by Zoe Mullins
“Everyone was.”
“And this is what you do now?” Rebecca continued to look around.
“Yes, this is what I do.”
“You didn’t go back to drafting. I was surprised you didn’t look for a job at the company.”
“A lot of time has passed since I was a summer student with Steele Construction,” Cait reminded. “And I’m afraid I’ve not kept up my skills. Can I get you a cup of tea?” She gestured to the teapot brewing on the sidebar. Rebecca nodded and Cait poured her a cup.
“What did you do while you were married?”
“Excuse me?” Caitlin asked, unsure of Rebecca’s direction.
“For a job.” Rebecca explained. “You said you didn’t do any drafting.”
Cait smiled. “Mostly I went to parties with Logan, lunched with the partners’ or clients’ wives. In essence I looked good and I said the right things.”
Rebecca laughed. “In other words, perfect training for life in a small town.”
“Yes ma’am.”
“And you are dating my son again.”
“We have become friends again.”
“That’s what he said, but darling, you couldn’t hide it then, and you can’t hide it now.” She sipped her tea. “You were never friends.”
Caitlinsaid nothing in return. She wouldn’t deny it.
Rebecca put down her cup. “I know you think I didn’t like you, Caitlin, and in truth, I was unsupportive of you two dating then, but not for the reasons you think.”
“Ma’am?”
“I knew the first time I saw you and my son together that you were bad news.” Rebecca looked at her long and hard. “I knew that you would break his heart.”
“I left so that I wouldn’t.” Cait really hated rehashing this, and with Jack’s mother of all people.
“Then your plan didn’t work.” Rebecca adjusted her sweater. “I understood you then, and I admired you. Both those boys loved you, and you them. You picked the one who needed you most. It couldn’t have been easy. I understood that.”
Cait swallowed a sip of water. “Then you understood a heck of a lot more than I did.”
“I’m sorry. I should have taken the time to get to know you, to talk to you. I knew you didn’t have a mother to turn to.” Rebecca wrapped her fingers around her teacup, playing with the handle.
“That wasn’t entirely your fault,” Cait conceded. “I had a bit of a chip on my shoulder, having just lost my aunt as well.”
“You know my Jackson never stopped loving you.”
Cait didn’t know what to say to that so she said nothing and waited for Rebecca to continue.
“What I’m trying to say…” Rebecca sighed, sounding weary. “Is that life rarely hands you a second chance. Don’t screw it up.”
Cait’s eyes widened in surprise. “I will try not to, Mrs. Steele.”
“Good.” She nodded, as she walked to the door. “This town always needed a dedicated yoga studio. The classes at the community center or at the fitness center were always hit and miss. There are several women of my acquaintance who would be interested in classes here. Do you offer less vigorous classes?”
“I know Jackson learned yoga from you,” she reminded Rebecca.
“I was considered a bit hippy-dippy in my day,” Rebecca confessed. “My mother-in-law thought me a bad influence.”
“Did you listen to Joan Baez and smoke weed, Mrs. Steele?” Cait winked. She had heard some stories from her aunt though she could scarcely credit them considering the elegant, conservative woman in front of her.
“I may have sowed some wild oats.” Rebecca grinned conspiratorially. “But let’s not tell my children that. I assume it was Jack who first encouraged you to try yoga.”
“Yes.” They smiled at each other. “And I do offer a seniors’ class, though you are probably more advanced than they are. You may like our Hatha and Yin classes.” She handed her a small stack of brochures as she was leaving. Rebecca Steele had a lot of friends.
Cait was going to have to revise her opinion of the woman. The men of that family were larger than life and she always assumed Rebecca was the meek one. She was wrong. Rebecca just might be where all the steel in that family came from.
After Rebecca left, Cait attacked the stack of mail she had dropped on the front counter earlier. A familiar envelope stood out. “Shit,” she cursed, as she slid a nail under the edge, ripping open the side. The note contained one word. Tramp.
She wadded the paper into a tight ball and tossed it and the envelope into the trash. She didn’t know what she could have done to piss someone off that much, though the sentiment had been common in her teens. Not for anything she had done. Back then the epithet referred to her mother whose reputation preceded her.
Someone in town had a long memory, but Cait wasn’t going to be shamed away. This time, she was staying to fight for the life she wanted.
* * * * *
Jackson arrived as his crew was setting up. They planned, he had told her, to make short work of the roof repair. Ben met him in the front and reviewed a few notes with him, while Cait sat on the porch. She hadn’t had many opportunities to watch him in an unguarded moment, so she relished the opportunity now. He and his foreman were obviously good friends. They were at ease together and laughed often. It reminded her of him and Logan.
She caught his eye when he looked up from his clipboard. His hot look gave her goose bumps. He passed the clipboard back to Ben with a nod then joined her on the front porch. She scooted over so he could sit next to her on the narrow steps.
“Well, are your guys ready to start?”
“They are at that, ma’am.” He gave her a boyish grin.
“You and Ben are good friends.”
He turned to look at her. “Yeah, he’s worked for me for quite a while.”
“He’s still in love with Sophie, isn’t he?”
“Has been for years.”
