Chapter 7
It had been a busy week, but with Dylan’s help, Risa and Corrie had the course planned and ready to go on Saturday morning of the Labor Day Weekend Blast. Risa even had Dylan and his best bud Donny do a run-through to make sure it was doable, easy, and fun. The last thing she wanted was for the kids not to be able to participate.
Once the course was set up, she and Corrie worked on the booth and had it up and running by the time the gates opened. If budgets hadn’t been so tight, they would have had help from the other vet tech and the receptionist. Corrie was there as a volunteer.
So far, Jax had been MIA all morning. Risa scanned the area for a glimpse of him.
“If you’re looking for Dylan, the boys are over by the rides,” Corrie said.
“Mm-hmm, thanks.” Not whom she was thinking of, but she was glad that’s what her coworker believed. “I might go for a walk, since it’s still sort of quiet.”
“Be careful. That couple you turned in for animal abuse is here. I heard through the grapevine their dogs got taken away, and they got a hefty fine.”
“Total wankers. People like that should be in jail.”
Corrie stopped in the middle of straightening the coloring books she’d set out to look up at her. “Did you give their names to security when your car got trashed?”
“You know, I don’t think I did. But honestly, I doubt it was those guys. How would they know where I lived?” Risa handed Corrie the pamphlets to put in the plastic holder. “Need anything while I’m out?”
“Nope, Fiona’s bringing me food. You might want to walk by the dunk tank, though.”
“Why?”
“Because that’s where Chief Faraday is,” she said, concentrating on the supplies.
Corrie didn’t fool her for one minute. Someone was playing matchmaker. Risa only wondered if it were Corrie or Fiona, because she’d seen the two of them whispering earlier, and they both thought she was crazy not to pursue the guy.
And speak of the she demon... Fiona walked up to the booth with a plate of food and handed it to Corrie. “Risa, are you sure you don’t want anything to eat yet?”
“I don’t know what I want yet.” And that could be said of more than just her appetite. If only she could stop thinking about Jax.
“Ladies and gentlemen,” a voice called over the area speaker system. “We will be starting our first event of the day in ten minutes. The Best of the Base. Commands and sponsors, please send your two representatives to the Tough Mutter obstacle course.”
“What’s that about?” Corrie asked.
“Some race. The organizers asked if they could use our course, and I said sure.”
“But what was that part about representatives? The vet clinic is a sponsor.” Corrie looked down at the plate of hot food and sighed.
“Don’t worry. I’ll go find out if anything is expected of us. Enjoy your lunch. Fee, are you coming?”
“I’ll catch up with you. First I need to check on the boys. They were going to ride the spinning cups.”
Fiona went off in one direction and Risa headed in the other, unsure what was going on. Maybe they needed her, as the course sponsor, to start the race, or perhaps they didn’t need her at all.
She hoped for the second option.
Dreaded memories of elementary school field days flooded her mind. While everyone else looked forward to the day, Risa would rather have come down with chicken pox. If there was one person guaranteed to land in the mud pit during tug-of-war, it was her. Fall on her face during the relay race? Yep, her. Spill the water down the front of her shirt in that game with the buckets? Her again. Get tangled up under the giant parachute? That one still made Risa shudder in panic when she thought about the silky material clinging to her mouth and nose.
People stood around the race start point waiting for instructions. The event had been set up so that either two people could race against each other, or teams could compete against the clock. Risa looked for the short, stocky man she’d spoken with earlier and spotted him talking to Jax.
The day just got better. She’d happily watch the six-foot-plus guy who’d been haunting her thoughts work his way through kiddie tunnels and obstacles, if nothing else just for the sheer pleasure of laughing.
“Oh, there you are.” Mr. Lamont called her over. “Where’s your partner for the race?”
“I don’t have one because I’m not participating,” she answered slowly, totally confused. Dr. Lagasse’s e-mail had specifically said only two of them were needed for the festival. They were to sponsor an event and man a booth to answer questions about the veterinary clinic. Nowhere did it say to make a fool out of herself.
