CHAPTER SEVEN
Cassie stretched her aching muscles, wondering for the hundredth time what she had been thinking jumping back in the saddle and riding all afternoon after so long off of a horse. She should have known her body wouldn't be used to the exertion. Muscles she didn't know existed screamed in protest as she filled the bakery case. It was Monday morning and the early risers would be crowding through the door any minute.
She smiled and hummed as she worked, remembering what a great time she'd had with Jack. It had been so nice to reconnect with him on a level that wasn't full of latent desire rearing its head at every turn. Of course, she'd had to reign in those thoughts because they refused to remain dormant whenever she would sneak a glimpse at Jack's body. The way the sweat had glistened on him after their ride had nearly undone her.
She mentally shook herself when she realized that she had stopped what she was doing and was just standing there, a ridiculous grin on her face. It's a good thing he'd kept things friendly or she very well may have let her hormones take over. You're worse than a teenager, mooning over him this way. She went back to the task at hand, determined to get control of herself.
While she was back in the kitchen, she heard the door and called out, "Be there in a minute." She glanced at the clock. It wasn't even seven o'clock yet. Her customers were usually respectful of her hours, so she didn't bother keeping the door locked until opening time. She filled another set of trays with scone dough and shoved them in the oven, then nearly jumped out of her skin at the sound of a voice directly behind her.
"No need to rush, sweetheart. I've got all day."
"Jack." She gasped and whirled around. "What are you doing?"
He spread his arms wide and laughed when she looked him up and down. He was wearing jeans and a tee, which weren't out of the ordinary. What she struggled to comprehend was the pink apron with Cassie's Confections embroidered across the front that he wore tied around his waist.
She tried to suppress a giggle as she lifted a brow. "I don't know that pink is your color."
"Well, I guess that's a good thing then because this is for you." He untied the apron and moved behind her. Cassie squeezed her eyes shut and forced her muscles not to tense when his hands brushed against her waist as reached to wrap the apron around her. He took his time tying the strings, and Cassie couldn't decide if she wanted him to hurry or not.
"Um, thanks," she offered, moving away too quickly. Her leg muscles cramped slightly at the sudden movement and she couldn't stifle a groan, automatically moving her hand to her aching thigh.
He followed her to the other side of the kitchen, nodding knowingly. "That's what I thought. I should have known better than to let you ride so much yesterday."
"You? I knew better but did it anyway. Now I have to pay for my day of fun." She grinned sardonically, lifting a shoulder. She reached to take a tray off the cooling rack.
"Well, lucky for you, I've cleared my schedule and am at your service, my lady." He bowed, then took the tray from her hands while she stared at him open-mouthed. He winked and walked out of the kitchen, tray in hand.
What was he doing? She followed him out and watched silently as he arranged the donuts in the case. She didn't know what to think or do. No one had ever offered to help her with her morning tasks, but Lord knew, sometimes she wished for it. She wouldn't take on the extra expense, though.
"Why are you doing this?" She finally found her voice.
"I figured you'd be miserably sore this morning, and felt a little guilty, so I thought I'd lend a hand."
She was touched by the gesture. He wasn't making it any easier on her to keep putting him off.
"That's what friends do, right?" He lifted his brows, blue eyes shining innocently.
There was that darn word again. It was starting to leave a nasty taste in her mouth. Why was that? That was what she wanted. He was just respecting her wishes, and she knew it was for the best. So why was she so irritated by it?
"I suppose so," she grumbled. He turned back around quickly, and she thought she saw a smirk on his face, but couldn't be sure. She realized that she wasn't being very appreciative of his friendly gesture. Walking up to him, she laid a hand on his arm. "Jack?" He turned slowly, his muscles flexing under her touch. God help her, she wanted to grab him and yank him toward her. Instead, she cleared her throat and looked at him earnestly. "Thank you."
