Burrito ran at her side now as Tuesday made her way around the car and pulled open the passenger door. She sighed a breath of relief to see Maggie in her car seat, still on the front seat, waving her hands and legs around and crying.
“Maggie!” she cried, pulling the baby out of the carrier and holding her tightly to her chest.
A woman cop came up. “There’s a baby in there?”
“My baby,” said Tuesday.
“Our baby,” said Cal. “This girl kidnapped her.”
“They’re right,” said one of the cops. “A report just came in about a stolen baby.”
“Maggie,” said Cal, coming over and taking the baby from Tuesday, putting one arm around her. Burrito jumped up and tried to lick the baby’s leg.
“Thank God, she is all right,” said Tuesday.
“Why did you do it, after we tried to help you?” growled Cal, looking at the girl who the cops were now putting in cuffs.
“We recognize her,” one of the cops answered for her. “She’s a runaway who turned to prostitution. We’ve been tracking her and her pimp.”
“I’m not a whore anymore,” screamed the girl. “I ran away from Danny the pimp because I got pregnant and he made me have an abortion. I wanted a baby so bad, and then you picked me up and I saw Maggie and fell in love with her and had to have her.”
“You disgust me, being this way at such a young age,” Cal told her. “I can’t even feel sorry for you after you kidnapped Maggie.”
“Where’s your boyfriend?” asked one of the cops.
“He’s not my boyfriend anymore, and I don’t know,” the girl answered.
“He’s probably at one of the exits waiting for her,” said another cop. “No pimp is going to let his profits just walk away. Let’s go find him.”
“Get her in the squad car,” growled one of the cops.
“Goodbye, Maggie, I’ll miss you,” called out the girl before they shoved her into the car.
“We’ll need statements from the rest of you,” added the cop.
“I wasn’t going to hurt her,” cried the girl from the squad car. “I just wanted to keep her for my own.”
“Well, she’s ours,” Cal told Ronnie. “Maggie is our baby, and you can’t have her.”
“Yes,” agreed Tuesday. “We are a family, and no one is going to tear us apart.”
Cal put his arm around her tighter. Little Maggie curled up against Cal’s chest, continuing to cry. The dog sat next to Cal protectively, while more truckers stopped and got out, coming to join them.
“Is the baby all right?” asked the man called Breadman that Tuesday recognized by his voice.
“We did what we could,” said the big redheaded trucker, hurrying over to them.
“Where’s Tex?” called out another of the drivers.
“Did you get the baby?” shouted another man, getting out of his rig that he’d parked on the shoulder of the road.
“The baby is safe,” Cal announced. “Thank you all for helping.”
“We’re glad we could help you and the baby and Shotgun, and even the dog,” said Breadman with a smile.
“My name’s really Twiggy,” Tuesday told him, using Cal’s nickname for her. She liked it now, and she also liked that Cal had called Maggie their baby.
“You his wife?” asked one of the truckers.
She looked over to Cal, not knowing what to say.
“We’re a family,” Cal answered, avoiding the question. But for that, Tuesday was thankful. She didn’t want him to say she was his wife when she wasn’t. Then again, she was glad he didn’t tell everyone she was just the hired help either.
“Yes, we’re a family,” she said with a smile, leaning in to Cal, no longer caring that they were getting soaked in the rain. “Thank you all for your help. We never could have done it without you,” she told the truckers.
“We’d do anything for another driver,” Breadman explained.
“That’s right,” agreed Cal. “Tuesday, these guys are like family to me.”
Suddenly, being called family didn’t hold as much weight as it had when he’d been referring just to her and Maggie.
Chapter 14
It was nearly nightfall.
Tuesday had stayed in the sleeper compartment of the truck with Maggie, not letting the little girl out of her sight. She’d taken the baby into the shower with her, and now little Maggie was dry and snuggled up in her pajamas, sleeping in her car carrier. Tuesday was barefoot and dressed only in a long t-shirt and panties, not even having had the time to dry her hair.
