Hot Like Fire (14 page)

Then again, maybe Zorrie Kintrell was what Kade
wanted. He was pulling further and further away
from their newfound friendship and closer to
Zorrie. The woman's personality was as flat as paint. If Garcelle had to spend more than an hour in her
presence, she felt herself getting sleepy. Seriously.

"Whatever," Garcelle said, with a false nonchalance, as she reached into the double-sided refrigerator for the bowl of chicken salad she'd made
earlier to serve for lunch. She was busying herself
with making Kadina a sandwich, with sliced fresh
fruit for dessert, when she heard the front door
open and close.

"I was just about to call you in for lunch, Kadina,"
she said over her shoulder as she reached in the
fridge for one of the little girl's juice boxes.

"I'm not Kadina, but I could go for lunch if you're
offering."

At the sound of Kade's voice and the knowledge
of his presence, Garcelle closed her eyes and took
a deep, steadying breath as she clutched that juice
box until the middle caved in. "Right away, Mr.
Strong," she said, with an edge in her voice.

"Mr. Strong?"

Garcelle ignored his question and began to fix
him a sandwich. "Do you want chicken salad or
tuna fish?" she asked. "Or should I call Zorrie and
ask her to tell you what you want?"

Kade looked over his shoulder at her as he
washed his hands at the sink. He frowned. "Zorrie?"

Garcelle waved her hand dismissively. "Nothing."

Kade dried his hands with a towel as he swaggered over to her. "No, say whatever you have to say.
Be a woman about yours."

Garcelle eyed him sharply as he stood beside her,
but she chose to say nothing. Kade Strong and Zorrie
Kintrell are none of my concern. I just work here.

"Speak up, Garcelle. I've never known you to be so quiet," he said sarcastically as he moved over to the
island and jerked one of the stools back to sit on.

"And I've never known you to be so ... so .. .
blind," she flipped back at him before she could
catch herself.

Kade jumped to his feet and slammed his hand
against the top of the island as he pierced her with
his eyes. "Say what you gotta say, Garcelle."

She swallowed back everything she wanted to tell
him. "I like my job, so eat your sandwich while I go
and get Kadina," she told him, flinging the dish
towel onto the counter as she walked past him to
leave the kitchen.

He reached out and caught her wrist.

Garcelle yanked her wrist free of his grasp, with
eyes blazing, as she faced him. "Two weeks ago
on your porch, you started to kiss me, and I was
woman enough to tell you that you were not ready,
Kade Strong. Now you're dating your wife's best
friend-"

Kade's eyes flared as he leaned down to Garcelle.
"I'm not dating anybody," he spit out.

"Hah!" Garcelle said, with a sarcastic laugh. "If a
man and a woman go out to eat, to the movies, and
all that good stuff ... they are dating, baby."

Kade flung his hands in the air.

"That woman is a barracuda in disguise. A wolf in
sheep's clothing.. . ," cried Garcelle.

Kade turned his back to her as he reclaimed his
seat. "You don't even know her to have an opinion
about her."

"Hell, do you really know her?"

"Better than you know your boyfriend, Rico
Suave, I bet," he countered around a mouthful of
his sandwich.

"Rico Suave?" Garcelle came around the island
to face him. "Is that a racist comment?"

Kade dropped his sandwich on his plate. "Oh
God, not that shit again."

"What? You don't like Latinos?"

"I ... am ... not ... a racist!" Kade yelled at the
top of his lungs. "And you know that, Garcelle."

Yeah, she did, but so what.

"You ain't a good judge of character, either,
baby," she said under her breath as she moved away
from him.

"Zorrie is a good friend of mine and nothing
more.

"Keep dating your wife's best friend. I don't
care," she said dismissively as she started putting
things back in the refrigerator.

Kade came up behind her, and Garcelle felt the
heat of his body cloak her. When his hands came
around to cover her hands, she thought she would
pass out from wanting him so bad.

"You care," he said huskily. `Just like I hate seeing
you with ole boy."

Garcelle allowed herself to lean back against the
hardness of his body.

"But I am not dating Zorrie or anyone else, because you're right ... I'm not ready."

Those words pained her so very deeply.

