Page 66 of Simply Yours

Toni scoffed, undeterred. “When you bring the birthday boy back—can you bring him back with a different attitude?” She stuck out her tongue at him in classic sibling rivalry fashion.

Jason rolled his eyes so hard Caitlin was surprised they didn’t get stuck that way.

“Don’t they realize I don’t want to think about getting older?” he grumbled, mostly to himself. “It makes me think about everything that’s passed me by, all the things I wanted to do differently, and I don’t feel old. I feel like a seventeen-year-old boy trapped in a thirty-four-year-old man’s body—who has all the bills and stress to go with it.”

Caitlin let out a breath, studying him with an unreadable expression before holding out her hands expectantly. “Hands.”

He blinked at her. “No comment?”

“Hands,” she repeated, unwavering.

Suspicion flickered across his face as he slowly extended them, palms up. The second he did, she snapped a pink fuzzy handcuff around one wrist.

“What the—” Jason recoiled, eyes nearly popping out of his head.

Without giving him a chance to react, she locked the other cuff onto his other wrist and tugged him forward.

“Caitlin,” he sputtered, stumbling after her. “What is going on?”

She turned with a wicked grin. “I’m kidnapping you for your birthday.”

His jaw dropped. “I thought you were joking.”

“I never joke about birthdays,” she informed him, leading him toward her car as if it were the most natural thing in the world. “And this is the last one you get to act like a sourpuss. Birthdays are to be celebrated as markers of a life well lived, so today, you’re going to live it up to the fullest.”

“Caitlin…”

“Nope.” She spun on her heel, planting a finger against his lips before he could argue. “Unless it’s positive or happy, keep it to yourself.”

His mouth twitched like he wanted to protest, but she yanked off his cowboy hat, tossed it in the back seat of her car, and then shoved him into the passenger seat before he could form a coherent response. The car door slammed, sealing his fate.

Jason stared down at his handcuffed wrists in disbelief. Then he let out a low chuckle. “I can’t believe you just did that.”

She climbed into the driver’s seat, throwing the car into reverse with a flourish, as if she were making a grand escape. “Believe it, birthday boy.”

He shook his head, laughing as he lifted his bound hands. “You do realize I’m not buckled, right?”

“We’re just going up the road,” she replied, eyes on the road as she sped away from the farmhouse. “So don’t distract me.”

Jason leaned back, amusement sparking in his gaze. “Catnip, what is going on?”

She smirked. “You’re getting your dream—in a fashion.”

He blinked, clearly confused. “Huh?”

Instead of answering, she made a sharp right turn, then another, pulling into a gravel parking lot. The place was quiet except for the distant hum of machinery and the occasional laugh from somewhere inside.

Jason’s brows furrowed as he scanned the surroundings. “What are we doing here?”

Caitlin shut off the car, hopped out, and strode around to his side. She opened his door with a flourish, watching as he took in the scene before him. The moment recognition dawned in his eyes, his entire expression shifted—from confusion to something bordering on awe.

“What did you do?” he whispered, his voice hushed with disbelief.

Caitlin merely smiled, reaching for the handcuffs. “Taking these off so no one teases you,” she replied, but the look in her eyes told him there was a lot more to it than that.

Jason swallowed hard, still staring. And for the first time that day, he looked like a man who’d forgotten all about his age, his regrets, and the years that had passed him by. Instead, he looked like a kid on the verge of something incredible.

Caitlin watched as Jason unfolded from the car, his movements slow, almost hesitant, like a man stepping into unfamiliar territory. His eyes scanned the surroundings, curiosity and confusion battling for dominance in those stormy depths. The crisp scent of airplane fuel hung in the air, mixing with the warm breeze that carried the distant hum of engines. He turned to her, his brows drawn together in a questioning look.

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