Love So Unexpected (The Lawson Brothers #6)

by Marquita Valentine

  The woman’s lips thinned. “Apple McCoy.”

  Snapping her fingers, Sofia shook her head. “That’s right. Sorry. I’m terrible with names.” Actually, she wasn’t terrible with names at all, but something about Apple rubbed her the wrong way. A small part of her felt guilty because she knew she was judging her on appearance, but the rest of her bristled at the way Apple spoke to her.

  “Is there something specific you’re looking for—plane, train, or automobile. I’m sure there are Ubers somewhere around that could take you the rest of the way.” Apple gave her a sunny smile, but Sofia wasn’t fooled. She also didn’t think Apple was trying to fool her either.

  “Not yet. My stay here has been extended.” Sofia waved a hand in the air, just like she’d seen Dinah do. “You know how those unexpected things happen.”

  “I do indeed.” Apple adjusted her purse on her shoulder. “How are you liking Jessamine?”

  “What I’ve seen of it is beautiful, but I haven’t had a chance to get into town much. Too much to do on the Lawson farm.”

  Apple sucked in a breath. “You work there?”

  “Actually, I live there. My mother and Dinah Lawson were old college roommates. It’s like fate brought me here.”

  “Sounds like something my readers would love to know more about.”

  Sofia bet they would. “Then they can ask me.” She spun around, intending to walk away, but Apple grabbed her shoulder.

  “What exactly are your intentions with Caleb Lawson?”

  Slowly, Sofia turned around. “Why exactly are my intentions with anyone your business?”

  “Because I don’t want to see him hurt by a woman who plans on leaving.”

  “I think he’s man enough to handle me.”

  Apple’s mouth twisted. “That’s not in question, but his heart ... his mind, there’s not enough pieces of him left to share.”

  Anger rose, making her cheeks burn. “Just because you couldn’t hold on to him doesn’t mean I can’t.”

  A peal of laughter left Apple’s mouth. “I’m not the one you’ll have to compete with.” She shook her head. “You don’t know, do you?”

  Sofia considered lying, but her curiosity got the better of her. “Know what?”

  “That Iris will always own every bit of him, no matter how much he says otherwise.”

  The grocery store seemed to tilt. Music playing in the background faded away. Signs became blurry. “Who’s Iris?” she croaked.

  Apple tsked. “I have said too much.”

  “Tell me.” Please don’t let him be married.

  “Fine,” Apple said, drawing out the word. “Iris is his wife. He goes to see her every Wednesday.”

  Chapter Nine

  Caleb stood at Iris’s grave, a fresh bouquet in his hand. He took out the old ones and placed the new ones in the vase.

  “I met someone,” he confessed. “You would like her, I think. She’s ah ... I like her. Maybe more than like her.”

  The wind blew, ruffling his hair. For a moment, he slipped back into his grief and pretended it was Iris touching him.

  “Can’t keep doing that,” he mumbled, then cleared his throat. “Sofia—that’s her name—is exactly what I need. She doesn’t mind when I’m quiet, and she likes to cook. Back home, she used to be a chef in fancy restaurants that the two of us couldn’t afford.”

  He laughed a little, then got quiet and sat down on the bench beside her grave. He felt like he owed Iris by coming here every Wednesday. Her parents had long since moved away, their grief for their daughter too overwhelming to stay in Jessamine.

  They still visited her grave, just not as often as he did, but she’d been his wife.

  “We tease each other a lot, and I got Old Blue working for her. Remember when we drove that truck down to the beach and got it stuck? Should’ve known the sand was too soft for two-wheel drive.”

  There was a light touch on his shoulder, and he jerked his head around. Sofia stood there, tears in her beautiful brown eyes.

  “Hey, uh...” he began, unable to find the words to finish his explanation.

  “I didn’t mean to disturb you. Thought I could sit with you and pay my respects.” Without waiting for him to say otherwise, she sat and grabbed his hand, squeezing once before letting go.

  “How did you know I was here?” he couldn’t help but ask.

