Chapter 4
4
H e supposed this was some kind of cosmic karma paying him back for being a grump the past two weeks. But even he knew that, when every time he turned around the same thing smacked him in the face, it was time to cave.
Tansy got the meal prepped for High Water—chicken stew with biscuits and apple pie for dessert—then just before five, she nabbed Jake and hustled him out the door.
Sitting in the passenger seat of Tansy’s SUV seemed as if they were daring the universe a touch too hard. “You’re a far braver woman than I knew, Tansy Fields.”
She snickered, head checking as she switched lanes and headed into Heart Falls proper. “Don’t think I haven’t noticed you white knuckling it over there. I’m not a bad driver.”
“No, you’re a good driver.” He could give her that much. “But even a good driver doesn’t stand a chance with bare tires and a brake system that’s out of kilter.”
She pumped said brakes a couple of times, expertly dealing with the layer of black ice that coated the entire road at the four-way stop intersection. “ZenBaby might not sound or look pretty, but I am up on his vehicle maintenance, thank you very much.”
“ZenBaby?”
She patted the dash fondly. “ZenBaby. He’s a little old, but I love him.”
Jake locked his jaw together, partly so that if they did get in a crash, he wouldn’t bite his tongue off.
Tansy distracted him from his heart palpitations by changing the topic completely. “Okay, heads-up time. Yes, we’re joining my parents for dinner. It’s not going to be very formal. In fact, chances of us all sitting at the same table at the same time are almost nil.”
Thankfully, she kept her gaze firmly fixed on the road as she turned into one of the residential areas.
Jake studied her profile as she spoke. She was every day pretty. Not the sort of woman that made people do a double take, but the kind who the longer you looked at her, the more there was to see.
Another shot of uncalled for interest raced through him, and he shoved it aside. “Explain.”
“It might not have been brought up in public, but it’s no secret. My oldest sister Ivy, now Ivy Stone, has social anxiety. She also dealt with some pretty big physical issues, but for the most part she’s staying healthy these days. But because of her, our family tends to spend more time talking in twos and threes than gathering around and letting one person shoot the breeze or putting one person on the spot.”
It was a rather brilliant solution. “And since you’ve invited me over, are you planning on sticking by my side or tossing me to the wolves?”
A burst of pure amusement escaped her. “My first impulse is to tease you about how shy and retiring you normally are, but after sharing about my sister’s issues, I can’t be a jerk. You’ve already stepped outside your comfort zone to come with me. What would make you feel happy tonight? Do you want a wingman?”
It was Jake’s turned to snort. “Doesn’t that usually mean helping someone find a date? Because I’m not planning on hitting on Fern, who I assume will be the only other single woman there tonight.”
Tansy waved a hand briefly before putting both gloved hands back on the steering wheel. “Semantics. Just meant I can stick to your side if you want, or you can go solo. Whatever you think is best.”
He certainly didn’t need his hand held. The Fields were a highly respected part of the community, and he’d met all of them over the past six months. “Back when I worked for the Winnipeg RCMP, I was a school liaison. I’m okay in groups.”
She pulled to a rumbling stop in front of a two-story house that screamed character, full of interesting roof angles and an oversized porch. She put the SUV into Park then focused her attention on him. “Well, if that changes, let me know. Otherwise, come nine o’clock, I’ll find you and we’ll head home.”
“You’re a very easy date,” Jake teased, sliding out of the SUV and joining her on the sidewalk. He was suddenly shocked by exactly how comfortable this all felt.
Tansy stumbled, and he caught her before she could hit the ground. Only when she turned and tossed a double mittful of snow in his face with a cackling laugh did he realize it was a ploy.
Which meant dropping her unceremoniously into the tall snow pile at the edge of the walk was the most natural thing in the world.
“Oh, you’re nasty.” Tansy shot a hand to him for help. “I like that about you.”
He grinned as he reached down, totally not expecting for her to take a firm grasp on his wrist then kick her feet into his ankles while she pulled.
He face planted beside her, instantly covered in snow from head to toe.
