The Perfect Storm (The Blake Boys Book 6) (11 page)

“Sure you don’t want breakfast?” J.J. opened the car door for her. It felt nice waking up with her in his arms.

“I would love to take you up on the offer but I have to be work in a few hours.”

“Runaway kids again?” he asked.

“No, it’s a soccer game. I serve as the referee for the ex-wife and current wife of a client. They’ve had some public altercations before and he figured it was just cheaper to have someone running interference to save on court costs.”

“How about I take you out after you’re done? We can go anywhere you like.” J.J. caressed her arm.

She fastened a button he’d missed on his shirt. “You wouldn’t happen to know of any nice, intimate gun ranges?”

He raised an eyebrow. “A simple lunch date too boring for you?”

“I have to qualify my weapon in a few weeks. I could use the practice.” Sam slid into her SUV.

“As a matter of fact, I do know of a range that would suit you.” J.J. kissed her and closed her door.

J.J. heard the coughing sounds behind him, but ignored them. When the noise got louder, he slowly turned around to see Tyler and Channing standing in the doorway.

“Good morning.” Tyler and Channing waved.

He tried to block their view of her, but it was too late. When Sam waved back and got out of the car, his brothers took it as a sign to come over.

“Aren’t you going to introduce us?” Channing smiled.

“Samantha Jane, you know Tyler and Channing,” he mumbled.

“Nice to meet you, Channing.” Sam shook Channing’s hand. “Tyler and I know each other.”

“Kick Ass Sam, what brings my favorite private security specialist to the ranch?” Tyler moved in for a hug, but J.J. stepped in front of her.

“Oh, hanging out with your big brother. Are you staying out of trouble?” She smiled.

“I try. But just to be sure, you keep that passport updated.” Tyler grinned.

She raised an eyebrow. “I always do. What woman are you running from now?”

“Last month he did an undignified sprint down the road….” Channing tried to get out but Tyler jabbed him in the ribs.

“I’d stop running for you, Sam. Just say the word.” Tyler winked.

J.J. gave Tyler a deadly look.

“There’s never a dull moment with you, Tyler.” Sam got back in the car and looked at J.J. “The soccer game should be over around twelve.”

“I’ll pick you up at one.” J.J. ducked his head in and gave her a quick kiss. He watched as she drove down the road, missing her already.

“She is hot.” Channing grinned.

Tyler whistled. “You sly dog. What were you doing with Kick Ass Sam Carson?”

“How long have you two been home?” J.J. barked.

“You first. Why don’t you tell us all about her while you fix us breakfast? Unless you want momma and daddy to know you snuck a girl into the house.” Channing folded his arms across his chest.

J.J. sighed and counted the hours until one o’clock.

* * *

J.J. slammed a dozen eggs onto the counter so hard half of them cracked in the carton. He was a grown man and didn’t have to offer any explanations, but he didn’t want to add his parents to the mix. Tyler and Channing thought they had the upper hand, and he let them think it. But by the time they’d made their way to the kitchen, Seth and Tate were walking through the door.

“I want some waffles too. Don’t forget to add an extra dash of love.” Tyler smirked as he leaned against the counter.

Tate plopped down in a chair. “If you are doing the bidding of those two, I’m almost glad I got out of bed.”

“Good morning. What’s the non-emergency, emergency?” Seth yawned.

J.J. looked at his brother who looked frazzled. “Late night?”

“I spent most of the evening assembling that Little Tots Gymboree that Uncle Tate bought the boys this weekend.” Seth rubbed the back of his neck.

“Gymboree?” J.J. looked at Tate.

“The boys need something to help sharpening their motor skills.” Tate shrugged.

“They’re cutting in on his private time with Isabelle.” Channing made eyes at Tate.

“Let’s get back to the reason we’ve come together. We caught J.J. escorting our Sam out of here a little while ago.” Tyler spied J.J.’s technique as he mixed the batter.

“So I guess there are no more monsters under your bed.” Seth snagged a piece of bacon off the serving tray.

“Shut up.” J.J. rotated the waffle maker.

“Finally, he’s getting laid. You didn’t forget how that all works, did you?” Tate grinned.

“And she is hot.” Tyler took a bite out of an apple.

“Well, she is. There’s a reason her name rhymes with ‘damn.’” Channing began setting the table.

