Hot Like Fire (11 page)

"And I can't wait to spend some time with my
godchild. Work has kept me from visiting South
Carolina more often," Zorrie said, with a warm
smile at Kadina. "I think it's been a year, and even
then, I was just in town for a funeral, and I went
right back that same weekend. We had fun that
weekend, too. Remember we went to the museum
in Charleston?"

Garcelle served herself a bowl of soup and sat at
the island, beside Kadina. Her spine stiffened when
Zorrie reacted to her presence at the table with obvious surprise and disapproval.

Garcelle just smiled around her spoonful of
soup. She wished Kade would tell her she wasn't allowed to eat with the family. She wished he would.

Kade reached for a piece of bread at the same
time as Garcelle. They both pulled their hands back.

"So how long are you in town for, Zorrie?" Kade
asked as he broke off a piece of bread.

Good question.

"Two, maybe three, weeks," Zorrie said, with a
long stare at Garcelle, which Garcelle met boldly.

Kadina jumped up and down in her seat excitedly. "Aunt Zorrie, you have to spend a couple of
nights with me. Please."

"I would love to, but it's up to your daddy," said
Zorrie.

"Fine with me," he said, digging into his soup
with gusto.

Garcelle completely lost her appetite.

Bianca was staring out her office window at the
ranch hands working the Travises' new racehorse,
Shogun. It was a slow day at the clinic, and she
wished it were otherwise. She wanted nothing more
than to have something on her mind besides her
father and Mimi's relationship.

What ... the ... hell?

She was grinning and bearing it all, but deep
down, she wanted to flip out and ask them both if
they were crazy. It was building up inside of her
with every passing moment. She was sick of the
questions flying in and out of her head at any odd
moment of the day. And her main question was,
When did their love affair begin?

Her office door opened, and Bianca turned away
from the window to find her father and Mimi walking into her office, arm in arm. She rolled her eyes
before she could catch herself.

"You busy, Bunny?" her father asked as he looked
down at her.

Bianca cleared her throat and began to shuffle
papers on her desk. "Actually, I'm swamped," she
lied, looking at them briefly, with a stiff smile,
before she focused her full attention on the papers.

"Something wrong, sweetie?" Mimi asked as she
stepped forward in a pink suit with enough fringes
to offend a cowboy.

Bianca looked up at her briefly. "No, not at all.
What are you two up to today?"

Mimi slid her petite frame on the corner of Bianca's desk and crossed her legs. Her gold heels
were covered with the dust of the farm. "I was telling
Big Daddy-"

"Big ... Daddy?" Bianca asked, with a hint of derision.

Mimi smiled like a cat before a bowl of cream.
"He's your daddy, sweetie, but he's my, huh, what ...
Big Daddy. That's right."

Hank's smile was big enough to show every tooth
in his head.

"Anyway, I was telling Big Daddy that I want to experience a big old country barbeque with all the
works," said Mimi. "I want to try all those things Big
Daddy has been telling me about. Venison, coon, catfish stew, and ... and..."

"Fro-maw stew," Hank offered.

Mimi clapped her bejeweled hands. "Yes, that's
it. Frogmaw stew that isn't made with frogs, right?
A lady has to draw the line somewhere."

Bianca laughed at her friend. In that moment
she realized that she'd been so busy pouting over
their relationship that she hadn't allowed herself to
enjoy having Mimi around.

"You and Kahron be sure to come Saturday, and
tell the rest of that big ole Strong bunch," Hank said as he walked over to massage Mimi's shoulder
as he kissed her forehead.

Mimi wore enough make-up to make a man look
like a woman, and Bianca was surprised her father's
lips weren't covered with foundation.

"Me and a couple of the hands are headed to
Charleston," Hank added. "You two enjoy your day
together."

Bianca felt alarmed. She wasn't ready to be alone
with Mimi. All her feelings about their relationship
might explode out of her like confetti.

"I told Big Daddy that I'd stay here with you. It's
not good to crowd a man," Mimi said, patting her
jet-black French roll in a bad Mae West imitation.

Bianca genuinely smiled up at her.

"I can help with those horses, honey," said Mimi.

Bianca leaned back in her chair. "There aren't
any ... ahem ... male horses to take a peek at," she
teased.