Maggie was indeed teething, and Tuesday had been checking her temperature constantly, giving her baby aspirin, rocking her, and rubbing an ointment on her gums. Burrito lay there watching, almost looking sad that he’d allowed a kidnapper to bribe him with food.
“You should feel guilty,” she said to the dog. “No amount of people food should ever tempt you from doing your job.”
“The dog’s not to blame,” she heard Cal say from up front.
“I know,” said Tuesday. “I am, and I’ll never forgive myself for leaving the baby with a stranger.”
“I’m to blame as well,” he told her. “I can’t believe I was tricked so easily.”
“I don’t think the girl initially intended to steal the baby, but still it doesn’t make it right. I hope she gets what’s coming to her.”
“The important thing is that we’ve got Maggie back and she’s not harmed.”
“True,” said Tuesday.
“Twiggy, I’m going to pull off the road and park for the night.”
“I thought you were in a hurry to get home.”
“I changed my mind. It’s still another few hours’ drive, and I just need to stop and spend time with you and Maggie now,” he said, pulling off the highway and parking on the side of a country road. “That whole incident shook me up and I really need a beer.”
“I’d like to spend some time together,” she told him, not even having had much chance to talk to him since the kidnapping. She knew as soon as they got to the ranch she’d have to leave, and she wasn’t in a hurry to leave him or Maggie.
He shut off the motor, and took the dog out to do his dirt and then returned. He locked the doors and pulled closed the blackout curtains, and headed to the back to join her. Cal stretched and yawned, looking tired and haggard. “You hungry?” he asked.
“Yes,” she answered. “But Ronnie gave the last of our leftovers to the dog.”
“I think I have some pizza in the freezer we can warm up, and a bag of popcorn we can pop.”
“Is there any beer left?”
He opened the fridge and looked inside. “Three left, and I have another six-pack behind the front seat but it’s not cold. I’ll stick it in the freezer.”
“You’re still wet from the rain and probably cold,” said Tuesday.
“I could go for a hot shower,” he admitted with another yawn. Cal looked tired and drained, and rightly so. They were both stressed out from the events of the day. Cal had to drive for hours afterwards, and she’d been struggling with the teething baby the entire time.
“Go take a shower, and I’ll warm up the pizza and make the popcorn.”
“There is half a burrito in the freezer, if you can warm it up for the dog,” he said, pulling off his wet shirt.
“Of course,” she said, running a hand over the dog’s head. The poor thing looked as stressed out as she felt. Tuesday was no longer afraid of Burrito.
“Pick out a movie for us,” he told her. “I’m sure you can find something good to sleep through.” He pulled off the rest of his clothes, not caring that he stood in front of her naked now. She quickly averted her eyes the other way as he disappeared into the bathroom and closed the door.
Her phone rang, and she saw it was Charlotte and picked it up. “Hello, Charlotte,” she said.
“Hi, Tuesday. How are things going?”
“You wouldn’t believe it if I told you.”
/> “With Cal, you mean?” There was a playful tone in her voice.
“No, I mean with the baby. She was kidnapped today.”
“What? Oh, my God, no!”
“Don’t worry, we got her back and she is fine. I’ll tell you more about it when I get home.”
“Oh, thank goodness. Tuesday, I wanted to tell you that a man came to the daycare today claiming to be Maggie’s father.”
“What?” Tuesday was left speechless, not knowing what to say.
“He said he heard about Jenna’s death and he was here to claim his daughter.”
“Charlotte, can he do that? He can’t, can he? I thought he was in prison. Or at least, that is what I found out from Cal.”
“I didn’t know that. None of us did since Jenna never spoke of him. Still, I felt he was bad news, and I didn’t want to tell him where you were.”
“Well, I hope you didn’t.”
“No, I didn’t. But he talked to one of the other daycare workers on his way out and she told him everything. It was an honest mistake. She didn’t know his background history, and thought the man needed to know about his daughter.”