“Tyler, how often does Sam save your neck?” J.J. asked.

Tyler flashed a cheesy grin. “I plead the fifth.”

“Forget about his shenanigans. Are you dating Sam or what?” Tate grumbled as he got out the silverware.

“Yes. As a matter of fact, we have a date this afternoon.” J.J. shook his head as the brothers did celebratory high fives. “Alright, sit down and let’s eat. Who’s saying grace?”

“It’s Seth’s turn.”

Seth nodded. “We are fortunate to have a bounty of good food and family at this table. As we change and grow we are thankful that the bond of this family expands and is fortified with lots of love, patience and understanding. We are especially grateful that our big brother has met a great lady that makes him smile, something we haven’t seen in a very long time.”

“Amen,” the brothers shouted.

* * *

J.J. was elated that he and Sam decided to give their relationship a chance, and even though she confirmed that she thought of Bubba as a friend, he had the feeling Bubba may have felt more for her. The way he talked about her, and hunting down those cigars she liked were indicators that he was sweet on her, whether he acted on it or not. Bubba had been back to work for a while, but J.J. was out of town with business meetings. He decided it would be better to have the talk with his friend face to face, so it was the first on his to-do list when he went into the office on Thursday.

Bubba’s office was down the hall but today it felt like it was five miles away. J.J. knocked on the door to find Bubba knee deep in work, as usual. Files lay strewn about his desk and he was frantically tapping away at his keyboard.

“Hey, Bubba. How was your vacation?”

“My dad and I had a great time.”

“Well you look good. I see got a tan too.” J.J. looked him over.

“My dad has mellowed a lot. It was good to sit down and talk.”

“That’s good. Did he bring up settling down again?” J.J. took a seat in a chair.

“As a matter of fact he did. I told him about Felicia.” Bubba pulled at his collar.

“You did?” J.J. raised an eyebrow.

“We had such a great time at the wedding then I went away for a month, and all I did was think about her.” Bubba smiled.

J.J. breathed a sigh of relief. This wasn’t going to be hard at all. “I’m glad to hear it. Felicia is a great woman. I think she’s perfect for you.”

“I don’t mean to rush you, but I have to get ready for my appointment with Sam Carson from Regency. It’s time for the annual audit.” Bubba smoothed straightened his tie.

J.J. was taken aback for a moment. “Anna Beth should have removed that from your calendar. The audit has already been done. As a matter of fact, that green folder over there is the analysis as well as the changes Sam wants to implement.”

“Oh. You met with Sam?”

“Yes, I did. Funny, you never mentioned that Sam was a woman all these years.” J.J. crossed his arms over his chest.

“I’m sure I did.”

“No, you didn’t.” J.J. shot back.

“What difference does it make?”

J.J. rubbed the back of his neck, then cracked his knuckles. For some reason the words just wouldn’t come out of his mouth.

Bubba glared at him. “What did you do?”

“Sam and I worked on the audit together and we got to know each other. Now we’re…sort of seeing each other.”

“Sort of? That’s like being sort of pregnant. Either you’re seeing her or you’re not.” Bubba snapped the pencil he’d picked up.

“OK. We’re dating.”

“You’re dating my Sam?”

J.J. balked. “Your Sam? I thought you had a Felicia? Besides, it’s been three years. When were you going to make a move? Year four?”

“You don’t just run up on a woman like that. It requires a calculated approach, and frankly I lost my nerve.”

“Look, I feel like I had to tell you what happened.”

Both men went quiet for a few minutes. J.J. didn’t know what else to say, and Bo looked like he wanted to strangle him.

“You lucky bastard,” Bo finally said, grinning.

* * *

Deciding to take things slow was harder than J.J. thought. He’d promised himself he wouldn’t go rushing in like some love-sick fool because he was attracted to the woman. He’d made that mistake with Eden. Sam was beautiful, funny, and sharp as a tack. Her attention to detail was amazing, and she was very intuitive with people. But if he liked her, why play games? Why not just tell her how he felt? Because it was way too soon.”

But he totally ignored his own advice and asked if she’d wanted to attend their family barbecue. When she said yes, he started thinking maybe he’d put too much thought into a simple invitation.

The ladies were setting up the backyard by the time J.J. came downstairs. Today’s activities included damn good food, music, dancing and of course a grueling but friendly game of touch football. His knee had been feeling much better since he returned from Denver and he was jogging with Seth whenever he could to exercise it.

