A Fair of the Heart, Welcome To Redemption, Book1 (6 page)

Lauren pulled out her cast-iron skillet and
gave it a generous coating of olive oil before tossing in the diced
onion and Italian sausage. She listened as Caleb described the jobs
he’d booked for the next couple of weeks or so. Cabinets to reface,
shelves to build, a brand new kitchen counter and dishwasher for a
lady just down the road. Lauren was a little envious over that one.
She’d love to have a dishwasher, but would be too old to enjoy it
by the time she could afford one. Caleb had also been contracted to
replace the wooden fence around the daycare center, and to patch
the roof of the VFW.

“Mom, is it okay if I work with Caleb until
school starts? He’s gonna pay me eight bucks an hour!”

Lauren cast Caleb a quick glance. “Well, I’m
not sure. I don’t want him doing anything dangerous.” Sure would be
nice for Max to earn some money, though. It broke her heart that
she couldn’t afford to spoil her children every now and again. And
Max’s attitude had undergone an astounding transformation in such a
short time. Lauren couldn’t deny that spending time with Caleb had
been good for her son.

“Course not. I have a lot of jobs that
require staining and varnishing, even some light painting. And the
kid’s a natural. Has a real talent for it.”

Max preened in his chair, and Lauren couldn’t
hold back a smile. Her respect for the incredible man sitting in
her kitchen grew even more. Her ex had never taken the time to
teach his son a blessed thing. Hell, he’d never even so much as
tossed a ball around with Max. Probably because the only thing the
man excelled at was something a ten-year-old boy had no business
knowing. “In that case, I think it’s a great idea. Thank you.”

Caleb shrugged. “Shame for talent like that
to go to waste. In fact, I’d like to get him started tomorrow
staining the boards for that fence. Maybe between the two of us, we
can finish them in a day.”

Emma waddled into the kitchen and headed for
the back door. “Sandbox, Momma.”

“Max, would you please take your sister
outside to play for a little while?”

He let out an exaggerated sigh and whined,
“Can’t we just watch her from the window? It’s not like she can get
out of the yard.”

Lauren propped a hand on her hip and gave him
her fiercest don’t-argue-with-me look. Max’s shoulders slumped in
resignation.

“Fine. But just for a little while.” Max got
up and herded Emma out the back door. “And if you throw any sand at
me, playtime’s over.”

Lauren pulled a metal spatula out of the
drawer and broke up the clumps of browning meat and onions. “So,
just how long of a day were you planning to work?”

“Don’t worry, honey, I won’t overwork him.
Besides, Max is a strong kid. A little physical labor will be good
for him. Wear him out so he has less time for troublemaking.”

A slow smile spread across her face as
understanding dawned. She pointed at him with the spatula. “You’re
a genius. I should’ve had him pushing the vacuum all this
time.”

“I’m not sure vacuuming would’ve gone over
well. Max is a growing boy. He needs male interests, not women’s
work.” Caleb grinned.

Lauren regarded him through playfully
narrowed eyes. “Watch it.”

“Sorry.” His tone suggested he wasn’t the
least bit repentant.

Lauren added crushed tomatoes, tomato paste,
a little sugar, and plenty of spices to her pan, and then turned
the flame down to simmer. Caleb watched in silence while she mixed
two beaten eggs with some parmesan and ricotta cheese.

“So,” he said, “tell me about your family.
Got any brothers or sisters? Does your family live here in
Redemption?”

“No brothers or sisters, my mother lives in
California, and I rarely hear from her. My father is remarried, but
he hasn’t spoken to me since I disobeyed his direct order not to
marry John. And the fact I don’t get along with his wife doesn’t
help.”

Caleb got up and strode across the kitchen,
settling against the counter beside her with his arms and his
work-booted feet crossed. Lauren couldn’t help but admire the tight
fit of his gray T-shirt as it stretched over lean abs and perfectly
sculpted arms. She got the impression he wanted to say something,
but he remained quiet, shifting a bit as he focused his gaze out
the window into the backyard. He smiled, probably over something
her silly little peanut did. Lauren’s heart flipped at the thought,
and she worried over how hard and fast she was falling for this
man.

“I’m sorry about your dad, and for even
bringing the subject up.” He turned back to face her, his smile
rueful. “Seems like I apologize to you a lot.”

“You have nothing to apologize for. I didn’t
have to share that with you, if I didn’t want to.”

