by Kimi Flores
“He pulled my pony tail, said I smelled like pineapple, and then he ran away. Why are boys so mean sometimes?”
Trying not to laugh about the pineapple comment, I explained, “Well, honey, sometimes when little boys like little girls, they don’t know how to act. He’ll learn as he gets older.” I continued to eat, practically slurping the pasta.
“That’s what Miss Abby said, but I think he’s just a stinker. I don’t care if my friend Casey says he’s yumtastic.”
I choked on some spinach, grabbing my drink, then gulped down the mineral water. Coughing a few more times in between words, I ignored the warm feeling that covered me at the mention of her teacher’s name. “Um, what does that word mean?”
“I don’t know.” She shrugged her tiny shoulders. “But Casey said that’s what her sister calls cute boys. I don’t think Justin is a cute boy. He’s gross and picks his nose all the time.”
My in-laws snickered, and I tried every way possible not to join in. Rolling my eyes, I mumbled, “Gotta love the older sibling influence.”
I noticed Grace eyeing Robert right before he cleared his throat uneasily.
Great, here it is. This was what I was being prepped for.
“So Caleb, what do you have going on next Thursday?”
I cautiously replied, “Nothing special, just working. Why? Do you have a better offer?”
“I thought it would be nice if you hung out for a while with this old man.” Robert pointed at himself.
I leaned my forearms against the edge of the table. It wasn’t a bad offer. Robert and I hadn’t spent much time together lately.
“Sure, what did you have in mind?” I took my last bite and wiped my mouth with what I just realized was a cloth napkin. Was that part of it? Grace certainly didn’t need to bring these out just to get me to spend a day with my father-in-law.
“Golfing, of course!” Robert answered enthusiastically. “I just got a new club that I wanted to try out. What do you say?”
And there it was—I hated golf and couldn’t swing a club to save my life. Once, I’d accidentally let go mid-swing and, although it hadn’t hit anyone or anything important, I’d hoped Robert would never invite me to go again.
Looking from Grace’s hopeful eyes back to her husband’s almost terrified look, I hesitantly agreed, “If that’s what you really want to do, then sure.”
I got up and started to clear the table when Grace told me to leave everything.
“Are we still on for the barbecue tomorrow?” I asked, hoping plans hadn’t changed.
When I’d first moved to Santa Barbara, I’d thought it was funny what Californians considered a barbecue. To me, it meant ribs slathered in sauce, pork with beans, grilled corn, and various kinds of mayonnaise-based salads. To Californians, it essentially meant grilling hamburgers, hot dogs and, sometimes, other kinds of meat. It had taken several years, but I’d been transformed into one of them now, because I loved a good Cali barbecue.
“Absolutely,” Grace confirmed. “We also invited the Baldwins.”
“Who’s that?” the always curious Madison asked.
“They’re Miss Abby’s parents,” she explained.
And there went my erratic heartbeat. Was she coming tomorrow, too?
“But that’s not Miss Abby’s last name. Her name is Sullyvin,” she lisped ever so slightly.
Grace snickered. “You’re right, honey. Mr. Baldwin is Miss Abby’s step-dad, so now her mommy has his last name.”
“Is Miss Abby’s daddy in heaven with my mommy?” Her inquisitive eyes searched for the answer, breaking my heart in the process.
Grace looked at a loss for words. “Uh, no. He lives far away with his other family.”
I didn’t know what to add to this awkward conversation. There wasn’t a child-friendly way to explain what I assumed was a divorce situation.
Sadly, Madison understood death, but by the look on her face, she didn’t get what we were talking about. “Well, that makes no senses. Is Miss Abby coming tomorrow?”
Thank goodness for children’s short attention spans. We’d avoided explaining this today, but I knew there would come a time when I would have to tell her about divorce, and all the devastation it brought to a family. And now my thoughts were back to my daughter’s breathtakingly beautiful teacher.
“Oh, I hadn’t thought to invite her.” Grace tried extremely hard to cover her smile, but I could see right through her. She glanced at me, then Madison. “Would you like me to invite her?” I had to wonder which of us she was asking.
