by J. Haney
Weighing it out in my head, I forget I am still staring at him until he speaks, which I didn’t hear a word of.
“Huh?” I ask. Oh, my God, he probably thinks I want to sleep with him now, damn it.
“You want to take Buddy out with us?” Caleb asks. I smile and nod. He sticks his hand out to help me up.
I take his hand easily. “Thank you.”
We start down the steps and Caleb keeps looking at me funny. Men confuse me to death. I give up on figuring out why he’s staring at me the way he is. The kids are walking in front of us, with Buddy in between them.
Caleb finally breaks the silence. “Is everything okay?”
“Uh… yeah, why wouldn’t it be?” I ask, not looking at him.
“You look very tense… a lot different from dinner. We won’t go too far with him.” Caleb nods to Buddy.
“It’s no problem, the kids have taken a liking to him.” I’m watching Jax, who keeps looking back at us. He’s not happy.
“I can show you around the house when we get back. You sure you’re okay?" he asks again.
Damn, this man is persistent.
“Yeah, everything is… Err… Will be okay. Jaxson is dealing with a bit of jealousy. Other than that, I think everything has been perfect so far.”
We’ve been walking about twenty minutes when Caleb asks me what I think about the place. I’ve been looking around silently. “This place is beautiful.”
Ava turns back to us. “Caleb, is there water to go swimming?”
“Avaline!” I give her a warning tone. “Sorry, she has a fascination with water,” I add quickly.
“No, there isn’t. Sorry, sweetheart. There is a large lake near here, but a monster lives in it so you don’t want to swim there, now do you?” Caleb says. Ava and Jax laugh at him, but Jax stops as soon as he sees me smiling at him.
Ten minutes later, we can see the house in the distance. Caleb elbows me in the side. “There, that wasn’t so bad, huh?”
I smirk at him. “No, it was very… serene.” Ava’s still jumping around. “Ava, stop that. You know better. Caleb is going to the store tomorrow. I will make sure he has some money to pick you up a couple toys, but please chill for the night.” There is a warning in my tone. Jaxson laughs at her. All I have to do is give him a look and he stops. “Thank you so much for bringing us here. This place is so peaceful; I may have to look for a new home around here.” I sound pleased as we make it back to the porch.
Caleb chuckles. “A place around here, huh? This place does have a way of sucking you in.”
I look at the time. “I need to get them in the shower and chilled out before Ava drives me nuts,” I say, grinning at Caleb.
“If you get them ready, then I will have your wine waiting for you out here.” He mock salutes, then heads into the kitchen to get our drinks ready.
After Jaxson and Avaline get their showers, I sit down on the edge of the bed they’re sharing. They’re both showered, got their teeth and hair brushed; now all that’s left is being tucked in, hugged, and kissed. “Is there anything either of you want to talk about?” I ask, unsure if I honestly want to know or not.
Avaline looks at me with a smile that reaches her eyes. “I love it here, Mommy. It’s so pretty and Buddy is fun to play with.” I smile at her then look over to Jaxson. He is scowling yet again.
“You know my feelings. You also taught us not to say anything if we have nothing nice to say,” he huffs. I kiss them and tuck them in.
“Goodnight.” I turn the light off and shut the door.
Chapter Eighteen ~ Caleb
I lean back and stretch out against the couch, waiting for Kyler to return. I sip my scotch and start thinking again about her situation. I can’t contain my smile as I hear her coming down the hall. She sits next to me.
“Thank you,” she whispers as she leans in and kisses me on the cheek, which I wasn’t expecting. I should have just said you're welcome. Instead I look back into those eyes and kiss her gently on the lips. “You’re welcome.” The look of shock makes me realize that it might be a little too soon.
“Um, thanks… I think,” she says.
Shit, I messed up. I hand her the wine just as she picks up her laptop. As I’m sitting there, the only thing I can hear is Kyler breathing and typing. I can’t help but look at her as she quits typing. She looks to be reading something, but her face is different, like something may be wrong.