He reached up and gently fingered a stray
curl out of her eyes. “So why did you?”

“I don’t know.” She gave a one-shoulder
shrug. “I just feel like...you’re easy to talk to.” She smiled,
thinking of his earlier revelation. “You remind me of your mother.
Easygoing, friendly. I’ll miss her.”

“Me, too. I’m just glad she got a chance to
know you. And the kids. I bet she adored Emma. Max already told me
about the whipped cream bit.”

“He lit up around her. Hard to believe we’ll
never see her again.” When he didn’t respond, she met his gaze, her
heart heavy with empathy. “I’m sorry, I…probably need to quit
talking.”

“You didn’t say anything wrong. I’m just
suffering from a guilty conscience.”

“Why? I mean…do you want to talk about
it?”

Caleb blew out a hard breath, and for a
moment she didn’t think he would comment. “Just the usual stuff, I
guess. Wish I’d visited more, wish I’d called more often.”

“I’m sure Rosalee knew how much you loved
her.” Lauren smiled in what she hoped was a reassuring way. She
stirred her sauce, then dug her big aluminum pot out of the cabinet
and began filling it with water.

Caleb nodded, though he seemed less than
convinced. Lauren wondered if maybe it went deeper than he was
letting on. “Thanks.” He nodded toward the stove. “So, you need
help with anything?”

A bloodcurdling scream rent the air. “Emma!”
Lauren smacked the faucet down and raced out the back door, Caleb
right on her heels.

Emma sat curled up in the grass, sobbing her
heart out, while Max hovered over her frantically insisting, “Let
me see ’em, Em! Come on, I have to see how bad it is!”

“How bad what is?” Lauren demanded as she
dropped to her knees beside her baby and tried to figure out where
she was hurt.

Caleb grabbed Max by the arm and helped him
to his feet. “Come on, son, let your mother in there.”

Lauren pulled Emma onto her lap. “Sweetheart,
you have to calm down and tell me what happened,” she crooned.
“Show Momma, honey.”

Emma lifted a shaky hand up for Lauren’s
inspection, her hysterical cries winding down to hiccupping sobs.
Lauren had to hold back a sob of her own when she saw the condition
of her daughter’s fingers. The skin was cherry red with black bits
stuck to her flesh that looked suspiciously like ashes.

Lauren shot Max a look as she scooped Emma
into her arms. “What in the world happened? It looks like she
burned her fingers.” Without waiting for an answer, she ran back
into the house and turned on the kitchen faucet. Emma screamed to
the heavens when Lauren pressed her little fingers under the cool
running water. Lauren had to bite her lip to keep her composure.
Nothing in this world was worse than watching your child suffer.
And Lord only knew how bad the damage was. But what could she have
burned herself on? Had she found a pack of matches in the house
somewhere?

“I’ll drive you to the ER,” Caleb said as he
and Max entered behind her. “Wrap a clean dishtowel around her
hand. Maybe apply some Vaseline or Neosporin first, if you have
any.” He rushed over to the stove and turned off the burner, then
asked Max to go grab Lauren’s purse.

“How is she?” Caleb asked, peering over her
shoulder.

Lauren cast him a quick glance. “Did you see
anything lying in the grass? I’m afraid she may have found a pack
of matches somewhere. I have a few in the drawer for when the stove
pilot goes out.”

Caleb rushed out the back door and returned a
minute later, his expression grim. He held up a smoldering
cigarette butt, which didn’t make a lick of sense since Lauren
didn’t smoke. Neither did Carrie, or the Glockmans, who lived on
the other side of her.

Caleb doused it in the sink and pitched it in
the trash. “It’d be my guess she picked it up by the lit end, which
would explain the charred bits stuck to her fingers.”

Max finally showed up with his mother’s purse
and asked, “Is she all right?”

“Her fingers are burnt. Care to tell me how
that happened?”

Max cast a quick, almost pleading glance at
Caleb, who responded, “Come on, we’d better get Emma to the
ER.”

Once Lauren and Emma were admitted into the
ER, Caleb clasped Max’s shoulder. “Time to tell me how Emma’s
fingers got burned.” He fed a dollar bill into the coffee machine
and pressed the button for hot chocolate. Christ, if he’d told
Lauren right away about the pack of smokes he’d found in Max’s
“stuck” bottom drawer, this never would’ve happened. And at Rowdy’s
he’d been caught trying to buy a pack of cigarettes, but again
Caleb had given him the benefit of the doubt. They’d made such
progress that night—Max had actually opened up to him—Caleb had
been sure the kid’s self-destructive phase was over, and there was
no reason to upset Lauren.

