A Home for Haley

by Mary Jane Morgan

  “You’d better,” he hollered back. “And thanks for putting all this together for us.”

  Ashley did a little dance. “No problem. I’ll be sure and collect on it.”

  Ethan gave her the thumbs up, waving as she drove off.

  “The water looks inviting,” Haley said as she pulled Ryan’s sandals off and then slid her own sandals from her feet and hurried to the water. “Come on, Ethan.”

  He shrugged out of his t-shirt, toed off his sandals and joined them. “We can’t get too wet. Gotta ride back to the townhouse in a rental car, and we didn’t bring towels, which was pretty short-sighted of us.”

  A soft wave rolled over his feet and he let out a sigh. Both kids began kicking and splashing to their hearts content. Haley grabbed Ryan when he took a nose dive and managed to keep his head above water, but nothing else. “Oops,” she said, glancing over at Ethan with worry. “He didn’t stay dry very long, did he?”

  “I figured we were doomed.” Ethan kicked a spray of water at Haley. She gasped and jumped away, relieved he wasn’t upset. He was so different than her father, it still amazed her. With a grin, she splashed him back as best she could while keeping hold of Ryan.

  “I’ll help you, Haley.” Kayla raced toward her father, kicked for all she was worth but only got his calves wet.

  She plopped her hands on her hips. “No fair. You’re too tall.” Her dad came after her, and she screamed for help, taking off at a run at the edge of the water.

  Ryan clapped his hands and started toward Kayla, squealing with excitement until he fell. His laugh quickly faded, replaced by cries.

  Ethan swooped him up and ran a few feet down the beach with him, turned around and kept moving backwards, a grin on his face. “I think Haley is entirely too dry. What do you think, Kayla?”

  Grinning, Kayla bent over and flung water at Haley then jumped back.

  “You little traitor. Girls are supposed to stick together.”

  Laughing, Kayla raced up to her father. “I want to be on your team.”

  Ethan chuckled. “Haley’s right. You are a traitor.”

  “What’s that?”

  “Someone who deserts his team when he thinks it looks better on the other side.”

  Kayla made a face and kicked water onto him, then raced back to Haley, who laughed and tried to stay on her feet when Kayla grabbed her around the waist and hid behind her.

  Ethan couldn’t keep the grin off his face. It was good to see Kayla so happy and just as good to see Haley smiling and laughing. He’d begun to wonder when, or even if, he’d see that again. This trip was just what Kayla and Haley needed. Life was way too stressful for both of them these days. For him, too, if he were honest. Getting away was a great idea. He owed Ashley for making this possible and Matt and Francie for helping out at the dude ranch so he could get away. He was one lucky guy, and he promised himself he wouldn’t forget that. He’d had some rough times these last couple of years, but right now life looked pretty darn good.

  He sauntered up to everyone, hands held up. “I surrender.”

  Kayla and Haley laughed and high-fived each other, while Ryan looked on and clapped. Ethan wrapped an arm around Haley’s shoulders and grabbed Kayla with his free hand. Kayla squirmed away and took Ryan’s hand, practically pulling him along the wet sand.

  “Guess we’d better follow them, huh?” Ethan started forward, Haley at his side. He tried to keep his eyes off the wet shirt clinging to her breasts, but kept sneaking peeks and hoping his glances were quick enough that she didn’t notice.

  She plucked her shirt away from her wet skin, but within seconds it clung to her every curve. She pulled at her blouse again. Ethan picked her up and slung her over his shoulder. “There. Now you can quit worrying about me seeing too much.”

  She gasped. “Put me down right now.”

  “In a minute. This isn’t a bad view either.”

  She pinched his butt. “Ouch.” He swung her down and she landed on her bottom, but quickly scrambled to her feet.

  “You’re acting like a teenager,” she said, hands on her hips.

  “I’m not the one who pinched someone’s butt.” With a grin, he slung an arm around her shoulders. “I got you all loosened up. And I aim to do more of it on this trip.”

  She shot him a sideways glance and then burst out laughing. “Just remember, Ethan Richardson, you may be bigger than me, but I’m sneakier than you and revenge is sweet.”

