Bad Karma (31 page)

He shook his head and pressed a kiss onto her temple. “Is it all right with you if another couple joins us for dinner? It’s my cousin, Jorge and his date.”

“
Of course. I met Jorge at the fire station when I picked up your truck.”

“
I told him we’d meet them at the restaurant if it was okay with you.”

“
So, I’m driving?”

“
You’re driving.” He led her out to his truck where he opened the driver’s side door and helped her climb up.

The short slinky dress slithered up to display her thighs. Cassie started to pull the skirt down, but Javier stopped her with his hand on her thigh.

He slid the skirt up and grinned. “You got panties to match your dress?”

His hand on her thigh was creating a warm, dampness between her legs. She drew in a sharp breath when his hand slipped between her thighs.

“
Javi!”

“
Let me see something.” He frowned. “It’s just as I feared.” He gave her a serious look. “Your love bite is fading. I need to refresh it.” He bent his head, pressing his mouth to her thigh, caressing her flesh with his lips and tongue.

A rush of passion took her breath away. “Javi!” she gasped.

“
Don’t worry,” he growled. “I’ll be good. I just had to get a little taste of you. I love you, you know.”

A warm flush swirled through her insides. “Yes, I know.”

“
Then start this truck and take me to dinner.” He closed the driver’s side door and slapped his hand against it.

He climbed inside and directed her across the Queen Isabella Causeway to a small restaurant on the Port Isabel side of the bay where Jorge and his date had already secured a table on the deck overlooking the water.

Jorge stood and greeted Cassie with a kiss on the cheek and Javi with a shoulder-pounding man hug. He introduced them to his date, Mindy Garcia from Harlingen.

Javier pulled Cassie’s chair out and slid onto the chair beside her. They made small talk and Jorge explained to Mindy that Javier was enjoying an extended sick leave after being injured on the job.

Mindy smiled across the table. “I read about that in the newspaper. You went into a burning house to save a woman.”

“
That was me,” Cassie said. “Javi saved me.” She slipped her hand through his arm. He squeezed her hand.

“
You know,” he said, gazing into her eyes. “The Chinese believe that if you save a life, you’re responsible for that life forever.”

She grinned at him. “Well, I’ll try not to be too big a burden to you.”

The look he gave her melted her insides together. “You’re not my burden. You’re my treasure.”

After dinner, the foursome went to the game room to play pool. Javi played a good game considering that he was shooting left-handed.

They wound up at the bar with Cassie drinking a soda while Javi sipped beer from a longneck. Javi perched on a barstool with Cassie leaning against him, his muscled thigh forming a seat and his chest a comfortable backrest.

Javi kept his hand on her waist, the one sticking out of the sling. The two couples chatted and Mindy asked Cassie if she would accompany her to the ladies room.

Cassie and Javi exchanged an amused glance. “I’m kind of allergic to this rest room.”

Javier chuckled. “I don’t think you’ll have any problems this time.”

Mindy led the way and Cassie glanced around, experiencing a little tremor as she recalled her last visit to this particular facility.

Many heads turned as Cassie walked by. She tried to keep her head high and her gaze averted, but she couldn’t help making eye contact with several young men playing pool. They openly stared at her.

Pushing inside the restroom, she heaved a sigh of relief. At least this might prove to be a temporary haven against the oglers.

She refreshed her lip gloss and chatted with Mindy who said she thought Cassie and Javier made an attractive couple and that Jorge was Javi’s greatest fan.

When they emerged, there seemed to be a large crowd gathered at the bar. Cassie pushed her way through and found Javi and Jorge in the middle of a group led by the men who had been staring at her.

Javier and the leader of the group were standing toe to toe and locked in a glaring match.

“
Baby, get in the truck.”

“
Javi, I...”

“
In the truck.” His voice was icy cold, warning of dire consequences if she failed to comply.

Cassie fought to control the disobedient urge to stand by her man, but swallowed it like a giant clog in her throat. She turned, reaching in her purse and click-clacked toward the entrance with her fingers on number two on the speed dial of her new claret-colored phone.

“
Sheriff’s Department. What is your emergency?”

She heard a crash behind her and voices yelling. “Fight at the game room. Big one.”

“
Units on the way.” The dispatcher disconnected.

As she hit the door she heard sirens. She made it to the bottom step as two cruisers braked hard just feet away. “Save the big fire fighter,” she said to the backs of the deputies who rushed inside. “He’s mine.”

~*~

In spite of Calvin’s dire predictions, dinner was well prepared and looked delicious. Calvin and Zach secured each of the twins in their high chairs, one located beside each parent, before sitting down at the table.