Guilt and frustration ate at him. That sweet
little girl was in pain because of his poor choices. The urge to
put his fist through the wall nearly overpowered him. He flexed his
fingers and took a deep, calming breath before turning to face
Max.

“It wasn’t mine, I swear!”

“Sit down.” Caleb held out the piping hot
paper cup. “And be careful. Your mother couldn’t handle another
accident right now.” Caleb sat down beside him. “Now tell me what
happened, and don’t even think about trying to con me.”

“This dude named Bucky showed up and wanted
me to go with him to the park to meet up with Eddie and Jimbo. When
he lit up, I told him to put it out, but he wouldn’t listen. Then
he flicked it in the yard, and Emma ran over and picked it up
before I could stop her.” Max’s face screwed up with anger.
“Bucky’s gonna be sorry when I catch up with him!”

Caleb sat down next to him. “Calm down. Let’s
just pray Emma’s fingers aren’t as bad as they looked.”

“You believe me, don’t you? I wasn’t
smoking.” Looking into Max’s eyes, Caleb had no doubt the boy was
telling the truth. But it didn’t lessen Caleb’s own guilt. “I
believe you. But we have to tell your mother what happened.”

“No way! She’ll totally freak out, say I
can’t hang out with any of my friends anymore, give me some stupid
curfew.”

“You’re ten, Max. You should have a
curfew.”

“Yeah, but she wants me in by eight o’clock.
During the
summer
.”

Caleb would’ve laughed if the situation
hadn’t been so dire.

Thirty minutes later, Lauren appeared through
the double doors carrying a very sleepy Emma. Caleb watched with
interest as one of the paramedics strode up to Lauren, his
familiarity and concern unmistakable. After a short exchange, he
gave Emma a kiss on the forehead, Lauren’s shoulder a squeeze, and
walked out of the hospital with his fellow EMTs.

Caught off guard by an overwhelming rush of
jealousy, Caleb shot to his feet. His face grew hot and an
unreasonable urge to race out after the guy and beat the hell out
of him took hold.
So this is what the green-eyed monster feels
like.
The unfamiliar emotion was not a welcome one.

Once they were in the car on the way home,
Lauren touched his leg and said, “I want to thank you for jumping
in and taking care of us. I don’t know what I would’ve done if not
for you.”

“You would’ve handled the situation just
fine. Luckily, Emma’s burns weren’t as bad as they looked.”

“I know.” She peeked over her shoulder at her
sleeping daughter.

He was already attached to the lot of them,
and it struck him with the force of a freight train that he had no
idea how Lauren even felt about him. Jesus, he was half in love
with her, and she may be feeling nothing more than gratitude. Caleb
let his frustration out on a silent breath as he recalled the
adoring way she’d gazed up at that paramedic.

“You okay?” Lauren asked him.

He shot her a quick glance, praying his
expression didn’t give away his inner turmoil. “Yeah. Just
remembered I have a few phone calls to make when I get home.”

“Oh. I’m sorry we kept you so long. I’d still
plan to make the lasagna, but maybe we should save it for
tomorrow?”

Caleb glanced back at Max who looked
thoroughly miserable with his hangdog expression and slumped
shoulders. While Caleb hated keeping the cigarette situation from
Lauren even a minute longer, maybe the talk could keep until
tomorrow as well. She’d be in a better frame of mind—less likely to
lock Max in his room and throw away the key.

“I agree. You need to take care of Emma
tonight, and I need to take care of some business.” He pulled into
her driveway and killed the engine. “I’ll carry Emma into the house
for you.”

“Thanks, but I can get her. Max, grab my
purse, please.”

Caleb walked them to the door. “I’ll call
tomorrow, see how Emma’s doing. Find out what time you want me over
for supper.” He gave her arm a gentle squeeze. “She’ll be fine.
She’s already sleeping, and the pain medicine will make sure she
sleeps comfortably.”

Lauren looked up at him with something that
resembled a smile. “I know. Thanks again, for everything. See you
tomorrow.”

“Count on it.” He ruffled Max’s hair, earning
a frown from the boy. “You help your mother tonight. She’ll need
it.”