  “I’ll count on that, Haley.” Laughing, he took her hand as they jogged up to the kids. He squatted down between them and pointed to the brilliant pink and blue sky. “Hey kids, look at the sunset over the water.”

  Everyone turned their gazes out to the ocean and watched the big hot-pink ball slide out of sight, leaving remnants of color dancing across soft waves. “That was absolutely gorgeous,” Haley said, taking Ryan’s hand. “Having fun, honey?”

  “Yes. Me have fun.” He tried to pull her into the water, but she stood firm.

  “We’ll come back tomorrow night,” Ethan said. “I, for one, am tuckered out. How about you, Haley?”

  “I’m good for another few hours.”

  “Liar.” After lifting Kayla onto his shoulders, Ethan started back to the car. He bet they all slept like rocks tonight. He hoped so. Tomorrow would be a long day, and it’d be a whole lot more fun if everyone was rested. He turned back to Haley and Ryan, who were falling behind.

  “Let me carry him.”

  “You already have Kayla. I can carry him.” Haley picked her son up and hurried to catch up.

  “Anyone ever tell you how stubborn you are?” he asked as they walked.

  “Never. Besides that, I’m the nanny. I can’t be having you do all the work.”

  Ethan stopped, his brown eyes locked on her. “How about we settle this right now. For the next six days you’re a friend, not a nanny.”

  “But I am the nanny,” she protested.

  “Not this week. You’re here as my friend, not a babysitter. And don’t argue.”

  She took off walking without saying a word, and he wondered what was going on in that mind of hers. He caught up to her. “I want to do this for you, Haley.”

  She nodded but didn’t look at him. When they reached the car, they brushed the sand off of themselves and each other as best they could. Ethan took his time getting the sand off of Haley’s backside. Turning her around, he grinned. She shot him a lethal look as they all piled in the car.

  Once they were back at the townhouse, Ethan lifted a child in each arm. “Let’s get you two rinsed off and into bed. We’ve got a big day tomorrow.”

  “I can’t wait,’ Kayla said, her brown eyes glowing with excitement.”

  Haley smiled. “Me either and the sooner we get to bed, the earlier we can rally.” She reached for Ryan but Ethan stepped back. “I got this. You go do whatever you need to do. I left your suitcase down here.” He motioned to the master bedroom with his head. “I’ll bring Ryan down when he’s clean and ready to say goodnight.”

  “I should sleep upstairs with the kids.”

  “You just can’t stand to be pampered can you? Tell you what. We’ll trade if you still feel this way tomorrow night. Deal?” She nodded. “Good. I’ll be back down in a while. Maybe we can sit out by the pool and have a glass of wine.” He headed for the stairs, a child in each arm, pleased when Haley made no more protests.

  ****

  Haley finished drying her wet hair then pulled it into a ponytail. Feeling refreshed and relaxed, she stepped out of the bathroom into one of the most magnificent bedrooms she’d ever seen. She still could not believe Ethan had given her the bedroom with the California king bed and hot tub. Feeling spoiled and only slightly guilty, she opened the bedroom door and practically plowed into Ethan’s bare chest.

  “Whoa,” he said taking hold of her arms and steadying her.

  She swallowed hard. “You have your swimming suit on,” she muttered, barely able to form a sentence and certa
inly not able to take her eyes off of the view.

  “Yep. I thought a quick dip sounded good. I was about to get the wine. Which do you prefer, red or white?”

  “Red.”

  “Got it. Go sit by the pool and I’ll bring the wine out in a minute.”

  She stood there like an idiot enjoying the feel of his hands on her arms. The man was way too close and way too potent, and she was totally flustered. “Where are Kayla and Ryan?” she finally asked, wishing they were down here. “I wanted to kiss them goodnight.”

  He let go of her. She leaned toward him as if pulled by an invisible force, then straightened, keeping herself stiff.

  “Both kids are out like lights. We have the baby monitor, and I put a gate across the stairs so Ryan can’t fall down them.”

  “Always prepared, aren’t you?” She forced herself to quit staring at his muscled chest and meet his gaze. Bad decision. His chocolate brown eyes seemed to melt right into her, and she felt her face grow hot.

