A Fair of the Heart

by Donna Marie Rogers

  Lauren blew out a hard breath as she stuffed the money in her pocket. Max smoking. Never in a million years would she have guessed that. My God, she felt like the worst mother in the world. How could she be so clueless about something so important?

  She got up and filled her coffee cup, then picked up the cordless and paced back and forth across the linoleum, her mind a jumbled mess of questions and concerns. Max was at Caleb’s place helping him stain boards for a fencing job, and the two of them planned to head back around four for supper. She stared at the phone, tempted to call Caleb and have him drag Max’s little smoking ass home so Lauren could ground him till he turned thirty.

  With a heavy-hearted sigh, she set the phone down and resumed her pacing. Emma was lying on the couch watching cartoons, a little sleepy from her pain medication. Lauren changed the bandages and put ointment on her tender little fingers. Now that she knew Max was most likely responsible, Lauren wanted to scream, she wanted to cry—she wanted to hunt John Frazier down so she could string him up by his balls from the nearest tree.

  The phone rang in her hand. Lauren jumped a foot, her heart pounding like a jackhammer. Good God, woman, get a grip. She took a deep breath, eye-rolled herself and picked up on the fifth ring. “Hello?”

  “Hey, pretty lady, we still on for four?”

  Caleb. “Sure are. So, how’s it going? Max behaving himself?”

  “Yep. Working his heart out, in fact. I may have myself an apprentice in a few years. If it’s okay with you, that is,” he promptly added.

  Lauren dropped onto a chair and closed her eyes. Caleb was so good for Max. Part of her was scared to death that if things didn’t work out between her and Caleb, Max would take it twice as hard as when his father left.

  Lauren nibbled on her bottom lip. Or maybe she was the one who’d take it twice as hard. Her marriage had been over for months by the time John had taken off for deeper cleavaged-pastures, so if not for the devastative heartbreak his disappearance had caused their children, she’d have gassed up the car for him personally. Caleb, however, she wasn’t ready to let go of yet. “I think that’d be great. He can even help out on weekends once school is back in session. Keep his butt out of trouble,” she added in a mutter.

  “Excellent idea. We’ll see you in a few hours.”

  Lauren hung up just as someone knocked on the door. Later she’d worry about how to confront Mr. Ashtray Breath. Right now, she had to give Mrs. Dilliard a perm and pray the old girl didn’t try to pull her rods out again.

  * * *

  Caleb set the phone in its cradle and returned to the garage where Max was already making record time on his newest section of fencing.

  He gave the kid a pat on the back. “Max, if it wasn’t against the law, I’d have you working eight-hour shifts with me.”

  “I could handle it. I’m strong for my age.”

  Caleb’s chest tightened at Max’s eager response. He was a great kid, and his father was either the most selfish bastard in the world or the dumbest. Any man should be proud to have this kid as their son. He was hardworking, intelligent, caring. He just needed some guidance, which Caleb was more than willing to give. Only one problem. Caleb had no idea what the future held for him and Lauren. He was crazy about her. Drawn to her like he’d never been any other woman. He wanted her in his life...and in his bed. Caleb gave his head a rueful shake. They hadn’t even shared a kiss yet, for crissakes.

  But even if things didn’t work out between them, maybe she’d allow Max and him to remain friends.

  “No doubt about it. You nearly blew my mind when you lifted that section up by yourself.”

  Max paused with the paintbrush in his hand and looked up at Caleb as if he’d just paid him the mother of all compliments. “I could do the most pushups and chin-ups in my class last year. Won a trophy and everything.”

  Caleb smiled. “Don’t surprise me a bit. Tall as you are, you’re probably the fastest runner, too.”

  Max puffed up his chest. “Yep. Even faster than Lori Switzer, and she’s fast for a girl.”

  “I bet she is.” Caleb’s smile turned into an ear-to-ear grin. “You ready for a root beer?”

  “Sure. Just gotta finish this last board.”

  Caleb grabbed two cans from the fridge and held one out to Max, who looked suddenly thoughtful as he stared at his paintbrush.

  “Are you gonna tell on me for the cigarettes?”

