Chapter Thirteen
Rick
Rick woke up the next morning with a stiff neck and a stiffer hard-on.
Dreaming of the woman in the other room kissing her way down his body had left him completely riveted.
When the swishing hay being thrown around Pumpkin’s enclosure broke through the sensual fantasy, he’d been livid. He’d wanted to see what happened next.
How can you fantasize about someone who hates you so damn much?
Rick didn’t have an answer, at least, not a good one.
Being around Kaylee stirred things in him, feelings that were less than professional.
Something about her, even now when she was so angry at him, made him want to tease a smile from her, to hear that laugh, or even just annoy her until she was too flustered to speak.
It was completely illogical and unlike him.
Rick was used to following the rules of not letting anything distract him from his goals. He was like his father in that way.
Manuel Diaz loved his horses more than his wife or children, and although the family joked about it as if it were normal, Rick knew, from watching his other friends with their fathers, that it wasn’t.
His mother wasn’t much better, but at least she’d taken some interest in his education, encouraging him to never get less than a B and to keep busy with as many sports as possible.
She believed that busy boys didn’t have time to make mischief.
He’d done what she said, and now, he needed to stay focused more than ever. Despite this being a “vacation,” he was here to do a job, and he needed to concentrate on that.
He sat up with a groan, tilting his head from side to side. There were two distinct cracks, and he rolled his shoulders, attempting to ease the tension. Rick glanced over at the fluffy creature cheerfully eating, his tiny teeth munching as he stared at Rick.
“You’re a pig. Has anyone told you that?”
The guinea pig squeaked obnoxiously as if he were literally calling Mom! Mom!
Rick launched himself from the couch, muttering “Narc” as he passed the enclosure.
He used the bathroom, noting the neat, feminine touches, like the green towels with embroidered trees and the shower curtain featuring snowcapped pines and forest creatures.
A candle called Evergreen was placed on a pedestal shaped like a blue spruce, both in the same color.
Was this her normal decor year-round, or was it her attempt at a festive look?
When he was growing up, his family would go to his abuela’s house for the holidays, and it always looked like Christmas threw up.
The spirit of the holiday disappeared with her passing.
After she died, his mom sold most of her “clutter” except for her nativity scene.
Rick had snatched it when she wasn’t looking and hid it in a shoebox in his closet.
He brought it out during the holidays, but he hadn’t had a real Christmas since he was a teenager.
When he came out of Kaylee’s bathroom, he heard clanking in the kitchen and padded across the wood floor to the doorway.
He leaned against the doorframe, watching Kaylee fussing with her coffeepot, brown hair in a messy bun on top of her head.
Her plaid pajama pants molded over her butt, hanging loose around her legs, while her tank top clung to her back, showing off the soft-looking skin of her shoulders.
The hard-on he’d been trying to forget about was back in full force.
Kaylee turned, spotted him, and did a double take, clutching her chest with a gasp. “What the fuck are you doing?”
“Watching you make coffee like a zombie.” His gaze traveled over the small kitchen with white linoleum and robin’s-egg blue cupboards, noticing the snowflake hand towel hanging over the door of the cupboard beneath the sink. So, maybe she had a little winter cheer.
Kaylee’s eyes narrowed. “I mean, I thought you left.”
“No, I was in the bathroom. I told you, no way you’re getting rid of me this time.”
Her eyes narrowed, and she pointed a measuring spoon at him. “Don’t make me call Paulette and have you removed.”
He pushed off the frame and crossed the room, caging her in against the counter. “Sweetie, they would have to drag me out of here in shackles. Wouldn’t want that getting posted online, would you? Have all those nosy reporters sniffing around, blowing your carefully cultivated persona.”
Her hazel eyes blazed with rage. “You’re a pain in the ass. Has anyone ever told you that?”
“Many people, including my abuela. I used to sneak cookies when she wasn’t looking.”
She choked on what he almost thought was a laugh. “This is not the same thing. This is not cute or precocious. You are messing with my life.”
“That’s not my intention. I just want to put away some bad guys, and I need your help to do it.”
“And you have no one else?” she whispered, her head dropped in defeat, and against his better judgment, he wanted to wrap her in his arms. To hold her and tell her that he was sorry that this all fell on her, but that would give her power over him.
Make her think that she could manipulate him.
But there was nothing more important than completing the mission.
Once Ansel and his gang were behind bars, Rick could move on.
He could take a different case, maybe something in white-collar crime, which was what he wanted to do.
Rick didn’t want to spend his career surrounded by violence and traumatized victims. Eventually, he wanted a cozy desk job that would allow him to get home at a decent hour, perhaps with a wife and a couple of kids waiting for him.
A chance to decorate a Christmas tree with his family.
“No. You’re my only card to play, Kaylee.”
She pushed against him, and Rick let her, taking a step back.
“I’m not a part of whatever game you’re playing,” she argued, her voice raw with emotion. “I was a college student. I’m in my twenties and supposed to be having fun, not waking up terrified every morning.”
“I’m sorry for that.”
Kaylee spun away, straining on tiptoes to grab a mug hanging in an open cupboard.
She managed to snatch it, and she picked up the pot and poured the black coffee into the cup, the rich aroma making his mouth water.
While she opened the fridge, he snatched a cup and poured himself some coffee.
Kaylee shut the refrigerator door, holding a container of creamer in her hand, and glared at him.
“Help yourself.”
“Thank you. You’re such a kind and generous hostess,” he said, taking a drink from his mug. She snorted, and he had to bite back a grin. “So, what are your plans today?”
“I’m going to work, if I still have a job, and then I am going with some friends to the Potato Lights Spectacular tonight.”
Rick stopped his cup halfway to his mouth, quirking a brow. “Come again?”
Kaylee sighed. “Yes, in Idaho, we have strange traditions. Instead of a Christmas tree, we light a giant decorated potato. Then we grab a potato with wires from the square and stick a light in it. Think candlelight but with potatoes.”
“I thought I’d misheard your boyfriend and the mayor last night.” He took a pull of his coffee, smirking at her over the rim of his cup. “I will have to see it for myself.”
Kaylee pretended to be unbothered, but he noticed the telltale tightening of her jaw. “Suit yourself, but you are going to need to find a hotel, because last night was the end of you sleeping on my couch. I have a life, and I don’t want you encroaching on it.”
“Are you saying you want to have a guest over?” Rick hated the dark, jealous edge in his voice. He’d experienced the same rush of annoyance last night when the delivery driver was asking her out. What was wrong with him?
“No, I’m not expecting a guest, but I also don’t need anyone speculating about the two of us.”
“Speculating on whether or not we’ve slept together?”
“Yes,” she said.
Rick took a long sip from his mug before smirking. “They already know we haven’t.”
“And why is that?”
“Because if we’d slept together, you wouldn’t wanna kick me out.”
Kaylee grabbed a roll of paper towels, launching them at him, and he easily ducked without spilling his coffee.
“You’re an arrogant louse!”
His smile faded. “Maybe, Kaylee, but I’m also a stubborn son of a bitch and used to getting what I want. I’ve waited years to get you to come back to California with me. What’s a few more days?”