He pressed the side of his face to hers as he whispered, "If I did date, it would be you, Garcelle. It
would be you. Only you."

Her heart hammered, and she felt weak as her
core moistened.

The front door slammed, and Kadina's footsteps
echoed in the hall. Kade and Garcelle moved apart.
The sudden distance did nothing to stop her racing pulse or the heady thump-thump of the pulsing
bud between her legs.

Kadina burst into the kitchen, dripping wet, just
as thunder roared and clapped around the house.
,,It started raining, just like you said, Daddy."

Garcelle and Kade both laughed at the sight she
made.

"You look like a drowned squirrel, cupcake,"
Kade said, reaching out to lightly pinch her nose.
"I told you it called for rain this afternoon."

"It started all of a sudden," Kadina said as she
smiled up at him like he was her hero.

"Go and get out of those wet clothes before you
catch a cold," Garcelle told her.

"I'll be right back," Kadina told them before she
tore off at a full run.

As soon as she left them alone, Garcelle felt
Kade's eyes rest on her. "So you're off for the rest
of the day?" she asked, trying to sound normal so
that maybe she could convince herself that this
whole situation was normal.

"Yeah. Looks like I got home just in time to beat
the rain."

Garcelle chanced a look at him, and her heart responded in a flash. "Since you're home, I'm going
to cut out and go home early if that's okay."

Kade nodded as he took a 'halfhearted bite of his
sandwich. "Are you leaving early because of me?"
he asked in a low voice.

Garcelle grabbed her purse and keys from the
counter. "Tell Kadina I'll see her tomorrow. Tell her
we'll go to one of the ranches and ride horses," she
said quietly before she strode out of the kitchen,
completely ignoring his question.

Garcelle walked out the front door. The rain was coming down so heavily that it looked like the windows had been smeared with Vaseline. She paused
on the porch, trying to decide if she should wait it
out until the rain lightened or just make a run for
her car.

The front door opened behind her, and she
looked over her shoulder at Kade. They shared another one of those long, hot stares before she turned
away. He stepped onto the porch, beside her.

The slight chill from the rain left her, from being
so close to him. He reached for her hand, but Garcelle dodged his touch. She looked up at him, and
their eyes locked. She felt herself getting lost in the
depths of him. She did a full turn to break the
hold. "Good-bye, Kade," she said in frustration
before she dashed down the steps, into the pouring
rain.

just as she reached her car, she felt a hand on her
shoulder, turning her around. The rain pelted
their bodies, drenching them both. He brought his
hands up to her face to tilt it forward as he lowered
his head to hers. They pressed their mouths together. Garcelle closed her eyes as she raised her
hands and wrapped them around each of his wrists.

Steam could have risen from the heat of their
bodies as they shared a slow and sensual kiss. Their
tongues tentatively touched for the first time before
circling and suckling as they stepped closer to each
other. They both trembled. Their hands shook. She
felt his hardness. He knew he had made her wet.

Garcelle broke the kiss as she panted for air.
"Don't, Kade," she warned.

"Don't what?" he repeated.

"You've said you're not ready. I've said you're not ready. So no more long stares or kisses or touches
or standing close or any of that."

"Garcelle-"

"This isn't all about you and you trying to deal
with your wife's death, Kade. I have feelings. All the
looks, that kiss, all of that affects me, and then I
have to deal with you pulling away because you're
not ready. I can tell you're torn, but I have to look
out for me, you know. So unless you want me to
quit working for you, just stop. Stop. Please."

Kade nodded as he reached for the keys and unlocked her car door. "You're right, and I'm sorry,"
was all that he said.

Garcelle climbed into the car. She watched as he
walked up the stairs and into the house, without
looking back at her.

Kade had forgotten how much he enjoyed sitting
beside the lit stone fireplace in his den. Sometimes
he'd read; other times he'd watch television. Today
he sat quietly, reflecting as he watched the rain
shower outside his window. He let his head fall back
against the leather club chair where he sat as he
twisted the gold wedding band on his finger.

He had a lot on his mind. Memories. Regrets.
Desires. His past. His present. His future.

"Daddy, whatcha doing?"

