Free Spencer-3 by Kathi S. Barton Page A

embarrassed that he had kissed her in front of his family than she was about her reaction.
    “Oh yeah, O’Malley, I plan to get very lucky later. And so will you. Over and over and over again,” he whispered in her ear.
    Plates were being served around the table when Paddy turned to Ronnie.
    They had been talking since the older man sat next to her. Cait smiled at her uncle; he was the biggest flirt she knew.
    “Hey, girly, what was with that loud squeak you made in the courtroom?
    Nearly had me a heart attack when you did it. Then that husband of yours leaping over the desk at you. I was afreared he’d have himself a babe right there.”
    “She made me do it,” Ronnie exclaimed, pointing at Cait.
    “Me? I asked you, very quietly I might add, to get your husband’s attention so that he could come back to us without raising a ruckus. How the hel...heck was I supposed to know you were going to make a noise like a rhino giving birth? A simple clearing of the throat might have done it, you know.”
    “I most certainly did not make any sort of noise like that. I merely made a small noise in the back of my throat to get his attention. You did say it was important. I wanted to help,” Ronnie said as she glanced at her husband.
    “Oh you helped all right, Mrs. Grant. He leapt over that railing like he was going to murder me or deliver your kid. The man looked pole axed when I asked him to stall and what we had discovered. I had to repeat myself four times before he understood that I was not hurting you.”
    “It’s Ronnie, and he did look very sexy, didn’t he? He was all scary and protective. Don’t you just love a manly man?”
    Cait rolled her eyes at the woman. If pregnancy made a person this stupid, she was glad she never planned to have a kid. Devin kissed his wife and they all settled into their lunch.
    About halfway through their meal, Meggie started to drift to the side. She tried to fight it and Cait thought she looked so adorable, but it was clear that she was going to fall off her chair if she continued listing. Cait simply picked her up and settled Meggie across her lap without pausing in her eating. Cait looked up and caught Mrs. Parker, Spencer’s mom, staring at her with an odd look. Before she could ask her about it, Morgan asked about their Memorial Day plans that weekend.

    “The caterer will be at the house on Friday afternoon to start setting up,” Mrs. Parker told Morgan. “The hog will arrive then and so will the backhoe to dig the pit. The other food will come early Saturday morning. I hope things go as well as last year. That was so much fun.”
    Cait was only about half paying attention because Spencer was running his fingers up and down her arm gently. The room grew very warm and she started to slide her jacket off when a sharp intake of breath from Morgan stopped her.
    Cait realized her gun had been exposed to those at the table.
    “I’m sorry. I never thought about it. Being around this is as much a part of me that your bag is to you. I never meant to startle you or frighten you.” She was putting her jacket back on when Morgan spoke up.
    “No, please don’t. You’re right. It is a part of you and if you’re going to be hanging around us for a while, then I need to get used to it. I’ve just had some bad experiences with guns and I just never thought...I’m sorry, Cait.” Morgan smiled and picked up her bag. “How did you know about the bag? I mean, you’re right, but how did you know?”
    “I’m paid to pay attention. You ever fire a gun, Mrs. Grant? I mean one that wasn’t pointed at someone who was trying to hurt you?”
    “How did...no, never. I’ve thought about it, but I’ve never gotten around to it. And I don’t want one in the house with the boys.”
    “You can always be afraid of guns, but to respect them, you have to know them. They are only as dangerous as the person who thinks they know what they are doing. May I show you something?”
    When Morgan