He rolled, spitting snow.
Tansy laughed so hard she ended up clutching her stomach.
Jake sighed dramatically, shaking his head as he brushed snow off his cheeks.
“Are you bringing him in for supper, or are you planning on killing him out there and hiding the body?” Fern stood, one foot on the porch and one foot in the house, a grin on her face as she eyed them.
“A little snow never hurt anyone,” Tansy quipped as she bounced to her feet. When Jake held his hand to her for help to get vertical, she shook her head. “Uh-uh. You’re spry enough all on your own. Let’s get inside before you start to melt, Mr. Snowman.”
Fern waited for them inside the entrance. “Rose isn’t here yet. But Ivy and Walker and the kids are around somewhere.” She met Jake’s gaze. “Carter’s the oldest. Prepare for him to latch onto you and not let go. He’s suddenly decided some guy out there must know the secret of surviving younger sisters.”
“I don’t have sisters,” Jake reminded her.
“I know that, and you can tell him that. He still thinks that there’s something built into grownup men’s DNA, and if he hangs around them long enough his little sisters might suddenly vanish. Although he’d miss them a lot if they weren’t there.” She grinned. “If he’s too much of a bother just tell him to go play.”
“It’s not a problem,” Jake insisted. “I like kids. What are his sisters’ names?”
Tansy answered this time, grabbing his coat from him and tossing it onto the pile stacked four deep on a preacher’s bench. “Chloe is the oldest. Harper is the pixie-faced heartbreaker. If she asks you if you can remove any of your body parts, don’t take it personally.”
Fern snorted. “It’s not my fault.”
Jake glanced down at Fern’s left arm, which was currently missing the hand and forearm prosthesis he’d seen her wearing before. “Kids like to know stuff. It’s not a rude question. Not really.”
“Exactly.” Fern dipped her chin firmly. Her attention caught on something outside. “Time to vacate the front entrance. Jake, I’ll talk to you later.”
“Looking forward to it.”
Tansy snagged him by the hand and hauled him through the house. It wasn’t exactly messy, but the place was filled from top to bottom with interesting things. He wouldn’t have minded a slower tour, but suddenly he was pushed through the kitchen and face-to-face with Tansy’s older sister.
Pale white hair cut in a bob framed her thin face, and she blinked at him for a moment before offering a smile. “Hello. Did you bring home a stray, Tansy?”
“He’s housebroken,” Tansy promised. She turned to her sister. “Ivy, this is Jake Skye. One of the owners of High Water ranch, brother-in-law once removed to Jinx Tremont who is now your niece Sasha’s bestie.”
It was amusing as heck to see that was how Tansy introduced him. “Nice to meet you,” Jake said. “May I offer you my heartiest congratulations on surviving being sister to Tansy.” When Ivy’s lips twitched, he winked. “I hear you have three children somewhere in the house.”
Her smile only widened. “And a husband to go with the three sisters, two parents, and two grandparents. A plethora of blessings.” She glanced over her shoulder then pointed to the far corner of the room. “The girls are with their great grandma. Which means my son is outside with his Great Grandpa Ashton.”
Tucked in the corner of the room was an oversized recliner. In it sat an older woman with silver white hair and little girl tucked under each arm and a book in her lap. In another one of those interesting twists, Jake knew exactly who she was even though he’d never met her face-to-face.
She and her husband were the previous owners of the animal rescue they’d bought. She read expressively even as her gaze darted over to take in Jake and Tansy.
“Excuse me.” Ivy slipped away, headed into the kitchen where she joined her father working at the stove.
Tansy twirled around Jake for a moment, tugging him toward the side wall. “The rule is if somebody leaves suddenly without much of a warning, you didn’t do anything wrong.”
“Not offended,” Jake assured her. He took another glance around the room. “I hear voices at the front door, which I assume would be your sister Rose along with her fiancé. If I’m counting right, there’ll be over a dozen people here for dinner.”
She considered for a moment then nodded. “Sounds about right.”
It was not at all what he was used to. “On a Thursday night, for no special reason.”