  He motioned her to the patio. “Go relax.”

  Haley hurried outside and drew in a deep breath. Then another. By the third deep breath, she had calmed down enough to smell the ocean. She smiled. How could she have forgotten how clean and fresh a breeze off the ocean smelled? It almost made her homesick. She supposed she should call her folks while she was here, but she didn’t want to. She wasn’t willing to risk spoiling her time here. And she especially didn’t want her father criticizing her for traveling with a man, which she was sure he would do since he criticized her about everything.

  “I’m Kayla’s live-in nanny,” she muttered, as she made herself comfortable on the chaise lounge. “And Ethan and I are just friends.”

  “Talking to yourself I see.” Ethan stepped outside, handed her a glass of wine and dropped the towels he carried under an arm on the end of her chaise. With a sigh, he eased onto the chair next to her. He took a sip of wine and nodded his pleasure. “Pretty good.”

  Haley sipped hers. “A little dry for me, but still good. It was nice of Ashley to think of this.”

  “It’s the public relations in her. She can’t help herself.” Grinning, he took another sip. “You comfortable with the arrangement here?”

  Haley frowned at his blunt question. “Yes,” she answered, almost believing herself. “It’s beautiful. You went to a lot of trouble for this trip.”

  He laughed, a deep rumble that spilled out and danced in the cool night air. “Ashley did it all. Maybe we should toast her.”

  Haley held up her glass of wine and clinked it with Ethan’s. “To Ashley.”

  “Here. Here.” Ethan took another sip, then set his glass down on the table between them. “She’s actually pretty remarkable. Matt and I have been leaning on her to move to Tennessee. We know she’ll never move to a small town like Crystal Springs, but she might consider Nashville. It would hold a lot more opportunities for her kind of work.”

  “Your sister is gorgeous. She could be a movie star if she wanted.” Haley sighed dreamily. “Does she know how beautiful she is?”

  “I hope not.” He twirled the glass by its stem. “My ex-wife was so stuck on her looks that she took off for here wanting to become a movie star.”

  Haley was stunned. “Your ex is in the movies?”

  He barked out a laugh. “I don’t think so. She does commercials here and there. Ashley’s seen her in a few.”

  “She must be gorgeous.”

  “Only on the outside.” He scowled. “I’d hate for Ashley to ever try and be in movies. I doubt too many stars are happy. Course I have no influence when it comes to my sister. If I did, I’ll tell her to quit working so hard, make time to date and have some fun. She says she’s too busy.”

  “My guess is she doesn’t really want to date.” Ethan looked taken back. “Don’t look at me like I’ve lost my mind. People make time for what they want in life.”

  “And what do you want in life?” he asked, watching her intently.

  She had to grip the edge of her lounge chair to keep from squirming. What was it about this man that seemed to cut through all her defenses?

  “Right now I’d settle for being content and having a happy, well-adjusted son.” She gulped down more wine. “And you?” she asked.

  “You don’t want to know.” In one smooth motion, Ethan stood and walked over to the deep end of pool, dove in without making a splash.

  Haley scooted off the lounge chair and walked to the pool’s edge. She sat on the still-warm blue tiles and dangled her bare legs in the water. “Can’t take the heat, huh?” she asked when his head popped up by her feet.

  He grabbed a foot and pulled her in. “Race ya. I’ll give you a three-stroke lead.”

  “Don’t need it,” she said as she shoved off the side of the pool, not even caring that she wore only a t-shirt and shorts instead of a swim suit. The cool water felt fabulous and swimming was one thing she was pretty good at.

  As she was about to reach the end of the pool, Ethan almost caught her. She kicked like crazy and stroked as hard as she could, but he inched up until they were neck and neck.

  She grabbed for him and managed to snare the waistband of his suit, slowing him down for a second. Then she let go and swam like crazy. They both touched the side of the pool at the same time.

  He nudged her with his shoulder. “You could have told me you didn’t need a three-stroke lead.”

  She grinned, dipped her head back into the pool, then wiped the water off her face. “You didn’t give me a chance.”