“So, what happens now?”
“Well, I called Sheriff Taylor and told him what was going on. They’re looking into things. I’m sorry, but I don’t know the answer to this.”
“Oh. Not the news I was hoping to hear.”
“I’m sorry if I ruined your night.”
Tuesday heard the shower go off and knew Cal would be walking out naked any second. “I’ve got to go, Charlotte. I’ll talk to you later.”
“Wait. When are you going to be back?”
“I – I’m not sure. I’ll call you when I know what is going on. Goodbye.” She hung up just as Cal walked out naked, just like she knew he would. “Forgot the towel again,” he said, turning and reaching up into a cabinet, giving her a great view of his bare butt.
“I wish you wouldn’t do that,” she said.
He turned around, and she hurried over to the freezer, pulled out the food and stuck it in the microwave.
“Do what?” he said.
“Walk around naked.”
“Does it bother you or excite you?” he asked. Before she knew it, his hands were on her shoulders. Then he started kissing her on the back of the neck.
“Cal?” she asked, closing her eyes and tilting her head to one side. “What are you doing?”
“I can’t help it, Tuesday,” he said, using her real name, which he never did. It sounded so sexy when he said it. “I haven’t been able to stop thinking about how close we came today to losing Maggie. It made me realize how lucky I am to have both of you here with me.”
She turned toward him, and he wrapped his arms around her. That’s when she felt his erection pressed up against her and realized he was still naked. “We belong together. You and me,” he added. “I know it’s only been a few days, but God, Twiggy, I haven’t been able to think of anything else but making love to you. I really like having you around.”
“Making love?” she asked, knowing the time had come for them to get intimate and she no longer wanted to stop it.
“I know it sounds crazy, but I’m very attracted to you, and I can’t stop thinking about you night and day.”
“Really?” she asked, as he dipped down and kissed her on the mouth, about melting her on the spot.
“Really. However, I don’t know how you feel about me.”
“I – I think I feel the same way,” she told him. “When you told the cops and the truckers we were a family, I felt like we were. And that I belonged with you. Also, with Maggie.”
He kissed her deeply, his hands caressing her back. “Make love to me, sweetheart,” he whispered, his mouth coming down to claim another kiss. And when his hands snuck under her t-shirt and he discovered she wasn’t wearing a bra, she heard a lusty groan at the back of his throat. “Please, don’t say no.”
“I – I don’t know, Cal. Do you really think we should?”
The dog let out a deep sigh and the microwave beeped. They both laughed. Cal reached around her and opened the microwave door.
“I need to give the dog the burrito first but, yes, I definitely think we should do it now before the baby wakes up and starts crying again.” He kissed her again, and his hands roamed down and squeezed her bottom end.
Burrito’s cold nose on her leg caused her to jump. “Burrito, go lay down and you’ll get your food,” she told the dog with a giggle. Then she looked up at Cal and nodded. “Yes, I want to make love to you, Calvin Reeves. I’ve wanted to do it for so long that I didn’t think it would ever happen.”
“Give me a second.” He reached over and took out the burrito, blowing on it, and putting it in the dog’s dish. Then he wiped off his hands and reached out and swooped her off her feet. Holding her tightly against his chest, he kissed her passionately.
Tuesday wrapped her arms around his neck, and let him lay her down on the bed, pulling off her t-shirt. He then pulled off her panties slowly, his eyes drinking in her naked body.
“I know I’m not Miss May or even Miss June, but I hope I can measure up to them,” she joked, kissing him once again.
“You don’t have to, because they are so far out of your league that they could never measure up to you.”
“Do you really mean that, Cal?”
“I do.”
She looked down at his naked form and felt so hot and excited that she wasn’t sure she wouldn’t combust. Reaching out for him, she ran her fingers up and down his hardened shaft.
