“Well, when I went to pick him up at Daycare they were about to make teepees out of sheets, so I promised him a top notch fort so he, Lucas and Reece could play cowboys and Indians in it tonight,” Dalton explained, obviously proud of his handy work.
Raising a brow, Sara asked, “And why did his teacher release him to you, I’m pretty confident you're not on his approved caretaker list.” Sara knew he wasn’t, at this point her father was the only one that had permission to take Logan from school.
Dalton actually blushed for a moment, “Well, I’m sort of friends with Logan’s teacher.” He began. Sara ignored the snickers from various parts of the room. “I asked how I and the others could obtain permission to pick up Logan, in the event of an emergency, of course, she gave me a form, I filled it out and handed it back.” He said the last part quickly as he turned to go into the kitchen.
Sara held him with one hard glare. “Dalton Cadence Hudson, that paper required my signature, just how did I sign a permission form without my knowledge.” She demanded using her stern mother voice.
“I forged your name for you, sweetheart,” Matt announced walking into the room carrying a small suitcase.
Still irritated Sara tried to bat him away when he moved in to kiss her cheek. “We just wanted to be there in case he needed us, Sara, in case you needed us. Don’t be mad sis.”
Sara groaned, the man was as bewitching as Dalton. She couldn’t even pretend to be furious because she was too touched by their willingness to be there for Logan. Calling her sis was the breaking point. Refusing to cry she hugged Matt, throwing her arms around his waist. Once she had finished, she let Dalton grab her up in a strong embrace. No matter how old they got, these were still her boys.
She was no busy being hugged she practically overlooked that Matt had a suitcase. “Going out of town?” She inquired.
Matt grinned, those signature dimples and green eyes informed her there was more of a story then he was going to tell, but she would let it go…. For Now.
“I’m booked for a client back in Vegas.” He explained, Sara understood what he meant right away.
Synclair had actually met Matt in Vegas before they even knew who each other was. Matt, who held a master’s degree in finance and was an outstanding accountant, was also a male escort. They hadn’t talked about it since she had found out a few months ago. None of the Hudson’s had known until Matt had to explain why Amber had a video of him talking to Synclair in Las Vegas. Sara still bristled when she thought of how Amber had edited the video to show Matt and Synclair kissing instead of Synclair and Matt’s colleague Ridge. It had been awful and perplexing, but Matt made certain everyone knew that Synclair was innocent.
It wasn’t that Sara thought poorly of escorts, she didn’t. Also, Matt had the face and the body for one. He was tall, over six feet, kept his dark hair short and styled daily, he and Dalton had both done a term in the Navy as SEALS, but had chosen to come back to Carson City to be near their sister. So Matt’s body resembled a sculpted, Adonis, and when the boy dressed up, she was sure women trailed behind him with their panties dropping.
Matt had explained that he loved the thrill of encountering different women, of finding out what made them tick, what made them happy. So while she fretted about his safety, she was willing to support him in whatever he did. However, the tight expression on his face told her that he wasn’t all that excited to see this client he was meeting.
“You know, you can turn this customer down Matt if you’re uneasy,” Sara suggested. She loathed the thought of Matt feeling compelled to be with someone that made him feel weird.
Matt shook his head and laughed. “Naw, it’s not that, this client wants to hire me for the night to talk, she’s a writer and is going to interview me about the life of an escort.” He replied rubbing his jaw thoughtfully. “But I’m gonna do my damnedest to talk her into more.” He concluded with a lopsided smirk.
Sara laughed as she smacked his arm. She regarded Matt leaned down to grab his suitcase and straightened, his eyes staring right into her hers.
“Give the old man a break Sara,” Matt gestured to Lucas, who was standing by the front door, silently seething. “You guys belong together, you just gotta believe.” With that, he saluted the room and strolled to the front door.
Sara looked away from Lucas, recalling something Dalton had mentioned she spun toward Synclair, who was licking cupcake off her fingers. “What is this about Logan staying here tonight? Why isn’t Logan going home with me tonight.” She asked putting her palms on her hips.
