Autumn Wish

by Netzel, Stacey Joy

  So much more.

  Without breaking the kiss, he lowered his hands to start unbuttoning his shirt from the bottom up. Once the last button was free, she pushed the material off his shoulders, down past the bulk of his arms.

  Musical chimes pierced her consciousness. Her hands clenched on his shirt as the unexpected noise forced her back to reality. Ella began crying from the other room and Sam stilled.

  He dragged in a ragged breath as she pulled his shirt back over his shoulders by the collar. Then he braced his hands against the wall above her shoulders, and leaned forward to rest his forehead against hers.

  “You know, I’d have put money on the baby interrupting us, not the damn doorbell.”

  She palmed his face with one hand and pressed a quick kiss to his frowning mouth. “You get the door, I’ll get Ella.”

  Pushing away from the wall, he muttered, “Better not be more pie.”

  Lips still tingling from his kiss, Nikki grinned at his back. She smoothed her hair, checked to make sure her sweater was in order, and then followed him from the kitchen. He also straightened his clothes, and though he didn’t have time to button up the flannel, he ran both hands through his hair before reaching for the door.

  As she turned and bent to pick up Ella, she heard Sam greet his visitor. “Hello.”

  “Hi, Sam, right?”

  “Yeah.”

  “I’m Eric Riley. Nikki’s brother-in-law.”

  She glanced over her shoulder to see Sam extend his hand.

  “Nice to meet you. Come on in.”

  She straightened and turned as Eric stepped inside and Sam closed the door. She soothed Ella with the pacifier while crossing the living room floor. “Hey, Eric.”

  “Hey.” His gray gaze shifted from giving Sam’s unbuttoned shirt the once-over to accessing her with an equally keen eye. She resisted the urge to check her hair again and cursed the heat that rose in her face when she noticed the slight lift of his eyebrows.

  “I brought the crib over,” he explained, though she’d already figured that out.

  “You didn’t have to do that,” Sam protested.

  Eric gave a wry smile. “My wife insisted.”

  Yeah. Because her sister was nosey. “I’m surprised Marissa didn’t come with you.”

  Eric’s laugh told Nikki he had no trouble reading between the lines. “Oh, she wanted to, but it’s a school night.”

  “I bet it’s killing her.”

  “Yep.” He reached out to touch the baby’s hand, and she curled her little fingers around his. He waggled his captive thumb and smiled at her. “So, this is Ella. She’s a cutie.”

  Nikki waited for Sam to reply, but instead of a standard thank-you like most proud parents, he simply said, “She is.”

  “You know, I hope you don’t mind, but Nikki explained your situation.” Eric cast him a sideways glance. “How’s it going? A little overwhelming?”

  Sam ran a hand through his hair again and rubbed the back of his neck. “That’s a bit of an understatement. But Nik’s been a great help.”

  Eric shifted his gaze to her. “Yeah. Nik’s good like that.”

  She caught the tiny inflection he added to her shortened name. Eric knew she wasn’t a big fan of it, but it was only the third time Sam had called her that, so it wasn’t like she’d had a chance to say anything. Besides, she realized the usual flare of irritation when he said the name was completely absent.

  “Come on out and give me a hand unloading,” Eric told Sam as he reached for the door. “Then I’ve got a few questions for you so I can give Marissa a full report when I get home.”

  “Uh, okay.” Sam’s raised eyebrow glance at her made Eric chuckle as they headed outside.

  Nikki shook her head and whispered to Ella. “We’d better not leave those two alone for too long.”

  She held the door when they carried all the pieces inside, then joined them upstairs while they assembled the crib.

  “This is really nice.” Sam ran his hand over the elegant curve of the footboard as Eric snapped the adjustable side into place. “It looks handcrafted.”

  “Eric made them when Marissa was pregnant with the twins three years ago,” Nikki confirmed.

  A frown furrowed his forehead. “You didn’t tell me this was a family piece.”

  “It’s okay,” Eric assured him. “We wouldn’t have offered if we minded, and I’d much rather have it being used instead of sitting in our basement.”

