Rocky Mountain Rescue, Elle James [rooftoppers .TXT] 📗

friend could open her mouth, JoJo raised a finger. “Don’t say a word.”

RJ performed an about face and marched the other direction and down the stairs, calling out over her shoulder, “I want all the details later.”

JoJo groaned.

“You could always tell her that you were showing me where the towels were.”

JoJo raised her hand with his connected to hers. “And how do I explain us holding hands coming out of the bathroom? You don’t have to hold hands to get a towel out.”

“The beauty of it is, you don’t have to explain yourself to anyone,” Max said.

JoJo grinned. “You’re right. I’m a grown woman.”

They descended the stairs, still holding hands, but when they got to the bottom, JoJo pulled hers free. He glanced her way.

She gave him a crooked smile. “The fewer questions asked the better.”

He nodded. “Good thinking.”

They joined Jake, Cage, Gunny and RJ in the dining room. A platter of eggs, a stack of pancakes and a plate full of bacon were set out on the table along with a carafe of coffee.

Max’s stomach rumbled.

RJ was on her way back to the kitchen. “Don’t wait on me. Dig in while it’s hot. And a big shoutout to Gunny and Jake for cooking breakfast this morning.”

Everyone took a seat at the table, and RJ joined them carrying a pitcher of orange juice.

Max looked around the dining room. All of the other tables were empty. “Did Stover and Curry go out for breakfast?”

RJ shook her head. “No, they decided to have breakfast here earlier than planned. They said they had some things to do in town and at the casino, so they wanted to get an early start.”

Max sat on one side of JoJo.

RJ sat on the other. She leaned close to JoJo and whispered.

Max strained to hear what she said but couldn’t quite catch her words.

JoJo turned to RJ. “He knows.”

JoJo looked across the table at Max and said quietly, “I told him.”

RJ shot a glance toward Max as well.

He dipped his head once in acknowledgement.

Jake and Gunny were in deep conversation and unaware of what was being spoken between RJ, JoJo and Max.

“Did she tell you that I contacted Hank?” RJ asked.

Again, Max dipped his head.

“He’s got his guy Swede working on it. From what I understand about Swede, if there’s anything in the system about the investigation, he’ll find it.”

“Good,” Max said.

RJ clapped her hands together. “So, what’s on the agenda today?”

Gunny glanced up from his conversation with Jake and Cage. “The campaign team will arrive sometime after noon. They’ll have a conference until about five and eat dinner at six. After that, I suggested an icebreaker of a hayride, and after that making s’mores by the fire pit.”

“I’ll hitch the tractor to the wagon,” JoJo said. “We could use some help piling hay onto the wagon.”

“I could help with that,” Max said.

“As can we,” Jake said.

Cage raised his hand in affirmation.

“I’ll make sure the firepit is stocked up with wood to burn and clean up the sticks we’ll use to roast marshmallows,” Gunny said.

“And I’ll tend to some of the horses’ hooves and grooming,” RJ said. “Then I’ve got some things I need to do inside the house to make sure all the bedrooms are ready, and the laundry is all caught up.”

“I’ll take care of the dishes,” JoJo said.

“And so will I,” Max offered.

While everyone left the lodge, JoJo and Max went to the kitchen with a tray of dishes. It seemed like every time JoJo turned around, she bumped into Max, which wasn’t a hardship by any stretch of the imagination. In fact, she might’ve been doing it on purpose.

Eventually, Max caught on, grabbed her around the waist, pulled her up against him and nuzzled her ear.

“I’d almost bet that in the bodyguard handbook, bodyguards aren’t supposed to be kissing on the bodies they’re guarding.” JoJo laughed. “Not that I’m complaining.”

“Say the word, and I’ll stop,” he said.

She turned in his arms and poked his chest. “Don’t stop. I kind of like that you bother me.”

“Good, because you bother me, too, in a whole different way.” He pulled her close and let her feel the hard ridge of his cock pressing against his jeans into her belly.

After finishing the dishes, the two went out into the barn. Max performed as ground guide while JoJo backed the tractor into the hitch for the trailer. Once they had that secured, they went to work loading the trailer with bales of hay. Jake and Cage helped.

They loaded one layer of hay and a second one near the front. Guests would sit on the bales of hay as JoJo drove the tractor around the pasture. When the wagon was ready, they all joined Gunny around the firepit. He had unstacked the ring of stones and was one by one restacking them neatly. Jake bent to help him, getting it done quickly, while Cage, Max and JoJo gathered some of the split logs from the stack against the barn.

Stover and Curry remained gone all morning, giving the Lost Valley Ranch crew plenty of time to make sure everything was in place before the campaign staff arrived and Curry and Stover returned.

Just before noon, a small black SUV arrived. They’d all just settled on the porch with glasses of iced tea and lemonade. A woman got out of the SUV. She was a little bit taller than JoJo and as blond as JoJo was dark haired. She smiled and waved at RJ and JoJo. They stepped down off the porch and went to hug the woman. As they climbed the stairs, RJ smiled at the group on the porch.

“Jake, Cage, Max, this is Emily, a friend of ours. In fact, she used to live here for a while. Now, she has her own practice down in Colorado Springs, working at the veterans hospital.” RJ turned to Cage. “Emily, this is Cage Weaver.”

Cage shook hands with Emily. “Nice to meet you, ma’am.”

Emily laughed. “Please don’t call me ma’am. Makes me feel