Drawn Deeper (14 page)

“Go swimming with me? Isn’t that why you came over? To see me?”

I looked at Kyle, hoping for help, but he just smirked.

“I . . . did, yes. I’m here to see you. And if you guys don’t have plans, I’ll swim with you for a bit.”

“Yes!” Eric ran out of the room.

“I wasn’t trying to get myself invited to stay,” I whispered to Kyle.

He shrugged. “You have to stay now.”

“Is it okay?”

“Of course, it’s okay. Stay all day and night if you want.” He furrowed his brow. “But I guess we should keep it . . . just friendly around the boys.”

“Right.”

“That won’t be easy,” he said in a low tone, approaching me and reaching out to touch my hip. “I’m sorry I had to leave so suddenly last night.”

“I understand, it was work. Was it something serious?”

He sighed heavily. “Yeah. Two-car accident. One driver was dead on arrival, and the other might lose his leg. It’s touch and go.”

“Oh, no.”

“Yeah.” He picked up a muffin from the counter and ate it. “Smells like chili in here.”

“Oh, I made you a few dinners for this week. They’re in the freezer.”

His eyes softened. “That was really nice. Let me pay you for it.”

“No way. I love cooking and baking.” I found the dishwasher detergent under the sink, filled the dispenser, and started it. “Hey, if you want to catch up on sleep, I’ll hang out with the boys.”

“I’m not missing out on you in a swimsuit,” he said softly.

My cheeks warmed. “I did bring one with me, but it’s a bikini. I thought I might need it last night. Should I run home and get a one-piece?”

He laughed at my suggestion. “No. Austin’s wife, Hannah, wears bikinis over here all the time. The boys are used to it.”

“I’m ready!” Eric burst into the kitchen wearing swim trunks and goggles, a blow-up dinosaur pool toy around his waist.

“We better hurry up and change,” Kyle said. “Jordan, you swimming with us?”

“Maybe later.”

I went into the bathroom with my bag and changed into the new red bikini I’d bought. By the time I got out to the pool, Kyle and Eric were already in the water.

Kyle looked me over with an appreciative grin. I forced myself not to think about being in the pool with him last weekend, my legs wound around his waist as we kissed.

Eric had endless energy. We played water guns, a game called Shark, and once Jordan came out, swam relay races.

Midway through the afternoon, Kyle ordered pizza, and we all went inside to eat. I was wiped out from the day in the sun.

After we ate, Kyle fell asleep on the couch, and Eric sat on my lap while we watched Harry Potter. I was so content, feeling like I’d finally found people I could give to
and
take from. And these three made me want to give all I had and then some.

When Kyle woke up and asked us in his sexy, sleepy voice what we wanted to do for dinner, I realized for the first time that I was on very dangerous ground.

I was falling for him and his boys. Or maybe I already had. Our day together had felt like the family I dreamed of.

But they weren’t mine. Outside of this house, we weren’t any kind of foursome. That was a sobering thought.

“Actually, I need to get home,” I said.

“Aw, really?” Jordan said.

“Yeah. But I had so much fun today, guys. Thank you.”

I got my bag, and Kyle offered to carry my mixer and baking sheets out to my Jeep for me.

“Hey,” he said when we were alone in the garage. “I’m glad you stayed.”

“Me too.”

He put my stuff in the back of my Jeep and then came around to the driver’s seat, where I was buckling myself in. My heart raced as he cupped my cheek and kissed me gently.

“Next Friday night?” he asked.

“Yes. But how about my place? I’ll make dinner.”

“Okay. You’re amazing, Meredith. I’ll be thinking about you.”

I smiled at him. “Same.”

And as I drove home, I realized for the first time that my constant dreamy thoughts of him might not be a good thing. Not for my heart, anyway.

This time was different. This time, I was a twenty-nine-year-old woman who’d lived and learned from her mistakes. I knew heartbreak and loneliness now, and I never wanted to go back to it. Not after finding something that felt so right for the first time in my life.

