A Fair of the Heart, Welcome To Redemption, Book1 (9 page)

“Mom, the diner’ll be closed tomorrow `cause
of the fair,” Max reminded her. “We have to go tonight.”

Jesus, what was the matter with him? So what
if Hutch would wink and tease. So what if the rumors swirling
around town reached Twitter speed. He was a grown man, and grown
men dated. Sometimes they dated women with kids. A ready-made
family. Nothing wrong with that. Nothing at all.

“Hey, you look like you’re gonna puke,” Max
informed him. “Want me to get you a bucket?”

Caleb shook off his funk and managed a smile.
“Thanks, but I’m fine. Just remembered something I forgot to order
for a job coming up this week. Do me a favor and remind me about it
tomorrow.”

“’Kay. So, are we going to the diner and
video store, or what?”

“Me go, too!” Emma insisted.

Lauren cast him an uncertain smile, putting
all his nagging doubts to rest...for the time being, anyway. “Let’s
go. Last one to my truck has to kiss Hutch.”

* * *

“Now, this is a sight I like to see,” Hutch
said as they entered the diner a short time later and strode
forward to greet him. Lauren adjusted Emma on her hip, then leaned
in and gave him a kiss on his adorably scruffy cheek. Hutch turned
red as a lobster. “What was that for?”

She grinned. “I forgot my purse.”

He cocked a bushy brow. “If you want me to
start a tab for you...”

Lauren laughed. “No, it’s just I was the last
one...never mind. We’re on our way to rent a movie, but wanted to
stop in and say hello. It’s been way too long.” She reached out and
touched his arm. “I’m so sorry about Rosalee. She’ll be
missed.”

The older man gave a curt nod. “Thanks.”

“Hey, Hutch.” Max hopped up on a stool. “I
decided to start taking guitar lessons again, so you’re gonna be
seeing us more often very soon.”

“Glad to hear it.” He gave Max a pat on the
head.

“Can I get you guys anything?”

Caleb pretended to consider, sending her a
teasing grin. All Lauren could think about was how badly she wanted
to kiss him. She’d been dreaming about it all week long. So far,
she’d fantasized about kissing him in her barber’s chair, in the
swing out back, in his truck, her car, the movie theater, under the
stars, in the rain. Her pulse kicked up, sending tingles of
awareness to every nerve in her body. She was suddenly very glad to
be wearing her padded bra.

“Actually, Lauren just made the best Italian
meal I’ve ever had, complete with apple pie a la mode.”

“Lucky you.” Hutch’s eyes crinkled at the
corners, his lips curving just the slightest bit.

“Sucka! Sucka!” Emma shouted, pointing toward
a plastic jar filled with Dum Dum pops on the counter.

Hutch unscrewed the lid and held the jar
aloft. “Go ahead, sweetheart, pick any one you want.”

She reached in and managed to grab three. She
grinned up at Hutch, who then held the jar out for Max. Max fished
around until he’d found the last root beer sucker.

When Hutch started to twist the lid back on,
Caleb teased, “Hey, what about me?”

Lauren laughed as Hutch extended his arm and
gave the jar a shake.

Max rolled his eyes. “The suckers are for the
kids, not adults,” he informed Caleb.

“I’ll have you know I’ve been pulling candy
out of this jar since I was your age, probably before. And trust
me, you’re never too old for candy. Right, Hutch?” Caleb leaned
over and reached under the counter. He pulled out a bag of M&Ms
with a flourish.

“Hey, now.” Hutch’s brow beetled into a mock
frown. “That’s my secret stash, boy. Ain’t nothin’ sacred?”

Lauren laughed while Caleb held the bag just
out of the older man’s reach.

“Since I’m too old to jump up and grab ’em,
guess I’ll have to put you on my no-service list.” He pretended to
write on his order tablet. “No more cheeseburgers for Caleb.”

Caleb chuckled, and Lauren’s heart swelled as
she witnessed the affection these two men had for each other. Since
legend had it that Hutch and Rosalee had been together for decades,
Caleb and Hutch must have been very close. Maybe like father and
son since, from the impression Caleb had left, his own father had
left him when he was still a kid.

Caleb handed over the M&Ms with a wink.
“Come on, gang, we’d better get to the video store before they rent
out all the movies.”

“Like that could really happen,” Max said
with a roll of his eyes.

