Give Me Fever (14 page)

KJ made a fist and pushed against his father’s. “Dap,” he said, his eyes bright.

The men all laughed, and that caused KJ to squeal with laughter as well as he covered his mouth with both of his hands.

Kael took off his Stetson and wiped the sweat from his forehead, the dampness causing his silver hair to lie plastered to his head. “Go on ’head, Kade,” he said, nodding his head in the direction of his eldest child.

Kaeden, Kahron, and Kaleb all looked at Kade, who shoved his large hands into the pockets of his navy Dickies work pants. “Kaeden, did you check the stuff I asked you about?”

Kaeden nodded as KJ placed his hands over his spectacles. “Everything’s straight.”

“Good. Just got an early word that Lockhart Farm is going out of business and they’re going to sell their farming equipment—equipment we all can use.”

“Confirmed?” Kaleb asked, shifting his weight on the heels of his dusty Timberland boots.

Kade nodded solemnly. “Unfortunately.”

“Me and Randy Lockhart started out around the same time. His boy Juba and him have worked real hard to make it last,” Kael added. “Feels like we swooping in like vultures.”

Kaleb snorted. “I disagree,” he drawled.

“Kaleb and I think the most fiscally sound way to approach this for all three ranches is to buy into the equipment together,” Kaeden offered. “That way you’re not taking out an unnecessary loan that carries risk and you’re contributing equally to the capital needed.”

“Sounds like a plan to me,” Kahron said with a shrug.

“Me too,” Kaleb added.

Kade nodded. “We can ride over to the ranch and look at the equipment.”

Kaeden shook his head. “I think we should get an itemized list faxed here. Let’s strategize a base price that we’re willing to offer and then go to the ranch. We can go up or down based on the condition, but at least we’re all in the same ballpark from the jump.”

“I agree,” Kahron added.

“Then let’s go call him and have him fax the list over,” Kade said, pushing his tall, sinewy frame up off the wooden rails of the paddock.

“Let’s go, then.”

“Oh, heck no,” Kaeden said as he felt KJ’s gas bubbles hit his neck. His mouth fell open in shock and he instantly reached up to take the toddler down. “Boy, you stink.”

“Oops,” KJ said before bursting into giggles. The men laughed as they made their way back to the barn to the foreman’s office.

It was time for business, and when it came to teamwork, no one did it better than the Strong men. Each played his position well and Kaeden was learning that he was just as important to the team as the others. And that’s the part that Kaeden loved about being one of the Strongs. It was one for all and all for one, all the way and all the time.

Felecia took a sip of her tea and honey as she flipped through the newest addition to her bridal magazine subscriptions:
Brides
. She placed a sticky note on the page she’d just read about destination weddings.
Me and Kaeden barefoot on the beaches of Jamaica saying our I dos.
She sighed longingly.

The outer office door opened and Felecia reluctantly took her eyes off a picture of a decorative wedding cake lit by a spotlight. She smiled at the tall and handsome fair-skinned man who walked in. “Can I help you?” she asked.

His eyes darted to the door leading to Kaeden’s office. “I need to speak to Kaeden. Is he in?”

“No, he’s been in Holtsville all morning, but he’ll be back after lunch,” Felecia told him, thinking that the man looked like an older version of Bow Wow. “Do you want to make an appointment?”

“No, I’ll just try him later.” He turned and walked to the door.

“Your name?” Felecia asked.

“Darren,” he said over his shoulder before he walked out, softly closing the door behind him.

Felecia shrugged before she grabbed her purse and keys from the bottom drawer of her desk. She grabbed their framed
OUT TO LUNCH
sign and walked out of the office, locking the door behind her before she hung the sign on the small brass hood on the door.

She walked to the driveway to her car, her eyes falling on the wedding gown lying across her rear seat. She had an appointment that she was going to keep.

Jade stretched as she rose from her desk and walked across the room to retrieve a bottled water from the small fridge in the corner. She walked into the outer office as she took a deep drink.

Darren had not shown up to the office. He hadn’t called, and when she called him he didn’t answer.

