Harlequin Romance September 2013 Bundle: Bound by a BabyIn the Line of DutyPatchwork Family in the OutbackStranded with the Tycoon

by Kate Hardy

  “So his training’s been a little spotty, but we’re working on it,” Matt said as he stood up. His words were directed at Callie now. “I know he keeps bugging you, and I’m not sure why.”

  Now, after a glimpse of what he’d been through, she felt bad for getting angry with Aldo. “He must know my kids want a dog. Animals are good like that,” she suggested with a slight smile. “How long did it take to get him here?”

  Matt shoved his hands in his pockets. “Four months. A lot of people did a lot of work to bring him home, and other dogs like him. Cats, too. They’re still doing it, but funds are an issue. It’s a miserable, miserable thing, to be an animal on the streets there.”

  She didn’t doubt it. “You saved him.”

  “You can’t save everyone,” he said quietly. She reached out on impulse, and laid her hand on his arm, wishing she could erase the haunted look from his eyes, wondering what he’d seen. He didn’t look at her, but he did touch her hand with his free one. She snatched hers back and tucked it in her pocket. Time to change the subject and break the sense of intimacy.

  She cleared her throat. “He’s great with kids. Whoa, Liam, we can’t sit on the dog, honey. Pats only.”

  Matt slid her a sideways glance. “You said they want a dog?”

  Callie sighed. “Yes. Of course they do.” Didn’t all little boys?

  “Not happening?”

  She shook her head. “We’re gone all day. That’s a long time for an animal to be alone. I’d hate to kennel him or her, and I’d be responsible for walking, feeding, cleaning up. The boys are not big enough to do that themselves yet, and I have enough chores to see to as it is. So, no dog for us.”

  “Makes sense.” Matt didn’t press or make her feel judged for turning down her kids’ fondest wish. “I had a dog when I was a little older than Eli. Jason always wanted one. He bugged his parents relentlessly.”

  The casual mention of her husband had her gaze shooting to his. Matt was watching her closely, clearly aware he’d crossed an invisible line she’d drawn. No mention of my husband. She swallowed.

  “I know. His parents told me.”

  Matt took a step closer and inclined his head so he couldn’t be heard over the boys’ giggling. The closeness raised goose bumps on her arms that had nothing to do with the March chill. “I’m not sure what I’m supposed to say—or not say—about Jason. He was my best friend growing up. I have stories about him that your boys might like to hear. But I don’t want to overstep any boundaries. It’s totally up to you.”

  Callie looked down at the sidewalk. He had a point. Letting him in meant he’d be in her life, her kids’ lives, with all the associated risks. She wasn’t sure how she felt about that. Still, was it fair to use her mixed feelings to prevent them from learning more about their dad?

  Of course not.

  Knowing what she did now—that he’d moved heaven and earth to save a dog—she realized she viewed Matt in a slightly different light. She’d been trying to keep him at arm’s length. Looking for a reason to do it, to hold him away, to try to keep these jumbled, unwelcome feelings at bay. The story about Aldo had taken a chunk out of her resolve.

  It didn’t mean she had to do anything about these weird feelings. They’d probably go away on their own, anyway.

  So she’d let him spend limited time with her boys. It would be good for all of them.

  “Can you—can you come over for dinner? Tomorrow?” The words fell out in a rush, before she lost her nerve. “It’s not a date. Just to spend a little time with the kids. It won’t be fancy. I’ll make mac and cheese. From scratch. Or I can do something else.” Realizing she was babbling, she fell silent, and wished the earth would swallow her up. Why had she blurted out that it wasn’t a date? Of course it wasn’t.

  He held her gaze. “I like mac and cheese. And I accept your kind invitation.”

  “Okay.” She nodded. Why on earth had she said the d word? “We eat early—what time do you get home?”

  “I can be home by five-thirty,” he said.

  “So, say, by six? That’s as late as I can hold the boys off,” she said.

  “That’s fine.”

  She looked at Aldo, who was happily lapping up the love from her boys. “He can come, too. If he’s well behaved.”

