The Great Bedroom War

by Laurie Kellogg

  “She’s still working though, right?” he asked, stepping down off the porch.

  “Yes, thank God.” Keith followed him onto the front lawn. “She was able to switch to full-time since I’m here for the boys after school. I’m going loony.”

  Nick looked down at the ankle high grass. After being cooped up in a stuffy apartment for over a year, he’d been looking forward to some yard work in the fresh air. Nonetheless, his neighbor needed the money, and there was no way Keith would take a handout. The house sat on an oversized lot and had numerous large trees to maneuver around, so a fair price for the job would provide a hefty chunk of change for his neighbor’s family—although it would leave Nick’s pockets a lot lighter.

  Even so, Jen and Keith had been there for his family when Dani became ill. They’d donated dozens of hours organizing a marrow donor registry drive, signing up half the town with the hope of finding a suitable match for his daughter. Just because the search had been unsuccessful, it didn’t diminish the huge sacrifice they’d made.

  “If you’re that bored, how’d you like to pick up some extra cash mowing my lawn and getting rid of the leaves this fall?”

  “Hell, yeah. I’ll get right on after the twins leave for school tomorrow. But how’s your brother going to feel about me stealing his job?”

  Nick’s stomach clenched. When he’d moved out the previous summer, Sam and Dani had shared that chore. “Justin’s been cutting the grass?”

  “Since last spring. He also hauls the garbage to the road twice a week.”

  He could understand his brother helping Sam with the lawn, but they had an extra large trash can on wheels that even Dani was capable of moving without breaking a sweat.

  “At first, Jenny and I thought maybe Justin had something going on with your ex, but then she started dating Dani’s doctor.”

  “Yeah. So I’ve heard.”

  “Do I detect a note of displeasure in your voice?” Keith grinned at him.

  Not just a note—an entire symphony. Nick changed the subject, jerking his head toward the new house on the right. “What do you know about the McMansion?”

  “Oh, that’s right. You haven’t met Steve and Tim yet, have you?”

  “Should I assume Steve isn’t short for Stephanie?”

  “Yup.”

  The neighboring town of New Hope had a large gay and lesbian population, so the news that a homosexual couple had built the house next door wasn’t out of the ordinary. What did surprise him, however, was his ex-wife’s failure to mention their new neighbors had already moved in or that Justin might be attempting to rekindle the romance that had ended fifteen years ago after Nick got his brother’s girlfriend pregnant.

  Evidently, a lot more had changed in the last year than simply the color of their house.

  ~*~

  Dani unloaded her locker, shoving books into her backpack, and smiled at Haley. “Do you think, if I accidentally leave my Spanish book here tonight, I could convince my teacher to excuse me from taking the quiz tomorrow?”

  “More likely your mom will drag you back here at midnight and talk the janitor into letting you pick it up.” Her friend laughed.

  “True.” Dani bent to stuff the heavy textbook into the purple backpack at her feet.

  As she straightened, hands covered her eyes while their undeniably male owner plastered his muscular body against her back and whispered, “Guess who?”

  A violent shiver shot through her. Mitts that big could only belong to one guy. “Hey, Ryan.” She spun to face him. “What’s up?”

  “I wanted to tell you I got a set of wheels.”

  “Cool. What kind?” Haley asked.

  “Well, the car’s kinda old,” he admitted, clearly embarrassed by his vehicle’s age. He stared at the floor and mumbled, “It’s a ’91 Toyota Celica.”

  “That’s great!” Dani smiled. “Pretty soon it’ll be a classic and worth a bundle.”

  Ryan’s neon blue gaze shot up to meet hers, making her stomach do a little flip-flop. “What do you know about classic cars?”

  “Plenty. My dad and I used to go to a lot of antique car shows.” As well as baseball games and concerts. She flinched at the bang of a nearby locker slamming shut. “He used to work at a restoration shop while he saved up to go on the road with his band.”

  “Your dad’s a musician?”

  “Not since I was born.” According to her Uncle Justin, her father had been really talented and a bit of a bad-ass before he married her mom. “But he still plays his guitar for fun.”

