Page 32 of Caged
"I will. Danny hasn't tasted my cake yet. Once he does, I can bribe him for information on you with my wonderful baking skills." Jessica smiled. "Seriously, Marsh, this house is so cute. I love it. Makes my old place look like a dump."
"Thanks. It needs a little work, but I love it. Danny and I have been working on finishing the basement. That will give us a rec room, two more bedrooms, and a bathroom."
"You can move the whole team in." Jessica grinned.
"Don't get ideas. Danny and I like our peace and quiet, and there is no peace when the team gets together." Marshall turned as the doorbell rang again. "As Danny is about to find out."
He hurried to open the door.
"Nice place, Marsh. After seeing your apartment, I was a bit worried about the house you'd pick." Jeremy grinned.
"Anything I picked would be better than my old apartment." Marshall stepped back and let D and Jeremy into the house. "Welcome to my abode."
"Nice." D looked around. "I see you already set up the entertainment?" He walked over and picked up the video games and started looking through them.
"I warned Danny it might be a night of video games." Marshall laughed.
"Where is he?" Jeremy asked.
"Jessica is trying to bribe all my secrets from him." Marshall gestured to the kitchen.
"She beat me to him." Jeremy smiled as he headed the way Marshall had gestured.
They all followed, and he was pleased to find Danny and Jessica sitting at the counter, laughing about something. He didn't dare try to guess what. Whatever it was, he was sure it was about him and some stupid thing he'd done at work. He was sure to hear about it later. "Hey, Danny, I'd like you to meet my bosses. This is D and Jeremy."
"Hi." D offered his hand. "It's nice to meet you. Take my advice and don't believe anything Jessica tells you. She's just trying to stir up trouble."
Danny took D's hand.
"You going nuts living with this guy, yet?" Jeremy offered his hand.
Danny took it as he laughed. "Not at all. It's been great. You guys know stuff I don't? You make it sound as if he's trouble."
"Nah, he's a good guy for the most part." D shoved Marshall in the shoulder playfully. "Now that he's out of that nasty apartment, we can actually visit. The place is nice, Marshall."
"Thanks. It will do until I can get some fancy place like you have." Marshall was aware that Jeremy and D had homes bought for them by the California team. The houses were huge. Jeremy had recently sold his and moved in with D, and Marsh wished he'd considered buying Jeremy's place, but honestly, he didn't need that much room. This place was perfect for him.
"You live at work most of the time. No reason to waste your money on fancy when you sleep in an office chair," Jeremy teased.
"I'm finding I like being home now that I don't have to hear the drunks fighting or the drug dealers demanding money. I could get used to this life. I might have to cut back my hours." Marshall went to the fridge. "Beer, soda, water?"
Once everyone had their drinks, they moved to the backyard, sitting around the deck, enjoying the afternoon sun. Marshall watched Danny closely, looking for any signs of discomfort, but he was sitting with Jessica, talking about flowers and what kind they should get for the yard. It was such a simple thing, but that was what Danny needed, simple, casual conversations.
The doorbell rang again but before he could get to the door, Rani called in, "it's just me and Patrick. We come in hopes that Jessica brought cake."
"You're in luck," Marshall told them as they came into the house.
"This place is fantastic. It makes me want my own place." Patrick looked around.
Patrick was still living with Rani at the team house. He said he wanted to get to know the area better before buying a place, but after a year, he still hadn't even started looking. Which was fine. It was nice to have people living at the team house to interact with when Marshall was putting in long hours.
"There's four on this block for sale," Marshall told him. "I could handle you as a neighbor."
"Here." Rani handed him a plate covered in aluminum. "I made some halva for tonight. Don't get used to it. I hate being in the kitchen."
"But it's so good." Patrick licked his lips.
"I agree. He should make it more often for us." Marshall loved the sweet treat that was common in Oman and other areas of the world. He'd never tried it until Rani had been bored and made a batch for the team one night. Now, he couldn't get enough of it. "Thanks." He set the plate beside Jessica's plate. "Everyone is outside."
