by Pamela Stone
“That at least gives me some pleasure.” She wiped her eyes.
Vince just wanted to hold her and make all the hurt go away. He took his thumb and wiped the remaining moisture from beneath her eyes. “You’re a beautiful woman, Hanna Creed Rosser. Your ex is a moron.”
Hanna stood and paced away from him, toward the back of the store. “A moron with a twenty-three-year-old blond law student who looks up to him like he’s a king.”
Slowly Vince approached Hanna as she straightened a shelf of knickknacks, putting them back in the exact same places they were before she started.
The corners of her bow-shaped mouth turned down. “Thanks for the lovely compliment, Vince. But…that kiss Saturday night was…a mistake.”
“I don’t see it that way.” He moved in closer and wrapped a silky brunette curl around his finger. “As hard as I’ve tried to stay away this week, not to rush things, I couldn’t stop thinking about you. We have something here and you know it.”
She leaned her face into his caress. “Yeah, but we’re at different places.”
Moving closer, he brought his lips to within a hairbreadth of hers. “I think we’re at the exact same place. I’ve just been here a little longer.”
Her gorgeous brown eyes searched his for a long moment, then fluttered closed. “Convince me.”
He followed her as she backed up against the wall, then cupped her face and took her mouth for a slow, sensuous kiss. “We’re both single parents.” His lips traveled down her jaw to nuzzle her neck, just where it curved into her shoulder.
She sighed. “Um-hmm.” Her tongue touched her lips and her eyes remained closed, her long lashes dark against her creamy complexion.
“Both our lives center around our kids and they get along.” He slipped a hand behind her neck and nibbled her ear, breathing in her faint perfume. His other hand glided lower to her bottom.
“True.” Her husky voice sounded breathless as she arched her back and pressed against him.
“But as much as we love our kids, we both need adult companionship.” He adjusted his position so they were touching full-length and covered her mouth again, deepening the kiss.
She tilted her head back and threaded her fingers through the hair at the nape of his neck. “You’re a romantic sort. Direct and to the point.”
He slid one hand beneath her shirt and up her torso to cup her breast. “Gotta be specific about what you want or you end up with a green tie with a dopey-looking Santa on it for Christmas.”
A smile curved her lips and her eyes slowly opened. “Or a new vacuum with all those snazzy attachments that nobody uses. Figuratively speaking, of course.”
Vince winced. “Hope he slept on the figurative sofa that night.”
Her smile faded. “Vince, that Southern charm of yours is quite disarming, but I’m not ready for this. The timing just…isn’t right.”
“At this stage, I’m not suggesting we get married and live happily ever after.”
She eased out from between him and the wall. “No. You just need a bed partner.”
“You know it’s more than that.”
“I’ve only been divorced a month. I am not rushing into another mistake. I can’t put Ashton through more drama.”
“Hanna, at the risk of sounding crass, spring break is next week. Both kids will be out of town. I’ll take you anywhere you want to go.”
“And at least three people will call my mother to get the scoop before we’re even out of the city limits. When I stopped by for cinnamon rolls this morning, Mrs. Barkley commented that your truck spends a lot of time parked at the bookstore.”
“We’ll be discreet,” he said.
She laughed. “That might be a tad difficult since I live with the queen of the grapevine.” She ran her palm down his cheek. “I can’t put myself through that.”
Vince tried not to grit his teeth. He understood not being ready. Hell, it had taken him nine years to be open to another relationship. How could he expect her to be there straight out of a messy divorce? Yet something felt right with Hanna that he hadn’t felt in way too long. “The last thing I want to do is add to your stress.” The woman was wound so tight she was about to snap. “I’ll back off. I won’t pressure you.”
“Thank you.” It was some consolation that at least she didn’t look quite as relieved as he’d anticipated.
“I’m sorry the kids upset you today. And I’m sorry for interfering with the way you’re raising Ashton. Once again I’ll try to make it clear to Kenzie that Ashton had better get your permission before they do anything else.”
