“It’s not your fault.” She put her hand to Sadie’s forehead. “She doesn’t feel warm so it could just be an upset tummy.” Kaitlyn picked Sadie up, cleaned her up, and put fresh pajamas on her. Riley surprised her by taking the soiled sheets off the bed and putting clean ones on after Kaitlyn pointed them out to him.
“That kind of put a damper on the evening.” Riley smiled stroking Sadie’s head as if he truly cared about the wellbeing of the little girl and won even more of Kaitlyn’s heart.
“I’m sorry…”
“Don’t be, Katie…it happens.” Slipping an arm around her shoulders, he kissed her forehead. “I think she needs you more than I do, right now. I’ll get going.”
“Riley, you could still stay.” Kaitlyn took her bottom lip between her teeth. “I understand if you want to leave though.”
Riley put his hand on the nape of her neck. “I just thought you’d want to be alone with her. I’d love nothing more than to stay.”
Kaitlyn beamed at him. “I’d like you to stay.”
Riley nodded and headed for the living room. Kaitlyn followed him carrying Sadie and her bunny, which gratefully hadn’t fallen victim to Sadie’s upset tummy. Sitting down alongside Riley on the sofa, she noticed he’d turned on the TV. He turned to look at Sadie.
“Hey, squirt. What’s wrong?” he said softly, and chuckled when Sadie grinned at him. When she reached out for him, Riley didn’t hesitate and took her from Kaitlyn, and cradled her in his lap.
Kaitlyn blinked back tears. Sadie loved him as much as she did.
Riley kissed the top of her little girl’s head with such tenderness and caring that there were tears in her eyes, when his gaze met hers.
“She’ll be fine, sweetheart.”
Kaitlyn blinked back her tears. Her tears weren’t about Sadie, but for her—and herself. “I know. I hate it when she feels bad but she looks like she’s feeling better.”
At that moment, Sadie reached up and squeezed Riley’s nose. He burst out laughing. Kaitlyn laughed too.
“I think you’re right. She’s feeling better.” Riley glanced down at Sadie. “Are you ready to go back to bed?”
Sadie let out a scream. “I’ll take that as a no.” Riley cringed and then chuckled.
“Give her to me. She’s going to bed.” Kaitlyn reached for her but Sadie clung to Riley. Kaitlyn gave Riley a dirty look.
“What? I’m not doing anything. She’s hanging on for dear life.” Shrugging, he grinned up at her then stood, still holding Sadie. “I’ll carry her.”
Kaitlyn huffed but led the way to Sadie’s bedroom. Riley laid Sadie down in her crib, and smiled down at her, brushing her hair away from her face. Sadie grinned up at him, clutched her bunny, and rolled over. She was asleep almost immediately.
Riley took Kaitlyn’s hand and led her from the room then pressed her back against the wall and kissed her. “Do you still want me to stay? I have to be up very early. I’m meeting my foreman at the ranch.”
“Foreman?”
“I own a construction company now. I’m having the crew come in to finish the bulldozing and clear the area for the new house. They’ll have the house done in less than three months.”
“I want you to stay but you don’t have to. You’re closer from the cabin.” She shrugged.
Riley tilted his head and stared at her. “I can stay, but I don’t have to? Do you want me to stay?”
Nodding, she lifted her eyes to meet his. “Yes,” she whispered.
Riley cupped her face in his hands and lightly kissed her lips. “Let’s go to bed, darlin’.” He picked her up and started to carry her toward the bedroom.
“No. Here. Now,” Kaitlyn whispered. She was on fire for him.
A growl tore from him as he dropped her legs and pinned her against the wall, pressing his lips to hers. Kaitlyn moaned as his tongue moved into her mouth. Roughly, he took her mouth in a deep kiss, pressing his body against hers so that she could feel his hard cock against her belly. Lifting her hands above her head, he trapped them there with one strong hand while his other one moved to the zipper of her jeans. Kaitlyn wriggled a hand free, pushed her jeans down, and then reached for the snap of his jeans. She unzipped them and shoved them down off his hips.
