Heart of Clay (20 page)

Callan decided to leave her grumpy husband
alone for the moment and went into the kitchen. She turned on the
music she’d been listening to when she first got home and finished
cleaning up from dinner.

Clay sat by the fire, trying to get his
thoughts and feelings under control. The baffling female in the
kitchen left him unsettled yet intrigued. He had no idea how to go
about understanding a woman, especially one he’d loved for more
than a decade but suddenly felt like he didn’t know well at
all.

When he heard her begin to hum, he smiled.
Callan used to love to sing and always had music playing. For
years, it had been too quiet. She’d recently dug out all her
favorite music and had been playing it whenever she was home or in
her car.

Tonight was the first time he’d heard her
hum along to the music.

Lost in her own thoughts and the music
playing, Callan hung the dishtowel up to dry as Clay wandered into
the kitchen and turned off the lights.

Without saying a word, he took her hand in
his and tugged her into the living room. The only light came from
the fireplace, casting a warm glow around the room. Slowly
releasing her hand, Clay took a step back and studied her. Beyond
the brooding look he did so well at maintaining, she couldn’t read
his thoughts or intentions.

“Dance with me, Callan,” he rumbled, holding
out his hands, knowing she wouldn’t, couldn’t refuse.

Clay hated to dance. Avoided it at all
costs. Claimed he had two left feet. Now, he wanted to dance in
their living room, to music playing in the kitchen they could
barely hear. Still wary of his current mood, Callan thought it best
to humor him. She stepped forward and accepted his hand with hers
while she slid her other hand onto his shoulder. He acted so
strange. She couldn’t begin to imagine what in the world had gotten
into him.

Every nerve in Clay’s body stood at
attention as he held Callan close and they swayed in time to the
music.

Tomorrow, he’d ask about this wild and
exciting transformation.

Tomorrow, he’d tell her how surprised he was
by the joke they’d pulled over on him.

Tomorrow, he’d tell her how proud he was of
her.

Tonight, just for tonight, he wanted to
enjoy the wonder of holding a mysterious stranger he’d loved for
thirteen years close to his heart.

He could barely comprehend Callan doing
something so bold - completely changing her entire appearance in
twenty-four hours. Clay had the feeling his future would be
incredibly interesting if this was a preview of what was to come.
Just when he thought he had her figured out, she changed direction
and pulled him off kilter.

The more he saw of the new Callan, the
stronger his interest grew. In all truth, he was mesmerized.

Gently moving his hand up and down her back,
he enjoyed the feel of the luxurious knit against his
work-roughened palm and fingers. Her sweater was even softer than
it looked. He couldn’t remember the last time he’d seen her wear
pink. She looked altogether feminine and alluring, especially as
her hair rippled in waves of rich auburn shot with gold from the
firelight. The way it swished around her face as they danced left
him utterly entranced.

When he dropped her into a deep dip, he
kissed the fluttering pulse in her neck, drinking in the look of
bliss that swept across her face. If only he could smell her scent,
he knew he’d be completely intoxicated. Lifting her up out of the
dip, he twirled her around, tugged at her sweater sleeve, and
pulled off the cardigan.

Just like unwrapping a
beautiful package,
Clay thought as his
mouth began to water.

The sleeveless shell Callan wore fit her to
perfection. Clay took great pleasure in trailing his fingers
lightly up and down her arms. He watched goose bumps rise on her
soft skin. Finally taking her hand in his again, he continued their
dance.

In her entire life, Callan couldn’t remember
ever feeling like this. Her legs would have buckled beneath her if
Clay hadn’t held her so closely in his arms. He stirred wondrous
feelings and emotions she’d never experienced.

Even though she had always loved Clay, a
part of her was afraid to love him completely, without reserve, in
case he ever left her.

All these years, she’d kept a part of
herself shut away, not ever letting him fully scale all of the
walls she’d built around her heart. Now, most of those walls were
rubble and the last of the barriers loomed dangerously close to
crumbling under his tenacious determination to love her.