Hanna rubbed her forehead. “I appreciate your support. And I realize Ashton is testing his boundaries, testing me and I’m overreacting, taking it out on you. There’s anger buried inside Ashton and it’s beginning to erupt.” Tears swamped her big brown eyes and that tough gravelly voice cracked. “And what scares me is that, if asked, Ashton very well might choose to move back to Dallas with his father.”
“I can’t imagine. I was forced into single parenthood, but it was just me and Kenzie and we had to figure it out together. Nobody was trying to take her away from me.” He twisted a soft curl around his finger. There was a lot of anger and hurt buried in Hanna, too.
Vince left Hanna locking up the shop and loaded Kenzie’s bike into the truck bed. His daughter could use a lesson in respect.
The kitchen light was on when he got to the house, but Boo was outside. “What’s up, boy?” The mutt nuzzled his hand and loped along behind him into the house.
Vince dropped onto a bar stool and watched Kenzie flounce around the kitchen, giving the dog a rawhide bone, grabbing a soda. “You want one?”
“Yeah.” He took the soda she handed him. “Now sit down and let’s talk.”
Popping the top on her can, Kenzie flipped her ponytail behind her shoulder and took the aggressive approach. “Dad, you see what she does to him. He’s not in kindergarten.”
“It’s not your place or mine to dictate how someone else raises their child. Hanna is doing what she feels is in Ashton’s best interest whether you agree or not. And in this case, I happen to agree with her. He should have asked permission before he went fishing. And so should you.”
“Sure, and have her tell him he couldn’t go. I even told her we had on life jackets and she still went off on us.”
Boo took his rawhide and moved a safe distance away. He flopped down in the hall to chew the treat, but his eyes followed every gesture they made.
“Hanna’s his mother. She has the right to tell him he can’t go.”
“Just because she’s his mother, that gives her the right to ruin his life?”
“Your attitude needs adjusting. Since you aren’t showing that you can be responsible, the bike is off limits until after spring break. One more outburst and I’ll call Gran and Pop and cancel the Disney trip for next week.”
Kenzie swallowed and her eyes got watery, but she didn’t respond.
What they said about disciplining your kid hurting you more than them had never seemed quite so profound, but he’d be damned if he was going to raise a brat. “Mackenzie, I don’t let other people tell me how to raise you. I make the best choices I know how to make, whether they turn out to be the right ones or not. Ms. Rosser does the same. I respect that and I expect you to do the same.”
She sniffed. “Yes, sir.”
“Now finish your drink and get started on your homework. I’ve got to make a couple of calls, then I’ll start dinner.”
Dinner was unusually quiet, and afterwards Kenzie returned to the living room and her homework without being told. Vince was in the middle of loading the dishwasher when Boo’s ears perked and he let out a low growl from deep in his throat.
Vince dried his hands and opened the back door to find Ashton, loaded down with a backpack and a little blue overnight bag. “Hello, Mr. Keegan.”
“Ashton.”
“I was wondering if it’d be okay if I stayed here, at least unt
il Saturday when my dad comes to get me.”
Crap. Vince stood back and motioned him in off the dark porch. “You have a home.”
Boo plodded over and sniffed Ashton’s suitcase as if he expected to find a treat.
Ashton rubbed Boo’s head, but didn’t seem to get too much relief out of petting the dog. “My home used to be in Highland Park, but now my dad has that girl living there. I go there every other weekend, but last time he worked all day Saturday and she looked at me like she’d never seen a kid before. Then on Sunday we had to go to church, have lunch with my grandparents and then drive and meet Mom in Waco.” Misery was etched in frown lines on his forehead and around his downturned mouth.
“What about your new home here? Marble Falls is pretty cool.”
“Living with Nana?” He snorted. “She’s totally in my business all the time. I just have this little room and only half my stuff. Mom acts all weird and mad at everything. I didn’t have many friends in Dallas, but now they’re always busy when I’m there, and Mom screws up the one friend I made here.” Ashton tried to act tough, but his dark eyelashes were damp and spiky. “So I just need to stay here until Saturday, if that’s okay.”
