Stone Heart_A Single Mom & Mountain Man Romance

by Rye Hart

  “Well go,” she said. “I’ll watch them. You go meet with Emily. I’ll keep my fingers crossed that everything works out.”

  “You’re meeting Emily?” Sarah said, suddenly appearing behind Mrs. Johnston.

  “You are?” Tommy asked, bounding up beside his sister.

  I sighed. “Yes,” I said. “But this doesn’t mean she’s coming back. Don’t get your hopes up until we know for sure.”

  “She’s coming back!” Sarah squealed and ran into the kitchen. Tommy followed her with a huge grin on his face.

  I shook my head and left, praying Emily wouldn’t be too hard to convince. I couldn’t bear the thought of disappointing my kids again.

  CHAPTER EIGHT - EMILY

  My palms were sweating when I walked into the diner. It was the only one in town, so I knew Sean would be waiting for me there. I glanced around the second I walked through the door, searching for his face. When I found him, he was sitting in the back corner with two coffee mugs on the table in front of him. I swallowed hard and wiped my hands on my jeans before I walked over to join him.

  “Hi,” I said, sitting down.

  He nodded and motioned to the seat across from him. I couldn’t quite read his face. “Thank you for coming.”

  “Of course,” I said with a smile.

  “I got you some coffee,” he said, pushing the second mug toward me. “I wasn’t sure how you take it.”

  My mind wandered at the possible innuendo of his last sentence and I had to catch myself from going down that rabbit hole.

  “Black is perfect,” I said. “Thank you.”

  He nodded again, and I took a small sip of the coffee.

  My hands were still sweating, and I was worried they would slip off the mug so I quickly set it back down on the table.

  We looked at each other awkwardly for a few minutes, neither of us knowing what to say. It was uncomfortable, but part of me was just glad to be back in Sean’s presence again. His blue eyes were constantly pulling me in, making me lose my train of thought. I opened my mouth five times to speak, but no words ever came out.

  “Listen,” Sean finally said after clearing his throat. “My kids are miserable without you and there are no other suitable candidates in town to look after them. I’m offering you your job back.”

  I sat back and looked at him, bewilderment all over my face. Not only had he fired me rudely, he was trying to hire me back in the same tone. Who exactly did this guy think he was? My earlier sympathy for the events in his life, slowly faded to anger.

  “Are you serious right now? That’s all you have to say?” I asked, somewhat surprised at myself for speaking so boldly. “You fire me without warning or explanation, and now you expect me to take the job back simply because you can’t find anyone else? I’m going to need a little more than that.”

  “Like what?” he said, his tone clearly indicating he was not used to having someone stand up to him.

  “How about a damn apology to start?” I demanded.

  Sean sat back in his seat and studied me for a long moment before saying anything. Despite my best efforts, I still couldn’t get a read on him.

  “Listen, I understand,” I said. “You’re under a lot of stress right now, but that does not give you the right to treat me like shit.”

  He regarded me coolly for another moment before speaking. “So, if I say I’m sorry, you’ll come back?”

  I nearly laughed out loud. “I’ll at least think about it,” I said.

  “Fine,” he said begrudgingly. “I’m sorry.”

  I couldn’t help but smile. I could see how hard it was for him to say those words. I thought back to what Maggie had said about something bad going down between him and his wife before she died and I softened a bit. Maybe that was why he was so fucked up.

  “Fine,” I echoed. “I’ll be back tomorrow at eight.”

  He relaxed instantly, sinking back in the chair and slumping his shoulders slightly forward. He took a sip of his coffee, and I followed his lead. We drank our coffee while we discussed the details of my job. We talked about salary and other boring things, but soon, he began to ask for my advice.

  “So,” he said. “I’m trying to get Tommy into football, but I think I’m fighting a losing battle. Every time I try to play catch with him, he just mumbles and asks to do something else.”

  “It may not be for him.” I shrugged. “Have you tried another sport? Baseball? Or soccer?”

