The Summer He Came Home (Bad Boys of Crystal Lake 1)

“Powers of persuasion.”

Cain nodded. “Bolt cutters, to be exact.” He sighed, a long exaggerated noise. “Eventually the law caught up to us, or rather Jesse. Two detectives showed up at the Edwardses’ door and he led them to where we’d buried him.” Cain grimaced. “Jesse was willing to take the fall for the rest of us, but we couldn’t let that happen, especially since it was really Jake’s idea. So we all came forward.”

Maggie looked confused and then slightly horrified. He had her.

“It wasn’t pretty, and the story made headlines in all the local papers. We were legends.” He grinned. “They called us ‘the Hamburglars’ in Indiana.”

“What?” Her tone was slightly pissed off and nearing more than a little annoyed.

“Yep, we buried Ronald McDonald out by Varini’s garbage dump, but he looked pretty damn good when we dug him up, considering he’d been buried beneath a bunch of crap for eleven months.”

“You stole a Ronald McDonald and buried him for eleven months.”

“It was a high school prank, and sure we got into a lot of trouble, but it was worth it. Hell, they still talk about it.” He laughed. “The damn thing was so big, it’s head and feet stuck out the windows of Jake’s Civic all the way home. Can you imagine? Those big honking feet? That goofy smile?”

“Really?” she said drily, and he knew she was trying her hardest not to laugh. “Sounds like a blast, but you have a record, so I don’t think it was that smart.”

He shook his head. “Nope. I’m no criminal. The charges were thrown out and the arrests expunged from our records, so you don’t have to worry I’ll be a bad influence on Michael.”

His hand closed around her wrist, and her energy tingled along his flesh. It was a connection unlike any he’d had before, and the thought of exploring it was like a physical ache. “So, you coming?”

Maggie muttered something under her breath. He couldn’t quite catch it, but thought he heard the words arrogant and bastard and maybe dumbass.

She did however follow him from the office.

“I have to finish up your mom’s kitchen.” They’d just cleared the stairs and stood in the foyer of the house. Sunlight filtered into the large open space from the floor-to-ceiling windows on either side of the door, and it haloed Maggie in a wash of light that took his breath away. Her hair was on fire, her skin luminous.

Maggie tapped her toe and nodded toward the kitchen. “I’m not done here, and honestly, I’ll be a while, so tonight is probably not good.”

“I’ll help you.”

“No!” She shook her head and moved away from him. “No.” She swore loudly several times and this time made no effort to mute her words. No longer annoyed, she was angry.

“I don’t need your help. I’m a maid, Cain. I clean houses to pay my bills. I clean your mother’s toilets, and I scrub her floors. I clean half of Crystal Lake, for God sake. That is what I do.” She threw her hands up in the air and took a few steps away from him. Her chest heaved and her cheeks were flushed with heat.

He had no idea why she was getting so worked up, but he sure as hell liked it. She was sexy when she was mad.

She turned, and he was surprised at the unshed tears that hovered behind her eyes. “I’m not a model or a movie star or a groupie or… I’m none of those things, Cain. I’m a maid and a mom, and I don’t get what this is. What you want.” She exhaled, and his insides twisted and melted at the look on her face. “What is this, Cain? What do you expect to happen between us?”

He knew she was confused. Hell, so was he.

“I don’t know,” he answered truthfully. “But I think it could be something special and real. In my world, special doesn’t come around a whole hell of a lot. It’s hidden beneath layers of greed or ambition. So when it does…” His thoughts turned to Jesse and Raine and all that they’d lost. “When it does, you need to grab hold of it, or you’re a fool.”

Cain walked past her. “I’m helping you clean this kitchen, and then I’m going to drive you home. You’re going to sit outside with a glass of wine and relax while Michael and I prepare supper.” He glanced over his shoulder and grinned. “That’s what this is, right now, at this moment.”

***

“That was cool, and good thing Mommy decided to stay on the deck, ’cause all those slimy dead fish would have totally grossed her out.”

Cain laughed. “Well, good to see you’ve got the stomach to be a fisherman.” He winked. “And next time I take you out, I promise I’ll teach you how to clean them.”

Maggie’s voice slid between them. “Michael, make sure you use lots of soap and scrub beneath your fingernails, please.”

The kid looked up at him, eyes wide. “See? She sees everything.”

Cain grinned and glanced back at Maggie. She sat in a chair on the deck, and as promised, a glass of wine had been provided. Cain had brought all the fixings, salad, and potatoes. Of course, the salad had been premade at the grocer, and the potatoes were i

n fact a container of store-bought potato salad, but hell, it would do.