Playing with Fire

by Jen Talty

  “You’ve already set up?” She glanced at him, her right brow arched.

  “I was on the set-up crew and also had to help with where to put the pig roast.”

  “Gross,” she muttered. “I like pork, but I don’t like seeing a pig roll over a fire with an apple in its mouth and eyes glaring at me.”

  He let out a hardy laugh, enjoying her dry sense of humor.

  “Freaked Suzie out last year, and we were sure she’d never eat pork again, until she found out her favorite food, bacon, comes from pigs.”

  “I like Suzie even more now.”

  He put his hand on the small of her back, guiding her across the lawn.

  “There you are!” Mrs. Baker yelled from her perch on one of the picnic tables. “I have a bone to pick with you, young man.”

  “I think I feel a lecture coming on,” he whispered in Heather’s ear.

  “Let me put this stuff on my blanket and I’ll be right over,” he said to Mrs. Baker.

  A couple of children wrangled kites in the gusts of warm wind, while others tossed a Frisbee. Screams, followed by loud squeals echoed in the air. Cade smiled. This is what life was all about. He reached in the cooler and pulled out a long-neck, twisting the top off and handed it to Heather. After cracking open his own, he glanced at Mrs. Baker. She had that look of disappointment: her eyes narrowed a little, and her mouth drew in a straight line.

  He shuddered. His grandmother had the same look and it always made him want to hide under the bed. “Well, I must have done something to upset Mrs. Baker.”

  Heather laughed.

  He cocked his head, watching her luscious lips curl over the bottle. The liquid flowed into her mouth.

  He swallowed. “You know why she’s upset with me, don’t you?”

  Heather nodded.

  He growled, snagging her hand, but she pulled back.

  “You can face the music by yourself.”

  “Nope.” He took a step back and looped his arm around her waist. “Either come with me or I’ll plant a wet kiss on your lips and really give our neighbors something to talk about.”

  “Oh, fine.” She gave him a playful shove on the shoulder, before marching off in front of him, her shorts riding up close to the bottom of her butt cheeks.

  God, he was obsessed with the woman’s ass.

  “Bring the chips and dip,” she called.

  He groaned, taking a small sip of courage before snagging the food and following the sexiest woman he’d ever seen.

  “Good afternoon, Mrs. Baker.” He took the older woman’s hand and brought it to his lips. “You look lovely.”

  “Don’t you sweet talk me. You owe this young lady an apology.”

  He glanced between the two women.

  Heather smiled like there was no tomorrow. Her one arm across her middle while her other held the beer bottle up to her lips. She swayed slightly, her dark eyes soaking in the sun, making them sparkle.

  “What did I do?” he asked, choking on his breath.

  “You took advantage of her,” Mrs. Baker said, poking his arm. “You should be ashamed of yourself.”

  He blinked a few times. “What?”

  Mrs. Baker always spoke her mind, something he valued and appreciated, but she almost always had nothing but kind words to say to him.

  “You should have told her that you have never once gotten teary-eyed when chopping onions, instead of making a bet you knew she’d lose. And to wash your truck? Really, Cade. Wait 'til MiMi finds out.” Mrs. Baker spoke so fast it was impossible to get a word in, not that he dared try.

  Not if she was going to bring in MiMi.

  Cade swallowed. Hard. “Please don’t tell MiMi.”

  “Who’s MiMi?” Heather asked.

  “My grandmother,” Cade said quietly. “Mrs. Baker, I swear, I never intended for Heather to wash my truck. You have to believe me. I even told her I wouldn’t hold her to it, but when I woke up she’d—”

  Heather burst out laughing as she reached into her back pocket.

  “I don’t see what is so funny.”

  Mrs. Baker joined in Heather’s laughter, holding out her hand. “You owe me twenty bucks, missy.”

  “Huh?” Cade scratched the back of his head.

  “I bet Heather I could make you act like a little boy with his hand caught in the cookie jar.”

