Page 84 of To Catch a Latte Thick as Thieves

“Nope.” He scratched his jaw with the back of his hand. “It’s just that all of that planning takes all of the sport out of it.”

“Sport?” she asked. “I’m uprooting my entire life. That’s more than enough sport for me.”

She blew out an exasperated breath and Jared was intrigued by the way her lips pursed. She had a great mouth. Her upper lip curved toward the center in a pouty line. It was an invitation to tease. Her lower lip was full and defined, looking like it might melt under too much pressure. It was an invitation to taste. The desire to kiss her was as unwelcome as it was unexpected. Jared choked it down with a sip of iced tea.

Thoughts like that weren’t going to make the next week any easier. He had to remember that he’d promised Cameron that he’d take care of Cat. It was a promise between friends, and Jared respected the unspoken guy code that stated a friend’s sister was off-limits. He knew he’d kick any friend’s butt who made a move on his sister. He suspected if Cameron had any idea that his thoughts were traveling this path, Cameron would call the whole thing off and ship Cat to the nearest convent.

“Have you lived in Arizona all of your life?” Cat asked him.

“No,” he answered, watching as she twisted a thin gold bracelet around her wrist.

When he didn’t elaborate, she cast him a look that screamed frustration. She’d been probing him about his life since before dinner. Jared didn’t talk about his life. It wasn’t that he had anything to hide, he just didn’t talk about it. He knew his silence made her uncomfortable, and he felt bad about that, but he couldn’t break the patterns of a lifetime just to put her at ease.

“What time would be good for you to leave tomorrow?” she asked. “That is if leaving tomorrow is okay with you? I’d like to leave tomorrow, because, you know, it’s a long drive, and we’ll have to stop frequently for the dog. Because she is a dog and well, they need to be walked, and I—”

“Catherine.” Jared cut her off before she made him dizzy, but softened his tone. “I can be ready whenever you are.”

“Oh, good,” she sighed.

“Now, just hold up,” Cam said as he and Julia walked out onto the porch, each carrying a tray of dessert and coffee. “We were counting on having breakfast with you.”

“Cam, I really think I...we...should make an early start,” Cat said.

“I want to check over the van and make sure you have all of your emergency supplies and such in order,” Cam insisted.

“I checked through it and everything seems fine,” she said.

Cam eyed her repressively. “We’ll go over it tomorrow.”

Cat shrugged helplessly at Jared and smiled at her brother. “If it’ll make you feel better then all right.”

Jared replaced his iced tea with a steaming cup of coffee and a fat slice of apple pie. The exchange between brother and sister was enlightening to say the least. It seemed Cat wasn’t a scatterbrain so much as a pushover.

Jared knew Cameron Levery was a compulsive worrier when it came to those he cared about. After all, he had nagged Jared through four years of college. It was one of the reasons Jared trusted him, and Jared seldom trusted anyone.

He could appreciate his friend’s concern for his sister. His own sister, Jessica, had caused him endless worry at times. But where Jessica would tell him to shove off when his concern became too stifling, he suspected Cat would rather cut off her left arm than risk hurting anyone she cared for by a show of independence.

He watched Cat as she closed her eyes and chewed a bite of pie. She moaned a guttural purr in her throat. Jared dropped his fork onto his plate. He’d never met a woman who moaned when she ate. He felt the tips of his ears grow hot, and he cursed the loyalty that brought him here.

The need to be on his ranch, surrounded by nothing but horses, was tempting enough to make him debate running away. Unfortunately, running away seemed like the coward’s way out and Jared was no coward. With a silent curse, he retrieved his fork and dug into his pie.

Cat dragged herself out of bed before the sun had a chance to lighten the horizon. Second thoughts had chased away any chance she’d had of a decent night’s sleep. With the bags beneath her eyes weighing in at a pound each, she stumbled for the coffeepot.

As soon as the coffee started to drip, she began to revive. With her eyes focused and brain beginning to function, she could feel a pair of soft baby browns boring into her with anticipation.

“Yes, yes, I’m on it.” She walked to the kitchen door where Lucy sat thumping her tail.

She opened the back door, and Lucy bounded out, her nose pressed close to the ground. Cat watched in amusement as Lucy tracked all of the various scents, never wandering far from Cat’s side.

The morning air was already thick with humidity, leaving everything feeling weighted down and wet. Even the short, cotton nightshirt she wore felt oppressive and damp.

Lucy dashed across the yard to retrieve her favorite toy, a red rubber ball. Clamping it between her teeth, she trotted back, dropping it at Cat’s feet. She barked and danced around, waiting for Cat to throw it.

“Okay,” Cat sighed, forcing her sleep-deprived muscles to bend. Scooping up the ball, she tossed it overhand down the path toward the lake.

She’d miss the lake, she realized as she began to follow the path. She’d miss her walks along its banks and her evenings of contemplation, spent under the old maple tree on the shore, her feet dangling in the water’s cool depths.

Cat laughed when Lucy, clutching the ball in her teeth, splashed into the lake. She couldn’t blame her. The summer heat was already coating her skin with a sticky sheen of perspiration.

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