Sugar Springs

by Kim Law

  She would probably be reluctant to leave.

  He looked around the diner, taking in the Wednesday late-lunch crowd, and admitted that staying wouldn’t be the evil he’d once imagined. But it wasn’t ideal either. There was not only the matter of being unable to step outside his door without hearing about it two hours later, but also the fact that he had no long-term job. He couldn’t be the man he needed to be without a job that made him proud. He owed that much to his mentor.

  The job situation, though, could eventually be remedied. There was more than one animal clinic or hospital within an hour’s drive of Sugar Springs, so it would simply be a matter of being patient and waiting for an opportunity to open up.

  Again, not ideal but doable.

  The bigger issue was Sugar Springs itself. Did he want to commit to it? Forever? Because that’s what it would be. The town was as much a person as anyone living in it. You couldn’t up and move there if you weren’t willing to deal with all its faults at the same time.

  And, he had to admit, its bonuses. The place wasn’t bad. Just nosy.

  But what happened if the truce the townspeople seemed to have called on him was revoked for some reason? And yes, there had been a truce. It had started about the same time he’d realized he wanted more from Lee Ann than a past. He’d been pretending he hadn’t noticed, but with the number of patients rapidly picking back up, he couldn’t ignore it.

  The thing was, there was zero chance he could go through the remainder of his life without making another idiotic, fool mistake. Would they turn on him when he did? He wasn’t born and bred there, so he had to believe that would always be a possibility. He shoved a bite of shredded pork barbeque in his mouth simply to keep from growling out loud. Life could be so frustrating.

  Then there was the other option. Could he convince Lee Ann to go with him? And if so, where?

  He could see her not wanting the constant travel because of the kids, but he could also see benefits of that as well. As long as they weren’t too disrupted during school, they would get a greater appreciation of the country than they could ever get there. And Lee Ann would be exposed to many opportunities for her photography. Though she claimed to be happy with her studio, he knew that deep down that wasn’t making her the kind of happy she deserved to be.

  So yeah, the idea had merit.

  A plate of fries hit the table in front of him, and Holly plopped onto the opposite bench.

  “You don’t head over for lunch often,” she said, stating the obvious.

  He grabbed a couple of her fries. “Blocked the afternoon out to have a few hours off.”

  “That so? Wouldn’t have thought you’d be able to, what with Sam Jenkins now singing your praises.” She dumped a load of ketchup over the cut potatoes. “Heard business had picked right back up after you got his dog straightened out.”

  He grunted, not in the mood for company or to talk about Sam Jenkins. The day he’d come to the clinic, the man had worn him out. Cody must have proven himself, though, because from what he’d heard, Holly was right. Sam had been singing his praises.

  That would stop, too, the moment he did something someone didn’t like.

  He peeked under the table to see what kind of shoes Holly was wearing, since he’d had to skip coming in for breakfast to get an earlier start. Well-worn purple cowboy boots went with today’s ensemble. And nothing else about her attire was purple. He said nothing but noted her satisfied grin that he’d checked them out.

  “I had some things I needed to do today,” he said. He reached over and took another fry. “We rearranged the schedule, but you can rest assured no one was left untreated.”

  “I don’t doubt your work ethic—that’s been clear since you got here.” Half her Diet Coke disappeared before she continued. “What I’m wondering is what’s got the long look on your face. After all, you’re sleeping with Lee Ann now. Shouldn’t you be smiling about that?”

  Irritation burned in his chest. “Is there honestly nothing that can be kept secret in this town?”

  She shrugged, looking a little put out at the fact herself. “Afraid not, Doc.”

  It didn’t matter that people knew. He and Lee Ann were doing nothing he was ashamed of. But it did bother him that people were talking. It was nobody’s business, but also it would get back to the girls. He didn’t want them thinking less of their mother for a behavior he was pretty sure she’d do her best to discourage when they got just a bit older. Lord knew he’d be discouraging it.