“I sent an announcement yesterday with precise instructions for today. Did you not read it?” he asked.
Did she get it? It’d been a little hectic toward the end of the day, with preparations for today and a last-minute emergency. There was a good chance she’d forgotten to check. “Let me see if my assistant is done with lunch.”
Please don’t let Corrie puke on the course.
“I’ll do it.” Jax stepped in close to her side. “Security is already set. I’ll pair up with the doc.”
“Bugger me,” she whispered. It was practically written in the stars that she’d make a complete ass of herself in front of him.
“Excuse me, Doc. Something you’d care to share with the team?” His eyes twinkled with laughter, and the silly grin gave him away. He knew she didn’t want to do this and now she was stuck.
“How’s your insurance, Chief?” she asked.
“Fully insured.”
“With me as a partner, you’re going to need it.”
Lamont, the event organizer, blew a shrill whistle in her ear and yelled out the order of the teams. The team who crossed the finish line with the fastest time won. Risa wasn’t worried about the time it would take to complete the course. She worried about not killing herself or Jax.
She said a little prayer, possibly for a thunderstorm or a work emergency.
Anything to get her out of this. Sadly, the sky was clear and she didn’t really want an animal to suffer on her behalf. She was stuck.
While they waited for their turn, Risa took advantage of the lull to study Jax out of the corner of her eye. Even before she got to know him, he would have stood out in a crowd. Granted the uniform and haircut matched that of almost every other male on the base, but it was something else that drew her attention. Something uniquely Jax. Something rare and precious.
What set Jax apart wasn’t his looks or even how well he filled out his uniform—and he did that superbly. No, what was special about him was the confident aura he projected while still coming across as a nice guy.
In other words, most women’s dream come true. Including hers.
“Everything okay, Doc? You’re frowning.” He stepped closer and tucked a rogue strand of hair behind her ear. “You’re not worried about the race, are you? Trust me, I’ll be with you every step of the way.”
Before she could respond, Lamont blew his blasted whistle in her ear again, and called her and Jax to the start line. There were six sections to get through, he explained, as they’d added one to her original plan and modified another. Half of the segments would require them to work together. The first test, which Lamont had modified, was the egg pass. He handed Risa the egg and explained if they broke it before they made it to the end of the line, they would be disqualified. They’d have to pass it back and forth while walking sideways and stepping over logs.
For once she was thankful for her height, as it should make things easier. She tucked the egg under her chin and looked at Jax. She had to tilt her head for him to move in close enough to take the egg.
The position put their full bodies in contact from neck to toe. Jax needed to slide his hand around Risa’s back to hold her steady, while the other cupped the back of her head.
Their gazes locked, and her heart sped up.
She breathed in his scent. Warmth from his body raced through her as he pressed his chest against hers.
They took a step, and Jax almost lost the egg when he looked down.
She stepped up to him on her tiptoes and nuzzled his ear as she worked to get the egg secure.
God, he smells good.
Focus, Risa.
She needed to keep her mind on the game, but it was so hard when she was grasping his arms, or he had his wrapped around her like he was going in for the most romantic kiss in history.
Her gaze dropped to his mouth, and she remembered the sweet, soft, sensual kiss they’d shared. It was hard to breathe, to fight the urge to move in closer when he held her like that. She wanted to kiss him again, just a touch of his lips to test the feelings that had been running through her for weeks. To see if he was the one and she was a fool.
Risa forgot about the world around her, the people watching, and that this was simply a game. Her attention was on Jax and the way their bodies felt when they came together, how well they fit, and the fact that his gaze hadn’t left her face.
He passed her the egg, spending a little extra time as close to her as possible until she mumbled, “Got it.”
“Sorry, was trying to make sure you had a good grasp on the target.”
She passed it back.
“Don’t worry, I’ve got my eye on the prize.”