  “That’s not funny.” Cade pulled his lips together to keep from smiling. “Never bring MiMi into it. She’ll smack the back of my head so hard it would rattle my teeth.”

  “Mrs. Baker told me you’re quite the prankster.” Heather sat on the picnic bench, looking up and smiling at him, making him crazy.

  “It’s a fireman thing.” Cade continued to rub the back of his head. “MiMi tolerates most pranks, but she doesn’t like lopsided betting, especially with a lady.” He sat down next to Heather, feeling the heat from her legs radiate to his. “Guess, I was the brunt of the joke today.”

  Heather patted his thigh. “Payback is a bitch, isn’t it?”

  He shook his head.

  “And if you think I’m keeping my mouth closed about this one, when I see your grandmother next week, you’ve got another think coming.”

  “I tried to renege on the bet.” Cade tossed his arms wide. “Not my fault Heather decided a bet was a bet.”

  MiMi was going to have a field day with this one. She knew him better than anyone and knew that the only reason he’d made the damn bet in the first place was because he liked Heather.

  A lot.

  Too much.

  “I don’t know about you two, but I’m starving.” He ripped open a bag of chips and popped off the Tupperware top. He scooped a healthy glop of the dip and shoved half the chip into his mouth and chewed vigorously. Heather had gotten under his skin in such a short period of time that he didn’t know which end was up.

  He chomped on something hard as a searing pain ripped from the side of his mouth, up his sinus, jabbing his brain. Tears stung the corner of his eyes.

  “Fuck,” he muttered, cupping the side of his face.

  “Cade Alfred Nash. Watch your language,” Mrs. Baker said.

  “What’s wrong?” Heather laced her fingers around his wrist. She leaned into him, staring into his blinking eyes.

  He rolled the food around in his mouth until his tongue found whatever hard object had caused a grenade to go off in his mouth. Now all he had to do was figure out how to spit it out in front of a lady.

  “Nothing.”

  “Right.” She took his chin between her thumb and forefinger. “Something happened inside that mouth of yours.”

  A reminder that her sweet hand currently touching his face could cause him more pain than he’d experience in his entire life. Gently, he pushed her hand away. “Sinus issue,” he said.

  “Sinuses don’t cause that kind of pain.”

  “Mine do.” He turned his head and removed the small object, taking a look because it was like driving by an accident. You didn’t want to look, but you couldn’t not look.

  “You broke a tooth,” Heather said, leaning over his shoulder with her damned contradictory hands on his body.

  How could something so dainty and soft deliver such torture?

  The sharp pain that had jabbed him like an ice pick had subsided to a dull ache. “Oh well,” he said reaching for his beer.

  “I wouldn’t do that if I were you,” Heather said, reaching for his bottle.

  He pulled back and took a big swig. His eyes rolled as his entire body cringed from cold hitting his broken tooth. He swallowed, then coughed, his body shivering.

  “You’re going to need to get that fixed.”

  “Hell, no,” he said, rubbing his cheek.

  “That was a big chunk off your tooth. Your root is probably exposed and you could get an infection if you let it go too long.” Heather stood over him, hands on her hips, eyes glaring at him.

  “It will be fine.”

  “Let me take a look. Might only need
a crown, but I’d have to get you in the chair to find out.”

  “No,” he said sharply. “It’s not a big deal.”

  “It’s a really big deal if you let it go untreated. Some infections could kill you.”

  “Is that how you drum up business? Scaring people?” Fuck. Did he really just say that out loud?

  By the way she narrowed her eyes into tiny little slits and her upper lip quivered, he knew kissing her would be a wild fantasy now.

  “I’m sorry,” he said quickly, but it didn’t matter. She snagged her beer, said goodbye to Mrs. Baker and stormed off over toward where the Easton’s had set up their chairs.

  “You’re never going to land a nice girl behaving like that,” Mrs. Baker said, shaking her head.

