Slow Burn (The Blake Boys Book 7) (6 page)

“Luke’s team is good with putting together things like this. He’ll make sure these decisions are a good fit with your brand,” Seth added.

“That’s great, Seth. Really. But I’m a little tied up at the moment.”

“We can talk about it when you get back from Denver,” Seth replied.

“So you know where I’m at?”

“I told him you needed a few days to unwind from all the excitement,” Morgan interrupted. “And that spending time with Michelle would be good for you.”

“Tyler, if you don’t mind, we only have about an hour before the boys wake up,” Seth said.

“Wait! I need your help. You can make another baby later,” he quipped.

“You are spending time with the woman you’ve been thinking about for nearly a year. I assure you, you don’t need my help.”

“Bye, Tyler.” Morgan snickered.

His name being mentioned on television turned Tyler’s attention to the screen. A recap of the race he’d won was being analyzed and the commentator said he was the new kid on the block making his mark. Words like a ‘skilled’ and ‘good instincts’ floated around the table, and it was thrilling to hear. But what was even better was that no one mentioned his brothers. He was beginning to be judged on his abilities and performance on the track without the glamorous sidebars about being a Blake.

* * *

Michelle returned from the market in a good mood. Tyler figured he’d give her the silent treatment, but that didn’t seem to bother her. She was flitting about the kitchen putting things away and cooking, and she seemed to be avoiding him. Pretty strange to kidnap someone then pretend they weren’t in the room.

A few minutes later, Michelle came into the living room with a tray of hot chocolate and snacks.

“What’s this? Rations for the captive?”

“They’re a peace offering.” She placed the tray down on the coffee table and set a fire in the fireplace.

He couldn’t ignore how warm and inviting she looked sitting on the faux bearskin rug sending text messages in her gray sweater and cream leggings. The glow from the roaring fire made her look even prettier as she sipped on a cup of hot chocolate.

“Updating your conspirators?” He stoked the logs with a poker.

“No, I updated them after dinner. Everyone says hello.”

“I bet they did.”

“They
do
know you’re not in any actual danger.”

“Oh? You’re not going to go all
Misery
on me later and crack my ankles like walnuts?”

“You are so dramatic.” She put her phone away.

“Am I? I wake up in a strange state chained to a couch. I think there’s some cause for alarm.”

“A couch in Seth and Morgan’s living room in Denver.” Michelle corrected him.

“Did you drug this too? I’m liable to wake tomorrow morning butt naked and feeling used.” Tyler took a seat next to her, surveying the tray of snacks.

She rolled her eyes. “You wish.”

“Who else is helping you with this crime? Besides Sam and Morgan.”

“Isabelle and your mom.” She flashed a cheesy grin.

“My Momma?” Tyler’s eyes widened. Even his mother was in on it?

“I told her I would take good care of her Ty-bear and feed you well. Morgan sends her regards and says you’re going to love the Christmas present she got for you.”

“It better be a big present.”

“I’m sure it’s something you’ll love. She has a knack for that. I hope she gets the Panini press I want. Especially since I cut out the picture and put it on her desk.”

Tyler shook his head and laughed. He couldn’t imagine two better friends than his sister-in-law and his captor.

Morgan’s requests not to hurt her best friend was one of the biggest reasons he’d stayed away from Michelle. He didn’t want to do anything that would hurt her. But now, after she’d avoiding his calls for weeks, he was glad she was talking to him, even if he was in chains.

He couldn’t help but notice the handcuff keys dangling off her necklace and sloping down into her cleavage. His body involuntarily shivered, remembering the first time he brushed his stubble against the soft mounds of her breasts. The way she moaned when he did it was cause for an ice pack on his crotch.

She didn’t notice his appreciative looks because she was deep in thought. She looked like she was trying to plot her next move. Maybe he could help her along and stop this foolishness so they could get down to what was on both of their minds: having sweaty sex on the faux bearskin rug next to the fireplace.

“So, is this part where you use me as your sex toy?” He leaned in close to her face.

“It’s been a long day. I’m going to bed.” Michelle got up abruptly, pulled a pillow and blanket out of a chest and threw it at him.

