by Roni Adams
He lifted his eyebrow. “And I want coffee?”
She smiled. “You usually do.”
The light wind teased a strand of hair across her cheek. Shane reached out and brushed it off her face.
“How’s Mom doing?”
Krista missed his touch the minute his fingers left her face. “She’s okay. Brittany is chattering away to her, and she’s loving that as you can imagine. Melissa’s cutting the pies, so we should get in there.”
She wanted to know what he’d discussed with the other woman, but wasn’t going to ask.
“Are they all in the kitchen?” Shane glanced back toward the house.
Her heart fluttered. “Yes.”
“I want so bad to kiss you right now.” His gaze fell to her lips.
“Don’t,” she cautioned.
“Because we might be watched, or because you don’t want me to?”
The blue of his eyes deepened as they gazed into hers, and Krista’s mouth went dry. The smart thing would be to walk away right now. End it with him before anyone got hurt.
Shane stepped close enough she could feel his body heat.
“Because if you really don’t want me to kiss you again, I’ll back off. But don’t lie, Krista. Not to me, and not to yourself. There’s nothing wrong with us being together.”
The strong, urgent need to be in his arms again sent a tremble through her and all sanity into the wind. To heck with reason and smarts; no one needed to know what they were doing if they were discreet enough. Her gaze skimmed the vast yard, narrowing in on the old shed. “I think there’s something wrong with the roof of the shed. We should go check it out.”
“What?” His gaze followed hers.
She glanced at him under her lashes and wet her lips. “We really need to go check out the shed. I mean, if there’s a loose shingle on the roof, it could leak, and your mom’s things would be ruined.”
She skimmed down the deck stairs, hoping he’d follow. Didn’t he know how to catch a clue when she tossed him one? Without looking back, she headed gingerly out across the frozen yard, grateful the snow wasn’t very deep. Though she excitedly heard him coming behind her, she didn’t pause until she reached their destination.
“Right there.” She pointed upwards.
Shane frowned. “What? I don’t see anything.”
She grinned and glanced quickly back to the house, then gestured toward the roof as if showing him something broken. “We need to look around back. Maybe we could see it better.”
His eyes widened, and she nodded. Finally.
Shane reached a hand up to the roof edge and pretended to check for loose shingles as they made their way around the structure until they were completely hidden from view. He leaned back against the wall and pulled her into his arms.
Krista thrilled to the excitement of his harsh kiss, meeting him more than halfway as her own pent-up frustration at not being with him for the past week exploded. As Shane’s hands reached inside her open coat to wrap around her waist, pulling her into the circle of his thighs, she could feel his hardness through his jeans. She pressed into him as his hands crept up her back and plastered her against his chest. Moaning, Krista dug her fingers into the short hair at the base of his neck and clung to him as their tongues tangled together.
Snow slipped off the roof and onto her face. She jerked back slightly, but Shane’s hands crept under her sweater and cupped her breast, quickly returning her focus to him.
“Mmmm,” she murmured.
She was so on fire for him that if the shed hadn’t been as packed full of stuff as it always was, she’d have hauled him inside and let him take her right there in the cold November air.
No longer content with touching her through her clothes, Shane had shoved her bra cup upward and molded her bare breasts in his palm. The icy air teased her skin where he’d lifted her sweater and added to the sensory overload. His fingers on her nipple were torturous, and she was dying to feel his mouth there once again.
Krista skimmed her hand down between them and covered him with her palm.
Shane groaned and ground against her hand. “This is insanity,” he growled, dragging his mouth toward her ear to nibble her neck.
Krista arched, granting him access as he devoured her skin. She drew long, shaky breaths as moistness flooded between her thighs. “It really is.”
“I need you. I want you. God, Krista, how long do we have to stay here before we can escape tonight?”
His mouth reached hers again, and she suckled his tongue. Shane grabbed her hips, grinding her against him.
