Katie took a deep breath and glanced around the familiar town that she loved so much.
“Can you smell the leaves?” she asked with a contented sigh. It was one of her favorite memories from childhood.
Lucas sniffed the air. “Yeah, that’s one of the things I loved most about living in the cabin on the lake, the smells of the seasons.”
She turned to look at him, silhouetted by the moon and the old-fashioned gas streetlamps. He had such an incredible face—handsome, and yet so full of character. “That’s right, you said you had a cabin at the lake. Is that where you grew up?” she asked carefully, wondering if she was somehow stepping onto dangerous ground again.
He shook his head. “No, I grew up in Chicago,” he said surprising her. “Born and raised there. My father was a Chicago police officer for his entire career, but my family has owned a cabin on Cooper’s Cove Lake for as long as I can remember, and every summer right after school ended, my dad would load us all up—”
“Us?”
He smiled, bumped his hand against hers as they walked and then absently reached for it, holding her hand in his. He liked the way her hand fit in his, liked the way her touch warmed him. “I have four brothers,” he said, laughing at the look of horror that crossed her face. “Yeah, I know, scary, isn’t it?”
Katie couldn’t help but smile up at Lucas. She could hear the love in his voice, see it on his face when he talked of his family. She understood that kind of deep, committed love toward family since it had always been such a vital and necessary part of her life. She couldn’t help but feel attracted by Lucas’s devotion to his own family.
Chuckling, Katie shook her head. “Your poor mother. Raising one boy has practically given me gray hairs, I can’t imagine raising five.” She shuddered. “That would definitely give me gray hairs and nightmares.”
“I’m sure my mother had a few of her own, considering some of our antics. She’d stay up at the cabin all summer alone with us. My dad would come up every weekend and during his vacation, but most of the time it was just Mom and us boys.” Lucas laughed suddenly. “Not that we didn’t give her some moments, but she had a firm hand and a calm personality, and we knew just how far we could push her.”
“It sounds like you were a close family.”
“We were,” he admitted, realizing it had been a long time since he’d talked about his parents or brothers. Or anything else about his personal life. “We lost both my parents a few years back.”
“I’m so sorry,” Katie said, giving his hand a squeeze of comfort as they turned down the quiet street where her house was.
“My dad retired from the force, and planned to move up to the cabin, but then my mom got sick. Cancer. She was gone less than a year later, and then a heart attack took my father less than a year after that.” Lucas glanced down at Katie. “They’d been married for over fifty years and my brothers and I figured he just didn’t want to go on without her.”
“That’s really a wonderful story. Sad,” she corrected, glancing up just as he glanced down. For a moment, they both froze, their gazes locked. She licked her lips, aware his gaze followed her tongue and sent a chill racing over her. “It’s hard to imagine a love that lasts an entire lifetime like that.” She didn’t care for the wistfulness in her voice. She was just tired, she told herself. “What about your brothers? Where are they?”
Lucas sighed contentedly. “Well, my eldest brother, Peter, is a Chicago cop, as are my two youngest brothers, Jack and Jake—they’re twins,” he said, grinning down at her. “I’m police chief here, and my other brother, Brian, is actually running for political office in a small suburb of Chicago. Mayor,” he said with a shake of his head. “Hard to believe Brian’s responsible enough to be running for office.” He chuckled. “Brian was the worst of us. A pure hellion who gave my mother more fits than the rest of us combined. And from what I understand he’s in one very close race with a woman he’s been lusting after for months.”
“Oh, the poor man,” Katie said with a laugh as they reached the wonderful old-fashioned wraparound front porch of her house. It was one of the reasons she’d bought the house. She’d loved the porch. “I’m sure that just makes it harder on him, knowing his competition is also someone he’s interested in.”
“I’m going in, Ma,” Rusty called as he bolted up the front stairs two at a time. The front door was unlocked, as always, since no one in town ever locked their doors.
