by Unknown
Now she curled up in his cousin's bed in his mother's house and honestly, if he had invited her to share his bed, she would not have been able to say no.
She was too exhausted the night before to thoroughly snoop through the room so Katie rolled out of the bed and padded her way across the bedroom and into the bathroom. She really needed one of those toothbrushes Kaiden had spoken of.
"Wow." The bathroom took her breath away. The same warm tones extended in to the wash room. The lush walk in shower filled more than half the space. An array of shower heads strategically arranged offered the promise of nirvana to tired muscles. How she longed to tear off her clothes and stand under the hot spray.
"It's early. I don't want to wake anyone, right?"
Wrong. What she wanted was to feel hot water surrounding her on all sides while someone soaped her back with lavender scented body wash.
"Get a grip girl. Brush your nasty teeth and then go find some coffee." When did she start talking to herself? Oh right—around about the time her fiancé left with her best friend. When they returned to Virginia Beach she really needed to see about getting a pet.
The bathroom cabinet held a diverse stock of toiletries as Kaiden promised. In actuality there was enough mouthwash, toothpaste, and other essentials to last someone a good long time.
Years.
After brushing her teeth, Katie pulled on a pair of jeans, a long sleeve top, and her shoes. She was in the center of the kitchen trying to figure out where Clara might store her coffee maker when she heard foot steps behind her. Katie turned around to find Kaiden, wearing nothing but a low slung pair of flannel pants and a smile. Her breath hitched and her heart raced. That man looked so fine without a shirt on it took every last ounce of self-restraint not to run her fingers over the hard muscle and trace the line of the scar on his shoulder.
"Looking for something?" Kaiden asked.
Nope. She had already found it. Her head told her mouth to speak but all she could manage was "the coffee pot…"
"Right. Mom keeps that in the pantry with a selection of her favorite beans. What do you favor?"
"Just coffee." When did she become so stupid? One half naked man and she lost the ability to string words together in an intelligent sentence? It's not like she hadn't seen naked men before. Hell, it's not like she hadn't seen this man naked before. Or at least mostly so.
"Right this way, ma'am." Kaiden waved her over to a door that Katie had assumed was a closet. He opened it and disappeared inside. Katie followed.
"What is this place?" she asked as she looked up and down the neatly organized rows of shelves. Floor to ceiling the shelves were lined with food—canned goods, packages of pasta, cereal, and bottled water.
"You've never seen a pantry before?" Kaiden chuckled as he led her to the end of one of the rows.
"This isn't a pantry. It's a damn supermarket!" Katie replied. "It's the size of my living room at home."
"Bigger, actually." Kaiden stopped in front of a unit that housed a coffee maker, a bean grinder and at least fifty varieties of coffee beans. "Mom likes to have plenty on hand. Cold storage is in her basement."
"I… I don't even know… I mean… how is one little woman supposed to eat all of this?" She motioned to the shelves as she turned in a circle. "This is crazy."
"One word of advice," Kaiden said as she selected some coffee beans and poured them into the grinder, "don't tell my mother you think she is crazy."
"Yeah, because I might start to believe it!" Clara called from the kitchen.
"I wasn't saying—I mean I didn't mean she was crazy. But this? This is crazy. It must have taken months to build this stock."
Clara stepped into the room and joined them in the coffee section. "Not months. I have a membership to one of those warehouse clubs. I just bought in bulk." She turned and grabbed a bag off the shelf. "Kaiden, grind up some of these for me when you are done, please? Thank you."
Katie watched the older woman walk away before speaking again. In a hushed voice she leaned in and asked, "Is this all a part of your mom's conspiracy theory thing?"
Kaiden poured the first ground coffee into the automatic maker and ground his mother's beans before answering. "Yes," he finally replied. "I guess you could say it is. After my dad died, Ma became very worried about making sure she could provide for us and later Logan, no matter what. The house, everything—it's all the product of my father's life insurance. We lived off the social security money we received when he died while Mom poured everything else she had into this mountain. This is the outcome."
"Well, when the bomb hits you all won't starve, that's for sure!" Katie joked but Kaiden eyed her with a very serious expression.
"Her prepper friends take these things very seriously. And honestly, I have worked for the government long enough to see the value in a little preparedness. This is not a happy world we live in."
"So, you worry about the world ending?"
"Not in the terms you are speaking but I am concerned about the fragile state of the world and realistically anything could happen. Best to be ready for it and meet it head on, right? I mean you don't show up to a gun fight with a knife."
"Speaking of gun fights, what time are we going after Nathan?"
Kaiden removed the freshly brewed coffee and placed another pot on the burner. He dumped the coffee for his mother into the machine and hit brew before he answered her.
"We aren't going after Nathan. You promised to wait in the truck, remember?"
"Yes, I remember but it doesn't mean I am not hoping you will change your mind."
He winked at her. "I wouldn't expect anything less either. Come on, let's see what we can rustle up for breakfast. Keegan will be here soon and he is always hungry." She followed Kaiden out of the pantry and waited while he set the coffee pots on the counter.