Vividly aware it was time to overcome her
fears, she asked herself what she was afraid of, why she kept
holding a part of herself back from Clay. He deserved to have her
love, her life, her very essence completely, without any restraint
or reservation.

Callan took a deep breath and felt the last
wall tumble. Defenseless, she surrendered willingly as Clay took
her to the point of no return.

She started to sing along to the love song
playing in the kitchen. While she sang, she unbuttoned his shirt
then placed a tender kiss in the hollow of his neck.

“Callan,” Clay whispered, putting a world of
emotion into that one word. He pulled her closer and gave her a
long, passionate kiss that left them both breathless and
wanting.

Unhurriedly sliding her arms under his
shirt, she clung to his back, to his strength and ruggedness. She
held him so tight, his heart pounded wildly against her, keeping
time to her own frenzied pulse.

Slowly raising her mouth to his, she
whispered against his lips. “Don’t wake me up, Clay. I don’t want
this dream to ever end.”

“Never, Laney, never,” he whispered as he
kissed her again. Quickly sweeping her into his arms, he carried
her to their bedroom.

The next morning, as he sat at the table
watching her make breakfast, Clay still couldn’t get over the
transformation in Callan.

“So tell me, beautiful wife of mine, what
inspired you to chop off your hair and make me look like an idiot
yesterday?” With his good humor restored, he was back to his usual
teasing.

“Oh, you know, we have that ongoing
conspiracy to humiliate you but this time all the pieces fell into
place.” Callan tossed him a saucy grin as she removed muffins from
the oven, placed them on a plate, and set it in front of him.

His arm wrapped around her waist and pulled
her onto his lap. Seductively nibbling her ear, he made her giggle.
“Well, don’t get used to it. Walking in here and finding a stranger
had taken over my wife threw me off balance enough that you could
get away with your trickery.”

Callan stopped smiling and looked at Clay
with real concern on her face. “Do you really like the changes? Are
you mad I cut my hair?”

“I admit it was a shock at first, but I
think I’m getting used to it.” Clay ran his hand over her head and
studied the luxurious waves that wrapped around his fingers. He
wondered if she’d always had such thick hair because it seemed to
have taken on a life all its own. “You look amazing Callan and I’m
so proud of you for making big changes in your life. I know it
isn’t easy and I’m glad Jenna and Laken went with you. It’s great
you have such good friends.”

“It is good,” Callan said with a warm smile.
She kissed his cheek then started to get up. “Eat your breakfast,
Brick.”

Clay growled and pulled her back into his
lap. His hand rubbed against her side before he slipped it inside
her robe. Starved for more of her kisses, he teased and tempted
until she took a gasping breath. “I’m suddenly not in the mood for
breakfast, but I’m definitely hungry.”

Callan finished her cup of tea and looked
around her orderly kitchen. Clay had an early meeting before
classes started that morning and left much earlier than usual, so
she got up to see him out the door.

With plenty of time before she needed to be
at the office, she decided to whip up a batch of cookies and drop
them off at his classroom on her way to work. Jake constantly
begged for them and Clay was nearly as bad.

It didn’t take long to have a tin packed
with warm cookies. Callan could picture Jake arguing with Clay
about how many he could eat. That boy was a bottomless pit. When
she walked to Clay’s classroom, Callan stuck her head inside, but
no one was there.

She decided Clay must still be in the
meeting, set the tin on his desk, and wrote him a quick note then
left.

Clay ran into Jake on the way to his
classroom and gave his cousin a hard time as they walked to
class.

“Did you forget to comb your hair this
morning or did you fall under a weed whacker on your way here?”
Clay reached out and mussed his hair. “I’m going to have to talk to
your mother about your slovenly appearance. This just won’t do at
all.”

Jake took great pride in his appearance,
spending a considerable amount of time making sure his clothes
looked just right with crisp shirts, pressed jeans, and polished
boots. Every strand of his thick sable hair fell into place.

Clay found the whole thing entertaining and
loved to tease Jake.

“Well, at least I make an effort. You look
like you rolled out of bed in that shirt. Did Callan finally come
to her senses and leave you to your own defenses?” Jake poked him
in the arm and shook his head.

