“If he’s jealous, then that’s his problem. You know about my policy against dating guys in the military. I’m not asking him to give up his call to serve, but he’s got to understand that means all we can be to each other is parents of our child,” Hannah said. “Now tell me more about this doctor of yours.”
Chapter Six
Caleb carried his dishes to the kitchen and placed them on the counter with a bang. “Who the hell is this doctor Kennedy’s raving about?” he asked.
Zach lifted an eyebrow. “He’s the best neonatal specialist in the Southeast. Why?”
“Because apparently Michael’s matchmaking gene has skipped on over to Kennedy.” He paced the hardwood floor until he reached the fridge. Opening the built in’s door, he hoped the cold blast of air would douse the fire burning low in his belly. He didn’t stand a chance against a doctor. “She’s setting Hannah up with the dude.”
“That’s great,” Zach said, rinsing a platter. “Brett Franklin is a good catch. She’d be lucky to land him.”
“He’d be the lucky one.” Suddenly the image of Hannah and the invisible doctor getting lucky together raced through his mind. White flashed and he reached inside the fridge, withdrew a beer, popped the top, and slugged back half the bottle. The liquid failed to ice down the heat bubbling through his veins.
“Why the hell is he here?” he asked. “Shouldn’t he be practicing medicine in some fancy hospital?” Some place far away where she would never meet the so-called perfect man. How in the hell could he compete with a fucking doctor?
Michael drove around the massive center island, then stopped next to Caleb. “He’s here because we got to talking one day about how much he missed Roanoke, Virginia and the mountains. I told him about Sweetbriar Springs. That the town needed a new ob-gyn.”
“What happened to old Doc Dickerson?”
“He retired,” Paul said, then gave Zach another plate for the dishwasher. “Thank goodness he stayed on until after she had Jason.”
Caleb squeezed his bottle of beer and clenched his jaw. Just another reminder that he had missed out on the entire pregnancy. Though he had no control over that reality, the truth stung. So did the fact that everyone seemed to think hooking Hannah up with the local I can see yours and you pay for it doctor was a grand plan.
“You okay?” Michael asked.
“I’m fine.”
“Right. And that bottle of beer isn’t about to explode in your hand.”
He loosened his grip. “It’s been a long week.”
“Bull.” Michael grinned. “You’re pissed about Kennedy setting Hannah up.”
Zach joined them at the fridge, pulled open the door, and grabbed two long necks out. “Paul, you okay with Hannah dating Brett?”
“He checks all the boxes on my potential son-in-law list—smart, gainfully employed, and likes kids,” Paul said. “That second beer for me?”
“Sure is.” Zach opened the bottles and put one on the island separating the men.
Caleb listened to the conversation as if in a daze. Paul had a future potential son-in-law list? He glanced through the doors outside where Kennedy and Hannah sat, laughing and talking. The moonlight illuminating Hannah’s silken blonde hair gave her high cheekbones a silvery glow. He hadn’t seen her that relaxed all week, especially since the fire.
“Brett’s lucky you just have a list.” Zach popped open his beer. “Ken pretty much told me he’d kill me if I hurt his baby girl again. Had no choice but to marry her.”
“Too bad Caleb didn’t make an honest woman out of my sister.” Michael wheeled back to make room for his father. “Then Brett wouldn’t stand a chance to make the grade. After all, Hannah’s always had a crush on you.”
“First of all I proposed. Second, the operative word is had.” Caleb’s throat felt rough, raw with guilt and anger and confusion. He wanted her, but not at the price she expected him to pay. “She isn’t interested in me that way anymore.” Because she couldn’t get past the hell she’d went through with her ex boyfriend. He’d seen PTSD’s impact on his buddies, so he understood her concern. But he doubted he’d turn into a jerk because of his commitment to the Marines. He’d like to prove that to her, but passing on his next mission shouldn’t have to be part of the equation.
Michael gave a slight nod. “You issued an order, not a proposal. Epic fail.”
