The Bounty Hunters: The Marino Bros.: Box Set (50 page)

Other than the
soup, and bread and cheese she served yesterday, Bella didn’t have much, he noticed as he snooped through her cupboards. She had a jar of peanut butter, some crackers, cans of tuna, and granola bars. She also had a bowl of apples sitting on the counter. He’d have to rectify that when he went into town tomorrow. Obviously she couldn’t keep much around with no refrigerator. That would be his first stop. He shrugged his shoulders and thought soup again. But this time he took down two cans of tomato instead.

He quickly heated up the soup and then poured it into two bowls. Wiping off her hotplate, he prepared more of the grilled cheese. While the sandwiches were cooking, he sliced one of the apples in half, cored it, and arranged the pieces on a plate. When the grilled cheese was done, he cut the sandwich in half and placed it next to the apple. Tomorrow he would stock her up. Especially if he was staying here. He wasn’t a soup and sandwich type of guy, not for every meal anyway.

Blaze took a moment to pour them two glasses of lemonade from the gallon jug Bella had on the counter. It too was nearly empty, but he saw she had more. He’d be sure to pick up some other choices for her beverage selection.

The cabin was getting stuffy as the day wore on. The place wasn’t air-conditioned, so Blaze thought it might be nice to eat outside where there was a bit of a breeze coming down from the mountains. Putting his waiting skills to use, he’d waited tables while in college, Blaze managed to carry both bowls of soup and the two plates outside at the same time.

As soon as Bella saw his hands were full she quickly removed her foot from the crate and turned it back up so he could place everything upon it.

“I thought we’d eat outside,” he suggested. “It’s getting warm in there.”

“Sounds good to me,” Bella answered. He’d made the tomato, which she loved. She was suddenly hungry, for food, and she’d eaten nothing but a granola bar that morning. “Looks good too,” she added.

“I’ll be right back with the drinks,” Blaze nodded as he turned and went back into her little cabin.

Bella picked up the bowl of soup with the spoon already in it and took her first taste. It was good. Her mom had always made it for as a young girl with just a bit of water. He had made it the same way. Of course he didn’t have any choice as she didn’t have a refrigerator to keep milk.

“How is it?” he asked setting her glass of lemonade beside her.

“Mm, mm, good,” she responded taking another spoonful as he sat down on the top step and reached for his own bowl.

“I’ll pick up a few more things when I’m in town tomorrow for you to replace the things I’ve eaten,” he suggested.

“Oh, you don’t have to do that. I’ll give you some money. Good idea, though.” Bella reached for her sandwich and put her bowl of soup down. “I’ll make you a list.”

“Okay,” he agreed. The last thing he wanted to do was to make her feel uncomfortable. But he would definitely be kicking in some things on her grocery list.

They finished their lunch and chatted amicably. The earlier strain and tension had dissipated. When their meal was done, he gathered the dishes and brought them inside telling her to remain where she was and relax. She had done her Good Samaritan service yesterday and now it was his turn, he teased.

She flipped the crate back over and put up her ankle once more. She heard Blaze cleaning the dishes in the kitchen. Wow, he was just too good to be true, she shook her head ruefully. The few time she had Anthony over, he’d never lifted his hand to help out after a meal.

In about ten minutes Blaze returned outside. He decided he’d start up a conversation with her, tell her a little bit about himself in the hopes she’d share some things of her own past with him.

“It’s nice here, Izzy,” he started. “Peaceful. Definitely different from where I grew up.”

She took the bait. “Where’s that?” she asked gently rocking in the old beat up rocking chair that squeaked softly on the porch.

She was a sight to behold, he thought. Blaze cleared his throat before speaking. “I grew up in New York, well not the city. But I did go to school there and I went to work there. I grew up on the Island, Rosedale. It was a pretty busy neighborhood, but I loved it. I miss it.”

“You don’t live there anymore?”

“Nah, I moved away shortly after college for work.” He didn’t want to go into where he lived now, but he wanted to tell her as much of the truth as he possibly could, so he jumped along glossing over some of the details.

