Page 133 of Turn Up the Heat
The doorbell rang.
Emily yelled, “I can get it!”
Her mother sighed. “Use the peep… Oh, forget it. Hold on, Emily.”
Cass soon heard Jed’s deep voice followed by Shannon’s exclamation.
“See? The gauntlet plus Jed and Shannon. They go home happy, and your friends stop crying because I whooped them at Cards Against Humanity. Awesome game, by the way.”
He laughed and hugged her. “You’re such a poor winner.”
“Yeah, she’s just like you.” Tex moped. “Bree, honey, I need some lovin’. Cass done broke my spirit.”
“Oh my God. Would you take that hat off already?” Bree huffed.
Tex pushed his Stetson back and sighed. “A little togetherness and she’s takin’ me for granted.” He grabbed and spun her, making her laugh.
Cass shook her head. “He should definitely not lose the hat. It’s hot.”
Mack frowned then looked at her. “I was in a calendar. With puppies.”
“Shirtless?” She wiggled her brows.
“Yeah. With puppies.”
“Yep. You win.” She was kissing him just as Shannon and Jed approached.
Before Jed could say hello, Tex yanked him aside and introduced him to the room. “This is the guy who don’t know a thing about the Cowboys.”
Brad rolled his eyes. “Welcome to the party. And please, let’s only talk about the Seahawks.”
“But—”
“No, Tex,” Brad said.
Shannon stared wide-eyed at the room.
Cass understood the feeling. So she yelled to her friend, “My man was shirtless on a calendar. With puppies!Andhe’s the poster boy for Station 44!”
Everyone booed, and Cass and Mack laughed before Mack said loudly, “And I got the mean chick to admit she loves me!”
Jed nodded. “She is mean. Good luck with that.” He winked at his wife. “Then again, mean chicks do it better.”
Mack kissed Cass breathless. When he pulled back, he put his hand over his heart, the love clear in his eyes, and said, “Do they ever.”
***
A year later, on a muddy soccer field, firefighter Mack Revere asked Detective Cassandra Carmichael to marry him.
And she said yes.