  Caleb met Max’s gaze as he reached out for the soda. “I don’t think it’s right for me to keep something this important from your mom.”

  “I swear, though, I’ll never smoke again. I only started ’cause Eddie called me a chicken shi—well, you know. I don’t even inhale.”

  Caleb popped the tab on his soda and took a long pull as he considered. The two of them had been building a bond, and the last thing Caleb wanted to do was break it. He wanted Max to know he could trust him, count on him. And maybe, he rationalized, Lauren was better off not knowing. Max was her little boy, no matter how big he was, and Caleb knew how hard she’d take the news that her ten-year-old boy had been smoking. Because one thing he’d learned in the short time he’d known her—Lauren was an amazing mother. “I won’t tell your mom, but you’ve got to swear to me you’ll never touch another cigarette as long as you live.”

  Max’s paintbrush stopped moving again. He frowned. “You mean until I’m an adult, right? I can do what I want when I turn eighteen.”

  Arms crossed over his chest, Caleb shook his head. The little stinker. “I mean ever. So promise right now or I’ll have no choice but to tell your mother.”

  Max’s mouth dropped open in disbelief. “Hey, that’s totally unfair. I’m supposed to be able to do what I want when I’m an adult.”

  With a disbelieving raise of an eyebrow, Caleb leaned one hip against the wall. “So you’re telling me you can rob a bank if you feel like it just because you’re an adult? Or you can park your car in the middle of the street and hold up traffic just because you’re an adult? You can cut in line at the grocery store, just because you’re an adult? Wish somebody had told me that one.”

  Max rolled his eyes. “That’s just stupid.”

  “So is smoking.” Caleb had to hold back a grin as Max heaved a resigned sigh.

  “Fine, I promise. I’ll never smoke again. Happy?”

  “Delirious. Now, you ready for your next section?”

  * * *

  Lauren watched a laughing Max and Caleb stroll through the door with mixed emotions. They obviously enjoyed each other’s company, and as Caleb gave Max a pat on the back, her son looked up at him as if he’d hung the moon. Tears stung her eyes and she quickly blinked them away.

  She loved that Max had a male figure he could talk to and look up to. Even if things didn’t progress between her and Caleb, Max could still work with him on the weekends and during the summer. If Max kept himself busy working with Caleb, he wouldn’t be running around with his punk friends, smoking, cussing, and Lord knew what else.

  But what if Caleb decided to head back to Chicago, his home for the past thirteen years?

  “Mom, we got more than half the boards stained! Caleb said I work a paintbrush faster’n anyone he’s ever seen!”

  “It’s true, the kid’s something else.”

  Yeah, he’s something else all right. Disappointment burned in her gut when she recalled her earlier conversation with Mrs. Langhart. “Thank you for taking him under your wing.” Without making eye contact with either one of them, Lauren strode into the kitchen to check on her lasagna. “Max, please go wash your hands for supper. It’s almost ready.”

  She heard the thud of Caleb’s work boots as he came up behind her. She flinched when his hands settled on her shoulders.

  “Something wrong?”

  “No, I’m sorry. I was just thinking about something, and you startled me.”

  He dropped his hands, and she turned to face him, plastering on as big a smile as she could muster.

 
“Man, that’s the fakest smile I’ve ever seen. Come on, tell me what’s got you so jumpy.”

  She moved around the counter to dig her bread knife out of the drawer. “I got some disturbing news today, and I’m just...I don’t know what the heck to do about it.”

  Caleb flipped one of her chairs around and straddled it. “You wanna tell me? Maybe I can help.”

  “I hope you can,” she admitted. She sliced the loaf of Italian bread in half lengthwise and starting smearing it with a generous layer of garlic spread. “I found out today…” She looked up and met his gaze. “Max has been smoking.”

  Caleb didn’t so much as bat an eye. Lauren dropped the knife on the counter and gawked at him. “You knew?”

  “Yeah, I did.”

  “Well, when the hell were you going to tell me? My God, Caleb, Emma burned her fingers on a lit cigarette. Max’s lit cigarette.”

  He cast a quick glance over his shoulder. “Look, I’d planned on telling you, but Max begged me not to. Swore he’d never light up again for as long as he lived if I didn’t tell you. I thought the boy deserved that much. He’s been through a lot this past year, needed someone he could trust.”