The sound of a barking dog was like a cold snowball in the face. Krista wrenched back and glanced quickly behind her. She spun away and drew her coat around her, not taking the time to fix her bra properly.
“What the hell?” Shane whipped his head around.
“Mrs. Morton’s Chihuahua is loose again.” She could see it coming toward them at a dead run. “Don’t scare it.”
“I hate that freakin’ dog.”
“Everyone does, but I’m sure Mrs. Morton is terrified she’s gone again.”
Krista squatted down and grabbed a small stick, holding it out as if it was a treat. “Come on, Petunia. Come see what I have.”
Petunia continued her high pitched, continuous barking as she got closer and danced in front of them.
Shane darted his gaze around. “That doesn’t even count as a real dog. Why doesn’t she just get a cat?” he complained.
“Would you stop bitching and help me catch her?” Krista spoke softly so not to scare the dog as she continued to wiggle the stick enticingly.
When Petunia reached the stick, the dog stopped barking and began to growl, instead. Hoping to be quick enough, Krista lunged, but the dog skipped back, causing Krista to fall on her face into the snow. “Agh,” she sputtered.
Shane’s laughter added insult to injury, and she grabbed a fistful of snow before she stood. “Oh, it’s funny?” She held the snowball out menacingly. “Maybe you need to cool down a bit too.”
Shane’s eyes widened and he held out his hands. “Krista, don’t. I mean it.”
She took a step closer. “Oh yeah, or what? You’ll tell my parents like you always did? They aren’t here this time, Shane. You can’t go running to my daddy and tell him that I hit you with snowballs.”
He frowned. “I was five...and you were mean.”
“I’m still mean. In fact, I’m downright bad, remember?”
He tipped his head, but his eyes darted between her and the handful of snow. “Yeah, but now I like it.” He wiggled his brows. “Come on, Krista. You can be as mean to me as you want when we’re back at my place tonight, but put the snow down.”
She laughed at his expression even as she weighed the snowball in her hand, but Petunia’s continuous barking distracted her once more. She groaned and let the snow fall. “Come on, we have to catch that damn dog.”
“Ahh, that’s my girl,” Shane blurted.
She turned back and stared at him. For a second they were locked in a silent moment. “That isn’t what this is, you know. I’m not your girl. We’re not dating, or boyfriend and girlfriend.” She couldn’t go there with him, and she had to make sure he didn’t go there either. This was temporary. A lot of fun, mutually satisfying for both, but nothing more. If she started thinking it was something else, her heart would be at risk, not to mention the feelings of everyone who cared about them.
He stopped next to her. “What are we then? Friends with benefits?”
“We’ve never been friends, Shane.”
“Maybe we should start.”
“Maybe we shouldn’t.”
She walked away, but he grabbed her arm. “What is with you? We slept together. Hell, we loved one another up one side and down the other every way two people possibly can, and you’re standing here saying you don’t like me enough to call us friends?”
“I’m not saying I don’t like what we did and wouldn’t like to do it a
gain, but I don’t want us to come away with some illusion that this is a forever thing. There is a lot on the line here, my business for one, your mother for the other. When this burns itself out, we’ll need to go back to the way it was.”
“I don’t know if that’s possible.”
“Then we stop now.”
From behind, Petunia barked again, and Krista turned from him once more, ending the conversation. This had to be kept light. If they were to sleep together again—and maybe they shouldn’t—then it had to be kept in the right perspective. Any thoughts of this being a relationship, or something that should happen on a regular basis had to stop. There was simply way too much at stake here. His family was too important to her life to risk a rift because of their raging hormones. When Shane grew tired of fooling around with her, and he eventually would, she needed to be able to continue life as if they never happened.
****
The incessant ringing of his cell phone pulled Shane from a deep slumber. Groggily, he reached to his nightstand where it usually rested, but there was nothing there. He opened his eyes, but the phone wasn’t in sight. It had taken a lot of convincing, but he’d finally gotten Krista to come back to his place after dessert. He’d intended to have a nice nightcap, maybe have a few kisses and slowly make love to her, but once they hit his bedroom, things got a little rough and wild—at one point the nightstand had even fallen over.
