by Diana Palmer
When he closed the door behind his family, he turned to see Kaylee watching him. She looked a bit uncertain, and he knew she was mulling over what he’d said about them taking things slowly.
“Kaylee, I—”
“I think it’s time this little lady got ready for bed,” she said, interrupting him. She held out her hands to take Amber. “It’s been a big evening.”
Realizing that Kaylee was talking about herself as much as she was Amber, Colt hugged and kissed Amber’s baby-soft cheek. “Sleep tight, pixie.” Reluctantly handing her to Kaylee, he asked, “Do you need help?”
Kaylee shook her head. “She’s normally easy to get to sleep.” Starting toward the stairs, she turned back. “I’m, um, pretty tired. I think I’ll turn in for the night, too. Thank you for the evening out. I’ll see you at breakfast tomorrow morning. Good night.”
“’Night,” Colt said, watching Kaylee hurry up the stairs with Amber.
He shook his head when she disappeared down the hall. Kaylee needed time to come to the same conclusion he’d reached earlier in the evening. They would never—could never—be “just” friends. Thinking back on it, he wasn’t sure they ever had been.
Kaylee handed Colt a small weight. “I’m going to warn you before we start the next phase of your therapy, I won’t tolerate your trying to lift anything heavier than this. Understand?”
“I can lift more than this thing with my little finger,” he said, testing the three-pound weight in his left hand.
“You’d better not,” she said sternly. She knew if she didn’t lay down the law now, he would push for more and end up reinjuring himself.
“Aw, come on, honey. I know I can lift twice this much.” His charming grin caused her pulse to take off at breakneck speed. “The least you can do is let me try.”
She hardened herself to his supplicating expression and shook her head. “Not until we see if doing the biceps curls are going to bother you.”
“They won’t.”
“Do three sets of ten with these weights, then we’ll talk,” she said, refusing to budge.
He stared at her with narrowed eyes as if trying to intimidate her. Fortunately she wasn’t that easily coerced.
“Oh, all right,” he finally said, glaring at her as he plopped onto the weight bench.
Watching him begin the exercise, Kaylee tried to remind herself that he was like any other patient she’d worked with. But she knew she was only fooling herself. Colt could never be just another person to her. Ever.
If she hadn’t known that before, she would have after last night. He’d kissed her before, but never like he had after they returned home from their evening in Laramie. When he’d pressed his lips to hers, then deepened the kiss, it had felt as if fireworks had been ignited in her soul. And if that hadn’t been enough to convince her, what he’d told her afterward certainly would have. He’d said not to be afraid of what was happening between them, that they were going to take things slowly and not rush into anything they weren’t ready for this time.
This time.
Two very simple little four-letter words with the power to scare her as little else could. She shivered at the thought of what they implied.
Colt had indicated, in a roundabout way, that he wanted them to explore a relationship that went well beyond friendship. But could she do that? Would she be able to survive if it didn’t work out for them?
Three years ago, the only thing that had kept her going after losing her brother and having Colt walk away had been Amber. Kaylee had focused on her pregnancy, then after Amber’s birth, she’d concentrated all of her energy into being the best mother she could be. And it had worked. She’d picked up the pieces of her life and moved on because Colt hadn’t been around to remind her that she’d put her heart on the line and lost.
But this time, everything would be different. Now that he knew about their daughter, Kaylee would see him on a regular basis when he came to visit Amber.
And what would happen if things did work out between them? Would she be able to accept what he did for a living?
When she’d lost Mitch to the sport of bull riding, she’d lost her only living relative, and it had very nearly been the end of her. But how would she survive if something happened to Colt? The thought was so frightening she had to wrap her arms around herself to ward off the chill.
“Kaylee, are you okay?”
When she glanced up, she was surprised to see that Colt was standing right in front of her. “Y-yes, I’m fine. I was…thinking about the next phase of your therapy,” she lied.
