by Devney Perry
“It’s a big change.”
“A good one, though.” I reached across the table for her hand. “I’m sorry for getting angry.”
She nodded. “Me too.”
The kitchen door swung open, interrupting our conversation as Helen carried in a tub of dirty dishes.
“I’ll do those for you, Helen.” Molly sprang off her stool, forcing a smile as she took the tub from Helen. Without another word, she went to the sink and started washing.
Our conversation was over.
Finn and Molly Alcott were over.
I left Molly to her chore, returning with Helen to the front. I took up one of the back-corner tables and rolled silverware, attempting to process my swirling emotions.
Disappointment filled the empty hole where I’d once had hope. It settled heavily along with anger and sadness.
And loss.
Finn and Molly had started dating at the same time Jamie and I had gotten together. I couldn’t think of a party in college where the three of them hadn’t been by my side. Our foursome had done everything together. Made countless memories together.
But everything from back then was gone now. Jamie. His parents. Now Finn and Molly. Gone.
My mood was nearly black by the time I rolled the last bundle of silverware. I did my best to hide my feelings from Molly, but when she finally left to pick up the kids, I was relieved to see her go.
I plastered on a smile for the dinner crowd, but as customers began to dwindle, I took Helen up on her offer to close. I fled from the restaurant, wanting nothing more than a beer, some time cuddling with my puppy and Cole.
Driving straight to his house, I hoped he’d hold me for a while, but for the second time today, my hopes were dashed. When I used the remote he’d given me last month for the garage, I was greeted with an empty space where his truck should have been.
No Cole. No Nazboo.
But at least there was beer.
I went inside and grabbed one of my wheat beers from the fridge. I drank half the bottle just standing in the kitchen before going upstairs to take a long hot shower, hoping it would wash away my bad mood before Cole got home.
With the bottle tipped to my lips, I wasn’t paying attention as I walked into Cole’s bathroom. So when my feet got tangled in something on the floor, I let out a gurgled cry as I choked and tripped. I managed to keep my feet, stumbling but staying upright. However, the same could not be said for my beer. The bottle dropped from my hands and shattered on the marble tile, sending fizz everywhere.
“Grrr!” My yell echoed in the bathroom as I balled my hands into fists. “Hang up your damn towels!”
I spun around and marched downstairs to get a broom and dustpan. With fast, angry strokes, I swept up the broken glass and then used Cole’s towel to mop up the beer. I was just dumping the glass shards into the kitchen trash can when the door leading to the garage opened and Cole stepped inside, carrying Nazboo.
“Hey.” He smiled. “You’re here early. Slow night?”
I tossed the dustpan on the counter. “Would it kill you to hang up your towel in the morning instead of tossing it on the floor for me to trip over?”
The smile on his face disappeared as he blinked at me twice. Nazboo wiggled wildly in his arms, so he set her down. She romped over and licked my bare feet.
But not even my cute puppy snapped me out of my anger. I let her lick while I planted my hands on my hips and glared at Cole.
He ignored my scowl and took a step toward me. “What happened?”
I threw out an arm. “I went upstairs to take a shower but I tripped on one of your towels and broke the beer bottle I was carrying.”
“Did you get hurt?”
“No, I didn’t get hurt. This time. But what about tomorrow? Or the next day?” With flailing arms, I let go of a rant that had more to do with my emotional state than Cole’s towel. “You’re a slob. You leave shit all over the house and I’m sick to death of cleaning it up.”
“Slow down.” His jaw clenched as the gentle vanished from his voice. “I don’t expect you to pick up after me. But I’m not a slob. I’m just not a clean freak.”
“You think I’m a clean freak?” I didn’t give him a chance to respond. I bent down and scooped up Nazboo, then marched toward the door. “Fine. I’ll be a clean freak in my own house.”
I didn’t make it two steps before two strong arms banded around my shoulders, pulling me back.
One second Nazboo was in my arms and then she was back on the floor. The next second, Cole spun me around and slammed his mouth on mine.
I fought his kiss, keeping my lips pursed as he ran his tongue along the seam. But with every touch, the fire he stoked melted my resolve.
He growled against my lips—the vibration sending a shudder down my back—then his arms banded around me so he could hoist me up and haul me to the counter.
The cold from the marble seeped through my jeans, but it did nothing to temper the hot throb at my core. My fingers plunged into Cole’s hair, tugging and pulling his thick, dark strands. As I slanted my face, he took control of my mouth.
I moaned as his hands ran down my sides, pawing my breasts through my T-shirt and bra, then trailing down to the button on my jeans. There was no fumbling when it came to Cole’s hands. He flicked the button with one twist while sliding my zipper down with the other.
Five seconds was all it took him to unfasten my jeans, fist the waistband and yank them down over my ass and thighs. He did it all without breaking his mouth from mine. As his hands came to the hem of my shirt to whip it off, I kicked my jeans off my calves and onto the floor.
Naked except for my bra, Cole shoved my knees apart. His rough grip on my thighs pooled the desire between my legs. He released his hard clasp on my thighs, and with the lightest touch, he traced his fingers from my knees to my hips. I loved when he did this—when he’d alternate between reckless abandon and measured deliberation. The combination left me limp and pliable under those large hands. Completely at his mercy.