“Hey, you never know. What if everyone in
town decided to head to the video store at the exact same time?”
Caleb grinned, ruffled Max’s hair, and escorted them out of the
diner as everyone waved and Emma blew kisses to Hutch.

It was just past six by the time they arrived
back home, and Lauren realized she was looking forward to this as
much as Max. Maybe more. She popped a couple of bags of microwave
popcorn, poured them all a glass of soda—except Emma, who got
watered-down apple juice—and they settled on the couch to watch the
movie. Max and Emma both insisted on sitting next to Caleb, so
Lauren curled up in the corner and enjoyed her space.

Emma fell asleep about halfway through the
movie. Lauren gently lifted her from Caleb’s lap and carried her
upstairs. She wanted to change her bandage, but hated to wake her,
so she decided to wait until morning and headed back downstairs. By
the time the credits were rolling, Max hadn’t so much as yawned,
and Lauren was kicking herself for giving him soda. Darn it, she
wanted some alone time with Caleb.

She wanted the kiss she’d been craving since
the moment she’d laid eyes on him.

“Wanna play Monopoly?” Max jumped off the
couch and started rummaging around in the hall closet. “Or we could
play Sorry!, that’s another good one.”

“Sorry!” Lauren and Caleb said at the same
time.

They glanced at each other and laughed. Max
shook his head, no doubt figuring all adults were nuts. He pulled
the game out and shut the closet door. “Come on,” he ordered as he
carried the game into the kitchen. “I’ll set it up. And dibs on
blue.”

“Green!” Caleb called out. He lowered his
voice to barely a whisper. “What are the chances he’ll pass out
before I have to leave?”

“I’ll take yellow, Max!” She shrugged and
grinned up at him. “Pretty much slim to none, I’m thinking. Why?
Got any ideas?”

He scooched over and ran one finger up her
bare arm, to her equally bare shoulder, sending a delicious chill
to all her pleasure points. He trailed it up her collarbone to her
throat, ending at the tender spot just below her ear. “I’ve got a
few.”

Lauren shivered in response.

“Come on, you two, let’s go!”

Caleb winked at her, then stood up and helped
her to her feet.

Right after the third game, Caleb made a big
show of looking at the clock and widening his eyes as if in
astonishment. Lauren barely repressed a giggle. “Holy cow,
ten-thirty? Max, if you plan to start working at seven, you’d
better get your butt up to bed.”

“But I’m not even tired,” he complained.

“Hey, kid, it was your idea to work
tomorrow,” Caleb reminded him. “I don’t plan to get up early for
nothing. If you don’t get to bed now, you’ll never drag your bones
out of bed by six-thirty. And I plan to pick you up around
ten-to.”

“He’s right, honey.” Lauren started putting
the game pieces back in the box. “Besides, as soon as your head
hits the pillow, you’ll be tired. Trust me.”

Max heaved a comically dramatic sigh. “Fine.”
He got up and dragged his feet toward the stairs. He’d taken maybe
four steps before turning. “Can we stop at Coffee To Chai For in
the morning for sweet rolls? I’ll pay for ’em.”

“Sounds like a plan. But I’ll buy since it’s
the boss’s job to feed his employees, not the other way
around.”

“Cool. ’Night.” Max returned the game to the
closet and headed upstairs.

As soon as they heard his bedroom door close,
Caleb got up and strode around the table, his eyes brimming with
mischief. He held out his hand, and Lauren took it without a
moment’s hesitation. He gave her a gentle tug, and when she rose to
her feet, he kissed her knuckles before taking her into his
arms.

“I think this moment has waited long enough,
don’t you?”

Caleb cupped the side of her face, his thumb
tracing along her cheekbone as he leaned in and gently pressed his
lips to hers. It was a chaste kiss, all too brief, and Lauren
barely held back a whimper of frustration. Had he decided he’d had
enough from just that small sampling? Had there been no spark on
his end? Because, good God, the man had practically melted the
mascara from her eyelashes with just that one simple kiss. Her
heart pounded furiously against her ribs as she waited for his next
move.

He pulled back slightly and met her gaze,
almost as if gauging her reaction. Then he leaned back in and
reclaimed her mouth—this time with ravenous need. Finally, the kiss
she’d been craving all week!

Lauren wrapped her arms around his neck and
held on for dear life as he slanted his mouth across hers and
proceeded to kiss her breathless. His lips were soft and coaxing,
yet firm and demanding as they worked their magic, sending needles
of pleasure to every nerve in her body.