“I went to law school,” he told her and watched as her eyes widened. “I worked for a year in the prosecutor’s office.” He knew he was treading dangerous waters, but he had a plan. He wanted to build up her trust. “I didn’t like everything I saw there or had to do.”

“What do you mean?” she asked genuinely curious. Looking at Blaze, she never would’ve thought he’d be a lawyer. Her experiences with lawyers were very limited though. She’d only come into contact with those who were prosecuting her and her own legal aid advisor. She was interested to find out more about him.

“Because I was the new guy, I mostly worked small cases. A lot of the people I had to prosecute were poor, and down on their luck. I felt bad putting some of them away. Some didn’t deserve it,” he admitted. “But, there were others who definitely deserved it, but many, too many had just gotten a bad rap. And because they couldn’t afford to hire their own lawyer, they ended up with legal aid. And some of those legal aid workers, well let’s just say, they shouldn’t be working in that department.”

Bella just nodded giving nothing away and so he continued. “If I would’ve gotten some of the big cases, the guilty ones, maybe I might’ve stayed. I don’t know. I wanted too much too fast, I guess. So I went to work for myself.” He was hoping she would assume he went out on his own, started his own practice. He didn’t want to lie to her.

“I can understand that. You have to enjoy what you do if you want to make a career out of something.” Bella didn’t know what else to say. This was something she needed to think about. He was an attorney, a defense attorney.

Blaze continued. “Exactly. Then my brothers were moving and we opened up a business together.” He hoped he hadn’t gone too far. Before she could ask he went on. “I’ve got three brothers, two older and one younger. My younger brother just got engaged,” he shook his head ruefully and laughed. He thought this was a good way to change the subject.

“How old are you and your brothers?” she asked continuing to rock slowly in the chair, but she was giving him her full attention. He noticed the panicked expression she wore earlier had faded somewhat. The conversation was going well.

“Let’s see. Andreas is the oldest and he’s 34. Then comes Gio, he’s 31. Then there’s me I’m 28, I’m gonna be 29 next month. And then the baby of the family, that’s Niko. He’s 27, and the one who just got engaged.”

“Wow! And none of your other brothers are married?”

“Nope. But we’ve all gotten close,” he admitted.

This time Bella looked up at him and made eye contact. He didn’t waiver.

“I was going to ask a girl to marry me when I was in my last year of law school, but it just never happened,” he explained before she could ask. “You?” It was about time he steered the conversation to her.

“Oh no. Me? No.” Bella shook her head.

It looked like she was going to clam up, so he had to prod her a little bit. “You’re too beautiful to never have been involved in a serious relationship. Sorry if I’m being nosy,” he added.

Bella considered his comment. They’d be spending one more day and night together and who knew, possibly a few more. He’d already shared about his past. She figured she could share a little bit too.

“I never got involved seriously with anyone while I was in high school or college. And then I just dated casually, really. There was one guy I saw for over a year, but I knew our relationship wasn’t ever going to become anything serious.”

“No?” Blaze prodded.

“No. And we actually broke up a year ago. We do travel around in the same circles, so we’ve run into one another, but I never considered getting back together with him. He was too much into partying, and I just didn’t see him growing up. And then my mom got sick and she died. Cancer.”

“Oh I’m sorry to hear that, Izzy.” Blaze gave her his condolences. He understood losing a parent young and he sympathized with her.

“That’s how I ended up here,” she finished. “I had nothing going for me and so I wanted a fresh start, a new place, new friends, new people.”

“Well, it sure looks like you’ve done a lot with the place. In just three weeks you say?” It sounded like she wanted to end the conversation, but he was just getting started. “And again sorry if I’m being too nosy. I’m just curious. I like you.” He was trying to put her at ease, but couldn’t help adding, “And I’d like to get to know you better.” It had slipped out.

The look he gave her was level and sincere. Bella couldn’t help but blush again. “I like you to, Blaze.”

His smile was dazzling. “So what did you go to college for? You mentioned that earlier.”

“Secretarial school. Business school, administrative assistant to be exact. I like working with people and solving problems.” Bella shrugged nonchalantly.

“Did you work in that area?”