  Reluctant acceptance filled Sam’s expression as he continued to admire Eric’s craftsmanship. “Well, I appreciate it. It’s a great piece of furniture. I’m working with Hansen Construction out of Redemption, but I’d love to learn how to do stuff like this.”

  “I’ve done some contract work for Carter Hansen.” Her brother-in-law stood up and double checked the sturdiness of the reassembled pieces. “His houses are beautiful, and he’s well respected around the area.”

  “Yeah. I’ve only been there about three months, so I was worried about calling in this morning. He was very understanding, though. Told me to take as much time as I need.”

  Nikki handed Ella over to Sam and grabbed the dust ruffle from the crib set she’d unpacked earlier.

  “He’s a good guy.” Eric leaned back against the dresser. “Are you originally from around here, Sam?”

  “I grew up in Upper Michigan.”

  “What brought you to Wisconsin?”

  “Nothing in particular. I’ve spent the last twelve years moving around a lot.”

  “For a previous job?”

  Nikki had turned for the crib mattress, and noticed Sam’s shoulders tense while his gaze dropped to the baby in his arms. Much as she wanted to tell Eric to cool it with the pseudo-interrogation, she also wanted to hear Sam’s answer.

  “No. I just wasn’t sure where I wanted to settle, that’s all.”

  “You picked a good place in Pulaski.” Eric stepped forward to help her with the mattress. “It’s a small town, lots of families, and we have a real close-knit community. Plus, we’ve got a great school district.”

  The idea of Ella in school clearly never crossed Sam’s mind. And why would it? She’d only been with him for a day. Nikki quickly said, “It’s not like he has to worry about that right now.”

  “True. How about child care? Do you have that lined up?” Eric asked.

  “Not yet.” He reached for the pacifier Ella spit out. “I’m going to look at two places tomorrow—not that I have any idea what I’m looking for.”

  “I can help you with that,” Nikki offered. “If it’s the places I told you about, either one will take good care of Ella.”

  He nodded, though he still looked uncertain. With the crib all set up, they went back downstairs, and Nikki detoured into the kitchen to warm a bottle while Sam laid the baby in the playpen.

  “I’m going to head home,” Eric said. “See you Friday for Savannah’s party, Nikki.”

  “I’ll be there.” She glanced back to see Sam walking him to the door.

  “Thank you, and your wife, for everything.”

  “We’re happy to help.” After a slight pause, he added, “Listen, you mind stepping outside with me for a minute?”

  Nikki’s heart thumped hard when she caught her brother-in-law’s low request, but by the time she spun around, the front door had clicked closed on the both of them.

  Damn it. What the heck was he up to?

  Chapter 8

  Sam faced Eric Riley on the porch, not sure what to expect after the guy’s low, almost secretive request.

  “You said you moved around a lot.”

  “Yeah?” He shoved his hands in his pockets, hunching his shoulders against the cold autumn air. It’d started with him searching for Rae, then became a defense mechanism until he’d landed in Pulaski.

  “You planning to stick around?”

  A hint of accusation in the question put Sam on the defensive. “I bought a house, didn’t I?”

  “Yo
u can sell it just as easy as you bought it.”

  “Probably.” Inside his pockets, his fingers curled into fists, and he locked his gaze with Eric’s. “How about you just get to the point.”

  When the other man crossed his arms over his chest, Sam didn’t miss the bulge of his biceps under his shirt.

  “I don’t want you toying with Nikki.”

  He figured Eric was close to his age, maybe a few years older than twenty-nine, but his steel gaze made Sam feel like a teenager who’d been caught making out with the guy’s daughter. It was a totally new experience, and if Eric hadn’t been one hundred percent serious, Sam would’ve laughed.

  Instead, annoyance reared up and he went straight to smart-ass. “As I understand it, you’re married to her sister, not her.”

  Eric’s jaw tensed as he took a step closer. “She’s family, and she’s barely a month out of a bad relationship. The bastard broke her heart, and I’m not going to stand by and let someone else hurt her.”