“Is there anything I can do to help?” J.J. asked as he walked into the kitchen.

“I think we have everything covered.” Teri-Lyn said.

“So whose idea was it for a spritely game of touch football today?” Morgan asked.

“I thought it would be good for Seth to work that ankle before training starts.” J.J. smiled.

“And you get to show off for Sam. She is coming today, isn’t she?” Isabelle said as she pulled bowls out of the cupboard.

He popped a potato chip in his mouth. “I’m on my way to pick her up now.”

“John John, you should take her some flowers,” Teri-Lyn said. “I bet she’d like that.”

“Get her something with lilies.” Morgan mused.

“Will do.” J.J. grabbed his Stetson.

“I can’t wait to meet her,” Teri-Lyn said. “Hard to believe she’s been working with Blake Enterprises all these years and we’ve never met.”

“She says that’s part of their job, to stay in the background,” J.J. replied.

“Well, we won’t have any of that today. She’ll be front and center. But just to be sure we make a good impression, I told the boys to behave and not give you a hard time.” Teri-Lyn kissed him on the cheek.

J.J. was feeling optimistic about the day. It was funny how happy a simple gathering with the family made him feel so good. He stopped at the florist, as instructed, and picked up a lovely flower arrangement filled with pink roses, lilies and lilacs. He was going to spend the day with his family, and a woman who made his pulse quicken and his dick stand at attention every time he saw her. Life didn’t get any better than that.

“What beautiful flowers!” Sam smiled as she opened the door. “I just want to put these in water and—”

J.J. didn’t let her finish. He pulled her in for a kiss. Sam relaxed against his body as he put his hands on her waist and put her flush against his erection.

“I missed you,” he whispered. So much for playing it cool.

She chuckled. “I may have thought about you once or twice this week.”

“Do I have you all to myself today?”

“All clear,” She cooed. “I have someone else covering my emergencies today. So…when we’re finished at the barbecue, you’re welcome to come back here so I can take advantage of you.”

“Hell, let’s skip the barbecue.” J.J. backed her into the living room.

“As much as I’d like to take your belt off with my teeth, I’m hungry.” She rubbed her cheek against his.

“Fair enough.” His chest rumbled with laughter.

“I just have to get the banana pudding I made.”

“Hmmm. How about we take that banana pudding and a spoon into your bedroom and call it a day?”

She poked his stomach and shooed him toward the door. “Nice try.”

By the time J.J. and Sam returned, the party had gotten underway. He held her hand led her through his parents’ house and into the back yard.

“Everyone, you remember Sam.”

“Hi everyone, so nice to be here today.” Sam waved to the crowd of Blakes.

“Sam, nice to meet you. Let’s get you something to eat.” Teri-Lyn came over with one of the twins in her arms, who lunged at her immediately.

“Hi, Colby.” Sam smiled as she caught the toddler and handed J.J. the dessert.

“How did you know that he was Colby?” Teri-Lyn asked.

“Connor takes a few minutes to warm up, but Colby dives right in.” Colby grabbed onto the pockets of her shirt and giggled.

“Told you they know what they’re doing,” J.J. mused.

“Hi, Sam!” Tyler and Channing flashed cheesy smiles and waved.

Before he could blink the Blake women had absconded with Sam. J.J. walked over to the table where his brothers were sitting. Bubba was there too.

“Glad you could make it.” J.J. beamed.

“It’s good to see him back on the ranch,” Tate agreed.

Bubba sighed. “You know, I never had a passion for ranch life.”

“That’s why we did all the ranch chores and you did the homework.” Tate laughed.

Bubba was always quiet and more introverted than the rest of them. He excelled at intellectual pursuits while they rough housed and played sports. But he was family. They always included him in the group and didn’t push when he begged off.

“You ready to get your butt whooped?” Tyler yelled.

“Talkin’ trash already?” J.J. yelled back.

Jake rounded the corner of the house soaking wet, holding a brush. Seth and Rowdy followed. “Uncle J.J., I gave Rowdy a bath.”

“You did?” J.J. took a look at him. “Or was it the other way around?”

“I’ll be in the house in a minute to clean you up.” Seth put a towel around Jake. Rowdy followed behind him wagging his tail.