Law of Attraction (Tangled in Texas)

by Alison Bliss

  “So you want me to go watch him sleep? That’s a little creepy, don’t you think?” He took a sip from his steaming cup.

  “No, I want you to watch him while I go to work. It’s only for eight hours.”

  Thank God he turned his head at the last second because coffee sprayed from his mouth. He sputtered and wiped liquid from his chin. “You want me to do what?”

  “Babysit Austin.”

  He set his mug down and shook his head. “Uh-uh. No way. Not me.”

  “Why not?”

  “I don’t do kids.”

  “What are you talking about? You’ve been great with Austin. He loves you to pieces.”

  He shifted uncomfortably. “I’ve never babysat someone else’s kid before. I wouldn’t even know how.”

  “Oh, give me a break. You’ve kept your eye on him for me before.”

  “Only for a minute. Kids don’t move much in one minute. Eight hours is a different story. I’d have to nail him to the floor. Hate to say it, Bobbie, but your kid is like a Mexican jumping bean.”

  I sighed. “Please. I don’t have anyone else. I’ve called everyone I can think of. You’re my last option.”

  “Well, that makes me feel better.” He rolled his eyes.

  “You’d be doing me a huge favor, and I’d be happy to pay you for your time.”

  He glared at me. “I don’t want your money. Why can’t you just tell my uncle that you can’t make it today?”

  “Because I’m covering someone else’s shift and would be leaving one waitress alone on our busiest day of the week. She’s going to need my help.”

  He ran a hand through his short black hair, mussing it. “I, uh…”

  “Please, Seth.”

  He blew out a breath. “All right, fine. I’ll do it.”

  I smiled at him. “Thank you. I’ll be just a phone call away if you need anything at all.”

  “You better be.”

  …

  After getting off work, I headed home and pulled up in front of the house just after three o’clock. I didn’t know where Seth and Austin were, so I checked inside the house first. That way it would give me a chance to put down my purse.

  My first thought upon walking through the front door was that I had either been burglarized or someone had thrown a keg party. The entire house was in disarray. Blanket forts and toys littered the living room. Practically every dish in the kitchen had been pulled out of the cabinets. Clothes were strewn throughout the rooms, as if our laundry room had exploded. The only things I didn’t see were Seth or my child. Anywhere.

  I decided to look out a window on the back side of the house to see if maybe Seth was letting Austin play in the tree house. That’s when I noticed the large plumes of white smoke billowing into the air. My blood ran cold, and my stomach tightened. I ran to the back door as fast as I could.

  I barely pushed it open when I noted the rustic-looking tepee set up near the tree house in the backyard and blew out a sigh of relief. The smoke I’d seen came from the vent hole at the top. Though the tepee was primitive, it must’ve taken a while to build. Each of the long tree branches would’ve had to been cut to size and leaned against one another to form the frame. Then a large blue tarp had been draped around the frame to form the tepee, leaving one section flapped over which I assumed was the doorway to get inside.

  Seth’s deep voice wafted from inside. “So whenever my people needed to speak to the guardians, work out a problem, or gain the ancestor’s sacred wisdom, they would go to the sweat lodge and connect with them on a separate plane.”

  “Like an airplane?” Austin asked.

  “No. The kind of plane I’m talking about is like a spiritual level. That’s where the guardians of the spirit world live. That’s who I go to in order to learn the mysterious secrets of my most highly trusted ancestors.”

  “What if they don’t talk to you?”

  “Well, they don’t always. Sometimes, they’ll just send a symbol of good luck to let you know that they’re happy for you and wishing you well. That sign usually comes in the form of a rare white stag.”

  “What’s a stag?”

  “Oh. Uh, well it’s a male deer.”

  “My uncles call those bucks.”

  Seth chuckled. “Well, that’s probably because they aren’t from my tribe and don’t have a Comanche name like I do.”

  “You have another name?”

  “Yep,” Seth told him. “It was given to me by my grandfather when I was very little. Probably about your age.”

  “What is it? Is it a secret?”

  “Not really. They called me Warhorse.”

