Page 17 of Ignite

“Push the button,priya.”

A moment later, a low hum started as the jets came awake, bubbling into the tub. Lynn relaxed and let herself fall into an afterglow languor. His hands roamed over her body, cupping her breasts and teasing her nipples into peaks. She saw his movements in the mirror directly across from them, and the sight was mesmerizing. She felt wanton and wanted, something she’d been craving since before her divorce.

“This has been a wonderful night,” he murmured against her neck. “The best one I’ve had in a very long time.”

“Do you think we can see each other again while you’re in the city?”

He sighed as he gathered her hands together in one of his, crossing them over her chest and holding her in a tight hug. “I wish I could, beautiful, but unfortunately, I leave tomorrow morning. I have a job to finish first, and I promised my boss I would make it quick.”

“What job is that?” she asked lazily, still watching him in the mirror.

His reflected eyes turned sad. “This.”

He pushed her under the water and held her there until she stopped moving.

9

Jazz bentover to sweep the small pile of debris into the dustpan, and when she stood back up, several bones in her back popped like tiny firecrackers. It had been two weeks since Bill’s fall. His level of cantankerousness was through the roof, but she understood that he was miserable. His lungs were already shot, and the pain of deep breathing exercises to heal his ribs made it worse. Any range of movement he’d had was even more restricted now, and he already hated the dependence he had on his wife for everything.

The daily routine was Jazz opening the bakery and coffee shop in the morning for the big rush, with Wolf joining her as soon as he could. Then Wolf went over to the house to sit with Bill while Madge came over to bake whatever needed replenishing and watch the shop while Jazz worked her day job for a few hours using the bakery’s Wi-Fi. Then Jazz would go back to working the counter until closing at six, and Madge went home to relieve Wolf to give him a few hours of sleep before he had to be at the Attic. Sometimes, Jazz stayed later to finish baking what Madge started and then work her other job until her eyes wouldn’t stay open. Mercifully, most of the inventory system she’d created was self-maintaining and only required a tweak or two to keep it up-to-date.

Wash. Rinse. Repeat.

Only a few more hours until closing, but she was wearing down quickly. Thankfully, there was a time limit to all the extra work. At least she hoped so.

She’d messaged Copperpot about her situation and that she would be out of the loop for the foreseeable future. He’d asked if she needed help and said he’d be glad to ride up to see her. She politely declined and wondered what he meant by “ride up.” Everyone who was part of the scam-shielders was totally anonymous in name, location, and most of the time, gender. From some of Copperpot’s messages, she got the impression that particular cohort was male. Maybe that phrase was just a colloquial saying in Copperpot’s part of the country.

If he was eveninthe country. She was pretty sure Bomber123 was Canadian.

The door opened, and her sister entered pushing a stroller. Two other small children followed her, clamoring loudly about donuts.

“I want jelly!”

“I want a face one!”

Liz snapped at both of them, “Pipe down or you won’t get anything!” She turned to Jazz. “Come by when you get off work, yeah? I need a break from the kids, and Mom said she’s too busy.”

“Hi, Liz. I’m afraid I can’t. I’m working some serious overtime hours for the next few weeks and maybe longer. Can you get Leo to help you?”

Her sister scoffed as she flopped onto the closest chair, the legs scooting across the floor. “Yeah, right.” The baby woke with a wail at the loud scraping sound. Instead of picking him up, Liz started jerking the stroller back and forth. It didn’t help.

Jazz glanced nervously at the frowning patrons. There weren’t too many this time of the day, but the ones who did come were looking for a quiet place to have a coffee and get some work done. Eric Nietz was in his usual spot with his laptop open. Jennifer Morrans was grading papers on the opposite side of the shop. Both had their eyes on the disturbances in the form of rambunctious children.

“Listen, Ian and Ivan, if you want donuts, I’ll get them for you, but you have to sit still and be quiet, yeah?” Jazz told her nephews.

Ian climbed up onto the chair next to his mother, and Jazz lifted Ivan into a booster seat. Both of them had enough sense to settle down, and she hoped it stayed that way.

She hurried behind the counter and pulled out three donuts: a jelly, a clown face, and a chocolate glazed. Two cups of milk and one coffee later, the kids and Liz were content. The crying stopped when Liz plugged a bottle into the baby’s mouth. Jazz took over, lifting the infant and cradling him while swaying from side to side despite her protesting back. “Mom and Dad doing okay?” she asked.

“Mom’s pissed about the roof leaking again. The contractor said it needs re-shingled years ago, but she didn’t want to spend money on it. Dad said he’d do another patch job. I told him not to bother, as it won’t hold up any better than the last one.”

Jazz’s lower spine started to seize. She kept up her swaying so little Isaac would fall asleep and maybe she could put the child back into the stroller. “Why won’t they get it done right?”

Liz slurped from the white mug and waved her hand in annoyance. “Too damn cheap. That house will fall apart before they drop a penny on proper upkeep. You coming for Easter dinner next weekend?”

Jazz made the transfer back to the stroller, and thankfully Isaac stayed asleep. “I don’t know.”

Liz frowned. “Mom will freak if you don’t show up. She’s expecting you.”

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