But the goal wasn’t making it to the finish line; it was keeping her hands from roaming every time Jax took her into his arms.
They made it over the last log, and passed the egg off to the helper before they scrambled together toward the nylon tunnels. She was too tall to crawl through on her hands and knees so it took longer than she had anticipated. When she emerged, she expected to see Jax waiting for her, not stuck in the middle of his tunnel. His shoulders were too wide. Every time he inched forward, the nylon bunched up. It took a couple of minutes, but once he figured out how to tuck in and roll, he made it through in no time.
Risa’s focus had been on Jax, so when she turned around to jump over the two-foot-high wall and saw it had been replaced, she groaned.
“Did someone water this thing? This morning it was two feet tall. Now it’s what? Seven feet?”
“No sweat, Doc. We’ll conquer whatever they throw at us if we just stick together.” Jax smiled like he believed every word of his pep talk.
Too bad she had doubts.
Risa jumped and missed the edge of the wooden wall. She jumped again, and a pair of strong hands clasped around her waist and lifted until she could grasp the top. “On three, you pull up and hook your arm over the edge. Got it?”
This doesn’t bode well. He hoisted her higher. She knew she’d go flying over any minute, or land on her butt on the other side.
But Jax being Jax, he held on tight. She got her arm firmly locked over the edge, and he slowly slid his hands down while lifting her until she could hook a leg over the top and straddle the boards.
Risa let out a huge sigh. She’d made it, and it hadn’t been easy, even with Jax pushing. Now the trick was to dismount without, say, killing herself.
She held out a hand to her partner. “My turn to return the favor.”
He shook his head. “It’ll be easier if you clear the wall first.”
Granted, he didn’t have as far to pull himself up. But she respected his judgment about her house as a security expert, and she wasn’t going to argue with him here. He’d probably clear the wall in one giant leap.
Risa leaned forward and swung her other leg up and over before dropping to the ground to land, just as she thought, on her arse. Wanting to see how Jax managed it, she stepped out into the clear. He didn’t take a running start like she’d expected. He simply jumped the short distance to grasp the ledge and pulled up with the most amazing arms Risa had ever witnessed. In no time he had one, then both legs over, and landed softly on the ground. Unlike her.
“Come on, Doc. We’re just getting to the fun stuff.”
Next up was the “Army crawl,” under two long poles with crisscrossing string set a foot off the ground. Both were under and out lickety split. Then they had the log balance beams, which she had to slow down for, or tempt fate and gravity. The last obstacle was a sack race, but Lamont had turned it into a two-man sack.
“Oh no.” She shook her head and backed away from Jax as he held out his hand. “You really don’t want to be in the sack with me.”
He raised one brow and smiled like a wolf about to leap on to his prey. His gaze dropped to her lips, then dipped lower for a heartbeat. “Are you sure about that, Doc?”
She nodded and held her ground.
“Trust me.” He stepped closer and took her hand. “There’s no one else I’d rather be in the sack with.”
It took a moment for the comment to register. Risa’s mouth dropped open. She’d completely missed her double entendre. Talk about clueless.
That’s what you get for spending all your time with animals.
She wanted to groan, but that would make it even worse. Instead, she took his hand and climbed in for what, she could only hope, would be an eventless few minutes. To keep her mind off his body, all snug up against hers, she pictured herself cleaning the toilet. It was the most un-sexy, un-romantic thing she could come up with. If Jax knew what she was thinking, it would probably wipe that silly, charming, and oh-so-sexy smile right off his face.
Jax stepped in, and together they pulled the sack up.
“On three, Doc, and smile. This will be fun.”
Famous last words.
He wrapped his right arm around her waist and held her tight. Together they jumped their way toward the finish line.
“Go Risa, go. You’re almost there,” Fee yelled from up ahead.
“Woohoo, Aunt Risa,” Dylan yelled.
God, she loved that kid.
