You Know Who by Robin L. Deeter (best free e book reader .txt) 📕

to breakfast with Ben tomorrow.”
Ray chuckled, “Like that would be a hardship. Ok, I’ll come. Now what kind of coffee was it?”
“Decaf.”
“What?” His grip on her wrist tightened slightly. “You gave me decaf?” Ray’s voice rose.
Ray’s touch was doing crazy things to her mind. “Yeah and you drank it, remember?”
“And no wonder I had such a lousy day!”
“Because of decaf coffee?” The notion was so absurd that Jessie started to laugh.
The joke was all on Ray and normally he was opposed to being the butt of jokes but she had a great laugh. It wasn’t shrill or overly loud but nor was it the fake type that some women made when they wanted to humor a guy. Nope, she was really laughing at him, a rich, throaty sound that was extremely pleasing to his ears.
“Let go of my arm if you want fed.” He obeyed.
She began plating his food. “So you’ve never stood anyone up, Ray?”
“Well, no, I mean, not exactly. Not unless-“
“What he means, Jessie, is that he has in fact stood women up before,” Fraser piped up, signifying that he’d made a move.
Ray turned a dark scowl on him. “I have not.”
“That’s a lie, Ray. You yourself told me so.”
Jessie sat a plate down in front of Ray along with a glass of iced tea. “Shame on you, Ray,” she scolded.
“Wow, that looks fantastic. Is that homemade?”
“Yeah, but don’t try to distract me, Ray. It’s a shame that more women don’t know how to deal with men who stand them up.”
Chewing with his eyes closed, Ray savored the hearty flavor of the potpie. He swallowed and asked, “What do you mean?”
Jessie sat down, put her hand on Ray’s knee and leaned forward meeting his gaze squarely.
“For example, say you and I were to make a date and you didn’t show. That would be a big mistake on your part.”
Ray swallowed another bite. “It would, huh? What would you do about it besides yell at me?”
“I wouldn’t need to say a word to you. I would simply call your mother.”
“My mother! You would call my mother if I didn’t show for a date?”
Jessie grinned and nodded.
Chewing, Ray regarded her silently. “You really play hardball,” remarked finally.
“Keep that in mind.” She winked and turned the chess set to take her turn.
Meeting Fraser’s azure eyes across the table she could see that he was trying hard not to smile but wasn’t quite succeeding. Jessie moved her rook, capturing Fraser’s queen.
“Well done,” Fraser congratulated her.
“Thank you. So do you play games, Ray?”
“Poker mainly.”
“Oh.”
Ray finished his meal and sat back replete. “That was delicious, Jess. Thanks for dinner. Are you sure you still want me to come for breakfast tomorrow?”
“Absolutely.”
He gave her a lopsided smile. “So you don’t have anything better to do but hang out with a couple of cops?”
“Nope.”
“No boyfriend?”
Jessie almost gulped. “No boyfriend. Not right now.”
Giving her a doubtful look Ray said, “Come on. No one you have your eye on?”
Flame leaped into her cheeks and she couldn’t look up from the chessboard.
“You’re blushing, Jess. There is someone. Who is it? Do I know him? Does he know you like him?”
Ben laid a hand on Ray’s arm. “Ray, leave her alone.”
“C’mon, Benny. I’m just messing with her. Besides, you have to concentrate on your game ‘cause it looks like she’s kicking your ass.”
Ben looked back at the board. “Yes, it would appear that that is an accurate assessment.”
“An accurate assessment. You know, Fraser, talking with you is like being a contestant on Jeopardy sometimes.”
Jessie laughed.
“Well, I’m sorry, but I won’t apologize for having a good vocabulary, Ray.”
“You just did,” Ray retorted.
A look of consternation passed over Fraser’s face. “Yes, so I did.”
Jessie laughed harder and Ray laughed with her then resumed his questions.
“So who is it?”
“None of your business.”
Fraser raised an index finger. “That’s not exactly true, Jessie.”
Jessie’s amber eyes narrowed dangerously at the Mountie. “Don’t make me tickle you.”
“She tickles you? You’re ticklish?” Ray’s voice held a healthy dose of disbelief. He couldn’t picture Fraser doing something so juvenile.
“Yes, she does, as a last resort to get her own way or get back at me.”
“So tickle her back.”
“You see, I would, but she’s not ticklish. At all.”
“You promised, Ben,” Jessie reminded him.
“So I did. My lips are sealed.”
Ray stood up and stretched. “Well, on that note, I’ll leave you two to finish your game. I’ll pick you up at eight, Fraser and see you shortly after that, Jess.”
“Ok.” Jessie didn’t want him to go but admonished herself for being selfish. She would see him tomorrow.
“Thanks for dinner.”
“You’re welcome, Ray.”
“Goodnight, Benny.” He waved and was gone.
Dief came to sit beside Jessie. He whined and nudged her arm. She placed Ray’s plate on the floor and Dief promptly began licking it clean.
“I’m sorry about what I said, Jessie.” Fraser finally moved his king to safety.
“No sweat, Ben. I think it’s funny that he’s so curious. He’s no dummy. He’s going to figure it out soon anyway.”
“Perhaps tomorrow would be a good time to tell him.”
Jessie started washing the dishes. “I think you’re right. I’m just nervous, that’s all.”
Ben gave her a kind smile. “Fear of rejection is a powerful thing.”
“Yeah. I know, but I plan to have him just where I want him. Maybe.”
Jessie finished the dishes and ended up soundly beating Fraser at their last round of the game before heading home. As she thought about the upcoming breakfast, she hoped that she was going to be able to sleep that night.


