by Joanna Sims
“That’s not always a bad thing.” Kate slipped her hand into his.
“No. Not always.”
They walked in silence for a moment or two, heading to a large eight-bay garage. He pushed one of the bay doors open to show Kate what was housed inside.
“What’s this?”
Liam smiled at the antique truck affectionately. “It’s a Ford truck from the 1930s. It belonged to my great-great uncle.”
“You’re restoring it?” Kate, he could tell, appreciated the old truck.
He rested his hand on the rounded hood of the truck. This had been a project he’d been working on for years after he rescued it from the weeds.
“Little by little. It’s a labor of love, really. One day, I’ll take you for a ride in it.”
On the other side of the hood, Kate smiled at him. “I’d really like that.”
“So would I.”
He was about to bring up the topic of a longer term commitment between them but was interrupted by Callie.
“Dr. B-Brand! I—I love your horses.”
Callie, as she always did, greeted him with a hug.
“I—I want to b-bring my b-boyfriend here to meet them.”
“That’s fine,” he told her. “Isn’t it time you call me Liam?”
Callie ducked her head, blushed and then shook her head again.
“I told her she could call you Liam. She’s just not ready.”
Kate’s daughter went to her side and hugged her. Then, she asked a surprising question to them both.
“I-if you guys get married, are we going to live here?”
His woman seemed caught off guard by the question—it made him wonder if she had even considered marriage between them. Yes, it was still early on in their relationship, but they weren’t teenagers. They were old enough to know what they wanted and if something had a chance to work. Did Kate want more from their relationship? Or was he the only one swimming in that lake?
Kate brushed her daughter’s hair over her shoulder. “We haven’t talked about getting married yet, Callie.”
Liam met Kate’s eye. “Not yet.”
That look held for a second longer, and then Kate added, “If and when that conversation does happen, you’ll be the first to know.”
Callie’s giggled behind her hand. “B-but I—I saw Dr. B-Brand kiss you.”
Kate wrinkled her brow at him over the hood of his antique truck—he had stolen a kiss, quite naturally, at the door earlier. It hadn’t occurred to him that Callie had never seen them kiss, even if it was just a quick peck. He still had a lot to learn about Kate’s daughter and how she saw the world through a slightly different lens.
“Yes.” The horse trainer put her arm around her daughter’s shoulder as they left the garage. “Liam did kiss me because we are really close friends. But just because you kiss someone doesn’t mean that you are going to marry him.”
“I—I am going to kiss Tony and I—I’m going to marry him,” Callie said with certainty. “And I—I’m going to have a b-baby.”
A pained expression flitted across Kate’s pretty face. “Let’s just take it one step at a time, okay, kiddo?”
Her mom’s lack of enthusiasm, Liam noted, did not dampen Callie’s excitement for the subject. “I-it could be a d-double wedding!”
Chapter Eight
Liam came over for dinner whenever he could—he was such a regular guest at their table that it was strange on the nights that he couldn’t make it. And whenever she could, Kate took a couple of hours on his day off to meet him at Sugar Creek for a romantic rendezvous. There were plenty of bodies at the ranch to watch over Callie in the afternoon, so she had the freedom during the day to take a couple of hours just for herself.
“I hope you don’t think that I’m just using you for your body.” Kate had her body curled next to Liam’s, her leg thrown over his, her fingers making circular patterns in his chest hair.
“I’m not sure I’d complain too much if you were,” he admitted groggily, half-asleep after they had just made love. “But I’m glad you’re not.”
“Liam?”
“Hmm?”
“You’re my best friend.”
That was when he opened his eyes half-mast and looked down at her. He kissed her on the forehead and pulled her tighter into his body.
“You’re my best friend too,” he told her.
He dozed off, but she could never sleep in the afternoon. There was so much to do, all day, every day, that it was hard for her to shut her mind off even when she tried to sleep at night. The fact that she was willing to take an afternoon for herself was a huge change. After she untangled herself from Liam’s body, she sat on the edge of the bed and stared at the man who had become her lover and her friend. He had kicked off the covers, and he lay on his back, completely naked, so handsome and strong.
Usually she would get dressed and kiss him goodbye. Today, she just couldn’t resist taking control of the lovemaking for once. He was usually the one who initiated; he had mentioned, on occasion, that he wouldn’t mind if she initiated every now and again. Perhaps it was time.
Quietly, slowly, Kate crawled over to where Liam was sleeping, glancing at his face to make sure he was still asleep. Gently, she took his penis in her hand, and, glad that he hadn’t stirred yet, took him into her mouth.
She smiled when his body began to stir and his penis began to harden. Liam moaned, shifted his legs, and she felt his hand on her thigh.
Kate loved him with her mouth until he was as hard as a rock and ready to go, then she slid down on his thick shaft until their groins were pressed tightly together.
“Hello.” Liam’s eyes were open now, staring up her with a languid, sexy smile on his face.
“Hi, there,” she said before she kissed him on the lips. “You don’t mind do you?”
“Hell, no.” He grabbed her hips and pushed her down hard as he was lifting up inside of her. “I love it.”