She sighed. She couldn’t lie and say she wasn’t worried about him. Things between them had ended so horribly, and she wondered if there was any hope of saving their friendship…or even the business.

Glancing down at her watch, she saw that it was lunchtime, and her stomach was asking to be filled. Switching on the answering machine, Jade grabbed her purse and keys before walking out the front door onto Main Street. She slipped her shades on and walked down the street that was the epitome of small-town America with its little shops and businesses dating back fifty years or better—shops and businesses that had once been the shopping center of the town, but had long been challenged and sometimes defeated by the larger retail chains about town.

Smiling at the people she passed on the street, she allowed herself to browse the storefronts. But Jade was only interested in picking up a soda and a couple of hot dogs from the street vendor on the corner by the courthouse.

She strolled past the ice cream shop and came up to the Wedding Salon. She slowed down, eying a strapless wedding gown that sparkled with pearl beads. It was simply beautiful…but it was definitely for someone else. Jade was not looking to be a bride.
Not that I have any prospects anyway
, she thought with a humph.

Through the glass window she saw a flash of white in the background. She focused her line of vision inside the bridal boutique. She frowned. Her eyes widened a bit. She squinted them to make sure she was seeing clearly.

She was.

Her hand clutched the strap of her tote tightly as she stood there and watched Felecia step up onto the circular platform in front of a trio of long mirrors…in a wedding gown.

“Oh my God…Kaeden’s getting married,” she whispered aloud as her heart raced and pounded all at once.

She stepped back and accidentally bumped into a pedestrian. “Sorry. I’m sorry,” she said, turning to quickly head back down the streets to the Wild-n-Out office.

Jade didn’t stop until she closed the front door of the office behind her. She paced the outer office, not quite sure why she felt like pure panic was settling in on her. She forced herself to stop and breathe, slow and easy. She laughed a little but it came out sounding pained. “Okay, wait,” she said, brushing her long bangs back from her forehead. “Okay. Last month he’s emphatic that he’s not even dating this woman…and…and…and
now
they’re…they’re engaged?”

Jade put her hands on her hips and closed her eyes as she shook her head. “Okay. Okay. Wait a minute. You know what. Why am I freaking out? I mean, this is none of my business. Even though I gave him all of this goodness and…and he’s mad because I am…or
was
with Darren…but now he’s getting married. What. The. Hell!”

Jade scratched her head in confusion as she stood there coming to grips with her feelings.

Her anger.

Her confusion.

Her jealousy.

Her overwhelming sense of loss.

“Okay, Kaeden’s getting married. So what? Right?” Jade said aloud, not even sounding convincing to her own ears. “It’s not like we dated or anything. This does not affect my life one bit. I don’t care. Good luck, well wishes, and whoopee-do to the happy couple.”

Jade propped against the desk. Tears welled up in her eyes and she felt like a fool as one lone tear raced down her cheek. She swiped the tear away and blinked her wide almond-shaped eyes to prevent any more from falling.

She never imagined her and Kaeden getting together, but the thought of him marrying someone else didn’t sit well with her at all. She barely knew the man, and most of what she’d seen of him during the camping trip had irked her nerves.

But that night they had shared a connection like nothing she had ever known before. Kaeden had touched her body and her soul. It felt like the memory of him was forever implanted within her. But what they shared—the physical connection had been to her complete and total satisfaction.

Needing a distraction, Jade picked up the cordless phone from the desk in the reception area and called her mother. Her cell phone went straight to voice mail. Jade assumed she was on a flight.

She dialed her grandfather. His house phone rang endlessly. Jade assumed he had gone fishing or was in his garden.

She started to call Darren but she left that alone, knowing he needed space.

Jade walked into her office and sat at her desk, trying to focus on their dreaded paperwork. This was the part of the business that she hated. All she wanted to do was be outdoors and not closed in by four walls, behind a desk shuffling papers.

Like Kaeden.

Jade rolled her eyes, frustrated with herself for even letting her mind wander back to him. It seemed like she always thought about that man. Little things. Stupid things.