Riley reached into the back pocket for his wallet, pulled out a condom, and handed it to her releasing his hold on her. She ripped open the packet and sheathed him. Riley dropped to his knees, and pulled her jeans off, pushing her legs apart. His mouth moved down her stomach to her clitoris. He was relentless in his onslaught, nipping and sucking at her until she bucked against him. Kaitlyn put her hand over her mouth to keep from screaming. He rose and lifted her legs over his arms as he thrust into her. Kaitlyn wrapped her arms around his neck and held on as Riley thrust hard, and deep, into her. The pressure built inside her again, and this time she couldn’t stop a loud moan as it tore out of her, even as he kept pounding into her until she felt him go rigid and a guttural sound tore from deep in his chest as he came. She could feel him throbbing inside of her and reveled in the sensation. He pumped a few more times before he finally stopped, and leaned his forehead against hers struggling for breaths.
“It’s always so good with you, Kaitlyn,” he whispered, his voice hoarse and raspy. He kissed her softly before letting her down. When her legs almost gave out, he picked her up and carried her to the bedroom. They finished undressing and crawled between the sheets. Wrapped in each other’s arms, they were asleep almost immediately.
Chapter Nine
The next morning, Kaitlyn got up at her usual time and glanced over to the other side of the bed. Riley was gone. She supposed she’d better get used to that, because some day he would be gone for good.
Quickly taking a shower, before Sadie woke up, she dressed for work. When she entered the hallway, she peeked into her daughter’s room and gasped. Riley was sitting in the rocking chair holding Sadie. They were both sound asleep. Kaitlyn tiptoed over to them and lightly touched Riley on the shoulder. He opened his eyes and gazed up at her. Those gorgeous eyes blinked away sleep and then crinkled happily.
“Good morning,” he whispered.
“What are you doing here? I thought you had to leave early?” Kaitlyn whispered back.
He shrugged. “I carried the rocking chair in and she woke up. I thought if I rocked her, she’d go back to sleep. I didn’t mean to fall asleep myself but someone kept me up kind of late.” He gave her a sly smile.
Kaitlyn could feel the heat in her cheeks. “I didn’t hear any complaints.”
Her insides melted when his grin grew bigger. “And you never will, darlin’.”
Sadie squirmed, stretched her arms over her head, opened her eyes, and grinned up at Riley then spotted Kaitlyn and immediately reached for her. “Mama.”
“Hi, baby.” Kaitlyn moved to take her from Riley, but he held on.
“How about a good morning kiss?” He burst out laughing when Sadie kissed his chin. Kaitlyn chuckled suspecting he was talking to her, not to her daughter. Riley stood and handed Sadie to Kaitlyn then leaned in to steal a quick kiss. “I need to get going. I’ll call you later.”
Kaitlyn nodded and watched as he left the room. She heard the front door open and close. When will that happen for the last time? Carrying Sadie, she moved to the window that looked out over the parking lot and watched Riley climb into his truck. Moments later, the truck roared down the street.
Kaitlyn dressed Sadie and after breakfast, they headed for the shop. Madilyn was already there when she arrived. After placing Sadie in her playpen, Kaitlyn helped Madilyn get ready for the day.
“When did you buy her a new bunny?” Madilyn whispered nodding her head in Sadie’s direction. Kaitlyn glanced back at her daughter and smiled when she saw Sadie talking her gibberish to the stuffed animal.
“I didn’t. Riley got it for her and brought it over last night,” Kaitlyn whispered then felt the heat in her cheeks when Madilyn
grinned at her.
“Last night, huh?”
Kaitlyn cleared her throat. “He, uh…brought a pizza over. I didn’t know he was going to buy her a new one. I’d mentioned she needed a new one but…”
“You’re rambling, Katie.” Madilyn laughed.
Kaitlyn sighed. “I know.” She collapsed into the chair behind the counter. “He also gave me a rocking chair that had belonged to his mother.” Shaking her head, she gazed up at Madilyn. “He’s going to break my heart.”
“What makes you say that?”
“He’s going to leave Clifton, and I’m sure it will be soon. He won’t be back, either. The construction company he owns is now at the ranch clearing the land for a new house.” Kaitlyn’s voice caught on a sob. “Not a new home for him. No, he’s planning to sell it all once the house is built.”
“I’m sorry, Katie,” Madilyn told her.