* * *

Michelle pulled the covers over her head as the blaring alarm flashed three a.m. She could hear Tyler snoring all the way down the hall, but that would soon change. She put on yoga pants and a comfortable sweater and made a makeshift ponytail out of her messy hair, ready to put phase two of her plan into action. She padded into the kitchen and put on the coffee maker, careful not to wake him. If she was going to be up at such an obnoxious hour, she needed caffeine pumping through her veins. She glanced at the clock on the stove, it was now three fifteen. It was time to wake the speed demon in the other room. She retrieved a glass from the cupboard and filled it with water. Once she made it to the couch, she surreptitiously dumped some of it on him.

“What the hell!” Tyler yelped.

“Good, you’re awake.” She picked up his phone and took a seat in the arm chair across from the couch.

“I would ask if you’ve come to your senses but I have a feeling you’ve only just begun.” He wiped the water from his face. “Can I get a towel?”

“Depends on how you answer the following questions.”

“What questions?” Tyler furrowed his eyebrows.

“Let’s see what we have here.” Michelle turned on the phone. Tyler’s screen saver was a picture of Jake, Connor and Colby. It was adorable, but she couldn’t let that weaken her resolve. The notification alert popped up. He’d received a few calls, probably from one of his tartlets. She opened the contacts app. Tyler took a deep breath as she scrolled his contacts.

“Let’s see…Gyrating Ginger. She sounds fun.”

“What are you doing with my phone?” She glared at him then went back to perusing his phone.

“You said you had a question.” His jaw ticked.

“Questions, plural. Question one. Why are you such an immature jerk? And for every answer I don’t like, I’m going to delete a titillating contact like Gyrating Ginger.”

“Give me an example of being immature?” He ran his hand through his hair.

“How about leaving me in Texas to go to Philadelphia and threaten Finn?”

“I didn’t threaten Finn. I just asked how he was going to do yoga with broken legs.”

“Wrong answer. Delete.” Michelle pressed the button like it was a launch button to a nuclear bomb.

Tyler gulped when Michelle started scrolling through his cell phone. Luckily he’d deleted all the nude pics he had on there some time ago when he realized how tech savvy Jake was with a smart phone. He hadn’t talked to Ginger in months, so that was no big deal.

“Hold it. I have a question for you,” Tyler interrupted. “Word on the street is that Derek Popovich has been sniffing around you.”

“We’re not talking about me, and please don’t say things like ‘word on the street’ again. It’s unsettling. Yes, Derek has been dropping by the bookstore a lot but he’s a history buff.”

He huffed. “You expect me to believe that hockey player can read?”

“Yes, I saw him reading the Stanley Cup last year. I think his name was engraved on it.” She stuck her tongue out at him. “What’s the matter? You jealous?”

“There’s nothing to be jealous about,” he retorted. “He twirls around on skates while pushing a puck with a stick for a living and he still has his own teeth. Clearly he’s not dedicated to the sport.”

“And if racing around a track in a car with a big ol’ turbo engine isn’t the biggest example of phallicism, I don’t know what is,” she yelled.

“Don’t tell me you actually like that guy?”

“I generally like anyone who runs in my direction and not away from me. Call me crazy, but I find it an attractive quality.”

“You’re just using him as a substitute for me.”

“Daisy Dukes Dena. Delete.” She hit the button and kept scrolling. “You really do know some classy women. How come I don’t have a nick name?”

“What?”

“Every woman in here that isn’t a relative has a nick name but me. All you have here is ‘My Michelle.’”

“Jake and I got into a little dust up over your picture, so I put it up there so he could see it.”

Michelle threw another log on the fire and went back to perusing the phone. “So you are willing to fight with yoga instructors, hockey players, and a four-year-old over the right to exclusively ignore me?”

Now would have been a good time to lay his cards on the table. He knew what she wanted, but for some reason, he just couldn’t bring himself to give it to her.

He shrugged. “Pretty much.”

Michelle looked at him as if he’d just killed her puppy. She went through his phone again and pressed button after button. When she was done, she stood up, handed him the phone, and left the room. His contact list was completely blank.