“Is everything okay?” I watch her features and notice how she’s trying to calm down.
“Uh… Err… Yeah… I mean, I’m not sure,” she finally says, after what seems like forever.
“What is it? What’s got you so worked up?” I put my hand on her leg, but she jerks away.
“Here, just read it. Something seems off about it.” She hands me her laptop. Pulling it into my lap, I read over the e-mail and see if I can tell what might seem off about it.
From: Detective Ryan
Subject: Updates?
Date: May 7, 2015 3:30am
To: Kyler
Dear Kyler,
Hey, I was checking in to make sure you all are okay. I heard your home was blown up and no bodies were found. Which means you got away, I figured you got out, you always do. My partner and I are still working on your case. We haven’t found anything as of yet. I think we are getting close, which could be why they found you again. Well, I was just checking in to see where you all landed. Hope all is well and call us soon. April and I would love to hear from you, Jaxson and Avaline.
Talk Soon,
Detective Ryan
I’ve reread the e-mail 15 times trying to analyze it, but I can’t see anything wrong with it. “You say this doesn’t sound like him? Don’t reply to this just yet. It might not be him, and it’s safer to ignore it. Don’t call him, either. Thinking about it, it might be better to change your number and switch your cell off and take the battery out. It’s far too easy to trace people that way now.”
I hand Kyler the laptop. I get up for a refill and bring the wine bottle over with me. “You’ll be safe here, don’t worry, but it’s best to double-check everything.”
“We’re good.” Kyler hands me her phone. “This one is untraceable. I got it a few years back when we had to run. I wanted to make sure we always had one on us no matter what.” She picks up her wineglass and takes a sip. “This has to be weird for you having us here, but I am really glad you brought us somewhere so peaceful.”
I smile at her. They deserve some peace. It sounds like they’ve never had any. I watch her mouth as she sips her wine; damn, her mouth looks good. It forms that perfect “o” so she can get the perfect amount. I imagine that perfect circle around my cock as it stiffens in my jeans. Fuck, I need a cold shower. I look up from her mouth and notice she’s watching me with her head on the sofa, looking all comfy. I look away again, needing to calm the fuck down.
“I’ll try to get a friend to trace where the e-mail was sent from. It’s too much into geek mode for me.” I turn around and see Kyler looking right at me; I'm not quite sure what she is expecting of me. Instead, I just rattle on with my thoughts out loud for a moment.
“So, my plan is to try to dig up some stuff about your dad. To be honest, it’s a bit odd you not knowing what he did for a living. It must have been something prosperous, since they left you set up for life. That either means it was a good job or a really bad one. Are you sure you want to find it all out? If you want, I can skim over the ugly bits if I find any.”
I look at her; the alcohol is kicking in and I’m trying not to act too drunk, but I find myself staring at this beautiful woman again. Usually, I’m a lot more in control than this, but I feel like I can relax with her. She’s not the typical damsel in distress that I’m used to.
“I want to know everything. I’m sure I can handle it.” Kyler talking brings me back to the present. Like me, she’s kind of rambling on. “I don’t know much about the computer stuff either.”
I smile at her as
she talks. Finishing off my drink, I set the glass on the table and turn back to a giggling Kyler, which makes my cock twitch.
“I bet you think I’m this damsel in distress or something. Sorry, I tend to be a bit blunt when I have a buzz.”
I smirk and laugh a little at her giggling. “Damsel in distress? Nah, the thought never even crossed my mind.” I turn and look at her again, she has a great smile and, despite what she’s been through, her face still lights up. It might be the wine doing that to her today, but she is definitely beautiful. I tap her leg so I can pretend to be serious for a moment.
“I’ll let you know everything I find out. Just don’t cry again, that has to be the deal. I don’t like seeing pretty girls cry.”
Kyler looks at me for a long, hard minute before saying anything. “I can’t promise not to cry, but I can promise to hide it better.”
I’m not sure if she’s serious or kidding. She looks as if she’s trying, but the alcohol is kicking her ass.
