Pros & Cons (11 page)

He shakes his head and reaches for my hand, lacing his fingers through mine.

“I think once we start—”

“—we won’t be able to stop,” I murmur.

The scent of bacon wakes me up. My stomach grumbles, and I open one eye against the bright sunlight of the Smoky Mountain morning. I reach for him, but my hands find nothing but an empty pillow. For a second, I wonder if last night was a dream, but when I look at his side of the bed, I find a folded note peeking out from beneath the pillow.

Went into town for necessities. Don’t miss me too much. xxoo

I grin. Something tells me
necessities
is just a fancy word for condoms.

Jumping out of bed, I quickly glance through my overnight bag for something clean to wear. I’d left Dad’s so fast I didn’t have the chance to use his washer and dryer.

I need to do laundry today.

I look around and spot a T-shirt lying across a nearby chair. Finding it relatively clean and Ethan-scented, I happily pull it over my head. I find my jeans and tie my hair into a ponytail before heading downstairs. Before I even reach the landing, I hear singing coming from the kitchen. The voice is sweet, twangy, and undeniably female.

Must be the housekeeper.

I make my way into the kitchen to find her standing over the stove. She’s pretty, with gray hair and warm eyes. Her face erupts into a smile when she sees me.

“Good morning. You must be Jenna. I’m Minnie.”

I smile sheepishly. I have no idea what Ethan told her about me. Or us. Whatever we are.

“Good morning. It smells great in here.”

“Hungry? I’ll make you a plate. Ethan said you prefer bacon to sausage.”

How’d he know that?

“I do. Thanks. But I can get it—”

“Oh, don’t be silly. This is my job, and I enjoy it. Especially this morning, when I get to cook for two in this big, beautiful kitchen. That’s never happened before.”

So it’s true. I
am
the only girl he’s ever brought here.

I sit at the island, and Minnie brings me a heart attack on a plate. Scrambled eggs, pancakes, bacon, biscuits, and something that looks like—

“Grits,” she says, obviously proud.

Gross.
I don’t say that, though. I thank her and try to find a way to eat around them.

Minnie sits next to me with her coffee cup. “You’re just as pretty as Ethan said you were. It’s so nice to have a woman in the house.”

“Where is he?” I ask in between bites, moaning a little when maple syrup hits my tongue.

“He and Joe—my husband—went into town. We go shopping when we know he’s coming in, but we must have forgotten something. I’ve never seen that boy so determined to get to a store.”

I stifle a giggle and gulp my orange juice. While I eat, we make small talk about the weather and the mountains. I can’t help but wonder how much Minnie knows about our lives. Does she know she just cooked breakfast for a criminal?

“How long have you known Ethan?”

Minnie squints her eyes while she ponders the question. “Let’s see. We moved to Gatlinburg about three years ago, and we met Ethan about a year after that.”

“Is that where we are? Gatlinburg?”

Minnie laughs. “You don’t even know where you are?”

“I told him to surprise me.” I shrug.

“How sweet. He must really have it bad for you if he brought you here.”

I don’t know what to say, so I quickly change the subject.

“How did you meet?”

“Ethan hired Joe to install a new furnace in the cabin. While they worked, I cooked dinner. Ethan took one bite of my chicken and hired me on the spot. The salary’s so generous that Joe was able to retire. We take care of the house while he’s away, and we spoil him rotten when he’s home. Which isn’t much.”

“Yeah, I . . . don’t get home much, either.”

“I’m guessing that’s not the only thing the two of you have in common.” Minnie smiles knowingly and pats my hand. “I’m glad you’re here, Jenna. I like you already. Plus, I can’t deny it was fun shopping for two. I still can’t imagine what we left off the list . . .”

I hide my grin and finish my breakfast.

After helping Minnie with the dishes, I start a load of laundry and then head outside in the sunshine to call my partner. I love the porch. I
love
Ethan’s rocking chair. What I don’t love is the name of the man who wants to hire us.

“Abby, don’t you remember? Stavros hired Ethan and Coop to do a job and then nearly got them busted in Mykonos? He’s unreliable.”

“But this sounds like easy money.”

“There’s no such thing. Besides, Stavros can’t be trusted. He’s proven it. I prefer not to deal with dishonest people.”

Silence fills the air, and for a minute, I’m afraid I’ve lost her. Ethan did say cell service was spotty up here.

“Abby?”

“I’m here. What’s that noise?”

“What noise?”

“Jenna York, are you sitting in a rocking chair?”

I freeze.

“Umm . . . maybe?”

“My God, where did he take you?”

I grin and continue rocking. It really is relaxing.

“We’re in Tennessee. It’s so beautiful here. He has a
house
, Abby. An actual house with flower beds and shrubs and a front porch. A place where he can be a normal person. I’m so jealous.”

“Sounds like you’re enjoying playing house.”

“It’s not terrible.”

Abby sighs happily. “I think it sounds wonderful. A little cabin in the woods.”

“It’s not exactly little . . .”

“And with nobody around for miles? It sounds like a fairytale.”

