Chapter Twenty
“Did you have fun playing dairy farmer, love?” Emma was still in her robe and pajamas when Cain walked into Maddie’s kitchen. She held a platter of pancakes and was serving the kids.
“I had a good time, thanks for asking. Why, don’t you think I’d make a good cattle baron?”
“For about a week, then I figure you’d be running cow races on the side to pass the time.”
When Hannah saw her new favorite person, she climbed down from her chair and went to sit on Cain’s lap.
Cain kissed Hannah’s head and smirked at Emma. “You want to stop sassing me and get Hannah and me some pancakes, eh?” Cain tried to take on a Northern accent. “Or better yet, why don’t you sit, and I’ll get Hannah and you some pancakes.”
“You aren’t going to spill anything, are you?” Emma tried her hardest to keep a straight face.
“Oh, yes, because that worked out so badly for you,” Cain shot back. “You didn’t drench me in beer on purpose, did you?” She stood, took the platter from Emma, and put it and Emma on the counter, causing both Hannah and Hayden to laugh. “I told your father that story this morning.”
“You told my father I worked in a bar?”
“Why, did you tell him you met me at Sunday mass?” The familiar arched brow appeared, and Emma broke out in a long laugh. Cain hugged her, and the merriment died down to a long sigh.
“Mama, Grandpa Ross said he was coming by to pick me up for a ride down to the feed store,” Hayden said.
“Can I come too?” Hannah squealed. The excitement in her voice was hard to miss.
Emma was waiting for Hayden to say no and explain why Hannah couldn’t go, but was surprised when he said sure, as long as it was all right with Emma and Cain. Emma gave him a hug and kiss for his generosity.
“Finish up, Hannah, so I can get you dressed if you’re going with your brother,” Emma instructed as she gave Cain a plate of pancakes and a cup of coffee, as well as a wink. “You finish up too.” Emma wished every morning with her family could be as uneventful as this one.
Forty minutes later Ross stood smiling as Emma strapped a thrilled Hannah into her car seat in the back of her father’s extended cab. Merrick, Lou, and Mook loaded into a rented Suburban behind them. Ross and Hayden would have a chance to visit, but the guards weren’t going to let either of the Casey children out of their sight. Emma had also asked her father for the keys to his house.
“Want to take a ride?” Emma asked Cain. “I want to talk to you about something else in private, so Dad said we could use his place.”
“Would this talk entail the wearing of clothes?”
“Well, for a little while anyway,” Emma answered, feeling aroused.
When Katlin started for the vehicle Cain and Emma were taking, Cain waved her off. “Take a break. I doubt there’ll be a hit team waiting for me at Ross’s place.”
“You’re the boss.” Katlin wandered back inside.
The ride was quiet as Emma leaned against Cain, looking out the window at the landscape that had changed little since she was young. She was starting to miss New Orleans. When she got out of the truck, she took a deep breath before following Cain onto the porch of her childhood home.
“Will you rock me?” She looked at the old rockers on the porch as she asked and thought of all the times she’d spent sitting in them holding Hannah. “If your side hurts we can just go inside and talk.”
“I’d love to rock you.”
To get more comfortable Cain took off her jacket and used it as a blanket over both of them. Shedding the extra layer allowed her to feel Emma pressed up against her.
“We need to get one of these for the house,” Emma said.
“Can you go back to that house after what happened?” Cain didn’t want to pressure Emma. She simply wanted to give them all what was best, and since she hadn’t been there when the shooting happened, she’d have to rely on Emma for guidance.
“We’ll get to that, honey, but I want to ask you something else.” The boards under their chair creaked every time Cain rocked back and forth, a comforting sound in the otherwise quiet morning. “I can understand that Katlin is your cousin and she works for you, but can you tell me why Merrick can’t stand her?”
“What?” Cain pulled her head back to look at Emma’s face to see if she was serious. “They hardly know each other.” She paused and started again. “I take that back. They hardly see each other, so I don’t think they’d know enough about one another to not like each other.”
“I’m telling you, Merrick bristles whenever Katlin walks within two feet of her.” Emma unbuttoned one button over Cain’s stomach and slipped her cold hand inside. “At first I thought it was something sexual, but then I remembered Merrick already has a love in her life, so there might not be enough room for Katlin.”
“What did you do, bug my house?” Cain stopped to kiss her just because Emma’s lips were so close. “How do you know all this stuff?”
“Because the love of her life hasn’t changed in all the time I’ve been gone.” The hair around Cain’s ears ruffled a little in the wind, and Emma combed it back with her fingers. “Not that I can blame her, really.”
“If I’m supposed to know who you’re talking about, I’m still at a loss.”
“It’s you, honey.” She pressed her fingers to the soft lips and smiled. “I didn’t say you returned Merrick’s feelings, and if you slept with her when I wasn’t with you, I don’t blame you.” Emma pressed harder on Cain’s mouth when she tried again to say something. “I know you didn’t, but if you had, I wouldn’t have had the right to say anything.”