“What the hell else was I supposed to do? I only learned about him after I got called home,” Caleb said. “I don’t have a shitload of time to get things squared away.” Bad enough his father’s stroke had happened, but his intermittent mini strokes—transient ischemic attacks—had created major problems in dear old dad’s professional judgment which had damn near cost the family their company. Fortunately, he’d reversed the situation and copious amounts of money continued to flow into the family’s bank accounts.
“Dude, you proposed for all the wrong reasons.” Michael’s voice activated mechanical box gave off a boy-do-I-pity-you inflection.
Zach clapped him on the back. “Face it. You fucked up.”
“Hannah might have said yes a few years ago,” Paul said carefully as he played with his bottle’s label, pulling the corner up. “But her priorities have changed. And for the better.”
She’d have said yes if he’d asked her before he’d signed up for another tour after his fight with his father. “She did us a favor by saying no.” Caleb chugged the rest of his beer. “I’m all wrong for her. Dr. Brett McSteamy-Dreamy is the better deal.” Though he wanted to mean what he said, Caleb hated the idea of her being with another man. At least not when he was still in the picture.
“How the hell do you know you’re all wrong for her?” Michael asked.
“I’m not her type.”
“You sure as hell were her type when you knocked her up.”
“Jesus, Michael. Did ALS rob you of your thought filter?” Paul shook his head. “That’s no way to talk about your sister.”
“ALS robbed me of the I’m-going-to-buy-bullshit-when-I-hear-it filter.” Michael rolled a little closer to Caleb, looked at him, his head resting on the back of his tricked out wheelchair. “Other than that one night have y’all ever really talked about anything other than Jason? Have you even tried to get to know Hannah?”
Caleb crossed his arms. “I’ve known her my entire life.” Plus, he already had one fact driven home by her stubborn refusal to see him as a man, not just a Marine.
“You knew a kid. Then you fooled around with a messed up young woman.” Michael lifted the corner of his lip. “You don’t know this Hannah.”
The men surrounding Caleb all nodded. “Yep,” Paul agreed. “The girl who went to Los Angeles with Brandon Walker was naïve. Definitely the baby of our family—everything came easy to her, including our protection. The woman who returned from California learned the hard way how to look after herself.”
Was that ever an understatement. She barely accepted his help after he’d taken them in while they waited for their apartment to become habitable.
“She’s independent. I already know that,” Caleb muttered. She had a big reason to avoid marriage to a military guy. He got that 100 percent. But still, he couldn’t stand the idea of that idiot doctor taking her out on a date no matter how many times he rationalized it as the right thing to do. He wanted a second chance, damn it.
“From where I sit,” Michael said. “There’s only one way to stop her from going out with Brett.”
“How?” Caleb asked.
“Beat him to the punch,” Michael answered. “Ask her out yourself.”
“I’m not dating Caleb,” Hannah said, stepping inside the brightly lit kitchen with Kennedy right behind her.
“Why not?” Michael asked.
She moved to the sink and put her wine glass on the counter next to it. “I want a nice stable guy who’ll put down roots with me in Sweetbriar Springs. Caleb’s not that guy.”
“I did propose.”
Kennedy shot Caleb a chall
enging look as she made her way to Zach’s side. “Ha. A pre-nup and a quickie justice of the peace wedding within a week is so romantic,” she said, then leaned against Zach’s chest.
Zach wrapped his arms around her, interlacing his fingers across her belly. The gesture, protective and tender, stabbed another pang of regret behind Caleb’s sternum.
He had missed so much while he’d been overseas.
He looked away, then caught Michael’s alert glance. Whatever was or wasn’t going on between him and Hannah hadn’t gotten past his friend’s ever calculating brain.
“Just because he screwed up his proposal doesn’t mean the two of you can’t go out and have a little fun,” Michael persisted. “Y’all did put the cart before the proverbial horse when you hopped into the sack two years ago. Why not reverse the situation now and actually do things in order?”
She pressed her lips into a thin line and pinched the bridge of her nose. “Dad, will you please get Michael off my back?”