  “I’m in a band. We’ve booked a bunch of high school dances in the area. You think your dad might listen to us sometime and give us a few pointers?”

  “Get in line,” she muttered, zipping her backpack.

  “Her father lives in California,” Haley explained.

  Dani closed her locker. “I’d love to hear you, though.”

  “Maybe sometime you can come to one of my gigs.” He paused to clear his throat. “I, umm, I was thinking you might like a ride home today. We can drop Haley off on the way.”

  Haley grinned, bouncing up and down behind his back, her thumbs turned up.

  Terrific. Dani had been forbidden to ride with anyone other than a parent. She’d already pushed her luck going to the bowling alley with Allison last week and then lying about her friend’s mother driving. If she was caught, she would be in trouble with a capital T. Still, if she turned Ryan down, he might not offer again.

  Oh, what the heck. Her mom was at work. She’d never know. “Sounds great.”

  “I’ll get my car and pick the two of you up at the curb.” He waved, heading for the door.

  “Can you believe it?” Haley pummeled Dani’s shoulder. “Ryan asked you out!”

  “No, he didn’t. He simply offered to take us home.”

  “Wait. He will,” Haley predicted and then glanced at her sideways. “So are you gonna tell him about your leukem—”

  “Shhh!” Dani glanced around the hallway to see if anyone had been listening.

  After she’d finally finished her maintenance chemo last spring, her parents had agreed, if she remained in remission, she could start high school that fall. Only a few kids, who remembered her from elementary school, knew she’d been sick. She’d sworn them all to secrecy and told everyone else she’d been traveling with her parents. It wasn’t a complete lie. They’d traveled constantly—to and from her doctor’s appointments in Princeton.

  “I’m not telling anyone and neither are you,” Dani whispered, heading toward Haley’s locker. “If it gets out I have cancer, everyone will treat me like I have AIDS or something.”

  “Had,” Haley corrected, bobbing and weaving to avoid the herd of oncoming students.

  “I can still relapse. I’ve only been off chemo for five months.” She didn’t dare become too optimistic, or she’d never be able to handle it if she got sick again. She’d done enough research to know she couldn’t do the Snoopy-dance until she’d maintained a continuous remission for five years. Even then, her leukemia still had a small chance of returning. Only when she made her ten-year milestone would she finally be considered cured.

  For now, she had to live for the moment.

  ~*~

  Nick peered through the window in the door to Sam’s preschool classroom. She leaned over a child-sized table, helping one of her students cut a piece of orange construction paper into the shape of a leaf. The little boy looked a lot like Michael might have. Dark hair like his, blue eyes like Sam’s.

  His chest tightened. How could a merciful God limit a woman who cherished kids as much as Sammy did to only one child? And, worse, threaten that child’s life with a terminal illness?

  Sam chuckled at something the toddler said. She had the best smile.

  As she straightened and arched her spine to rub the small of her back, her chest thrust out, causing him to nearly choke on his tongue. Damn! Her breasts had practically doubled in size.

  Okay, doubled w
as a big exaggeration, however, she could never squeeze them into the 32B cup bras she’d worn a year ago

  Not that this was a bad thing. He’d always had a weakness for Sam’s breasts, but he’d enjoyed them most during the year she’d nursed Dani. He’d loved watching her feed their daughter.

  Was that how she’d spent the extra money he’d been sending her every month? On implants so that wife-poaching S.O.B., Chase, would have a bigger handful to squeeze?

  No. Nick immediately shook his head. She would never become that vain or desperate.

  He jerked his gaze to her face, and dread uncoiled in his stomach like a viper preparing to strike. Her face seemed fuller and softer too, like when she’d been pregnant with their son.

  After losing Michael, Nick had suggested adoption, but Sam had argued that an unrelated sibling couldn’t help Dani if she needed a bone marrow transplant in the future. His wife had insisted that, if she could save their daughter’s life with a high-risk pregnancy, she was more than willing to take her chances.

