The Key To Micah's Heart (Hell Yeah!) Read online

  God, next they’d be putting him in the same category as Sable Fuckin’ Hunter–sugary sweet. He made a funny gagging face, then laughed. Hunter was successful and while she did put a lot of emotion into a story, there was always a story–and a lot of hot sex. He could be compared to worse, he guessed.

  At least there was good news on the Angel Rubio front. According to Saxon, they’d been granted some kind of reprieve on the hit. The chatter had changed, apparently something big was going down and she’d been put on the cartels back burner.

  Saxon said the exact quote was: Este nuevo local funcionará mucho mejor. Un nuevo envío entrando el lunes. No perdamos el tiempo persiguiendo a la perra, vamos a atraerla aquí y hacer su parte del espectáculo. Translation: This new locale will work much better. A new shipment coming in on Monday. Let’s not waste time chasing the bitch, let’s lure her here and make her part of the show.

  “What in the hell does that mean?”

  “It means we have a few more days to locate her. Santiago has Lucia and they’re going to make some forays over the border. Lucia is plugged in to the neighborhood. Vance and Roscoe think she can get people to talk, tell her what they’ve heard, what they’ve seen.”

  Micah let out a long sigh. “I’ll be glad when this is over. I know Noah wants to be reunited with his mother and I want it too, but it’s like waiting for the other shoe to drop.” But as much as he wanted it to come together quickly, he needed this weekend to be free. He had a date with the intriguing Miss Fellows. Picking up the package on the edge of his desk, he smiled. What had possessed him to buy her a cell phone?

  Hell, he knew. He didn’t really have to ask himself that question. There was just something about her that brought out his protective streak. Kyle always accused him of picking up strays and even though he’d found her in a homeless shelter–that wasn’t what this was about.

  “Hey, are you guys hungry?”

  Micah was starving and Hannah’s happy voice was welcome. “Well, it’s about time. I wondered what someone had to do to get food in this dump?” He rose, smiled, and kissed the pretty lady on the cheek. “Nothing like being served by the First Lady.”

  “Watch your mouth, Wolfe. That’s my lady you’re talking to.” Kyle whacked him on the shoulder with his golf cap. “Do you guys want to hear something crazy?”

  “That you’ve been elected Governor?” Micah asked, then hit his forehead. “Oh, right–that crazy has already happened.”

  “Yes, the Republican Governor who married an illegal Mexican immigrant!” Hannah held up her hands, adding to the hilarity.

  “Hey, it all worked out. There’s already talk for me to run for President in 2020.” Kyle held up his coffee cup for a toast.

  “I have got to move. I wonder if the Canadians would take me.” Micah mumbled.

  Saxon pulled out a chair and sat down. “What were you going to tell us before the comedy routine started?” he asked Kyle.

  “Oh, yea. It’s about the rock throwing mess. We haven’t had an incident in a few days, and we’ve got all of the sensors and cameras into position, just like you suggested. So either, we’ve scared him off with all the tech attention or he’s left town. Funny thing…they had an incident in Fort Worth yesterday. Their first.”

  “Damn, probably some copycat. I hope this doesn’t turn into some type of national trend like shootings on college campuses.” Hannah said, laying out the sandwich materials she’d brought up from the kitchen.

  “Yep, Canada’s looking pretty good.” Micah noted as he slapped some ham between two pieces of bread.

  “They wouldn’t take you, Wolfe. Our friends to the north have standards.” Kyle laughed.

  “Yea, but they’re measurements are so cool. Here my cock is eight inches long, there its 20.32 centimeters.” He held his hands about two feet apart.

  Kyle put his hands over Hannah’s ears. “Would you hush?”

  “I love you guys, but I’m outta here.” Micah picked up his laptop, Madison’s present, and his ham sandwich. “I have to go write a sex scene. And don’t look for me tomorrow, I have a date.”

  “A date? What’s her name and address, I’ll send her a sympathy card,” Saxon joked.

  Micah shot him the finger and left with a grin.

