriend."

  Garcelle nearly slammed on the brakes. "I work for your father. That's all."

  She felt the tension finally ease from her body as Kadina fell quiet on the subject. She turned on the radio and sped toward their destination.

  "Garcelle, if you was my new mommy, would I speak Spanish like my friend Maria?"

  Oh my God. This little girl is a pit bull about this.

  Garcelle pulled the car to a stop in front of the spacious brick home of Kael and Lisha Strong. "Okay, we're here," she said cheerfully, with way too much enthusiasm.

  The front door opened, and Lisha stepped out onto the porch, dressed in a long jean skirt and a lime green T-shirt. "There's my grandbaby!"

  Garcelle grabbed Kadina's overnight case as the little girl went flying up the stairs to fling her arms around her grandmother's waist.

  "Garcelle, you better put that hood up. The weatherman is calling for rain," Lisha called down to her.

  "I wasn't staying-"

  "Of course, you are. It's lunchtime. Come on in," Lisha said over her shoulder before she followed Kadina into the house.

  The scent of well-seasoned food mingled in the air with the natural aromas of the ranch. The smell of the food won out, and Garcelle's stomach growled in frustration. A stop at Taco Bell will take care of that, she thought as she glanced up at the sky and saw the dark storm clouds overshadowing the blue skies. She decided that putting up the top while she was stationary was a good idea.

  After moving to South Carolina, she had learned early that rain was a natural occurrence. It could be blue skies and sunshine one moment and grey skies and rain the next.

  At the sound of horse hooves, she turned and saw Kade and his father ride up together. She had to force her eyes off the impressive sight Kade made in the saddle.

  "Hola," she greeted them as she snapped the hood of her car in place as they both climbed down off their stallions with ease.

  "How have you been, Garcelle?" Kael asked as he handed the reins of his horse to Kade.

  "Real good. And you?" said Garcelle.

  `Just fine ... just fine," said Kael as he climbed the stairs of the porch. He turned on the top step and looked down at her, with assessing eyes. He turned his head a bit to give his son a long, meaningful, hard stare before he walked into the house, with a shake of his silver head.

  Garcelle thought she heard him say, "Never thought I'd have a mule for a son. Damndest thing."

  She tried her best to ignore Kade, but she felt him standing there, looking at her. "Tell your mom I couldn't stay for lunch, but thanks, anyway," she said in a rush to Kade before she jumped into her car and sped away like she was driving a race car.