Chapter Four

Most of the day was spent staying away from each other, mainly because Michelle was contemplating her next move. Even though Tyler was in the doghouse, she gave him a reprieve the next day so he could return calls to his racing team when his phone continued to ring all morning. The buzz about the race was still going on, but they had to strategize the next race. So she decided to call Morgan and give her a tour of her own home.

“Morgan, this house is gorgeous. You have to come here for vacation next year.”

“I will put that on the schedule. So how are things with the wayward cowboy?”

She sighed. “So far, a whole lot of nothin’.”

“Stay focused and don’t let him do anything to distract you,” Morgan advised.

“I’ve held up pretty good so far, but he does look so adorable when he sleeps.” She bit her lip and peeked into the living room.

“Adorable my ass. He sleeps like a baby because he doesn’t own up to his crap. I say give him nightmares.”

“You’re pretty bad ass for a woman who was swept off her feet by a professional football player on a beach.”

“Lucky for Seth he caught me at a time in my life when I was softening.” Morgan laughed.

“You were on vacation in a bungalow with a hot guy and were horny,” Michelle scoffed.

“Well I’m telling the boys that the clouds parted and we held hands and walked along the beach the whole time. Maybe I’ll throw in a few doves and a harpist.”

“How are things at the store? Are we matching last year’s numbers?” Michelle asked.

“Actually we’re exceeding the figures by five thousand.”

“Want me to tell you what I got you for Christmas?” Michelle prodded, hoping she would tell if she got the Panini press for her.

“No. And if you keep it up you won’t get your present until Valentine’s Day.”

“That will probably be the only present I get that day.”

“I don’t know. Maybe Derek will get you something.” Morgan quipped.

“Well—” Michelle stammered.

“Connor Jacob, put that down!” Morgan bellowed into the phone so loudly Michelle had to pull the phone away from her ear. “I gotta go, the boys are yanking presents from under the tree again.”

She went to her laptop on the counter and opened up the email with the instructions for the audition reel. Too bad there wasn’t a secret encoded message on how to ace it and get the position. The idea of being a chef on television, even if it was a local cable show, evoked a mixture of emotions for her. Besides, it took her mind off that cad Tyler.

She was in the mood to cook something, and despite how pissed off she was with him, she felt like making his favorite dessert, peach cobbler. Maybe that would cheer the sourpuss up.

An hour later, she called him into the dining room to eat and Tyler couldn’t take his eyes off the peach cobbler when she placed it on the table. When he reached for it, she swatted his hand away. “Not until you eat your food.”

“Why not?” He folded his arms over his chest.

“You need to eat a good meal before you go diving into the sweets.” She wagged a finger at him.

“You sound like my momma.” He raised an eyebrow.

She shrugged. “I have to admit, she’s been rubbing off on me.”

They ate their meal, Michelle had to threaten to withhold dessert twice to get him to slow down. Finally, she presented him with a heaping bowl of the cobbler. Once they were done, Tyler suggested they sit by the fireplace for a while.

“I talked to Morgan earlier, she sends her love.” Michelle took a seat after bringing him a hot toddy from the kitchen.

“You and Morgan are like two peas in a pod. How did you meet?”

Michelle smiled. “I went into Morgan’s bookstore looking for a book for my dad. Back then she was handling everything on her own. Running around like a mad woman. It was a sight to watch.”

“I don’t think I’ve ever seen her sit still.”

“It’s a residual thing from nurturing her father and brothers after her mom died. That’s one of the things I love about her. She sold me the book. I asked if she was hiring.”

“Did you want to work at a bookstore?”

“I was just looking for something to fill the void of my landscape changing. My mom had passed away six months before and my father’s health was declining. I wanted to feel connected to life.”

“Did your dad get better?”

“No he passed away soon after.”

Tyler instinctively moved closer and put his arm around her shoulder. “I’m so sorry Michelle. What did he die from?”

“It was a combination of things. He’d been diagnosed with prostate cancer, but to tell you the truth, it was a combination of his age, health, and my mom passing away. I think he lost the will to live.”