Mimi hopped off the desk and wrapped her arms
around Hank's wide girth. "I have my own stallion
to show me a big and hard-"

"Ick alert! Ick alert!" Bianca yelled, not caring
how childish it was for her to cover her ears with
her hands.

Hank picked Mimi up, bringing her face closer
to his. They kissed long and firm, like they were in
the room alone.

"Daughter in the room," Bianca said, with emphasis.

Mimi flung her head back as she lifted one hand
and used her thumb to wipe her crimson red lipstick from Hank's thick lips. "I'm sorry, sweetie,"
she said in the caricature voice of hers as she stared dreamily into Hank's eyes. "When I'm around Big
Daddy, he just makes me ... come alive."

They laughed while Bianca dropped her head
into her hands. "Good grief," she muttered.

By the time Friday rolled around, Garcelle was
ready to kick her size eight feet at Zorrie's pictureperfect, phony behind. The woman was driving her
muy loca, hanging around the house so much. With
Kade having returned to work, he wasn't there to
act as a buffer. Garcelle's nerves were seriously
grated. Seriously.

The woman had an opinion whether spoken or
not-about everything. If she had to stand Zorrie
hovering over her shoulder while she cooked
a meal, she was going to tie her behind up like a
turkey. And whenever Kadina showed Garcelle too
much affection or attention, Zorrie was there to
bring up Reema, as if Garcelle was trying to take
her place.

How ridiculous, considering Garcelle was probably one of the few single women in Holtsville respecting Kade's grief.

The sun was on the rise, and the skies were
becoming a deep shade of purple and lavender, as
Garcelle parked her Cabrio in front of Kade's
house. For the first time since she'd taken the job as Kadina's caregiver, Garcelle was dreading going to
work. She uttered some less than friendly terms for
Zorrie Kintrell as she eyed the woman's white Mercedes Benz, which was parked beside Kade's SUV.

Zorrie must have spent the night. For one foolish
moment, Garcelle wondered where she slept, and
a jealousy like nothing she had ever known consumed her as she envisioned Kade making love to
the woman. But Kade wouldn't sleep with his dead
wife's best friend in the very house he'd shared with
his wife. That Garcelle knew for sure.

She climbed out of the car and grabbed the small
bag of groceries. She'd brought the ingredients to
make churros for breakfast. She knew that Kadina
loved the sweet fried dough. That, plus some hot
chocolate, would start their day off just right.

Garcelle walked up to the front door just as it
swung open. Kade came barreling out. They collided. Garcelle went flying backwards, landing on
her back, with a grunt of pain. The groceries rolled
out of the bag and scattered across the porch.

"Garcelle? Are you okay?" Kade asked, his mintfresh breath lightly caressing her face as he knelt
beside her. He pressed his palm to her cheek, and
Garcelle gasped at the hot jolt of electricity that
went through her from his simple touch.

"I'm fine, even though you're a big wall of
muscle to run into," she quipped as she sat up. "Are
your ribs okay?"

Kade nodded as he rose to his feet and offered
her his hand. "Don't worry about me. I'm a grownass man.

Yes, you are, she thought as she slipped her hand
into his.

He pulled her to her feet, and then Garcelle stumbled forward, causing their bodies to press together, with their clutched hands between them.

Garcelle looked up at Kade. Kade looked down at
Garcelle. She released a shaky breath as her heart
pounded wildly. He licked his mouth as his intense
eyes dropped down to her open mouth. She licked
her own lips and then bit her bottom lip nervously.

"Garcelle," he said huskily as he lifted his free
hand to caress the side of her face.

She leaned into his touch as she inhaled lightly.

Pure electricity and fire crackled around them as
they stood there, absorbing each other. Heat pressed
between their bodies. Their hearts roared like thunder. The chemistry between them was explosive and
hot ... like fire.

"Damn, Garcelle," he said again, his voice and his
eyes so obviously tortured.

She saw that he struggled with his desire for her,
and it tore at her heart. As badly as she wanted to
feel his lips pressed on hers, Garcelle allowed herself one last look of longing at his mouth before she
looked up in his eyes. "You're not ready for this,
Kade," she told him huskily. "We both know you're
not ready."

He nodded as he caressed her bottom lip with
his thumb.