  Things get complicated for Madison…

  For Madison, Friday was a nightmare. Without warning, her car conked out on her in the parking lot of her apartment building. “Stupid piece of crap!” After kicking it one good time when it refused to start, she reconciled herself to walking the few blocks to wait on the bus.

  Most of her day at work was spent with mindless data entry and fretting over her car troubles. The only saving grace she could think of, was that her mother and Rudy had left of their own accord. Madison hadn’t been forced to dip into her savings to pay for a place for them, but now her car was on the fritz and there was no way she could protect her savings from that. The repairs would eat up every spare dime she had.

  Buzz! Madison jumped, almost knocking the keyboard off her desk. She grabbed her phone, glad of any distraction from the doldrums she found herself in. “Hello?”

  “I was going to text you,” Micah said from the other end of the line, “but you wouldn’t have been able to respond with any words that had J, K or L in it.”

  Madison smiled at her desk. “Stop making fun of my poor phone.” Just the sound of his voice made her nipples grow hard. She propped her arm on the desk so if anyone passed by she wouldn’t feel on display. “There’s still a lot of other words I could spell.”

  “Figured out something to wear yet?”

  “What do you think?”

  “Still struggling, huh?”

  He didn’t realize it, but her wardrobe was sadly lacking. “I’m a girl. What can I say?” Madison shifted in her chair, her thighs were tingling.

  “What are you wearing right now?”

  “Oh, my God!” She laughed. “You’re incorrigible!”

  “What?”

  “I’m at work.”

  “And?”

  “I don’t think my boss would appreciate me having this kind of discussion during work hours.” She chastised him, but secretly she loved his teasing and hoped he didn’t stop.

  “Let me see if I can guess. Black skirt. Gray sweater.”

  “Are you watching me again?” She looked over her shoulder and peered through the window out into the street.

  “No. I have people to do that for me. I’m at your place going through your underwear drawer.”

  He said it so quickly and with no change it in his tone that Madison momentarily panicked as if it were true. “You’re what!” She stood up from her chair and everyone in the office looked at her with interest.

  Micah laughed from the other side of the line. “Just kidding. Relax. I’m just calling to make sure you haven’t made other plans for tomorrow.”

  “I haven’t.” Of course she hadn’t.

  “Good. Don’t. Bye, Madison.”

  He was gone before she had a chance to say goodbye.

  What was this man doing to her? He had her on pins and needles every waking second, wondering what he would do next. She had no idea what they’d do on their date–and it didn’t really matter. All she wanted to do was spend time with him. She didn’t care if all they did was go to the park and sit on a bench to eat an ice cream cone.

  Suddenly her phone rang again. “Micah?” She was catching on.

  “One more question.”

  “Okay.”

  “Paper or plastic?”

  “Paper, of course. I’m from Austin.”

  “Good girl. Smart as well as sexy. Gotta go. Bye.”

  Madison sat back down in her chair and happily spun around in a circle. Oh what the hell did it matter, everyone in the office was already looking at her anyway.

  For the rest of the day and the next, Madison remained edgy, excited. Until…finally…at six o’clock Saturday when her phone rang.

  “3825
Lake Austin Blvd. Be there in one hour or the president dies.”

  The line went dead. Madison was already dressed for the evening in the very best that she had. If there had been extra money in her account, she’d have gone all out, but the repairs on her car were going to be just as expensive as she’d feared. She’d gone no farther than getting an estimate–but that was far enough to know she was screwed. So, here she was in a simple little black dress with spaghetti straps and a low-cut back. The skirt swirled around her knees and there was a velvet bolero to wear with it that had rhinestone buttons. Her only concession to her urge to splurge had been the sexy stiletto heels she’d found at Goodwill for five bucks. Hopefully she wouldn’t embarrass herself or Micah.

  Running to her laptop, she opened it up. Punching the address into a search she saw the name Mozart’s Coffee Roaster’s. “Okay.” She’d heard the name in passing, but had never been there before. The map told her it was only half an hour away, so she checked the bus route and made sure there was an exchange she could catch on her street that would take her in the vicinity of the riverfront.

