0°Celsius: To thaw a frozen heart

Four days later, Jen’s confidence in her ability to control her emotions began to crumble. Keeping an emotional distance from Cash was harder than she’d thought, especially when he was intent on being so wonderfully wonderful. He cooked for her, offered encouragement while she worked on putting together a portfolio, made her breathless with his kisses and dizzy with desire.

They’d spent nearly every waking moment together, except for the night Dylan came over to watch football again. There’d been no follow-up to their threesome, though. As fun as it had been, Jen only wanted Cash in her bed now. Thankfully, Dylan hadn’t seemed to mind that sex wasn’t on the table. Which didn’t surprise her—she got the feeling nothing fazed that guy.

“I get it, Mom. She’s unhappy.”

Cash’s mumbled voice drifted into the room, breaking Jen’s concentration. She lifted her gaze from the laptop screen and spotted him pacing the hallway in front of the open bedroom door.

“I’ll do it now, okay? Uh-huh…uh-huh…got it. I’ll email you later. Uh-huh… Love you too… Say hi to Dad.”

Silence ensued, finally broken by a soft expletive from Cash, who entered the room, sank on the edge of the bed and dragged a hand through his hair.

“What’s wrong?” Jen asked. “What was that phone call about?”

He set his jaw. “That was my mother.”

“Is she okay?”

“Yeah.”

Jen waited for him to continue. When he didn’t, she rolled her eyes. “Come on, cowboy, spit it out.”

“I…” He was gritting his teeth now. “I need a favor.”

“Okay…”

“I wouldn’t ask you this if it wasn’t important.”

A million possibilities ran through her head. “Let me guess—you need me to serve as the getaway driver for the bank robbery you’re planning.” She paused. “Wait, that makes no sense. Your parents are loaded.”

“Right, that’s why it makes no sense.”

“Fine, then you need me to…kill someone for you? Wait, no. You could easily kill someone all by yourse—”

“I need you to take my picture,” he interrupted.

She gawked at him. “Seriously? That’s what’s getting your panties in a knot? Don’t tell me you’ve never had your picture taken.”

Misery clung to his voice. “It’s not that.”

“Then what is it?”

“My birthday was last month.”

“Happy belated birthday?”

Cash scowled. “I wasn’t done. Anyway, the team was OCONUS so I didn’t get to spend my birthday with my family, but my parents flew in for a visit a few weeks ago, and they brought a present my grandmother made me. Now she keeps harassing them, wanting to know if I liked it.”

“What was it?”

“A sweater.” He didn’t elaborate. “I called to thank her, but apparently she doesn’t believe I like it. She’s demanding I send photographic evidence of me wearing the sweater so she knows I’m not lying.”

“That seems a little…strange.”

“She’s a strange woman,” he muttered. “Scratch that, she’s absolutely nuts. That’s one of the reasons my mom left home when she was a teenager. My grandmother has some issues. Serious case of OCD, gets hysterical at the drop of a hat, disapproves of anything she doesn’t understand. I’m not looking forward to spending the holidays with her this year, that’s for sure.”

“Let’s not get ahead of ourselves. We’ll deal with this picture problem for now.” She closed her laptop and climbed off the bed. “I left my camera in the living room. Why don’t you put on the sweater and meet me out there?”

As she headed for the doorway, she noticed Cash hadn’t budged.

“What now?” she asked with a sigh.

His cheeks hollowed and she could practically hear his molars grinding. “Before we do this, you have to promise me something.”

She waited.

“You can’t laugh,” he said in a deadly voice.

“I won’t laugh. What’s the promise?”

“No, that’s the promise. You have to promise not to laugh.”

She wrinkled her forehead. “Oh. Okay. I promise.”

She slid out the door, hearing Cash’s low curses as he rummaged around in the closet. In the living room, she grabbed her camera and peered through the lens, snapping a couple of test shots to assess the lighting in the room. She adjusted the shutter speed and aperture until she was pleased with the results.

