barreled in. “Ice Man, my hero!” The woman’s hands cupped Barclay’s cheeks and she kissed him full on the lips.
Molly sipped at her lukewarm tea, taking note of the affectionate exchange. One of his many conquests, no doubt.
“Angel, you’re going to make me beat his worthless ass.” The tall, dark and incredibly handsome man accompanying the beauty looped his arm around her waist, pulling her away from Barclay and back to him. He kissed her neck. “You know how I get.”
Barclay grinned and shook his head. “Molly, meet one of the most possessive son of a bitches to ever get married, Quinn Matisse, and his wife, Cassie.” He extended an open hand to her. “This is Molly. We just met tonight and, as you can see, she’s had a rough evening.”
“Nice to meet you.” Quinn’s eyebrows dipped when he looked at her. He slid onto the seat next to Barclay, who gently wrapped his hand around her bandaged ankle and lifted it onto his thigh, evidently to make room for his friend. Once Quinn sat, their broad shoulders met, creating quite a wall of macho muscles.
Cassie sat next to her and reached for her husband’s hand before turning a warm smile on Molly. “I’m happy to meet you.” She peeled the ice pack away from Molly’s cheek and winced. “Looks like Ice Man’s been busy doing some first aid work.”
“Yes. The man carries around a portable operating room.”
“So does my Quinn. It comes with the job.”
Sarah came over to get their orders, so conversation stopped.
The heat from Barclay’s thigh warmed Molly’s ankle, ice pack or no ice pack. If she slid her foot over just a couple of inches, it would touch his manhood. Her gaze rose to lock on Barclay’s and a slow, sexy smile spread as if he read her thoughts. The heat of a flush spread just as slowly across her cheeks.
Quinn aimed a raised eyebrow to Barclay or, Ice Man, as the two apparent newlyweds called him. In response to Quinn’s silent question, Barclay never mentioned the cause of her battered face. Quinn turned his gaze to Molly. “You’re looking at a very happy man.”
“Really?”
“I’ve started a whole new life, recently. New last name, new wife, new rancher.”
“Now all we need are babies to fill it.” Cassie flashed Quinn a wide grin.
Her husband shook his head. “We agreed to wait three years, Angel. Just because you held baby Andy Jace from the moment we stepped into Jace and Wendy Anne’s house, don’t go getting any maternal ideas. I want you to myself for a few years.”
“That little kid is quite the charmer, isn’t he?” Something in the tone of Barclay’s voice—pain, longing, devastation—nearly tore Molly’s breath away.
Cassie’s hand slid across the table to touch fingertips against his rigid fist. “Ice Man,” she whispered, her face sorrowful. “I know this is hard for you.”
His hand moved to his lap and then rubbed Molly’s bandaged leg, so both of his hands were on her—one at her instep and the other on her calf, gently and slowly massaging. Her nipples were all but crying, “Me next! Me next!” Molly crossed her arms to muffle their sensual plea.
“I took him a toy last week. Seeing him was only half as difficult as I’d expected. I actually held him for a few minutes.” Barclay’s voice was strained as he stared out of the diner window. “I’d put it off for months. I mean, I went to see the kid in the hospital after he was born, gave them a baby present, but I just couldn’t bring myself to see him up close and personal.” He shook his head. “Chicken shit, huh?”
Why would it be so hard for him to see a baby?
Quinn tapped Cassie’s hand once and she pulled it back to her lap. Her husband slouched in the seat. “We just came from a family picnic and noticed your heap of a truck in the parking lot.”
His friend’s insult seemed to snap Barclay out of his deep thoughts. “Hey, buddy, watch it. That’s a valuable antique sitting out there.”
Quinn laughed. “Yeah? How many times has it been worked on this week?”
“Kiss my ass, Quinn.” Barclay sipped his coffee and winked at Molly.
“Thought we’d stop by and chat a bit. How’s vacation going?”
Barclay’s head leaned side-to-side once, the joints in his neck popping. “Good. Haven’t gotten as much work done as I’d hoped. The cabins were pretty decrepit. Plus the beach keeps calling to me. The girls and I have played a lot of Frisbee on the sand. Thank goodness some of the guys from the station have helped me on their days off.”
He jerked a thumb toward his friend and spoke to Molly. “Quinn is on the same fire squad I am and he also drives the boat for our marine rescue team. Cassie is a beautician who chased him for three years until he wised up and let her catch him.”
Cassie squirmed in her seat, a bundle of nervous energy, and grinned. “Men can be so dense, you know? Why, I even had to seduce him the first time.” She winked at Molly, who didn’t know if she should believe the sparkling woman or not. “We’ve been married for almost eight months.” She grinned at Quinn and sighed. “It was a very good seduction.”
Molly finished her piece of pie, her previous shakes nearly gone. “Why did you refer to Barclay as your hero?”
Cassie’s eyes widened. “Ice Man? Oh, you wouldn’t know the story. I was abducted by this weird guy who was working for…” she glanced at Quinn. “Well, it doesn’t matter who he worked for. Not really. But my man, here, plus my brothers, Wolf and Jace, Barclay and a couple other friends formed an unsanctioned SWAT team and rescued me. Blew up the building I was held captive in. I’ll never forget that night. Neither will the two guys who have to sit down to pee the rest of their lives because of what Quinn and my big brother did to them.”
Quinn snickered and lifted his wife’s hand to his lips. “Neither will I. She and I broke up on the way to the hospital from her rescue. Was one hell of a gawd-awful evening.”
Molly’s gaze ricocheted from Cassie to Quinn to Barclay. Abduction, blowing up a building, castrating men… What the hell? I’ve fallen down the nutso rabbit hole. All three of them looked normal, but what was normal anymore? “How long were you two apart after you broke up?”
Quinn held up four fingers. “Four hellacious hours. I got knocked unconscious after I got home and she took pity on me once I was found.”
“Some men need a good woman more than others. Quinn just needed me. I couldn’t let him go.”
“Would you just listen to her brag? All full of feminine power.” Quinn looked at Molly
Cassie mumbled, “Here we go. Just pay him no mind.”
Quinn pointed to her engagement ring. “I had to handcuff her to the headboard to slip that diamond on her finger.”
Cassie extended her ring hand and rolled her eyes. “You just have to tell everyone that story, don’t you?” Her husband laughed softly when she stuck her tongue out at him. “And I think you might be mistaken. I’m sure we said we’d wait one year