Synclair opened her mouth to respond when Lucas cut her off. “You're not going to be alone tonight Sara, I want you and Logan to remain where you’ll be protected, we can figure out how to handle Travis together,” Lucas told her as he closed the distance until he was merely inches away from her. His serious gaze dared her to resist him. Challenge accepted!
Whispering to make sure Logan didn’t overhear, Sara leaned into Luca’s smug stance. “And just who determined this?”
“I did.” He responded, his face remaining stoic.
Sara wanted to stomp her feet and beat his face in. Just who did he think he was? Lucas had no right to take charge of her life or Logan’s. He was sadly mistaken if he expected that she was going to just quietly obey his orders.
Sara patted her pockets, first her front and then the rear, she peered up at him. “Nope, can’t find any.” She barked shaking her head. She let her eyes go wide with mock innocence.
“Can’t find what?” Lucas demanded, he obviously had no understanding what she was talking about.
She leaned toward him, making sure she had his attention. When he leaned close enough that his ear was near her mouth, she let him have it.
“Fucks, Lucas, I can’t seem to find any fucks to give about what you choose.” She growled just loud enough for the adults to hear but not the young boy playing in the sheet fort.
Lucas reared back in shock, she was sure he had never heard her voice such things when they had been dating. Good, she thought. Get it through your head Hudson, you don’t call the shots!
Synclair’s face suddenly materialized in between her and Lucas. She waited as Synclair held her hand up in the air for a high five. Sara was about to oblige when she saw Lucas put his hands on Synclair’s growing waist lift her from the ground and place her protesting body in front of Reece, who remained keenly watching the whole situation with amusement.
“Aww, don’t poke the bear sweetheart,” Dalton warned obviously trying not to grin at Lucas’s crimson face.
Too furious to care, Sara did precisely that. “That’s absolutely what I’m doing, consider yourself poked, bear.” She concluded by jabbing her index finger hard into his chest. Without losing a beat, Sara turned to Rachel, who was staring at the spectacle with fervent enthusiasm.
“Rach, is Logan good here for a while? I have things I need to take care of at the Diner.”
Sara wasn’t confident it was a good plan to leave Logan, but she didn’t want him to see her so clearly agitated, she needed to think, sort out her thoughts, and if she remained in Lucas’s presence for one for minute she was going to use one of the maneuvers Synclair had shown her and rack him to the floor!
Rachel nodded and Sara turned to snatch her keys off the counter, where she knew Rachel would have thrown them.
“We’re not finished here,” Lucas growled.
“Oh yes we are Lucas, we were done a long time ago.” Sara retorted as she slammed the door.
**********
Lucas stood there dumbfounded as, once again, Sara had managed to escape him. He wanted to howl when Sara comically began hunting for fucks in her pockets, later he wanted to throttle her for attempting to high five Synclair at his expense. Now he just wished to hold her until she conceded to give him another shot.
“I think you were dismissed, big guy.” Synclair chided. He glanced at Reece, who shrugged his shoulders in a ‘what do you want me to do about it’, motion.
“Come on Sis.” He told her putting emphasis on her new standing in the family. “You need to tell me everything that Sara told you today, I need Intel.” He struggled to grin at her to cover how desperate he was becoming.
“Nope, No can do- Big L, I’m coaching a self-defense class in twenty minutes and my stud muffin of a man is going to drive me, Sorry.” She called over her shoulder as she sauntered toward the door with a trailing Reece.
“Ya know how scary dark these roads get after dark Lucas, why I’m just a woman, ya see, powerless to think for myself and all.” It was like a bullseye to the heart, Synclair had perfect aim for her insults.
If he were sincere he shouldn’t have told Sara what to do, he just fell back into familiar methods. When they had been dating Sara had never opposed his directions or recommendations, she consistently had deferred to his judgment. But the Sara that had stood before him today was not the Sara of old. This Sara was strong, fierce and battle ready, and he liked it. He had loved the sweet old Sara, the Sara that only became furious when pushed too far, but this Sara ignited his blood so much he could hear it roaring in his ears.