“I knew it, Madilyn. I knew from the start he didn’t plan on staying, he doesn’t want to be here but like an idiot, I fell in love anyway.” Kaitlyn tried to hold the tears back but they rolled down her cheeks. When she felt Madilyn’s arms go around her, Kaitlyn wrapped her arms around her and cried until she heard Sadie calling for her.
“Mama?” Sadie gazed up at her. Kaitlyn picked her up out of the playpen and hugged her tight.
“Mama’s fine, baby.” Kaitlyn wished she didn’t have to lie to her daughter but in this case, she had no choice. Everything wasn’t fine but for her daughter’s sake, she’d have to make it so.
****
Riley sat on the bulldozer, running it over what was left of the flattened house. He used the blade to lift the rubble then dump it into a large garbage dumpster. His eyes scanned the pasture to see his crew using backhoes to dig out where the new house would sit. He was already able to picture it up there. A lodge style log home with a wraparound porch overlooking a large pond. The back of the house would face the Glaciers. It was going to be a beautiful place and will make a lovely home.
Averting his eyes, Riley got back to work. The thoughts running through his head would never materialize, thoughts of him and Kaitlyn making a home, building a life, and giving Sadie a happy family, maybe with brothers and sisters. No, he wasn’t staying. No matter how beautiful it turned out, it was not going to be his home. Memories haunted the land that he could never exorcise. He was going to put it up for sale as soon as it was finished. Riley pushed the lever to move the bulldozer through the remnants of the house he hated yet again.
The feelings raging through him made him smile. Seeing the house destroyed made all the difference in the world. After emptying the bucket for the last time, he hopped off and headed for his truck. Riley drove it up the rise to where his men were working on clearing the area. Getting out, he strolled to where Gus stood.
Riley mentally shook his head any time he looked at Gus. The man stood six foot six. He was as wide as he was tall and he always had a cigar, or what was left of one, hanging from the corner of his mouth. Not able to think of a time when Gus didn’t have one, he even wondered if the man might even sleep with it there. Poor Martha. Riley snorted. To each his own. Some of the men even teased Gus that they were surprised his driver’s license didn’t have a picture of him with it in his mouth, since it wouldn’t look like him otherwise.
“Hey, Gus.” Riley stopped beside him.
“Hey, boss. This sure is beautiful country.” Gus gazed around the land.
Riley nodded. “Yes, it is.” His mouth tightened. Too bad the memories were so ugly.
“We should be able to start on the foundation tomorrow. We’ll get the slab poured today before sunset,” Gus assured him.
Slapping him on the back, Riley gave a nod of approval. Before heading to his truck, he told his men he’d bring back lunch. It was well past lunchtime and he knew they all had to be hungry. Riley would pick up eleven burgers and fries, including one for his own lunch. His thoughts ran to Kaitlyn, wondering if she’d had lunch yet. Pulling his cell phone out, he called her.
“Katie’s Florist and Greenhouse, Katie speaking,” she answered, sounding out of breath.
“Are you being run ragged today, sweetheart?” Riley laughed.
“You have no idea,” she muttered into the phone as if she might be overheard.
Riley frowned. “Did I catch you at a bad time? I was wondering if you’d had lunch yet.”
“What time…? Oh my God…I didn’t realize it was after one.” Kaitlyn sounded a bit exasperated but then laughed softly, sending a tremble of desire over him.
He cleared his throat. “I’m heading to the diner to pick up lunch for my crew. Do you want me to bring you and Madilyn something? What about the squirt?”
“I’d love it. Just bring us burgers and fries, and an extra order of fries for Sadie. She ate around eleven, but I’m sure she’d love some.”
“You got it. I’ll be there in a little while.” Riley smiled as he hung up. He loved watching Sadie eat her fries but frowned for a moment, when he remembered he couldn’t stick around to watch her this time. His men needed to eat so he’d have to head back to the site. As he started into the diner, he held the door open for two women coming out, recognizing Becca and Olivia Stone.
“Hi Riley.” Becca smiled up at him.
He touched the brim of his straw cowboy hat. “Hello Becca.”
“You remember Olivia, right?” Becca grinned.
