Her words put an image in my mind of a little kid, old enough to walk but still kind of wobbly and like that the pregnancy became real to me. That baby in her belly became a person.
We puttered along lazily in the hot sun for a few minutes, sitting next to each other but lost in our own thoughts. And then . . .
“Ho-ly shit!” I screamed.
Something cold and slick hit my back and Rocky laughed.
“Sun protection, cowboy,” she said, but her hands lingered all over my back and around my waist, sliding slow and sexy along my abs. “And maybe a little bit of copping a feel.”
“A little?”
“Hey, I’m just don’t want you to get skin cancer.”
We both laughed. “You were so close to sounding sincere too.”
“I know, dammit. Turn around.”
I made her wait until we reached one of my favorite fishing spots before I exposed my body to her.
“There, now you can put your hands all over me.” She took her sweet time and I swear I nearly came in my shorts and would have if she’d brushed my nipple one more time. “All right, dirty girl. Now we fish.”
We worked in silence for a long time, first setting up our rods over the side and then waiting. Always waiting. The patience I learned fishing as a boy helped me as a soldier where there was even more fuckin’ waiting. Though the silence was comfortable, even companionable, I wanted to talk. To hear her sweet voice and that sexy laugh.
“I got one!” she yelped.
I leaned forward, ready to help her from her perch opposite me when she held up her prize: a colorful bass.
“Great catch!” I said, proud as I could be.
Her skin was flushed pink with excitement and her smile spread wide across her gorgeous face.
“Thanks! That was as fun as I remember.” She winced and grabbed her belly and I was at her side in an instant. “I’m fine. I’m fine. I think I woke up the baby that’s all. But I’ll rest a bit, give you time to catch up.”
“There’s food in the cooler, fruit and water too.”
“Aww look at you being a mother hen,” she joked and poked me in the side until I laughed. “Thank you, Lasso. Seriously.”
“Believe me, it is a pleasure to watch you eat.” She rolled her eyes and shifted her gaze toward the water, smiling contentedly at the slight wake the boat made as we floated over the surface and the birds flying along the tide. Eventually I added two more bass to the bounty while Rocky chatted about nothing and fed me.
“I don’t want to ruin this wonderful day but, we need to talk.”
“Words no man, or husband, ever wants to hear.”
She smacked my arm. “Quiet, buster. Seriously though, it sounds like your boss isn’t in the mood to help, which means we need to be creative. When I was still in San Diego and they were trying to do things the nice way, Big Boy told me that a couple of their stash houses were hit. That’s where Genesis keeps most of his money.”
“I thought you weren’t all that involved in his business?” I hadn’t meant to sound so accusatory, but it came out that way.
“I wasn’t but I would be in the car when he made a stop to all these random houses in sketchy neighborhoods. I’m not stupid, Lasso.” She rolled her eyes and wrapped her arms around her body protectively.
“Look, if you don’t trust me just say so now and you can drop me off at the nearest city and I’ll be fine. On my own.”
“It was just a fucking question. And stop. We’re in this together.”
She closed her eyes and took several deep breaths but when Rocky opened her eyes they weren’t on me, they were on the water.
“We need to make him crazy so he makes a mistake, that’s where we find our advantage. Hit more of his stash houses until he’s desperate for cash, for firepower. For control.”
“You propose we carpool to LA to steal from your ex? That’s your plan?”