"I hope you're hungry," Clara said as she pulled egg cartons and packages of bread and bacon from the fridge.
"The coffee is enough for me, really," Katie replied.
"Poppycock! You can't start your day without a hearty meal to get the metabolism rolling."
Poppycock? Who says that anymore?
Clara obviously wouldn't take no for an answer so Katie nodded as she held the cup Kaiden offered to her. "I suppose I could eat an egg and some toast."
Clara shot her a look. "You're not one of those girls always on a diet, are you? My boy here likes a woman with a healthy appetite and a little meat on her bones."
"Leave her alone. She'll eat."
"I don't want her having a fainting spell and have people in town think I don't know how to take care of my guests."
"Since when have you cared about what people think?"
"Well, boy, you got a point there. I guess I really don't." Clara set about cracking eggs in a bowl while bacon sizzled in the cast iron frying pan.
"I like food. I don't diet. I just don't want you to go to any trouble on my account," Katie said.
"Cooking a decent meal is never a bother, dear. Why don't you have a seat? Kaiden—pull the chair out for her."
"Yes, Mother."
Katie loved the banter between mother and son. It made her homesick for her own family while it frightened her a little how comfortable she felt among the James family. Like she was always meant to be there.
***
Kaiden watched Katie as he and his mother did their usual back and forth. She smiled as he pulled out her chair at the table. Somehow the action felt right; it all felt so right. Katie fit in perfectly with his life and his family. She didn't look at his mother like Clara was crazy and he appreciated that. Clara had lot of quirks but crazy wasn't one of them. He couldn't say the same about his ex-wife. Cara never seemed to really belong. He felt happy and relaxed despite the fact that he really was there to work.
"Hello!" a voice called from the front hall. "Y'all awake in here?"
"Keegan!" Clara called back. "We're in the kitchen! Come eat!"
"You don't have to tell me tw
ice," Kaiden's twin brother announced, appearing in the door to the kitchen.
Kaiden met his brother with a handshake and man hug—that sort of half hug where they pat each other on the back and no one questions their intentions. "Good to see ya, man."
"You too, brother." Keegan walked over and kissed his mother on the cheek. "Morning, Ma."
"Good morning, my handsome son. I hope you are hungry."
"James men always have room for a good meal." He walked over to Katie, his hand outstretched. "Hi Nurse Katie, it's good to see you again."
Katie accepted his hand with a smile. "Nice to see you again also."
Once again Kaiden marveled at how at ease Katie seemed with his family. "Want some coffee, Kee? There's regular and then Ma's on the stove."
"Ugh, you still drinking that turpentine, Ma?"
"It'll put hair on your chest, son." She took a sip from her mug. "Mmmm… good stuff."
Keegan poured a cup and sat at the table with Kaiden and Katie. "So tell me, brother, what's the plan?"
"I went over some pictures and things my boss emailed me. After we eat, I'll show them to you. Local law enforcement will meet us there in case we need back up but they know this should be a pretty peaceful take."
Clara placed a large platter of bacon and eggs on the table and a second plate stacked high with toast. "Eat first, talk shop later."
"Smells delicious," Katie said as she reached for a serving of eggs. "How do you get these scrambled eggs so light and fluffy?"
"Ancient Chinese secret, dear."
"Pretty sure the Chinese are not responsible for egg scrambling secrets, Ma." Kaiden took the serving spoon from Katie and piled his own plate nice and high.
"Maybe, maybe not," Clara replied as she sat in a chair next to Keegan.
As they ate, he stole glances across the table at Katie. He loved the way she laughed and joked with Keegan and their mother as if they had known each other their entire lives. She had a great smile. Why hadn't he noticed that before?
Because you have been far too busy focusing on her other assets.
There was a lot he didn't know about Katie. When the case was all wrapped up he definitely intended to rectify that.
"Kaiden, dear?"
"Yes, Ma?"
"Have you forgotten all the manners I taught you?"
Confused, he replied, "Um, no. Why? What did I do?"
His mother indicated his shirtless chest. "At what time is it ever appropriate to sit at a table with ladies without being properly clothed?" His twin laughed around a mouthful of scrambled eggs.
"I completely forgot I wasn't wearing a shirt."
Keegan started choking on his food as he tried not to laugh. Kaiden shot him a nasty look.
"Umm… hmmm… I don't think so. Go get something on before you continue eating at my table."
"Yes, ma'am." Kaiden felt the heat in his cheeks as he pushed his chair back. Keegan had finally managed to swallow his eggs and bust out laughing as he headed to his room to grab a t-shirt.
"I hope you blow eggs out your nose," he mumbled as he left the room. That made Keegan laugh even louder.
Sometimes having a twin could be such a huge pain. Kaiden grabbed a shirt from his bureau—Clara kept a full set of clothes for all her boys and now Angelina—at her place so they never had to worry about anything except showing up. Pulling the top over his head he ambled back toward the kitchen and the rest of his meal.
"Much better." His mother greeted him with a smile of appreciation.
"Sorry, Ma," he grumbled, picking up his fork and attacking his plate of food. Through the entire exchange, Katie hadn't said a word. Now she sat there smiling at him and nibbling on a piece of toast.
