Her Secret Sons

by Tina Leonard

  There were too many other feelings coming to light that were risky enough. Love, for instance, Pepper thought as Luke walked out of the bedroom in blue jeans, bare feet and no shirt.

  “Is there a particular dress for this occasion?” he asked. “To differentiate the caught from the uncaught males?” He grinned at Pepper. “I don’t want to go in the wrong pond.”

  “Very funny,” she said, thinking she, too, didn’t want him in the wrong pond.

  The boys giggled, not really understanding the byplay but enjoying the light mood between their parents.

  “Stick with us, Dad,” Toby said, “we’ll keep you safe.”

  Luke smiled. “Thanks. It’s your mother’s job to stake a claim on me.”

  Pepper stared at him. “I don’t even have a good reply for that,” she said, making the boys and Luke laugh.

  “It is a Man Catch,” Luke pointed out. “We, however, are going to catch either the biggest fish we can find or lots of little ones.”

  “It’s going to be fun,” Josh exclaimed, and Pepper went back to packing the lunch basket, completely unsettled by Luke’s comment. Stake a claim on him? Was he hinting about something or was she reading too much into his teasing?

  Men definitely didn’t talk like that unless they wanted something, she decided, tossing in a few extra apples and a bottle of wine for her and Luke. And the only thing Luke could want was…sex.

  She glanced at him when she knew he wasn’t looking. Sex was a good idea, definitely one with lots of appeal. He had long, strong legs, a muscled body… It would be great. It would be heavenly.

  But that would take their marriage to a different level. No longer could it be called a marriage for the boys’ sakes. It would be for their sakes, a completely new relationship than what they’d agreed to.

  The twins ran outside. Luke ambled over to inspect the picnic basket. “So, about the attire today.”

  She made herself look up at him, a very hard thing to do since she had a sudden attack of shyness. “I think you’ll be too hot in jeans. Maybe swim trunks or shorts?”

  “Are you wearing a swimsuit?” He looked at her sundress.

  “I’m not planning on swimming,” Pepper said. “Fishing is enough for me.”

  “Swimming as a family is fun,” Luke countered. “I bought a couple of plastic rafts.”

  “You did?” She was surprised.

  He nodded. “You can float while I teach the boys the joys of baiting a hook. But floating on a raft requires a bathing suit.” He winked. “I’m looking forward to seeing you in one.”

  He made her distinctly nervous. “About staking my claim…” Pepper said, and Luke raised his brows. “I’m not sure I would know how.”

  “That is a problem,” he murmured. “We’ll have to help you work on that.”

  He was no help at all, she decided, and probably no help on purpose. “I think the least you could do, since I’m going to surrender to your swimsuit request, is tell me what it is exactly that you want. Or if you were just making amusing early morning chitchat.”

  He looked at her. “You,” he said. “That’s all I want.”

  Well, that was clear enough, Pepper thought, her heart racing deliciously. “Married a few days and regretting the terms?” she asked.

  “Not regretting,” he said, squatting down next to her, “just thinking I let you go too easily.” He kissed her, and Pepper knew exactly what Luke wanted her to know: the sex between them would be fantastic.

  “I plan on taking very good care of you,” he said a moment later, and Pepper felt herself pull back slightly from the edge she’d nearly fallen over. She shook her head.

  “Luke, I’m not looking for anyone to take care of me,” she said. “That’s not what I want from you.”

  He swept her hair back over her shoulders with a smile. “I meant in bed, Miss Independent.”

  “Oh.” She hoped she wasn’t blushing as much as it felt like she was.

  “Let’s hit the lake,” Luke said, “or I’m going to need a cold shower.”

  “Fishing or sex,” Pepper murmured when he’d left the room. She finished packing the basket, trying to calm her suddenly trembling fingers. “I guess it all involves a hook of some kind.” But she’d been thinking about sex, too, Pepper admitted. Luke was irresistible, and lying beside his nearly nude body every night was ruining her sleep.

  He’d only voiced what she’d been thinking about.