Caleb maneuvered them so he could sit down on
one of the chairs and pull her onto his lap, never breaking the
kiss. Lauren met the rasp of his tongue stroke for stroke,
caressing the nape of his neck, tunneling her fingers through his
thick, baby-soft curls. She couldn’t remember ever being this
turned on before, this into a kiss. Holy fricken wow, talk about
worth the wait!

She moaned, leaning into him, dissolving into
his heat, pulse roaring in her ears. Lauren turned in his arms,
bringing her leg around so she could straddle his lap and snuggle
even closer, plastering herself against his broad, hard chest.
Caleb answered her silent plea with a growl of his own, crushing
her in his arms, his hands caressing a fiery trail down her back,
cupping her butt in his big hands. Their mouths meshed with
escalating hunger, their tongues moving in a dance as old as time,
both giving as much as they took. Lauren felt sure she would drown
in the heady sensations coursing through her.

The proof of his desire was nestled between
them, and it took all her self-control not to move against him. It
had been so long since—

Caleb tore his lips from hers and rested his
forehead against hers, his breath coming out in ragged pants.

“Wha—?” Lauren could barely draw air into her
lungs to speak. “Is something wrong?” she finally managed to
whisper.

“I think Emma woke up,” he whispered right
back.

Lauren pulled back in alarm and shot a look
toward the stairs. How could she have not heard her? “I’ll be right
back,” she murmured, unable to meet his gaze. She climbed off his
lap with as much dignity as possible and raced up the stairs.

Emma had indeed woken up, but Lauren rubbed
her back for a few minutes, and she fell right back to sleep. She
stuck her head in the bathroom on her way back to check her face in
the mirror, make sure the words “bad mother” weren’t etched into
her forehead.

Caleb stood as soon as she entered the
kitchen. “Is she all right? It wasn’t her hand, was it?”

“No, just fussing. She fell right back to
sleep.” Lauren wrapped her arms around herself and walked past him
to the sink for a glass of water.

Caleb came up behind her, but didn’t touch
her. “Is something wrong?”

She took a sip, then another, too embarrassed
to turn around and face him. “I didn’t even hear her. What does
that say about my maternal instinct?”

He frowned and took her in his arms. “You’re
a wonderful mother, Lauren. You got wrapped up in the moment,
which, to be honest, is a pretty big compliment.”

She gazed up at him, hoping her heart wasn’t
in her eyes. “But you heard her. Does that mean you weren’t
as...that it didn’t affect you the same way…?”

He silenced her with a quick kiss. “Shh. All
it means is I’m a military man who’s attuned to the sounds around
him. The kiss knocked my socks off, lady.”

A hopeful smile tugged at her lips. “Really?
Well...good.”

Caleb chuckled softly. He reached up and
cupped the back of her head, as if ready to prove his point, but
then dropped his hands with obvious regret. “If I don’t leave
now...”

“You won’t be able to leave at all?”

He kissed her on the forehead and took a step
back. “Exactly.”

Lauren realized, as she walked him to the
door, they’d never discussed the fair. “Any chance you’d like to
join the kids and me Saturday for a stroll through the fair?”

“Every chance. I’d love to, thanks. And it’ll
be my treat. We’ll consider it a first date.”

“No arguments from the financially
challenged,” she teased. “Although please don’t think you have
to.”

“I want to.” He smiled, his eyes crinkling as
he gazed down at her. He tipped her chin up and gave her one last
kiss before walking out the door.

Holy…Wow. Lauren closed the door behind him
and collapsed against it, her knees ridiculously weak, her heart
pumping fast. Every inch of her crackled with sexual frustration.
Never had she felt such…raw desire before, such a powerful physical
need. She wanted him. Lord, how she wanted him.

Maybe she’d take Mrs. Langhart’s advice and
buy herself a sexy new pair of heels tomorrow. And maybe she’d see
if Carrie was available to babysit for a few hours.

* * *

“At this rate, we’ll be done by eleven,”
Caleb told Max the next morning as they took a quick break to wolf
down a couple of sweet rolls.

“Cool. I’ll be able to meet Eddie and Pete
right when the fair opens at noon.” Max grabbed a second apple
fritter and stuffed it in his mouth.

Caleb gave his head an amused shake. The kid
could down a sweet roll faster than he could. And Caleb was no
slouch in the eating department. “You’re not planning on meeting up
with Bucky, are you?” Caleb took a nonchalant bite of his
chocolate-covered long john.