  Matt flashed her that grin she was starting to dread, because it made parts of her weak that had no business being weak. “He is.”

  “Okay, then. All right, guys, time to go home and get a snack.”

  “Miss Colleen gave us one before we left, and you say we can only have one snack before dinner,” Eli pointed out, and Callie ground her teeth together. Every single other day, they wanted a snack every five minutes. Today, when she was willing to use it as a bribe, they failed her.

  Matt shot her a look of amusement. “Your mom’s saying it’s time to go,” he said smoothly, and she sighed. Apparently she was transparent, as well. “And I’ve got to get Aldo home, too.”

  “Can we take him for a walk sometime?” Eli asked hopefully.

  Callie frowned at him. “Eli! Where are your manners?”

  He frowned back at her, then brightened. “Please?”

  Matt started to cough, which Callie guessed was an attempt to hide a laugh. Her own lips twitched in spite of herself. “While that’s better, I meant that we don’t just invite ourselves along. And it’s time to go home. We haven’t even made it into the house yet and we’ve been gone all day.” To Matt she said, “Thanks for bringing Aldo over. They clearly enjoyed it.”

  He sent her a slow smile, as if he knew she was running away. “I don’t mind.” He gave Aldo a tug on the leash and the dog stood up reluctantly. “See you tomorrow.”

  “Yeah, see you,” she muttered as he walked away. She did not watch him go. Instead, she herded her boys up the sidewalk and into their own house. The usual winter chaos of shedding coats and boots and backpacks, and hanging everything up where it should go, made her feel as if she had four kids instead of two.

  But it wasn’t enough to distract her from the fact she’d invited Matt to dinner.

  * * *

  “I want a dog like Aldo,” Eli said wistfully the next morning, and Callie sighed. This was the hundredth time since last night she’d heard them mention a dog.

  “I know, sweetie. But we can’t take care of one right now. Did you brush your teeth?” When he nodded too swiftly, because she knew him so well, she pressed, “With toothpaste?”

  He shot her a look that said busted and headed back to the bathroom. Callie couldn’t help but grin. He was a sneaky one, her Eli. She had to be very specific when it came to things he didn’t particularly enjoy. According to her mother-in-law, Jason had been the same way as a child.

  Callie helped Liam get dressed and took him in to brush his teeth, as well. “Doggie?” he asked hopefully, and she tapped him under the chin, looking into his big brown eyes.

  “Not right now.” To redirect him, and try to avoid a meltdown, she asked, “Is Mr. P in your backpack?”

  He trotted off in search of the stuffed penguin. Callie shut her eyes for just a moment and leaned on the vanity. She was going to have to do something to shut down this dog thing. It was so hard to say no to them, but as she’d told Matt, they were gone almost all day. That wasn’t good for a dog. They could probably manage a cat, but even that she felt guilty about. And none of it was easy to explain to little kids.

  Everything gathered, she herded the boys out the door and over to Colleen’s. Callie left them with hugs and kisses, and headed to work.

  There had been a time when she and Jason had discussed opening her own salon. After the kids were a little bigger, they’d agreed. Well, they were bigger, and she still hadn’t taken the strides to pursue the dream. Wasn’t sure if she wanted to anymore. Wasn’t sure why she wouldn�
�t want to.

  Lori knew it had been in her future plans, but didn’t press her in any way. She’d never discouraged her dream, but had stated she’d hate to lose Callie as an employee. And it was comfortable, working at the Time For You Salon. The routine, the clients she loved, Lori as her friend and boss. None of it involved any real risk to herself, that could end up with her and her boys on the street if she failed. There was no Jason with a financial safety net to fall back on if it didn’t work out.

  So she’d filed the dream away.

  And tried to ignore the little twinge of regret.

  * * *

  “She said it wasn’t a date? Interesting,” Marley commented, and exchanged a glance with Brice.

  Matt looked up at his friend’s wife—and fellow guide—sharply. “Why do you say that?”

  “Because if she has to frame it as a non-date, she was thinking of it as a date.” When he blinked at her, Marley leaned over and smacked his arm lightly. “Matt. Follow along. She’s making her boundaries clear. She’s doing that because either she’s getting vibes from you or she’s trying to convince herself it’s what she wants.”