He grinned and closed his eyes with the memory.
Sprawled next to him on her belly, covers wound around her legs, Krista was in a deep sleep. Her delectable rear end was naked, and he couldn’t resist turning on his side and sliding his hand along the firm mounds.
Moving closer, he kissed her neck, brushing her hair out of his way. He stroked her back. She’d broken her date with Karen to go shopping late last night. It gave him a tiny bit of satisfaction to know that she’d wanted to sleep in with him this morning and not hit the malls.
As his mouth lowered to her smooth back, the cell phone rang again. Groaning, he knew it had to be work. He forced himself away from the still sleeping beauty and got out of bed to look for it. The ringing drew him to a spot under all their clothes. It only took a second for him to realize it was his father.
“Hey, Dad, what’s up?” Sitting on the side of the bed, he brushed his hand through his hair, trying to wake up. From a look at the time, he and Krista hadn’t gone to sleep much more than two hours before.
“Your mother and I need you to come over here,” his father said very shortly.
“Why? What’s wrong? Can’t it wait a few hours?” Even as he said the words, a cold trickle of fear crept up his spine, and he was suddenly wide awake. His father wouldn’t ask him to come over suddenly like this unless something was going on.
“Dr. Sullivan called this morning and asked us to come in and talk with him. We’ve just gotten home.”
Oh God. His stomach clenched, and his chest got heavy so that he could barely get out the words of agreement. “I’ll be right there.”
“Stop and see if Krista’s up and bring her, too. She’s not answering her phone. What is it with you kids and not answering those damn phones!”
Behind him, he heard her stir. “Yeah. Okay. I’ll find her. We’ll both be there in a half hour. Is Mom okay? I mean, is she going to be all right?”
“This is better discussed in person. She’s resting right now.”
His father hung up, and Shane held the phone in his hands motionless. Whatever his mother had it was bad. Cancer? Terminal?
Fear raced through him, and he struggled to breathe. Tears stung his eyes, and he blinked rapidly. Hell. He was trained with the best of the best to keep his cool in any crisis, but right now, he really had to work to keep calm.
When he looked to the bed, Krista’s eyes were open and staring at him with stark fear. Time rolled back. Ten years, twelve maybe. He remembered that same look of devastation on her face. Her mother had just died. Images from that afternoon raced through his mind. But what he remembered right now was the look of complete devastation in her eyes. It was there now. He lifted his chin and forced himself to be matter-of-fact.
“Come on. We need to get over there and hear what the doctor had to say so we know what we’re dealing with.”
She didn’t seem convinced, and he reached out his hand to tug her from the bed. “It’s going to be fine. Whatever it is, we’ll get through it together.”
As they pulled into the driveway, Krista reached over and touched his shoulder. He shut off the car and looked at her.
“We have to be strong in there. We can’t fall apart. They need us to lean on.”
She was right, but for once, he didn’t want to be strong. The little boy in him wanted his mother to make this all better. He gave a brief nod and forced himself to get out of the car and face whatever was waiting. Her hand slipped into his, and he was grateful to have her with him as he opened the front door.
Inside, his mother was in the living room in his father’s recliner. An autumn-colored quilt covered her. The television wasn’t on, and only one lamp was lit. She looked to be resting, and Shane gestured Krista toward the kitchen. His father was at the counter pouring hot water into a mug.
“Is that for Mom?” Shane asked.
“No, it’s for me. Want some?”
“Where’s the coffee?” He looked at the empty coffee pot.
“The smell of the coffee makes your mother sick to her stomach.” He shrugged. “Tea is fine.”
Shane glanced at Krista and then again at the coffeemaker. No coffee? Two hours of sleep and they weren’t having coffee?
“Is Mom sleeping?”