Garcelle turned her face and pressed her lips to
his palm. "Podria enamorarme de ti muy, muyfacil-
mente," she whispered before she stepped back
from him and awkwardly put her groceries into the
bag.

Kade reached out and grabbed her arm. "Garcelle, I-"

"Kade?"

Garcelle looked past him and saw Zorrie standing in the doorway, in a knee-length satin robe. Kade released Garcelle with obvious regret as Zorrie stepped
out onto the porch to stand beside him.

Kade headed down the stairs. "Good-bye, ladies,"
he flung over his broad shoulder as he jogged
down the stairs.

"Garcelle, why are you here today?" Zorrie asked
as if she was her employer and not Kade.

Garcelle gazed at the other woman. "Excuse me?"

Kade swore before he turned on the bottom step.
"Garcelle, I meant to call you this morning before
you left home. Zorrie's going to spend a couple of
days here with Kadina, so you can have the weekend off ... with pay, of course."

Garcelle hoisted her bag into her arms. "Thanks,
Kade," she said as she gave Zorrie one last irritated
look before she jogged down the steps as well.

"No problem," he replied.

As she passed Kade, who was climbing into his vehicle, they glanced at one another and then quickly
glanced away.

"Bye, Kade. Have a good day at work," Zorrie
called from the porch, like a wife seeing her husband off for the day.

He just waved before he reversed out of the yard
ahead of Garcelle.

As she drove away from the house, Garcelle
frowned in thought. At first she'd thought Zorrie
was hanging around to protect the interest of her
deceased friend; now Garcelle thought the woman
was nothing but another man hunter in disguise.

Zorrie watched Garcelle reverse her beat-up little
Volkswagen out of the yard. With each turn of the wheels carrying Garcelle farther from the house,
Zorrie's face changed, losing its pleasantness. "Good
riddance," she muttered, with a wave of her hand, as
she walked into the house.

Her future house.

Ever since her first visit to this dream house,
which her friend had put together for years of enjoyment with her husband, Zorrie had envisioned
herself as the lady of the house, with Kade Strong
as her man. She felt no shame about that.

Zorrie and Reema had been friends since childhood, but Zorrie had always felt like she lived in
Reema's shadow. Reema had been prettier, wealthier,
and more popular. She had had more boyfriends,
more dates, and more fun. Although Reema had
always made sure to include her best friend, Zorrie
had just lived with the jealousy for all those years.

In fact, Reema and Zorrie had been together at a
high school party when they both met the handsome
Kade. From the beginning, he had only had eyes for
Reema. He had barely spared Zorrie a second
glance, but she had secretly longed for him. Craved
him. Wanted him.

Most of the time she was their third wheel, getting
a firsthand view of all the wonderful things Kade did
for her friend. She saw it all and wanted it all for
herself. Even after she moved to North Carolina
after college, she had thought of Kade and missed
him something awful. She had wished things with
him could've been different.

Zorrie slowly climbed the stairs, her hand trailing
up the banister. She went into Kadina's bedroom and
stood by her bed, looking down at the girl as she slept
peacefully. "You should've been my little girl," she said softly as she bent over and smoothed the hair on
Kadina's forehead. "Stepmother will be just fine."

She smiled in satisfaction before she left the room
and made her way to Kade's bedroom. She inhaled
deeply, with a soft moan, taking in the scent of him
that still lingered in the room. She couldn't wait to
share this space with Kade.

She pulled her nightgown over her head and
slipped between the sheets of his bed, holding one
of his pillows close to her nude body. She dug her
face into the pillow and inhaled deeply. "Oh, Kade,
why couldn't you see how much I loved you?" she
whispered. "How much I still love you."

Zorrie had it all planned. She would keep being
his friend and confidante and in time would become
his lover and wife.

As she hugged the pillow and pressed it between
her thighs, she looked at Kade and Reema's wedding photo. Her eyes shifted to the face of her
childhood friend. "Don't worry, Reema. I'll take
real good care of him for you."

Garcelle spent her day off giving the house a deep
cleaning. Whenever she thought of that moment
she'd shared with Kade on his porch, she scrubbed
harder. She had wanted to kiss him so badly. So badly
that she could still almost taste him.