They were making great time, working in unison. With five feet to go, they jumped and Risa came down on Jax’s foot. He stumbled. She lost her balance. The sack fell, and Jax grabbed her as she threw her hands out, grabbing air. She stepped forward, he stepped back. Her foot twisted in the sack and Jax wrapped his arms around her. A complicated dance of ‘will they or won’t they fall.’
Will they won out.
Right into the kid’s fishing pool.
Risa landed on top of Jax, who was soaked. “I warned you,” she said.
Her lips were scant inches from his. Their bodies were lined up perfectly with the burlap sack around their ankles. She tried to push up and Jax captured her wrists.
“I don’t know about you, but I’d say the end result was well worth the effort.”
“What are you talking about? We lost, and you’re wet.” She couldn’t help laughing at his ridiculous verdict.
He slid a knee between her legs and in one swift motion, she was on the bottom and he leaned over her. “Now we’re even.”
“Not even close, you cad.” She pushed to get him off of her, but admittedly it was a half-hearted attempt. “Now I have to work in wet clothes. What were you thinking?”
The wolfish grin was back. “Come to dinner with me tonight and find out.”
“Jax—”
“Hey, Aunt Risa, that was funny.” Dylan stood next to the kiddie pool laughing and grinning down at her with his mom at his side, who had a different kind of grin. Fee’s was slightly all-knowing, and a bit on the evil “I-told-you-so” side.
“I’m glad you enjoyed it.” Risa splashed Dylan as Jax helped her up and out of the pool. “I think you and your mom should go next.”
“That’s funny too. Mom could never get over the wall. It’s twice her size.” Fee poked her son in his side, and Dylan laughed even harder.
“Risa, I have a spare change of yoga clothes in the car, if you want me to go get them,” Fee offered.
“Thanks, but I’m not sure which will look worse, wet clothes or ones that are three sizes too small. Besides, I think I have a spare pair of scrubs back at the clinic. How about I catch up with you two after I change?”
“Yay. Daddy’s here.” Dylan was off like a shot to jump into his dad’s arms.
“He’s back?” Risa asked Fee.
“Yeah, some honeymoon. They were only gone for a couple of days. He and the new wife are going to take Dylan for the rest of the weekend, although I’m not too crazy about it. I’ve never even met her.”
The three of them watched Sal Rossi ruffle his son’s hair and act like Dad of the Year. Risa glanced at Jax to say something and stopped when she noticed the grim set of his mouth, the squint, and worry lines across his brow. She scanned the area trying to figure out what worried him. Nothing seemed out of place or suspicious—just normal fair stuff going down: people waiting for games or food, kids screaming on rides, and families checking out vendor and information booths.
Sal walked up to the three of them holding Dylan’s hand. His other arm was slung around the shoulders of a leggy redhead.
“I thought you said to meet you at the dog booth.” He eyed Risa, sneering at her drowned appearance. “Way to keep it professional and PG-rated, Risa. Look, Fee. Can you give us Dylan’s stuff so we can enjoy the day? Mia’s been looking forward to getting to know her new son all week.”
Mia, the leggy redhead, gave a shy smile and little wave, but otherwise kept quiet. Seemed like Sal had found the perfect woman for him: one who didn’t speak and therefore wouldn’t question his authority. Good luck to her.
“It’s at the booth. Dylan wanted to watch Risa race the obstacle course—”
“I see that went well,” he interrupted.
“Dylan, baby. Give me a hug.” Fee wrapped her son in her arms and whispered, “Be good for your stepmom, okay? And have fun.”
As the trio walked off, Fee wiped the corner of her eye and plastered a smile on her face. “How about we go find you those dry clothes?”
* * * *
He didn’t like the guy. Twelve years on the job had taught Jax a thing or two about trusting his gut. Based on Risa’s comments after the attack on her car, Jax had checked into Salvador Rossi. His command had confirmed the man was on leave at the time of the incident, and his leave chit had stated he’d be in Cape Cod. However, his ex-wife, who could either be a cop’s worst nightmare or best friend, had just stated otherwise.