“I’m not sure she’ll let a Dom back into her life,” she told him and Jack nodded. “Does he know about me?” she asked.
“Has he said anything?” Jackson’s brow creased.
“No,” she said, smiling. She reached up and smoothed her hand across his forehead, relieving that worry line. “But I figured if he’s active in the lifestyle he’d know or have guessed.”
“He’s worked for me for the last eight years, and been a Dom about five. I served as his mentor, on the job and off.”
Cait raised her brows. “My, that is close.”
“He’s good at what he does,” he assured her. “Otherwise he wouldn’t be my project manager.”
She looked over at Ben, who was still handling the final inspection of the roofing materials that had been delivered. “Did he recognize me?”
“Oh yeah.” Jackson laughed. “If I hadn’t made my intentions known, you may have had another suitor for sure.”
“Good lord that’s mortifying.”
“It shouldn’t be. And it’s all Sophie’s fault. If she would take her head out of her ass and admit she’s in love with him too, it would all be good.”
“I think that’s going to takea lot of work, and a lot of compromise on his part, ’cause she won’t do it.”
“That’s regrettable and sad. So why don’t you change the subject,” he suggested.
“Your mom came to visit my studio yesterday.”
“What?” Jackson shook his head, tilting it back to the sun. “Oh god, tell me you are kidding.”
“Nope.” She punched him in the arm.
“Why do I suddenly feel about fifteen years old?” He shuddered. “You okay?”
Cait snorted. “That woman is still a pistol.”
“More like an automatic assault rifle. She still rules the roost.”
“She warned me not to hurt you again.”
“That sounds like my mother.” He laughed. “If it’s any consolation, Sophie phoned me today. It started off as an account inquiry and ended with her telling me not
to screw things up with you this time.”
“Did someone take out an ad, or is that just how a small town works and I’ve forgotten.”
“St. Augustin can be a very small town, Caitie-girl.” He leaned over and kissed her temple, brushing her hairback from her face. She smiled, and he continued, whispering in her ear. “So should we give them something to talk about?”
He trailed his lips across her jaw to her mouth, kissing her deeply. She melted into his embrace as his tongue explored her mouth, tasting her. She tangled her fingers in his hair and held him to her.
“Are we back together?” she asked when they finally came up for air.
“I hope it’s moving that way.” He gave her that lazy smile that usually said he knew exactly what he was doing.
“Then why haven’t you…” She looked around to make sure none of his crew were too close. “Stayed the night.”
“I’m trying really hard to respect your need for independence. That means that the first time you come to me, whether my bed or my dungeon, you will need to ask me. You will need to be sure because once you let me in, I’m not leaving.”
She smiled, teasing. “And if I say I’m sure?”
He growled and pulled her to him, his mouth bearing down on hers in another hungry kiss. “I’d say that I’ll pick you up Friday night and you will spend the weekend with me.”
She grinned but that quickly became a frown. “I teachon Saturday.”
“Find someone else to teach the class. This weekend is mine.”
“You think it’s that easy to do. I have someone who watches the boutique for me, but not another teacher who can do that at the drop of a hat.”
“Who’s teaching today?”
“Sophie covered for me. But she can’t do that all the time. She sometimes opens the boutique for me, because I like it to be open at nine, a half hour before class starts, but she has to be at the bank by ten, so she can’t teach this weekend.”
He shook his head, and she felt bad that it wasn’t easier. She hoped in time to add a few other instructors, but she needed to build capacity first. Right now, she only had Sophie or Cheril, and Cheril could only work after her husband got home to take care of their two toddlers.
“Okay then. I will make sure to have you to the studio in time to teach. But I still want you with me Friday night and I’ll pick you up after work on Saturday.”
“Classes end at two on the weekends, so that I can definitely do.” She smiled up at him, happy with his willingness to compromise.
He sighed then kissed her again. “I have to go over to another site.” He reluctantly let go of her hand. “I willsee you on Friday?”
“Yes,” she confirmed, not backing out yet. “Last class ends at seven. I should be able to go by seven-thirty.”
“Can I tempt you with a late dinner at the Wharf when I pick you up?”
“You can tempt me with dinner anywhere.”
He was still holding her hand. “I guess I willsee you then.”
Cait watched as he walked back to his truck. He stopped only briefly to say something to Ben before leaving. He turned to wave as he drove by and she waved back. She couldn’t believe that she had had the guts to say yes.
* * * * *
The crew were ready to call it a day. They had the old shingles off and the structural damage repaired. Cait was impressed with the progress they had made in just one day. Tomorrow they would begin shingling.
Though she likely hadn’t needed to hang around today, but she’d been grateful to have the day off. Getting the studio in shape, she felt as if she had let her house get out of control. She spent the day organizing closets and cleaning out drawers. She even had time to make a batch of muffins that she brought out to the crew after lunch.
Cait also had time to go over a new schedule for the studio. When she first opened, her plan was to offer more classes even if that meant some weren’t full. It meant she was exhausted, but this way she could gauge which were the most popular and which she could cut back. Very quickly, she had been able to see which classes she could eliminate.