Calvin carved a large ham at the head of the table and passed plates to the other diners to help themselves to sides.

Zach scooped mashed sweet potatoes onto her plate just as Sky heard a snort close behind her chair.

Calvin spoke in a stern voice. “Bacon, no beggars at the table.” He pointed in the direction of the barn. The pig strolled away.

Sky lowered her fork to her plate and stared at the thick slab of ham on her plate, a horrified look on her face. “Bacon! Is Bacon destined for the table?”

Calvin snorted louder than Bacon had. “As if! This one though...” He tickled his son’s stomach, making growling sounds. “This one would make good eating. He’s almost table size.” The toddler howled in delight.

After dinner, Sky helped clear the table and loaded the dishwasher with Zach while Trish and Calvin put their sons to bed.

“
This has been such a great evening, Zach.”

He smiled at her. “It hasn’t been anything special. Just spending time with family.”

She nodded. “But, it’s been such a relief from the stress. Since the accident, I’ve had this horrible fear. It’s with me all the time.”

“
I know. It’ll all be over soon. Rafael and his deputies are combing the area, looking for the arsonist.”

“
I hope they get him before...before.”

Zach folded her into his arms. “They will,” he whispered into her hair. “They will.”

~*~

CHAPTER NINTEEN

Persecution

Cassie leaned against the door of the big red truck, resisting the urge to return to the interior of the game room. Her gut was tied in knots, wondering if Javi had been injured, but he had sent her outside, like a child. She juggled her anger with her fear, considering each in turn.

In a fairly short time, deputies began hauling people outside. The man who’d been in Javi’s face was brought out in handcuffs, blood from his nose smeared across his face and onto his shirt.

His three shackled buddies joined him in the back of the sheriff’s department vehicles.

Cassie took a deep breath and let it out slowly.

Moments later, a grinning Javier and Jorge emerged with several others she recognized from the fire station. There was back-slapping and high-fiving amongst the boisterous group.

Cassie breathed hard, choked the anger back down, and silently celebrated her relief that he didn’t appear to be injured.

Javier turned and sprinted down the steps toward her. “Baby, are you okay?”

Cassie let out a little shriek of frustration. “Am I okay? You just...Did you...?”

His smug grin made her want to hit him herself, except that she wanted to kiss him more.

He solved her conundrum by crushing her against the truck and capturing her face with his hand cupped to her cheek. “I’m fine. You don’t ever need to worry about me.”

Her arms wound around his neck of their own volition. She stretched up to receive his kiss.

He raised his head, pressing her against him. “Sorry that had to happen.”

“
What did happen in there?”

“
Difference of opinion. No problem. We worked it out.”

Cassie made a guttural sound in her throat. “Yeah, I saw where you worked it out on that guy’s face. Is your arm okay?”

“
I’m ambidextrous when I fight. I can punch left-handed as well as with my right. And Jorge was there.” He grinned maddeningly. “And the place was filled with fire fighters. Those four didn’t stand a chance.”

“
What was it all about?” she persisted.

“
Some guy thought you were too good for me.” He stroked his fingers through her hair. “And you are.”

She gazed up at him, trying to fathom his meaning. “I don’t understand.”

“
It’s not important.” He kissed her temple.

“
It is to me. What started all this?”

“
That guy thought you were too...blonde for me.”

An avalanche of realization hit her. She felt like she’d been sucker punched. “Oh, Javi.”

“
Not worth stewing over. Just one ignorant clod. Come on. I’ve got something to show you.” He opened the driver’s side door for Cassie and helped her inside before closing it and climbing in on the other side. “Let’s get out of here.”

~*~

Sky and Zach spent the rest of the evening relaxing on the patio with their hosts under a black sky strewn with stars like diamonds. A baby monitor close at hand gave off the occasional coo or murmur from one of the sleeping twins.

Sky learned that Calvin and Trish married immediately after high school and that Calvin had worked as a mate on a shrimp boat to support them. He’d spent his earnings on buying the citrus grove when it became available after a particularly hard winter. They had lived on the property in a travel trailer, while he’d nursed the damaged trees back to health and continued with shrimping. Their oldest son, Thomas had been born around that time.

Calvin worked odd hours at the Bait Camp for his uncle and was surprised when the uncle deeded the property over to him at his retirement.

Now, the proceeds from both enterprises kept his family well fed and his former labors on the shrimp boats gave him street creds with the fishing community who always remained loyal to their own. They frequented the Bait Camp in the morning to buy ice and supplies and then again after they’d sold their catch at the wholesalers to drink beer with their buds and swap lies until the wee hours.