Five minutes passed and Cash still didn’t make an appearance.

“You coming?” Jen called.

Heavy footsteps thudded from the hall, then ceased.

“I promised I wouldn’t laugh,” she told the empty doorway. “Now get that sexy ass out here and let’s start this photo shoot before I change my—”

Her words died in her throat when he stepped out.

And God help her, but even though she’d promised not to laugh, she couldn’t help herself. Doubling over, Jen laughed so hard she thought her ribs would crack. When she started wheezing, she clutched her side and dropped her gaze to her feet.

“I’m going to pee my pants,” she choked out between giggles. “I can’t look at you.”

“Thanks, thanks a lot,” he muttered. “I’ll just go hang myself now.”

“No, don’t. I’m sorry, I couldn’t help myself.” She wiped the corners of her eyes. “I’ll be good now, I swear.”

He tilted his head in the most adorable way. “It’s not that bad, is it?”

“It’s the most bizarre thing I’ve ever seen.”

She gave the sweater a long once-over, trying to figure out what the hell she was seeing. It’d been knitted out of pink and green wool, clearly handmade judging by the uneven stitching and lopsided neckline. And as if the pink and green stripes weren’t distracting enough, Cash’s grandmother had stitched an image in the center of the sweater. Jen suspected it was supposed to be Cash, since the disproportioned male figure wore a uniform. A red uniform. With a black helmet. And she didn’t even want to know what he was holding in his hands.

She started to get dizzy from all the colors flashing at her. Pink, green, red, black. She swallowed another gust of laughter. “Is that you?”

His jaw was tighter than a drum. “Yes.”

“Why are you holding a dildo?”

Cash briefly closed his eyes, as if trying to talk himself out of murdering her. “It’s a shotgun.”

“Why would a Navy SEAL carry a shotgun?”

“Because she couldn’t find a pattern for an assault rifle.”

“Oh.” Jen clamped her lips together to stifle another giggle. “And why is the uniform red? Are you supposed to be a guard at Buckingham Palace?”

“Can you just take the fucking picture?”

She was still giggling as she picked up the camera and aimed it at Cash. She took a candid shot, then glanced at the digital display and laughed at the stony expression on his face.

“You have to smile for the next one. Otherwise your grandmother will know exactly what you think of her sweater.”

For the next twenty minutes, Jen had an absolute blast ordering him around. She snapped far more shots than necessary, but she couldn’t help herself. The sight of tough guy Cash in that pink and green sweater was too tempting an opportunity to ignore. She made him pose by the window, in the living room, in the kitchen. Sitting, standing, striking a thoughtful finger-on-the-chin pose.

But all bets were off when she tried to persuade him to lie on the couch in the ultimate male pin-up pose. That’s when he promptly grabbed the camera from her hands and announced he’d had enough.

“We’re done,” he declared, then proceeded to strip off his sweater as if it was covered in ants. “And I’m officially never wearing this thing again.” To punctuate the declaration, he whipped the sweater on the couch. “Now, do you want to grab some lunch at the grill on 4th? I’m in the mood for a steak.”

“At three o’clock in the afternoon?”

“After what you just put me through, I feel like a juicy T-bone is the only thing that will reaffirm my masculinity.”

With a sassy smile, Jen stalked over and cupped his package over his pants. “Mmm. I could go for a juicy T-bone myself.”

He rewarded her with a wicked grin. “Baby, I like the way your mind works.”

“How about my mouth? Do you like the way that works too?” She dropped to her knees and unzipped his pants. He’d gone commando and his erection sprang out with an excited bob.

Licking her lips, she dipped her head and licked a little circle around the head of his cock.

Cash groaned, his hands immediately moving to tangle in her hair. His hips thrust forward, the hard length of him seeking her mouth.

She swiftly pulled back. “Uh-uh, you don’t get any sexy time until you do one thing for me.”

His eyes narrowed. “What’s that?”