Paul raised his palms in mock surrender. “I’ve learned the hard way not to get involved in sibling squabbles. Heading to the living room to visit with your mom and Kennedy’s folks.”
“Y’all should at least try to date before giving up on each other,” Michael said.
Caleb nodded, then pushed away from the counter to walk to where Hannah remained rooted to the floor. Hell yeah they should date. Maybe then he’d find a way to convince her that not all military men were alike. “I say his whacked out idea has some merit,” he said. “So how about we test his theory and go out?”
Chapter Seven
Hannah had expected Caleb to take her on a typical date after she’d finally agreed to go out with him. That had only been to appease Michael. It had certainly not been about caving to the desire and challenge that had burned in his indigo eyes.
She’d even stated specific rules he’d have to follow during the date. If he was going to get to know her as a person then there would be no crossing the physical line. Nope. Nada. Super no way. He’d agreed, but what she hadn’t counted on was how eagerly she anticipated going out with him by the following Tuesday evening.
Purely because of how long it had been since she had done anything that hadn’t required packing a diaper bag and popping a stroller into her car’s trunk. Yeah right. Keep telling yourself that when you’ve changed your outfit about five billion times. She fastened the slim leather belt around her waist, finally pleased with the silhouette that greeted her in the mirror.
She opened her tube of mascara and withdrew the wand. The extra attention to makeup had to do with the exclusive vegetarian restaurant that he’d selected for their meal. Not because she wanted to look special for him.
Caleb knocked. “You ready?” he called.
She jerked her hand and accidentally brushed black onto the tip of her nose. Shoot. And double shoot. “Just about.” Hannah grabbed a cotton swab to dab the mess off her skin. After sweeping a light gloss of peach over her lips, she grabbed her orange clutch and exited her bathroom. “Come on in.”
Caleb opened her bedroom door and stepped inside. His eyes widened and he rolled back on his heels. “Wow,” he said. “You look amazing.”
Her heartbeat kicked up a notch. The appreciation in his gaze brought a trembling sensation from the top of her head to the tips of her coral painted toenails. He looked beyond drool worthy himself in his chest hugging chocolate colored polo shirt tucked into a pair of designer tan slacks. She licked her lips, her nerves bouncing all over the place.
Despite the fact that they’d created a child, she’d never been on a real date with him. Now that the day had finally arrived, bubbles of expectation percolated in her veins.
“All Kennedy’s doing,” she said, then smoothed her palms down her dress’s flowing skirt, which stopped a sexy, but still demure, inch above her knees. Her best friend had called her over on Sunday for an afternoon of trying on designer dresses, shoes, and accessories that she had ordered and flown in for delivery from Atlanta’s premier boutiques.
“Remind me to send her a thank you bouquet.” He crossed the room to stand face-to-face with her. “You should wear dresses more often.”
“Kind of hard to...” she stopped herself before she blurted out her usual response to anyone who suggested she trade her usual mom uniform of jeans and T-shirts for sexier clothes. That subject was completely off the table of discussion per Kennedy’s strict orders, not to mention Michael’s texts to her that insisted emphatically that she owed it to herself to have a little fun.
“Thanks,” she said instead. “So are you sure you want to go to Azaleas?”
“Absolutely,” he replied. “The chef is the top in her field. The views are one of a kind. Getting a reservation to dine at one of their exclusive tasting nights is something I know you’ve wanted to do for over a year.”
One she couldn’t afford, or take the time to do up until he barreled back into her life. “Let me guess. Kennedy or Michael tell you?” she asked.
“Both.” He held out his hand. “I’ve got the Harley parked out front. Let’s say goodbye to Jason and hit the road.”
A shiver of anticipation zipped through her and danced across her spine. “You sure it’s safe?” she asked, though she’d always wanted to know what it felt like to ride behind Caleb.
“Yup.” He raised a brow. “But if you’re worried about your hair getting messy ‘cause of the helmet...”
“No,” she said quickly. “That’s what brushes are for. I’m not the type to fuss about stuff like that”.