  Ouch. Though she knew Caleb hadn’t meant to imply that her son didn’t trust her—even if she knew that was exactly the case—hearing the words aloud was like an arrow to the heart.

  “And the cigarette Emma picked up wasn’t Max’s, it was some punk friend of his who snuck into the backyard while we were talking. He flicked the burning butt in the grass, and Emma picked it up before Max could get to it. The kid split as soon as she started crying.”

  Lauren chewed on the inside of her cheek, at least somewhat relieved Max hadn’t been smoking the cigarette that burned his sister. “Caleb, I’m grateful you’ve taken such an interest in Max. You’ve made more progress with him in a week than I have in over a year. But you should’ve told me and let me decide what to do.”

  Before Caleb could respond, Max zipped down the stairs and flew into the kitchen, an almost smug smile on his face. “Are we gonna work again tomorrow? I bet we can finish the rest by noon if we start at seven.”

  Despite everything, Lauren laughed. “In the morning?” Max hadn’t dragged his butt out of bed before ten a.m. since summer break began.

  Max surprised her with a sheepish grin. “I could do it if I set my alarm clock. Can I, Mom?”

  “Max, tomorrow’s Saturday. Most people don’t work on the weekends.”

  “Actually,” Caleb laced his fingers over the back of the chair, “I’d love to get the boards finished tomorrow. Then I could start putting the fence up on Monday.”

  Lauren eyed Caleb, more torn than she’d been in a long time. Max deserved to be grounded for a month, not allowed to go out and have fun. Only the “fun” was hard, honest work, and the fact that he was willing—heck, had even suggested—to get up early to do so, was enough incentive to agree. “Fine. But when that alarm goes off, I don’t want to hear any whining. This was your idea, so you won’t disappoint Caleb.”

  “No way, I swear. I really like staining. And I’m good at it. You know I’m not good at a lot of stuff.”

  She clucked her tongue. “That’s not true. You’ve just never really applied yourself before. And you were getting pretty good at the guitar until you quit.” She set the bread, garlic side up, on a foil-lined pan.

  “I was thinking about taking lessons again. I mean, if you’ll let me.”

  Lauren spun around, surprised. “Of course, I’ll let you. You know how disappointed I was when you wanted to quit.”

  “But can we afford it? If not, I can pay for it out of my own money.”

  “Max, I appreciate the offer, but you’ll put your money in the bank. I’ll pay for your lessons.”

  “Hey,” Caleb said, “why don’t you play me something while we’re waiting on supper? I always wanted to learn how to play guitar.”

  Max jumped up so fast Caleb and Lauren both laughed. Lauren said, “Peek in on your sister, would you? She’s awfully quiet, and her movie should be about over by now.”

  “’Kay.” Max took off like a shot.

  “He’s eager to please you,” she told him, unsure of how that made her feel. Caleb seemed to be a great guy—not to mention sexy as a box of Godiva chocolates—but really, she’d known the man less than a week. Maybe things were moving along a little too fast…hell, who was she kidding? Things were absolutely moving too fast. For all she knew, Caleb could pack up and skip town tomorrow, and where would that leave them? Emma was young and would quickly forget about him. But Max? It would kill Lauren to watch her son withdraw into his angry shell again—maybe for good this time.

  “He’s eager to please period. And I really do love his company. The kid has a great sense of humor, believe it or not.”

  Lauren’s hand stilled. “He hasn’t told you any dirty jokes, has he?”

  Caleb laughed. “Why in the world would you ask me that?”

  Her lips twitched. “Just checking.”

  “Relax, he hasn’t told me a single limerick. It’s just when he’s telling me something, he’s so dry and witty. Kinda reminds me of Hutch a little.”

  “Not surprising. Max idolizes Hutch. I need to take the kids to see him soon. Tell him how sorry we are about Rosalee...your mother. Wow, that still boggles my mind.”

  “You’ll never know how much it means to me that you all knew and liked my mom.”

  Lauren’s heart melted a tiny bit more. “We more than liked her. We absolutely adored her. You come from good stock, Mr. Hunter.”