  That had been easy for her to say since she hadn’t had to watch herself go into convulsions and nearly die. Nick winced from the lump in his throat the memory always caused. Sammy had no idea how the death of their son had devastated him. She’d been unconscious and spared Nick’s nightmare. He’d been forced to choose between staying by her side or watching their baby fight for his life in the NICU.

  By the time she’d had to deal with their tragedy, Nick had been way beyond tears.

  As he studied the gentle swell of her bottom, his fly tightened. Sammy had always had a knockout figure—especially the first few months she was pregnant.

  And now....whoa.

  He’d strangle Adam Chase if he’d put her health in jeopardy.

  Nick swallowed the sour taste of fear and rolled his gaze toward the ceiling. What the hell was wrong with him?

  The woman he loved could be carrying another man’s child in a potentially dangerous pregnancy, and all his body would let him think about was seeing her naked again.

  Preferably as soon as possible.

  If nothing else, their separation had allowed him to concentrate on something other than sex. Whereas, during his marriage—and, okay, before it too—merely being in the same room with Sam was enough to muddle his thinking and make El Capitán snap to attention. He’d thought approaching middle age had tamed the unruly soldier in his jeans.

  Apparently not.

  Turning away, he stomped down the hall to walk off his hard-on. He’d be damned if he’d kick off his reunion with Sam by advertising how much he still ached for her.

  ~*~

  Samantha pulled a clean tissue from her pocket and handed it to three-year-old Joseph, whose allergy meds had apparently worn off.

  “Oh, by the way, I forgot to tell you,” Casey, her boss, said, “Kaitlin’s mother wants to order one of your Magic Worry Pals for her daughter’s birthday.”

  “Did she mention a color preference or if she wants a cat or dog?”

  “No, but pink is probably a safe bet. Or haven’t you noticed it’s the only color the child ever wears?” Casey chuckled. “Anyway, how’s your business doing?”

  “A little too well.” Sam sighed, squatting to wipe a blob of paste off the tile floor. Working at the preschool didn’t leave much time for her home-based business. “I have a dozen little critters I need to finish.”

  Casey pointed toward the classroom door and frowned. “Hey, wasn’t that Nick out in the hall?”

  Sam froze at the mention of Nick’s name and glanced at the door. “Not likely. He couldn’t possibly have finished everything he had to do in L.A. already.”

  And even if he had, why would he show up at the school?

  Casey shrugged. “Maybe I’m dreaming.”

  That could very well be. Casey had only met Nick once, right after Sam began working at the school—a week after she filed for divorce. Consequently, if her boss had to identify Nick in a police line-up, she’d be equally inclined to finger any tall, dark, and hunky man.

  “The kids are busy right now. Why don’t you go make sure?” Casey suggested. “I’ll holler if I need you.”

  “Thanks.” Sam smoothed the wrinkles out of her white slacks and sky blue camp shirt as she slipped out the door. She glanced up and down the empty hallway, biting her lip. Her boss wasn’t prone to hallucinations. Someone, Nick or not, must have been there.

  She strode down the corridor toward the school’s entrance. The sight of her ex-husband pacing outside the glass doors in jeans and a black polo shirt stole her breath.

  Oh, jeez. He really was here. And, damn him, he looked even better than she’d feared.

  The slight executive paunch he’d begun to develop before they split up had not only completely disappeared, but he was even leaner now than the day she’d married him. Judging from the bulge in his biceps, his flat-as-a-book stomach, and the way the denim stretched over his muscular thighs, he must have been working out at a gym.

  Or in the boudoir, doing push-ups over Bimbo Bethany, the little green monster in her suggested.

  Knowing Nick, he would undoubtedly choose the bedroom.

  He glanced toward the building and a dazzling smile spread across his sweaty face. The door swung open, and he stepped inside, bringing a gust of heat with him. “Hey, Sammy-Bee.”

  For the last two days, the East Coast had been enjoying unusually warm weather for the first week in October. “What are you doing here already, Nick? And why are you standing outside? It must be over eighty degrees out there.”