Chapter Five

The weather was fickle the next morning. The sun played peek-a-boo and a strong wind prevailed allowing the continuation of the below average temperatures. Ben, Ray and Dief arrived at Jessie’s house close to eight-thirty. The small yellow and white Cape Cod stood out in a neighborhood where A-frames dominated. The lawn was well-kept, the walk and drive lined with flowers which were losing their color as fall approached. A two car garage stood towards the back of the house with a small breezeway connecting the two buildings.
Ray parked in the drive and Ben led the way in through the breezeway. The scents of sausage and banana nut muffins hit them as they entered. Ray’s stomach gurgled as he sniffed the air. “Oh man, does that smell good.”
Fraser smiled and opened the door leading into the kitchen. Music hit them and Jessie’s voice mingled in with some oldie that Ray couldn’t remember the name to. The Mountie put a finger to his lips in a silent command. He crept to the doorway to the living room and peeked around the jamb. Ray joined him and looked, too. Jessie was dancing in the center of the room, singing for all she was worth.
Ben didn’t wait to make his move. With his usual speed and grace he ran across the carpet silently and grabbed her around the waist from behind. She cried out in surprise and stomped on Fraser’s right foot. If he hadn’t been wearing his boots it would have really hurt. Ben swung her around and her eyes lit on Ray and Dief. She started to laugh and jabbed an elbow into Ben’s ribs, drawing a grunt from him.
Ray grinned as he watched the horseplay, reminded of the many times he and his siblings had done the same type of thing growing up. It was nice to see this side of Benny, he mused. He didn’t let it show much. There was something about Jessie that made people comfortable around her. He could see why Frannie and Benny liked hanging out with her.
She wasn’t a bad looking woman either. Jessie filled out her jeans nicely and had curves in all the right places and the deep purple sweater she wore was very pretty on her. Her shoulder length hair was the color of nutmeg. The sunlight brought out reddish highlights. As she smiled and laughed her amber eyes glowed with good humor. Ray wondered why he’d never noticed how attractive Jessie was before. He was noticing now for sure.
Fraser released her and she gave him a dead arm before going to the stereo to turn it down.
“Hi, Ray. Hi, Dief. Hope you’re hungry.”
“Sure am. It smells delicious.” He was enjoying watching Fraser rub his triceps where Jessie had punched him.
“Ben, hang up your coats, please?”
“Sure.” Ben did as she asked, still nursing the arm.
The woman can hit, Ray thought.
Her kitchen table was already set and she’d had the griddle preheating. The sausage was holding warm in the oven. Soon pancakes were sizzling on the griddle adding that scent to the others. Ben and Ray were willing and able assistants as both had grown up helping in the kitchen. It wasn’t long before they were sitting down to eat.
Jessie made sure to set a plate on the floor for Dief. His tail wagged the entire time he ate. The three humans ate as well, teasing each other and telling stories. When their stomachs were full they all worked at cleaning up. Once the kitchen was put to rights, Jessie took Ray’s arm.
“You wanna take a closer look at my Corvette?”
“Hell, yeah,” Ray responded eagerly.
Jessie snatched the keys from the peg by the door.
“I’m going to take Dief for a walk. We both need to work off some of that breakfast,” Fraser told them.
“Ok, Benny.” Ray followed Jessie through the breezeway into her garage. He was surprised to find it heated and said so.
“Nothing’s too good for my baby,” Jessie informed him. She tossed Ray the keys. “Start ‘er up.”
“Really?”
“Yeah, really. You can’t fully appreciate her without hearing her.”
The detective didn’t wait to be told again. He slid his lanky frame into the driver’s seat. The black leather was butter-soft and fragrant. He could see that Jessie kept the car spotless. He turned the ignition over and smiled at the smooth growl that erupted from the engine. Grinning, Ray depressed the gas pedal slightly reveling in the deep rumbling response.
Jessie opened the passenger door. “Wanna take her for a spin?”
His eyes were startled. “You’d let me drive ‘er?”
“I trust you, Ray. You’ll have to move the Riv.”
“Done.” He hopped out and jogged outside to park on the street.
Jessie opened the garage door and backed out. Putting the ‘Vette in park, she got out so Ray could get behind the wheel. She ran in the house to quickly scribble a note to Fraser, letting him know they’d be back soon.
Once they were both seated and belted in, Ray put the ‘Vette in gear and pulled out of the driveway. Ray glanced over at Jessie.
“I feel kinda bad