Chapter 35
“I don’t think this is such a good idea,” Haley, Jason’s wife and the cutest little thing that she’d ever seen said once again as she pushed her glasses back up her nose and shot another nervous glance around the dark, makeshift parking lot.
“Relax,” Rory said as she continued to search through the huge toolbox in the back of Connor’s truck. “Aunt Megan just had the seventh set of desserts put out. We’ve got a good twenty minutes before they’re done eating.”
“Actually, we should have thirty,” Zoe, Trevor’s wife and one of the most entertaining women that she’d ever met, said as she risked a glance from their crouched position in the back of Connor’s truck.
“You didn’t put out any of your baked goods, did you?” Rory asked, trying to mask the fear in her voice as she shot Zoe a look only to find the other woman rolling her eyes.
“I’m not allowed to bake while I’m pregnant,” Zoe muttered, lovingly rubbing her very large stomach as she gave up crouching and carefully dropped to a sitting position with Haley’s help.
“Trevor’s afraid of the babies getting food poisoning,” Haley explained, shooting Zoe an apologetic smile and a shrug when the woman gasped in outrage.
“My baking isn’t that bad!” Zoe argued.
“Sweetie,” Rory said, pausing in her search to reach over and give Zoe’s hand a quick squeeze, “there isn’t a Bradford alive that will willingly touch your baked goods.”
“I overheard Jason and Trevor telling everyone that you baked my cupcakes so that they wouldn’t have to share,” Haley added softly as she took Zoe’s other hand in hers.
“Not one single Bradford went near them. In fact, they actually demanded that everything the guys claimed that you baked be taken away and given its own section.”
“Oh,” Zoe mumbled, her shoulders sagging in defeat. “That would explain why Bradfords kept blocking me from going near the table overflowing with baked goods and telling me that they weren’t good for the babies. I thought they were just afraid of the babies getting fat.”
“Nope. Bradfords don’t get fat,” Rory said with a shrug as she once again turned her attention back to the task at hand.
“Lucky bastards,” Zoe muttered and she couldn’t help but agree.
Bradfords could eat whatever they wanted, whenever they wanted and never had to worry about getting fat.
The same could be said for any of the James boys.
Rory didn’t mention to Zoe that she’d also been blessed with that little problem, minus the insane appetite, because it would upset the very hormonal woman who was constantly struggling with her weight.
The only time Zoe didn’t worry about gaining weight was when she was pregnant, which was understandable since she was pregnant with Bradford twins and it was actually a chore to eat enough to keep her unborn babies satisfied.
“He’s gotta have one in here,” Rory mumbled to herself as she carefully sorted through Connor’s impressive assortment of tools. She’d already picked out a few tools and gadgets that she was going to steal later, but none of them would do for what she needed right now.
“Maybe you should wait until next week,” Haley said, sounding nervous, which was a tad insulting. “Your doctor’s appointment is on Tuesday. Maybe you should leave it to him to cut your cast off.”
“I know how to handle a saw, Haley,” Rory said, sighing in exasperation.
“On wood!” Haley snapped. “It’s different than cutting something off your arm!”
“It will be fine,” Rory said absently as she continued her search.
“Um, I kind of have to agree with Haley on this one,” Zoe said, shifting uncomfortably and making Rory wonder how they were going to get the eight-month pregnant woman off the back of the truck. Getting her up here had been a miracle. She really couldn’t see getting her off working out as well.
“It’s not a big deal,” Rory said, hoping they’d just drop it.
“If it’s not a big deal, then why are we sneaking around?” Haley asked.
“We’re not sneaking around,” Rory said, carefully moving the large circular saw to the side in hopes that she’d be able to find something smaller and more manageable.
“Then what would you call sending us text messages, asking us to sneak off with you when it’s dark out while the men are distracted with food so that we can meet you at Connor’s truck and to make sure that we keep our mouths shut?” Zoe asked dryly, making her lips twitch.
“Female bonding?” Rory suggested, grinning when Zoe and Haley glared at her.
“Over power tools?” Haley asked, laughing.
“Exactly.”
“I’d rather bond over cupcakes,” Zoe mumbled, rubbing her stomach and Rory could sympathize.
She couldn’t imagine what it must be like carrying Bradford twins.
Trevor let it slip that it cost twice Jason’s monthly food budget to feed Zoe.