A slow smile spread across his lips, and she found herself staring at them, wondering if they were as soft as they looked. He reached up and ran his thumb across her forehead. Her heart kicked up a notch. Was he going to kiss her? "You've got icing on your face." Oh. He must think she was an idiot. Here she thought they were having an intimate moment, and he was just cleaning her up like a messy child.
Either way, the moment was broken by the morning rush. She jumped away from him like a guilty teenager and stepped in front of him to greet her customers. He chuckled softly, and the deep sound gave her chills. She appreciated the help, but she couldn't work near him if her body was going to be so erratic.
Things picked up quickly, and Jack was there to take over the front when she had to check on things in the kitchen. Surprisingly, they worked well together and took care of the crowd efficiently. She walked out with another tray of donuts just as Lissa made it to the front of the line.
"Well, what do we have here? I must say, if I'm going to be treated to eye candy as well as a sugar fix, I need to get in here more often." Lissa looked back and forth between the two of them with open curiosity. Jack flexed his muscles in a bodybuilder's pose, making her laugh. "I don't know how you're getting any work done."
"Funny today, aren't we?" Cassie glared at her.
Lissa lifted her hands in mock surrender. "I'm just saying if it were me..."
Cassie rolled her eyes. "Can I get you something, or are you just here to gawk?"
"Both. I had to come see it for myself. My mom called and said Jack was here." Of course she did. How Mrs. Winters knew everything almost before it happened was beyond her, but now the whole town would surely be talking even more about her nonexistent relationship with Jack. "I'll take a donut, I guess." She sighed and patted her hips. "But I know I'll regret it when I step on the scale."
Now it was Jack's turn to roll his eyes. Cassie watched as he eyed Lissa. "You look great. I don't know why you women are so worried all the time." Cassie felt an unfamiliar heat rise in her chest as he continued to banter with Lissa. Jealous much? She grimaced. Stop it, Cassie. Great, now she was having silent arguments with herself. This man really was going to make her crazy.
She moved to get the donut, but Jack chose that exact moment to fill the order himself. They collided, chest to chest. The heat she'd been feeling a moment before was replaced by a roaring flame that burned through her body at the contact. She met his eyes, and all thoughts of donuts fled her mind. Her tongue ran over her lips involuntarily, moistening them, though her mouth had gone dry. His gaze flicked down at the movement and everything else in the bakery faded to a dull hum.
"Mommy!" She snapped to attention at the sound of her daughter's voice and stepped back as if she'd been burned. She felt as if she had been. Glancing at Lissa, Cassie saw her standing there watching the two of them with wide eyes, a huge smile on her face. She narrowed her eyes at her friend, then darted away to where Mrs. Pettigrew was walking in with Sarah. She'd let Jack handle the counter now. There was only one other customer behind Lissa, and she welcomed the excuse to get away.
"Hey, sweet girl." She gathered Sarah up in her arms and squeezed tightly. "How are you this morning?"
"Hungry."
Mrs. Pettigrew took Sarah's things and walked back to set them down near the little table Sarah played at. "I tried to get her to eat this morning, but she insisted that she wanted a donut."
"Baby, donuts aren't a good breakfast for growing girls."
"Lissa has one." She stuck her lower lip out and pointed at Lissa, who now had her donut, but didn't a
ppear to be leaving.
Cassie sighed. "I know. Listen, I'll let you have a donut just this once, but you have to eat a good breakfast tomorrow."
Sarah nodded, appeased that she'd won this battle. Then she noticed the other person behind the counter. "Jack," she yelled, squirming to get out of Cassie's arms. She ran over and hugged him around the legs. He picked her up, tossing her in the air just as he had the first day they'd met. Her laughter filled the room.
"Hey, princess. You want to help me wait on this customer first, and then we can pick out a donut just for you?" He tickled her under her chin. She nodded enthusiastically.
As they helped the gentleman waiting patiently, Lissa walked toward Cassie. Mrs. Pettigrew excused herself, saying she needed to get back home. Lissa looked at her, eyes wide. "Wow. Look at them together."
"I don't want to."
"She looks like him, Cass. I never saw it before. But right next to each other, you can see it."