Madison bounced out of her chair and jumped up and down, clapping. “Yes, I love Miss Abby. I want to see her tomorrow, too.”
Grace gave Madison a dramatically large grin. “Okay, I’ll tell her mommy to invite her.” Then Grace’s eyes darted to me.
“Yay!” Madison busted out into a little dance that consisted of her swinging her hips and waving her arms in the air. Where she got this stuff from, I had no idea.
We started toward the front door when I felt Grace tugging me to the side hallway. “Would you like us to keep Madison tonight so you could go out and have some fun?”
“No.” I shook my head. “You know I don’t go out on Friday nights. There’s no place for me, except home with my daughter.”
Grace tilted her head. “It’s time, son. You need to start opening yourself up to the possibility of finding someone else to love.”
Looking down, I shook my head no again.
Grace held me by the shoulders. “Look at me, sweetie.”
Reluctantly, I turned to find her poignantly staring back. I hated that look. There was no reason for anyone to feel sorry for me.
“You know how much we love you, Caleb. You’re our son as much as Rene was our daughter. She wouldn’t want you to live this lonely existence. She wanted you and Madison to find someone to complete your family. I was there, remember? I heard what she told you.” Her soft words tore through my heart.
“I’m not lonely. I have Madison, you guys, and my cousins. I don’t need anyone else. Madison doesn’t need anyone else right now, either. Please leave this alone,” I pleaded. “I know your heart is in the right place, but I’m just not ready.”
Stepping in a little closer, she lovingly held my cheeks. “Caleb, when are you ever going to be ready? Madison is growing up fast. She needs a mother. If you wait until she’s older, she may have a harder time accepting a mother figure.” Those words made a point, but then Grace went in for the kill. “And Madison is going to move out someday, and you’ll be left by yourself. I don’t want that for you.”
I sighed deeply, feeling heavyhearted. “I just can’t, Grace. Please drop it.”
Breaking up our conversation at the perfect moment, Madison ran to kiss her grammy goodbye.
“We’ll see you guys tomorrow.” I hugged Grace and Robert, then somberly waved as we left. What had started out as a lighthearted evening had turned into a painful ambush. And now I was left to nurse my broken—and lonely—heart, once again.
Chapter Three
California Style
Abby
As much as I loved my job during the week, I was also pretty fond of the weekend. Waking up late, staying in my jammies all day as I drank way too much coffee and devoured as many books as I could.
I mostly read romance novels, but occasionally threw in a suspense or mystery to mix things up. Sometimes I’d even stay up all night to finish whatever book I was enjoying at the time.
The fun part was attempting to function successfully at work come Monday, so I tried to finish my reading marathons by Sunday night.
Currently sucked into the paranormal romance, Inescapable by Amy A. Bartol, I was on the edge of my seat, waiting to see if Reed was finally going to profess his love to Evie when the buzz of my phone stole my attention.
It was tempting to let the call go to voicemail, but when I saw that it was my mom, I quickly answered.
“Hi, sweetheart, what’re you up to?�
�� my mom asked in her typical chipper morning tone.
“Nothing much. Just reading and drinking my coffee.” I put my feet up on the chair next to me at the dining table.
“Some things never change. You’ve done that same thing every Saturday for as long as I can remember.” We laughed, before my mom added, “Grace invited all of us over for lunch today. I’d love to spend some time with you. Can you tear yourself away and join us?”
“Of course, Mom. That sounds like fun. Let me jump in the shower and get ready.” I turned my e-reader off so I wouldn’t be tempted to continue reading once I got off the phone.
“Sounds good. We’ll be there around eleven-thirty. Love you.”
“See you then. Love you too.” Even though I was going to hang out with people older than me, at least it was something different for the day.
⁂
I pulled up to the curb and parked behind a silver Range Rover, my dream vehicle. I’d wanted one ever since I’d learned how to drive.
Someday, I thought then snickered to myself. Yeah, not on a teacher’s salary.
