Sasha’s Dad

by Geri Krotow

  Parents were so obtuse. Dad needed to be nicer to Claire. Why didn’t he tell her he was glad to have her here?

  Claire laughed. Sasha really liked Claire’s laugh, and even more, she liked how Dad got that little smile on his face whenever Claire laughed.

  “Yes, I heard them from the driveway.” Sasha liked how Claire didn’t seem to let Daddy’s attitude bother her.

  Dad looked over and caught Sasha staring at them.

  Shoot. Sasha busied herself emptying another bottle of root beer into a plastic cup. If she acted like she didn’t care what they were talking about, Daddy would chill.

  “How much root beer have you had?” Sasha watched her dad’s gaze take in the counter, littered with empty glass bottles. Sasha had insisted on the “good” root beer when they’d gone grocery shopping.

  Daddy would’ve bought that icky stuff in the half-liter plastic containers. Sasha knew she’d never convince Dad to let her have Coke for her party—he was anticaffeine for her until she was an adult. But he’d been a pushover for the expensive root beer.

  “This is for Maddie.”

  “Humph.” Daddy didn’t seem convinced.

  She didn’t push her luck. Sasha went back out to the party, leaving Dad and Claire alone. That was the idea, wasn’t it?

  CLAIRE DIDN’T LIKE the close confines of Dutch’s kitchen. She looked around the room, which extended into a sitting area in front of sliding glass doors. Even with the breakfast counter, she realized the room wasn’t that small, after all. It was Dutch. He was too big.

  She looked back at him.

  “I’m not plotting anything here, Dutch. Relax.” She gave a stilted laugh as she tried to heed her own advice.

  “I’m not trying to seduce you,” she went on. “I want to be a support to Sasha. I did know Natalie before you did, and you have to admit I know more about what went on in her twelve-year-old brain than you possibly could.”

  She hadn’t meant for that part about trying to seduce him to slip out, but so be it. He really needed to get a grip. Was he that wary of her? No doubt he was used to women finding him attractive—Patsy being a case in point. Since he’d been the one to establish the boundaries of their relationship, she didn’t expect him to be so defensive.

  “I don’t recall saying I thought you were trying to seduce me.”

  “I didn’t ask you to kiss me yesterday, either, but you did.” She shrugged her shoulders. “I’m over it. I’m not taking it for anything it wasn’t. Why can’t you just accept that I care about Sasha?”

  His eyes glittered. He yanked his eyes away from her and gazed out the sink window. She followed his line of sight and instead of inky darkness found herself confronted by a mirror image of the two of them. The reflection jarred her. Dutch, long and lean, his hips against the counter, was all man. Her profile was completely feminine, her curves highlighted by her tight sweater and low-slung jeans.

  But their immediate appearance wasn’t what put the catch in her throat. It was the palpable energy that ricocheted between them. Neither looked very happy, but they looked alive. A contrast she shoved aside for the moment.

  “Don’t you understand why I’m careful where you’re concerned, Claire? Because I know you. I know how you behaved not just after Natalie got sick, but years before that. You’re a leaver, Claire, and Sasha doesn’t need anyone else leaving in her life.”

  His weary tone didn’t match the harsh statement.

  “Those are pretty judgmental words at this point, aren’t they, Dutch? Does your argument sound as tired to you as it does to me?” She straightened and motioned with her hands.

  He stood there, neither moving nor speaking.

  “I’ve been back for two years next week. I’m making a go of the farm and opening my shop by the summer. In the current economy, I’d be crazy to do this if I wasn’t sure about it. I’m not going anywhere, no matter how much you wish I would.”

  At his continued silence, she said, “We were kids, Dutch. I know I was stupid to let our relationship go, but I won’t apologize for wanting to leave Dovetail and see the world. The fact that we drifted apart and Natalie…” She couldn’t finish. “What’s done is done.”

  “Natalie wasn’t an afterthought or a coincidence. That’s not fair. Tom had died that month and we were two distraught kids.”

  “I was a kid then, too, Dutch.”

  “Not when you came back from university a few years later.”

  “I’d had too much to drink. So had you.” But he’d still kept her at arm’s length, or tried to.

  The heat rose off her chest and up her face as he stared at her. Claire thought she actually saw a glimmer of warmth in his eyes.

  Was he finally going to crack?

  The ring of the phone broke the tension that sizzled between them.

  Dutch reached for the phone and answered, never taking his gaze off Claire. “Dutch Archer.”

  Claire met his eyes with all the nerve she had. She saw him listening, but his eyes communicated something deeper that she wasn’t sure she was ready to face.