Cassie shushed her. "Lissa! You can't say things like that." She glanced surreptitiously at them, but they were too busy to have overheard. "And no, she looks like me. Which really isn't any better," she admitted.
"She looks like both of you. I've got to say, you three make a lovely little family."
Cassie gritted her teeth. "No, we don't. This has to stop. You are interfering in something that's none of your business. This is my secret, and I'll be damned if you spill it."
Lissa narrowed her eyes. "You know me better than that. I'm just saying what I've said all along. You know where I stand on the matter. You're ridiculous secret is safe with me." She crossed her arms, angered. "But you're an idiot if you let this man slip through your fingers. What I just saw between the two of you was intense. That kind of chemistry doesn't happen between people that often. And Sarah's crazy about him. Naturally."
"That's enough. He'll hear you."
Jack had just finished getting a strawberry donut for Sarah then settled her at her table. He started to walk toward them, but must have noticed the tension. He stopped short and offered a hesitant smile. "Everything okay?"
"Fine," Cassie said shortly. "Lissa was just leaving."
Lissa pursed her lips. "I do need to get to work."
"Okay," Jack said. "Tell Jesse I said hey." Lissa waved and was gone, thankfully. "What was that about?"
"Nothing. Lissa just thinks...never mind." What had she been about to say? She needed to get her head back on straight, but she was so flustered. First from the encounter with Jack, and then from seeing him with Sarah and knowing that what Lissa said held a bit of truth.
Distance. That's what she needed. She had to get out of Jack's presence before he made her break her resolve. "Look, thank you so much for doing this for me today. You were more of a help than you know, but I think I've got it from here." She brushed past him to start working on some soups and bread bowls for the lunch crowd, but he grabbed her arm and turned her toward him.
"Cassie, look at me." She shook her head. He looked toward Sarah, who was watching them with rapt attention. "You eat your donut while I help Mommy in the kitchen, okay?" Sarah nodded obediently and Cassie let him gently guide her into the kitchen. He placed his hands on her shoulders and tried to get her to look up at him, but she was stubborn.
"Come on, Cass. Talk to me. This hot and cold with you is making me crazy."
"Making you crazy?" she spat out. "How about me? Ever since you waltzed through that door last week, my life has been turned upside down." She hadn't meant to say that, but now he had her riled up. "Things were much simpler before you appeared, and I liked it that way. Now, I'm just..." She shrugged helplessly.
His eyes softened, and she thought she detected a little remorse. "You know that's not my intention. I thought I had made it clear that I wouldn't push you. And I thought I was doing a good job."
"You are. It's not you, it's me."
He laughed bitterly. "Really? 'It's not you, it's me' is seriously what you're telling me?"
"I mean it," she protested. "You actually have been a good friend." She bit out the nasty word. "What you did here today was incredible. But that's also the problem. I can't handle you going around being so wonderful."
He tilted his head, an unreadable look coming across his face. "And why do you think that is?"
She hesitated. If she said any more, she would be crossing a line into dangerous territory. She thought she'd done a good job so far of hiding her feelings.
He bent down and got right in her face. "I know you're scared, Cassie. I don't know why exactly. I can tell that you feel something for me, though." Okay, maybe she hadn't done such a great job.
"Yes, Jack, of course I care for you. We've been friends all our lives." She took a step back.
"I don't want to be your friend." He closed the gap she had put between them. If she stepped away again, it would prove that she was just as scared as he said. She was trying her hardest to maintain control, and it hung by a thread. What he just said registered, and she gulped.
"What do you want?" It was a whisper. She was desperate to hear him say it but equally terrified.
"I want you."
He let it hang in the air between them for the briefest of moments, then he took everything she knew about her world and turned it on its head.
He grabbed her hips and pulled her against him, eyes on fire. All the air left her lungs as she stared up at him. Then his mouth was on hers, fast and demanding. His lips were soft but firm at the same time. Her body responded immediately. She snaked her arms up and around his neck, wrapping her fingers in his hair. Heat raced through her, setting every nerve on edge.