  As Madison headed out of her apartment, she stopped a moment to stare at her car, a car that hadn’t moved from the spot where she’d left it. She’d put off making the decision of what to do about it until tonight. Rudy was a mechanic, she probably could’ve called up her mother and asked if he would come look at it or at least advise her what to tell a mechanic. As Madison considered this scenario one last time, she shivered. Seeking out Rudy’s company on purpose just went against the grain. No, she couldn’t do it. She’d have to see a mechanic and hope she had enough money to pay the bill. If not, maybe he would let her pay the balance in installments. With a heavy sigh, she decided to push her worries aside and concentrate on the evening ahead of her. Walking to the bus stop, she let herself smile. Tonight was going to be amazing!

  The roar of the bus engine forewarned her it was pulling up to the stop sign. She ran to climb on, then daydreamed about Micah the rest of the way. When they drew near to the corner of Lake Austin Blvd and Enfield Road, Madison waved to the bus driver. “You can let me out here.” There was a closer stop, but she’d rather walk the rest of the way so she wouldn’t suffer the embarrassment of Micah seeing her arrive for their date on a bus.

  The walk was short but pretty. Only a few blocks. Something was always going on, there was usually a festival like atmosphere to this part of town. Everything from Eeyore’s Birthday Party to SXSW to Austin City Limits kept the days from becoming monotonous. Lake Austin flowed in front of her and she enjoyed watching people jog or walk their dogs along the riverside. Close proximity to Sixth Street ensured that live music could be heard almost anywhere. By the time she reached Mozart’s, the sun was already down and the whole place was ablaze with lights. The sound of a guitar drifted out from either Mozart’s or the nearby Hula Hut restaurant. All of the businesses on this street shared a dockside with a marina and a River Boat company that ferried people from the dam to the other side of Pennybacker Bridge. Someday she wanted to splurge and see all of this from the deck of a big steamboat. She could remember seeing beautiful photos of the Christmas light display and the romantic setting this place provided on the waterfront.

  Mozart’s was huge for a coffee shop and when Madison stepped up to the entrance, she feared she might not see Micah right away. She shouldn’t have worried, for the moment she planted her foot on the bottom step, she could see him coming to greet her. His tall silhouette was unmistakable. He had on a gray motorcycle jacket zipped all the way up and a pair of dark jeans. All other details of his appearance faded away because she was so fixated on his smile. She held her breath as he approached her and before she knew what was happening, Micah placed one finger under her chin, bent down and planted a kiss right on her lips. It was delicate. Soft and sweet. And just as soon as it had begun, it was over.

  Micah took a step back. “Smack me if you want, I’ll understand. But nobody knows how a first date will go. You may not have a good time or you may decide you hate me. Lord knows you wouldn’t be the first woman to come to that decision, but I wasn’t going to live another moment on this earth wondering what your lips felt like against mine.”

  Madison knew she should have said something, but he’d stolen her ability to speak. All she could do was look into his eyes and smile.

  He pulled her to one side out of the main traffic area so she could hear him. “I’ll do the smart thing here and move on from this topic. I should just warn you that your lips are far and away softer and sweeter than I’d imagined even in my wildest dreams. And I can assure you, I’ve had plenty of those dreams in the last few days. I know a guy is supposed to be a bit mysterious, but I’m going to declare my intentions right now to feel those lips of yours again before the night is through.”

  Madison was on fire, she loved what he was saying and she wanted more of his kisses than anything in the world. “I guess we could have coffee first,” she suggested and he laughed.

  “Deal. Coffee first…and then all bets are off.” He placed a steadying hand on the small of her back.

  “Did you have a good day?” Madison couldn’t believe she sounded so calm. She’d much rather skip the food and just spend hours kissing Micah’s perfect mouth.

  “It’s much better now,” he replied, rubbing a soft trail up and down her back.