  A dull-ache settled in his mouth as he managed to sip his beer, keeping the cold liquid to one side. He’d had two cavities in his life. The first one made him hate dentists. The second one he avoided going to the dentist until he couldn’t take it anymore. He’d been nineteen-years-old and the dentist gave him every drug he possibly could and it still hurt.

  Heather would have to knock him out to get him in her chair.

  “She doesn’t know why I hate the dentist.” He chose those words very carefully, because he sure as hell didn’t hate Heather, even though she was a dentist. A distinction he thought he needed to make for himself.

  “Maybe you should go apologize and tell her why.”

  The roar of a very expensive car stole Cade’s attention. He’d heard that engine before, and it made his skin prickle.

  Fuck. It’s him.

  Jeff parked his car in the public parking area, one that almost no one ever used, since the neighborhood wasn’t that big.

  Cade's glance went from Jeff to Heather. She had her back turned, talking to Elizabeth, Suzie running around them in a circle.

  “Excuse me,” he said, deciding he’d handle the situation. He knew Heather wouldn’t want Jeff here, and frankly, neither did Cade. He strolled across the pavement, closing the gap.

  Jeff stood by his car, hands on his hips, eyeing Cade.

  “This is a private party,” he said, folding his arms across his chest, keeping a good six-feet away. Pain made him ornery and while he didn’t know the extent of the abuse Heather suffered at the hands of her ex-husband, Cade wouldn’t mind giving the man a taste of his own medicine. “Neighbors only.”

  “My wife lives here, therefore so do I.”

  “You need to leave,” Cade ignored his desire to inch closer. “Heather made it clear she has nothing to say to you and she doesn’t want to see you.”

  “You don’t know jack shit about my wife.” Jeff took four steps closer, puffing out his chest.

  Cade remained still, painfully aware of the children playing close by.

  “I’m going to go talk to my wife, and you’re going to step aside.”

  Cade sucked in a breath, folding his hands across his chest. “No. I’m. Not.”

  “Jeff?” Heather’s voice rang out.

  Cade wished the sound had its normal calming effect, but instead, his protective nature took over.

  “I told you when you called earlier that if you came around again I’d call the police.”

  “For what?” Jeff held his hands to the sky. “I’m not doing anything, baby. I just want to talk. We gave up too quickly. Too easily. I miss you.” He stepped dangerously close to Heather.

  “Back off.” Cade put his body between Jeff and Heather. “Last chance to leave without incident.”

  Cade’s muscles flexed as hot blood raced through his body. Violence hadn’t ever been his thing. He could count the number of times he'd used his fists to deal with a problem on one hand, and most of those times had been in high school. “For the record, Heather has filed a restraining order, so you come near her, or her home, you will be arrested.”

  Jeff peered over Cade’s shoulder. “Who is this guy, anyway?”

  “I’m the new man in her life, so back it on up and get the hell out of here.”

  “You’ve got to be kidding me. You’re fucking this piece of shit?”

  “Be quiet, there are children around,” Heather said, putting her hand on Cade’s arm. “Who I chose to date is not your business. Now please leave, Jeff. We’re done. Been done for a while.”

  Cade held up his cell. “Calling the police, so unless you want—”

  “Screw you,” Jeff said, turning on his heels. He got into his car, revved the engine. “We’re far from over.”

  Cade watched Jeff back out and then turn down the main road. “I’ll call my uncle and get that restraining order going.”

  “Like hell you will.”

  Cade took a step back as he stared into her fiery eyes. Her chest heaved up and down and her nostrils faired like a bull.

  “He’s harassing you.”

  “I know that, and I’ll take care of it myself. I’m a grown woman and I don’t need you to tell me what to do.”

  “But he abused you in the past—”

  “And I left him,” she said, holding his stare with a combination of fierce determination and unyielding anger.

  A dangerously intoxicating blend, which stunned Cade. There was no logical reason why he’d want to scoop her up in his arms right now and kiss her 'til they were both breathless.

  He couldn’t help but respect her unwavering confidence and resolve.