  He tipped his chair back. “I’ve never gotten any vibes from her.” Not true. She’d been giving off stay-back vibes from day one. She’d all but busted out a cross and garlic. But that was a blow to the ego he didn’t need to share.

  Marley raised a brow. “Then you’re giving them off.”

  Matt shook his head. “I don’t think so, Marley. I knew her husband. We were neighbors, best friends when we were kids. I was in their wedding, for God’s sake. So no. There are no vibes.” How stupid was he to bring it up to Marley? When she’d invited him to dinner with her and Brice, he should have said no and left it at that, instead of saying he was going to Callie’s.

  Marley looked at him for a long moment, then shook her head. “She feels threatened by something or she wouldn’t lay it out straight like that. And no wonder. All that history with her husband. Is she going to...” She paused.

  “Is she going to what?”

  “Confuse you with him?”

  Matt’s gut clenched. “I don’t think so. Jason and I, we were nothing alike.”

  The phone rang and Marley got up to answer it. “Just be careful.”

  Her words rang in his head after she left. Was Callie feeling threatened by something? What it could be, he didn’t know. The only real contact they’d had centered around Aldo, and a couple brief and awkwardly polite conversations. Nothing truly personal. Sure, he found her appealing and was definitely attracted to her, but he wasn’t going to let on or act on it. She was as off-limits as a woman could get. And he wasn’t interested in getting involved with her, anyway.

  Was he?

  CHAPTER FOUR

  CALLIE STARED AT the mess in the living room the next evening. It sure hadn’t taken long for Eli and Liam to make it appear as though a tornado had slammed through their toys. It didn’t matter, it didn’t matter, she chanted in her head. This was just a friendly dinner. Still. She couldn’t help herself. “Boys, can you please put the Legos back in the boxes? We don’t want Mr. Bowden to step on them.” Or the dog to eat them, for that matter. She’d let them leave the plastic containers in the living room. To have it too clean was to risk having him think she’d gone to a lot of trouble for him and it was just a friendly dinner.

  Clearly, she had some issues.

  The clatter of the plastic blocks hitting the boxes followed her into the kitchen. She’d made mac and cheese as promised. From scratch, using her mother’s recipe. It was a dish the kids loved, and it smelled divine. She had the fixings for a salad, as well. The whole meal was pretty easy, which was good, because she kept getting distracted by the thought of Matt in her house, sitting at her table.

  Deep breath.

  The timer went off, five minutes before he was due to arrive. She pulled the steaming dish out of the oven and placed it carefully on the stove top.

  “Is it ready, Mama? We’re hungry,” Eli said, standing a safe distance from the oven.

  “Almost,” she said with a smile. “Why don’t you guys wash up and then he should be here. We’ll eat right after that.”

  “All right!” Eli shouted as he turned and headed back to Liam. Callie’s smile slipped. Was she doing the right thing, bringing this man into her children’s lives? What if they got attached, something happened and he had to leave? She had no reason to think he was staying. Hadn’t Jason said the army suited Matt because he didn’t like being tied down?

  “Just a friendly dinner,” she mumbled to herself, and her pulse jumped when the doorbell rang. She laid a hand on her belly and took a deep breath to settle her nerves as she walked to the door. She pulled it open and flat-out forgot to breathe. He wore jeans and a plaid oxford shirt, and smelled so good she thought she’d tip forward right into him. Aldo stood next to him, tail wagging like crazy. He had a spiffy blue bandanna tied around his neck.

  “Hi,” she said, and sounded only a little breathy.

  “Hi.” His voice was amused, and she snapped out of her idiocy and stepped back as the boys came running into the room. He held a bakery box. “Cookies from The Sweet Stop. I figured that was better than wine, what with the kids and all. That okay?”

  She accepted the box and shut the door behind him. A glass of wine might very well have taken the edge off this evening. But she was truly touched by his thoughtfulness. “Perfect. The kids’ll love them. Thank you.”