He stared at her a moment before shaking his head. “No you weren’t.” Tracing his finger down her cheek, he gave her a smile so tender that her toes curled inside her cross-trainers. “We both need to stop dancing around what we’re really thinking, Kaylee. Being up front and honest with each other is the only way we’re going to have a chance of making it work out this time around.” He leaned forward to lightly brush her lips with his. “And I want that chance, honey.”
A shiver of longing coursed through her at his touch. “Really, I was just—”
She stopped abruptly to stare into his brilliant blue eyes. He was right. If they were going to attempt a relationship, it had to be based on complete honesty. She’d already admitted to herself that she still cared for him—had never stopped caring for him—but did she have the courage to tell him? Did she dare open herself up to the possibility of more heartbreak? “What do you want, Kaylee?” he asked, his voice gentle. “Tell me what’s really going on in that pretty little head of yours.”
Staring up at him, she knew what she wanted—what she had always wanted. “I—I’m afraid, Colt.”
He immediately wrapped her in his arms and pulled her to his wide chest. “Honey, I know it’s scary. But anything worth having is always risky.” His hands caressed her with a reverence that brought tears to her eyes. “And we’ll never know what we could have together if we don’t give it a try.”
The feel of his strength surrounding her, the soothing sound of his deep baritone and the steady beat of his heart beneath her ear gave her the courage she needed to tell him what was in her heart. “The thought of failing scares me to death, but I’m even more frightened of never knowing what we could have together.” Leaning back to look up into his handsome face, she took a deep breath. “Yes, Colt. I’d like to see where this leads us.”
As Colt flipped through the channels, Amber sat up in his lap and pointed at the television. “Mato!”
“You want to watch this?” he asked as an animated tomato and cucumber scooted across the screen.
“Yes, yes, yes,” she said as she shook her head in a negative gesture.
“Okay, pixie,” he said, kissing the top of her head and settling back in his recliner. “We’ll watch this until Mommy says it’s time for you to go to bed.”
He frowned as he watched the vegetables sing, dance and crack jokes. Cartoons sure had changed a lot since he was a little kid. Whatever happened to the good old days when cars, trucks and airplanes transformed into robots, or lions, tigers and panthers talked and fought skeleton-like villains?
But several minutes later, Colt found himself laughing out loud at a talking stalk of broccoli. “This is pretty good stuff, pixie.”
Giggling, Amber scrambled up his chest, placed her little hands on his cheeks and gave him a sloppy baby kiss.
“How are you two doing?” Kaylee asked, walking into the family room from the kitchen.
“I can see now why you decorated Amber’s room with these characters,” Colt said, grinning. “She loves this show.”
“From the way you were laughing, I think you’re getting just as big of a kick out of it,” Kaylee said, smiling back at him.
Colt swallowed hard. How in the name of Sam Hill was he going to keep his hands to himself if she kept turning that killer smile on him?
After their talk this afternoon, he’d told himself it was more important than ever for them no
t to rush into anything. They needed to let their feelings for each other build slowly in order to be certain that when they made love it was right for both of them.
But now he wasn’t sure that was going to be an option. Not when he found everything Kaylee said, every move she made, sexy as hell. And just knowing they would eventually be exploring the chemistry that had always simmered between them was enough to keep him in a constant state of arousal.
“Colt, did you hear me?” she asked, picking up Amber.
He shook his head. “Sorry, I was thinking about something I need…to do.”
“I asked if you would mind watching Amber on Monday morning while I go to the mall with Annie and Samantha,” Kaylee said patiently.
“Sure.” Turning the television off, he rose from the chair. “But I thought you were supposed to go some afternoon.”
Kaylee nodded. “We were. But Annie has an early doctor’s appointment and wondered if Samantha and I would like to go shopping afterward and then have lunch.”
When she started toward the stairs, he followed her. “Do you want to take my credit card?”
“No.”
“Wait a minute,” he said, taking hold of her arm. He removed his wallet from his hip pocket. “I want you to get some more stuff for Amber’s room.”