  That sent Austin into hysterics. “That’s a silly name. What about me? Do I get new name?”

  “Do you want one?” Austin must’ve nodded because Seth continued. “All right, then how about we call you…Little Bull?”

  My heart squeezed. Seth was so good with Austin and insanely sweet. Who knew the muscled-up handyman had such a soft side?

  There was a slight pause. “It’s really hot in here,” Austin finally said, clearly unimpressed. “Can we get out now?”

  I couldn’t help but grin.

  Seth laughed. “Sure, buddy. Let’s go.”

  Two shirtless bodies, slickened with sweat, emerged from the makeshift tepee. I walked toward them as they both looked up and Austin said, “Hi, Momma. Look what Seth made for me.”

  “I see that. Very cool,” I told him, ruffling his sweat-soaked hair. “Why don’t you run inside and get you a juice box from the door of the fridge. It’ll help cool you down.”

  “Okay,” Austin said before disappearing through the door.

  I gazed up at Seth. “So do I get a name, too?”

  Seth’s eyes roamed over my face, and he grinned at me. “Why not? I think I’ll call you…Sexy as Fuck. Will that work?”

  I laughed. “Hmm. I like it. Very original. But my child can’t say that.”

  “Then I guess we’ll just have to keep that one to ourselves.”

  I smiled at him. “Thank you for watching him for me. I really appreciate it. And thanks for making a tepee for him, too. It looks like he had a lot of fun with you. I hope he didn’t give you any problems.”

  “Not really. But, uh…I’m taking it that you’ve already seen the inside of the house?”

  “Um, yeah. It looks like a tornado went through there.”

  “Tornado Austin. That kid destroyed things he shouldn’t have been able to for his size.”

  “Sounds about right,” I said, laughing. “Did you at least feed him?”

  Seth nodded. “Of course I did. That was the only thing that kept him still for longer than two minutes.”

  I laughed. “What did you feed him?”

  “Candy.”

  My eyes widened. “Candy?”

  “Well, yeah. That’s what he said he wanted.”

  Great. “It’s no wonder the house is destroyed. You pumped the kid full of sugar and turned him loose.” I shook my head. “I guess I’ll just go inside and start an early dinner.”

  I went back inside with Seth following right behind me. Austin sat at the table with his juice box, still trying to put the straw into the hole. “I’m doing it all by myself,” he said before I could even offer to help.

  “Okay.”

  A minute later, he finally got the straw in and smiled. “Hey, Momma. Seth let me pee outside today.”

  I glanced over at Seth. “Really? Do you know how long it took me to potty train that boy? What’s next? Are you going to teach him how to lift his leg on a fire hydrant, too?”

  Seth started to grin but apparently thought better of it. “Sorry. I was right in the middle of chasing Romeo around the yard. I had to put the mutt in a full nelson just to get the football back from him.”

  “Lovely. So now you’re beating up the dog? I can’t leave you alone for a minute, can I?” I winked to let him know I was teasing.

  “Well, before you let me off the hook that
easy, I probably should tell you that I owe you a new, uh…I don’t know what it’s called. The thing you put on your toes when you paint them.”

  On my toes? “Oh, you mean my toe separator?”

  “Yeah, that thing. We used it.”

  I giggled. “You painted my son’s toes?”

  “Uh, no.”

  Oh. Okay. “He painted yours?”

  “Hell no,” he said, making Austin chuckle at the curse word. “Oops. I mean heck no. We painted the toe thingy with your gold nail polish.”

  I was so confused. “Why on Earth would you paint my toe separator?”

  “Well, we had a rumble in the living room and Austin needed a pair of brass knuckles. Since I didn’t figure you’d want him playing with real ones, we made him some.” He shrugged. “And they were foam so it didn’t hurt when he punched me.”

  “You let him punch you?”

  “I didn’t let him. I was teaching him how to fight.”

  Dear God. “Seth, he’s only four. He doesn’t need to know how to fight at this age. Besides, I’ve told him that it’s best to walk away from a fight.”

  “I told him that, too. But I also showed him a couple of self-defense moves to protect himself. Sometimes it’s not possible to walk away from a fight.”