  “While I was driving around, I saw your truck from the road.” She sighed thickly. “Apple said you visited your wife every Wednesday. This wasn’t what I imagined.”

  “It wasn’t what I imagined either,” he said honestly.

  Sofia’s gaze flicked to the headstone. “She was so young.”

  “We both were.” He clenched his jaw, unwilling to let those awful memories into the forefront of his mind. “She suffered from seizures. Had one while she was driving to the ... driving to town ... and hit a tree. Her heart couldn’t take it. I got to say goodbye though.”

  “How?”

  “Happened upon the accident.”

  Sofia’s lips trembled. “I found my mother. She’d died of a brain aneurysm. One minute we were on the phone, and then the next, the line went dead. Or so I thought. I ran the entire way home from school because I felt something was wrong.” She touched her chest. “Turns out I was right. There was nothing anyone could have done. It was a freak thing.”

  “That’s what I was told about Iris, but I’m not so sure about that.”

  “Quit beating yourself up. It’s not only useless, it’s not fair to you or her memory.”

  He looked at Sofia in wonder. Her eyes were empathetic. “You’re the first person to put it like that.”

  “That’s because I know what it’s like to lose the most important person in your life.”

  His chest got tight, and a lump grew in his throat. Somehow, they both reached for each other’s hands at the same time, their fingers lacing together.

  They sat there for a long time, not saying a word, while the wind blew and birds sang. The sun rose higher in the sky, until the only shade was directly under the trees in the cemetery.

  But Sofia didn’t move, so neither did he.

  “I’m glad you know. Just wish I’d been the one to tell you.” But he couldn’t tell Sofia about the baby. He wasn’t ready for that, and since no one knew but his dad, he didn’t have to worry about her finding out before he was ready to share. Honestly, he didn’t know if he’d ever be ready to share.

  Except after today, he knew he was one day closer.

  The next morning, Caleb was drinking coffee at Walter’s Feed and Seed while the more seasoned farmers discussed crops, weather, and politics. He didn’t participate all that much, choosing to listen instead.

  “Had to destroy the entire field,” one said, and the other men commiserated. It was a well-known fact that if one crop cross-pollinated with another crop that was grown from seed via AgriCorp, the crop had to be destroyed, under penalty of law. Since not a single farmer he knew relished paying hefty fines, they chose to burn their fields instead.

  Farming was expensive. They couldn’t even replant extra seed from the year before due to the deals that were made with Big Agriculture. So, quite a few families in the area pooled their resources to help defray the cost. They all agreed that no one, least of all in Washington, were looking out for the family farms.

  It was corporations that lined the pockets of every congressman and woman who publicly proclaimed to be for the little guy. Not even the president was innocent.

  Caleb wanted to complain, but he didn’t think it would do much good. None of their representatives were sitting here, hanging on every word, because it wasn’t election season ... yet. In the past, they’d signed petitions to voice their concerns, but that hadn’t helped either.

  Honestly, he wasn’t sure what would get Washington’s attention.

  The only thing Caleb was sure of was hard work, and he could do that. So he’d listen for a few more minutes while he finished his coffee
, then head back home to eat breakfast with a beautiful woman. And his parents, of course.

  Yeah, it was a rather odd situation, but he didn’t have any other choice.

  “See y’all later,” he said, touching the bill of his cap.

  By the time he walked into the kitchen, no one was there but Sofia, who was humming while she cooked. Her long, dark hair was pulled into a ponytail while her choice of outfit was a pair of shorts and a red top.

  She looked good. Hell, she looked good in whatever she wore. He suspected she’d look even better out of her clothes. While he was strung tighter than a bow during hunting season, he’d keep his thoughts of a naked Sofia to himself.

  Yesterday had been sort of a breakthrough for him, but he wasn’t sure how Sofia would react today. Did she regret finding him there? He knew he didn’t, although he couldn’t have that heart-to-heart with Apple fast enough for his liking.

  The best thing he could do was act normal, or as normal as he could get. Fine, he’d just do what came natural to him, and if she didn’t like it, then she’d let him know and he’d stop.