I wanted Kyle Lockhart to be mine. But I didn’t see how that could ever be.

Kyle

The next afternoon, I walked into my parents’ house, braced for an argument. When my mother had texted this morning asking me to drop by for lunch if I could, I knew it was probably about Meredith.

“You made it,” she said as I walked into the kitchen.

“How are you, Mom?”

“Oh, no complaints. I’ve just had Maxine Thompson over to discuss the flowers for Mason and April’s wedding, so that was nice.”

“The backyard’s a beautiful spot for a wedding.”

“Thank you. Your father and I are thrilled that Mason found the one.”

“Yeah, April’s great.” I approached the kitchen counter and nodded with appreciation. “That chicken salad looks great. Can we eat soon? I have to be back by one fifteen.”

“Sure. Just sit down, and I’ll bring everything over to the table.”

Her homemade chicken salad was one of my favorites, and I was hungry. It was all I could do to wait as she put croissants, chicken salad, chips, and a pitcher of iced tea on the table. Finally, she sat down.

“How’s work today?” she asked.

“Just the usual.”

“I heard Marion Carter had a biopsy, or was that just a rumor?”

I shrugged as I spooned chicken salad onto a croissant. “You know I can’t discuss patients, Mom.”

“So she
is
a patient, then?”

“I didn’t say that. I don’t disclose anything about anyone, and you know it.”

“Of course I do. I just thought that if she is going through something like that, I’d bring over a casserole or something.”

I decided a change of subject was in order. “The boys said Dad took them flying Saturday morning. They had a good time.”

“Good. Your father’s been tinkering with his plane a lot lately, and he hasn’t done much flying.”

“Where’s he at today?”

“Lunch with a client. Full-time retirement doesn’t suit him, so it’s good he took on a few clients again.”

“You guys should travel. There’s a big world out there to see.”

She smiled. “Everyone who matters to me is right here in Lovely. Other than Justin, of course.”

“Hopefully, he can make it to Mason’s bachelor party weekend.”

“I hope so, too.” She set her sandwich down and met my gaze across the table. “Kyle, I need to talk to you about something.”

“Sure.” I grabbed another croissant to make a second sandwich.

“I know you’re seeing Meredith.”

“Yeah?”

“It’s all over town that her Jeep is at your house every day now.”

“We already talked about this, Mom.”

She sighed and rested her elbows on the table. “Well, I think it’s time for a more honest conversation about it.”

“Were you dishonest last time?” I arched my brows with amusement. “Because I wasn’t.”

“This isn’t a joke,” she said sharply. “After what Jordan and Eric have been through, I can’t believe you don’t understand the gravity of this.”

“No one understands what my kids have been through better than I do.”

“Kim was an opportunist. Once she had you locked in, she showed her true colors. Even before the drinking started, she was spending so much money and getting all those plastic surgeries—”

I cut her off. “I know all this, Mom. What’s your point?”

“My
point
is that you’ve traded one bad choice in women for another. You get blinded by the physical part of a relationship and don’t see what’s coming until it’s too late.”

I sat back from the table. “You’re way off base comparing Meredith to Kim. And you’re making a lot of unfair assumptions.”

“I didn’t say anything about Kim for years because she was
your choice
. Your wife. And I respected that. Until she started putting the kids in danger, I didn’t feel it was my business.”

“That situation has nothing to do with Meredith.”

Her eyes widened with disbelief. “It has everything to do with her. I won’t make the same mistake this time. I’m trying to help you see the light before it’s too late.”

Usually, my mom’s nosiness didn’t bother me as much as it was right now. I was on the verge of losing my cool.

“Listen,” I said, “whatever’s between me and Meredith is just between us. The boys don’t even know about it yet because we’re being very careful. You’re operating on a lot of assumptions, thinking I’ll fill in the blanks for you. I’m not going to. Stay out of this, and let me live my own life.”