“Yes. I worked in a doctor’s office until I moved here. I used to work in a psychiatrist’s office, but then got offered a promotion and the chance to run an office of my own. I like it.”

“No plans on returning to work since you moved.”

“No, not yet. I inherited a bit of money, and I just want to fix up this place and I’ll think about that down the road.”

Her saying she had some funds surprised him. It was something he’d like to ask her about, but that would definitely not be appropriate. It was his cop instinct; he wanted to delve, but resisted. “Sounds like a plan,” he murmured and leaned back more comfortably against the post on the porch.

It was nearing midday and the sun was really beginning to shine down on them. It was getting hot, but he knew it would be hotter inside the cabin. With both of them injured, it was out of the question for him to suggest they take a walk. Their conversation had lagged and he was trying to think of something they could do together to pass the time. But Bella beat him to the punch.

“Would you like to play cards or chess? Graham left his chess set up here and I have a deck of cards?”

“Sure. Why not? Let me go get them. Where are they?” he offered wanting to get up anyway to stretch his legs. He’d been sitting for some time.

She told him where they were, and he quickly went inside to fetch them. He got both the chessboard and playing cards. He enjoyed both, although he didn’t play often. Playing chess was something he and his brothers had all learned from their father. He loved to challenge them and he never let them win. That’s why all four of them had become very competitive.

Returning outside, he noticed right away Bella had moved. She was now sitting on the top step of her porch across from where he had sat so they were on a level playing field. Sitting so close and right across from her might not be such a good idea, he thought as he sat down and got a great view down her tank top.

They played chess first and she was good. He beat her, but it came down to the last few pieces.

“How about cards next?” he asked.

“Hm, what’s your poison?” she teased picking up the cards and shuffling them like a pro.

“Oh, do you have alcohol? A drink sounds really good?”

“I was asking about the card game,” she laughed. “But I do. I have two bottles of red wine.”

“I knew that. I was joking, but yeah, I’m not one to turn down a glass of wine. Let me go get it? You keep shuffling, and I’ll let you pick the game since I beat you at chess.” He couldn’t help teasing her. Bella told him where she kept the wine and he went to go get it as well as two glasses. He took one bottle from her top shelf and was happy to feel the bottle wasn’t too warm. It definitely was something they’d be able to sip and enjoy.

“Okay, what have you decided?” he asked setting the bottle and glasses down beside her.

“How about gin rummy? First one to 500 wins.”

“What does the winner get?” His voice dropped a mischievous octave. He knew what he would like to win. Again there was that blush. Her skin was like peaches and cream, and every time she blushed two pink blooms appeared on her cheeks. She lowered her lashes and once again he found her innocence so appealing. God, what he wouldn’t give to see those eyes go wide when he made her come.

“How about loser has to fix dinner?” she suggested.

“Oh, that’s no fun,” he laughed. He couldn’t help himself. Bella looked up into his eyes. They were smoldering. She felt a familiar tell-tale ache begin again.

“Well, what do you suggest?” she said nonchalantly, trying to play down the sexual tension she was feeling. But this time she didn’t look away.

Blaze caught the hitch on her intake of breath. It did something to him. With a glint in his eye he made his proposal. “If I win, I get to kiss you.”

He saw Bella visibly swallow. She didn’t respond right away. “Okay,” she suddenly answered. “But what if I win?”

“Well then . . . You get to decide what you want.”

“Fair enough,” she answered and began to deal the cards.

Three games later, and both bottles of wine gone, the sun was beginning to set. Blaze had won all three games. He won a kiss on the first game. And she had to make dinner for losing the second. And he was going to bring her a surprise tomorrow for winning the third.

Bella was feeling a little giddy. She tried to win her kiss back, but lost the second game. She hadn’t tried very hard either. She threw out several cards she’d needed. But she didn’t want to make it look like she was giving in. The only game she tried to win was the third one. She didn’t expect Blaze to buy her anything, but he beat her soundly once more.

It was approaching dark, and Blaze suggested they go inside while she prepared their evening meal.

“It’s going to be a simple one,” she announced. Her supplies were running low. Dinner was crackers, the last of her cheese and two apples.