  “Ugh, soccer.” Sean rolled his eyes. “I hate soccer.”

  “Why?” I laughed.

  “It’s just so boring,” he said. “They just run back and forth. Nothing happens.”

  “Tommy will probably love soccer, just because you hate it.” I laughed again. “That’s usually how it works.”

  “Don’t say that,” Sean groaned.

  “You could always try basketball,” I said. “Although, that’s pretty much just running back and forth too.”

  “No,” Sean said firmly. “Basketball is so much more than that.”

  I nodded, not wanting to interrupt the good flow of conversation we were having by telling him what I truly thought about the sport. Instead I just looked at him for a moment, waiting for him to continue talking. When he didn’t, we just stared at each other for a few moments, before he looked away, casting his eyes down to the table. Dammit. Every time I felt like I was getting somewhere with him, he shut down.

  “Are you hungry?” he asked abruptly.

  “I could eat,” I said.

  “Want a muffin or something?” he asked.

  “Sure.”

  He stood up and walked over to the counter. I watched him go, my eyes trailing over his strong back and sculpted ass. Swallowing hard, I forced myself to look away. Sean had just hired me back. The last thing I needed was to give him a reason to fire me again.

  When he came back to the table, I told myself to just relax. There was no reason to lose myself in the sexual tension between us. I didn’t even know if Sean felt it, too, or if it was just a figment of my imagination. Every time his eyes met mine, though, I could have sworn I saw something stir deep inside him.

  The conversation stayed light and easy. We talked more about sports, and I told him all about my brothers and that they used to make me practice with them. He was impressed that I knew how to throw a spiral. When the conversation turned to my degree and my ultimate goal of opening up a daycare, he seemed more interested than ever, and I found myself blushing under his questions.

  “Why haven’t you done it yet?” he asked.

  “I’m working on it. I hit a few roadblocks financially, but I’ll figure it out.”

  “So, you decided to nanny for now?” he asked.

  “Something like that.” I nodded. “It wasn’t so much a decision as something I sort of fell into. When I moved back to town, everyone started asking me to babysit. One thing led to another, and eventually, I became the person to call for any childcare related questions. It pays the bills pretty well, but I never truly got excited about a job until this one, until I met Tommy and Sarah.”

  Sean finally smiled at the mention of his kids and looked down at his hands. He wanted to say something, and I waited patiently until he was ready to speak.

  “They’ve been through a lot,” he finally said. “But they’re amazing kids.”

  “They really are,” I said with a smile. “I’ve only been around them for a short time, but I can already see that.”

  Sean’s face lit up more than ever. I could tell that talking about his kids was the way to his heart, but I didn’t want to abuse that. Before I could think of another question for him, the door slammed shut again and he stood to leave. “I should get going,” Sean said. “Mrs. Johnston has the kids.”

  “Yeah.” I nodded. “Well, thank you again for everything.”

  “Thank you for taking the job,” he said. “The kids will be happy you’re coming back.”

  I smiled and we walked out of the diner togethe
r. Once outside, I turned to face him. We both shifted awkwardly until Sean extended his hand for me to shake. I took it and felt electricity shoot through my hand and into my arm. Just this small amount of contact was enough to spark something strong inside me.

  “Good night,” I said, my voice weak.

  “Night,” Sean said more softly than I’d heard him speak to date.

  I hurried away, wanting to put as much distance between us as possible. Sean’s presence was enough to make my head spin, and my body light on fire. He was gorgeous and sexy in a way I’d never seen before, but it was more than that. The way his eyes lit up when he talked about his kids was a huge turn on. I loved to listen to him talk about them. His voice was rough and strong, but lightened when he talked about Tommy and Sarah. And the rare occasion that he let a smile slip out, made me wet.

  Sighing, I jogged home and hurried inside. I couldn’t let myself obsess over Sean, but it was impossible to stop. The more I tried to think about something else, the stronger Sean’s face became in my mind.