What is he doing?

Is he thinking of me? That night?

Jade’s eyes clouded as she allowed herself to get lost in the memories. Lost in the passion. Lost in the little world they created…if only for that one night.

A vision of Kaeden’s nude lean form nestled above Felecia flashed and her stomach clenched in aversion. She shook her head to free it of the image.

She pictured the woman and Kaeden. They made a cute match. Fine. But did he share the same explosive chemistry with his…fiancée as he did with her? Could she make him stutter? Could she make him howl to the moon? Could she make him ache like a fiend craving a drug? Could she handle Kaeden the way that Jade knew she could?

Jade smirked. Then she felt childish for her thoughts. Jealousy was a trip.

She didn’t love him. She hardly knew him. So why did she still dream of him? Why did the very thought of him give her a thrill? Why was she jealous of the thought of him marrying someone else? Why did her heart ache so terribly?

The Strong men decided to join Kaeden for lunch at Donnie’s Diner on the main strip in Holtsville. The men made an impressive sight with their broad shoulders, towering heights, handsome features, and prematurely gray hair. They joked together as they made their way over to a large round table in the center of the small restaurant.

Kaeden rubbed his stomach as he pulled out his chair. “I’m starving,” he said, just as he felt someone touch his shoulder.

He looked over his shoulder. His handsome features shaped into a frown as he looked into the face of Jade’s man. “Darren, right?” he said.

“Can I holler at you outside for a second?” he asked in a hard voice, his eyes glittering like glass.

Kaeden was taken aback because the man’s eyes, voice, and stance were all cold. And in return, Kaeden’s eyes hardened behind his glasses. “Why all the hostility?” Kaeden asked.

“Because you need to stay the hell away from Jade,” Darren chewed out as the muscle in his jaw clenched.

Kaeden heard the scrape of chairs behind him signaling that the rest of the Strong men had risen to their feet. But Kaeden didn’t need them.

“Let’s take this outside. After you.” Kaeden followed Darren out of the restaurant, aware of the curious eyes on them as they did.

“I ought to whup your little skinny ass for even
thinking
about touching Jade,” Darren chewed out, every line in his face filled with anger as he pointed his finger in Kaeden’s face.

Kaeden knocked the man’s hand away. “Trust me, I did more than
think
about it.”

Kaeden instantly regretted referring to Jade in that manner, but seconds later a solid punch landed against his nose, sending his glasses flying off into the street. Vaguely he heard a tire run over them, shattering the glass and crunching the frame. He stumbled back—but just a little bit, before he bent low and went charging at Darren’s middle.

A fight was on.

A collective gasp went through the entire restaurant as everyone watched the men fall to the ground.

All of the Strong brothers made a move to step forward toward the door, but Kael calmly held up his hand. “Don’t take all three to break up a fight,” he said calmly.

Kade, knowing his role as the oldest, immediately headed for the door.

Kael turned his mouth downward as he watched Kaeden deliver Darren a vicious uppercut and then a right hook.

“Ooh,” Kaleb and Kahron grunted, making ugly faces at the delivery of the blows.

Kade pulled the two men apart.

Kael took a deep sip of the glass of sweet tea the waitress sat in front of him. “Well, guess Kaeden just taught that fella to not start something he can’t finish.”

Kaeden watched over Kade’s broad shoulder as Darren turned and stormed back to his truck. Soon the sound of tires squealing echoed around them loudly. “Asshole,” he muttered, straightening his clothes. He looked up, and even without his glasses he could make out that everyone in the restaurant—and those bold enough to step outside—had their eyes on the scene that had just unfolded.

“Damn, I’m outta here,” Kaeden said, reaching in his pocket for his keys as he walked over to his car.

Kade chuckled. “Can you drive without your glasses?”

“Yeah. I got my contacts in here.”

“So, Darren found out about what happened between you and Jade?” Kade crossed his arms over his chest.

Kaeden shrugged. “I guess.”

“Wanna talk about it?” Kade offered.

