“With chocolate chips. Know what else we did? We slept in hammocks tied between two trees.”
“I want to do that!” Louie exclaimed.
“Maybe one day you’ll get a chance to.”
Bodhi’s noncommittal answer stung, even though she knew it was for the best. She’d decided last night after their talk that she wasn’t going to get caught up in what they wouldn’t have. She was bound and determined to enjoy whatever time she and Bodhi had left.
She replied to Willow as an idea formed in her mind. Perfect. Thank you! Do you have Logan Wild’s number? Logan was a friend of their family, and he owned a cabin in the Silver Mountains, close to Sweetwater. A few text messages later, her plans for her Wednesday-night date with Bodhi were set in motion.
They ate breakfast on the balcony, and while Louie brushed his teeth, she and Bodhi enjoyed a handful of stolen kisses.
They packed up their belongings and loaded them in Bodhi’s car so they wouldn’t have to do it after the game, and then they took a long walk with Dahlia. Bridgette took several more pictures, and Bodhi asked a woman walking by to take a picture of the three of them. She was glad they’d have these mementos. After dropping off Dahlia at Bodhi’s, they took a cab to pick up his mother, and Bridgette’s jitters returned. Standing outside his mother’s door, Bridgette imagined all sorts of things going wrong. What if Louie misbehaved or had a meltdown? What if Bodhi’s mother was abrupt, or they didn’t get along? What if she saw Bridgette as an impediment? A distraction to her supremely focused son?
She put a hand on Louie’s shoulder, reminding herself that Alisha Booker was a florist and a mother. If nothing else, they could connect on those levels and make it through the afternoon. As the door opened, Bodhi’s hand found the small of Bridgette’s back, as if he knew she needed that hidden comfort.
“Well, hello there, my new friends.” Alisha Booker greeted them with a warm and welcoming smile, wearing a pair of jeans and a Yankees T-shirt, which instantly put Bridgette at ease. She was tall and thin, with kind hazel eyes that moved from Bridgette to Bodhi, and finally, to Louie. Her whole body seemed to sigh with pleasure at the sight of him.
Bridgette followed her gaze, surprised to see Bodhi’s hand on Louie’s other shoulder.
“Hi,” Louie said. “Are you Bodhi’s mom?”
Alisha bent at the waist. Her thick salt-and-pepper hair tumbled over her shoulders like a mane. “I am Bodhi’s mother. My name is Alisha, and you must be Bodhi’s friend Louie. I can see you’re a fellow Yankees fan.” She pulled her hand out from behind her back and slid a Yankees baseball cap on her head, instantly winning over both Louie and Bridgette.
Louie grinned and touched his own ball cap.
“Hi, Mom.” Bodhi’s hand pressed more firmly on Bridgette’s back. “This . . . is Bridgette Dalton.”
The way he paused, like he was giving a special person a proper introduction, made Bridgette’s pulse quicken.
“It’s lovely to meet you, Bridgette. Bodhi tells me we’re going to be neighbors.”
A twinge of sadness washed through her at the reminder that Bodhi wouldn’t always be living right next door. Couldn’t she escape reality for just a little while longer? “Yes. I think you’ll really like Sweetwater.”
“If I like it half as much as Bodhi does, I’ll consider myself lucky. From what he tells me, you and I have quite a lot in common. I can’t wait to get to know you better.” She grabbed her purse from a hook by the door. “Shall we go?”
“Guess what, Alisha?” Louie didn’t wait for her to guess. “A horse drove us through a park last night, and today we rode in a cab and Bodhi let me pay the man.”
Alisha glanced at Bodhi with the motherly look of wonder Bridgette had seen in her own mother’s eyes when she’d received the flowers from Bodhi.
“Did you know that when Bodhi was your age,” Alisha said in a hushed tone, “he was afraid to pay the cabdriver? He thought if he put his hand through the window he’d never get it back.”
“Bodhi’s not afraid anymore. He paid the man yesterday,” Louie said as they stepped into the elevator. He blinked up at Bodhi with a look so serious Bridgette wished she could whip out her phone and take a picture. “I have your back, Bodhi.”
Oh, gosh. Friends, friends, friends.
Bodhi ruffled his hair. “Thanks, little dude.”