At first the lovemaking was unhurried—she took her time building up to her first orgasm, and then she sighed as the sweet waves of pleasure pulsed through her body. Liam held her tight, letting her recover, before he rolled her onto her back and took charge. That’s when the lovemaking became more intense, demanding; Liam grabbed the headboard behind her head so he could drive into her harder and deeper until she was sweaty and moaning and begging him to go faster. Liam exploded inside her when she started to cry out with a release so intense that it rocked her to her core. Nothing had ever felt like that before. No one had ever made her feel that loved before.
* * *
“What are you guys doing?” Kate had offered to wash the dishes while Callie and Liam spent some bonding time together.
“We’re getting ready to video chat with Tony.”
Kate sat on the couch armrest with her cup of coffee. “Is that so?”
Callie pushed the button on her tablet to call her boyfriend, Tony, and after a few rings, the young man who had captured her daughter’s heart was on the screen.
“Hi, Tony!” Callie said with a giggle and a blush.
“Hi, Callie.”
Tony was a little bit older than Callie, wore thick glasses and had a crew cut. Callie thought he was the most handsome man she’d ever seen.
“Tony, this is Dr. B-Brand. My mom’s b-boyfriend.”
“Hi, Dr. Bwand.” Tony waved.
“And you remember my mom, right?”
“Hi, Ms. King.”
“Hi, Tony.”
They gave Callie and her boyfriend some privacy while they went out to the swing under the old oak tree in the front yard.
“Are you okay?”
Kate didn’t respond right away—her mind was racing, as it always did, whenever Callie spoke with Tony. Marriage was hard enough between two adults who didn’t have a
disability. You add Down syndrome, and marriage became nearly an impossible task.
“I just...” she started, and then stopped, not sure even where to begin. “Sometimes, I just don’t know what to do with Callie. It would be different if there were other parents to talk to here, but there aren’t.”
“What about online support groups?”
“They’re great. Don’t get me wrong. But there’s something different about face-to-face.”
Liam didn’t push her—he didn’t rush her—he just waited for her to formulate her thoughts. This was one of the many things she truly loved about him.
“I know Callie hates it here.”
“I don’t think that’s true.”
“She does,” Kate said with a shake of her head. “She wants to live in a city, where there are other people she can be friends with who have Down syndrome. When she goes to the yearly conference for Down syndrome, she’s so happy. You should see her. She lights up. Here, it’s as if the bloom has gone off the flower.”
She breathed in and sighed heavily. She hadn’t really opened up to anyone about her concerns regarding Callie.
“This is where my life is. I can’t imagine living anywhere else, certainly not in a city back East.”
“I didn’t even know you were considering something like that.”
She put her hand on his leg to reassure him. “I’m not. Not really. But what do I do about Callie? She doesn’t have any friends here—she doesn’t really have a life here. And she can’t live alone. She’ll never be able to live alone. She could live in a group home, but that would make me nuts. I would worry about her all of the time. I’ve been the one who’s taken care of her since before she was even born. How can I just turn that responsibility over to strangers, no matter how competent and caring they appear to be?”
“I can’t imagine you doing that.”
“No. Neither can I. And now she wants to marry Tony and have babies. That’s all she can talk about.”
“And you don’t want her to.”
“It’s not that I don’t want her to get married and be happy, but it’s so much more complicated with two people with Down syndrome. There’s more than just Tony and Callie in this situation. Tony lives with his parents. Where would they live? Who would look after them? I haven’t even really spent any time with Tony’s parents. We actually have to get along and agree on logistics. Can you imagine that? There’s more than just Tony and Callie in the marriage. Tony’s parents are in the marriage too! Do you know what a mess that could turn out to be? Five people in a marriage instead of two.”
“Is this...marriage even a possibility in the near future?”
Another sigh. She threw up her hands. “For Callie, it’s a next week kind of thing. I don’t know where Tony and his parents stand.”
“Maybe it’s time to talk to them.”
She had been thinking the exact same thing, and then finding reasons every day not to call.
“I know. You’re right. I’ve just been finding ways to avoid it. I don’t know why.”
“Because who wants to have that conversation? I’d find ways to avoid it too.”
That made her laugh. She put her head on his shoulder, and they swung gently together in the night.
“You know what I’d like to do?” he asked her.
She shook her head.
“Take you out on a real, honest to goodness date. I always come over here, you come over to my place. When have we actually gone out?”
“I don’t want to ask Fred to work an evening. He really needs his nights off.”
Liam looked down at her, caught her eye. “Bring her along.”
She lifted her head so she could get a good look at his face. “Are you serious?”
“She’s a part of you,” he told her. “Yes. Of course I’m serious. We’ll all get dressed up and paint the town red. What do you say?”
“Yes.” She kissed him on the cheek. “Of course, I say, yes.”