  Lauren checked the lasagna—light golden brown and bubbly. She carefully pulled it from the oven and set it on the counter to cool for a few minutes, cranked the oven up to 425° and slid in her garlic bread.

  Caleb stood and came around to look at the lasagna, his expression priceless. “Man, if there was an award for the most perfect supper, this would win, hands down.”

  Lauren nearly twittered, but caught herself. Sheesh, what was it about this man that turned her brain to mush? Turned her from a strong, independent woman into a simpering fool? “Thanks. Hope it tastes as good as it looks.”

  “No doubt in my mind.”

  Max came skipping down the stairs, guitar in hand. When he saw that supper was about ready, his face fell. “Guess there’s no time to play.”

  “We must have time for one song.” Caleb directed a questioning look her way.

  “Just one.”

  “Awesome.” Max sat down and got comfortable. He strummed the guitar, tuned a string, then started playing.

  Chapter Eight

  Caleb watched in amazement as Max’s fingers expertly moved over the strings and out came an old Rolling Stones classic, “Paint It Black”. Man, the kid played like a pro!

  “I told you he’s good,” Lauren excitedly whispered, pride in her son making her even more beautiful.

  “You certainly didn’t exaggerate. So, the Rolling Stones, hey? Isn’t he a bit young to know their music?”

  “His instructor is a hippie, straight out of Woodstock. All the songs he’s taught Max are from the sixties and seventies.”

  “Then I look forward to hearing every song he knows.”

  As soon as Max strummed the last note, Caleb and Lauren clapped like crazy.

  “Crap, I forgot about the garlic bread!” Lauren exclaimed. She ran over and blew out a sigh of relief as she pulled the pan from the oven. “Perfect.”

  “Smells awesome,” Caleb said. “Man, am I starving.”

  “Me, too!” Max chimed in. “My mom makes the best lasagna in the world. She can cook anything, right, Mom?”

  Lauren gazed at Max with a bemused smile. “Well, I draw the line at octopus and insects, but besides that, I’ll give anything a try.”

  “Two things I can guarantee I’ll never ask you to cook.” Caleb promised with a wink. “What can I do to help?”

  “You can carry the lasagna to the table.” She handed him two oven mi
tts. “Max, please go get your sister. And be careful of her hand.”

  Caleb looked up in time to see a wave of guilt pass over Max’s face. Poor kid still felt responsible for what happened to Emma.

  Ten minutes later, they all sat down to their first meal as a family. Caleb nearly choked on the thought. Beads of cold sweat broke out on his forehead. Family? He eyed each one of them and, disconcertingly, found them all smiling back at him. Clearing his throat and pushing his reservations aside, Caleb dropped his gaze to his plate and forked in a bite of lasagna. His taste buds did a happy dance. Damn, the woman could cook. He looked up again to find Emma grinning from ear to ear.

  “Yummy, Ca’yib?”

  He met Lauren’s gaze for a brief second and a strange undercurrent passed between them. He wanted to kiss her so bad he could taste her. Get a grip, Hunter. “Delicious, punkin.”

  By the time Lauren served the apple pie a la mode, Caleb thought he would burst. “You guys don’t honestly eat this good all the time, do you?”

  “No, but we can. I mean, if you want to. Right, Mom?” Max looked so earnest and hopeful, Caleb wanted to assure the boy he wasn’t going anywhere. But how could he make such a promise when Caleb had no idea where any of this would lead? Realistically, he was a virtual stranger to them.

  And he hadn’t even kissed the woman yet. That was the problem. So much depended upon something as simple as a kiss. If the kiss had no magic, if they broke apart without so much as a tingle, that was the end of it.

  Though, somehow, Caleb doubted that would be the case.

  Max stood up as soon as he’d scarfed down his pie. “Hey, can we go rent a movie?”

  He carried his plate and fork to the sink and even rinsed them. Lauren raised a brow, her expression bemused. Caleb got the feeling Max didn’t put his dirty dishes in the sink all too often. “I’m game. It’s only a little after five.”

  “Sounds great,” Lauren chimed in. “Can we make a quick stop? I’d really like to stop at the diner and say hi to Hutch.”