Kaeden shook his head as he laughed sarcastically. “That’s the thing. There is nothing to talk about. Jade and I—no, correction—there is no Jade and I. Never really was.”

“Shee-it. Enough for that man to want to whup you over,” Kade quipped.

“Man, shut up,” Kaeden said, giving his teasing brother a reluctant smile as he opened his car door and slid onto the butter-soft leather seats and started the engine. He winced as he reached for his case of contact lenses and put them in as quickly as he could.

“Hey,” Kade called out.

Kaeden looked over at him, lowering the driver’s-side window. “Huh?”

“What are you gonna tell Felecia about your glasses…and the bruise on your cheek?”

Kaeden leaned to the right to look up in the rearview mirror. Sure enough, there was a bleeding scrape across his cheek and a dried trickle of blood that had run from his nose.

“Jade must be one helluva woman,” Kade joked.

Kaeden shot him a glare before he circled out of the dirt parking area. He still couldn’t believe that he’d just fought a man over Jade—particularly when he had a girlfriend and all that he and Jade shared was one crazy night in the woods.

He was just passing Cyrus’s one-pump gas station and convenience store when Jade’s yellow Jeep Wrangler whizzed past him. His eyes darted up to watch her in the rearview mirror.

What role did she play in all this? No one knew about that night. Did she tell her man to get him jealous or something along those childish lines?

Easing his foot onto the brakes and flipping on his left turn signal, Kaeden checked for oncoming traffic before making an illegal U-turn. He knew she was headed to her little cottage and he headed in that direction.

Kaeden pulled up into her yard just as Jade hopped out of the driver’s seat. She turned and looked at him in surprise.

The sight of her made his heart race—even as he wished it didn’t.

Kaeden was startled to see that her eyes were slightly puffy and reddish. Like she’d been crying.
Probably over her man. Did they break up?
he thought.

“Kaeden? What are you doing here?” she asked, her keys jiggling in her hands as she placed her hands on her wide hips in the strapless print maxi dress she wore.

“Were you crying?” he asked in concern, stepping out of the car to walk up to her.

Jade averted her eyes briefly before she shook her head. “Listen, what do you want, Kaeden?”

“For your man to give me ten feet at all times,” he told her. “You know that fool just stepped to me at Donnie’s.”

Her eyes widened and then shifted to the reddish bruise on his cheek. “Did you two fight?” she asked, reaching out as if to touch his bruise, but then she pulled her hand back like she had second thoughts about it. “I’m so sorry.”

Kaeden frowned. “First, stop looking at me like I got my behind whipped. Secondly, sorry for what?”

“Darren asked me about that night,” she said quietly.

“And you told him.”

“I wasn’t going to lie to him—”

“Like you lied to me.”

Jade’s mouth fell open. “I never lied to you!” she exclaimed.

“You never told me you had a boyfriend,” he volleyed back.

“Because I didn’t. Darren and I were only dating when that night happened. Let me clue you both in, since you’re both lost in the sauce, but dating someone is not the same as being exclusive
or
sleeping with them.”

Kaeden did a double take. “You never slept with old boy? Come on, miss me with the BS, Jade.”

Jade stepped up closer to him. “Well, if it’s not Mr. High and Mighty looking down his nose at someone. Puh-leeze. Miss me with your BS, Kaeden.”

He hated that the sight of her eyes fiery with emotion made him want her even more. “What BS?”

She looked him up and down before rolling her eyes. “Shouldn’t you be somewhere getting fitted for your tux or something?” she asked, sounding tired and annoyed all at once.

Kaeden frowned. “A tux? For what?”

Jade laughed a little as she looked up at him with the wetness of tears still clinging to her long lashes. “The wedding,” she snapped and then wiped her mouth with her hands.

“Whose wedding?” he asked, completely lost.

The look she gave him was incredulous. “Yours. Is it secret or something?” she asked, becoming just as confused as he appeared to be.

“So secret it’s not true,” he said.

“Whatever, Kaeden. You don’t have to lie to me. Congratulations to you and Felecia.”

Kaeden’s frown deepened. “Did she tell you we were getting married?”