“Put the sweater back on.”

Sadie Becker’s first birthday party was in full swing when Cash and Jen arrived the next afternoon. Becker and Jane lived in a modest, two-story home in Coronado, and though the house itself was smaller than most in the area, the backyard made up for that. The large, perfectly manicured lawn was big enough to house a decent-sized swimming pool, a swing set, an enormous pine deck with a table that seated ten, and a stone patio littered with children’s toys.

Bright pink balloons hung from the tall fence surrounding the yard, and tables laden with food had been set up on the patio. A few dozen people milled around the yard, most of whom Cash recognized. Stepping onto the deck, he and Jen dropped Sadie’s gift off with Jane’s older sister, Elizabeth, a tall, slender blonde who looked nothing like her curvy, redheaded sister.

Speaking of the curvy redhead, Cash spotted Jane holding court by the refreshment table, chatting with a few women Cash had never met. She had one-year-old Sadie propped on her hip, and now there was a clear resemblance. The baby had a head of shocking red hair and big blue eyes just like her mother, but the expression of intense consternation on the kid’s face was all Becker.

“Let’s go say hi to everyone,” Jen said, searching the crowd.

Cash longed to hold her hand, but he resisted the urge. They’d already agreed there’d be no PDA today, or anything else that could reveal they’d been sleeping together for the past two weeks. The last thing he wanted to do was get into it with Carson, not in a backyard full of people they knew. Besides, keeping the fling on the down-low was probably for the best, considering it was supposed to end soon.

Supposed to being the operative words.

Because no way was Cash letting this end. For the first time in his life, he’d found a woman he actually connected with. A woman he had no problem communicating with. A woman who captured his attention in and out of bed.

Jen was the quirkiest, funniest, most amazing person he’d ever known. He loved the sound of her laughter. Her sunny smiles. The way she left yellow sticky notes all over the apartment to remind herself to do things. And she’d started leaving him notes, too—this morning he’d found a Post-it on the bathroom mirror, with Jen’s feminine scrawl saying, “Top of the morning to you, cowboy!”

Yeah…he wasn’t ready to let her go yet. Not by a long shot.

“Jen, Cash!” On the steps of the deck, Annabelle waved them over. Next to her were Savannah Harte, Shelby Garrett and a woman Cash didn’t recognize.

“Cash, do you know Mackenzie?” Annabelle asked, gesturing to the woman at her side. “She’s married to Will.”

“It’s nice to meet you.” As he shook Mackenzie’s hand, he couldn’t help but notice what a knockout she was. Tall and slender, with long black hair and blue eyes that sparkled when she smiled at him.

“Will told me about you,” Mackenzie said warmly. “He said you were one of the most determined men he’s ever met and that you kicked ass during BUD/S training.”

Cash hid his surprise. Will actually said that? Receiving a compliment from the brooding SEAL, who was now an instructor on the base, occurred about as often as an eclipse. It surprised him that Lieutenant Will Charleston had mentioned Cash to his wife at all.

“I had no choice,” Cash replied ruefully. “He was too intimidating. Every time I got tempted to quit, I pictured myself ringing that bell while the LT stood there glaring at me, and I knew I couldn’t live with that kind of embarrassment. Is he here today?”

Mackenzie pointed to the pool deck. “Over there.”

He followed her gaze, instantly spotting Will. The mirrored Aviators and unruly black hair were a giveaway, but the menacing air the man exuded during Cash’s training was missing. Probably because Will held a wiggling dark-haired toddler in his arms: his son, Lucas.

John Garrett stood next to Will, also with his hands full—two-year-old Penny kept grabbing at the beer bottle in her father’s hand, which he kept moving out of her grasp.

Garrett’s wife, Shelby, giggled when she saw what her daughter was up to. “She’s got a fascination with bottles of all things,” the blonde revealed. “She tries jamming all her fingers into the bottle like she’s digging for treasure.”