“That will have to wait, or I will finish before I even get you aroused,” he told her, gently taking her hands off of him and pushing her back on the bed. He crawled atop her and suckled her breasts, bringing her nipples to hardened peaks. It felt so good. Her back arched and her head fell to the side as she let him fondle her and feel her, every stroke of his fingers causing her to become more and more excited.
“Oh, Cal. This feels so right,” she moaned, wetting her lips with her tongue.
“You are beautiful, Twiggy, and I don’t want you to ever doubt that again.” His hand slid down below her waist, and his fingers played with her womanly folds. Her body came to life beneath him. “You are beautiful inside and out, and I was a fool not to notice it before now.”
“You aren’t so bad yourself,” she said, raising her legs up and wrapping them around his waist. “You have a good heart, Cal, and I know you’ll always be there for Maggie. You make a good father to her.”
“Well, you make a good mother to her as well.”
Those words coming from his mouth made her happy and even more excited. She felt such an attraction to this man that she wanted to make love with him more than ever now. “I can’t wait anymore,” she whispered.
“Then don’t,” he said, testing her readiness with his finger, causing her breath to hitch.
“I want you, Cal. I want to feel you inside me right now.”
“I want the same.” He slowly slipped his hardened length inside her, rocking gently back and forth, being careful not to hurt her. Excitement burst through her to finally be making love with him. They did the dance of lovers and, before she knew it, she had climbed to such a height that she cried out in ecstasy. Cal moved in and out faster and faster, and she brought her hips up to meet him.
Stars exploded behind her closed lids, and she cried out again as she reached her peak, pulling him closer and squeezing her legs around him tightly.
Cal grunted and breathed hard. When he found his release, he was loud as well. He deposited his seed within her, and that thought alone excited her so much that she climaxed yet again.
The baby woke up from all the noise and then, of course, the dog started howling.
Cal pulled out and fell to his back next to her. They both started laughing, trying to catch their breaths.
“You want to get the baby or the food?” she asked.
“Neither,” he answered.
“What?�
�� She didn’t understand.
“I’ll get the beer!”
Chapter 15
Cal awoke to the sound of buzzing, realizing it was his cell phone vibrating next to him on the bed. With one arm thrown over the sleeping baby, he opened his eyes to see the beautiful Twiggy lying next to Maggie, sound asleep. Her naked breasts were half-covered by a sheet, as she’d never gotten dressed again after they made love.
The cell phone buzzed again, but it was hard for him to take his eyes off Twiggy. After the night of passion they’d shared together, nothing else seemed to matter. Even Burrito was curled up on the foot of the bed looking content. Cal felt like this was his family.
Family. It was a word that never meant as much as it did to him at this very moment, even if he and Twiggy weren’t married. Neither was Maggie really their daughter, but damned if it didn’t feel like she really was. This all seemed so right, and he didn’t want it to ever end.
One more buzz of his muted cell phone and he finally picked it up, seeing Shelby’s name pop up on the screen. His live-in girlfriend that he no longer wanted to be with was calling him. Damn, he didn’t want to answer. What he had to say to her, she wouldn’t want to hear. Besides, he still hadn’t told Twiggy about her and, for some reason, he didn’t think she was going to take it well. Since Twiggy was still sleeping, he decided to pick up after all.
“Yeah,” he said in a soft voice, answering the phone.
“Cal, why haven’t you been answering my texts and phone calls?” Shelby demanded to know.
“Look, I’m busy. Later.”
“I have something to tell you, and it’s important.” Important to Shelby was that she found a dress on sale, or that she’d gotten a new manicure with rhinestones, or highlights in her hair.
“I have something to talk to you about, too,” he said, noticing Twiggy stir. The baby started to fuss.
“Well, what is it?” she asked. “And is that a baby I hear?”
“It’s my sister Jenna’s baby. When I went to the funeral, I discovered I’d inherited her baby.”
“Yeah, that’s what I wanted to talk about,” she said, surprising Cal that she knew since he hadn’t told her. “You see, you can’t keep her. She won’t be able to stay here with us.”
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