“Got a window to board up,” he answered.

Of course.

Jake was going to board the window to the greenhouse in the wee hours of the morning.

My man was so wonderful.

“I’ll help, Dad,” Conner offered.

And Conner was such a lovely young man.

“I got it, Con. Hit the sack. It’s barely five. You gotta work today and you need your sleep,” Jake said to his son.

“I’ll help, Dad,” Conner repeated and didn’t wait for his father again to refuse.

He turned to the steps and took them two at a time, likely going up so he could put some shoes on in order to help his father.

I looked up at Jake. “Your son is lovely.”

Jake’s eyes got warm and he agreed, “Yeah, babe.” Then his warm eyes moved to the stairs in a way that made mine move to the stairs and I saw Amber halfway down them looking like she was sleepwalking.

“Eath’s barfing, Dad,” she announced.

Oh dear.

I looked up at Jake and said, “I’ll get Eath. You get the window.”

“Right, babe,” he answered, bent into me and touched his mouth to mine.

Jake headed toward the kitchen and I headed to the steps and up them, following an Amber who was meandering so much, I lifted my hands to her hips and guided her back to her bed where she collapsed.

I threw the covers over her, quickly tucked her in then I went to the bathroom where Ethan was indeed barfing.

Five minutes into this unpleasant experience, Bryant wandered in and then he and Ethan took turns barfing.

It was then I made a mental note that perhaps next time I would not purchase so much snack food and allow them to consume it at will while staying up to all hours and watching DVDs.

* * * * *

Some time later, I felt the bed move as Jake joined me in it.

I turned to him, cuddling closer, murmuring, “Is all well with the window?”

“Yeah, babe. Eath good?”

“Yes, darling.”

“Good,” he muttered, pulling me closer.

“Jake?” I called.

“Yeah?” he asked.

“How did you know the light had gone on outside? You had to be dead asleep.”

“Sixth sense,” he replied. “Man’s any man at all, Slick, he’s got his family under a roof, he’s attuned to what happens around that roof, especially if it might be a threat.”

My drowsy eyes fully opened and I stared at the planes of his chest in the weak light of dawn.

“Sleep, babe,” Jake ordered preposterously.

“Okay,” I lied, still staring at his chest, feeling the power of his body stretched out, mine resting against it, the covers over us creating a warm cocoon.

But the warmth I felt had nothing to do with covers.

It had to do with feeling safe and being part of a family.

I liked that feeling so much, I allowed myself to bask in it. Thus Jake fell asleep before me.

A little after he did, I joined him.

* * * * *

“Hey, Josie.”

“Hello, Deon,” I replied on a smile as he opened the door to The Circus for me and I sauntered in.

I walked through the club, waving at Paulette (whose hair looked fabulous after her keratin treatment) and Shoshana (who had reported to me that her tips were mostly the same but her boyfriend adored her as a brunette now that she dyed it from the red) as well as nodding to Adam behind the bar.

I hit the door to Jake’s office and punched the code into the keypad thinking that pressing charges was a rather lengthy process. Luckily, Ethan, Bryant and Joshua, who were with us until three that day, thought a trip to the police station to press charges against a “lame old loser” (Ethan’s words) was the bomb.

Fortunately, Junior and Alyssa felt the same way.

Joshua’s parents were rather alarmed his sleepover included a trip to the sheriff’s department but Jake had a word and they got over it.

Nevertheless, all the activity meant a delay in Jake and my make out session, especially when girl Taylor showed at the front door about an hour after the boys went home, jumping up and down, squealing.

I was concerned she drove in that excited state but I understood it when I learned that Kieran Wentworth was yet again up from college for the weekend. It would seem he was thus simply to “run into” girl Taylor who had mentioned when she met him at church several weeks before that her younger brother was to participate in some martial arts event that day.

It would seem she was correct about her hopeful deduction that he was up just for her, for Kieran Wentworth had no younger brother in this event. Although he participated in the same martial arts practice and had a black belt so he at least had a slim cover story.

He sat with her throughout the whole event.

She was beside herself with glee.

The evening degenerated when Conner returned from attempting somewhat the same maneuver and therefore after work had gone to some choral performance the school was putting on. A performance in which Sofie had a solo.

Conner approached her after the performance was over to compliment her on her singing. Strides were made when she stood with him long enough to listen to this. More strides were made when she expressed her gratitude for the compliment. Gains were lost when Conner asked for her number. It was reported through Conner from Jake to me that she then told him that he was the cutest and sweetest guy in school and “deserved someone worthy of him, like Ellie and not like me.”

At this point, she teared up and made her escape.

Conner spent the rest of evening phoning around to get her number. He succeeded in this endeavor and disappeared into his room. He had not been heard of since and I hoped he at least got Sofie to converse with him over the phone.

I didn’t want him to give up. There was a challenge and then there was beating your head against the wall. But I suspected Sofie would be worth it. I just hoped Conner would understand that, keep at it and break through whatever was creating that wall.

It was at this point that Jake needed to go to the club so he left.

Thus all day and no promised make out session.

Therefore, I made certain the kids were taken care of, Ethan in bed and asked Amber to keep an eye on things and make sure all was well at Lavender House while I went to the club. She agreed. I then took myself off to my room to prepare.

Little clingy black dress.

Very high heels.

Evening make up.

Hair down.

I put on a stylish coat that concealed this outfit and it was tied shut as I made my way up the stairs to Jake’s office.

He was sitting behind his desk and his eyes were on me as I walked up the stairs.

“Surprised, babe. Didn’t know you were coming,” he said on a smile.

“I’m here,” I replied just as my phone in my purse rang. “Hang on a second, darling,” I said, keeping my eyes to him.

I took my phone out of my purse and saw it was Alyssa calling.

I dumped my purse in one of the chairs in front of Jake’s desk as I took the call and put it to my ear.

“Hey, honey,” I greeted, tugging on the belt to my coat.

“Ohmigod!” she cried in my ear. “You…would not…believe,” she stated.

She was quite excited but then again I had a feeling I knew what she was talking about since Conner had secured her daughter’s number.

“What wouldn’t I believe?” I asked, eyes on Jake as I shrugged my coat off one shoulder.

“Is it too late?” she asked back.

“No,” I answered, shrugging my coat off the other shoulder and watching Jake’s eyes drop to my rather clingy dress.

“Get this,” she started. “I just got a call from one of my girls who told me that Pearl Milshorn pulled her money out of the new development that was supposed to be breaking ground in two weeks up by Mills jetty.”

I tossed my coat over the back of the chair, eyes to Jake, assessing his reaction and uncertain why this information so excited my friend, thus murmuring, “Hmm?”