“It’s not just your life, though, Kyle. It’s Jordan’s and Eric’s, too. I won’t sit idly by and let my grandsons be hurt
again
.”

“They were hurt by their mother.” My voice rose with anger. “And she’s gone now, so how can it happen again?”

“Meredith is digging her claws into all three of you. She got to you through those boys.”

I shook my head in disbelief. “No, she didn’t.”

“I know you don’t see it, because you don’t know how manipulative she is. But this whole thing started with her tutoring your boys. Bringing them cookies. Being the maternal figure they’re both missing. And
that
is how she hooked you.”

My single note of laughter held no humor. “You know how she hooked me, Mom? You really want the details? She’s sexy and sweet and warm. Nothing like Kim. Couldn’t be more opposite, actually. And it was
me
who pursued
her
, not the other way around.”

She gave me a stunned look. “You asked her to tutor the boys because you liked her?”

“No. She offered that. And she left every day when I got home. But I developed feelings.”

“Exactly what she wanted.”

I pinched the bridge of my nose, forcing myself to stay calm. “You couldn’t be more wrong about her, Mom.”

“I’ve known her for a long time. I can see this from a distance, Kyle. You’re lonely, and that’s clouding your judgment. If you feel ready to date again, why not—”

“No. Whatever you’re about to say,
no
.” I stood up. “We’re done talking about this, Mom. Stay out of my personal life.”

She recoiled. “I’m your mother. How can I stay out of your personal life?”

“By not talking about it, with me or anyone else. I despise the gossip mill in this town, and I thought you did, too.”

“Is it gossip if it’s the truth?”

“Sometimes, yeah.”

She stood up, too. “Have you even considered Reed’s feelings? You’re sleeping with his former fiancée.”

“I talked to Reed before anything happened with me and Meredith.”

“And?”

“And it was a private conversation.” I took my car keys out of my pocket. “I’m leaving.”

“Why can’t you see how impossible it would be for me to sit back and say nothing after what happened with Kim?”

I sighed with exasperation. “Look, Meredith and I are
quietly
seeing each other. Not in public, not in front of the boys. That’s all it is right now. I don’t know what will come of it. No one’s getting engaged here, Mom. I’m looking out for the boys’ best interests, but also seeing a woman I like a lot on the one night a week I have available to see her.”

She nodded. “Just don’t try to spring her on me. Don’t bring her over here for a family dinner. And for God’s sake, don’t bring her to Mason’s wedding.”

I walked to the front door, my anger simmering. Though I’d planned on leaving without saying another word, I couldn’t help myself. I turned around to face her.

“I can’t begin to tell you how disappointed I am in you. It’s been more than eight years since she decided not to marry Reed, and you refuse to let that shit die. He’s over it, and so is she. No one else has a right to hold a grudge about it.”

I left then, mildly disappointed in myself for letting her get to me, but mostly glad I’d gotten that off my chest.

When I got home from work later that afternoon, the boys had neighborhood friends over swimming. Meredith was sitting on a patio lounger, wearing giant black sunglasses and reading a book.

“Hey,” she said when I walked outside. “I didn’t want to make them quit playing to work on reading and writing, so we took a day off.”

“Good idea.” I sat down on the lounger next to her. “I can’t believe they didn’t make you get in there with them.”

“Oh, they tried. But I don’t have a swimsuit with me.”

“All the better,” I said under my breath. “But I guess not while the kids are here.”

She smiled and put her e-reader down on her chest. “So how many lives did you save today?”

I shook my head. “None, I’m afraid. Just did a splenectomy. It was really nasty, but it wouldn’t have been life-threatening for another few weeks.”

“I think it counts, then.” She slid her legs off the side of the lounger, and I snuck a peek at them. Her sleeveless dress had a long skirt, but I caught some skin.

“You’re leaving?” I asked her.

“Yep. I’m going back into the office to get some stuff done.”

“Blow it off and hang out here. Stay for dinner.”