Jax made a mental note to pay Petty Officer Rossi a visit on Tuesday, especially given his attitude toward Risa. If the guy thought she was coming between him and his son, or blamed her for his marriage failing, there’s no telling what he’d do next to scare her away or get even.
For today, he’d keep an eye on the guy.
Damn. She didn’t answer about dinner. Or maybe her no answer was the answer?
Rossi had steered his little group toward the rides. After a moment’s hesitation, Jax headed in the same direction, which meant he would be on the other side of the fair from Risa. It didn’t matter. At some point he knew they’d head back to the clinic’s booth to pick up Dylan’s stuff.
The attendance had picked up, so it wasn’t hard to follow Rossi without him being aware. Jax stopped and talked to people he knew while Dylan rode various rides or played a game. Jax checked in with his men patrolling to make sure everything was okay, all the while keeping an eye on his target. When Rossi slipped away while the stepmom and Dylan rode the mini-roller coaster, Jax had no trouble tracking him. Nor was he surprised to find him flirting with some other woman.
“What a douche,” Jax muttered.
“Jax,” Senior Chief Dunning called out to him. “Do I want to know why your uniform is wet?”
“Probably not, Senior.” Jax stuck his hand out to the boy accompanying his boss. “Anton, how’s it going, buddy?”
The boy frowned. “Dad won’t ride the zipper with me, and I’m too short to ride it by myself. It’s so stupid. It’s not like I’m going to fall out or something.” He looked up with a hopeful smile. “Will you ride it with me?”
Hell to the no. He wasn’t afraid of the ride, but spinning made him sick. “Sorry, bud. I’m on duty.”
Mike grinned like he knew the real reason. “How’s everything going today? Anything I should be aware of?” Mike nodded in Rossi’s direction.
“Nah, it’s all good.”
“You sure?”
“Yep, until they outlaw stupidity.”
Anton tugged on his dad’s arm. “Dad, can I get cotton candy?”
He held up a hand. “Gotcha. Okay, I’m going to go feed the bottomless pit and then pray he doesn’t puke on me during the next ride. Let me know if the situation changes and try to keep it professional, Chief.”
Didn’t I always? He had, up until the day Bella had her accident and Risa had walked into his life. Since then he’d disobeyed orders and broken rules. Maybe that was a sign pointing to the direction his life was headed, which meant it might be time to do some reevaluating. He liked rules. He liked order. He liked knowing right from wrong.
For a cop and for the military, there was no gray. Bending the rules led to crossing the lines, which in turn led to life on the dark side.
He needed to remember that, remember why he’d chosen to be a “boy scout” as Risa had called him. It wasn’t because he was altruistic, or came from a perfect family, or had a hero complex. Nah, his reason was simple: He didn’t want to be a screw-up like his old man.
Sal Rossi turned from the woman he’d been giving a deep-throat exam to and gave him the one-finger salute. So much for being subtle. Jax needed to get his head in the game and get his life figured out.
He hailed down two of his men, gave them Rossi’s description and an order to keep an eye on the guy. If Rossi did anything untoward, suspicious, or just pissed them off, they were to let him know, and when he left the fair, Rossi was to be watched until he left base. The guy was slime and Jax didn’t trust him.
Satisfied he’d gotten one area under control, he set off to check on the rest of his team. As he passed the aisle that held the clinic’s booth, Petty Officer Moore stopped him with an update on Bella. Jax hadn’t made it over to see her that morning, but the Doc had. Out of the corner of his eye, he could see Risa manning the booth.
He had yet to figure out how he made it through the event earlier without kissing her, because while he might be the guy who does the right thing, he was no saint. She was talking and laughing with her friend and coworker, and it took some serious willpower not to step closer. She called out to him like a siren to a sailor with her smile.
And everyone knew those sailors’ fates.
Which was why, when Moore finished talking, he turned and walked in the other direction.