Smiling, Jen searched the yard again. “Hey, are my brother and Holly here?”

“They were,” Annabelle replied. “I don’t know where they disappeared to.”

From the refreshment table, Jane suddenly caught Cash’s eye and flashed him a delighted smile.

“We should say hi to the birthday girl,” Cash said as he waved hello to Jane.

He and Jen drifted away, passing several men Cash knew from the base. He said a few hellos, then caught sight of Dylan and Jackson near the swing set, holding paper plates and munching on appetizers. Ryan and Matt stood a few feet away, beers in their hands, heads bent in deep conversation. He looked around in search of Seth, but their resident badass was MIA. No surprise there—Seth’s dislike of kids was no secret. No doubt he’d already come by to drop off a gift, said a quick hello, and hightailed it home.

“I’m so glad you could make it,” Jane said when they approached.

Baby Sadie made a delighted gurgling sound as her big eyes focused on the new arrivals.

“Hey there,” Jen crooned, leaning in to kiss Sadie’s forehead. “Happy birthday, cutie.”

“Gah!”

Jane grinned. “That means thank-you.” She shifted Sadie to her other hip and gestured to the food table behind her. “We decided not to barbeque—” She rolled her eyes, “—because Becker is scared the smoke from the grill will give our daughter cancer. But Holly prepared a bunch of yummy dishes—there’s like five different kinds of salad, mini sandwiches, apps and a bunch of other finger foods. So help yourself, okay?”

“Everything looks delicious,” Jen said, reaching for two plates. “Where is Holly, by the way?”

Jane wrinkled her brow. “I don’t know. I haven’t seen her since she set up the tables.”

Carson was noticeably absent too. Cash wasn’t sure if that was a good sign, or a bad one. As much as he didn’t want to imagine his lieutenant screwing around, he hoped Carson and Holly were inside getting it on somewhere. At least that would mean they were on their way to fixing the problems between them.

“I’m sure they’ll turn up soon,” Cash said, catching Jen’s frown. “Come on, let’s have something to eat.”

They spent the next twenty minutes chatting with Jane while they scarfed down some food. People drifted over to say hello, including Dylan and Jackson. S~ᴇaʀᴄh the FɪndNøvel.ɴᴇt website on Gøøglᴇ to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.

“So you’re the Texan,” Jen said, giving Jackson a thorough once-over.

Cash knew she liked what she saw. Women went wild for the smooth-talking Texan, with his wavy brown hair and tall muscular frame. The guy lived in faded blue jeans, plaid shirts and combat boots, which made him appear laidback but at the same time tough.

Jackson winked. “And you’re even more beautiful than everyone described, sugar.”

“What the hell, Texas?” Jane grumbled. “Why don’t you ever call me sugar?”

“Why don’t I call you sugar?” Jackson hooked a thumb behind her. “That’s why.”

Next thing Cash knew, Becker was barreling toward them with a surprising spring to his step. “There’s my little angel,” he said happily, in no way resembling the man who’d picked them up at the police station the other night. This Becker was relaxed and overjoyed, smiling broadly as he greeted his kid.

Sadie wiggled in her mother’s arms and stuck out her chubby fists in Becker’s direction. “Gah!” she cried.

Becker gave everyone a brisk nod. “That means dad.” He promptly scooped Sadie out of Jane’s arms and tucked her against his chest.

“It means everything,” Jane muttered under her breath. “It’s the only word she says.”

“Thanks for coming,” Becker told the guys. He glanced at Jen. “You too, Jen. I’m sorry to hear about the troubles you’ve been having with your ex-boyfriend.”

She shrugged. “Thanks, but I think the trouble’s come to an end.”

Cash casually squeezed her arm before she could say more. He didn’t want her bringing up the bar fight and reigniting Becker’s anger.

“So the little princess is growing up,” Cash said, reaching out to touch one of Sadie’s tiny hands.