Getting out of my Jetta, I fixed my dress and picked up the Trader Joes bag from the trunk. As always, I’d stopped and gotten a couple of prepared foods to contribute. Not only was it simply good manners, but I was a vegetarian, and there weren’t normally too many food choices available for me at gatherings.
After spotting my mother’s car in the driveway, I headed up the stone path. The yard was immaculate and beautifully landscaped, with pink hollyhocks, California lilacs, and gerbera daisies scattered throughout, giving off the most delightful scent.
I’d heard my mother talk about how beautiful Grace and Robert’s home was, but it was more awe-inspiring than I’d imagined. It almost resembled a life-sized child’s Victorian playhouse. The features were breathtaking, as if taken out of the late 1800’s and placed here as new. It displayed strong octagon towers, and shutters accentuated the large bay windows. The roofs were on a steep slope, the eaves hanging over, giving the house a sense of grandeur but still homey. The oversized wide steps welcomed me onto a porch that spanned the front of the house.
Taking a breath, I knocked on the door. When no one answered, I rang the doorbell. Still nothing, so I called my mom’s cell.
“Mom, I’m at the front door, but I don’t think anyone can hear me knocking.”
“Oh, sorry, hon! We’re all in the backyard. I’ll go let you in.”
I pressed the end button and waited. A few moments later, the front door opened, and there stood Madison’s daddy, grinning and wearing an apron that said ‘Kiss the cook’.
I felt my cheeks flush, staring at the apron. Caleb glanced down, letting out a deep chuckle. His eyes slowly glided up my body until they landed back on my face, and I was glad that I’d made the extra effort this morning—painting my toes and putting on a cute sundress.
Just as Caleb opened his mouth to say something, we heard, “Miss Abby! Miss Abby!”
Madison was running toward us. She jumped into my arms, nearly knocking the bag out of my hand.
“Now, that’s a greeting.” I hugged my student back, still trying not to drop the bag.
Madison stepped closer to Caleb and squealed, “Grammy said you were coming, and I was so asited. Do you go to all the kids’ houses for lunch?” Her face brightened, waiting for my answer.
Trying not to snicker at the ‘asited’ pronunciation, I answered, “No, not usually, but my mommy is friends with your grammy, so here I am.”
The little girl looked at the porch floor, disappointed.
I bent down carefully, tucking my dress between my thighs and calves. “Of course, when I heard you were going to be here, I just had to come.”
The bright smile was back, and I looked up at Caleb as he mouthed ‘thank you’.
Wow. I gulped. I hadn’t actually taken a close look at his lips before. Oh man, he has a nice pair. Realizing I was embarrassing myself once more, I stood to break the trance.
By chance, Grace walked up at that moment. “Well, what’s taking you so long? Those burgers aren’t going to cook themselves, mister.” She motioned for Caleb to return to the backyard and grabbed the bag from me. “Come on in. I know you don’t eat meat, so we have the veggie burgers your mom said you liked.”
“Thanks Grace, that was very thoughtful.”
Caleb walked through the sliding glass doors that led to the backyard, and I couldn’t help but stare after him. I was going to have a difficult time not drooling over him all afternoon.
“Actually, Caleb overheard me talking to your mom on the phone this morning and offered to go get them for you.” Grace had a sinister smile on her face.
“I’ll have to thank him too, then.” I wondered what her smile was all about, trying not to focus on the fact that I would most likely do something dumb in front of him again.
Caleb had already made it out to the grill when Grace and I stepped off the back porch. I reached out to hug my mom and stepdad, Dave. The beginning of the school year was a hectic time and I hadn’t seen them much lately. My mother and Dave were also on a cruise binge and seemed to jump from one ship to another, before they even unpacked their bags from their previous one.
Praying that I didn’t somehow trip on the grass along the way, I strolled over to greet Robert who was standing next to Caleb at the grill. “Hi Robert, how are you doing?” I gave a small friendly wave before swinging my arms behind my back and clasping my hands together. Nonchalantly sneaking a peek at Caleb, I saw that his wide eyes were directly on my large chest.
Shoot. I must look like a total hussy, throwing my big boobs out there like that.