Kenzie slipped quietly into the kitchen. “It’s okay if he stays here, right, Dad? It’s just two nights.”
“Homework, Mackenzie.”
“But…” Scowling, she turned and stomped back to the living room.
“Sit down, Ashton. You need a bottle of water or anything?”
“No, thanks. Just a place to stay.” The kid deposited his stuff beside the chair and sat. “I can sleep on the sofa.”
“Does your mom know where you are?”
“No, she was in the shower when I left.”
Vince sat across from him. “Divorce sucks, huh?”
“It sucks green pond scum,” Ashton said without even a smirk. “Parents don’t care what they do to the kid, they’re so busy hating each other.”
“I don’t know your dad, so I’m not going to speak for him. But your mom is more worried about you and making you happy than anything else right now. You’re her whole life. Divorce sucks for her, too.”
“Mom says we’re living in Nana’s home and we have to conform, but I hate it there. I love her, but living with her is not fun.”
“You and your mom will get your own place eventually. This is just temporary. Running away from things you don’t like isn’t going to make them go away.”
“You don’t know how much it sucks there.”
Vince kicked back from the bar and tried to figure out whether to approach him as a kid or an adult. “When Kenzie’s mom and brother were killed, it was just the two of us left. We were both upset and lost and confused. She was only three, but we stuck together. It took a while, and we still just take one day at a time and figure out what works for us. Good or bad, we’re a team and we stick together. So are you and your mom. Don’t you think she might be worried about where you are?”
“You could call her and tell her I’m staying over. She listens to you.”
Yeah, right. “She’d listen to you, if you’d talk to her. Gotta face your problems and be involved in the solution or other people end up making decisions you don’t like.”
One corner of Ashton’s mouth turned up. “So you’re telling me to man up?”
“Pretty much. You’re old enough and smart enough to do that.”
“I’d look more like a man if Mom would let me get a real haircut. She keeps taking me to a salon. Think I might tag along next time you go to your barber?”
“That’s just one more thing you need to take up with your mom. She’d skin me alive if I took you for a haircut without her permission.”
“So you’re scared of her, too?”
“Well, yeah.” Vince grinned and picked up the suitcase. “Ready to give it a shot?”
VINCE KEPT HIS HAND ON Ashton’s shoulder for moral support and had his finger on the bell when the door burst open and Hanna almost ran them down.
Car keys in hand, no makeup and wild wet corkscrew curls that smelled like shampoo. Old sweatpants and a T-shirt, but no bra.
Staring at him, she blinked, then looked down and her gaze landed on Ashton. She grabbed him by the shoulders and Vince wasn’t sure whether her intent was to shake the boy or kiss him. “Where have you been? I got out of the shower and went in to see how the homework was coming and you were gone.”
Ashton leaned away from her, but they were both teary-eyed. The kid didn’t respond.
Straightening, Hanna stepped fully out on the porch, closed the door and faced Vince. “What’s going on here?”
This was between mother and son, and Vince’s intent was to deliver the boy and stay the hell out of it. “Ashton, you going to tell your mom?”
Ashton shrugged, and Hanna finally noticed the blue suitcase and backpack. “You ran away from home?”
“Oh come on, Mom. Don’t act so surprised.” He shoved past her, lugging his suitcase and backpack. “Thank goodness I’m going to Dad’s for a week.” The door slammed behind him.
Hanna put her hands on her hips and stared up at the sky. “What next? I can’t take this anymore. I don’t know what to do.”
It took all Vince’s willpower not to pull her into his arms. Instead he squeezed her shoulder. “Just one day at a time.”
Chapter Eight
Hanna held two pitchers of lemonade high over her head and plastered herself flat against the door frame as three twelve-year-old boys raced out into the yard. It was still five minutes until two, but already six kids from Ashton’s class had arrived. In spite of a forecast of possible storms, Saturday had dawned with only scattered clouds for Ashton’s birthday party.