She immediately curled her whole fist around his index finger and squeezed. Man, the kid was strong. Then again, she was the offspring of Thomas Becker, so no surprise there.

“She sure is.” Becker planted an indulgent kiss on the tuft of red hair atop Sadie’s head. “And she’s smart as a whip. She—” He halted, his eyes narrowing as he gazed at something behind Cash. Then he made an annoyed sound and turned to glare at his wife. “Why the fu-fudge did you invite Steven?”

Jane was clearly braver than Cash and the others, because she didn’t cower under Becker’s hard stare. “It was the polite thing to do.”

“Polite? That lunatic nearly killed our child.”

Cash and Jen exchanged WTF looks.

“It was harmless fun!” Jane shot back.

“Who’s Steven?” Jen asked tentatively.

Becker jammed a finger across the backyard. Everyone followed his gaze, but the only person in their line of sight was a chubby woman with a cherub-cheeked infant in her arms.

“Wait—Steven’s the baby?” Dylan said, looking confused.

“Spawn of Satan,” Becker corrected.

Jane sighed. “Beck tags along for my Mommy and Me program.” Which she sounded incredibly unthrilled about. “Last time we were there, Steven crawled over to Sadie and knocked her over. It was nothing. They both got giggly about it and wiggled around on the floor afterwards.”

Becker looked livid. “That baby had malevolence in his eyes, Jane. He knew exactly what he was doing when—”

“Who wants to help me refill the beer cooler?” Jane interrupted, turning away from her husband.

Cash spoke first. “I’ll do it.”

He resisted doing a victory dance as Dylan, Jackson, and Jen all scowled at him in betrayal. Whatever. He didn’t feel the slightest bit of remorse over saddling them with Becker. Babies with malevolence in their eyes? Fatherhood had clearly turned the commander into a crazy person.

Besides, Cash had been hoping to get Jane alone today. Now that the opportunity had presented itself, he pounced on it, trailing after the redhead as she headed for the house.

“We stored all the alcohol in the fridge in the basement.” Jane opened a door in the hallway, pulled a metal string, and light illuminated a narrow staircase.

“I’m glad we have a moment alone,” Cash said as they trudged down to the basement. “There was something I wanted to talk to you about.”

She looked intrigued. “Okay.”

The Beckers’ basement was unfinished, a large dusty room cluttered with boxes. Jane walked over to a large freezer against the far wall and leaned in to grab a case of beer, which Cash promptly took from her hands and set on the floor. “Let me do it. How many cases do you want to bring out?”

“Two or three should be fine.”

As he grabbed two more and added them to the pile, Jane leaned against the wall. “So what did you want to talk about?”

He hesitated before reaching into his back pocket for the flash drive he’d shoved there. Guilt pricked his gut. He hated going behind Jen’s back, but he knew that if left to her own devices, she would keep stalling, the way she had for the past five days.

Despite her insistence that she was ready to seriously pursue photography, she’d already started second-guessing herself again, this time with the photos she wanted to include in her portfolio. Since no papers or magazines in the area had any open full-time positions, her best bet was to submit work to a bunch of places in hopes of landing a freelance gig, but the way she was agonizing over this portfolio, it would take years before she sent any submissions out.

That’s why he’d wanted to talk to Jane. Before marrying Becker, she’d worked for a big-time magazine in L.A., and Cash was hoping she could put feelers out with her former editor. But he knew they’d need to see Jen’s work, and he also knew Jen wouldn’t dream of sending stuff to such a prestigious publication.

Cash shifted his feet. “You still keep in contact with your editor at Today’s World, right?”

“Yeah, why?”

He rolled the flash drive between his fingers, battling another pang of guilt as he remembered how he’d snuck onto Jen’s laptop when she was in the shower earlier and copied her entire picture folder onto this drive.

“Jen’s a photographer,” he started. “And she’s damn good.”

“Really? I had no idea.”