“Rusty.” The tone of Katie’s voice stopped him cold. “Don’t you have something to say to Lucas?” she prodded and Rusty grinned sheepishly, whipping around and bolting halfway back down the stairs.
“Oh. Yeah.” He lifted his hand in a halfhearted wave. “Thanks, Lucas. For the pizza and stuff.” He shuffled his feet, and glanced down, clearly uncomfortable and not certain exactly what to say.
“You’re welcome, Rusty. If you’re not busy tomorrow, how about if I stop by after school and we can draw up some plans for that clubhouse?”
Even in the dark Katie saw her son’s eyes brighten like beacons. “Really?” Rusty began to bounce up and down on his tennis shoes. “Tomorrow? We can do it tomorrow?”
“After your chores and your homework,” Katie reminded him with a smile.
“Awright, awright,” Rusty complained, then his head lifted again. “How ’bout you come over around four, Lucas? I get home at three and that will give me a whole hour to do my homework and chores. Is that okay, Ma?” he added, glancing at her for approval.
“That’s fine, honey.”
“Hey, Ma, maybe Lucas can stay for dinner? You can make your world famous burgers on the grill, with homemade French fries and stuff. What do you say, Ma? Huh? Is it okay?”
She saw the hope and joy shining in her son’s eyes and hated to disappoint him, but she also had to be practical. She still had more boxes packed then unpacked and finding anything in the mess would be nothing short of a miracle.
“Honey, I haven’t even unpacked or set up the grill yet—”
“That’s okay,” Rusty said hurriedly. “Maybe Lucas and I could do it?” Pleading eyes turned to Lucas. “I mean, isn’t that the kind of thing uh…a buddy does? Help another buddy maybe unpack and set stuff up?” he asked with a shrug, making Lucas smile.
“You’re absolutely right, Rusty,” Lucas agreed. “That’s exactly what a buddy should do.” He looked at Katie. “How about if Rusty and I unpack and set up the grill tomorrow after school. After his homework and chores,” he clarified, letting his gaze shift back to Rusty, who nodded in silent agreement.
Katie looked from her son’s expectant face to Lucas and forgot all the things she’d already had scheduled for tomorrow. So she’d simply add one more to the growing list. “All right. As long as it’s not an imposition on Lucas,” she added meaningfully.
“Is it?” Rusty felt obliged to ask and Lucas shook his head.
“No, it’ll be just fine. Besides, I think it’s something every male should know how to do.”
“What? Finagle someone else to do your work for you?” Katie asked with a grin, making Lucas chuckle.
“No, set up a grill. I think it will be good experience for Rusty.”
“All right.” Katie hesitated. “I’ll stop at the store on my way home, and get the fixings for burgers and fries. If you guys set up the grill, I’ll do the cooking.”
“Awesome.”
“And thank you for the invitation, Rusty,” Lucas said. “I appreciate it.”
“You’re welcome.”
“Okay, inside for a shower and then bed,” Katie ordered. “I’ll be in in a minute to tuck you in.”
“Ma!” Mortified, Rusty rolled his eyes. “I’m too old to be tucked in,” he said, nodding his head toward Lucas and flushing pink.
“Oh, yes, that’s right,” Katie said solemnly, giving him a nod. “Now that you’re at an advanced age of eleven, you’re far too old to be tucked into bed by your old mother.”
“Right.” Grinning
, Rusty gave them both another wave. “See you.” He pulled open the screen door, then pushed open the front door, and let both slam behind him.
Katie sighed. “He’s growing up so fast,” she said wistfully as she climbed the rest of the stairs to stand on the front porch. “Sometimes it’s hard to believe he’s almost a teenager.” With a sigh, she leaned against the porch railing. “The time seems to be just flying by.”
Lucas laughed, following her up the stairs. “That has to be the scariest word in the English language, at least for parents.”
“What?” She turned to him. He’d joined her on the porch and was leaning against the railing as well.
“Teenager,” Lucas said, reaching out to brush a stray strand of hair off her cheek.