The dreamlike quality of her voice makes me smile.

“You’ll get your fairytale, Abby. I know you will.”

“I think so, too.” Her voice drops to a whisper. “He wants to marry me, Jenna. We stopped at this little park outside Baton Rouge, and Coop dropped down to one knee and asked me to be his wife.”

I’m not surprised, but I am a little stunned that she’d kept the news to herself throughout this entire conversation.

“Wow! Congratulations, sweetie.”

“Thanks! We want to live in Texas, we think. Maybe buy a farm. Or a ranch. We’ll really have a home, Jenna. And
babies
. Oh, we’re going to make such pretty babies.” Suddenly, she grows serious. “Do you hate me?”

I smile. “Of course not. I’m so happy for you.”

She doesn’t say the words, but I know what this means. She’s out. So is Coop. They’re leaving this world behind and starting a brand new, normal life together. As much as I’ll miss her, there’s no way I could begrudge her this kind of happiness.

Later, I’m still thinking about Abby and Coop when a pickup truck rambles its way up the gravel driveway. I start to panic until I see Ethan and another man climb out of the cab.
This must be Minnie’s husband.
Both guys grab bags from the back.

“Oh, she
is
pretty,” Joe says as they make their way up the sidewalk. “No wonder you were in such a hurry to get back.”

With a smile, I rise from the rocker and offer to take one of the bags. “You must be Joe.”

“And you must be Jenna.”

Ethan winks at me, and the three of us head into the house. In the kitchen, we find Minnie pouring lemonade.

“There you are! Lunch is nearly ready.”

Minnie and Joe exchange a sweet kiss while Ethan and I put away the groceries. I manage not to laugh when I see him pull out a small pharmacy bag and hide it in his jacket. I walk over to the fridge, and suddenly, Ethan grabs me by the waist and lowers his head, burying his face against my neck. It’s just a soft kiss, but it’s enough to cause goosebumps to erupt on my flesh.

“Oh, they’re cute,” Minnie says. “Aren’t they cute, Joe?”

“They are, indeed.”

With a grin, Ethan heads back over to the pile of groceries. He pulls a bottle of detergent out of one of the bags.

“Have I . . . um . . . shown you the laundry room?”

Minnie knows I started laundry, but I play along, anyway.

“No, I think you skipped that room during the grand tour.”

He reaches for my hand and pulls me to the small utility room just off the kitchen. After kicking the door shut, he grabs me by the waist and lifts me into the air. I laugh when he sits me down on top of the washer.

“Hi, there,” Ethan says.

“Hey.”

He leans in, kissing me softly.

“I take it your trip was successful?”

Ethan pulls the bag out of his pocket, and I sneak a peek inside.

“Wow, that’s . . . a lot of boxes. A little optimistic, aren’t you?”

“I’ll never be unprepared again.”

“Speaking of prepared,” I say, just as the washer changes to a different cycle. I grip his shoulders.
Holy crap, the vibration.
“Umm . . . what was I saying?”

He laughs and nuzzles my nose. “Enjoying the spin cycle there, York?”

Wow.

“Are you wearing my shirt?”

“Maybe.”

He slips his hands beneath the cotton. “You look good in it. You’d look better out of it. Take it off immediately.”

“Are you insane? Minnie and Joe are in the kitchen.”

“So?”

“No!”

Ethan groans against my neck.

“Later.”

“Promise?”

I nod. Seemingly content, Ethan gently lowers me to the floor.

“We’re being really rude to Minnie and Joe.”

He sighs but nods in agreement. Reaching for my hand, he leads me back out into the kitchen. Minnie and Joe aren’t there, but there’s a note on the fridge, telling us our lasagna is on the top shelf. There’s a big smiley face at the bottom, along with Minnie’s name.

“You know what that smiley means, don’t you?”

Ethan grins. “It means Minnie knows. Does that bother you?”

I shake my head. Weirdly enough, it doesn’t bother me at all

The rest of the afternoon is awkward, and I’m not entirely sure why. After lunch, we discuss the deal with Stavros. Neither of us is particularly thrilled with the idea, but when I tell him our partners are now engaged, he thinks this could be their final job. Our last heist together might as well be an easy one.

“Do you ever think about it?” I ask. We’re sitting on his front porch, drinking lemonade.

“Think about what?”

“Getting out.”

Ethan gazes out at the mountains. “Sometimes. Especially when I go home and my parents give me a hard time. I don’t like worrying them.”

“My dad was really weird this time. He’s never been happy with the way I live my life, but something was different. Almost like he knew something I didn’t. It was just odd.”

Later in the evening—after Minnie and Joe have come and gone—Ethan gets a call from Coop. Stavros is eager to get started and wants an answer. If we’re in, we have to leave Tennessee . . . tonight.

It’s this part of the plan that upsets Ethan. I’m not happy about it, either.

I don’t know what I’d been expecting on this little vacation, but I certainly didn’t plan on falling in love with this house. And I definitely hadn’t planned on wanting to spend more time with the house’s owner. I’m happy here. How long has it been since I’ve been able to say that?