Playing With Fire (Tangled in Texas, #2)(36)
Jake poked Emily in her side, making her squeal with laughter, then wrapped his arms around her waist and nuzzled his face into her neck. “I’ll show you a bonehead.”
“Uh-uh-uh.” She shook her finger at him. “The doctor said six weeks. You’ve got two more days before I’m allowed to—”
Jake clamped his mouth over hers, muffling out the last word.
“Did she say duck?” Ox asked, grinning.
Judd chuckled. “Nope. Pretty sure it was truck.”
“Maybe she meant luck,” Bobbie Jo said as she joined the group.
I shrugged. “Could’ve been suck.”
Jake pulled his mouth from Emily’s and everyone blinked at me. I blushed, realizing they took it differently than how I meant it. I was just throwing out a rhyming word like everyone else. Or so I thought.
Jake laughed and said, “I like the way you think.”
“You would.” Emily rolled her eyes at him. “Don’t give him any ideas, Anna. The man’s relentless as it is.”
He winked at her. “Pot and kettle, baby.”
She grinned at that and winked back at him. I could see why Emily was so smitten by her husband. Jake was as good-looking as ever with his dark hair and steely gray eyes. And as funny and beautiful as Emily was, I could definitely see why Jake had fallen so hard for her. I was glad to see he ended up so happy.
And Bobbie Jo stood next to them with a genuine, heartfelt smile on her face, proving how glad she was that Jake found someone else to love. As far as ex-girlfriends go, he couldn’t have asked for a better one.
“So, Anna,” Ox said, snaring my attention. “Didn’t you live in Houston all those years ago? What brings you to our neck of the woods?”
I nodded. “There was an opening at the library, and Bobbie Jo was able to put in a good word for me. Her mother knows the director.”
“You’re a librarian?” Ox asked, letting loose one of his boisterous chuckles. For a tiny guy, he had one of the loudest, most entertaining laughs I’d ever heard. “Perfect job for you. At camp, you always had your nose in a book.”
“Yes. I…um, suppose I did,” I replied meekly, realizing that everyone—including Cowboy—probably remembered me as a boring, mousy girl.
“I didn’t even recognize you when you first walked down the stairs,” Judd said seriously. “Man, you sure have changed since the last time I saw you. You’re all grown up.”
Though I was sure he meant it as a compliment, I felt the familiar heat of embarrassment creeping up my neck as everyone stared at me. It was terrific seeing so many recognizable faces, although I’d always hated being the center of attention. It overwhelmed me and gave me the urge to stick my entire head into a book, rather than just my nose.
But I tried to play it cool. Even if my hands were feeling clammy and I was beginning to break into a sweat. The jacket I had on wasn’t helping matters.
“So, what have you been up to all of these years?” Jake inquired.
“Not much, really,” I said vaguely. “What about you guys?”
Jake’s keen eyes fixed on me and he cocked his head, as if he knew I was deliberately taking the focus off myself and steering the conversation back to them. It’s not like I had anything to hide. Nothing more than usual, anyway. I just didn’t like talking about myself that much.
Hank pulled at his belt as he rose from his plastic lawn chair. “All right, boys. Break’s over,” he called out. “Let the womenfolk be. You can catch up with them over supper.”
“Why not now?” Jake asked.
“Because I said so. You boys need to go find Cowboy. I’d do it myself, but it’s too far of a walk. I have enough damn pins and screws in my knee to declare myself a robot.”
“We could always get you one of those souped-up scooters to drive around on the property.” Jake grinned as he baited his elderly uncle.
“Those are for old people,” Hank said seriously. “Now go find Cowboy and get to work. I don’t pay you all to sit around.”
Jake chuckled at that. “You don’t pay us at all, you old coot.”
“That’s because I dock wages for smart mouths. Right now, all of you are dangerously close to going in the red and owing me some money.”
The men rolled their eyes at Hank’s idle threat, but they didn’t hesitate to get moving. Bobbie Jo and I grinned as Jake leaned over and gave Emily a quick kiss and then whispered something in her ear that made her face light up.
As the boys walked toward the pond, Hank turned to me. “Honey, can I get you to do me a small favor?”
“Um, sure,” I said warily.
“Floss needs some fresh eggs to boil for her potato salad. There’s a stack of buckets along the far wall in the barn. If you would be a dear and get me one, I’d appreciate it.”
“Absolutely. In fact, if you want I could even…”
I was just about to offer to gather the eggs for him, too, but Emily stood behind him, shaking her head violently. She flapped her arms like a chicken, then sliced a finger across her throat, as if we were playing some weird game of charades that I hadn’t signed up for. I wasn’t sure what any of it meant, but gathering the eggs didn’t look like anything I wanted to be involved in.