  “I will file a restraining order. But not because you suggested. I’ve been documenting everything he’s done over the last week.”

  “That’s good.” He placed his hand gently on her shoulder, but she shrugged it away.

  “And how dare you insinuate we’re sleeping together.”

  He blinked. “I did what? He’s the one who said…said…” Cade stammered. “I was just trying to protect you. Help you.”

  “I do appreciate your help…when I ask for it, but you shouldn’t have come over here without letting me know Jeff was here.”

  He opened his mouth, but snapped it shut right quick. She was right and nothing he said or did at this point would make a difference.

  “I’m going to hang out with Mrs. Baker for the afternoon.”

  “Oh, okay.” What the hell was he supposed to say to that? He deserved to be in the dog house. “For the record, I’m sorry about what I said earlier and how I handled your ex-husband.”

  “Thank you,” she said. “But you can forget about a day with neighbors turning into a date…at least for today.”

  He tried not to smile, but it was impossible. “So, there’s still hope for me?”

  “Depends. I still need someone to look at my fire alarm system.”

  “I feel so used.”

  “Good.”

  He watched her waltz back to the party, knowing he needed to give her space. It would be good for her to meet all the neighbors without him acting like a protective douchebag.

  He frowned as an image of her ex’s fist crash landing on her beautiful face.

  He’d never not be able to be protective.

  6

  Cade rubbed the side of his face. He’d forgotten to keep his food on the left side of his mouth, and with one chew, he had a scorching pain slice through the right side of his head.

  But that wasn’t the truly horrifying part.

  “Hey, man,” His cousin Gavin waved as he pulled his truck into the parking lot of Heather’s office.

  Cade rolled his orange peels into a napkin, before stuffing it in his lunch bag and tossing it in the truck. His eyes stung from exhaustion. It had been another long night of call after call at the fire department, with the last one being a three alarm, meaning a bad fire.

  No one was injured, but the building was toast.

  He loved his job, but after a shift like that, all he wanted to do was sleep, and if he didn’t get home soon, his body would realize it was eight in the morning.

  “Thanks for coming.” He gave Gavin a slap on the shoulder.

  “No sweat.�
��

  He and Gavin, at times, were more like brothers than cousins, being they were only a few months apart. They grew up ten doors away from each other and gave their parents a fair amount of grief. Gavin also worked as a fireman for the same station, but he also helped run LockDown, a local security system company. How he managed both jobs, Cade would never know. Even when he’d been young and energetic, he valued his spare time. Of course, Cade had always been the kind of man to have a girlfriend.

  Gavin, on the other hand, preferred to be single.

  “I told her you wouldn’t charge to diagnosis the problem.” Cade rolled his neck. He wasn’t going into Heather’s office to be seen as a patient. He was going in as a friend, giving her a hand with a problem.

  A quick jab of pain shot to his eyeball.

  Heather’s office had been built inside an older, three-story house with dark blue paint and accented with white trim. A big tooth chair sat on the porch next to a sign that read: Dr. Heather Holbrook, DMD.

  It didn’t matter how welcoming she made her office, it was still a chamber of pain.

  He ignored the bolt of agony shooting to his brain.

  “MiMi says you’ve got it bad for the good doctor.” Gavin glanced over his shoulder with a smirk as he opened the front door. “She also said you’ve been behaving like a toad.”

  “Both statements are only partially true, but I’d appreciate it if you didn’t act like an asshole once we get inside.”

  “I can’t promise anything.”

  Cade rolled his eyes. There were no secrets in his family, and your entire life was fair game at any given time.

  They stepped into the reception area. A cute blonde girl glanced up over her computer screen. “May I help you?” she asked.

  “We’re here to check out the fire alarm. Dr. Holbrook is expecting us,” Cade said. Calling her doctor not only felt weird, but it reminded him of the constant dull-ache in his mouth.

  He liked calling her Heather better.

  “Great. I’ll show you to her office.”

  Cade and Gavin followed the cute blonde up a flight of stairs and into a large room, turned office.