  He had to find a solution to the problem just to keep the kids from thinking his and Lee Ann’s actions had to do with anything other than love.

  “So what’s eating you?” Holly’s tone changed. It took on a deeper sincerity and he realized that when he left, he would miss her, too. She’d become a good friend.

  “Just thinking about...things.”

  Grass-green eyes remained steady on him. “They’ve sucked you in, haven’t they? You’re going to stay. I can’t say that makes me unhappy because I’d love to see Lee Ann and the girls with you. They deserve a guy like you. But man, am I the only one who honestly wants out of this place?”

  “I didn’t say that.” The skin around his mouth tightened, keying him in on the fact he was frowning.

  “But that is what you’re thinking about, isn’t it?”

  He sent her a dirty look, but she only laughed.

  “How the hell do you always know what I’m thinking?” he grumbled. Her mouth burst into a smile, and he realized she wasn’t wearing her signature bright red lipstick. She looked good without it.

  “I told you, I’m rarely wrong. I read people.” One shoulder lifted in a small shrug. “It’s a gift.”

  “Then what are you doing hiding it here? Thought you wanted to get out. Move to a bigger city, and you could find all number of people to read.”

  Why was he fussing at her to move? Was he afraid he wasn’t going to get out, so he wanted to make sure someone did? That was a disturbing thought.

  “I could,” she told him. “And I will someday. Just need to find the right time. But I didn’t sit down here to talk about me.”

  He ignored her. Not in the mood to put his feelings out on the table for her to pick at.

  “What are you gonna do, Doc? You plan to make an honest woman out of our Lee Ann? Be a daddy to those kids?”

  He looked at her then, and caught that she was once again serious. She was worried he was going to hurt all of them. Friend or not, he suspected hurting any one of them would be a nail in his coffin when it came to being tolerated in Sugar Springs. She would lead his march out of town.

  “I’m already a daddy to those kids,” he muttered. “And what I’m going to do is dance with them at their birthday party next weekend. Then I’ll continue being the best father I possibly can, though I still don’t know what I’m doing. I’m winging it, Holly. But I love it. I am a daddy to them, and I always will be.”

  She nodded, seeming to accept that he would be in their lives one way or another. A few seconds later, when he continued to ignore the other part of her question, she leaned down so that her face was directly in front of his. “And Lee Ann? What are you going to do about her?”

  He shook his head. He had no idea what he was going to do. The thought of staying turned his stomach upside down. And, he had to admit, it was mostly fear that he didn’t belong there and would never really fit in. But the thought of leaving was just as bad.

  “I can promise you one thing,” he finally said. “She has the power to hurt me as bad as I do her. So just keep that in mind as you’re sitting there considering what catastrophes you want to befall me if this doesn’t play out right.”

  She sat back in her seat and watched him through narrowed slits of eyes, then gave a small nod. “Oh, yeah, you’ve got it bad. That’s what I thought.”

  With those words, she blew an air kiss in his direction and marched promptly back to the grill.

  He grabbed another fry from the plate
she’d left and shoved it in his mouth. Yeah, he had it bad. And if he didn’t come up with a workable solution, he was either going to have to cave in and stay here—in a place that had already gotten rid of him once—or he was going to have to do some serious groveling and beg Lee Ann to come with him.

  Cody cursed as spaghetti sauce bubbled and splashed onto the back of his hand. It was Friday night, they’d gone to an afternoon basketball game of Candy’s, and he now was attempting to cook a romantic dinner for Lee Ann. And it was turning into a huge disaster.

  “Turn the heat down and it won’t splash out like that,” she suggested. She’d arrived a few minutes earlier, letting herself in, as he’d been trying to figure out how to get the spaghetti to go all the way into the water. He couldn’t remember ever feeling like such a moron in front of someone.

  He shot her a frown. “Maybe you should be the one cooking for me, since I clearly have no idea what I’m doing.”