The new schedule featured only four classes most weekdays and two on the weekends. She wanted to run the plan by Sophie but she thought Monday, Wednesday and Friday she would run one-hour classes at eight, ten and noon. Then not again until five. On Tuesday and Thursdays, she would offer class at ten and noon, and then four and six. Weekend classes would continue to be at ten and noon.
With Cheril looking after the evening class tonight, Cait changed into a sundress and sandals, tossed her notebook into her purse and got ready to meet Sophie in town.
She opened the front door to find Ben poised to knock. “Sorry,” he apologized. “I just wanted to let you know the crew is done for the day.”
“They did an amazing job,” she complimented him as she locked the front door and joined him on the front step. “You leaving now too?”
“Yeah, the guys will back before nine tomorrow.”
“I have to work tomorrow, but thought I would give you the key, if that’s okay. In case anyone needs the bathroom, or a drink. There will be a pitcher of lemonade in the fridge and cookies on the kitchen table.” She passed him a key on a little, light-green, dyed rabbit’s foot.
“That’s very thoughtful.” He put the key in his pocket. “Hey are you heading into town?”
“I’m meeting Sophie and a few of the girls for drinks and general mayhem.” Her hand smoothed her skirt self-consciously. “I was just going to walk into town.”
“I’ll drive you,” he said.
“It’s okay, it’s not that far.”
“I know it’s not far, but I’ll still drive you.”
She recognized that tone. She wasn’t sure if he meant to use it, in fact she was pretty sure it was automatic. It was all alpha Dom, and she flushed to feel her body and psyche both respond to it. She was nodding her assent before she could stop herself. She sighed and let him help her into the truck.
She sat quietly as he drove the couple of blocks to the waterfront restaurant. “Sophie planning to drive you home?” he asked when they turned onto Main Street.
“Yes. She’s designated driver tonight.”
“If you run into trouble, you callJack or me.” He steered with one hand as he passed her his card. “I mean it, no walking home alone at two a.m.”
“I’m not a child, Ben.”
“I know that, but even in a small town things can happen.”
“Okay, I promise to call.”
He pulled into a parking spot nearby the restaurant. He shut off the engine. “Good enough. Have a good night.”
Cait’s hand was poised over the door handle, when she turned back to him. “Thank you. For the ride, and for not letting on that you recognize me.”
“You know the club is like Vegas. What happens there stays there.”
“Yeah, I know. It’s just…” She graced him with one of her shy smiles. “It’s just that I know it’s a small community here, and I appreciate your discretion.”
“We are a small community, and few will have gone to the clubs that you and Logan attended.” He reached over and squeezed her hand. “You don’t have to worry about anyone saying anything.”
“I know.” She looked at his hand on hers. It was shaky. She was shaky. She didn’t want to think about Logan.
“But?”
“I don’t know,” she said quietly.
Ben looked at her, his eyebrows drawing together. “You need to call Jack.”
“What?” She pulled her hand away from his, and ran her hands through her hair, tucking it behind her ears. “No, I’m fine.”
“Call Jack.” He held his phone out to her.
She stared at it a moment, not wanting to take it. She gave in with an exaggerated sigh. She dialed Jack’s cell.
“I am so stupid,” she admonished herself as it began to ring on his end. Here she was, about to enjoy her first night out in a very long time and she was feeling freake
d out. And obviously it showed enough that Ben thought she needed Jack.
“Hey, Ben, what’s up?”
“Not Ben. It’s Cait.” She sighed.
“What’s wrong, Cait?”
“Nothing,” she promised, feeling foolish. “Bengave me a ride to dinner with Sophie and I’m early.” She fidgeted with her skirt. “He thought I should call you.”
“You have my number in case you need a ride home.”
“Yes, of course, but I won’t be drinking much more than a glass. And Sophie’s the designated driver.”
“It’s always good to have a backup plan anyway, baby girl.”
“That’s what Ben said. He sounded like you.”
There was silence on the end of the line before he said, “Pass Benthe phone.”
She handed the phone over to Ben, annoyed that she would only be able to hear one side of the conversation. “Yeah, she was going to walk. Sure, she’s still a little early. Yeah, she does. No, it’s good. It’s fine. Yeah. I can see that. You sure? Okay.” Her brows knit together in concern.
He passed the phone back to Cait with a gentle smile.
“Hi again,” she said worriedly.
“You feeling confused?”
“Honestly?”
“Always.”
“I’m kinda freaking.”
“No, not freakin’. You’re just anxious, but I’m going to help you through it.” She could hear his smile through his voice. “What are you wearing?”
“I thought you said you were going to help me.”
“This is helping,” he told her. “Now again, what are you wearing?”
“A dress,” she responded.
“What kind of dress?”
“A sundress.”
“Details, darling. Let me visualize you there in the front seat of that big-ass Steele Construction truck. You know I still remember all the naughty things we used to get up to in those trucks.”
She took a deep breath and then described the dress.
“And beneaththe dress?”
She turned slightly from Ben, but didn’t balk at describing her panties and bra to him.
“Good girl,” he praised her, and she felt like an obedient puppy. She told him so but he just laughed.
“I want you to slip your panties off and give them to Ben.”