“She doesn’t advertise it. And I don’t think she realizes how talented she actually is, but trust me, she’s the real deal. The thing is, she’s too scared to show her work to anyone. She just started researching where she can submit to, but I remembered that you worked at Today’s World and I figured it wouldn’t hurt to ask you to take a look at this.” He held out the USB stick. “All her stuff is on this.”

Jane tucked it in her front pocket. “Sure, I’d be happy to take a look. And if her photographs are as good as you say, I’m happy to forward them to the photo editor at TW. He’s always on the lookout for talented freelancers.”

“Wow, that would be amazing. Thanks, Jane.”

She tilted her head pensively. “Why didn’t Jen just ask me herself?”

“Um…well, she doesn’t exactly know I’m talking to you. Actually, if you don’t mind, I’d like it if we kept this between us.”

Her bewilderment grew. “Why?”

“I don’t want her to think I’m overstepping my bounds and messing around with her career. She’s got this blog where she posts her pictures. I can send you the link, and if your editor likes her work and wants to meet with her, maybe he can pretend he came across her blog.” Cash offered a sheepish shrug. “That way Jen will feel like she did it on her own, you know?”

Jane stared at him, slack-jawed.

“What?” he mumbled.

“You’re sleeping with her,” she accused.

“No,” he said in a half-ass denial. “We’re friends, that’s all.”

“Bullshit.” Jane grinned. “You’re sleeping together. And not only that, but you care about her, don’t you?”

Continuing to deny it was fruitless. Jane would see right through it.

“Yeah, I care about her.”

“A lot.”

“A lot,” he conceded.

“Oh, Hot Stuff, you’ve really gone and done it now.”

Cash arched a brow. Hot Stuff?

As if reading his mind, she waved a hand. “Yeah, that’s what all the wives and girlfriends call you. Deal with it. Anyway, you know Carson will kick your ass, right?”

“I know.” He let out a breath. “I tried to keep my hands off her, but she was determined to seduce me.”

Jane laughed. “How long did you manage to hold out for?”

“Two days.”

“That’s actually pretty impressive, considering that…well, that you’re a man.” She paused. “What about Jen? Does she feel the same way?”

Discomfort rippled through him. “She insists we’re only having a fling.”

“Becker insisted the same thing when we first got together. Don’t worry, they always come to their senses eventually.”

He had to smile. “That’s reassuring.”

“She’d be crazy not to want something more. You’re a great guy, Hot Stuff. A real catch. She’ll figure it out sooner or later.”

“I hope so.”

Jane stood on her tiptoes and kissed his cheek. “She will. Now, will you be a doll and carry these cases upstairs for me?”

“Sure thing.”

Her sandals clicked on the wooden steps as she hurried up them. Cash bent and picked up the cases, easily carting all three up the stairs. He was two feet from the kitchen when a familiar voice caught his attention.

“Can we please just talk about this?”

Carson.

He followed the voice to a closed door off to the left. The hall bathroom, he guessed, and when a female voice joined Carson’s, Cash realized the lieutenant wasn’t alone.

“For God’s sake, we’re at Sadie’s birthday party. We can talk about this later.”

Holly.

Cash breathed a sigh of relief. Okay, well, at least Carson was in there with his wife, and not some member of the catering staff.

He felt guilty for even considering the latter as a legit possibility, but the memory of Carson with another woman hadn’t left Cash’s head. Unfortunately, the identity of the woman remained a mystery since Carson was once again avoiding Jen’s phone calls.

“You can’t tell me seeing Penny and Sadie and Lucas doesn’t make you want the same thing for us.”

“What I want is to fix this rift between us. A baby isn’t the solution, Carson.”

“It’ll bring us closer together, you know it will. And I’m ready for this.” He sounded desperate. “Besides, it’ll be nice for our kid to be around other kids his age. He’ll have an instant playmate in Penny and—”

Holly cut in angrily. “You want to knock me up so that Garrett and Shelby’s daughter has someone to play with?”