  He turned around, leaned against the pool’s edge, letting his legs float in front of him. She did the same. “I was on my high school’s swim team,” she admitted, still out of breath.

  “Now you tell me.”

  “It was about the only non-nerdy thing I did, and I worked hard at it. Guess I’ve lost my edge if I can’t beat you.”

  “We tied, so you’ve still got your edge.”

  She smiled. “Actually, if I’d had my bathing suit on, I might have won.”

  He quirked a dark brow. “Sure. Sure. And if you’d had a swim cap on, you probably would have won by even more.”

  “Absolutely.”

  “Go get your suit and we’ll have do-overs.”

  “I don’t think it would be smart of me to embarrass my boss,” she replied with a saucy grin.

  He laughed. “You almost embarrassed me a minute ago.”

  Her grin vanished. “Sorry about that. I let go as soon as I realized your suit was slipping. I didn’t want to have to hide my face the rest of the trip.”

  Laughing, Ethan tucked his feet under him and shoved off, gliding across the pool on his back and barely making ripples in the water. Haley watched, mesmerized by his smooth, easy strokes.

  “You sure you weren’t on the swim team?” she said when he reached the other end of the pool and stood.

  “Never.” He dove under the water, and she watched him approach like a sleek dolphin. When he grabbed her calf and pulled her under with him, she didn’t struggle, just glided down beside him, felt his solid muscles as he pulled her closer, grinned and then pointed up.

  They hit the surface and burst out laughing. Haley couldn’t remember the last time she’d felt this carefree. Ethan’s warm hand rested on her lower back under her wet shirt. He pulled her closer and her breath hitched. She should get out of this pool immediately, but she couldn’t move. She hadn’t felt this alive, this feminine, in years.

  She rested her hands on his wet shoulders, felt his muscles bunch, and barely held in a groan. God help her because all she could think about was what it would feel like to kiss this man.

  His smile faded as their gazes locked. He ran his hand up her back, pressing her against his rock-hard body. He nuzzled her neck and she whimpered as she tilted her head to give him more access. “Told you this would be a relaxing trip,” Ethan whispered, his warm breath fanning her face.

  “Hmmmm,” was all she could manage as she floated in a sensual haze,
barely aware of her surroundings, but excruciatingly aware of Ethan’s body.

  He gave her a soft kiss on the cheek. She turned her head toward him but he’d moved.

  Her eyes drifted open. He stood only inches from her, his hands at his sides. “We’d better call it a day,” he said. “Tomorrow morning will come way too soon.”

  “You’re . . .” She cleared her throat and tried again. “You’re right. We need to get to bed. Separately,” she tacked on as she hoisted herself out of the pool.

  “Absolutely,” he added, then walked up the pool steps and grabbed a towel, tossing it to her before taking the other one and drying off.

  Haley’s hands shook as she wiped water off her arms and legs and then wrapped the towel around her wet clothes. Ethan slid the patio door open and motioned her in.

  She stepped inside and hurried to get past him before she did something really stupid like wrap her arms around the man and snuggled in. A sigh escaped her.

  “Haley?”

  She turned. “Yes?”

  “I’m glad you came. Sleep well.”

  Nodding, she hurried into her room and shut the door before she made a total fool of herself. She pulled off the wet towel and went into the bathroom to rinse the chlorine out of her hair. She was mortified at her behavior. She was in mourning for her husband, a husband who had often been out of the country but whom she had loved dearly and missed when he was gone. How could she have forgotten about Dale even for a minute?

  She flung her wet towel down on the bathroom floor, disgusted at herself for even now feeling the lingering warmth of Ethan’s touch, a touch that had not only affected her body, but her emotions.

  She turned the shower on, made sure it was cold enough to cool her physical reaction to Ethan, and stepped in, sucking in a quick breath and shivering while she quickly shampooed her hair.

  By the time she turned off the cold water and grabbed a clean towel, she felt almost normal again. She dried her hair, slipped into a summer nightgown, and crawled into bed. With a sigh, she turned off the light and closed her eyes, trying desperately to quit thinking about Ethan and the way his touch had pulled her to him like ocean waves lulling her out to sea.