“Family means there’s always a special reason,” Tansy insisted. She frowned for a second and then her face took on that interesting twist. “It’s not an official party, but it is Grandpa Ashton’s birthday. Also, I hear Chance and Rose’s voices, and it sounds as if Chance’s brother came along as well. Have you met Cody yet?”
Jake had. Which meant this impulsive evening was turning out to be a whole lot more interesting and less about putting himself into an awkward situation than expected.
The combination of putting himself out there and having a good time seemed to be hitting the nail on the head a little too hard, though. It had to be mostly a coincidence.
Tansy nodded briskly. “Okay, I’m going to go see if anything needs to be done in the kitchen. Wander, make yourself at home. There are drinks on the island, and my brother-in-law Walker is around somewhere.”
He was about to reassure her he’d be fine when she patted his cheek, whirling away a second later and leaving him standing there.
Another pat to the cheek. Definitely getting the vibes that he was either being humoured or treated like some sort of overgrown St. Bernard. Either way, right now he didn’t mind one bit.
He made his way to the island and found a bucket filled with long neck beer on ice. Across the room he spotted Walker Stone and lifted a beer at him in question. When the other man nodded, he grabbed two, popped off the tops, and took a stroll to join him.
Somewhere in the middle of this evening, Jake might just lose some of the grumpiness that had been plaguing him for the last while. Although it didn’t help that the thought kept coming back?—
Tansy had been involved with every incident of him having a good time recently.
It was something to be thought over a whole lot harder before he did anything about it.
As usual, hanging out with her family was a little slice of heaven. They’d finished stuffing themselves, and now Tansy curled tighter into her sister Rose’s side and rested her head on Rose’s shoulder.
Her sister linked their fingers together and leaned right back. “You okay?”
“Peachy keen,” Tansy informed her. “I mean, I miss you, but at the same time, it’s been really neat to wake up in the morning and do something different than I’ve done for years and years.”
“You’re still cooking,” Rose pointed out. “Although, I suppose there’s a big difference between cooking family style and the short-order stuff at Buns and Roses.”
Tansy thought for a moment. It wasn’t only about the work she was doing. But it wasn’t her secret to tell about the underlying mission behind High Water, so she kept her mouth shut on that part.
But somehow knowing that she could make a difference in someone else’s life—the potential was there—made her world a whole lot more sparkly.
Six-year-old Harper climbed into Tansy’s lap. She pressed her hands to Tansy’s cheeks and stared her intently in the eyes. “Auntie Tan.”
“Hippie hoppy Harper,” Tansy returned.
“Chloe says I’m too little to make a birthday present for Daddy, but I know how I can be big enough.”
At her side, Rose sat a little straighter, both of them paying complete attention to their youngest niece.
“Jiminy Cricket. Do you have an idea for a nice present?” Tansy asked.
Harper’s eyes widened and she nodded her head seriously. She glanced around the room to double-check where Walker was. He was safely far enough out of earshot, talking to someone out of sight who sat in a wide, upright chair.
She leaned in close and whispered to her aunties. “Daddy wants some afternoon delight.”
Tansy bit her lips to keep from laughing out loud.
Rose controlled herself enough to speak—thank goodness because Tansy was not capable. “That’s a very interesting present. Two questions for you, sweetie. How do you know that’s what your daddy wants, and what do you think that is?”
Tansy snickered, this time a little bit of it escaping. She smiled sweetly at Harper. “You can tell us so we can help you, right?”
Harper was all big eyes and secret whispers. “I was playing under the kitchen table and I heard Mommy and Daddy talking. We tried Turkish Delight one time after we read about it in a story, so I think it’s candy.” She met Tansy’s gaze straight on. “I saved my allowance. I can buy ingredients. Will you help me?”
All amusement got tucked aside because the kid was so stinking cute and earnest, and that needed to be rewarded. Tansy answered the request with a serious nod of her own. “Of course. I’ll check all of my cookbooks to find out exactly what we need, and the day before your daddy’s birthday, we can cook it up together.”