  I made some food and ate dinner in silence. I thought about calling Janie, but I wasn’t ready to tell her about my attraction to Sean. I knew what she would tell me I was crazy for taking back the job after being fired once, and I didn’t want to hear it. Not now.

  Instead, I finished dinner and took a shower, trying to wash away my inappropriate thoughts. It didn’t work. As I laid in bed, my head was racing with images of Sean. His face, pulled down in a frown. His eyes, light and brooding. His smile flashed in my mind, and my stomach clenched at the memory.

  When I pictured his body walking away from me, I couldn’t take it anymore. I longed to run my hands down his strong, muscular back. As I imagined him turning around to face me, I lost myself completely.

  Reaching over to my bedside table, I pulled my vibrator out of the top drawer and pushed my pants down to my knees. Sean’s face was still fresh in my mind, his lips coming closer to me. I imagined what it would feel like to kiss him, to taste his lips and feel his tongue slide inside my mouth. I moaned at the thought, clicking on the vibrator and placing it in position between my legs.

  The sensations that shot through me were instantaneous. I closed my eyes and let my body take over. There was Sean, pinning me to a wall and kissing me like his life depended on it. He lifted me off the ground, and I wrapped my legs around his waist, tangling my fingers in his hair.

  When I thought about him throwing me down on the floor and ripping my clothes from my body, I gasped and panted desperately. I imagined his tongue on my clit, taking the place of my vibrator. He would work furiously between my legs, bringing me closer and closer to the brink of ecstasy.

  I came at once, my muscles tightening, but I wasn’t done. I imagined Sean flipping me onto my stomach and propping my hips up so my ass was in the air. When I thought about what it would feel like for his dick to take possession of me, I cried out his name and worked myself harder with the vibrator while slipping two fingers into my wet warmth.

  I squeezed my eyes closed, thinking about Sean pounding into me as I fucked myself with my fingers. His thrusts would undoubtedly be powerful and insistent. He would take me hard and fast, making me whimper and beg for me. When the second orgasm washed over me, I cried out, louder than ever, and my body crumpled into the mattress.

  I turned off my vibrator and pulled my pants up, my breathing ragged. I could still see Sean’s face in my mind. One thing was for sure, if I was going to keep this job, I was going to need to buy a shit ton of batteries.

  CHAPTER NINE - SEAN

  Asking Emily to take her job back was the best and the worst decision I’d ever made. When I woke up on Saturday morning, I was excited and nervous. My heart was pounding as I remembered how fucking hot Emily looked the night before. When she walked into the diner, I thought I would lose it right then and there. I held it together and offered her the job. Though I hadn’t exactly been nice about it at first.

  The way she’d stood up to me and demanded an apology had turned me on even more. This woman was going to be the death of me.

  To top that off, her passion and drive to start her own daycare that made a difference in the lives of children was admirable and incredibly sexy. She didn’t want to tell me, but I knew how things worked for small start-up business, and Emily needed a cosigner to help her get her loan.

  When she agreed to come back, I was secretly thrilled and I knew the kids would be too. Still, my anxiety had only increased as the night wore on.

  Part of our deal was that Emily would move in. Being a fulltime nanny required more than just breakfast to dinner each day. I needed her around more often, and so did Tommy and Sarah. It was a good arrangement, but I was terrified that I would be walking around with a constant case of blue balls.

  Even worse than the sexual feelings Emily brought out in me, was the fact that I actually wanted to be nice to her. She was easy to talk to and I found myself slipping and revealing personal details about myself to her. As badly as I wanted to be an absolute dick that she didn’t want to be around, I couldn’t always keep up the act around her. I tried over and over to remind myself that she was here for the kids and nothing else. No one else.

  As I got dressed Saturday morning, I reminded myself of the guy I’d seen her with that night at the pizza parlor. He got so close to her and was clearly romantically into her. She was off limits for more reasons than one.