  Mozart’s was busy when they walked in. He moved out in front of her a bit when they walked in the front door, using his bulk to make sure she had a nice big buffer from the rest of the crowd. Madison watched the female heads turn as they moved closer to the counter. The women inside Mozart’s were practically breaking their necks to get a look at her date and it filled Madison with a feeling of pride she’d never felt before. She was the girl on the arm of the hot guy for once in her life and it felt great.

  Standing in line, Micah noticed a woman glancing at him over her shoulder. She giggled and the man she was with turned around to see who his girlfriend was staring at.

  “Hey, how you doing?” Micah said with a casual smile. The guy frowned and immediately put his arm around his girl. Shaking his head, Micah just glanced away. He was used to attention from women, and when he wanted it, he would just go and take it.

  “You okay?” he whispered to Madison, pulling her a little closer to him. His flirtatious nature had gotten him into many scrapes over the years, but tonight his focus was totally on his date.

  “I’m good,” she smiled at him.

  He gave her a wink, noticing how her lips formed a perfect pink cupid bow. The kiss they’d shared had been amazing. Micah had spent a helluva lot of time thinking about her since she’d agreed to go out with him. Even his friends had noticed there was something different about him.

  Jet had visited him a few days earlier to help Micah restore the engine of a hundred-year old motorcycle once owned by Steve McQueen. To say Jet was impressed was putting it mildly. A collector had already offered Micah a half million for the bike. But as excited as he was to work on it, Jet had gotten completely frustrated with him when he couldn’t concentrate on what they were doing. Later, when Micah had to meet his publicist for drinks to approve some swag to pass out at a book signing, he’d forced Jet to accompany him. “What are we? Girls?” Jet had complained. “You can’t go anywhere by yourself anymore?”

  “Shut up or I’ll make you go with me to piss,” Micah had drawled, causing Jet to roll his eyes. Something about Madison made Micah do things he didn’t normally do and he couldn’t figure out why.

  “Our turn,” Micah whispered once they were in front of the counter to make their selection,

  “Oh, my goodness. How will I choose?”

  Madison marveled at all the sugary confections behind the glass. There were all sorts of delicious looking pastries and a wide variety of coffees. She was a simple medium double-double girl herself. Madison was very friendly with her coffeemaker early each morning. Rising before the sun to start her day was more tolerable wi
th caffeine in her system. But her simple pot produced regular coffee, not these fancy lattes and concoctions she was faced with now.

  He turned to her. “You know what you want?”

  Madison looked indecisive and it was now their turn at the counter. “No, not really. Choose for me?”

  “Two Lake Austin blends. Two cream, two sugars, please,” Micah told the barista. “And two chocolate cannoli’s also.”

  They waited patiently for the drinks and food before Micah took Madison’s hand and led her out a back door and onto a massive deck. Madison took in the view of Lake Austin. “This is so beautiful.”

  “I know. I just love to come out here during the night and enjoy a cup of joe while watching the boats float up and down the river.”

  They stood, leaning on the railing. In front of them a wide range of boats passed. There were small fishing boats and bigger party boats and even the lazy, romantic steamboat Madison wished to ride. Occasionally a small yacht would motor by and people would wave at the spectators on shore, knowing they were being envied by anyone watching. “That looks like fun,” she said, her eyes following the boat until it was out of sight.

  With their hands still entwined, Micah pulled back from the railing. “Let’s go sit down.”

  He led her to a table just off the deck built under a tall crooked oak tree growing near the water. Madison noticed a phone lying on the table. “Oops. It looks like someone is already sitting here. Let’s go find another table.”

  Micah took a seat. “I don’t see anyone.”

  “There’s a phone on the table.”

  “So?”

  “Well, that means someone was here and it’s a good chance they’ll be coming back.” Madison didn’t want a confrontation if the phone owner returned and wanted his table back.

  “What?” Micah picked up the phone. “This? I mean it’s a nice phone, but who cares? I like this table.”