  “Nah.” She settled her rear against the back of the couch, looking sexy as hell in a straight knee-length denim skirt and pale yellow shirt. “I like watching you do it. It turns me on.”

  He checked the noodles and found them done, so he turned off the burner beneath the pot and returned to stir the sauce and meatballs one more time. The sauce splashed him again. “Damn.”

  A small hand glided around his waist and he jumped, the spoon following his movements and slinging sauce onto the floor. He hadn’t heard her move across the room.

  “I like it when a man cooks for me,” she murmured. Her hands snuck under his shirt.

  “Keep messing with me and this dinner won’t be worth eating.” If that turned out to be the case, he couldn’t say he’d mind. Dating wasn’t easy when there were kids involved. They’d managed to get together a couple times the week before, but it had now been nearly a week since he’d had her alone.

  But he wanted to impress her tonight, thus his lame attempt at cooking. He had come up with a plan, and he was excited to talk to her about it, see what she thought. He sidestepped her wandering hands and went for the wine he had sitting out. After he poured two glasses, he watched her turn hers up. She drank it like a woman starved, then promptly returned to her prior journey. His chest.

  And he was an idiot for trying to delay it. She had walked into his place turned on, and he’d done all he could to stick to the script. Screw the plan. He was a fool. He’d missed her, he wanted her, and best of all, she wanted him. There was only one solution to that problem.

  He twisted the knob to lower the heat under the sauce as her hand dipped to the waist of his jeans.

  “You’d really rather eat?” She pouted, which was so unlike her that he turned loose a very large grin.

  “Hell, no.” He palmed her ass and brought her to him. “You win, babe. But I get points for trying to be romantic.”

  The smile on her face struck him as a satisfied lion and he found himself wanting to roar. She wore that look for him. Nothing was a bigger turn-on.

  “You can claim whatever prize you want for your romantic gesture,” she said. “Just quit making me wait. It’s been a really long week.”

  “That it has.” He delayed no longer. He brought her body more fully against his, her toes dangling in the air, and searched out the secrets hidden behind her lips.

  They broke apart a few minutes later, both needing air, but he didn’t put her down. Instead, he searched her eyes and silently prayed she would like his idea, but that conversation was going on hold. Right now he had a woman he needed to love.

  She locked her gaze on to his, and her eyes turned the color of the sky at midnight. “I didn’t wear panties under this skirt.”

  “Oh, hell.” Cody set her down temporarily, but only to reach to the bottom of her skirt and shove it up. He then scooped her back up, and she wrapped her legs around his waist. He shot a look at the kitchen table as he grew harder. “Not sure that table will hold us,” he muttered.

  “Take me against the wall if you want,” she whispered. “Just take me soon.”

  He turned to the wall.

  Lee Ann twirled the waterlogged spaghetti around the tines of the fork and looked across the round pedestal table to Cody. He seemed about as impressed with the pasta as she was. She picked up the garlic bread.

  “This is really good bread.” She smiled sweetly when Cody narrowed his gaze on her.

  “I didn’t know noodles continued soaking up water if you didn’t drain them soon enough,” he complained. “I wanted to cook you a nice meal.”

  Lee Ann reached over and put her hand on the back of his. “You gave me something else even better, if that helps.”

  And he had. The round of lovemaking had been fast but powerful. Once they’d managed to free Cody from his jeans, he had in fact taken her against the wall. Then they’d showered, and he’d taken her against another wall.

  After too many days without him, it was exactly what she’d been ready for, even if she had practically had to talk him into it.

  Cody sighed and tossed down his fork. “That’s it. Put your clothes back on. We’re going out to eat.”

  “Out?” She hated to sound too excited, but the spaghetti was deplorable. “Well, okay. If you insist.”

  A hot smile covered his face and zapped the strength in her spine. Cody rose, snatched her skirt off the floor and tossed it to her. “Don’t be cute or I’ll make you pay for dinner.”

  “Yes, sir! Whatever you say.”