  Simple as that.

  Scary as hell.

  Do it anyway.

  “Morning,” he said, moving to her and placing his hands on her curvy hips. He kissed the side of her neck.

  She shivered a little, smiling as she turned to him. “Hello, handsome. It’s just us for breakfast.”

  “Just us, huh?” He wriggled his eyebrows playfully. “Does that mean you can sit in my lap and let me feed you?” Okay, so he might be moving fast, but she wouldn’t be here forever.

  “That’s ... appealing. Very appealing.” She lightly nudged him with her hip. “Go sit down, papi. I’m almost done flipping the last pancake.”

  Grinning, he let go of her and made his way to the table. He made sure to leave enough room between him and the table for Sofia.

  “Where is everyone?”

  “Meeting your brother, Elijah, at the airport in Wilmington. They left really early this morning.”

  “You didn’t want to go?”

  She turned off the burner and slid the pancake onto a small platter, then joined him at the table and placed the dish in the center. “Should I have gone, too?”

  Jealousy reared its ugly head. “Hell, no.” He patted his leg. “Have a seat, honey.”

  “Best seat in the house.” Her sweet ass touched his thigh, then her full weight came down on him as she scooted back. She was truly going to sit there and allow him to feed her. If this wasn’t the best day ever, he didn’t know what was. “I’m ready for breakfast.”

  He began to feed her bites of bacon and eggs first, followed by her mouthwatering pancakes, smothered with syrup. To his surprise, she did the same for him, giggling when he tried to take the bacon from her before she was ready.

  She popped the slice into her mouth, then gave him a stern look as she ate it. “Behave ... or no more bacon.”

  “You sure are bossy in the kitchen,” he said, liking her sassiness.

  “My domain, my rules.”

  “Yes, ma’am.”

  She rolled her eyes and leaned against him. “What are your plans for the day?”

  “Can’t think of a single one right now.”

  Laughter bubbled up. “Am I that much of a distraction?”

  “Not at all.”

  Her brow creased. “I don’t understand.”

  He grabbed her hand, lacing his fingers with hers. “A distraction is usually viewed as a bad thing. What you do to me is anything but bad.”

  “Are you sure about that?” she asked, her voice low and throaty. “Because while I’m not bad girl, I can be a little naughty.”

  This time, she was the one to initiate their kiss. She kissed him slowly. Sweetly. Made his toes curl in his boots. With the next pass of her clever tongue, he grew hard.

  He leaned back a little, breaking their kiss. “I need to stop.”

  “Turning you on and feeling the evidence of that does not bother me.” She nipped at his bottom lip. “You’re doing the same thing to me.”

  He swept his lips over hers, tasting and exploring every inch of her sweet mouth. With a groan, he pulled away again. “I have to get to work.”

  She rested her forehead against his. “Think you can get off early this Friday?”

  “I might be able to swing that.”

  “Good, because I want to go skinny dipping in your pond.”

  Before he could respond, she was out of his lap and heading upstairs.

  The rest of the week went by slower than a snail traveling through mud. Not even meeting Caleb’s globe-traveling brother, Elijah, helped speed things along. Although, it did cause a huge commotion when word spread throughout the family.

  Which was why, on Thursday evening, she found herself sitting at the mile-long dining room table surrounded by Lawsons. Luckily, Caleb sat beside her. He stayed quiet for the most part, only talking to her in hushed tones while his brothers and their wives asked Elijah a million questions. Their parents had already retired for the night, taking a couple of the grandbabies with them.

  “Good to see that nothing changes around here,” Elijah said, smiling broadly. “Especially you Caleb. Don’t know what I’d do if you changed.”

  One of the brothers snorted—Brody, maybe? “There’s no way he could get quieter.”

  “No way he’d leave the farm either.”

  For no real reason at all, or maybe she didn’t like the way his brothers picked on him, she leaned into Caleb and whispered loudly, “I’m so looking forward to skinny dipping with you, papi.”

  When she felt all eyes on her, she hastily added, “Again.”