And so began their incredible afternoon.
They had seats by the dugout, and Louie was beyond excited to see the players up close. He ate a hot dog and ice cream and cheered right along with the rest of the crowd. Bridgette was waiting for him to get whiny and tired, but he hadn’t complained once, and they were already in the last inning. Louie stood by the railing with Bodhi as Bodhi pointed out each of the players.
“It must have been a difficult decision to sell your flower shop,” Bridgette said to Alisha.
“It was, but I’m looking forward to slowing down and pursuing some of my other passions,” Alisha explained.
“Like . . . ?”
“I’m not sure,” she said casually, watching Bodhi and Louie. “But life is too short not to try to figure it out while I still can.”
“Well, if you get bored, you’re always welcome to help out in my shop. I’m having a heck of a time finding someone to hire.” She brushed her hair away from her face, thinking of the last few résumés she’d negated. “Small towns are great, but I know too much about most of the people who live there. It’s hard to hire someone who you know drinks too much on the weekends, or has questionable friends.”
“That’s because the flower shop is your baby. Like Louie. You’d never let just anyone watch him.”
“You’re right about that. My mother takes care of him while I’m at work, but it would be nice to find someone trustworthy so I could get home a little earlier. But you must know all about that, having raised Bodhi by yourself.” She looked over as Bodhi lifted Louie to his shoulders. They seemed so natural together, it was easy to let her mind wander to a future they could never have.
“Yes, I remember the days of Bodhi doing homework in the back of the store while I worked late. But he didn’t turn out so bad, did he?”
“He’s wonderful, and he’s so good with Louie. I can’t believe he hasn’t spent his whole life around children.”
Alisha’s expression turned serious. “He spends a fair amount of time around children with Hearts for Heroes.”
“Oh?” Bridgette realized Bodhi had never elaborated on the charity, and she’d been so caught up in stealing time with him, she’d forgotten to ask.
“They help grieving military families who have lost family members. Each chapter holds quarterly get-togethers, and if Bodhi’s in town, he tries to attend. He’s known some of the kids for several years.” Her eyes warmed, and she glanced at Bodhi. “He’s helped a lot of people move on after losing their loved ones.”
Bridgette’s eyes were drawn to Bodhi as he lowered Louie down from his shoulders. She was sure Louie would drive him crazy. Up and down, up and down. Louie put both hands on the railing, riveted to the game. Bodhi stood behind him, one hand on either side of Louie’s. A human shield over her little boy.
“He didn’t tell you about that, did he?” Alisha asked, pulling Bridgette from her thoughts. “It doesn’t surprise me. He’s lived up to his name, hasn’t he?”
“What does Bodhi mean?”
“Bodhi is the understanding one possesses of the true meanings of things, and the literal meaning is ‘awakening.’ When Bodhi’s father and I chose his name, it was with the hope that he would be good and kind, and not wrapped up in hate, greed, or his own ego.” She paused, smiling as if she were remembering the moment she’d chosen the name.
“You couldn’t have found a more perfect name.”
“Yes. I’m not so sure that’s always a blessing.” Alisha blinked several times. “Anyway, I’m not surprised he didn’t tell you more about his work with Hearts for Heroes.”
“We don�
�t spend that much time talking.” Oh God. That sounds bad. “I mean, when we’re together, Louie is usually around, and when he’s not, we—”
Alisha touched her arm, laughing softly. “Honey, I wasn’t born yesterday. As a mother, you know you can’t pull the wool over a mother’s eyes. All it took was one look to know what Bodhi felt for you and Louie.”
“It’s not like that,” she began, but there was no avoiding the obvious. She met his mother’s gaze, and the truth came easier than she’d expected. “What I mean is, I know how dangerous Bodhi’s job is. He’s been honest with me about not wanting to get too involved, and frankly, Louie and I already lost Louie’s father. I’m not sure we could handle loving and losing another man.”
“Oh, sweetheart. I didn’t know about Louie’s father. I’m sorry.”
“Thank you. Louie was only a baby when it happened. He doesn’t remember him.” Bridgette looked down at her hands, afraid her eyes would give her lie away. “I think for all of our sakes, it’s better if we enjoy our time together and then go our separate ways.”