His fingertips changed directions, feathering down to my slit, as his tongue plundered my mouth. When he dipped his middle finger into my wetness, I moaned into his mouth. When he added his index finger, stroking me on the inside at the same time his thumb found my clit, I broke away from his lips, barely able to breathe.
“Cole. I need you.”
His answer was to plant his lips on the side of my neck and suck. Hard.
As his fingers worked in and out, my head lulled to the side. My legs trembled as they dangled off the counter, and with every stroke of his long fingers, he pushed me farther and farther to the edge. I was just about to come when Cole’s mouth left my skin and his fingers slid out.
My whimper just made him smile. He took a step back as I reached for him, smirking as he brought his hand to his mouth. Then, with his green eyes locked on mine, he sucked me off his fingers.
“Oh my god.” My pussy clenched.
Cole’s smirk grew as his fingers popped free from his mouth. Off came his shirt, the shallows between his peaked abs more pronounced than normal. He’d probably been at karate when I’d gotten here, working those muscles hard. But I didn’t let his abs distract me for long. Instead I followed the lines down and waited as Cole jerked off his jeans and black briefs.
When his hard cock sprang free, my pussy clenched again. I was so on edge—literally almost falling off the counter—I’d be coming around him by his third stroke.
It only took him two.
With one big stride forward, Cole grabbed my hips, bringing me onto his cock as he thrust inside, stretching me with a luscious burn.
When he pulled out and slammed back in, I cried out, the kitchen filling with sound as my orgasm washed over me in pulsing waves. My heels pressed into the cabinets underneath me as my toes curled in ecstasy.
“My pretty Poppy.” Cole ran his tongue along the shell of my ear, sending tingles down my neck.
I moaned again, clenching around C
ole as his strokes picked up speed. My arms held on to his shoulders as he pounded hard, erasing all of the bad from my day. Because right here in this kitchen, all I cared about was us. Cole’s body inside mine. Him inside my heart.
He didn’t hold back as he kept thrusting. He didn’t take his time to build me up again—he was probably saving energy for a second round later. Cole squeezed his eyes shut and found his own release, spilling his hot come inside me as he tipped his head back and roared my name.
My arms wrapped around his neck as he fell into my chest. “We finally broke in the kitchen.”
He chuckled and held me tighter. “You’re not a clean freak.”
I kissed the top of his shoulder. “You’re not a slob.”
We stayed like that for a few moments, holding one another while Nazboo was off somewhere exploring the house. When she came back into the kitchen, Cole leaned back to meet my eyes.
“I’m sorry you tripped. I’ll work on the towel thing if you promise to work on the gum thing.”
“Gum thing?”
“You smack your gum. It drives me crazy.”
“What?” My eyes got wider. “I do not smack my gum.” Do I?
He grinned and kissed my forehead. “Do you still want to take a shower?”
“No.” I slumped against his chest. “I just want to go to bed.”
“All right.” He slid out and went to the towel drawer for a fresh washcloth. After he’d dampened it with warm water, he came back and cleaned me up. Then he scooped me up in his arms and carried me through the living room toward the stairs. Nazboo followed behind.
“We need to let her out.”
“I’ll do it.”
“Thanks.” I rested my head against his shoulder as he took me upstairs. Carefully setting me in bed, he went to the closet, coming back wearing a new pair of briefs and tossing me one of his T-shirts. I pulled it on and snuggled into bed while he went downstairs to take care of Nazboo and kennel her for the night.
When Cole returned, he brought all of our clothes with him, and I smiled as he dumped them into the hamper instead of on the floor of the walk-in closet. I kept my smile as he climbed into bed and tucked me against his naked chest.
“Do you want to tell me why you picked a fight with me tonight?”
I snuggled deeper. “My day went downhill after I left you at the courthouse.”
“I gathered that. What happened?”
As much as I hated to talk about other people while we were in bed, I also didn’t want to shut Cole out. I didn’t want him to think that he was the cause of my frustration, so I sighed and admitted why I’d been so upset. “Me and Molly kind of got into a fight.”
“Why?”
“Because I said something stupid. And because she and Finn aren’t getting back together.”
“Did you think they were?”
I nodded. “I had hope. Now it’s gone.”
“Sorry, beautiful.” He kissed my hair. “But don’t give up hope. They were right for one another at the time. They’ve got two awesome kids to prove it. It’s just, maybe the person they’ll be right for in the future is still to come.”
I closed my eyes and let out a breath as I contemplated his words.
Cole might be the most insightful person I’d ever met. It made him a great cop. A good man. The perfect one for me. And he was right. Just because Finn and Molly weren’t together, didn’t mean they wouldn’t find happiness with someone new. A happiness that would be the lasting kind, this time around.
Just like the kind of happiness I’d found with Cole.
I hadn’t understood it earlier at the restaurant—I’d been too upset to see things from Finn’s perspective—but now I understood why my brother wanted to date again. He knew he’d never get over Molly’s affair, and he didn’t want to spend his life alone.
He wanted to find love again too.