  Marital intimacy would make their marriage real. Right now she had the comfort of a wall of pretense. Why was she afraid of commitment? Wasn’t that supposed to be a man’s cop-out?

  Luke had called her on it, and she knew they were facing the first real hurdle in their new life together. It wasn’t that she didn’t want to make love, and it wasn’t that she wasn’t attracted to him. New home, new work, new marriage.

  But the changes weren’t it, either. She was simply afraid of falling irreparably in love with her husband—as she had when she was a girl. She’d never really reconciled the pain of losing her first love. Having him back in her life, Pepper realized, was almost scarier than the first time. He was a natural wanderer, and though she knew he wouldn’t leave this time, because of Toby and Josh, she couldn’t know for certain that he wouldn’t leave her heartbroken again.

  She felt unformed, somehow juvenile and scarred in her ability to love. There was very little she was wary of in life, but she was afraid of falling head over heels in love with Luke and losing him once more.

  Then again, he’d been talking about sex, something she’d been thinking about nonstop since they’d married.

  She went to change into her swimsuit.

  PEPPER HAD NEVER SEEN so many fishing boats in one place. The lake was dotted with them. “I feel like I should be helping Pansy and Helen,” she told Luke. “They have to be running around like mad.” The Man Catch day was certainly a success, if the number of boats were any indication.

  “Valentine and some of her hairstylist friends came out from Union Junction.” Luke helped Pepper into the boat, his strong hands guiding her. “Pansy and Helen specifically said you were to be a participant. I just chose to marry you before someone else could reel you in.”

  Toby and Josh giggled about that. Pepper smiled. “Funny, I don’t feel reeled in. I feel like I caught a winner.”

  “Good.” Luke untied the boat and pushed them away from the dock. “This is an excellent day for catching us a whopper, kids.”

  It felt so right, so family, Pepper thought, enjoying watching Luke steer the boat toward a place he called his “secret, giant-fish-catching hideout.” Togetherness had been so easy to fall into. She watched the excited grins on the boys’ faces as the boat tore across the open water. Pepper sat on the rafts to keep them from blowing out, and decided life was getting more perfect all the time.

  She didn’t really think Luke had a secret, giant-fish-catching hideout, but he surprised her, pulling into a cove where no other boats were present. “This is a secret?”

  “Yep. Dad and I used to come here when I was young. He said he would have come today, but he didn’t want to thwart the young pups in their dreams of glory.”

  Pepper smiled. “He looks like he’s feeling a lot better.”

  “He is.” Luke glanced at her as he secured the rafts to ropes and tossed them out. “There you go, my lady. A floating bed fit for a mermaid.”

  She dived over the side and hoisted herself onto one. “This is perfect. Who’s the other float for?”

  “Me, when the boys wear me out.”

  She didn’t think that was likely to happen anytime soon. Luke showed the twins how to set the hooks, and for the next hour, they sat quietly. Pepper was glad of the shade in the cove.

  “You know, boys,” Luke said, “there used to be a granddad fish in here so big you’d hardly be able to lift him. It would take a net.”

  “What kind is he?” Toby asked.

  “Some old lake fish that’s survived countles
s people trying to hook him.” Luke peered into the water. “He’s too smart to get caught.”

  Pepper adjusted her sunglasses, amused by the fisherman’s lore.

  “Dad and I saw him once,” Luke said. “He swam under our boat before we could net him. We never saw him again.”

  “He’s probably dead by now,” Josh said.

  “Maybe,” Luke replied. “But you never know. Some creatures can live a long time if humans leave them alone.”

  “Probably too old to make a good meal,” Toby said, and Luke nodded.

  “But we could win with it,” Josh said.

  “You hold your lines. I’m going to go float next to your mom. She looks lonely over there. Mermaids should never be lonely, especially one wearing a slinky red swimsuit.”

  He dived over the side, guaranteeing that any fish that might have been near retreated to the bottom of the lake, Pepper thought with a grin. She heard Luke clamber up on the other raft, then hers was jerked close to it. “Hi,” he said.

  “I heard you telling fish tales,” Pepper murmured.