“I won’t pretend to know what’s best for either of you,” Alisha said. “But I’m not so sure the way you lose someone you love makes the pain of losing them any easier or more difficult. It’s the emptiness they leave behind that hurts so badly, regardless of whether they deliberately walked away or were taken from us. But the heart is a wonderful, strong organ. It has the ability to heal and grow and love more than one person. The trickier part is finding someone who makes your heart want to love again. Someone who fills all those empty places and then some.”
Alisha was so down-to-earth, Bridgette could see herself pouring her deepest emotions out to her, and she struggled to keep the rest of her thoughts about Bodhi to herself. She redirected the conversation.
“You never fell in love again after losing your husband?” Bridgette asked.
She shook her head. “But who knows. Maybe I’ll find that in Sweetwater, too.”
“Mom!” Louie hollered.
Bridgette looked over just in time to catch Bodhi taking a picture of Louie with his arm around Derek Jeter’s neck.
“Oh my goodness!” She pulled out her phone and took pictures of Derek signing Louie’s baseball cap.
“Didn’t Bodhi tell you he’d called in a favor with the team manager and arranged for Derek to be here to meet Louie, even though he is retired?” Alisha asked.
“No.” Holy cow. That was a heck of a favor!
“Babe!” Bodhi waved her over.
Alisha reached for her phone. “Go! I’ll take the picture.”
“But you’re the Yankees fan,” she said to Alisha as Bodhi tugged her over to the railing. Holding Louie in one arm beside Derek, he wrapped his other around Bridgette and said, “Smile, babe. This is a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity.”
Louie was too sidetracked chatting with Derek to notice the endearment, but she wasn’t. Nor was she too sidetracked to realize the coincidence. Bodhi was a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity, too.
BODHI DIDN’T BELIEVE in magic, but there was definitely something bewitching about making a little boy’s dreams come true. And, he had to admit, there were also some secret powers at work when it came to Bridgette and his mother. They had talked and laughed and gotten into serious discussions during the whole baseball game. By the time they’d dropped Alisha off at her condo, the two were practically in tears over saying goodbye. That had done something funky to Bodhi’s emotions, which was as unexpected as the warm and soft feeling inside him as he carried Louie up to his bed in Bridgette’s house and tucked him in later that night. Louie had rehashed their weekend for most of the ride back to Sweetwater, and he’d begged to wear his signed baseball cap to bed. He’d fallen asleep only after Bridgette had agreed, about forty minutes outside town. Now he looked cute as hell lying with the covers pulled up to his chin, a small smile on his sleeping face as he snuggled Jeter.
“You made his year, Bodhi,” Bridgette whispered as she wrapped her arm around his waist and rested her head on his chest. “Today’s a day he’ll never forget.”
“I have a feeling I won’t, either.”
As Bridgette led him toward her bedroom, everything felt different. Things were changing so fast, like he’d been racing up and down a highway his whole life, never stopping anywhere long enough to put down roots. He’d always believed roots could be ripped out, stolen by the wind, shredded into dust. Bridgette made him question that belief. Her world had been uprooted at such a tumultuous, vulnerable time, with a tiny baby to care for, after her married life had just started, and she’d found a way not only to survive, but to thrive.
How much heartache could one person survive?
He didn’t want to know the answer. As Bridgette closed the bedroom door and he took her in his arms, those thoughts fell away, and he filled his mind with his beautiful here and now.
With Bridgette.
CHAPTER SEVENTEEN
MONDAY EVENING BODHI and Bridgette sat in her car in front of his house making out like horny teenagers. Willow and Zane had invited them to an impromptu dinner at their house, and Roxie and Dan were bringing Louie with them. Bridgette had stopped by after work to pick up Bodhi, and he’d been devouring her ever since. He took the kiss deeper, and she reached across the seat and palmed his cock.
They’d been insatiable since their trip, and he didn’t want to stop, but . . . “We’re never getting out of this driveway if you do that.”
She yanked the button open and pushed her hands into his briefs. “Mm-hm.”
“Baby.” He groaned and shifted in the seat to give her more room. “You’re not going to believe this, but I’ve never made out in a car like this.”