In an effort to somewhat cover myself, I moved my arms in front of my body. Now that he’d obviously been caught, Caleb turned his attention back to the grill.
“Fantastic, Abby. How are things with you?” Robert looked curiously back and forth between Caleb and me.
I wanted to crawl under a rock. “Pretty good, to be honest.”
“That’s wonderful. I’m going to head over to see why my wife is trying to get my attention. Son, you’ve got the grill covered?” Robert placed his palm on Caleb’s shoulder.
“Sure do, Dad.” He still hadn’t looked back up, and I thought his cheeks looked almost as red as mine felt.
“Good boy. I’ll be back if I see smoke.” We laughed as Robert walked away.
“Thanks for the veggie burgers. I truly appreciate it.” I giggled nervously, then swallowed. I hated that this man made me feel like a fifteen-year-old school girl.
“My pleasure. I don’t eat a lot of meat myself. Just a little chicken, turkey, or fish here and there, but I enjoy veggie burgers too.” His deep brown eyes finally met mine, causing my heart to speed up.
Keep your cool, Abby.
“I noticed that you called Robert ‘dad’.” Was that too personal to ask a guy I’d only recently met? Oh well, it was already out there.
“Honestly, I’m a lot closer to him and Grace than I am to my own parents. I’ve called them mom and dad for years, and we haven’t seen a reason for me to stop.”
“That’s really sweet.” My heart warmed and I smiled, realizing I was totally flirting with my student’s dad, so I changed the subject. “So Caleb, what do you do for a living?” Okay, so, maybe that still sounded a little flirty.
“I’m an author.” He flashed his beautifully blinding teeth before flipping a set of burgers over. Even though I hadn’t eaten a piece of meat in years, the smell of those patties cooking made my mouth water. Or maybe it was just the guy at the grill.
Shaking my head, I cleared my throat. “You’re kidding. I read a lot. What do you write?” Now this excited me. I started to bite my thumbnail.
He looked uncomfortable for a moment. “Um. Mysteries, criminal justice novels, that sort of genre.”
Something suddenly clicked and I started to ramble like a blithering idiot. “Wait a minute. Caleb Hunter? Oh my goodness. I’ve read a few of y
our books. You’re really good and kind of famous.”
“Thanks. I enjoy what I do, and it allows me to set my own schedule so I can spend time with Madison.” He seemed uneasy, but I couldn’t stop jabbering.
“Great perk. Are you working on something new?” Realizing how close I was standing to him, I hung on his every word. I seriously needed to get some help with this whole book obsession thing. To top it off, not only was he drop dead gorgeous, but he currently smelled like the most delicious mixture of sweet smoke and spices.
Oh man, did he notice me sniffing him?
“I’m pretty much always working on something new.” He gave an uncomfortable laugh brushing my arm as he reached for the cheese slices. “But I’m currently on a deadline with one. It’s coming along, though.” Backing away a little, he must’ve noticed that the distance between us had shrunk.
Why did I have to be so dang awkward?
“Okay, well, I’m gonna head back to the house and see if I can help with anything. It was nice chatting with you, Caleb.” I couldn’t get away fast enough. I knew my face was crimson, and I was well aware of how funny my graceless, rushed walk probably looked.
“You too, Abby.” I heard from behind but didn’t dare look.
I couldn’t believe my reaction to him. I knew lots of guys and they’d never affected me like this.
I’m in trouble.
⁂
As we sat at the large picnic tables, eating and enjoying each other’s conversation, Grace interrupted. “Oh Abby, I just remembered I can’t chaperone the field trip to the zoo this week. I completely forgot I have a doctor’s appointment. I’m so sorry.”
Disappointed, I tried to cover up my feelings. I’d been counting on her being there. “It’s okay. I’ll see if I can get another parent to help.”
Grace glanced at her son-in-law. “Hey Caleb, can you step in for me? They’re going to the zoo on Thursday.” She couldn’t hide her smirk.
“Funny, Robert just asked me last night if I would go golfing with him, even though he knows I don’t like to golf.” Turning to Robert, Caleb asked, “You wouldn’t mind if I cancel, would you?”