Cash stifled a sigh. Carson was really digging himself into a hole.

“That’s not the only reason. I’m getting older, babe. I just turned thirty-four. I don’t want to be an old dad.”

“Then you shouldn’t have married a woman who’s five years younger than you! You should’ve married one whose biological clock lines up with yours!”

Edging away from the doorway, Cash readjusted his grip on the beer cases. He felt like a shit for eavesdropping, especially now that the argument had treaded into TMI territory.

But he didn’t escape fast enough—the bathroom door suddenly swung open and Holly flew into the hall.

She froze when she spotted him, instantly reaching up to wipe the tears welling up in her eyes. Her mouth opened as if she wanted to say something, but then a little sob escaped and she hurried past him. She rushed out the front door, which slammed with gusto.

A second later, Carson burst out of the bathroom, frustration clearly etched into his features.

When he saw Cash, some of the craziness left his eyes. “You heard all that?” he said in a weary voice.

Cash nodded.

“Fuck. Fuck. I don’t know what to do anymore, man. I can’t fucking stand having her mad at me all the time.” Carson raked both hands through his blond hair, then took a determined step. “I have to go after her.”

Cash hastily moved into the other man’s path. “I think you should probably give her some space.”

“Space,” Carson echoed, his tone wary.

“Hold up, let me put these away.” Without waiting for an answer, he quickly ducked into the kitchen and dropped the beer cases on the counter.

When he returned to the hall, he studied Carson’s ravaged face and softened his tone. “Let her be for a while. Maybe Jen should go and talk to her. They’re close, right?”

“My sister’s the one who got my wife riled up in the first place,” Carson snapped. “She filled her head with all these ideas about how we’re not communicating. Like Jenny’s one to dish out relationship advice, for fuck’s sake. Any advice, for that matter. Her taste in men sucks, she can’t hold a damn job, she’s the biggest underachiever I’ve ever known, she—”

“Enough,” Cash growled.

Carson blinked in shock. “What the fuck, McCoy?”

“Don’t talk about Jen like that,” he snapped, trying to control his anger. “I get that she’s your little sister, but she’s not a child, Carson. She’s a grown woman, and it’s pretty fucking sad that you don’t know a thing about her. She’s intelligent and kind and talented and she deserves a helluva lot more respect than what you give her.”

Deafening silence followed.

Cash caught his breath, instantly regretting the outburst, but the damage had already been done.

Understanding dawned on Carson’s face, along with the hard glint of accusation. “You’re sleeping with her.”

Cash held the eye contact. “Yes.”

“You’re sleeping with my sister. Jesus Christ, McCoy. I told you I didn’t want you messing around with Jenny.”

“Jen,” Cash corrected. “And yes, I didn’t listen to you, okay? But I don’t regret getting involved with her. I care about her. She’s amazing, and it’s a damn shame you can’t see that.”

Carson clearly heard the possessive note in Cash’s voice, because his eyes blazed again. “You care about her? You expect me to buy that?”

“It’s the truth.”

Carson swore savagely. “This ends now. I don’t want you playing games with Jenny.”

“I’m not playing games,” he said evenly, crossing his arms. “And I’m not ending it. I told you, I care about—”

For the second time that week, a fist came flying at Cash’s face.

And yet again, the knuckles caught him in the side of the mouth, ripping open the cut that had just began to heal. Blood spurted and dripped down his chin, but this time Cash didn’t fight back.

He just stood there and eyed Carson. “You done?”

The other man was breathing heavily, his fists clenched as he glared at Cash like he wanted to kill him. “Yeah, I’m done,” Carson spat out. “And so is your involvement with my sister.”

“What the hell is going on?”

Both men spun to see Jen standing at the end of the hall. Shock and horror contorted her features. When she caught sight of Cash’s face, she raced over and damned if she didn’t blot the blood on his lip with the sleeve of her thin blue cardigan.

Keeping her sleeve there to staunch the blood flow, she turned to glower at her brother. “What the hell is the matter with you?”