“Although it might have a different name in the cookbooks,” Rose pointed out helpfully. “Just so you know, but no matter what it’s called, it’ll be the perfect thing to give your daddy.”
“I love you, Aunties.” Harper handed out hugs and kisses as if they were pennies and she was a billionaire.
The instant she crawled off and returned to playing a game with Chloe, Rose and Tansy caught each other’s eyes then let themselves enjoy a good hearty laugh.
“God. I can’t wait to torment Ivy with this,” Tansy offered between snickers.
They were still wiping away tears when Rose nudged Tansy in the shoulder then pointed across the room. “Well, that’s rather adorable.”
Across the room, the mystery person in the hidden chair was now visible. Jake sat upright with Carter on his knee. A very avid conversation was going on between Walker, Chance, and Ashton Stewart, who had officially joined the family just over two years ago.
Jake was paying attention, but he wasn’t saying much. Instead, he rocked slightly as Carter rested his cheek on Jake’s chest and his eyes slowly drooped.
“Jake said he was good with kids,” Tansy offered. “That’s sweet.”
Another nudge hit her shoulder. “So. Are you and he…” Rose waggled her eyebrows.
A snort escaped before Tansy could stop it. “Nothing worse than a happily engaged woman. You want everybody to be lined up and tucked away. No, he and I are not… anything . Other than exasperating to each other.”
Because she was not about to mention the kiss . The one that every time she thought about, it ended up in italics or air quotes or all the things that made it more than a simple kiss.
The kiss had power. It had nearly knocked her socks off, and she really, really wanted another.
But, since she couldn’t always get what she wanted, she smiled sweetly at her sister. “Have you made any decisions about your official wedding day?”
“Nice change of topic, but I’m not done. I could have sworn every time you talked about Jake Skye in the last six months you were telling me about how very annoying the man was.”
“Get your tenses right. How annoying the man is , and that hasn’t changed. Although I will confess that working in close contact at High Water means I’m immensely grateful that he’s easy on the eyes.”
“And yet you brought him home with you.” Rose lowered her voice and leaned in close. “There is no secret keeping from me. I know all your tells. You want to take a nice big bite of that man.”
“Maybe I’m on a diet.”
“Diet tomorrow, eat pie today. I pretty sure that’s your motto,” Rose said with a smile, but she brushed her lips over Tansy’s cheek and eased away. “Enough teasing. I’m glad you’re happy, and so far it seems Buns and Roses isn’t falling apart without you. Although for some strange reason I miss you and your mischief, but it is nice to be doing the next thing. Chance is amazing and I’m so very much in love.”
“I’m glad.” Tansy tapped her sister on the nose and got a laugh. “Now, get your sickeningly sweet engagement cooties away from here because I want none of them.”
Chance stepped past, pulled Rose to her feet, and planted a kiss on her that made the little girls clap and squeal. Carter just groaned as if he’d just been handed a sheet of math homework to do over the holidays.
Tansy’s dad met her in the kitchen and helped load dirty dishes into the machine. “He seems a solid young man.”
“Jake? Oh, yeah. All the Skye brothers are down to earth and trustworthy.” Tansy thrust her hands beneath the running water to rinse them clean. “I’m enjoying working for them.”
“I heard that tomorrow is the first day with the extra cooking for the retreat house. You ready to roll?”
She considered for a moment then dipped her chin firmly. “It’s funny. I never thought about exactly how many people I cooked for in a single day at the café. But when I did the math, just to be sure, it turns out that catering for a weekend should be a piece of cake. Excuse the cooking humour.”
Her father leaned a hip on the counter and folded his arms over his chest as he considered. “You got a bit of butterflies, don’t you?”
“You’re not only handsome, you’re smart as a whip,” she teased before shrugging. “Once I’ve got a few of these events under my belt, it’ll be fine. Besides, a little bit of butterflies are sometimes fun.”
A laugh escaped him, rolling up, deep and warm. When she’d been twelve years old—the day they’d said that she’d been adopted—she’d heard that laugh, and her world had changed.