“Oh! I’d better make you a list for tomorrow. I just hope you can read it,” she says out of nowhere with another giggle that makes my cock stiffen again; fuck, I just got that shit down. “Be back in a second.”
She’s a little wobbly. As she walks away, I take the time to fix myself without her noticing anything. She walks back into the room and sets her bag on the floor, then goes to sit down and nearly lands on top of me, which makes me laugh but my cock is busting to get free now. Shit, what the hell am I going to do? I put my arm around her, then lean over her to grab my notepad and pen. I shuffle up a bit so I’m closer to her.
“Right, there you go, all set. You may have to draw a picture next to each of the items just in case I can’t read it.”
Kyler looks at me and starts giggling again. “I can write better than I can draw any day,” she admits, before reaching down. She grabs her bag and sets it on her lap before opening it to get money out. She looks over and hands me a thousand dollars, which has a lot more questions running through my head. “That should pay you for everything for a day or so.” I watch as she looks down at the notepad and writes the list.
Veggies
Meats
Milk
Juice
“Anything you think we need, just get it. If there are certain foods, make sure you get them, too.” She looks at me and gives me a shy grin.
I take the money she’s handed me. I don’t need it, not since I took over the family business. I place it on the table until I can slip it back when she’s not paying attention. Glancing down at the list, I can’t help but laugh.
“Veggies, meats, juice... okay, from this list I’m bound to get it all wrong. What veggies and what meats? You’ll have to come with me, otherwise it’ll be a disaster!” I smile at her, though I’m not actually joking. I can only imagine myself picking up the only vegetables and meats that they don’t like, then I’d have to go grocery shopping again. Which I hate. Kyler starts laughing uncontrollably.
“Fine then. We’ll make a trip to the store tomorrow, but you have to tell me things you like,” she sputters, finally controlling her laughter. “So, what time do we need to get up for this shopping adventure?”
“Well, I get up about nine usually, and then have a run. I’m not a great morning person. So, do you think you and the twins can be ready by ten thirty?”
She nods. “Yeah, I’m sure we can be ready by then. I’m not big on shopping, but Ava loves it, so I can’t wait to see how she acts with you there. Jax, on the other hand, is like myself and would rather die first.”
She gets up. “Well, we have a long day tomorrow, so I’m going to head to bed before my drunk self does something it shouldn’t.” She pats the top of my head and off she goes.
She’s left her bag, so I slip the money back in and zip it up before rising to my feet. Snatching up our glasses, I set them in the sink before I go upstairs. I check the room the twins are in, and I listen closely to hear if they are awake, but all I can hear is faint snoring. Then I backtrack to Kyler’s door, I hear nothing. Listening closer, I hear the shower going but then it stops and I know I should keep going but I just can’t. I lean against the door until I hear her settled into bed.
Then it’s across the hall for a cold shower and fresh sheets.
Chapter Nineteen ~ Kyler
Lying in bed, I hear Ava. “Buddy, let’s wake Mommy up!” I open one eye and peek around; oh, the headache I have.
“Hi, Buddy and Ava.” I look around a bit more, seeing if Jax made his way in here as well. “Come on, let’s get up and get ready for the day.” I get out of bed.
After getting dressed, I go in search of Tylenol. I see Ava walking around the bedroom with Buddy behind her.
“What are you two doing?” I check the time; it’s ten already. “Come on, it’s about time to go, and I still need to find your brother.”
I walk to the next room and see Jaxson sitting on the bed playing one of the handheld games he brought with him. I need to make sure to get each of them something while we are out.
“Come on, Jax. I want to get you two fed before we leave.”
In the kitchen, I find Caleb leaning up against the counter with coffee already going. He nods at us.
“Morning. How about we grab breakfast in town? I don’t think there’s much stuff here to eat at the moment.”
“I was actually thinking the same thing.” I smile and sit at the table. “Coffee smells good!” I rub my aching head; a reminder of how drunk I had been. Ava and Buddy are still playing. “I think they may just be best friends. What about you?”
