A Fair of the Heart, Welcome To Redemption, Book1 (2 page)

Typical boy’s room, he thought as he glanced
around. Basketball hoop hanging on the back of the door, unmade
bed, sports paraphernalia everywhere. The kid was a huge Green Bay
Packers fan: Packer curtains, Packer bedspread, Packer wallpaper
border. The room was neater than Caleb would’ve expected, too—not
so much as a dirty sock on the floor. No doubt Lauren’s doing.

Caleb located the dresser in question and
knelt down to try the drawer. Yep, stuck shut. Once he pried it
open, he’d plane it down a bit, which should do the trick. He
worked the drawer back and forth, surprised when a couple of
folded-up playing cards fell out. Hmm. And the drawer seemed to
open and close fine now. A flash of red caught his eye. An
all-too-familiar flash of red. Caleb exhaled a hard breath as he
pulled out a flip-top box of cigarettes.

“Whad’ya think you’re doing?”

Caleb’s head snapped up. Standing in the
doorway, hands fisted at his sides, was a blue-eyed boy who could
only be Max. He looked to be about twelve or thirteen, with much
darker hair than his mother’s, but just as curly. And he wore a
scowl the size of Texas. “Fixing your stuck drawer.” He climbed to
his feet and held up the cigarette box. “You do realize these
things’ll stunt your growth, right?”

The kid’s eyes grew suspiciously red, but his
expression remained mutinous. “You had no right going through my
stuff!”

“Maybe not, but lucky for you I did. You’re
too young to smoke, son, and—”

“Who the hell are you, and why are you even
in my room?” the kid demanded.

The quick beat of feet on the stairs reached
Caleb a second before Lauren burst into the room. “What in the
world is going on up here? Max, what’s the problem?”

Caleb tucked the cigarette box in his back
pocket while Lauren’s attention was on her son. Later, when they
were alone, he’d show them to her. Caleb knew the kid was going
through a rough time, and while he hated to be the bearer of bad
news, Lauren needed to know so she could nip the problem in the
bud.

“Nothin’,” Max snapped.

“Your son wasn’t too happy to find a stranger
in his room, and he told me so. He thought I was snooping through
his stuff.”

Max met Caleb’s gaze, some of his hostility
dissipating. Not much, but some.

Lauren eyed them both with suspicion.
“Supper’s on the table. Max, go wash your hands, please.”

Max stormed from the room, and a few seconds
later a door slammed.

Lauren flinched. “I’m sorry. Ever since his
father left, he’s been...different. He blames me. He’s too young to
understand what really happened, and I guess it’s easier to make me
the bad guy since I’m still here. Ten-year-old mentality,” she
finished with a shrug.

“Ten? Wow, big kid.”

“Big father.”

Caleb wished there was something he could do
or say to ease her burden. And Max’s troubles were worse than she
knew if the kid was smoking. “He’ll settle down, don’t worry. And
I’ll help any way I can.”

Christ, what the hell was he thinking,
offering to get involved in their family problems? He barely knew
the woman. Though if he were being honest with himself, he wanted
to get to know her better. Much better.

The thought scared the living tar out of him,
but didn’t stop him from taking a step forward.

Lauren could only stare at this incredible
man who’d done more for her in a couple of hours than anyone else
had in years. Could he possibly be for real? She’d spent nearly ten
years with a man who’d made her feel worthless and sexless,
sleeping with any willing warm body he could find. Lauren
desperately wanted to believe her time had come, that her numbers
had been drawn and she was the grand prize winner. What a pleasure
it would be to finally have someone to lean on, to help shoulder
the burden her life had become. To love her and only her.

Wow. Where in the world had that come
from?

They gazed at each other for several
heartbeats before she said, “That’s a mighty generous offer
considering you barely know us.”

Caleb took another step toward her. “I was
hoping we could rectify that.”

“I...” Lauren mentally chastised herself.
What was it about this man that made coherent speech a thing of the
past? Or her heart pitter-patter like a teenage girl in the throes
of puppy love? Freakin’ embarrassing is what it was.

Caleb propped his hands on his hips. “I
didn’t mean to make you uncomfortable. It’s just...either I’m way
off my game or there’s a spark between us.”