He looked up as Kadina walked into the den in
her Dora the Explorer pajamas, wiping the sleep
from her eyes. His heart swelled with love for his
child. `Just chilling. You had a good nap?"

She nodded. "I always get sleepy when it's raining," she told him as she climbed up to sit on the wide arm of the chair. She hooked her feet beneath
his leg.

"You got that from your mama." Kade turned his
head to look at his daughter. "A day like today? She
could sleep all day."

"We don't talk about her a lot." Kadina reached
for his hand to play with. "Does it make you sad,
Daddy?"

"Not as much," he answered truthfully. "Does it
make you sad to talk about her?"

Kadina shook her head. "Talking about her makes
me remember stuff about her, and that don't make
me sad at all, Daddy."

"Then I think we should talk about her more
often." Kade tickled her sides, and the sound of her
laughter filled him with joy.

"You know what, Daddy?" Kadina asked as she
reached up to twist her fingers around his naturally
curly silver hair.

"What?"

"I like when Garcelle and Aunt Zorrie are here,
or when my uncles and auntie come over, but I like
when it's just me and you."

Kade raised himself a bit in the seat to kiss her
forehead. "Me, too, cupcake," he told her. "In fact,
Aunt Zorrie was supposed to come by and bring
some movies for us to watch, but why don't we call
her and tell her we're gonna chill out tonight. Just
me and you."

Kadina's eyes lit up. "Can we order pizza?"

"We can do whatever you want." Kade reached in
the pocket of his sweatpants for his cell phone.

"Are you calling Aunt Zorrie now?"

Kade nodded. "Unless you've changed your mind."

She shook her head. "At first I thought Aunt Zorrie was here to see me, but I think she just wants
to see you."

From the mouths of babes.

First Garcelle and now his daughter. Couldn't a
man and a woman just be friends?

Garcelle used the rubber band on her wrist to
pull her hair up into a ponytail before she reached
into the dryer for the warm load of clothes. She
dumped them into the basket and made her way
through the kitchen and up the stairs to Kadina's
bedroom. "Excited about spending the weekend
with your grandparents?" she asked as she sat the
basket on the end of Kadina's twin-size bed.

Kadina was sitting on the lavender window seat,
looking out at the clouds. "I guess," she said, with
a sad tone in her voice.

Garcelle folded the last piece of Kadina's clothes
and pressed it down into her rolling overnight case.
She sat on the window seat, beside Kadina. "Something wrong?"

"I hate leaving Daddy all by himself."

Garcelle reached out to stroke Kadina's head
before she lightly tugged on her ponytail. "Trust
me. Your papi will be just fine for the weekend
while you're in Walterboro with your abuelos."

"I tried to get him to go to the horse race with
Uncle Kahron. Uncle Kahron always says he has fun."

Garcelle nodded. "Yes, my father, uncles, and my
little brother went as well."

"I wish Daddy woulda went."

"I'm sure your father will be just fine," Garcelle
said.

"I guess."

Garcelle rose and moved back over to the bed
to zip Kadina's overnight case and sit it by her bedroom door. "This is a nice picture," she said, picking up the five-by-seven picture frame holding a
photo of two teenage girls and a teenage boy.

"Auntie Zorrie gave it to me." Kadina pulled her
knees to her chest as she picked at an old scab. "It's
my mama, Aunt Zorrie, and Daddy when they were
younger.

Garcelle lightly touched Kade's smiling face with
her index finger. It was odd to see him young and
thin, with jet-black curls. He was younger, but the
promise of his handsomeness in his adult years was
already there. She sat the frame back down on the
corner of the dresser. "They've been friends for
a long time," she said before she went over and
straightened the few wrinkles in the comforter on
Kadina's bed.

"Aunt Zorrie said she was there when Daddy met
my mom," Kadina said. "She used to always tell me
a lot of stuff I didn't know about my mom. They
were best friends."

Garcelle looked up at her. "Used to?"

"Now she changes the subject when I ask her
things about my mom. She always wants to talk
about Daddy."

I bet she does, Garcelle thought as she tooted up
her mouth. "Let's head to the ranch."

Kadina jumped to her feet and slid her book in
the side pocket of her overnight case. "Garcelle?"