A slight tug on his shirt brought him back to present. He glanced down and saw Logan smiling up at him. A grin that reminded him of Sara. Reaching down to pick up the youngster with sticky hands, he let himself soften.
“Are you my uncle too Lucas?” His little face peered up at him in curiosity.
Lucas glanced around, his siblings stared at him expectantly. He didn’t want to be another uncle, Lucas wanted to be this amazing, little boy’s hero, his protector, his rock, he wanted to be his father.
“No Logan, I want to be your dad.” The words escaped his mouth before he could stop them before he could even contemplate the significances and ramifications for what he had just blurted out to this charming little child.
Logan regarded him thoughtfully, then put a palm on each side of Lucas’s face. “Hey, we have the same holes in our faces,” Logan observed innocently.
By holes, Lucas assumed he meant dimples. Lucas was about to concede when a thought suddenly stopped him. With Logan still in his arms, he pivoted around to Dalton. Dalton had clearly overheard the discussion and was now glancing from Lucas to Logan and again back to Lucas. Could it be?
“Dalt.” Lucas choked out as he lowered the child to the floor.
“On it, I’ll deal with it okay Lucas.” God, he loved his brother. He couldn’t even form the words and didn’t have to, Dalton knew precisely what he was feeling and what he required.
“What is it?” Rachel asked not following the situation.
“Rachel I need you to watch Logan,” Lucas asked, his face must have registered his jumbled emotions because she nodded without asking any further questions.
Lucas grabbed his keys and threw open the door. “Dalt, radio silence on this until we know.” He instructed an already nodding Dalton.
He needed to talk to Sara, he needed to find out if they still had a chance. More than just their future was at risk, it was probable the fate of his biological child was too.
**********
Sara glanced up from the paperwork she was doing to see who was disturbing her this late. Knowing she had locked the front door of the Diner two hours ago, she didn’t need to look to see who was storming her office. Still, she was startled when she looked up and was met with a handsome scowl from Lucas Hudson. Scowling at her? Really? He had just invaded her office, in her locked Diner, and had the gall to look pissed, with her? Was he here to try to boss her around some more because she was not in the mood!
“Why the scowl Lucas? Unable to find any kittens to kick today?” She remarked. She met his deep, green eyes blazed with anger and his eyes narrowed on her. Yeah, she was a little mouthier since Synclair had shown up and became her friend.
“I can see Synclair’s rubbing off on you.” He Quipped.
She hoped so. He considered her with an odd expression as he leaned on the frame of the open doorway. She had to moan, no matter what; the man was easy on the eyes. Dark green eyes, perfect lips, deep chocolate colored hair, virtually black, with just a hint of crimson coming through, not to mention the farmer’s tan and the way he filled out a pair of Levis jeans. The worst part was she knew precisely how well formed he was under that t-shirt and blue jeans. She knew how ranching had given him thick muscular arms, powerful thighs and an ass so tight it would make twenty-year-old underwear models weep. However, she knew none of that mattered to Lucas.
He was the model brother, a wealthy rancher, a great father figure for his younger siblings and invariably had the answer for any problem. Except her. That was why she guessed he was here; standing in her doorway looking like, he didn’t know what to say. Looking like he was pissed that he was actually here, as some inner, noble version of himself compelled him to come see her against his will.
It wasn’t always like that; there was a time when he was glad to see her when they had been in love years back.
Sara had assumed that once Lucas knew what Travis had done that maybe they would be able to work past it; although, she had still been traumatized by the rape and by how quickly Lucas was to believe the worst in her.
At the time, she thought they still had a chance of getting through it. No, it was when Sara turned up pregnant, and Lucas couldn’t accept the baby that had Sara turning her back on him.
Still Lucas was like a magnet, in the almost five years since she had her child, they had worked to evade one another, okay her more than him. They were cordial when their paths would cross and when Synclair blew into town they had been forced into such proximity that for a moment she got lost in that sexy, Hudson Alpha male charm.