"What?" he asked her as he stabbed a piece of bacon.
"Nothing." She smiled more broadly and took a sip of her coffee.
"Well, I hope you enjoyed the show." He shot his mother a not-another-word look as Clara opened her mouth to speak.
"In my day…" she began.
"Yes, Ma. I know. In your day, a gentleman never came to the table half naked. In your day men respected women and manners and…"
"All of the above!" Clara chuckled as she stood and carried her plate from the table. "I raised you and your brothers to have manners and I expect you to use them at all times."
"Brothers?" Katie asked.
"Ma considers our cousin Logan to be one of her sons. She raised him like a brother to us and honestly, we feel the same," Keegan replied.
"That's nice for Logan. I can't imagine what it would be like to lose my parents and be all alone in the world as a child."
The room fell silent for a moment before Clara spoke. "Yeah, well, in Logan's case, it was nothing short of a miracle. That boy deserved a better life than…" Clara stopped abruptly and left the room.
"I'm sorry, I didn't mean to upset your mother." Katie looked stricken. Kaiden went to her and gave her a hug.
"She always gets upset when Logan's childhood comes up. It kills her that Logan has to live with the fact that his father murdered his mother after years of the old man abusing both of them."
"It was a blessing that Logan escaped a life with that man," Keegan added. "It was tough at first for all of us, he had so much anger and pain but after a while he became one of us. We really do love him like a brother."
Clara returned then, her eyes red but her smile bright. "Well, now, don't you boys have a job to do?"
Keegan rose from his seat, empty plate in hand. "Yes, ma'am, we do. Kaiden, why don't you go do what you gotta do to get some real clothes on and then we can talk shop."
Kaiden nodded. "All right. Katie? I hoped to ask you a few questions about the Marks family before we head out."
"Okay. Lead the way."
Kaiden stopped and gave his mother a kiss on the cheek. "You are a good mom, you know that, right? To all of us."
Clara smiled, a hint of sadness still in her eyes. "Thank you for that, Kaiden. I love you and Keegan and Logan more than anything. I am proud of all of you. I hope you know that."
"We do," Keegan added with a hug to his mother as well. "We have had a great life and we are the men we are because of you."
Kaiden saw his mother's eyes moisten as she waved them away. "You all get on with it. I'll clean up in here." She turned her back on all of them. He had nothing left to do but go get ready for the day's mission. Steering Katie toward the hall, he tried to catch Keegan's eye. His brother was lost in deep thought though so Kaiden walked out of the room.
Chapter Fourteen
"So, what did you want to ask me about Nathan?" Katie leaned against the door frame as Kaiden dug through his bureau pulling out jeans, a long sleeved black tee, socks and a pair of black boxer briefs. She liked those boxer briefs. A lot. Especially when he wore them. Regular boxers might be a little too college frat boy for her tastes and tighty whities would just be wrong. The black boxer briefs perfectly accentuated all of Kaiden's assets.
"Katie?"
"What?" She blinked, realizing Kaiden had been talking to her the entire time she had been assessing his undergarments.
"I said, I didn't have any questions. I just wanted to get you alone for a couple of minutes."
"Really? Why?"
He tossed the clothes over his shoulder and stepped in front of her. "Really, you have to ask why?"
He pulled her to him. She rested her cheek against the hard muscle of Kaiden's chest and let out a little sigh. It all felt so right. Nothing with Nathan had ever felt so comfortable or perfect. Kaiden rubbed his hands up and down her back slowly, setting little fires under her skin wherever his fingertips moved.
"I am looking forward to all of this being over so I can ask you out on a real date. Maybe squeeze in a surfing lesson?" He grinned down at her as he referred to their conversation two days earlier as he drove her home from, well, from wherever Homeland Security had taken her.
"I would like that."
"Where were you earlier?"
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"What do you mean?"
"A few minutes ago, I had an entire conversation with you and you seemed a million miles away."
The fire from her back moved to her face as blood rushed to fill the million capillaries in her cheeks. "You really don't want to know."
"By the way you are turning red, I absolutely do want to know."
She shook her head. "Too embarrassing."
"Now I really want to know and if you don't tell me…"
"You'll do what?"
"I am an agent of the United States Government, I have my ways of getting what I want." She loved the way his blue eyes sparkled when he teased her. They lit up from the inside like a prism catching the sun's rays.
"Okay! Okay! I was thinking about underwear."
"Underwear?" Now he looked confused.
"Yes. You pulled out black boxer briefs and I tried to imagine you wearing tighty whities!"
"Just how old do you think I am?"
Katie giggled and patted his butt. "Definitely not old enough for old man jockey shorts. Not yet anyway."
Kaiden's cell phone started buzzing on the nightstand by his bed. "Hold that thought, young lady. We have much to discuss." He picked up the phone and snapped "James!" into it.
Katie watched his expression turn from playful to confused to hard and serious over the course of a minute. She strained to hear the other side of the conversation but all she could make out was the slight hum of a voice. Kaiden said good bye to the other person and ended the call.