  Sam frowned at Eric’s vehemence. Had Joe done something more than leave Nikki because they wanted different things? And what made him think Sam was a similar threat? “You realize we just met, right?”

  “And yet you looked like you were in the middle of something when I showed up.”

  When he thought of how he’d finagled that kiss, guilt doubled his defensiveness. “What we were doing when you showed up—uninvited, I might add—is none of your business. I don’t know her exact age, but I’m pretty sure she’s old enough to make her own decisions.”

  “That’s true,” Eric conceded. “But she also wants to get married and have kids, and you’ve got a ready-made family here just begging for help.” He stepped closer and poked a finger into Sam’s chest. “I’m giving you fair warning. Hurt her and you’ll answer to me and Marissa, and the rest of our family. Got it?”

  Sam held his gaze without making any attempt to move. “Yep.”

  “Good.” Eric suddenly grinned, backed off, and descended the porch steps for his truck. “Good talk, Sam. Nice to meet ya.”

  “Yeah, sure,” he muttered under his breath as Riley drove away.

  Shit. If the rest of the family was anything like Eric, maybe he understood Joe’s reluctance to join in.

  But the guilt that’d surfaced a moment ago returned, and he saw himself through her brother-in-law’s eyes. Damn it. The guy’s gut instinct was dead on. Sam knew Nikki still had feelings for her ex, and he’d used them to get what he wanted. If that wasn’t messing with her emotions, he didn’t know what was.

  He leaned against the porch railing behind him, closed his eyes, and banged his head back against the vertical support post. He’d never stooped this low for a woman before, so what the hell was his problem now?

  The sound of the door made him pull his head forward. He straightened, meeting Nikki’s concerned gaze as she asked, “Everything okay?”

  “Yeah.”

  “You don’t look okay. What’d Eric say?”

  “Nothing. I’m just tired.”

  She clearly didn’t buy the excuse, but didn’t press further as he strode forward to go inside. When he passed her, he caught a hint of her scent, that combination of almond and vanilla that had nearly driven him crazy in the kitchen.

  Heaven help him, she smelled good enough to take a bite, but in all fairness, he couldn’t continue down that road. Making her ex jealous was one thing—and a stupid-ass plan at that—but ‘practicing’ kissing her in private was a colossal mistake.

  He’d had one moment of sanity where he’d managed to keep from exploring all that warm, soft skin under her sweater, but when she’d started pulling at his shirt, rational thought flew out the window. Forget the baby. Forget that they’d only known each other a day. If she’d have let him, he’d have walked her right up the stairs to his bed. Then he’d have ended up wondering if she’d wanted him, or if he was just a stand-in after an emotionally tough evening.

  For the first time ever, that thought turned his stomach, and he fought to keep his hands from becoming fists again. He’d never cared about something like that before. As long as there was mutual satisfaction...

  Ella’s bottle sat on the coffee table, and he seized the excuse to keep busy.

  “I already changed her diaper,” Nikki advised when he stooped to lift the baby from the playpen.

  “Thanks.”

  See? Right there was another problem. Yes, she was beautiful and sexy, but with her constant assistance making his life easier, he couldn’t be one hundred percent sure the real reason he wanted her around. He wasn’t that hard up for sex, and using her to help him manage with Ella wasn’t right, either. Not after what both she and Eric had said about her wanting a family of her own.

  He sat on the couch, upended the bottle to drip a few drops of formula on his wrist like she’d taught him, and then sat back to feed his niece. When Nikki would’ve sat next to him, he said, “I appreciate all your help tonight, but you must be tired, too. You should head home while you’ve still got the chance to have a little time to yourself.”

  She stood there for a long moment, completely silent. He avoided looking up at her because her sky-blue sweater not only accented her enticing curves, it also deepened the color of her eyes. Eyes that had drawn him in at every turn, all evening.

  “Yeah, good idea.” A step sideways allowed her to swipe her coat off the back of his recliner, but then she paused at the door. “So...I’ll see you tomorrow?”