Katie froze at his touch. She hadn’t realized he’d moved so close, and his touch, his closeness, seemed to make her pulse do a wicked dance.
“I…agree,” she stammered, realizing when he’d stroked his finger down her cheek, it felt as if she’d been touched by a live wire, and her skin, her heart and her pulse were all still singing.
“I…I…” She had to swallow. She’d remember what she was going to say in a moment. She was certain of it.
But he was looking at her in a way that left her feeling very vulnerable and exposed. And very, very needy.
And he was standing just a fraction too close, close enough she could smell his faint masculine scent, feel the warmth of his body, a warmth that seemed to be clouding her mind and tangling her tongue while still drawing her closer to him.
“Katie.” Lucas moved closer still, drawn by something far more powerful than his own thoughts and fears. He told himself he should be careful, wary, but his mind ignored the caution.
She was so near, her scent swirling around him, heady and feminine, making him long and ache in a way he couldn’t ever remember.
The urge, the need to touch her, to taste her, was so strong he was certain he might go mad if he didn’t satisfy the desire.
He slid his hands to her slender waist, noting her eyes widen into saucers. He smiled, wondering if she knew how much she looked like her son at the moment with her eyes wide, hopeful, expectant, curious and maybe just a bit frightened.
“Lucas.” She lifted her hands to his chest, telling herself it was to stop him. To keep him at bay.
But it was a lie, and she knew it. His mouth hovered a mere inches from hers, making her yearn somewhere deep inside, yearn and want, two things she’d told herself she could never allow again.
She was going to push him away, she told herself, and try to grab her sanity before it fled once again. Then she looked into his gaze and lost her train of thought.
With her mind blank and her senses on alert, she tilted her head up just as he lowered his. She felt her breath flutter out on a dreamy sigh as his lips brushed gently against her.
Katie tried to tell herself she was going to push him away. To stop him. In just a moment.
His mouth was warm and firm, and coaxed hers gently into responding. Her lips opened greedily for his, as if she were drowning and only his touch would save her.
Her mind emptied totally as the world spun around her, under her, whirling and whirling as if she’d stepped on a Tilt-A-Whirl.
She gripped the front of his shirt for balance as heat and desire snaked through her, slowly, thoroughly, arousing every sleeping nerve until her entire body ached and she arched against Lucas, fitting her softness to the masculine hardness of him, trying to put out the fire his touch seemed to have brought blazing back to life.
A moan escaped her as he deepened the kiss, as his touch circled, then danced with hers in a mating ritual as old as time. She went with it, allowing Lucas and his kiss to sweep sanity and sense from her mind until nothing filled her but the need and desire his touch aroused.
His hands tightened around her waist as hers rose to slide through the silk of his hair, to cling, fearing she might fall off the earth if she didn’t hold onto him.
Another soft moan filtered through the air and Lucas realized it was he who’d moaned. He’d expected Katie to be cool, to be reserved. Nothing had prepared him for the blast of feminine heat that roared through him, licking at him like he was little more than dry timber the moment their lips met and clung.
Her scent swirled around him, drowning him in a sea where the only thing he was aware of was her. Her taste. Her scent. Her touch. Her. Just her.
He drew her even closer, not wanting even a breath separating them. Instinctively he knew that one kiss would never satisfy the gnawing need that Katie had awakened. Needs he thought long dead and buried. Needs he knew better than to acknowledge or want.
He had to think, to clear his head, to remember why he couldn’t and shouldn’t be doing this. Remember the risk he was taking, with his own heart, as well as hers.
“Lucas.” His name whispered out of her mouth as she drew back, her eyes huge and frightened in her pale face. She would have tumbled right back into the porch railing if he hadn’t had his arms around her. Her legs felt as if they couldn’t hold her, and she sagged against him breathless and slightly dizzy from the intensity of their kiss.
“Thank you for sharing your son with me tonight,” he said softly, managing a smile even though his insides were rioting. Gently, he ran a shaky finger down her nose, knowing it was better to say nothing than to say something he’d regret, now, when his mind was clouded by desire, by passion and all he wanted to do was drag her back in his arms again. “I’ll see you tomorrow, Katie.”