  The boys came closer. Eli zeroed in on the bakery box. “Oh, look, Liam! Cookies!” Identical pleading gazes swung from the box to her face. “Can we have one?”

  “Not until after dinner,” she told them, and nodded to Matt. “You can put your coat on the back of the chair there. Aldo is welcome to hang out here.”

  “Can we pet him?” Eli asked, and Matt nodded, unsnapping the leash.

  “Sure.” He grinned as both boys practically fell on the dog.

  “Good thing I had them wash up for dinner,” Callie said with a rueful little laugh as she started for the kitchen.

  “Oh.” Matt stopped, looked back, chagrin clear on his face. “Sorry. I didn’t think about that.”

  Of course he hadn’t; he wasn’t a parent. “It’s fine. Sit down, guys,” she called over her shoulder. “You can pet him after we eat.” To Matt she added, “You can have a seat.”

  But he followed her into the kitchen. “I can’t let you serve me,” he said, when she turned to protest. He stood so close, all she could smell was his scent. His words were teasing, but his eyes were—well, not so much. There was a heat in them she wasn’t ready for. She swallowed hard. There really wasn’t anywhere for her to go if she stepped back. And darn it, she didn’t want to step back.

  “Um. Okay.” She spun around quickly and pulled the plates out of the cupboard. “I’ll dish it up, you can serve it. That work for you?” Her voice was a little too high and her hand a little too unsteady, so the plates rattled against each other as she set them down. Matt stepped back and she moved around him to grab the salad. She pulled out two bottles of salad dressing, ranch and Italian. “Which, if either, do you like?”

  “Ranch is fine,” he said. “Do the kids get any?”

  “Eli does. Liam’s not really a fan.”

  He chuckled and the sound hit her down low. Very, very low. Goodness.

  She turned to the stove and managed to dish up the fragrant, gooey casserole without spilling any. Her handoffs to Matt were carefully managed so she didn’t accidentally touch his hand. If he noticed she was being overly careful in her movements, he didn’t let on.

  “What would you like to drink?” she asked him as she turned to the fridge. “I don’t really have any man drinks.” She hadn’t stopped to buy anything, either, thinking it would be too much. In fact, she’d done a
great job of overthinking everything about what was supposed to be just a friendly dinner.

  He arched a brow as she put the half gallon of chocolate milk on the counter. “Man drinks? I can’t have chocolate milk, too?”

  Her face burned. That had been a stupid way to put it. “Oh. Of course you can.”

  He moved in a little closer. “I’m just teasing,” he said softly. “I’m sorry. Water is fine.”

  She busied herself with the drinks and was relieved when Matt left the kitchen. She gathered up the glasses and joined them at the table. Aldo, she noticed, had lain down underneath it. He didn’t lift his head from his paws, but he did thump his tail.

  Both boys were peering under the table.

  She managed not to smile. “Guys. You need to eat, then you can play with Aldo. Okay?”

  Matt jumped in. “He doesn’t mind waiting. I fed him before we came over here.” To Callie, he said, “This is great. I’ve only ever had mac and cheese from a box.”

  She laughed. “I’ll make sure I tell my mom. It’s her recipe. Usually if the kids have mac and cheese, it’s from a box. But this version—” she stopped herself from saying is for special occasions and finished “—is for company.”

  Eli was not to be deterred by small talk. “We can’t have a dog.” This was accompanied by a sideways look at Callie. She took a bite of her mac and cheese to cover her smile.

  Matt glanced at her casually. “Your dad wanted a dog when he was a kid, too.”

  Eli’s eyes got huge. “He did? How do you know?”

  Callie held her breath. This was what worried her, bringing Jason in so suddenly like this. Matt smiled at Eli. “We were neighbors when we were growing up, like you and I are now.”

  “Our dad died,” Eli told him. “That means he’s not here anymore, but he watches us from heaven.”

  Callie’s throat tightened at the matter-of-fact delivery, and she saw a mirror of her own sorrow flash across Matt’s face. “I know,” he said and his voice was steady. “But he and I were best friends from the time we were your age, Eli.”