Page 104 of It Runs in the Family

“You don’t have a garage door opener?” he asked as he made his way over to her.

“Money don’t grow on trees.”

He bent over to grab the handle at the bottom of the single bay door and started lifting.

Rita’s gaze was firmly glued to Boone’s jeans-clad butt. I reluctantly had to agree it was a butt worth looking at.

The door rolled up, and Boone made sure it stayed in place after it rocked back and forth a few seconds at the top. Then he took in the contents of the boxes and miscellaneous crap filling up the entire space.

“Is all of this Selena’s?” Boone asked, and I heard hesitation in his voice.

She laughed. “Most of this is John Jacob’s shit. I won’t let him bring it in the house. Especially the deer heads.” She pointed to antlers showing above a stack of boxes.

“Which ones are Selena’s?” I asked.

“That’s gonna cost you,” she said, then looked down at her baby.

“Rita,” I said with a sigh. “I can’t watch JJ today. I told you. I’m on my date.”

“On a Monday morning,” she said dryly.

That again?

Boone wrapped an arm around my shoulders and tugged me close. “Let’s just say it’s a continuation of our Sunday night date.”

Rita’s eyes fixed on me, then widened. “Oh.”

It took everything in me not to roll my eyes and shove an elbow into Boone’s side. Instead, I forced a smile. “Yep. Now, about those boxes?”

Rita studied me for a few seconds longer before she said, “Sure, I’ll find them. Hold JJ for me.” She held him out and I took him, cradling him against my chest.

“They’re in the back marked with Selena’s name.” She turned around and headed into the house. “There’s three of ’em. Have fun lookin’.” Then she walked inside and shut the door.

It was clear she wasn’t coming back out to get her kid.

“Are you stuck watchin’ that baby for the rest of the day?” Boone asked, his voice sounding strangled.

I looked up at him, surprised by the fear in his eyes. “You’re not afraid of a baby, are you Officer…What’s your last name?” This was ridiculous. I didn’t even know his last name.

“It’s detective,” he said, his gaze firmly on JJ. “And I don’t have any experience with babies.”

It didn’t escape my notice that he hadn’t filled in his last name. Then again, he probably wouldn’t want to tell me if he was undercover. I decided to let it go for now.

“We’re not gonna be stuck with him. Only while we’re here lookin’,” I said, then gestured to the boxes. “Move some of those out of the way so we can get to the back.”

“Wouldn’t it be easier to find them if we came in here through the door in the house?”

“Probably, but I’m not pressin’ my luck. Start shovin’ boxes, Muscles.”

His expression was blank for a moment, then he grinned. “You think I have muscles?”

It was obvious he had muscles. He didn’t have the look of a body builder, but I’d felt his firm chest and arms on Friday night. Still, I wasn’t about to feed his ego. “No, but Rita got you to lift the garage door by callin’ you Muscles, so I figured it might get you moving boxes.”

Chuckling, he started to push a stack of boxes to the front of the garage. They seemed to slide easily on the concrete. Once he had them moved, he worked on the next stack.

I held Baby JJ, who was fascinated by the moving tree branches outside. At least he was happy for the moment.

“Looks like John Jacob’s a hunter,” Boone said with grin in his voice, somewhere behind the stacks.