  Fortunately the call had his attention as he grabbed for a pen and started writing notes.

  “Where exactly along the highway? Is it just one? Hmm, I see. I’ll be there as quickly as I can.”

  He hung up and turned to Claire. “Drunk driver piled his pickup into a herd of dairy cows coming in for the night. One animal is dead and two are badly injured—one pregnant.”

  “How awful! You have to go!”

  “Yeah, but I can’t leave these girls.” He picked up the phone again. “Ginny couldn’t make it out to help with the party, but I can call my folks or Mrs. Ames.”

  “Dutch, stop it.” She put her hand on his forearm. “I’ll stay here with the girls until you get back. It’s not a problem.”

  He looked at her hand. Before she could pull it back, Dutch covered her hand with his. “What about your dinner date?” he asked.

  Claire lifted one shoulder in a shrug. “It’s not a date, Dutch. It’s with my parents. They’ll understand. Besides, they love to go out on their own.”

  She saw a flicker of something in his eyes—was it gratitude that she was here and available to help?

  “It could be several hours. I don’t know what I’ll find.”

  “Hello, it’s me. The one whose llamas you saved. Your professional fee can’t come close to making up what I feel I owe you. This is the least I can do.”

  “Thanks, Claire. I appreciate it. But you don’t owe me this.”

  “Doesn’t matter. I want to.”

  Dutch nodded, then went into the other room and told Sasha what had happened. “Claire will stay here with you until I get back,” he explained.

  Sasha squealed and her girlfriends followed suit. “All right! An all-girls party!”

  Dutch barely refrained from shaking his head in bemusement. He looked at her one last time. “I’ll call when I know what’s going on.”

  “Don’t worry about it. This will be as much fun for me as the girls.”

  CLAIRE WATCHED DUTCH leave and let out a huge breath when she saw the beams of his headlights sweep across the driveway as he backed out. She surveyed the gaggle of preteens and smiled. “Who wants to do makeovers?”

  The next several hours were spent painting toenails, eating pizza—which arrived just after Dutch left—making lots of popcorn and convincing the girls that they could stay up as late as they wanted as long as they put their pajamas on and got into their sleeping bags. Claire agreed to keep the movies going.

  After most of the girls had fallen asleep, Sasha stood.

  “Can I show you something?” she whispered to Claire.

  “Sure.”

  “It’s in Dad’s den.” Claire rose from the easy chair and followed Sasha into Dutch’s office.

  “So this is where Rascal’s been hiding.” She smiled at the dog curled up in his bed. Dutch had brought Rascal out to the farm one day and Claire had immediately loved the
dog’s soulful expression.

  Sasha nodded.

  “Yeah, he always comes in here when there’s too much going on.” Sasha bent over as she spoke and pulled a large wicker basket out from under an end table next to the leather sofa.

  Claire squatted beside Sasha on the rug.

  “I wanted to ask if you can help me with this.”

  “What is it?” Claire reached out and fingered the navy cotton yarn. It was hand-knitted.

  “A sweater for my dad. Mom never finished it. I want to get it done for him by Father’s Day, but I can’t work on it here, and I have some questions about how to sew on the arms.”

  The air whooshed out of Claire’s lungs. Whether due to the lateness of the hour or the weight of Sasha’s request, tears sprang to her eyes.

  “I’m still so new at knitting, Sasha, but I’m sure we can find someone to help us.” The image of Mr. Black working on the Scandinavian sweater for his partner appeared in Claire’s mind. “As a matter of fact,” she said, “I have the perfect person to ask—he’s a master knitter and someone I’ve known since I went to school here.”

  “Great! That’d be so cool, Claire. But let’s keep it a secret, okay? I really want this to be a surprise. I’ll bring the sweater and the rest of the yarn in my backpack next week.”

  “Better yet, I’ll put it in my car now, and your dad will never be the wiser.”

  “You’re the best, Claire!” Sasha all but knocked Claire over with the ferocity of her hug.

  Claire hugged Sasha back. “No, Sasha, you are. This is a wonderful idea.”

  Sasha grinned happily.

  “Time to get some sleep, okay? I’ll run out right now and put this in my car.”

  “Okay.”

  When Claire came back into the house, all the girls were asleep, including Sasha. Claire turned off the TV.

  She had no illusions that finishing the sweater Natalie had started for Dutch would give either him or Sasha the closure they needed. But this was important to Sasha, so there was no question she’d do it.

  A wave of fatigue swept over her. It had been a long, hard month since the crias were born, and this past week had been the longest. Claire was tired of thinking about her past and anything related to it.

  Claire looked at her watch. It was past 3:00 a.m. She’d stretch out on the couch in the den, near the living room where the girls slept, and doze. Dutch probably would be back any moment.

