Lauren pressed her hand against his chest, right over his heart, and Caleb heaved a silent, heartfelt sigh. Whatever his decision, he’d have to make it soon. Because the last thing he wanted to do was leave three broken hearts behind if he ultimately decided to head back to Chicago.
Or would that be four broken hearts?
* * *
“Wow, it’s even busier than last year,” Lauren announced as they strolled along the bustling fairway the following evening. Game operators beckoned them forward with promises of giant stuffed toys and other prizes. Screams and laughter could be heard from all around as people enjoyed the many rides and attractions the fair offered. The air was ripe with the aromas of every kind of food imaginable, from brats and deep-fried cheese curds, to elephant ears and candy apples. And Lauren’s personal favorite—fresh, buttery caramel corn.
“Yep, sure is packed,” Caleb said, sounding oddly disinterested. He’d seemed preoccupied from the moment he’d arrived at her house. Well, if she were being honest, he’d seemed preoccupied as he’d walked her to her car last night after several hours of lovemaking. Lauren had blamed his less than enthusiastic send-off on the late hour and physical exhaustion, but now she wasn’t so sure as doubts started to creep into her head.
“Momma, cot’ candy, cot’ candy!” Emma insisted, bouncing in her stroller as they passed a vendor selling the fluffy, sugary clouds.
“Which color do you want, punkin?” Caleb asked as he pulled his wallet out.
She pointed to pink, and squealed when Caleb handed her the sweet treat.
“Thank you,” Lauren said, trying not to worry over his distant attitude.
“Like I said, the day’s on me.”
His smile seemed genuine, and Lauren took heart. Maybe the fair reminded him of his mother, she thought as they continued down the fairway.
She had just placed Emma on a kiddie ride of slowly spinning airplanes when Max showed up, his arms full of carnival loot.
“Look at all the stuff I won!” he exclaimed, beaming, happier than she’d seen him in months.
Lauren’s heart swelled with relief as she approached him to surreptitiously sniff for cigarette smoke. All she smelled was the caramel corn he had clutched in his hand. Max loved the stuff almost as much as she did. He rolled his eyes when she reached in for a handful.
“Here, you can have the rest if I can have a funnel cake.”
Lauren grinned. “Deal.” She accepted the small paper bag. “Why don’t you run your stuff home before your arms fall off? I’ll buy you that funnel cake when you get back.”
“Cool.”
Lauren watched him the entire way until he stuck his key in the back door. Living directly behind the fairgrounds was a blessing in Lauren’s eyes, although at night it could be an annoyance, especially when she wanted to get Emma to sleep.
Once the ride came to a stop, Caleb plucked Emma from the tiny airplane and lifted her up on his shoulders. Lauren smiled up at them. What a truly heartening picture they made. Except when she met Caleb’s gaze, he cleared his throat and looked away. Lauren was almost sure she saw uncertainty in his eyes. Or was that...regret?
“How `bout we get something to eat when Max gets back?” he suggested.
“I’cream, I’cream!” Emma demanded, bouncing on his shoulders.
Caleb chuckled as he set her back in her stroller and buckled her in.
Max came running up, panting. “Okay.” More panting. “Ready for my funnel cake.”
Lauren laughed. Caleb cocked a brow and she explained, “Last year, Max waited until the last minute to buy one. They ran out of batter and closed the stand before we got there.”
Caleb clapped Max on the back. “Well, we can’t let history repeat itself, so let’s go. My treat.”
“Cool!”
“And I’ll split an ice cream cone with Emma.” Lauren wheeled the stroller around and the four of them walked back toward the line of concession stands.
Lauren got in line at the custard stand and smiled with pleasure when she recognized Tara Russell walking down the fairway with Sugar, her brother Charlie’s Great Dane. “Tara, over here!” Lauren flapped her arms to get her friend’s attention.
Tara heard her, but searched around for a second before spotting them. She steered Sugar their way, and Lauren couldn’t help but laugh as the dog snorted up crumbs the entire way.
“Hey, Lauren, I’ve been meaning to stop in for a trim.”