  “Sure, it is. If it’s a fair one.”

  Seth shook his head. “Fights are rarely fair. Usually one of the opponents has skills or strength the other doesn’t.”

  “Maybe, but that’s why it’s best to walk away. You never know who has what. And if you’re the weaker person, the last thing you want to do is pick a fight with someone who is stronger and has more skills than you. That’s exactly why Jeremy always gets his ass…I mean, butt kicked every time he starts a fight in The Backwoods. You would think he’d learn his lesson, but he never does.”

  “Momma, my finger hurts,” Austin said, gazing at his palm.

  I walked over and peered at it closely. “Looks like you have a big splinter. We’ll have to go to the bathroom and get out the first aid kit so I can pull it out with some tweezers and disinfect it.”

  “I want Seth to do it.”

  “No, Seth probably has other things to do. I’ll take care of it for—”

  “I don’t mind,” Seth said. “You go ahead and start dinner. I’ll deal with the splinter.”

  “Okay,” I said. “The first aid kit is under the sink.”

  I watched Seth lift Austin from the chair and flip him upside down as he headed for the bathroom with him. Austin’s giggle trailed behind them. And because I was curious how Seth would handle the splinter situation, I waited a moment before I followed behind them, too.

  Through the crack on the door, I watched Seth flip Austin right side up and then place him on the sink before grabbing the first aid kit. Seth sanitized the tweezers with alcohol before grasping Austin’s hand and pulling closer.

  But my son pulled his hand back. “Is this gonna hurt?”

  “Not me,” Seth said, grinning. “I’m just kidding. No, it’s not going to hurt. Just hold your hand still and I’ll pull it right out. You won’t feel a thing.”

  “Are you sure?”

  Seth nodded to him. “I promise. You trust me, right?”

  Austin nodded and let Seth pull his hand back to him. It only took a second to pull the splinter out and pour a small amount of alcohol on Austin’s hand. “There. All better. And you didn’t feel a thing, right?”

  Admiration gleamed in Austin’s eyes. “I didn’t feel it at all. Thank you, Uncle Seth.”

  “Uncle?” Seth said, his brow rising. “Austin, you know I’m not your uncle, right?”

  “Why aren’t you?”

  “Uh, well, you already have uncles. Lots of them, I hear. I don’t know that you need another one. But I can be your friend.” Seth smiled at him.

  “How about my daddy? I don’t have one of those.”

  The smile melted from Seth’s face, and I cringed. The poor kid wanted a father so badly that he had gotten confused about Seth’s role in our lives. That was the last thing I needed right now.

  But to be fair, as well as honest with myself, I could see exactly why Austin was so perplexed. With Seth living with us, it had offered us a bit of security and stability in our lives that hadn’t been there before. I counted on him…too much. I just hadn’t considered that Austin had started doing the same. Without realizing it, Seth had filled a void in our lives.

  Seth sighed. “Well, squirt. It doesn’t really work like that. But trust me, one day your mom is going to marry someone special, and that guy will be a great dad to you, I promise.”

  “What if he isn’t?”

  “Then I’ll find him and kick his ass…I mean, rear.”

  Austin giggled. “You said another bad word.”

  “I know. Sorry about that. Just don’t tell your mom on me, okay?”

  “Momma said I can’t keep secrets from her. That it’s not nice to lie.”

  Seth nodded. “Then you better listen to her. She’s a smart woman.”

  “She’s pretty, too.”

  Aw, my sweet angel.

  “Yes, she is,” Seth agreed.

  “And she smells good, too. Almost like Fruity Pebbles.”

  Seth laughed and lifted him off the counter. “I’ll take your word for it, munchkin. If I go sniffing on your mom, she’s liable to use real brass knuckles on me.”

  I grinned as I slipped down the hall and back into the kitchen before they came out.

  Chapter Eleven

  After dinner, Seth and I were at the table playing a game of cards when Austin came out of his room decked out in a vest and plastic chaps with a holster hanging from his waist. He pulled out his fake plastic gun and pointed it at Seth. “Put your hands in the air.”