  Still, when Emily arrived with her bags, my eyes trailed over her body with a hunger I’d never felt before. I wanted her so fucking badly that I thought I might come unglued at the seams. Fuck me, what was I doing to myself?

  “Emily!” Tommy yelled, running down the stairs and throwing his arms around her waist. “I missed you!”

  “Oh, I missed you too,” Emily said. She kissed the top of his head just as Sarah came bouncing down the stairs.

  “You’re really here!” Sarah said, squealing with delight. She hugged Emily and immediately began chatting her ear off about all the things she’d done in the last few days.

  I couldn’t help but laugh and I shook my head, pulling Sarah away long enough for Emily to speak.

  “I’m glad I’m here,” she said, looking up at me with a smile. “I missed you guys.”

  “Let’s let Emily get settled in, okay?” I said to the kids. “Then we can all have breakfast.”

  “I’ll just throw these bags in my room and come back down,” Emily said. “Who wants french toast?”

  Tommy and Sarah both erupted in cheers of joy. Emily laughed, and I helped her haul her bags up the stairs. We were silent as we dumped her bags in her room and awkwardly made our way downstairs.

  There were a million things I wanted to say to her. I was so grateful that she’d agreed to come back. Her presence here was going to make the kids so happy, but just looking at her was enough to make my stomach tighten painfully.

  My entire body reacted to Emily without my permission. I felt like a teenager, popping boners left and right without knowing why. As we sat down to breakfast, I tried to keep my thoughts in check, but Emily made that impossible.

  She leaned over the table, making her tits once again fall forward. I swallowed and looked away, focusing my attention on Tommy. He was telling me all about the book he’d just read. I didn’t remember the name of it, but I pretended to be interested while he chattered away. When the kids finished breakfast, they ran upstairs to get changed for the day, and I helped Emily with the dishes.

  We stood side by side, just as we’d done that night I fired her. The energy between us was palpable, and I wondered if she felt it too. Whenever our eyes met, she looked away quickly, almost as if she were afraid of what she might find staring back at her.

  I couldn’t blame her for her nerves because mine were worse than ever. I fucking ached to touch her. Our hands brushed against each other in the sink, and I felt my entire body stiffen. We both froze, and when our eyes met, my desperation to kiss her was stronger than ever. Instincti
vely, I leaned forward, but immediately thought better of it and pulled away. Clearing my throat, I took a step back.

  “I’m going to get some work done in my study,” I said. “Are you okay out here?”

  “Absolutely.” She smiled. “I think I’ll take the kids into town, if that’s all right with you? I have some errands to run, and I think they’d enjoy getting out of the house for a while.”

  “Sure,” I said. “Sounds great.”

  She smiled again, and I hurried down the hallway toward my study. I pulled the door closed behind me and waited until I heard the front door close before I sat down at my desk. Laying my head on the cool surface, I tried to force my boner away. It was impossible. Emily’s scent still lingered in the air, and I was powerless against it.

  I knew hiring Emily back would be complicated. It was the right decision for my kids, but it was a dangerous decision for me. I couldn’t breathe around her. No matter what I did, she overwhelmed all my senses. My attraction to her was only growing stronger, but I hoped, eventually, it would subside.

  As I pulled my notebook toward me, I couldn’t think of anything to write. Finally, I decided to jot down my thoughts about Emily. I hoped that by putting them on paper, they would leave my mind, and I’d be able to be in her presence without wanting to bend her over and fuck her senseless.

  I wrote for what felt like hours, filling pages and pages of my notebook. By the time I was finished, it was getting late, and I knew Emily would be back with the kids any minute. With a sigh, I closed my notebook and tucked it safely in my desk drawer.

  ***

  “This is amazing!” Tommy said as he shoveled food in his mouth.

  “Thank you,” Emily said, smiling at him affectionately.

  “I’ve never had chicken parm…” Sarah tried, but she couldn’t get the word out.

  “Parmesan,” I said.

  “Yeah, that,” Sarah said. “It’s so good.”

  “I’m glad you like it,” Emily said.