Lauren let out a wistful sigh. All that beautiful silky black hair and Tara wouldn’t let her play with it. “Someday you’re going to let me do more than just take a half inch off the ends.” With a raised brow, she took in Tara’s odd choice in clothing and her multitude of tattoos. Daisy Dukes and a chain wrapped around her waist? “You guys celebrating Halloween in July this year?”
“What?”
Lauren grinned. “Between the Haunted House I saw on the way in and your costume, I don’t know what else to think.”
“Ha, ha, funny. I’m working the tattoo booth later.”
“Ah, well, that makes more sense.”
Tara rolled her eyes, and then smiled down at Emma. “Hey, Emma, is Mommy getting you some ice cream?”
“We share it,” Emma explained, holding up a bandaged hand. “Owie.”
“I see that.” Tara glanced at Lauren. “What happened? Is she okay?”
“Yeah, she’s fine. She burned her fingers on a lit cigarette. Some punk friend of Max’s flicked it into the backyard, and Emma grabbed it before Max could stop her.” The thought of what happened still caused Lauren’s pulse to quicken. She accepted the large twist cone from the man behind the counter and handed him two singles.
“Poor little girl.” Tara met Lauren’s gaze, her eyes brimming with genuine concern. “And how awful for you, too.”
“Not being able to take her pain away was the worst part. I was such a wreck. I don’t know what I would’ve done if Caleb hadn’t been there.”
Tara raised a brow. “Caleb?”
Before Lauren could reply, Emma cried, “Momma, I’cream, I’cream!”
She knelt down and helped Emma grasp the cone with her unbandaged hand. “Careful, honey. Don’t drop it.” Lauren stood back up and pointed to where Max and Caleb were waiting in line for funnel cakes. “Caleb.”
Tara looked him up and down. “Where have you been hiding him? I didn’t know you were dating anyone.” Tara’s attention suddenly shot to Sugar, and Lauren realized with a start that Emma was about to share their ice cream with her.
“Oh, no, honey, don’t do that!” Tara exclaimed. “She can’t have—” Sugar wolfed down the ice cream cone so fast Lauren never had time to react.
Emma’s eyes grew round and red with tears. Her lower lip trembled, and Lauren braced herself for the storm. Sugar hadn’t touched Emma’s hand, so Lauren knew her cries were simply over the loss of her treat.
“Sugar,” Tara scolded, giving the dog’s leash a hard tug, yanking her back a few steps. She met Lauren’s gaze. “I’m sorry.”
Lauren smiled reassuringly, then crouched down and ruffled Emma’s hair. “It’s okay, baby, I’ll get us another one.”
“Let me get it,” Tara offered.
“Sassy doggie,” Emma pouted, scowling at Sugar.
“Really, Tara, it’s no big deal.” Lauren was hard pressed not to laugh as Sugar licked her chops, tail thumping the ground, no doubt ready for another treat.
Tara tossed some money to the guy at the custard stand. “Actually, Charlie will pay me back, so I insist.” She leaned down toward Emma. “Sorry about that, sweetie. We’ll go now so she doesn’t try to steal the next one. I’ll see you later for that trim, Lauren—and the full scoop on that one.” She grinned, indicating Caleb with a jerk of her head. Lauren and Emma both waved as Tara led Sugar away.
The vendor handed Lauren a second cone just as Caleb and Max approached, munching away on their funnel cakes.
“What happened?” Max asked. “We
heard Emma crying, but all I saw was Tara and Sugar.”
“Emma decided to share our ice cream with Sugar, who wasn’t in the mood to share.” Lauren handed Emma the replacement cone, and then gestured toward their funnel cakes. “How are they?”
Caleb held his out to her. “Awesome, try a bite.”
“Don’t mind if I do.” He seems back to his normally cheerful self, she thought as she leaned in for a nibble. “Mmm, delicious.”
Max chowed his down, then licked his fingers clean of powdered sugar. “I’m still hungry. Can I go get an ice cream cone, too?”
Lauren reached into her purse, but Caleb stopped her. “Put your money away. Like I said, the day’s on me.” He handed Max a five and grinned when the kid snatched it out of his hand and took off like a rocket.
“You’re welcome!” Lauren shouted after him, exasperated by his lack of manners. “Sorry,” she said to Caleb.