“He loves any kind of attention. At least they keep themselves amused,” Caleb says, filling our cups. Once he has the two cups in hand, he takes the seat next to me. “Drink up, then we’ll get on the road.” He sips his coffee.
“Yeah, I think we should head out soon. Lucky us we get to go shopping today,” I say sarcastically. I watch Caleb as he drinks his coffee. “Are you ready for today?” I ask before taking a sip of my own. Caleb smiles at me, but before he can answer me, Ava comes in.
“Caleb, are we going out for breakfast this morning?”
I shake my head at her. “Avaline, you know better than to ask questions like that!”
“Yes, little lady, right after Mommy and I have finished our coffee,” Caleb says with a chuckle before turning back to me. “Shopping with you three will be better than just going by myself, plus I get company for breakfast.”
“Let’s see if you are saying that after Miss Ava there runs you to death,” I say, nodding at Ava. “Go play with Buddy while we finish our coffee,” I tell her, then look back at Caleb to see him smiling at me.
“So is your head pounding as much as mine is this morning?” I ask, taking another sip of my coffee.
He runs his hand through his hair with a low chuckle. “Nah, I downed a huge glass of water and a couple naproxen before I hit the sheets.”
“Wish I’d have thought of that,” I grumble as I finish my coffee and take the cup to the sink. Caleb follows me so I take his cup and clean it, too. Once both cups are on the drainer, he puts his arm around my waist and pulls me close to him. I suck in a breath. Did I do something I shouldn’t have last night?
“I’m taking us to my favorite café in town; they do a great full English breakfast, which should help with your hangover,” Caleb says as he leans in and kisses my forehead. “Are we ready to go?”
He moves away from me; I feel empty from the loss. What the hell has this man done to me!
“Yeah, let me grab my purse.”
I walk to the bedroom, where I have to sit down for a few seconds to catch my breath and gather myself for this adventure. Am I ready for this? Hell if I know at this point. Lord, I’ve prayed for someone many times, but never once did I expect it to happen this way or to come together the way Caleb and I have. The Lord works in unexpected ways.
I can’t believe it when I hear Avaline talking Caleb’s head off and he just talks back to her
and lets her ramble on and on. By now I’d have told her to go find something to do. I quickly grab my purse and stop by the twins’ room to get Jaxson moving.
“Come on, son, we have to get going.” I smile at him even though this is the last thing he wants to do. Yep, he’s his mother’s child.
In the living room, Caleb, Ava, and Buddy are sitting on the couch. “You all look quite comfy,” I say, smiling as Ava hops up and follows Jax out the door. “What were you two chatting about?” I raise an eyebrow at Caleb. He grins.
“Ava was telling me about what toys she liked and then about her best friend. Let’s go then, sweets. Buddy, you are staying here.” He places his hand on my lower back and follows me out the door. “Ava, Jax, are you all ready?”
They give him a nod. I then notice he is watching me. Damn, he must have said something and I’ve been standing here in my thoughts. “I’m sorry, what did you say?” I ask and he chuckles at me.
“I asked if you were okay, sweets?” Caleb watches me closely.
"Yes… yes, I’m fine, just lost in thought.”
I smile at Caleb and then usher the twins into the extended cab of the truck. Sitting back, I look out the window and think about the situation. I am really glad it was Caleb that walked into my life instead of some crazy guy. He and the twins chat with each other, but I’m not listening to what they are actually saying. I’m just thankful Jax is talking and starting to get along with Caleb a little better. I smile to myself while watching everything pass in front of me. This place is really beautiful. Mom, Dad, and Tim would have loved this place. I wish I could share this with them, but I know they are watching over me and the twins wherever they may be.
Here I am thinking about everything I shouldn’t be! Someone blew up my damn house and now we’re depending on Caleb to help keep my babies safe. I could not care less if I’m okay; my only concern is my twins and keeping them safe.