  “Maybe,” he glanced up with a shrug. “I’ve got a lot to get done so I can get back to work on Thursday. I can’t afford that much time off without pay.”

  “All right then.” She opened the door. “I guess I’ll see you when I see you.”

  He nodded. “Goodnight. And thank you.”

  “Yeah, sure,” she muttered, her tone identical to his when Eric had driven off. He cringed as the door slammed, then gently shushed Ella when she started in his arms. A wiggle of the bottle got her attention back to sucking down her bedtime meal and gave him plenty of time to think.

  A couple minutes later, he almost wished the baby would give him a distraction again.

  ***

  Oh, hell, be careful what you wish for.

  Sam resolutely picked up the crying baby and did yet another weary turn around the living room. Hell would’ve been a welcome relief right about now. She stopped crying in his arms, and he allowed himself to pause and peer at the numbers on the kitchen stove. After blinking a few times to clear the blur, he groaned when he saw four-thirteen.

  Twice he’d twisted the doorknob, ready to go pound on Nikki’s door and beg for help, but each time the blast of cold air stopped him in his tracks. After practically kicking her out, he couldn’t very well wake her up in the middle of the night.

  “Damn it all anyway, Ella, can’t you give me one hour?” he growled. “Just one damn lousy hour of sleep is all I’m asking for at this point.”

  She’d stopped being a sweetie, or honey—or angel, as Nikki called her—shortly after midnight. He wished like hell he’d taken the nap Nikki offered earlier, but his shower had revived him enough to delude him into thinking he’d make it through just fine.

  Sleep when the baby sleeps, she’d advised.

  Yeah, great advice, if he didn’t have to be holding Ella and walking in order for her eyes to close. The moment he stopped, those little eyelids popped wide open. If he tried laying her down, the screaming started.

  She’d eaten. Shit her pants twice. The second time he’d changed her diaper, she’d peed on him and set off the gag reflex he thought he’d conquered.

  He’d been oh-so-proud of his frickin’ genius when he figured out he could put her in the carrier and rock her with the toe of his boot—until he nodded off and his foot went still. In his dream, a puppy whimpered a few times, then let out a blood-curdling scream that jerked him awake to see Ella’s blue eyes glaring at him, full of watery accusation.

  That’d been an hour ago, and h
e wasn’t sure how much more he could take. In his sleep-deprived state, he briefly considered leaving her in the playpen while he stuffed a pillow over his head upstairs in his bed, but then a mountain of guilt piled on for even thinking such a thought. She was defenseless. He was in charge of taking care of her. He couldn’t leave her alone like that.

  On his next circuit around the living room, his foot caught the coffee table leg and he tripped. He threw out one hand to catch his balance on the back of the couch as his other arm instinctively tightened around the baby. When the alarming rush of adrenaline subsided, he sank down onto the arm of the couch, his heart still pounding so hard he could barely breathe.

  What if he’d dropped Ella? Or fallen on her?

  He shot to his feet, laid her in the playpen, and rushed from his house to Nikki’s front porch. He kept knocking until he saw the curtain move. A second later the door flew open.

  “What’s wrong?” she demanded, tying the sash of a short, pale green robe. “Where’s Ella?”

  “Next door.” Fatigue hit hard now that she stood in front of him. “She won’t sleep, and I almost dropped her, and it scared the shit out of me. I tried the playpen, the crib, the carrier. She ate. Her diaper’s clean, but unless I’m holding her, and walking, she won’t close her damn eyes. What the frickin’ hell am I supposed to do?”

  “First of all, take a breath.”

  A blast of cold air filled his starved lungs.

  “We should’ve gotten you a swing,” she muttered as she stepped outside and pulled her door closed.

  “A swing?” His gaze cut to the one hanging on her front porch, suspended from the roof on chains.

  “To rock her to sleep.”

  Was she serious? “It’s too cold to rock her outside in the middle of the night.”

  “A baby swing for in the house,” she explained, taking his arm to steer him back toward his place.