  “Austin!” I said, raising my voice. “You know better than to point a gun—even a fake one—at someone. We talked about this.”

  “Seth let me. We played cowboys earlier today.”

  “Well, playtime is over. It’s time for your bath and then off to bed.”

  Austin threw himself onto the floor and rolled around as if he were in physical pain. “Aw, Momma. Not now.”

  “Yes, now,” I said, firming the tone of my voice.

  “But I’m trying to be the sheriff.”

  “Well, deputy, I suggest you get in there and take off your uniform so you can get in the tub, or you’re going to be taken into custody and all of your toys are going to be confiscated.”

  Austin quickly rose to feet and left the room. The threat of me taking away his toys always worked well on him. The kid loved his toys.

  Seth’s lips curved. “So do you need to arrest me, too? Because, if so, I will tell you now that you might need to frisk me. I’ve hidden something on my body, and I’m hoping it takes you a long time to find it.”

  “Uh-huh. Like I would fall for that ploy?”

  “Hey, it was worth a shot,” he said, chuckling. “By the way, I didn’t get Austin into trouble, did I?”

  “No. But please tell me you didn’t say anything else to him that I need to know about.”

  He shrugged nonchalantly. “Nothing comes to mind.”

  “Thank God for that,” I said, laughing as I rose from my chair and headed down the hallway.

  After I gave Austin a quick bath, I tucked him into bed. I sat there talking with him for a minute before kissing him good night and turning on his nightlight. Then I walked briskly down the hallway. The front door was wide open, and I figured Seth had gone outside to sit on the porch in the night air. He did that sometimes. So I shoved open the screen door and found Seth sitting on the stairs.

  Without hesitation, I walked over and punched him in the arm. “What the hell?” I yelled at him.

  Surprise registered in his eyes. “What was that for?”

  I fisted my hands on my hips. “You told my child that babies are made whenever Momma is feeling lonely and wants some company.”

  He paused. “Oh
. That.”

  …

  It was just after three o’clock in the morning when a faint whining sound woke me up from a dead sleep. Worried that my son might be having another nightmare, I immediately tossed my covers back and headed straight down the hall to his bedroom. But when I went inside, Austin was sleeping peacefully on his side with his two hands folding together and tucked under his cheek.

  I stood there just to be sure. Yet the little angel didn’t move a muscle and continued to breathe deeply in slumber. So I adjusted his covers, tucked them in around him, and kissed him on the forehead before leaving the room.

  I stepped into the hallway, and the muffled sound happened again. But this time, I knew for sure it hadn’t come from Austin, since the barely perceptible noise had echoed from somewhere down the corridor.

  An intruder, perhaps?

  My heart leaped up into my throat, but I quickly moved back into my son’s room and grabbed the signed wooden baseball bat that was displayed on the wall above his dresser. My hands trembled as I lifted it up over my right shoulder and slipped back out into the hallway. An uneasy sensation swept over me as I crept slowly down the narrow space while trying to keep the old wooden floors from creaking beneath my bare feet. If there was someone in my house, the last thing I wanted to do was warn an intruder that I was coming to knock his head off his shoulders with a streamlined chunk of wood.

  As I passed by my bedroom, I briefly considered ducking inside and grabbing the handgun that I kept in a locked cabinet at the top of my closet. But the closet was adjacent to the bedroom door, which meant it could possibly give someone an opportunity to slip past me before I came back out. And I wasn’t giving anyone a chance to get anywhere near my son. The thought alone twisted my stomach into a knot.

  I continued walking, holding the bat up over my shoulder as if I were about to hit a homerun with someone’s face, when the strange noise happened again. I froze in place. This time it was much louder and more pronounced. It was a mix between a pained groan and a torturous gasp. And it sounded like it had come from behind Seth’s closed bedroom door.

  A sense of relief swept over me, and I managed to regulate my breathing. I hadn’t even considered that he could possibly be awake at this hour. Not only because, like me, he was an early riser, but because he’d retired to his room hours ago and I hadn’t heard a peep out of him since.