Page 21 of A Tempting Seduction

A child's cry pierced the air. High-pitched, distressed, definitely a little girl.

“Don't yell at my sister!” The voice was young but fierce with protective anger.

My blood turned to ice. That was JR. My four-year-old nephew was in the back of Java Jolt, defending his two-year-old sister, Suzy, from a jerk who couldn't be bothered to do his job properly.

I didn't think. I moved.

The gate at the end of the counter wasn't locked. I pushed through it and followed the sound of Suzy's cries toward the back office. Every protective instinct I'd inherited from generations of Larson men roared to life.

Ruby's voice drifted from the office, soft and soothing. “Shh, sweetheart, it's okay. Jordan, what's going on out there?”

“Some customer's having a fit because we don't have the fancy drinks. I told Bernie I'd get you, but I didn't know you had your kids back here.”

“Oh, for goodness sake, Jordan. You know they're not mine. Just please go tell the customer I’ll be right out. I have to get Suzy to stop crying first.”

I appeared in the doorway of the small office. The scene hit me like a punch to the gut. Suzy had her arms and legs wrapped around Ruby’s neck and shoulders like her very life depended on it, sobbing. JR stood between the two and Jordan like a tiny bodyguard, his little hands balled into fists. “I know, sweetheart, I’d be crying too,” she crooned to my little niece. I watched as Ruby’s hand softly covered Suzy’s blonde curls and she kissed her forehead. Suzy cuddled even closer. It was clear that she knew a good thing when she’d found one.

“Uncle Ford!” JR's face lit up with relief and excitement.

Jordan was blocking the doorway, but I pushed past him.

“Jordan, get back to the customers now. Tell them I’ll be right out.”

JR tugged at the hem of my t-shirt, demanding attention. “Uncle Ford, we're having an adventure. Miss Ruby's taking care of us while Mommy goes to her important meeting.”

“Ford, perfect timing.” Ruby gave me a grateful smile. “Can you take this little love? She’s almost settled.”

“You should be aware that there's a customer up front who's pretty unhappy about being told that nothing on your specialty menu is available today.”

She gave Jordan a derisive look. “Yeah, I got that.” She kissed Suzy again and lifted up her chin. “What do you think, pumpkin? Want to go with your Uncle Ford?”

Suzy turned her face and looked at me. I loved the way her face lit up. “Unca,” she babbled, her fingers wiggling as she reached for me.

“Can you say Unca Ford?” I asked for the hundredth time as I pulled her in for a hug. I so wanted her to distinguish me from Walker. We’d been fighting this out for the last month to see whose name Suzy would say first.

“I’ll be back as soon as I can,” Ruby said.

“Just so you have the whole story. Jordan told the customer you were too busy taking a break to deal with customers.”

The temperature in the small office seemed to drop ten degrees. Ruby's green eyes flashed. “Jordan is so on my hit list today.” Ruby’s voice was deadly quiet. Sometimes being a tattletale felt dang good.

She stormed past us toward the front of the shop. The office door closed with a sharp click, leaving me alone with my niece and nephew.

I pulled my phone from my back pocket and speed-dialed Walker's number, juggling Suzy carefully as I waited for him to answer.

“What's up?” Walker's voice carried the usual morning energy that meant he'd already consumed at least two cups of coffee.

“I'm going to be late to the site this morning.”

“How late? We've got the meeting with Renzo at eleven.”

“I don't know yet. Something came up. Can you handle things without me for a while?”

“Yeah, no problem. You handled things great the other day, so we’re cool. And I already swung by the construction site to check in anyway. We're not needed there yet, so I was heading back to the shop. Everything okay?”

I glanced at JR, who was busy rebuilding his Lego creation on the floor. The kid was focused and determined, traits he'd inherited from the Larson side of the family. “Everything's fine. I'll call you when I'm done here.”

“All right. Don't do anything I wouldn't do.”