Lauren tucked a curl behind her ear, and then
huffed another out of her face. She met his gaze and became lost
again in those incredible bedroom brown eyes. All he had to do was
look at a woman, and she’d follow him straight into the bedroom.
The Pied Piper of Redemption. Lauren swallowed down a giggle.
“You’re not.”

“Pardon?”

“Off your game. You’re not. But Caleb—”

“Come on, now, no ‘but’. We haven’t even had
a meal together yet, and already with the ‘but’.”

He grinned, and Lauren forgot the rest of
what she’d planned to say. He was right. Probably be a good idea to
see if he chewed with his mouth open before making a final decision
on ‘but’. “Well then, get ready for the best chicken bake in all
the land. Complete with green bean casserole, creamy cucumbers, and
plenty of crescent rolls.”

He clapped his hands together and gave them a
gleeful rub. “Lead the way, beautiful lady, ’cause I’m hungry as a
bear.”

Beautiful lady. Wow. Let’s see, he can fix
most anything, he appreciates a home-cooked meal, Emma hasn’t
stopped chattering about him, and he wins the award for best view
in all of Redemption. Oh yeah, this one definitely has promise.

She led the way downstairs, knocking on the
bathroom door as they passed by. “Come on, Max, time to eat.”

Lauren tried not to worry when Max didn’t
come down for supper. If he wanted to sulk in his room all night,
fine. Frankly, she was tired of his piss-poor attitude and snarky
comments. It was nice, for a change, eating a meal without insults
being hurled at her between bites.

And it was such a joy watching Caleb flirt
with Emma, and watching Emma flirt right back. She was her mother’s
daughter for sure. Although, she was doing a much better job with
Caleb than Lauren. No nervous stutters or sweaty palms for Emma.
And if Lauren didn’t know better, she’d swear Caleb was falling
just as hard for little Miss Poopy Pants.

By the time Lauren sliced into the chocolate
cake, her trouble detector had hit high alert. Max was a big kid
for his age, with double the appetite of a normal ten-year-old, and
chicken bake was his favorite meal. But if that wasn’t reason
enough to worry, Max should’ve raced down the stairs the moment
that cake dome was lifted.

After serving Caleb a hunk of cake, and Emma
a sliver, Lauren rose to her feet and excused herself. The bathroom
door was now open and the light on, so she stuck her head inside.
Empty. She checked his bedroom—also empty—then her own room in case
he’d decided to play computer games. No Max. She ran back
downstairs and checked the spare room in the back of the house
where he played video games. Full-blown panic set in when she
discovered that room empty as well.

Tears stung her eyes. She dabbed at them with
her fingers and composed herself before returning to the
kitchen.

Caleb looked up and his smile faded. “What is
it?”

She guessed she hadn’t done such a great job
on the composing part. “I can’t find Max. He’s not in the house,
and since we would’ve heard him if he’d left through the front
door, he must’ve snuck out a window.”

Caleb shot to his feet and closed the
distance between them. “Has he done this before?”

“No. Never.”

He glanced at his watch. “It’s only five
o’clock, so we’ve got a good three hours or so of sunlight left.
I’ll take a walk around outside, make sure he’s not just sulking
behind the garage, while you make a few phone calls, all
right?”

“Thank you.”

Caleb gave her shoulder a squeeze, winked at
Emma, and then disappeared out the back door. Lauren raced to the
phone.

* * *

Caleb found him at the mini-mart playing an
ancient pinball machine with a black-haired boy about the same age,
maybe older. Hard to tell since Max was quite big for his age.

Neither boy saw Caleb approach. He walked up
and laid an arm across the back of the machine. “Bonanza pinball?
Huh, who’da thunk it? I mean, this thing must be thirty years old,
at least.”

“It was made in 1964,” the balding,
middle-aged man behind the counter informed him. “Got it for a song
down in Milwaukee.” He grinned, revealing a broken front tooth,
before returning his attention to the portable TV behind him.

“So, who’s winning?”

Max and his friend exchanged looks. His
friend shrugged.

“Who the heck are you, and why are you
following me?” Max demanded.

“Why did you leave without telling your
mother where you were going?” Caleb countered.

“None of your business, old man!”

Old man? Boy, this kid needed an
old-fashioned, over-the-knee ass-whooping. “I’m a friend of your
mother’s.”