  Caleb turned to her, his voice just as loud, “My favorite part was applying sunscreen all over your pretty,” His eyes dropped her chest for a minute before returning to her face, “skin.”

  A couple of the wives giggled.

  One of them, Sydney, she thought, grinned and said, “Y’all mind telling me where this pond is?”

  “Only if you’re going to drown Brody when you get there,” Caleb replied.

  Elijah toasted Caleb. “Always said no one is more in love with Brody than his mirror.”

  Conversation returned to normal, but Sofia couldn’t help but seriously lower her voice.

  “Was that too much?” she asked.

  “It was just right.” He reached under the table and grabbed her hand, not letting go of it until it was time to clear the table.

  Chapter Ten

  Sofia was having an out of body experience. That was the only explanation as to why she stood rooted to the ground, staring at Caleb as he walked toward her.

  Okay, so the other reason might be because he was nude, or at least she thought he was nude. Honestly, she couldn’t tell yet, because the water hit him at hip level. The rest of him was on display, giving her the best view ever of his washboard abs, muscular chest, wide shoulders, and defined arms.

  Lord, that man was the very definition of caliente.

  He gave her a cocky smile, the first she’d ever seen on him, and stopped. “Water’s fine. C’mon in.”

  “Are you wearing shorts?” she asked, taking off her shirt and shimmying out of her shirt, leaving on a bright orange two-piece that she’d worn underneath. She wore it just in case their little rendezvous wouldn’t be private.

  “I might, then again I might not.” He winked. “You don’t have to take your bathing suit off if you don’t feel comfortable.”

  “I don’t feel comfortable.” Her hands went to the back of her neck so she could loosen the ties of her bikini top. It fell to the ground, and his eyes widened in obvious appreciation. She left her bottoms on, though, but it wasn’t because she didn’t trust Caleb. She wasn’t quite sure she trusted what was in the water. All she needed was a fish to nibble on her vagina and she was so out. “Are there any fish?”

  “Maybe a few, but you don’t have to worry about them. They’re scared of us,” he said, his gaze
on her bare breasts as she slowly dipped a toe in the water. “All the snapping turtles help, too.”

  She jerked her foot out. “What?”

  A grin split his face. “Only kidding.”

  “Caleb Lawson, I can’t believe you’d tease me like that.” Putting a hand on one hip, she shook a finger at him. “No more jokes.”

  “Fair enough.” He splashed water on his chest, his arms a bit lighter in color than the skin on his neck, face, and hands. “But you’d better get in here before I change my mind and go home.”

  The water was only a little cool, nothing she couldn’t handle, so she walked right in. Caleb moved toward her, his face growing more serious the closer he got. When they were close enough to touch, he kissed her forehead, and then her nose, before settling on her mouth. His kiss was maddeningly sweet and slow, and worse, he wouldn’t touch her.

  She was dying for him to touch her.

  Unable to take it a second longer, she pressed against him, wrapping her arms around his neck. He audibly groaned.

  “You feel amazing,” he said, his hands coming to rest on her back. “So damn soft ... I want to touch and kiss you everywhere.”

  “No one’s stopping you.”

  He set her back from him for a moment, then touched the center of her chest with only the tips of his fingers. Drops of water collected on the ends and ran down her skin, making her shiver in the hot afternoon sun.

  His fingers followed the contours of her body, the slope of her breasts, and the curve of her waist. Desire ignited low in her belly as he touched her more boldly. With every pass, every sweep of his fingers, she fell further under his spell.

  He touched her so reverently, yet as his large hands cupped her breasts and made her nipples harden into points, she throbbed inside.

  “Caleb,” she whispered, swaying toward him as her eyes closed. She trusted him to catch her.

  Suddenly, he stopped his erotic explorations and cupped her shoulders. “Ready to swim?”

  “What?” Her eyes popped open. “No.”

  “I need a minute.”

  Confused, she sputtered, “To do what?”

  He tilted his head to one side. “Touching you is like discovering heaven, and it’s hard for me not to go off like a half-cocked gun.”