Page 31 of Raging Fires

Turning, she looked into the kitchen. It was clear of boxes. She stepped inside—nothing was at a great distance in this place—and saw that all her small appliances were set out on the counters and plugged in. She opened the low cabinet next to the stove. Her pots and pans were stacked inside. The cabinet above the counter held the dinnerware. A little amazed, she opened the cabinet over the coffee-maker, and there were her glasses and coffee mugs.

He had arranged everything in the same order she put things. Not in the haphazard way he tended toward, but in the neat, organized style he used to tease her about. There was a little pang in her chest. She opened the drawers and closed them. Utensils in plastic trays and in the drawers she would have chosen.

She tip-toed into the living room and peeked into his ‘bedroom.’ It held a couple of boxes and a twin mattress lying on the floor against the wall. She started toward the bedroom, but stopped to look down at Jake. He was zonked out, his face almost boyish in his sleep, a piece of hair straggling across his forehead. Kelli gazed at him for moment, that small ache in her chest widening. She still thought he was the best-looking guy in the world. And right now she couldn’t even be irritated with him. The only thing he’d done wrong was keep the A/C at subzero temperatures like she hated, but she hadn’t even mentioned that in her rules rundown so she couldn’t exactly be pissed about it.

Kelli walked into the bedroom and was no longer surprised to find that her bed had been cleared of clothes. About half of them had been jammed into the narrow space that was laughably termed a closet, and the rest he’d dumped on the chair. He hadn’t attempted to put anything away in her dresser, thank goodness. She didn’t like to think of him handling all her underwear and bras.

She sat down on her bed. This was so like Jake—an apology or admission that he was wrong rarely came out of his mouth, but he’d do something sweet to make up. More, it was a statement that he intended to stay. And he would make an effort to get along.

Jake didn’t lie or make promises he didn’t intend to keep. But he often let things slide, putting them off or forgetting or beginning and not following through. This was different. Did it mean he’d actually changed? Or was it just one of those temporary bursts of good intentions that would soon fade?

Not that it really mattered, she reminded herself. It wasn’t like Jake was still hers.

Chapter Sixteen

Jake sat up stiffly. He ached in lots of places, particularly his neck. It wasn’t really surprising, he guessed, since he’d spent the night sleeping on the couch and before that had a monster workout. He stood up and twisted, letting things pop and stretch. He headed for the bathroom, but detoured to take a peek into Kelli’s room to make sure she was there. He had meant to stay up last night to walk with her from the bar—no matter how much of a badass Kelli thought she was, he didn’t like the thought of her walking around alone at 2:30 in the morning. But once he’d stopped putting stuff up and sat down, he hadn’t been able to keep his eyes open.

Next stop was the kitchen to make coffee. He was better in the mornings than Kelli was, but he needed a shot of caffeine. He thought about making some breakfast, but he didn’t want to look like he was trying to get back on her good side, and besides, there weren’t any eggs.

He filled the coffee maker and stood there waiting for it to work. He’d done a lot of thinking as he had worked yesterday. Apparently it was a consensus opinion that he had been an asshole back then. Which meant Kelli was probably right to divorce him. He’d thought about explaining to her how he had changed. But, really, what was the point in that? It wasn’t like she would come back to him, and he didn’t want her to, anyway.

The floor creaked and Jake looked across the kitchen bar to see Kelli standing in the hall doorway. She had on loose shorts and a tank top, and her hair was a mess. And all he wanted to do was pick her up and carry her back to the bed. He didn’t love her anymore, but she still turned him on like nobody else.

Business, Jake. This was all business. “Hey, Kell.”

“Hi.” Her voice was soft and still a little rough from sleep. “Thanks for doing all this.” She swept her hand around the room. “You didn’t have to unpack my stuff.”

“I did if I wanted to get to the bathroom,” he joked.

“Well, thank you anyway.” She turned and went back down the hall.

The next time she appeared, she was wearing jeans and a t-shirt, which she also looked hot in, but unfortunately she’d put on a bra beneath her shirt. “Want some breakfast?” she asked as she came into the kitchen. “Oh, wait, no eggs.” She opened the refrigerator. “No milk either, so no cereal. Would you like some toast?”

“Sure.” He crossed his arms and leaned against the counter, watching her get out small plates and slices of bread. “Though I have to tell you, there’s no butter either.”

“Damn. You’re right. Clearly I’m going to have to go to the grocery store this morning.”

“I can do that if you need to go to work,” he offered and she shot him a skeptical look. “Hey, I can find my way through a grocery store. If you give me a list.”

“Don’t you have football things you need to do?”

“Organized workouts haven’t started yet. I had a good workout yesterday. Today I’ll probably just run here in the neighborhood.” That way he could check it out to see how dangerous the area was these days.

Kelli’s was turned away from him, watching the toaster like it might explode or something. “Jake, listen... I’m sorry about yesterday.”

“No problem,” he cut her off before she could get into it. “Nothing I didn’t already know.” He turned toward the living room, so they were both talking to air. “Look. I realize this is all just a business arrangement. We don’t have to like each other, but it’d be better if we could get along.”

She cleared her throat. “Sure.”

“So I’m going to do like you said and follow the rules. I’m not going to tease you or scare off your boyfriends.”

“I don’t have any boyfriends.”

“Doesn’t matter. You will. Me too.”

“You’ll have boyfriends? That’s new.”

He grimaced. “You know what I mean. I’ll have dates, too.”