I snaked my arm across Cole’s waist and hugged him tight, breathing in the smell of his skin. “I’m glad you like to cuddle.”
“I don’t.”
I shot off his chest as my chin fell open. “What?”
“I don’t like to cuddle. Never have, not even with my mom when I was a kid.” He smiled at my wide eyes, then tugged me back down. “But I do like to cuddle with you.”
I collapsed back onto his chest. “Tonight has been . . . informative. Is there anything else I should know besides the gum smacking and cuddling?”
“I’ll keep you posted.”
“Thanks, Detective.” I patted his stomach, then began playing with the hairs on his chest. “How was your day?”
“Long,” he sighed, drawing circles on my hip. “But good.”
Cole had been working so hard lately. He’d get up just as early as I would and head into work while I went to the restaurant to bake before six. He was swamped with the drug task force and the other cases he had on his plate. But in these recent months, I’d avoided asking him about Jamie’s murder case.
I didn’t want him to think I didn’t have faith in his investigative skills. I didn’t want him to think I had false hope. But I was curious. I’d spent years getting updates from Detective Simmons—albeit the same update—every month. And though I trusted Cole to tell me if he’d learned anything, tonight, curiosity beat out patience.
“Have you, um, made any progress on the murder case?” I tensed as I waited for his response.
Cole’s hand on my hip froze. “There isn’t much I can share, but we’re doing our best. And we are working on it.”
“Okay.” His limited update was enough. “I’ve been thinking about something for a couple of weeks. I was wondering if you could do me a favor. A police kind of favor.”
“Okay,” he drawled.
“I want you to find the daughter of the woman that was killed with Jamie. The cashier.”
“Poppy—”
I lifted my head and cut him off. “I just want to know if she’s okay. I don’t need details or anything like that. Just a yes or no that she’s okay.”
His hand came to my face. “Why?”
I shrugged. “I’ve thought about her from time to time over the years. I’ve wondered where she was and how she dealt with the loss of her mother. I guess finishing Jamie’s list, letting go and getting on with my life has made me wonder if she’s found some closure too. I don’t have any power to find the man who killed them and make him pay, but I can at least make sure that her life hasn’t been ruined. Would you help me check on her?”
His thumb stroked my cheek. “In a heartbeat.”
Chapter Nineteen
48th Birthday: Buy a stranger a car
POPPY
“You two kiss like teenagers.”
I scowled at Molly from behind the office desk. “We do not.”
“Really?” She leaned a hip against the doorframe. “Then why are you always putting on lip balm? Your lips are chapped because you’re always making out with your hot cop boyfriend. Not that I blame you. If he were mine, I’d kiss him all the time too.”
Cole had just left the restaurant after coming here for lunch, and just like he always did when he visited, he’d given me a long kiss when he’d arrived and another before he’d left. And twice in between, just because.
Okay, maybe we were as bad as teenagers.
“My lips are chapped because of the weather,” I lied. “It’s dry this time of year.” I looked down at the paperwork on my desk and rubbed my lips together. They were still puffy from Cole’s kiss. “Though, he is a great kisser.”
Cole and I had been together for two months now, and things between us were as hot as ever. We did kiss all the time. And the sex? We were going at it like rock stars. In fact, he’d fucked me right here in this office after I’d closed down the restaurant last night. Not that I’d be sharing that little detail with Molly.
“What are you working on?” Molly stepped farther into the office, taking the chair across the desk.
Our positions were switche
d from our normal office conversations. Usually she was the one sitting on this side of the desk, working on payroll or bookkeeping, while I was in the guest chair.
“I was just looking at those new income projections you put together.”
She smiled. “Things are going so well. Better than I’d ever expected.”
Sales at The Maysen Jar were just as high now as they’d been when we’d opened. In the five months I’d been in business, I’d learned a lot. I was better at ordering bulk supplies without getting too much or too little. I had refined the menu so it only included items that sold consistently. And much to Molly’s delight, I’d learned to delegate and trust my small staff to run the place when I wasn’t around. My days off weren’t limited to once a month but once a week, and I’d figured out an evening schedule that let me spend quality time with Cole and Nazboo.
Molly pulled the draft schedule from the desk and glanced over the chart. “I think I’m going to ask Helen to come in and work on Saturday with me. She’s looking for more hours to save up for the holidays.”
“You’re sure you don’t mind working this weekend?” Molly normally took Saturday and Sunday off to spend time with the kids, but Cole and I had plans next weekend to do another list item, so she was covering the restaurant.
“Not at all. You haven’t taken off a whole weekend since your Glacier trip. You deserve the break. Besides, since Finn has the kids this weekend, I’ll be bored out of my mind at home. I’m glad I can come to work.”
“Thank you.”
She put down the schedule and leaned her elbows on the desk. “You’re almost done with the list. How are you feeling about finishing it?”
How was I feeling? “I’m . . . okay. I guess I’m just at peace with it all.”
“Good. Then you got what you wanted.”
I smiled. “Yeah, I did.”
Soon, I’d mark the last few check boxes from Jamie’s journal and put it away. Jamie would always be a part of my heart, but going through his birthday list had given me an outlet to say good-bye.
