Page 119 of To Catch a Latte Thick as Thieves

Cat fished her lipstick and her hairbrush out of her purse. She fluffed her hair and reddened her lips. With a smile at Jared, she said, “Back in a jiff.”

Jared watched her hop from the van. She paused on the side of the road to hike up her shorts and pull the straps on her tank top down over her shoulders. What was she doing?

She blew him a kiss and Jared felt his ears grow hot. She moved to stand in front of the van. She leaned back against the van so that her figure was shown to full advantage. She raised one knee and let her leg swing. She looked like a pinup girl from the forties, with her full red lips and her wild hair being teased by the breeze, not to mention the amount of female curves she had on display. She was every sexual fantasy he had ever had. Jared was transfixed at the sight before him.

The screech of brakes shattered Jared’s lustful daze and he frowned. One, no two, make that three vehicles pulled over onto the shoulder, leaving long black skidmarks in their wake.

Cat turned and glanced at him over his shoulder. Then she winked. That did it!

Jared stomped out of the van just as the first driver was approaching her.

“Cat, get in the van,” Jared said.

She frowned at him.

“Do you need some assistance, ma’am?” a pimply faced kid, about sixteen, asked.

“No, she doesn’t!” Jared snapped. “Get out of here.”

“Jared!”

“Git!” Jared yelled and the young man ran back to his car.

“What seems to be the trouble?” the second driver, an older gentleman, asked.

“No trouble,” Jared said. “Move along. She’s fine now.”

“Jared, have you lost your mind?” Cat asked. “We need help.”

“No, we don’t. Just move along, old man. Show’s over.”

“Humph.” The old man stomped to his car and took off.

“You folks in need of some help?” A pretty young woman, wearing coveralls and baseball hat climbed out of the third vehicle.

Jared paused and Cat blinked.

“I saw your dance moves,” the woman said to Jared. “Pretty funny stuff. I was in the far lane so I had to double back to come get you. Can I offer you a lift?”

“No,” Cat snapped, but Jared said, “Yes.”

“Well, which is it?” The woman removed her hat and tossed a thick braid of honey-brown hair over her shoulder and looked between them.

“Yes,” Jared said. “Definitely a yes.”

Cat sat squished against the door with Lucy beside her. Jared sat in the middle, next to Molly, their rescuer.

“So, Jared, where are you and your wife headed?” she asked.

“She’s not my wife,” Jared said. A little too quickly, Cat thought. “No, Cat is more like a little sister to me.”

Cat blanched. A little sister? How could he possibly think of her as a little sister? If he was sitting any closer to her, she’d bite him. Here she was smack dab in love with him and he thought of her as a sibling! Argh!

Cat stilled. In love with him? She felt her stomach flip over as if they’d hit a bump. She glanced out the window. There wasn’t a pothole to be seen. Uh-oh. She’d fallen in love with the big galoot.

No, this couldn’t be. That wasn’t on her meticulously planned itinerary. Nowhere on her index cards did it read “fall in love.” Ack! This was completely unacceptable.

“Cat, are you okay?” Jared asked. “You look pale. Did you get overheated?”