Page 82 of To Catch a Latte Thick as Thieves

“Then how come I’ve never seen him on one of his ‘visits’ before?”

“You were always with Matthew, you never had the time.”

“Oh.”

“I swear.” Cam raised his right hand in a mock pledge. “This is a total coincidence.”

“And I suppose it’s coincidence that he lives near Copper Creek?” Cat glared at her sibling, unwilling to let him off too easily.

“His family has a place halfway between Copper Creek and Phoenix.”

“It’s mighty suspicious.” Cat frowned.

“Would I lie to you?” Cam asked.

“Are you kidding? Aren’t you the one who convinced me I could fly off the garage roof if I flapped hard enough?” Cat retorted.

“Hey! I signed your cast and said I was sorry. Jeez, that was twenty years ago, don’t you forget anything?”

“No.” She resumed her chastising. “If this is a coincidence, then why are you trying to pair us up for my trip out to Copper Creek?”

“It just seemed like a good idea.” Cameron shrugged. “Hey, if you don’t want to carpool, I’m sure it won’t impact the climate crisis at all. And just because Jared seldom has enough money to buy a plane ticket, that’s no reason for you to give him a ride. I’m sure he’ll be fine if he hitchhikes per usual.”

“Hitchhikes?” She frowned.

“Yeah, Jared likes to live on the edge,” Cam explained. “Now, me, I wouldn’t be able to handle that. Never knowing if the next car that picks you up is some psycho, just waiting to make you the highlight of the evening news. Nope, I couldn’t do it. But that’s just me.”

Cat bit her lip and frowned.

Cameron watched the concern flit across his sister’s face. He hated lying to her, but it was for her own good. He knew his sister well enough to know she was incapable of abandoning a stray. So, if he had to lie to get her to adopt Jared, like she’d adopted that dog of hers, well, that was a small price to pay to insure her safety.

Jared was the most honorable man he’d ever known. Cameron knew he could trust him with his sister. In fact, there was no other man of his acquaintance who he would trust with his sister.

She didn’t need to know that Jared was as poor as the royal family and about as likely to hitchhike. If Cat fell for this line, there was no telling what a professional con artist could do to her. Nope, even if she was mad at him until she was sixty-five, he was going to con her into taking protection. Protection that answered to the name of Jared McLean.

“I’m sorry I doubted you,” Cat said. “Of course I’ll give your friend a lift to Arizona. I’ve waited this long to be on my own, I don’t suppose another week will kill me.”

Cameron felt a pang of guilt, but he shrugged it off as a necessity to achieve the greater good. His sister shouldn’t drive three thousand miles across the country alone, especially when she believed the pile of bull he’d just shoveled her.

“Thanks, Cat. I’m sure Jared’s going to appreciate it.” Cam turned to the grill and loaded the steaks onto a platter. Leading the way into the house, he called, “Let’s eat!”

Cat stood on the deck, watching dusk envelop the trees surrounding the house. The crickets were tuned up and blaring their nightly symphony, while the moths waltzed around the yellow porch light.

“I wonder if Arizona is like this in the evening?” she mused.

“In some ways it is,” Jared answered from where he sat in a lawn chair, studying her.

“Oh!” She started and a becoming blush flooded her cheeks. “I thought I was alone.”

Jared studied her. He’d met her once before at Cam’s wedding, but his memory was obviously playing tricks on him. He remembered her as quiet and awkward. The one time he’d tried to speak with her, she’d squeaked like a mouse and run. She didn’t look or sound like a mouse now.

Her disobedient hair shunned the clip she tried to tame it with and framed her face with winsome curls, a pale brown with streaks of gold and copper. Her eyes were just as mysterious. Not blue or green or gray, but a kaleidoscope of all three, and they were enormous. Her elfin face sported a pointy chin and a delicate nose, making her large eyes all the more startling.

She sighed, and Jared’s gaze was drawn to her body. From the small but curvy proportions that filled her tank top to the slender legs that tapered from her shorts, she was much more well-rounded than he’d remembered.

She had the wide-eyed look of an innocent, but the figure of a siren. She was the kind of woman who could blend charm with sensuality, never knowing she had either.

And he was supposed to be stuck in a rented van with her for the next week? He had a feeling this was going to be the longest road trip of his life.