“What kind of stuff?” she asked, frowning as she accepted the plastic card.
He shrugged. “Toys, stuffed animals, clothes, whatever you think she’d like.” Leaning down, he kissed Amber’s cheek. “Sleep tight, little pixie.” He brushed Kaylee’s lips with his, then added, “After you get her to bed, come back downstairs.”
The phone rang before she could answer. “You’d better get that while I get Amber into bed,” she said, turning to go upstairs.
Cursing the caller’s timing, Colt watched Kaylee’s delightful little bottom as she climbed the stairs. When the phone rang for the third time, he marched into his office and snatched the cordless unit from its base. “What?”
“Did I interrupt something, little brother?” Morgan asked without missing a beat.
Colt blew out a frustrated breath. “Did anyone ever tell you how lousy your timing is?”
Morgan’s hearty laughter echoed in Colt’s ear. “I seem to remember Brant saying something similar the first time he brought Annie to the Lonetree.”
“Well, he was right,” Colt said, his anger over the interruption beginning to cool. “What’s up, bro?”
“I’ve got some news about that buckskin mare you wanted me and Brant to find.”
Colt perked up immediately. “Is she for sale?”
“Not anymore,” Morgan said, sounding quite pleased. “Unless, of course, you intend to sell her.”
“Nope.” Relieved that Kaylee’s horse had been found, Colt grinned. “Where did you find her?”
“Down in the Texas panhandle. When the guy at the sale barn Kaylee had used to sell the Lazy S livestock told us the buyer was from down that way, Brant got in touch with his old rodeo buddy Cooper Adams.” Morgan chuckled. “Two hours later we knew who owned her, and how much it would take to buy her.”
“I’ve always liked Coop,” Colt said, grinning. “How soon can I go down to pick her up?”
“You don’t have to,” Morgan answered. Colt could hear the smile in his brother’s voice. “Cooper’s sister, Jenna, and her husband, Flint, are heading up to Denver for a horse show anyway. They’re going to load the mare in their horse trailer and bring her with them. Brant and I are going to drive down Monday morning to get her.”
Colt couldn’t have asked for more. “I owe you and Brant one.”
“We were glad to help you find the mare,” Morgan said seriously. “We knew Mitch gave it to Kaylee and how much the horse meant to her.”
“Thanks, Morgan.”
After they said goodbye, Colt walked out of the study and, taking the stairs two at a time, strode purposefully down the hall to Amber’s room. He couldn’t wait to let Kaylee know about her horse.
“Kaylee, I’ve got something to tell you,” he said, entering his daughter’s dimly lit bedroom.
He found Kaylee sitting in the rocking chair on the far side of the room, slowly rocking Amber. She placed her index finger to her lips to silence him. “She just went to sleep,” she whispered.
“Sorry,” he mouthed, walking over to stand next to them.
As he watched Kaylee cuddle Amber to her, his chest tightened and he forgot all about the reason he’d sought her out. If he lived to be as old as Methuselah he didn’t think he’d ever see a more beautiful sight.
When Kaylee moved to get up from the chair, Colt reached out to take his sleeping daughter from her. His hand brushed Kaylee’s breast as he lifted Amber into his arms and he barely managed to suppress a groan.
“I told you this afternoon not to lift anything heavier than the three-pound weight,” Kaylee whispered hotly.
He chuckled. “And I told you I could lift that much with my little finger,” he said just as quietly.
He wasn’t going to tell her about the little twinge he’d felt in his shoulder. It wasn’t anything significant and he’d much rather savor the moment of helping Kaylee put their little girl to bed.
Laying Amber down, he smiled as Kaylee covered her with a colorful quilt. “Thank you, honey.”
Straightening, she frowned. “What for?”
Colt took her into his arms. “For giving me the most precious gift a woman can give a man—his child.”
Kaylee rested her head against his chest and wrapped her arms around his waist as they both stared down at their sleeping daughter. “I should be thanking you,” she said softly. “Amber is the best thing that’s ever happened to me. From the moment I suspected I was pregnant with her, I was thrilled.”