He stepped back, needed to put some necessary distance between them, and jogged down the stairs, not certain who was more shaken by their kiss. Him. Or her. If he didn’t know better he’d swear his legs were shaking.
“Good night, Lucas,” she called softly, holding onto the porch railing for balance as she watched him walk away. “Thank you.”
She waited, watching until he was out of sight before going inside the house. She shut and locked the front door, then leaned against it and closed her eyes.
She needed a moment, she realized, just a moment to settle herself. The last thing she wanted was for her son to see her this confused and at odds. She still had to go in and kiss Rusty good-night and she just needed a moment to pull herself together.
Pressing a hand to her racing heart, Katie realized she’d been weak and foolish. Allowing herself to have such ridiculous fantasies about Lucas and what had just happened between them.
It was a kiss—nothing more, nothing less, she told herself. And certainly no reason to get herself all in a tizzy.
She’d kissed men in the years since Jed’s death. Lots of them.
She scowled. Okay, so maybe it was only two, and since one was her uncle and that was a chaste kiss on the cheek, it probably didn’t count.
Her kiss with Lucas left her breathless, aching and wanting more.
But she couldn’t have more, she realized. And even entertaining the idea of having more with Lucas was both foolish and foolhardy. And could only lead to heartbreak.
She was a single mother of an almost teenaged child, far too old and mature to be spinning fantasies about happily-ever-after simply because a man kissed her.
And she’d do well to remember that.
She had a well-ordered life filled with more responsibilities than any sane woman could handle, not just to her son and her mother, but to the paper and her community, not to mention the responsibilities she had to herself.
She didn’t have time to be mooning over some man like she was a fickle, free young woman without a care in the world or a thought on the planet.
She’d been that carefree woman once, and learned just how fast carefree could turn into concern when life tossed you an unexpected curve.
She’d barely survived the first time. She wasn’t about to risk her heart or her son’s heart a second time.
No, she was older and much smarter now, she told herself, patting her still scrambling heart. Now she knew exactly
what could happen if she wasn’t responsible, if she wasn’t reliable, if she didn’t do exactly what her obligations demanded of her.
And the thought of going through the grief and fear and worry again that she’d just gone through over the past six years simply terrified her.
So she’d never risk having her heart, or Rusty’s, broken ever again.
With a sigh, Katie rubbed her throbbing forehead. She suddenly had a ferocious headache. Probably because she was so blasted tired. It had been a long day, and she had to admit, a long night. She should have come home earlier so she could unpack some more boxes and get ready for the new work day.
Instead, she’d chosen to be careless and spend her evening with a man she had no business having the kinds of thoughts she was having about.
Well, at least no harm had come from one evening, she reasoned. Besides, it was just a kiss, she told herself, and even if her insides were still churning like jelly, and even if her heart felt as if it were racing to some imaginary finish line, she had to get a grip and keep it on her heart. And her mind.
Lucas Porter was no more interested in her than she was in him. It was her son, she reminded herself, that he was trying to help. It was her son he’d so kindly and generously offered to spend time with—not her. And she’d do well to remember that.
As Katie walked through the house, turning off lights and locking up, she tried to banish Lucas from her mind.
But as she headed toward her own bedroom, Lucas’s taste lingered on her lips, and thoughts of him lingered fitfully in her mind.
Chapter Five
“I’m late, I know, I know,” Katie said as she dashed into the newspaper office the next morning, her arms full. “I’m hideously late and I’m sorry, it couldn’t be helped.” She stopped and pressed a hand to her racing heart to catch her breath. “We had an emergency this morning. A basketball emergency,” she clarified when Lindsey’s brows lifted in question. “Rusty realized at the last minute that basketball practice starts today. And we couldn’t find his shoes. I think I unpacked twenty boxes before we found them.”
About the Boy Page 7