Waking up in his arms the night after the encounter with Amber in the Diner was a mistake that Sara wished she could take back. She had slipped out and had dodged him since. Even when Matt Hudson had caught her trying to get a car to Synclair, who was at the hospital, and had carried Sara kicking and shouting into the waiting room and deposited her right in front of Lucas, she had bolted the second everyone’s attention was turned.
She had worked hard since then to stay off his radar, making certain to come to the house only when she knew he wouldn’t be there, but it was obvious by him showing up tonight that her tactic was no longer working.
Damn, after the remarks they had exchanged earlier she hoped things would go back to the comfortable distance they had been keeping, yet here he was in all his Hudson glory, and she wasn’t sure if she wanted to climb his lean body like a Spider Money or kick him in the balls. Damn, Synclair really was rubbing off on her.
“So why are you here? More to the point how are you here? Since I know, I locked those front doors hours ago?” She rose up from the desk, placed her hands on her hips and glared him down.
Lucas tried not to snicker; Sara was a firecracker when she was furious. It didn’t happen often, but it had always been there below the surface. Sure everyone assumed she was shy and somewhat mousy, but they didn’t know Sara the way he did, they hadn’t tasted how passionate she could be or how stubborn. Right now, she was definitely stubborn. After the night that they had made love, he was fit to be tied when he woke up alone. She had rejected his calls, his texts and every attempt to talk to her.
Therefore, he gave her time and space, time to work through her emotions, time to come to the same conclusion he had, that they were destined for the same second chance that his brother Reece and Synclair had gotten.
He realized he had messed up, his male ego and pride couldn’t see anything past the fact that another man had his hands on her. When he found out she was pregnant, he had been frightened that he wouldn’t be able to look at her baby, and not see Travis’s smug face when he boasted about having sex with Sara. His poor Sara, when he thought about how that bastard had forced himself on her, he wanted to gut him like a downed deer. Hell, if the man weren't already behind bars serving time for raping another woman, he would have dragged him behind his truck through town.
Part of him wanted to tell her what he suspected about Logan, but he was confident she wouldn’t believe him, so for the moment he was going to keep all his suspicions to himself.
Now he was finished giving her time, she only seemed to avoid him more, and he was done with it. She was going to forgive him for being an imbecile, a Hudson trait, Synclair had informed him, and then they were going to be a family and that included her son Logan. The more he saw the boy, the more he saw Sara in him; he had been stupid to assume that gentle boy would be anything like Travis. The kid was smart, mannered and the light in Sara’s world. Lucas wanted them both, he wanted to love them, care for them and in time, Logan would come to accept Lucas like a father. No matter what Dalton came back with, that boy was his, flesh and blood or not. Lucas had already wasted so much time he was done waiting.
“No you’re correct, the door was locked, I just commandeered Synclair’s keys when she went to bed.” He laughed holding up the set of keys she had given Synclair a some time ago when they had agreed to be partners.
“Am I supposed to be impressed with your ability to steal the keys from an exhausted pregnant woman, Lucas?” Sara gritted.
Lucas couldn’t help but grin as he pocketed the keys. Moving fully into her small office he saw Sara stumble back a step. He liked that she was nervous around him; at least, he wasn’t the only one who felt this way.
“You’re avoiding me.” Lucas drawled taking a step closer.
“You’re impossible.” Sara retorted taking another step backward.
“Accurate,” He answered as he took another step towards her retreating frame.
“Delusional.” She spat trying to sound tougher than she felt. Just being this close to that man made her dizzy. She knew the second he realized the effect he had on her because his grin went from cocky to predatory. Crap, don’t fall for it, Sara. Her inner voiced screamed.
“Hungry.” He purred as he closed the distance between them.
Sara retreated until her back touched the wall, she put up a hand to ward off Lucas, but he knocked it aside and swept her up in his arms. Inches from her face, his warm, minty breath mixed with hers.
Baby Mine: A Hudson Family Series- Book Two- Lucas and Sara Page 5