Max rolled his eyes. “Yeah, a friend. Okay.
Call it what you want, but stay out of my business.”

Caleb dropped his arm from the top of the
pinball machine and took a step forward. Uncertainty flashed in
Max’s eyes, but then the little punk found his smart mouth again.
“I ain’t afraid of you...my dad’s bigger’n you.”

“Yeah? Well, I don’t see your dad around
anywhere, do you?” Caleb knew it was a low blow, but this kid
needed a reality check. Caleb knew better than anyone what Max was
going through, what he was feeling.

“He’ll be back,” Max said, although his tone
lacked conviction.

“He’d be a fool if he didn’t come back.
Listen, your mom’s worried sick, so why don’t we put her out of her
misery and get you home?”

Max crossed his arms in defiance. “I ain’t
going nowhere with you.” A smug grin curved his lips. “You’re a
stranger, and my mom told me never to get in the car with
strangers.”

Caleb couldn’t help but respect the little
stinker’s brass. But enough was enough. “If you don’t come with me
right now, I’ll throw you over my knee in front of God and anyone
else who cares to watch and give you the spanking of your life,”
Caleb promised in a low voice.

Max’s eyes grew round with fear. His friend
swallowed hard and backed up a step. “Dude, I’m outta here,” he
said before taking off like a shot, the bell over the door tinkling
in his wake.

Caleb clapped Max on the back. “Let’s go.
Now.”

Max’s face screwed up in a scowl, but he
wisely followed Caleb from the store.

They rode in silence for a few minutes, Max
staring out the passenger side window of Caleb’s black Chevy
Silverado, no doubt thinking up ways to get even with him.

“Believe it or not, I know how you’re
feeling.”

Max remained stubbornly silent.

“I was only a few years older than you when
my old man took off. Left in the middle of the night like a coward.
Never said goodbye, love you, I’ll be back. And I blamed my mom,
just like you blame yours.”

Max fidgeted in his seat, but still, not a
word. Caleb made a right onto Willow Drive and pulled into Lauren’s
driveway. He parked the car, but instead of getting out, he turned
to face Max. “It’s not your mom’s fault your dad left, and I think
deep down you know that. Maybe you could cut her a break on the
attitude.”

Max lifted angry eyes to Caleb, but kept his
mouth shut.

Lauren stepped out onto the porch and
shielded her eyes from the glare of the evening sun. She dropped
her hand as Max got out of the truck, and Caleb found breathing
impossible as the most beautiful smile he’d ever seen lit up her
face.

Caleb got out, too, but hung back as Max
approached his mother.

Lauren tried to hug him, but the kid stormed
past her into the house. Caleb strode up to the porch and took her
into his arms. She hung onto him as if for dear life. It struck him
that they’d only met that morning, yet he’d never felt more
comfortable with anyone before, male or female. The thought
startled him and he pulled back slightly. “You okay?”

She blew out a shaky breath and nodded.
“You’d think I’d be used to it by now, you know? It’s been almost a
year since I”—she made the quote signs—“ruined his life. I keep
telling myself he’ll get over it, but what if he doesn’t? What if
my little boy who hates me turns into a grown man who hates
me?”

Caleb smiled reassuringly. “I promise he’ll
get over it. Trust me.”

Loud music suddenly blared through the front
door, and Lauren rolled her eyes.

“You want me to take care of this for you?”
Caleb asked. He let go of her hands and stepped back.

“I appreciate the offer, but no. I need to
take care of this myself.”

He nodded his understanding. “Thanks again
for supper. Call you tomorrow?”

“I’d like that.”

Caleb was trying to decide whether or not to
kiss her when the front door flew open and Emma waddled out.
“Momma, Max a bad boy! He call me soopid baby!”

She swung Emma up into her arms, and Caleb’s
heart melted like butter on a biscuit as the two most beautiful
girls in Redemption smiled up at him. He gave one of Emma’s honey
curls a gentle tug, winked at Lauren, and got the hell out of there
while he still could.

Lauren watched Caleb drive away with a sense
of regret. She was almost sure he’d been about to kiss her when
Emma barreled through the door. She kissed her daughter’s cheek.
“Lucky I adore you, Little Miss Rotten Timing.”

“’Dore you, too, Momma.” Emma wrapped her
arms around Lauren’s neck.