That was frightening because during that week that Jason stayed with them, he must have gone through-
“Ah-ha! I found it!” Rory said, cutting off her own thoughts as she pulled out a rather beautiful handheld skilsaw with what looked like a fresh blade out of the toolbox. It would be perfect as long as she got the angle just right and the saw didn’t shake too much.
“I-I really don’t think this is such a good idea,” Haley mumbled nervously as Zoe nodded in agreement.
Rory opened her mouth to point out once again that she knew what she was doing when two large arms suddenly wrapped around her from behind and yanked her from the truck, making her drop the saw and had all three of them screaming a bit hysterically.
Before she could put up much of a fight, she found herself pulled tightly against a body that, under normal circumstances, she would have loved to touch, but the jackass had scared the living hell out of her, and for that, he had to pay.
Unfortunately for Rory, Connor had her in a pretty good hold on her, but she wasn’t worried because she knew that her cousins had her back.
They would kick his ass and make him pay for scaring them.
She didn’t even bother to bite back the smug smile that played on her lips at the thought of the three of them kicking Connor’s ass.
He more than deserved it and it would serve him right to get his ass kicked by three women.
Any minute now, her cousins would come to her defense, Rory told herself as she waited for the ass whooping to begin. When a minute passed and she still didn’t see any movement in the back of Connor’s truck, she started to wonder what was holding up her rescue.
“A little help here would be nice!” Rory snapped, ignoring Connor’s rich chuckle as it teased her senses.
“Um,” she heard Zoe clear her throat as she tried to make the woman out, but it was too dark to make out much of anything other than a few shadows, “about that. I can’t really move. In fact, I think I’m stuck here, so you might be on your own for a few minutes.”
She’d prefer Zoe’s help since the woman knew how to kick some ass, but that was okay. She still had Haley and even though Haley wouldn’t have been her first choice in a fight, she always had her friends’ backs, so Rory knew that she was all-
“If someone could help me find my glasses, I would be more than happy to kick some ass for you, but I seem to have dropped them when Connor scared the hell out of me and I can’t see a thing without them,” Haley explained and Rory knew that this battle was over and that Connor won.
She really hated it when he won.
Connor chuckled as he pressed a kiss against her nape and let her go, making sure that she didn’t stumble. “If I help you find your glasses, would you promise not to kick my ass?” Connor asked, sounding deeply amused and making her smile, damn it.
Haley let out a long-suffering sigh before she grudgingly said, “Fine. I won’t kick your ass.”
“I really appreciate that,” Connor said dryly, laughing as he climbed onto the back of the truck from the sound of it.
“As you should,” Haley said with a sniff.
Feeling like an idiot just standing there, Rory quickly climbed back into the truck, thankful for the dim moonlight that stopped her from stepping on someone, and carefully joined the search.
Zoe did her best to stay out of everyone’s way, only making a sound when she thought someone might step on her.
Five minutes later, Haley had her glasses back and decided to commit the ultimate betrayal.
She ratted on Rory’s ass.
“She was going to cut her cast off with a saw!” Haley said, smartly moving behind Connor, who she really couldn’t see that well, but was guessing wasn’t happy with the news.
“Was she, now?” Connor asked, sounding thoughtful seconds before a small flashlight was turned on.
When the beam of light landed on the toolbox that she may have broken into, she may have made a move to make a run for it.
Before she could manage to turn around, Connor had her good hand in his, effectively holding her prisoner.
Haley, on the other hand, did manage to make a run for it.
Traitor.
“Um, if someone could help me up and off the truck, I’d really like to make my escape now,” Zoe said softly.
Not that she could blame her friends for ditching her ass. She really couldn’t. She just wished that she could join them and get away from Connor before he flipped out on her for doing something that he probably thought was stupid.
“I’ll help you down in a minute, Zoe,” Connor said before his attention shifted right back to her. “Don’t move,” he warned her as he released her.
For a moment, Rory considered her chances of making a clean getaway, and, although they were pretty good, she couldn’t just leave Zoe here.
So, with a sigh, she nodded, wondering, hell hoping, that Connor would at least wait until he helped Zoe off the truck and she had a chance to waddle away before he laid into her.
“Could you hold this light and keep it pointed on the toolbox?” Connor asked Zoe.