His father set the tea bag in the sink. “Probably not. But she needed to rest. She’s been pretty nauseous.” He looked from one to the other and his eyes narrowed. “Took a long time for you to answer your phone this morning.”
“I was up late, and it was on the floor; I didn’t hear it for a while.”
His father glanced at Krista. “Where’s that fancy new phone we got you for your birthday? You know the one that does everything for you except answer itself?”
It wasn’t like his father to be so shrewd. Shane shifted uncomfortably. “Maybe I will have some tea. Is there still water in there?” He picked up the old red kettle and weighed it to see if there was enough for two cups.
“Get yourselves some and meet me in the living room. This won’t get any easier, so we might as well let you know what we’re dealing with.”
Krista handed him two mugs, a tea bag in each. Shane poured the water. From the living room, he could hear his parents talking, but couldn’t make out their words.
He set the kettle back on the stove and looked out the back window. Was it only twelve hours ago they fooled around behind the shed and fought in the snow?
Shaking off his thoughts, he picked up his mug. “Ready?”
Krista’s face was white, but she nodded, and cup in hand, led the way to the living room.
The room was brighter and his mother awake. His father sat in the chair his mother normally sat in next to the recliner, so he and Krista took a seat on the couch across from them. Staring at his mother, he noticed the heavy, dark circles under her eyes.
Mary glanced from one to the other. “You two look like you’re scared to death. That’s not going to help the situation.”
Shane set his tea down on the coffee table. “Stop worrying about us. We’ll handle whatever we need to.”
“Good, because your father is really going to need you, if we’re going to get through this.”
Shane set his jaw and nodded. “Whatever you both need. I’ll do whatever it takes.”
“Me, too.” Krista’s voice quivered.
“We’re in shock to be honest. Never in a million years did I think this would happen. When Dr. Sullivan called this morning, and we went in to see him...” His mother shook her head. “Well, I have to be honest, this was the last thing I thought he was going to tell me.”
Really? It never crossed her mind? He knew his mother was always the optimist, but seriously? Shane glanced at his father who was staring at his cup of tea, letting his mother do all the talking.
“So, the toughest part of course is going to be the confinement,” his mother continued. “I’m going to have to be in bed, a lot, and that’s going to make it really hard to get through the holidays and the store.”
“I’ll handle the store,” Krista piped up.
His mother nodded. “I know I can count on you. I had a thought, too. Maybe Melissa might be willing to help you out, at least on the weekends. She’s more than welcome to bring Brittany, so she wouldn’t have to worry about a babysitter.”
“I’ll check with her, but you don’t need to think twice about the store. I’ve got it.”
“Well, it’s only another month, and then fortunately, the market will be closed until September.” She closed her eyes and put her hand to her temple for a moment. When she opened her eyes, she looked directly at Krista once more. “We’ll have to talk about what to do about the store before next September. I don’t know where I’ll be by then.”
Shane’s jaw tightened, but he let her comment about next year go by. Truthfully, he couldn’t even imagine where they’d all be by then. His gaze slipped to Krista before he forced it back to his mother. “Don’t worry about Christmas either. I’m sure you’ve already done more than enough shopping.” Shane knew his mother started early and loved to shop right up until Christmas Eve, but this year she’d just have to let it go.
“I can do some online. But the cookies and—”
“I told you, we can go a year without cookies. Everyone will understand.” His father set his tea on the table and reached for his wife’s hand.
She sighed. “I guess they’ll have to, but I hate to let them down. Especially my customers, like Mrs. Henderson and Mr. Slayton. You know they look forward to my cutouts.”
“I can do them,” Krista offered. “You tell me what to make, and I’ll get it done.”
“Maybe that would work.” Mary shifted in the recliner. “At least from here I can talk to you in the kitchen.”
“You need to be in bed. Remember what Dr. Sullivan said. In bed.” His father looked to Shane. “Dr. Sullivan said she is to stay in bed at all the times, except for bathroom breaks.”