He waved it off. “He’s just excited. This is probably the first time in a year he’s let himself have fun. The kid’s too hard on himself.”
“Just wait until I ground him for the smoking. I swear he won’t see the outside of his room for two weeks.”
Caleb took another bite of his funnel cake and looked off into the distance. “I realize I don’t have a say in the matter, but I truly believe you might be better off just letting it go. He’s not going to smoke anymore, he promised.”
Spoken like someone who doesn’t have kids. Lauren let out a sigh. “Look, I realize you don’t have any parenting experience, but you can’t honestly believe Max shouldn’t be punished just because he promised to never do it again. What else was he going to say?”
“I get it. I’m not his father and therefore shouldn’t have an opinion.”
“That’s not what I meant, I—”
Caleb held up a hand, his expression rueful. “Christ, I’m sorry. Listen to me, acting as if I should have some say in how you discipline your kids.”
“Caleb, you’re the first person to ever show an interest in Max, and I appreciate your input more than I can say. It’s just...after I found out what Max and his friends had been up to, all I could think was, ‘My ten-year-old little boy’s been smoking?’”
“Liar!” Max shouted from behind them. “You swore you wouldn’t tell!”
Chapter Eleven
Lauren and Caleb both swung around at Max’s outraged accusation.
“Honey, it’s not what you think,” Lauren tried to assure him, hating the thought of losing all of the progress he and Caleb had made. Why couldn’t she have just kept her mouth shut and let the subject drop, at least for tonight?
Caleb clasped Max’s shoulder. “I’m sorry, buddy. I didn’t mean for this to happen.”
Max twisted away from him, his eyes brimming with hurt and anger. “I trusted you!” Before either of them could respond, Max whipped his cone into the dirt and took off running.
“Max!” Lauren yelled. She started after him, but Caleb caught her by the arm.
“I’ll go find him. I don’t want you trying to handle him in his present frame of mind. He needs to get his anger out and cool down before he’s ready to listen, and I’d rather I be his punching bag than you. Please,” he added when she opened her mouth to argue.
Lauren gave a reluctant nod, feeling as if her stomach had just dropped to her feet. She watched Caleb give chase and wished she’d simply listened to the man instead of assuming she knew best where Max was concerned. Okay, yeah, nobody knew her son better than she did. But he was getting older, crossing the threshold from little boy into young man, and mothers weren’t exactly welcomed over that threshold. Max was at an age where he couldn’t even conceive she’d be able to relate to anything going on in his head.
Not that she could. And she hated that she may very well have pushed Max back into his self-destructive ways.
Twenty minutes went by with no appearance by Max or Caleb. Lauren was about to push a very sleepy Emma home when someone called her name. She glanced around until her gaze landed on Tara’s brother, Charlie. He strode toward her, that killer smile in place. Lauren adored Charlie. In fact, she secretly thought of him as a big brother.
“Hey, beautiful, having a good time?” He walked up and draped an arm around her shoulder.
“Not exactly,” she murmured, leaning slightly into him.
“What’s wrong? Any chance I can help?”
Lauren smiled up at him, praying her eyes didn’t betray her inner turmoil. Last thing she wanted to do was burden Charlie with this, and she wasn’t exactly anxious to tell anyone about Max and the smoking. “Thanks, but no. Just girl stuff. I have cramps.” She added the latter with a teasing grin.
With an uncomfortable chuckle, Charlie stepped back and turned to face her. “Listen, I was wondering, would you want to catch a movie sometime, or maybe go out to dinner?”
Lauren gaped at him in stunned silence. Was Charlie asking her out on a date?
“I, uh—”
Two very possessive arms snaked around her, trapping her against a warm, broad chest. “Yeah, I don’t see that happening,” Caleb said. He tipped her chin up and kissed her, and while his display of jealousy was flattering, she couldn’t help feeling bad for Charlie, who looked surprisingly angry.
She tore free of Caleb’s arms and frowned at him before turning to face Charlie. “I’m really sorry—”
Charlie held up a hand and spared her, the smile on his face not quite reaching his eyes. “No, I’m sorry. I didn’t realize you were seeing someone.” He dropped the smile and met Caleb’s steely gaze in silent warning, then turned and strode away.