She’d debated whether to cancel the party entirely after Ashton’s recent disobedience, but hadn’t had the heart. Seeing his beaming face as the other kids arrived, she was happy she hadn’t. At least he was settling in here. Whether Kenzie’s friends or Ashton’s, they’d showed up.
She inhaled the sweet scent of the freshly mowed lawn and listened to the squeals of the kids playing dodgeball against the back fence.
“Dad!” Ashton yelled, tossing the ball to another boy and heading toward the patio where Hanna was setting up the refreshments. The fragrance of Richard’s cologne preceded him, even before she turned and saw him coming out the sliding glass door.
“Happy birthday, kiddo.” Richard gave Ashton’s shoulder a squeeze and handed him a huge, beautiful package wrapped in bright-blue foil paper and tied with a shiny silver bow.
“Oh, wow!” Ashton shook it and held it up to his ear as if he expected it to whisper what was inside. “Can I open it now?”
“We’ll open presents later,” Hanna said, reaching to take the package. “Let me put that in the house with the others.”
“Here, let me get it. It’s heavy.” Richard touched Hanna’s shoulder, then retrieved the present from Ashton.
She flinched at his touch before she caught herself. At least he hadn’t brought Phoebe, the new girlfriend. “Thanks. I’m glad you could make the party.”
Richard grinned at her, then hauled the gift back inside. They’d agreed to spend special occasions together as a family, for Ashton’s sake. It had sounded like a good plan, but this was the first shared event to come up. Maybe it would get easier, but being around him made her jumpy. This was her world, not his. In the years they were together, he’d spent only rare occasions in Marble Falls. Before her father had died three years ago, her parents had typically driven to Dallas for designated holidays. Richard spent so much time at the office, it had just worked out better that way.
“Ashton, the doorbell rang. Better see who it is,” Hanna said.
“Let him play. I’ll get it,” Richard offered, altering his route and heading toward the front door.
The idea was for Ashton to greet his own guests, but Hanna didn’t argue. Whatever kept the peace today.
She dumped a bag of chips into a bowl and
glanced through the glass door as she heard Vince’s deep voice.
Hanna dropped the whole bag in the bowl and bolted into the small living room in time to see Richard extend his hand to Vince. “Richard Rosser, Hanna’s—Ashton’s father.”
“Vince Keegan.” Vince shook his hand, but his dimples flashed as he exchanged a knowing glance with Hanna.
Fidgeting by her father’s side, Kenzie looked Richard up and down, then smiled at Hanna. “Hi, Ms. Rosser. Thanks for having me.”
“Hi, Kenzie.” Hanna blinked at Kenzie in the cute little purple short set, with even a matching bow on her ponytail. Okay. So this must be a twin Mackenzie? “Your hair looks so pretty today. Did you do it yourself?”
Mackenzie crossed her eyes and nodded toward Vince. “I always do it myself. See, he’s an engineer and he engineers a ponytail so tight my eyes are on either side of my head.”
Vince smirked. “When I put it up, it doesn’t fall down, now does it?”
Kenzie smirked at him, then, having fulfilled her mannerly obligation, darted into the yard with the others.
Richard laughed then switched his attention back to Vince. “Have you always lived in Marble Falls?”
“Austin.”
Oh, yeah, here came the subtle interrogation. Leave it to Richard.
Richard’s gaze quickly took in Vince’s faded jeans and white button-down. “Austin. You’re not by chance related to Madeline Grant Keegan are you?”
“Guilty.” Vince grinned. “My mom.”
Well, that slowed Richard down. Hanna’d never seen him look quite so stunned. “At last year’s state conference, she gave a hell of a keynote on family law.”
“Yeah. Don’t mess with Mom.”
The hair on the back of Hanna’s neck stood up. Having these two men in the same room might not feel awkward to them, but it sure as heck did to her.
Ashton rushed into the living room. “Vince, we’re choosing teams for a softball game. Mom bought me equipment for the party. You have to pitch. We decided it’s fair as long as you pitch for both teams.”