“Me?” Carson said bitterly. “What’s the matter with you? You’re the one sleeping with McCoy.”

Jen remained completely unfazed. “So what if I am? Who I sleep with is none of your business.”

“It is when it’s my teammate you’re fucking.”

She flinched, but recovered quickly. “So what?” she said again. “You just said it—Cash is your teammate. He’s your friend. I don’t see how you can be so opposed to this.”

“I’m opposed because I know the way he operates,” Carson retorted, speaking as if Cash wasn’t standing right there. “He doesn’t do relationships. One-night stands and casual flings, that’s all he’s interested in, isn’t that right, McCoy?”

Cash decided now wasn’t the time to admit he wanted more with Jen, so he wisely kept his mouth shut.

“You deserve better than that,” Carson told his sister. “You deserve someone who’ll love you and honor you and—”

“Are you kidding me?” she interrupted.

She dropped her sleeve from Cash’s mouth and got right in her brother’s face—well, more like his chest, seeing as Carson was a foot taller than her. But Jen didn’t back down, and her petite frame vibrated with anger.

“You’re such a hypocrite, Carson! Love and honor? Isn’t that what you promised your wife when you recited those wedding vows?”

Carson jerked as if he’d been shot. “What the fuck does Holly have to do with this?”

“You tell me,” Jen snapped. “Were you loving and honoring her when you were sneaking around meeting your little angel?”

Her brother’s face paled.

“Jen,” Cash said cautiously. “Maybe now is not the time to—”

“Now is definitely the time, Cash! He’s standing here passing judgment on us when we both know what he’s been up to.” She glared at her brother. “Who was that redhead you met at Starbucks?”

Carson’s ashen face took on a hint of defeat, and his broad shoulders sagged beneath his white button-down.

For a moment, Cash felt a pang of sympathy for the guy, which intensified when he remembered the heart-wrenching argument Carson and Holly had been having only minutes ago. He suspected there was more to the story than he and Jen would ever know, but rather than clarify or explain, Carson simply released a ragged breath.

“I’m not talking about this with you,” he mumbled, edging away.

Jen gaped at him. “That’s it? You’re just going to avoid the subject? Cash and I saw you. And I heard you on the phone with another woman. Not even an explanation?”

“I don’t owe you any explanations.”

“Well, then apparently I don’t owe you one either.” She looked at Cash. “We should go.”

He touched his swollen lip and his hand came back stained red. “You’re probably right.”

“Why don’t you clean up your face and wait for me here?” she said tersely. “I’ll tell Jane and everyone you said goodbye. That way you won’t have to go out there and scare the kids with all that blood.”

Without sparing a glance at her brother, Jen marched away.

The two men remained, eyeing each other. Cash cleared his throat, knowing he ought to say something, anything, but he couldn’t bring himself to apologize. Not about his feelings for Jen, anyway.

Unfortunately, Carson didn’t give him a chance to speak. With one final scowl, the man stalked off and then the front door slammed again.

Shit. This was one headache he definitely didn’t need.

Cash ducked into the bathroom and studied his face in the mirror. He was no longer bleeding, but his mouth and jaw were bathed in blood, making him look like an extra in a horror movie. Sighing, he turned the faucet and bent to wash the blood off. He dried his face using toilet paper, not wanting to use Jane and Becker’s white hand towels in case the cut reopened.

When he stepped back in the hall, Jen was waiting, her mouth set in an angry line. “I can’t believe him,” she muttered. “I know my brother can be an asshole, but this was something else.”

“Don’t be too hard on him. I think he was angrier with himself than with me. I kind of showed up at the tail end of his argument with Holly.”

“They were fighting?”

“Yeah, and Carson took out his frustration on me. I’m sure he’ll come crawling back with an apology once he cools down.”

At least he hoped so. Because no matter what Carson thought—or wanted—Cash had no intention of walking away from Jen.