  “I never tell tales,” Luke retorted. “The truth is important.”

  “Boy Scout,” she murmured. “Who would have guessed?” But she was glad Luke possessed a strong character and inner compass. The boys would learn a lot from him.

  “I THINK DAD TOLD US about the giant grandpa fish just to keep us staring down into the water,” Josh said.

  “So we wouldn’t watch him and Mom the whole time.” Toby grinned. “We should thump their rafts.”

  Josh considered that. “Nah. He might get mad and go home.”

  Toby didn’t think so. There was nothing tugging on the end of his line, and he wondered if fishing was just an excuse for adults to float and sneak a nap. “Luke’s always going to be with us. He’s our dad.”

  Josh nodded. “Mom’s a lot happier now.”

  “Look at my bobber,” Toby whispered. “It’s moving!”

  They sat very still, breathlessly watching. It moved again, then suddenly the line pulled so hard Toby nearly lost his fishing rod. “Dad!”

  Josh tried to help him hang on to it. Toby could hear his father yelling to hold on tight, but also give the line some slack, so he tried with all his might. Whatever was pulling on it was huge!

  Together the boys managed to hold on until Luke swam to the boat to help. Even his mother got in the boat to watch, and Toby was certain it was the coolest moment of his life. Having your family watch you make your first big catch was awesome.

  It took them a full ten minutes to pull the fish into the boat, and when they did, they were amazed.

  “It’s the grandpa,” Josh said in awe.

  “Maybe,” Luke said, “or a very near relative.”

  “Man, Toby, you’re going to win!” Josh said.

  He looked at the fish flopping around in the bottom of the boat. “Mom, quick. Please take a picture of me and Josh and our fish for Granddad.”

  Pepper hurriedly snapped two pictures, and Toby said, “Put him back in the water, Dad. Please.”

  “You don’t want to win?” Luke asked.

  “Naw,” Toby said. “He’s been down there for years. I’d rather know he’s still swimming around free. Maybe one day one of my kids’ll catch one of his.”

  Luke gently unhooked the fish, setting it carefully into the water. With a flip of its tail, the fish swam under the boat.

  “Wow,” Josh exclaimed, “that was crazy cool.”

  Toby smiled. “Thanks, Dad,” he said simply. He didn’t need to rob the lake of a fish to catch a man—he’d caught a dad.

  That was the best prize of all.

  LUKE WAS PROUD of his boys. At the end of the day, they helped him dock the boat and pack their rods into the truck. All around them giggles and laughter flowed from happy participants, and a Fish Queen and King of Tulips were crowned.

  As far as he was concerned, he’d caught the most beautiful lady for himself. Or at least he was working on it, and she seemed to be slowly allowing him to romance her.

  Her heart was still focused on her boys, and Luke understood he was going to have to earn his place in there with them.

  He was about to load Pepper and the twins into the truck and head for home for some grilling out and maybe some wine and hopefully some romance when he heard a voice call, “Hi, Luke.”

  He turned to see the general and his daughters smiling at him. Beside him, he felt Pepper go perfectly still. “Hi!” he exclaimed. “What are you doing here?”

  Of course he gave the girls hugs, because he’d lived with them for a year, and he shook the general’s hand with genuine happiness, realizing that his old life and his new one were colliding.

  “We’ve come to talk you into taking your old job back, Luke,” the eldest daughter, Amelia, said. “We miss you!”

  Chapter Fifteen

  Luke glanced around. “Where are Hawk and Jellyfish?”

  The second daughter flipped her hand toward the milling crowd. “They brought us here so we could plead our case with you. But we all agree—Dad, too—that you took much better care of us.”

  “Oh. Thanks,” Luke said, and turned to put a hand on Pepper’s shoulder. “General, girls, I’d like to introduce you to my wife, Pepper. And these are my boys, Josh and Toby.”

  The smiles left the girls’ faces. The general looked confused.

  “Wife?” the youngest daughter, Sandy, said. “Luke, you haven’t even been gone a month!”

  “Your boys?” the middle daughter, Tonya, asked. “You mean, like, adopted?”