* * *
She hadn’t seen Baily, her master hairstylist and colorist for nearly a year. To sit in that chair, under those harsh lights, noticing every new wrinkle and facing sagging at the jowls, was rather painful. But if Liam wanted to take Callie and her out on the town, she needed to get her hair styled and get a new outfit. She spent her life in jeans and muck boots, smelling like manure and hay. Tonight, she was going to smell like perfume, with new hair and maybe even a dress.
“Are you going out on a hot date with Dr. Brand?” Baily asked while she combed out her wet hair.
It didn’t surprise Kate that Baily knew about her relationship with Liam. It was a small town and the person who had managed to land a catch like Liam Brand was juicy gossip. But it still made her uncomfortable. She had been a private person all of her life, and even in a small town she wanted to have her business remain her business.
“He’s taking Callie and me out to dinner, yes.”
“Aww! That’s so sweet!” the hairstylist exclaimed. “Handsome and nice to your kid? You need to get him to put a ring on it, quick.”
Kate shifted in her chair, uncomfortable more with the topic of marriage than with her position in the seat. Liam had been bringing up the subject more frequently, and she just couldn’t bring herself to get on board. Not that he was suggesting that they rush to marriage—he wasn’t—but he did want to know if she had any intention of ever fully committing to him. For Liam, marriage and family had always been the goal. For her, marriage was never much of a priority. She had gone against her upbringing, her faith and her family when she decided not to marry Callie’s father. His reaction to her diagnosis while their daughter was still in utero convinced her that Lloyd wasn’t the type of man she wanted to marry. She was a businesswoman, independent and a single mother. Now she had an amazing man in her life as a companion and, in her mind, an incredible lover. Why rock the boat? Marriage could, ultimately, destabilize a really good thing that they had going.
“Look, Mommy!”
Callie had been in the front of the salon getting treated to a manicure and pedicure in preparation for their big night out with Liam.
She extended both of her arms and wiggled her bright pink fingernails for her mother to see.
“Pretty in pink!” Callie told her.
Kate leaned over and kissed her daughter’s happily flushed cheeks. “You are pretty in pink, kiddo.”
“Thank you.” Her daughter ducked her head. “I—I need to take a selfie for Tony so he can see how pretty my nails are.”
“I’ll take a picture of you,” Baily offered.
Baily took a break from her duties with Kate’s hair to take a picture of Callie with her hot pink nails. Then, Callie sat in the empty chair next to Baily’s station and focused on her phone.
“She’s so grown up,” Baily commented as she picked up her scissors. “I can’t hardly believe it.”
“I know.” Kate nodded. “It’s seems like yesterday I brought her in for her first haircut.”
“Time flies, don’t it?”
“Yes, it does.”
Baily stood behind Kate and met her eyes in the mirror. “So. How much are we taking off?”
Kate stared at her own reflection, finding it difficult to focus on anything other than how haggard and old she was looking to her own eyes. After a moment of thought, she shrugged. “It’s time for a change. As long as I can get it into a ponytail, I’m good.”
Baily held a chunk of hair between her fingers and held it up for Kate to see. “Three inches would make a world of difference.”
It had been years since her hair had been that short. And, yet, things were changing all around her and it felt like that should be reflected in her hair.
“Go for it,” she said. “If I don’t like it, I can always grow it back.”
* * *
“
Wow.” Liam stared at her as if he were seeing her for the very first time.
“It’s a lot shorter than I thought it would be.” Kate self-consciously touched her bobbed hair.
“You look...” Liam’s eyes continued to admire her. “You look so beautiful tonight, Kate.”
She hadn’t worn a dress since Callie’s high-school graduation the year before. Tonight, she wore a simple green wrap dress and a simple pair of strappy heels. Green was Liam’s favorite color; she had wanted to look especially nice for him tonight.
“Thank you. You look handsome.”
Liam was wearing a sport coat, a crisp white shirt and dark denim jeans. So handsome, this man of hers.
“Hi, Dr. Brand!”
“Calico! Look at you.”
The young woman held out her hands and wiggled her fingers. “Pretty in pink.”
Liam took one of her hands, kissed it and then spun her around. “You look beautiful.”
Callie covered her face with her hand and giggled with pleasure. Liam offered each one of them his arm.
“Shall we?”
As they drove into town in Liam’s freshly cleaned truck, listening to strains of Trace Adkins, all Kate could think about was how kind Liam was to her daughter. Why hadn’t Callie’s own father been able to be even half as kind?
“You okay?”
Kate pulled herself away from her thoughts of Callie’s father and gave her companion a quick nod meant to reassure.
“I’ve been looking forward to this all day,” she said, because it was the truth.
He took his hand off the steering wheel for a moment to squeeze her hand. “So have I.”
From the back seat, Callie chimed in. “I—I have too!”
Liam took them to Emerson Grill, known for its fine Northern Italian cuisine. Callie had a very limited palate, so she stuck with spaghetti marinara and meatballs. To drink, a Shirley Temple from the bar. Yes, Kate loved spending the evening with Liam and her daughter. More than that, she loved to see how happy her daughter was to be dressed up, with her nails polished, “out on a date.” It made Kate wonder—was she being selfish keeping Callie in Montana with her? Was it time to let her go?