Page 33 of Combust
His breath caught. She was so damned beautiful.
I want to stay here, he thought, as he leaned over the cake and inhaled. The sweet, rich fragrance of chocolate and fruit mingled with hot candle wax and Maggie’s scent.
He figured the universe wouldn’t begrudge him a second wish.And I really want to kiss you again, Maggie Swanson.
Chapter Ten - Wood
After dinner, Elle picked names out of a cowboy hat to select the clan members on clean-up duty. Cade drew “pots and pans” as his assigned chore.
He didn’t mind because Maggie was chosen to dry and put away the items he washed, along with Caitlyn and the bubbly, glamorous woman from New York City who’d been introduced as Damaris. Mark and Evan were selected to load the kitchen’s pair of commercial-grade dishwashers.
They headed for the kitchen. Cade was still stunned by his birthday surprise. The cake had been every bit as tasty as it had smelled. Before it had been sliced and served, Maggie had plucked a few of the decorated strawberries off the top and set them aside.
“For later,” she’d told him, and he couldn’t help thinking about how he’d love to feed them to her in private. While they were both naked.
My list of birthday wishes is sproutin’ like weeds after a gully washer.
As he worked his way through the tower of pots, roasting pans, and serving platters, Cade took every opportunity to sneak glances at her.
Her dark auburn hair was tightly braided into a single plait at the nape of her neck today. She still wore her work clothes, which consisted of khaki pants and a chocolate-brown polo shirt with a pink teddy bear embroidered above her heart. The words “Cinnamon + Sugar” appeared in pink curlicue font beneath the bear, the design neatly cupping her left breast.
Every time she moved, the warm air of the kitchen brought her scent to him. It was rich with the scents of chocolate, vanilla, and strawberries, mingled with clean, healthy woman and a hint of bear.
Similar to dinner, clean-up duty at Swanson clan headquarters was livened up with friendly conversation and joking around.
Caitlyn and Damaris exchanged publicity ideas for Caitlyn’s books, while Maggie and her two uncles were busily discussing the fire department’s plans to purchase an additional used tanker truck from a fire equipment wholesaler.
Cade listened with interest to both conversations, and kept on scouring.
“…and of course, Uncle Evan will get first crack at driving it,” Maggie said in a dry tone.
Everyone laughed, and Cade figured it was some kind of in-joke.
Evan grinned. “I’m not sure it’ll do for me,” he said. “You know I like thebigengines. Our ladder truck is more my speed.”
More laughter.
Cade nudged Maggie. “Hey,” he whispered, “is your uncle a terrible driver or something?”
Smiling, she shook her head. “No, he just likes driving big fire engines.”
When almost all of the hand-wash items had been cleaned and dried, and the dishwashers had been started, people began heading home.
Ranch work started well before dawn, and late nights were a luxury generally reserved for folks who lived in towns or cities.
As he rinsed the final serving platter, Cade spotted Maggie slipping out the kitchen’s rear door, her jacket draped over her arm.
Eager to catch her before she disappeared, Cade pulled the plug in the deep farmhouse sink to drain it, and hastily dried his hands on a damp kitchen towel. He grabbed the little box of chocolate-dipped strawberries that Annabeth had packed up for him while he was slicing up the cake, and went in pursuit of Maggie.
The night air already held a kiss of frost when he emerged onto the roofed wraparound porch. He saw her standing a few feet away, her face illuminated in the blue glow from her phone. Her expression serious, she was rapidly typing something.
Cade waited until she had finished and was slipping her phone back in her pants pocket.
He cleared his throat, and she jumped, startled.
“Cade?” her tone sounded wary.
“Can I walk you home?” he asked, waving in the direction of Dane and Annabeth’s house, located on the other side of the road.