Which meant it was completely natural to step forward and curl her arms around her father, hugging him tight. “I don’t mind being a little scared these days. I know I’ve got people at my back, and that makes a difference.”
Malachi pressed a kiss to the top of her head. “You’ve got lots of people. You are loved. Never forget it.”
Tansy went and visited with her grandma, then her mom, then her sister Ivy, and when nine o’clock rolled around she went looking for Jake.
He hadn’t moved far. In fact, he’d returned to the scene of the crime because he was once again in the big wingback chair. This time he had Harper in his lap, and she was sound asleep.
Tansy swallowed hard. What was that sensation? A tightening between her gut and her throat that made it difficult to breathe for a moment.
He was listening to a conversation again, this time between her mom and Carter. Jake’s gaze drifted over the room, but when it landed on Tansy, it froze. They stared at each other, the tickling sensation inside her going off again.
She couldn’t ignore that seeing him with the kids was enough to trigger something in her. A level of trust she hadn’t had before—maybe it was that.
Something to think about…
She strolled forward. “We should head out. It’s starting to snow.”
Jake nodded. “You know where your sister is? Where should I put Harper?”
“I’ll take her.” Tansy’s mom offered. Sophie held out her arms, and Jake carefully made the transfer, speaking softly as she offered an approving smile. “I’m glad you came tonight, Jake. You’re welcome anytime.”
“Thank you, ma’am. It was a very relaxing evening.”
Once again, Tansy guided Jake through the house quickly, back to the front door where they grabbed their things and headed outside.
Overhead, light fluffy flakes were falling. Not enough to have accumulated on the windshield yet, so Tansy used the wipers to brush them away, and they were down the road and headed back to High Water.
A comfortable silence fell between them.
Comfortable at least until Tansy couldn’t resist asking. “You want kids, don’t you?”
“Always said I did. Someday. But in the meantime, it’s fun to borrow other people’s then give them back. Thanks for giving me a chance to do that tonight.”
“Hey, you were the one who was spontaneous,” Tansy told him before adding in all seriousness. “I enjoyed having you there. And it was a nice distraction from thinking about tomorrow and all the cooking I’ll do over the next three days.”
Jake hummed for a minute. “I overheard you talking to your dad,” he confessed. “If you need any help, ask.”
Tansy snickered. “Because you and I cooking together worked so well the last time we tried?”
“I didn’t say I’d be the one who actually helped ,” he said dryly.
They grinned at each other for a minute then Tansy focused back on the road and getting them home safely.
She was headed up the porch steps when she realized Jake was by her side. “You don’t have to walk me home.”
“Didn’t have to, no.” Jake shrugged. “Wanted to.”
Whatever. Tansy put a hand on the doorknob and got ready to make her way inside. “Well, thanks for coming with me. I’m glad you had a good time.”
“Thanks for inviting me.”
He swooped. It was the only word that came to mind. One minute he was standing on the top step, and the next he had her bent over his arm and was staring into her eyes as if she were a lady on a historical romance cover.
“There’s only one problem with spontaneity,” Jake said. “Consent. But then I realized you already gave me the go-ahead.”
He pulled her closer into him, and their lips connected.
Tansy had been thinking maybe she’d been slightly intoxicated on New Year’s Eve. Or maybe it had just been so long since she’d been kissed in a seriously hot way that she’d blown the kiss up to being better than reality.
Nope. Not her imagination. Not one bit.
He might have started in a rush, but the kiss immediately slowed. He teased his tongue along her upper lip, and the hand on her lower back pressed her even more tightly to him. An invitation to take the kiss deeper, more intimate. A lot of heat, a whole lot of lust, and right when she was ready to slide her fingers into his hair and hold them together for the rest of the night, he straightened.
Stepped back, breathing hard but with a smile on his lips. “Tansy.”
He dipped his chin then turned, and whistling, he made his way to his rooms under the art studio.
Tansy stood there in the open doorway, the snow falling and the heat of indoors brushing past her as she tried to reorientate herself.
Okey Dokey. She had not seen that one coming.