  His smile grew even wider with her words. “I like it when you talk like that. I could get used to it.”

  Lee Ann slid the skirt over her hips, then found her shirt and put it on as well. “Keep me a happy woman, Dalton, and you might have the opportunity to get used to it.”

  She’d meant it as a tease, but as the words left her mouth, she couldn’t help but wonder what went through his mind when he thought about them and anything long-term. Did he really plan to come back after Florida?

  Too many dreams were getting swept up in her mind, confusing her reality with what she wanted it to be. She had to know where they stood before she went much further. Otherwise she’d find herself heading down a path she’d ignored since high school, and she wasn’t sure there would be a recovery from that one.

  “What are we doing, Cody?” she asked. Her tone clued him in that the fun and games had come to an end.

  He paused in the act of pulling on his shoes and looked over at her, then straightened to his full height. “I wanted to talk about that tonight, too.”

  A huge weight lifted from her shoulders. Good. They were on the same wavelength. That always made things better.

  “I had an idea a few days ago,” he started before she could say anything else. “One I think you’re going to like. I already made a call to see if it would be possible and it is. They’re just waiting for the go-ahead now.”

  Her breath caught when he’d said his idea was one he thought she’d like. And he’d already taken action to make it happen? Her breathing started up again, coming out in short bursts. “Is it not too late to get out of the contract? I wouldn’t want you to leave someone in the lurch, like the previous guy Keri had lined up did to her.”

  Her words had grown slower as she’d caught sight of the look on his face. That was not what he’d been about to say. Dread curled in her gut.

  “If not that,” she started, narrowing her gaze on him, “then what?”

  Cody crossed the room to where she stood in front of the door and took her hands in his. “I can extend my contract in Florida another two months, babe. I don’t want to make trips back and forth all that time—I don’t want any of us to. I want all of you to come with me instead.”

  Shock had her mouth hanging open before she got herself under control. “Why in the world would you extend it?”

  “So the girls don’t have to change schools in three months. Five months would keep them there through the semester. I confirmed this with the county down there.”

  “B
ut you’re okay with them changing schools now?”

  “Wouldn’t it be better to do it now than to wait for January or February? Plus, I want them to understand that what we’re doing here”—he moved his hand back and forth between them—“it’s not just casual. I want to set a good example for them.”

  She held up a hand, hoping to stall the words coming out of his mouth while her brain worked to catch up. He wanted her to uproot the girls—her—and just move to Florida with him?

  “I want to marry you, Lee.” He spoke quickly, as if realizing that she wasn’t over the moon with his idea. “I want to be with you forever.”

  “Just not here?”

  “No...” He cut off his words and tried again. “That’s not what I meant. I think you’d like it in Florida. I’ve been there before, and there are so many beautiful places to explore along the coast. You could concentrate on your photography while the girls would get a chance to see another part of the country. We would be happy. I’m sure of it.”

  She shook her head at him, baffled. “Why do you think we’d like Florida better than we do here? And what are you thinking we’ll do at the end of the five months?”

  “Okay, wait.” He held up his hand, and she had the urge to smack it out of her sight. He was ruining everything. “Let’s slow down, and I’ll start from the top.”

  “I don’t think I want you to,” she said. “I already know the answer. I can’t take my girls out of their school, their home. Why would I do that to them?”

  A look passed over his face that would have made her feel bad if she weren’t already so ticked off. “You would do that for me. And you need to keep in mind they aren’t just your girls. I have a say, too.”

  “Not in this you don’t.”

  Dark eyebrows lifted, and she snapped her mouth shut. Was he threatening legal action if she didn’t comply with his wishes? He’d better not be!

  “Do not stand there and imply you could swoop in and take them from me.”

  “That is not what I’m saying.” His voice had risen to match hers. “I’ve never hinted at that, and I have no intention of it. They wouldn’t be the same if they didn’t have you. There’s no way I’d do that to them.”