  “You forget I’ve been living in southern California. I told you I’d be home ASAP.” A few strands of silver threaded through his hair now, which only made him look distinguished.

  “I didn’t think you meant in less than two weeks. Didn’t you have a lot to finalize?”

  “I did. But then Swann’s board of directors came out for the store’s ribbon cutting ceremony. When Ethan and his dad heard about our situation with Dani, Ken offered to stay and wrap things up so I could come right home. You’re looking at the new VP of Sales. The position will involve some travel several times a year but only for a few nights at a time.”

  “That’s wonderful.” Swann’s founder and chairman of the board had always treated Nick more like a favorite nephew than an employee. Even though Nick now worked for Ken’s son, Ethan, he still spent several weekends every year fishing with his mentor.

  “Bethany wanted to stay in the apartment,” he continued, “so on Tuesday morning, I packed up my car and started driving east.”

  “I’m surprised you didn’t bring your sweet young thing with you.”

  He hesitated a second. “I told you, Bethany and I are just friends.” His gaze dropped to Sam’s stomach. When she folded her arms over her midriff to hide the weight she’d gained, he blurted, “Please tell me you didn’t let Dr. Adonis knock you up.”

  Nice way to poke fun at her flab. Although, after her nasty crack about Bethany, she probably deserved it. “Why would you suggest such an indecent thing?”

  He stared at the center of her chest. “Because, the last time the buttons on your blouse strained like that was right after we lost....” The muscles in his throat visibly convulsed and apparently prevented him from finishing his sentence.

  Oh, Lord. He hadn’t been insulting her. He’d been genuinely concerned. And now she felt like a total beeyotch. Even so, she couldn’t handle discussing how huge her breasts had grown after they’d lost the baby she’d ached to hold and nurse. Otherwise, she’d never be able to go back to work.

  Sucking in a deep breath, she mentally steeled herself. “You’ll be happy to hear I’ve simply put on a few pounds.”

  A relieved breath whooshed out of him as he walked around her and spent several moments studying her from the rear. “Well, you’ve put them on in all the right places,” he pronounced, stepping close behind her. Darn him, he smelled good—even with his musky sweat mingling with his aftershave. His br
eath tickled her ear as he whispered, “You’ve never looked sexier, cariño. Doctors could pass out pictures of you, instead of Viagra.”

  Only a horny idiot would get turned on by her excess tonnage. Of course, a slight breeze could excite Nick. His not-so-little soldier had spent so much of their marriage standing at attention she could barely recall what El Capitán looked like at ease. Obviously he hoped his flattery would tempt her to fall flat on her back for him the way she always had.

  From day one, she’d been so hungry for Nick’s love that even the most trivial compliment left her giddy and eager to please him. No way was she letting that happen again. She would resist him even if her frustration killed her.

  Which it probably would.

  Shivering, she spun to face him, determined to deflate his monumental ego. “Obviously, your libido still isn’t very choosey. Just so you know, if I decide to have another baby with anyone, it’ll be with your brother.”

  Nick’s jaw visibly clenched, suggesting her announcement piqued him as much as she’d hoped it would. “Rethinking your choice fifteen years ago?”

  “No. I’d want Justin as my child’s father purely because half his HLA haplotypes are compatible to our daughter’s.”

  “Are you sure? Remember, he’s only my half-brother.”

  “I’m positive. The haplotypes you passed on to Dani came from your mother. Your brother’s screening tests showed he inherited them from her as well, so he has the same twenty-five percent odds as you do for giving me a child who could help Dani.”

  “Not as long as I’m still breathing,” he muttered through his teeth.

  “Then you, my dear EX-husband, may need resuscitation. Because you lost the right to say a blessed thing about whom I choose to sleep with.”

  “Really?” He crossed his arms over his chest. “Last time I checked, the First Amendment was still intact and guarantees my right to free speech.”

  “Speak all you like. Just remember our divorce decree also gives me the freedom to ignore you.” She smirked, reveling in her small but satisfying victory. “Anyway,” she said, deftly changing the subject to offer him the chance to retreat gracefully, “was there a specific reason you stopped at the school?”