Clay chuckled as he opened the classroom
door and they walked inside his domain. Jake stopped just inside
the door and sniffed appreciatively. The room smelled of cinnamon
with a subtle hint of perfume.

“Callan was here,” Jake said, glancing
around the room. “Bring on the cookies, Clay. You’re holding out on
us.”

The other students in the classroom stopped
talking and looked at Clay with interest. Cookies from Mrs.
Matthews were always a welcome treat.

“How do you know she was here?” Clay was
suddenly interested in what Jake had to say.

“Dude, you can still smell her perfume.
Callan is the only one on the planet who smells all flowery and
girly like that.” Jake stared at Clay as if he was clueless.
“Besides, I can smell the cookies. Now hand them over.”

Clay glared at the mouthy young man. He
didn’t know if he should be more irritated with Jake for noticing
the way Callan smelled or with himself for not being able to. Even
his students could tune into the lovely lingering scent left by his
wife, but with his lack of smell she could wear the essence of
skunk and he’d not know the difference.

As he rubbed his hand along his jaw, he
noticed a cookie tin and note on his desk. Hastily tucking the note
into his desk drawer, he grabbed the first cookie and passed the
tin to Jake. “Make sure you share,” Clay warned, eyeing his
cousin.

At his first break, Clay pulled out the note
and fingered Callan’s handwriting.

Sorry I missed you, Brick.

Have a great day.

Love you! Laney

Since the weekend of Callan’s big makeover,
he had found notes in all kinds of interesting places. One day it
was in with his lunch, another in his boot. She’d left love notes
in his pickup, in his work gloves, even tucked into the band of his
cowboy hat. She definitely scored points for creativity, not to
mention how much Clay enjoyed finding the notes. Even a few words
that conveyed her feelings spoke volumes from her heart.

Callan put a lot of effort into changing.
She laughed more, cried more, shared more, and in general seemed to
be growing daily into the person she was always meant to be. He was
so proud of her, so excited to watch her change, so happy to be the
one on the receiving end of her unconditional love.

He decided to send her a quick text
message.

Great cookies. Jake’s a pig. Love you!

Clay sat back in his chair with his hands
laced behind his head and smiled as he thought about Callan’s
perfume. She started wearing it shortly after they began dating.
Struggling to remember what it was called, he thought maybe it was
True Love. No, that wasn’t it. Something true. True Romance. No,
that wasn’t it either.

He knew she had a terrible time finding it
and purchased several bottles of it on eBay a few years ago. That
might be a handy little gift to have on hand. It never hurt to have
a trump card to play. Clay made a mental note to do some searching
online after class.

His phone beeped as a reply from Callan
arrived.

Free for lunch?

Clay quickly responded.

Yes! 11:45? Cafeteria?

It wasn’t long until she sent another
message.

It’s a date!

Greatly looking forward to his lunch date
with his wife, Clay rolled through the morning in a good mood with
a goofy smile on his face that drew comments from his students. He
ignored their teasing and at a quarter to noon he hustled his class
out the door then strolled to the cafeteria where students gathered
for lunch.

He walked inside and spied Callan sitting at
a table. She looked so young and pretty in a navy blue skirt with a
navy and white sweater, she could have easily fit in with the
crowd. He sauntered up behind her and placed a kiss on her
cheek.

She turned around and gave him a smile full
of love and affection. “Hi.”

“Hey, girl.” Clay pulled her to her feet and
walked her toward the counter. “I’m glad you had time for me today.
Am I moving up on one of your lists?” he teased as they selected
their food and took trays back to the table.

“Possibly.” She gave him a sassy grin, then
looking around the cafeteria. “I hoped to catch Jake and say hello.
I haven’t seen him for ages.”

“You aren’t missing much.” Callan’s raised
eyebrow and indulgent smile made Clay chuckle as he rested his arm
along the back of her chair. “He certainly likes your cookies,
though. He made a complete hog of himself first thing this morning.
As many cookies as Jake devoured, he probably won’t need
lunch.”