Her quiet statement seemed to rob him of breath. All things considered, most women would have been fit to be tied by an unexpected pregnancy. But Kaylee had been happy about him making her pregnant?
“Why, Kaylee?” he asked, needing to know. “Why were you happy at the prospect of having a baby?”
She leaned back to stare up at him. Uncertainty clouded her violet gaze a moment before she took a deep breath and whispered, “Because I knew the baby was a part of you.”
Colt’s heart stalled, then took off at a dead run. Kaylee had welcomed his child, loved and nurtured her, even before she’d known for sure that Amber was growing in her belly.
His knees threatened to buckle and he had a hard time expressing how much her admission meant to him. Groaning, he simply lowered his mouth to hers, letting her know without words what he was feeling.
At the first touch of Kaylee’s sweet lips to his, Colt’s temperature shot skyward and a lazy warmth began to gather in the pit of his stomach. But when he deepened the kiss, every nerve in his body sparked to life and a shimmering heat began to race through his veins.
Bringing his hand up along her side, he gently cupped her breast and was rewarded by her soft moan vibrating against his mouth. The sound sent his pulse into overdrive and his good intentions right out the window.
He’d told her they would allow their feelings to build before they took the next step in their relationship. But it had been three long years since he’d made love to her, and the need to once again make Kaylee his tightened his body to an almost painful state and clouded his mind.
Taking things slowly was no longer an option for them. As she melted against him, Colt wasn’t sure that it had ever been. He wanted Kaylee with a need that staggered him and he sensed that the same hunger that had seized him, had her in its grips, as well.
When he broke the kiss and lifted his head, he glanced at their daughter, then at the woman in his arms. “I want to make love with you, Kaylee. I want to be buried so deeply inside of you that we both lose sight of where I end and you begin.” He brushed a lock of auburn hair from her satiny cheek. “Is that what you want?”
Indecision crossed her lovely features, and just when he thought she
was going to tell him she wasn’t ready to take that step, she closed her eyes and nodded. “I’ve never wanted anything more in my life than to be loved by you, Colt.”
Chapter Eight
Kaylee watched Colt’s vivid blue gaze darken. Then, releasing her, he stepped back to take her by the hand. “Let’s go to my room, honey.”
Her stomach fluttered as if a thousand tiny butterflies had been unleashed inside of her and her knees felt like rubber as she let Colt lead her out of Amber’s room and down the hall. A tiny part of her was frightened that she could very easily be making the biggest mistake of her life, that she might be setting herself up for more of the same shattering disappointment she’d experienced three years ago. But her heart told her that she’d never really had a choice in the matter. From the moment she’d first laid eyes on Colt Wakefield fourteen years ago, she’d loved him.
When they entered his bedroom, he walked over to the bedside table and switched on the lamp, then turned to face her. “Kaylee, I don’t want you feeling pressured.” He gently cupped her cheeks with his hands. “If you’re not ready for this, I want you to tell me now. I don’t ever want you to regret making love with me.”
She took a deep breath as she gazed into his eyes and told him what she knew in her heart to be true. “I won’t regret making love with you, Colt.”
He stared at her for endless seconds, then pulled her to him. She felt a shudder run through his body at the same moment a groan rumbled up from deep in his chest. “You can’t imagine how much that means to me, honey.”
Before she could respond he covered her mouth with his and Kaylee felt as if the butterflies in her stomach had gone absolutely berserk. But when he traced her lips with his tongue, then entered her mouth to stroke her with a rhythm that left her breathless, the fluttering sensation spread to every cell of her being.
Tasting Colt’s passion, feeling his strong arousal pressed to her soft lower belly, made her knees wobble and she found that she had to cling to him to keep from melting into a puddle at his feet. She’d always thought his kiss was devastating, but this time she could tell that he held nothing back, and she felt branded by the extent of his hunger.