Lauren pushed her frustration aside and turned back to Caleb. “Did you find Max?”
Caleb propped his hands on his hips and gave his head a quick shake. “Sorry. I think we should head back to your place and check there. If he’s not home, you can stay and put Emma to bed, and I’ll run back out to find him.”
“Fine. Let’s go.”
Lauren wheeled Emma’s stroller around to head home when someone ran by and hollered, “Hey, there’s a kid hanging from the top of the Ferris wheel! Someone call the fire department!”
Lauren froze as a bad feeling settled in her chest.
“My God, it can’t be...”
They both swung around, and Lauren cried out when she spotted her son, legs swinging, arms wrapped around a crossbar as he hung on for dear life.
“Holy shit!” Caleb raced off, and with a sob, Lauren took off after him, struggling to push Emma’s stroller across the rock and garbage-strewn dirt fairway. Caleb was talking furiously with the ride operator when Lauren reached his side.
“Max, hold on, baby! Please, just hold on tight! We’re going to have you down from there in no time, I promise! No, don’t look down!” she added in a near screech.
Caleb ran over to her. “I’m climbing up there myself. We don’t have time to wait for the fire truck, and if the operator tries to bring the car down, it’s doubtful Max could hang on with all the jerking.”
“Please,” she choked out, frightened out of her mind. “Save my son.”
* * *
Caleb met her terrified gaze and gave a curt nod. No way in hell would he do anything less.
He cupped a hand over his eyes and studied the structure of the ride for a nanosecond, trying to figure out the best route to the top. He gave an apologetic grimace to the frightened couple in the bottom car before pulling himself up on top of it. Nimbly, Caleb climbed one bar at a time. The chaos below him faded to white noise as he continued to climb, his sole focus on the boy who’d grown to mean more to him in just six days than he ever could’ve imagined.
Too damn bad it took a possible life and death situation for him to realize it.
When he was within five feet of touching Max’s feet, he said, “Listen to me, Max. I’m going to get you down, but I need you to stay calm, okay? Hang on tight and do exactly as I tell you.”
He could just make out Max’s
upper face, and his heart broke over the stark fear in the kid’s eyes. Max was smart, though. He stared straight ahead without looking down. Caleb swallowed hard and reminded himself to focus. He’d never felt such immense terror before, not even when under enemy fire overseas.
He managed to maneuver himself directly beneath Max’s dangling feet. “All right, listen carefully, Max. When I say so, I want you to slowly lower yourself until you’re sitting on my shoulders. Once there, I can help you slide down until your arms and legs are wrapped around me piggyback-style. Got it?”
Max swallowed hard and gave a quick nod. “I-I’m sorry. I wanted to get off, but the stupid guy wouldn’t bring me down. So I-I tried to climb down.”
Jesus H. Christ. “We’ll talk about how foolish that was later. What matters right now is getting you down from here safe and sound.” Caleb steadied himself and made sure he had a secure hold on the thick metal spoke. He had one foot braced against the inner wheel, and his other leg wrapped around the same spoke he held in a death grip. When he felt he had as secure a hold as he could, he said, “Okay, Max, it’s time. Do exactly as I told you to—and take your time.”
Max was quiet as a church mouse as he tentatively lowered himself, one inch at a time. Caleb grasped his ankle to help guide him; Max panicked and let out a choked cry.
“It’s okay, son. I’m not going to let you fall. Just keep on—” Gears ground a split second before the Ferris wheel jerked. Max screamed as his grip was torn loose and he fell. Cries and shrieks from the crowd below rose up as Caleb caught Max like a sack of potatoes only in reverse, as if Max had been sitting on his shoulders and fell backward.
“I got you, buddy, you aren’t going anywhere. Just close your eyes and breathe. Hear that siren? The fire truck will be here any second.”
Caleb could feel Max’s heartbeat hammering against his back. Please God, give me the strength to hold on until the fire truck arrives.
And then it was there. The most welcome sight Caleb had ever seen. He watched as the fire truck steered into place, then several firemen climbed down and got to work.
A Fair of the Heart Page 9