Riley looked to the raven-haired beauty beside Becca and took the hand she offered. He wouldn’t be surprised if he were starting to drool. The woman was gorgeous with a sexy mole at the top right corner of her lush mouth. Her amethyst eyes sparkled with humor.
“Good to see you again, Riley.” Her eyes ran over him and his male pride hoped she liked what she saw…but she wasn’t Kaitlyn.
Riley raised his eyebrows and grinned. “Good to see you too, Liv. Damn, Wyatt’s one lucky bastard.”
Olivia laughed softly. “Thank you, but I think you have it backwards. I’m the lucky one.”
Riley could tell even though she flirted, she totally loved her husband. “Well, you beautiful ladies have a great afternoon. I need to pick up some lunches.” He moved passed them into the diner, and took a seat at the counter.
“What can I get you, Riley?” Connie asked pulling her pad from the pocket of her skirt. He gave her his order and glanced around the diner. Everyone he made eye contact with smiled or waved at him. No one in this town ever treated him differently than anyone else even though they hadn’t liked his father but then honestly, who had. Riley’s eyes went to the door when the bell rang and he mentally groaned when Sam strolled in. Their eyes met and they gave each other that male acknowledgment nod. Sam sat down beside him.
“How’s it going out there, Riley?”
“Good. The old house is leveled and we’ve started on the new foundation.”
“New foundation?” Sam gave him a questioning lift of his brow.
“I’ve decided to build a log home on the land.”
“So you’re staying?”
“No. I just think the land will sell better with a house on it, a nice house.”
Sam grunted and looked away. “You’re an idiot.”
At that moment, Connie set the lunches he’d ordered in front of Riley. He gave her some money and waited until she walked away then picked up the large bag. As he got off his seat, he leaned over toward Sam. “Fuck you, Garrett.”
Sam laughed. “That’s fuck you, Sheriff Garrett.”
Riley chuckled, told him he’d see him later, and walked out.
Arriving at Kaitlyn’s shop and seeing the parking lot filled with cars, he could see why she’d sounded so tired and frustrated. He knew she only had Madilyn as help. Riley strolled through the doors and grinned at her frazzled look then moved through some customers milling around to get behind the counter.
“Lunch,” he announced.
Madilyn grinned at him. “Lunch? What is th
at? Some meal I haven’t heard of?”
Riley laughed. “It would seem so.” He pulled out three bags and glanced around. “A lot of people in here.”
“I love it, but it seems like they all come at one time,” Kaitlyn muttered as she took fries from a bag.
Sadie squealed when she spotted Riley making him grin. He picked her up from the playpen and even dropped her bunny to hold on to him. “Where’s my kiss, squirt?” He laughed when she kissed his cheek.
“You have a beautiful daughter,” an elderly woman said to him. “I can certainly see where she gets her looks.” Her gaze went between Riley and Kaitlyn.
“Uh…” Riley started to respond but didn’t know how since he kind of liked the remark.
“You love your dada, don’t you, sweetie?” The woman laughed and moved on.
Sadie gazed up at Riley, and his heart clutched when he heard her say, “Dada?”
Kaitlyn quickly took her from him. “I’m so sorry. She must be a tourist,” she muttered.
Nodding and relinquishing Sadie, Riley swallowed hard, suddenly feeling like the world was closing in. Why had hearing Sadie call him Dada hurt so much. “I’ll, uh…call you later. I have to get going.” He practically ran from the shop.
****
Kaitlyn was mortified. She could feel Madilyn’s eyes on her then felt her rub her back.
“It was an honest mistake, Katie. I’m sure Riley knows that,” Madilyn whispered.
With a deep sigh, Kaitlyn nodded. “I know…it’s just…I know now I need to stop seeing him. It’s already too late for me but Sadie’s asking for him every day so the sooner I end this, the better.”
Glancing at Madilyn, she saw her own pain reflected in her friend’s eyes.
The women ate their lunches while they continued waiting on customers since they couldn’t really take a break, yet the day still seemed to drag. Kaitlyn wasn’t looking forward to doing what she needed to do before the pain of losing Riley affected both, Sadie and her, worse than it already did. She could no longer see Riley, not only for her sake but also for Sadie’s as well.
RILEY Men of Clifton Montana by Susan Fisher-Davis FINAL (1) Page 12