Alarms went off in her head, but she ignored them, relishing this release of pent up desire. Her lips parted and he explored her mouth with his tongue, hungry for her. He tasted like chocolate, heavenly and sinful all at once. His arms tightened around her waist and she could feel the hardness of his abs against her chest.
She moaned, and the sound must have brought him back to his senses because he ever so gently pulled his head back. He stared into her eyes, then nodded, satisfied with what he must have seen there.
She dropped her arms and dragged her fingers across her lips that were now swollen from his attack on her senses. She was stunned by her response to him. She had never expected something quite like that.
"I'm taking you to dinner tonight." It wasn't a question.
All she could do was nod wordlessly. He gave her one last smoldering gaze, then grinned and walked out of the kitchen. "I'll pick you up at seven," he called over his shoulder.
It took her a moment to gather her wits about her, but she still couldn't control the pounding of her heart. Jack had ignited a fire between them that was going to be damned hard to extinguish.
Deep breath. What had she gotten herself into?
CHAPTER EIGHT
Jack walked up the steps of Cassie's front porch, smiling at the little touches that were so obviously Cassie. He'd been here so many times growing up, but Cassie had made this home her own now, putting out carefully arranged flowers and decorative pillows on the chairs. He tucked the bouquet of daisies behind his back and lifted his hand, knocking quietly on the door just in case Sarah was sleeping.
He almost couldn't believe he'd gotten her to agree to a date, but after this morning, there was no way she could deny the heat between them. He still remembered the sweetness of her lips. It contrasted starkly with the white-hot passion she'd unleashed. Yeah, there was definitely no denying it now.
Cassie flung the door open, wide-eyed and disheveled, still in that morning's flour-covered clothes with her hair in a messy topknot. "Jack," she breathed. "I'm so sorry, I completely forgot."
Well that was one way to deflate a man's ego. He almost said as much, but stopped when he noticed her eyes were puffy and rimmed in red. He closed the gap between them and gripped her elbows. "What's wrong? Is it Sarah? Is she okay?"
"Yes, she's fine. She's playing in her room now. It's nothin
g like that." She took a breath to steady the tremor in her voice and swallowed hard. "It's Mom."
"What happened?" He followed her into the house where she dropped onto the couch, then listened while she recounted what the doctor had just called to tell her. Caroline had taken a turn for the worse earlier in the afternoon, having one of her worst episodes to date. She was screaming and fighting with the nurses, not knowing who they were and where she was.
"Oh, Jack, it sounded terrible. I have to go see her. They managed to calm her down, but she's still in a state of confusion. I'm waiting for Emily to get here to stay with Sarah, and then I'm heading straight there. It looks like our date," she stumbled over the word, "will have to wait." She glanced ruefully at the flowers hanging by his side. "Those are beautiful, by the way."
He had forgotten all about them the minute he saw her. "I'm going with you." It was a statement, with no room for argument, but her eyes snapped up quickly.
"No, that's not necessary. I'm fine. She'll be fine. You don't need to waste your evening."
He leaned in. "It's not wasting my time if I'm with you." Normally he would be caught up in the way she looked as a faint blush stole over her features, but at the moment all he had was concern for her. "I can drive and you can take care of what you need to. I told you the other night I'd like to see her. But I can wait outside if you need me to. Whatever you need, really."
She smiled faintly. "Thank you. There's apparently no sense in arguing with you."
"No, not really."
Emily arrived a few moments later while Cassie was putting the flowers in a vase. Jack updated her on the situation when Cassie went to change into clean clothing and tell Sarah goodbye.
"I'm glad you're here for her," Emily said. "She tries to do too much by herself."
"I'll do whatever she'll let me."
Then Cassie was back giving a few parting instructions to Emily and they were out the door. Cassie rode silently in his truck, drumming her fingers on her thigh while she stared blankly ahead. Jack didn't know whether he should make conversation to distract her or not, so he remained quiet as well. The drive into the city took less than an hour.
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