She crossed the room and slipped her hand into his broad one. Warmth and a delicious tingling sensation skimmed across the surface of her skin, then penetrated and flowed through her veins. It was as if he had been created for her. When she read the desire, openness, and the hint of expectation in his eyes, her resistance to his magnetic and powerful presence slipped.
Because he wasn’t only the father of her child. He was the one man she had always wanted and had been drawn to for years. His confident, beguiling hold on her made her feel as if she was the only woman for him. She’d love to get used to this feeling. The feeling of being connected, of belonging to him.
A fantasy. An indulgence. And an illusion.
But for once, tonight, she would park her Reality Queen in the back corner of her brain and let herself be in the moment regardless of where it took her. Sure, Caleb wasn’t future, permanent husband material. But he did care. Though she had imposed strict rules about the parameters of what would happen during this date—talking and getting to know each other as two adults. Changing her mind was always an option.
###
Thirty minutes after saying goodbye to Jason, Caleb turned off the main highway onto the drive leading to Azaleas. Though he could have taken the Land Rover, she hadn’t hesitated when he’d suggested that they ride the V-rod to the restaurant.
He’d suggested it because the weather was perfect for taking out the bike. Not because he wanted to feel her pressed against him as he maneuvered the Harley through the highway’s S curves and climbed to the top of the mountain road at exhilarating speeds.
Yeah right. He loved every minute of her hot little body melding against his back, the way her thighs tightened next to his. The sweet sensation of her hands holding his waist, then slipping over his abdomen when the road’s curves felt just this side of dangerous.
Very dangerous in all the right ways.
By the time he’d parked the Harley at Azaleas every muscle he owned was tense with anticipation, ready to pounce. His blood was hot in his veins. Lust heated his groin to the point where the pressure created an intense combination of pleasure and pain.
Hannah released her hold on him, scooted off the bike, then began working the strap of her helmet. Her fingers trembled and desire blazed bright in her hazel eyes.
His ears thundered with a rush of adrenaline and a feral, predatory instinct kicked his heart into overdrive. Looked like he wasn’t the only one
affected by their oh too close for comfort ride.
Caleb climbed off the bike and moved closer. “Here let me,” he said, then stilled her fingers.
Her breath hitched, and awareness painted pink across her cheeks. She shifted her gaze from his. “The views from this vantage point are breathtaking,” she said, with a tremor in her voice.
“They are,” he said, taking in her profile. “I hear they’re even better from the restaurant’s overlook room.” The only view Caleb cared about stood in front of him in a sexy, flirty dress that accentuated the perfect curve of her full hips. The brown leather jacket he’d insisted that she wear while riding behind him subtly added a hint of the naughty side he had remembered and fantasized about for the better part of two years.
Her eyes widened. “Oh. But that’s impossible to...”
The exclusive room boasted a private sitting area with floor to ceiling panoramic windows that people reserved at least a year in advance. “I pulled some strings.” Expensive ones, but worth every favor he’d promised the owners by the pleased look crossing Hannah’s pretty face.
“It wasn’t necessary.”
Hell yeah it was necessary. Not only had he never taken her out on a real date before, but the last time he’d been with her, he’d gone from a do-not-dare-touch policy to let’s-get-naked-to-dull-their-pain sex-capade in record time. Now he’d have to move the entire Smoky Mountain range to make up for walking out on her two years ago.
Caleb hooked their helmets onto the bike’s handlebars. “You deserve it,’ he said, then placed his hand in the small of her back.
As he guided her along the winding river stone walkway that lead to the wide, knotty pine doors at the entrance, Caleb inhaled her unique scent of lavender mingling with the rich leather wrapped around her shoulders. Then and now the combination of sassy and sweet, bad babe versus good girl next door blew his mind, intrigued the hell out of him, and aroused him in ways he had never experienced before.
He’d promised to keep this date platonic, but right now he wanted to punt that vow off the edge of the mountain. And, based on the electricity sparking between them, she also had second thoughts about the terms of their agreement. A few weeks ago, he might have used that knowledge to his advantage.
The Marine's Red Hot Homecoming Page 7