Her eyes flamed. “How can I stop now, knowing that?”
She lowered her mouth over the head of his cock and used her tongue to drive him out of his mind.
“Holy shit, Bridgette.”
He reclined the seat, and she made a sound that vibrated through him as she stroked and licked and used her hand to intensify his pleasure.
“That’s so good, baby.”
She quickened her pace, then slowed to an excruciatingly erotic rhythm of dragging her tongue along his shaft, followed by a tight stroke of her hand, and finally, taking him to the back of her throat. He slid a hand beneath her shirt, and caressed along her spine. Needing to touch more of her, he pushed his other hand down the back of her skirt, thanking the powers above for whatever forgiving material it was made from. He moved aside her lace panties and dipped into her slick heat, earning a lustful moan as she rocked forward and back, fucking his fingers as she loved him with her mouth. He felt her thighs flex around his hand, and she sank down on his fingers, moaning through her climax while continuing her exquisite torment and shattering his control.
“Bridge—” His hips shot off the seat, and his climax crashed over him.
His body quaked and pulsed, and she stayed with him until he sank back against the seat, sated and spent. She climbed over to his side of the car, curled into his arms like she was ready to settle in for the night, and sighed. He closed his eyes, soaking in every minute they had together.
AN HOUR LATER, after washing up—and getting Bridgette a clean pair of panties that Bodhi couldn’t wait to take off her—they were seated at Willow and Zane’s dining room table having dinner with her family. Ben and Piper had made a few joking comments about Bridgette and Bodhi showing up late, and Louie explained, in his adorably believable way, that they were probably late because they had to take Dahlia for a walk. He then went on to explain that Bodhi had to pick up the dog’s poop with a plastic bag. The boy knew how to break the ice.
Bodhi glanced at Louie, who was wearing the hat Derek Jeter had signed and sitting between his grandparents, across the table from him and Bridgette, totally focused on eating while the adults all talked at once. What was it like to grow up surrounded by all this playful banter and love? He realized how smart Bridgette had been to move back hom
e when she’d lost her husband. Everything she and Louie needed to heal was right there in that room. A twinge of guilt prickled his nerves, because he knew that soon she’d need them again, and that was all on him.
“We should send Piper to Bodhi’s house to check out the quality of his work,” Ben teased, elbowing Bodhi and snapping him back to the moment.
“No, we should not.” Bridgette squeezed Bodhi’s hand under the table.
“What’s the matter?” Piper smirked, setting her eyes on Bodhi. “Afraid he won’t pass muster?”
“You’re welcome to come check out my work anytime,” Bodhi offered.
“But not right before we leave in the mornings, because he’s at our house borrowing sugar,” Louie said without looking up from his dinner.
Bridgette choked on her drink, laughing and coughing, her cheeks flushed. Bodhi patted Bridgette’s back and felt a grin tugging at his lips as seven sets of amused eyes turned in their direction.
He cleared his throat and schooled his expression. “Louie’s right. I can’t find sugar as sweet as Bridgette’s at any store.”
Louie looked up from his meal. “I bet Willow’s sugar is sweet, because she makes the yummiest doughnuts!”
Everyone laughed, sparking conversations spoken in code about baked items, creamy fillings, and desserts eaten before dinner. Bodhi had lived with military guys for long stretches of time, and they had nothing on the Dalton family.
“You boys can thank my Roxie for our girls’ sweetness,” Dan said, eyeing Zane and Bodhi. “She’s got the sweetest sugar of all, and they are her daughters.”
Bodhi’s mother had a good sense of humor, and there hadn’t been many dull moments when he was growing up, but being around this much inherent love and laughter was a whole different world. Dan leaned over and kissed Roxie, tweaking an old sadness Bodhi hadn’t thought of for a while. Was his mother lonely? He’d never thought he was lonely. Not even all the times when Shira had asked about it over the years. But spending time with Bridgette and Louie had taught him what it felt like not to be lonely. He took comfort in knowing that Bridgette and Louie would have enough family to ensure they wouldn’t be lonely after he left. After this week, he and his mother would have even more in common. Would their support for each other be enough to fill the emptiness Bridgette and Louie would leave behind?
Only for You (Sugar Lake Book 2) Page 17