  “I think I’ll get in the truck, Luke,” Pepper said softly, but he grabbed her hand so she couldn’t fade away. He knew her too well.

  “This is my family,” he said. “So I can’t come back to work for you, although I certainly appreciate the offer. It was wonderful traveling with you all, General.”

  “Well,” the man said, “I’m offended that I wasn’t invited to the wedding, naturally, but good wishes appear to be in order. Congratulations, Luke. It couldn’t happen to a nicer man. Young lady,” he said, shaking Pepper’s hand, “I can see Luke finally got really lucky.”

  A tiny smile cracked Pepper’s face, and Luke relaxed. He hadn’t thought she was the jealous type, but it wouldn’t bother him if she showed a little wariness of other women.

  “Can we invite you to our hotel for dinner?” the general asked.

  “Please, Luke,” one daughter said. “We want to get to know your family.”

  The girls looked at Pepper with pleading eyes, and he was touched when she said warmly, “We would love to come. Thank you so much for the generous invitation.”

  “We’re only in town for a few days,” the general stated. “Then it’s on to the Bahamas.”

  “Classified?” Luke asked.

  “This time, yes. We could have used you.”

  Luke smiled. “Hawk and Jellyfish have a good reputation.”

  “But they’re not as good as you, Luke,” one of the girls said sadly.

  “Don’t fret,” their father said, “these honeymooners need time alone. Then maybe we can talk them into letting us borrow Luke for an odd job or two.”

  Luke smiled. As much as he would miss the excitement and the exotic places, Tulips held all the wonders he’d ever want to see.

  The general and his girls slipped off to find a boat to join the party—ever the watercraft types, Luke thought—and he got into the truck with his family.

  “That was way cool, Dad,” Toby said. “I didn’t know you knew a general!”

  Josh leaned forward in the seat. “I really wasn’t sure what to think about you being our father. But you ride three-wheelers and know how to fish and you work for a general. I like having a dad.”

  Luke grinned from ear to ear, feeling pretty much like a real hero.

  PEPPER HAD BEEN astonished by the beautiful women who’d come to see Luke. It was hard to imagine him living with those three girls on a boat, and she would
have had to be superhuman not to feel a tiny prickle of jealousy. He’d said something about being in the Greek Isles, which no doubt meant tiny bikinis and bodies that weren’t stretched by pregnancy and childbirth—

  “Pepper?” Luke said, as he came into their room that night.

  She turned. “Yes?”

  “Thank you for understanding about my former employer.”

  “Employers?” she teased. “It did seem the girls were the ones trying the hardest to hire you back.”

  He acknowledged that with a smile. “They do lead their father around, but he’s stronger than he seems. He puts his foot down when they get too spoiled.”

  “If the general isn’t careful, he’s not going to get out of Tulips without a wedding ring.”

  “I know I didn’t.” Luke put his arms around her waist, and Pepper quickly decided jealousy was overrated. “I enjoyed watching you float on the raft today,” he murmured. “I kept thinking you looked exactly like you do in my bed. Peaceful and calm.”

  He trailed small kisses along her neck. Pepper went very still, drinking in the wonder of his touch on her skin.

  “The boys are in bed,” Luke murmured. “You probably should be, too.”

  “Is that a hint?”

  He slid questing hands down her arms. “If you want to consider it one.”

  Still no pressure. Just a gentle invitation. He was making the moment her decision.

  Slowly, Pepper turned toward him, raising her lips to his. With a sharp intake of breath, Luke kissed her. It felt right, as if they’d waited a long time to get to this place.

  They kissed for endless moments, discovering each other’s mouths. Pepper let her hands explore the strong, winding muscles and planes of Luke’s body, marveling that it felt nothing like it had when they’d made love before.

  Time had ripened his body, broadening his shoulders and hardening his muscles. Pepper’s pulse quickened as Luke pulled her into the bedroom they shared. He locked the door, the click a note of finality on her decision. Slowly they helped each other with clothes, but when they were naked and he’d settled her gently into their bed, Pepper knew slow wasn’t what her body craved.