  CHAPTER ELEVEN

  DUTCH UNLOCKED the side door and tiptoed into the kitchen. The dawn light glowed across the wooden floor. The house was warm and smelled of popcorn, soda pop and pizza. He thought he smelled nail polish remover, too.

  Rascal greeted him with a sniff, tail wagging.

  “Hey, guy. Sorry I left you alone with all these women. Good boy,” he whispered as he rubbed the dog’s neck and then straightened. Rascal would be asking to eat in the next hour or so. To ensure some shut-eye without the dog whimpering, Dutch scooped two cups of dog food out of the bin near the door, then refilled Rascal’s water dish. Rascal would let himself out via the doggy door he’d installed when Natalie got the sickest—none of them had time to walk the dog.

  He walked into the dining room, which was clean except for a couple of plastic cups on the table. Further inspection revealed all six girls practically comatose on the family room floor.

  Sasha and the girls slept in sleeping bags. No sign of Claire. His gut tightened. Had she left them alone? No, he’d seen her car when he drove up. He forced out a quiet breath and walked into his study.

  Claire lay sprawled on his leather couch. She was on her back, her mouth slightly open. Still in her clothes, she’d only taken off her shoes.

  He realized she must be chilled without a blanket. As quietly as possible, he opened the storage ottoman and pulled out a fuzzy polar fleece blanket. She didn’t even stir as he covered her with it.

  He studied her face. With her hair splayed on the arm of the couch, her expression was completely accessible. The smudges under her eyes told him how late she must’ve gone to bed, and the tiny crease between her brows indicated stress, even in sleep.

  But her beauty was inescapable. The same creamy skin he’d kissed in high school. The same delicious sprinkling of freckles across her nose. Her blond hair was darker and longer than he’d ever seen when she was on television as a reporter.

  His fingers itched to touch her face. Her beauty had come into full bloom.

  He couldn’t believe she’d never married. Well, actually, he could—Claire was a free spirit. But she was one hot free spirit. She must’ve had plenty of opportunities to hook up in D.C., in such a highly visible job.

  He breathed in deeply and willed his mind elsewhere. It wouldn’t do to allow his emotions related to Claire to surface. He tried to distract his lustful thoughts, reminding himself that she was the one link to Natalie that Sasha craved.

  Dutch knew he was in dangerous territory. But it wasn’t the threat of a physical enemy that haunted him. It was the emotions that were evoked by the one woman he’d sworn to write out of his life.

  Claire.

  Here she was, asleep on his couch, in his den, in the middle of the night. The girls were sound asleep in the television room, guaranteed to stay that way for at least the next few hours.

  Temptation ran through him, and it took all his will-power to back up and put mental space between them. For a man who prided himself on his convictions, he sure wasn’t doing a great job with this one.

  Worse, he was finding it harder and harder to come up with reasons to hold on to those convictions….

  Ginny believed that people changed. He hated to admit it, but his little sister might be right….

  He settled into the easy chair across from Claire and pulled the ratty throw he kept on it over himself. He sure as hell wasn’t going to get any sleep in his bed. The girls might need him, and he didn’t want them to wake Claire.

  Besides, the view from here was far more interesting.

  CLAIRE WOKE to the smell of stale popcorn and dog. As she became more aware she noticed that the blanket that covered her was keeping someone else warm—Rascal. The medium-size dog was snuggled against her.

  At some point she’d turned onto her side with her back against the couch frame and Rascal had snuggled up next to her. She didn’t remember throwing the blanket on when she’d lain down for what she’d thought would be a brief nap.

  She held up her arm and looked at her watch.

  Seven in the morning! That must’ve been some case Dutch had.

  She listened—no sound came from the television room. The girls were still out cold, thank goodness.

  As Claire rose onto her elbows and sat up, Rascal yawned and tried to snuggle deeper. She laughed and rubbed his head. “You’re a sweetie, aren’t you?”

  The dog didn’t look at her, but at the big chair across the room.

  Where Dutch slept.

  Realization jerked Claire out of her sleepy state. Dutch had come home—when? And how long had he been sleeping in here?

  He lay with his feet up in the easy chair, the dim glow of a tiny lamp on the adjacent bookshelf the only light in the room. She’d left it on so she wouldn’t trip over anything if the girls called out to her.

  Claire studied Dutch’s profile. This was the most relaxed she’d seen him since she’d returned to Dovetail. His forehead was marked with lines, and his nose and chin seemed more defined. He looked sexier than hell….

  His hair was mussed and she wondered if it was still as coarse as she remembered. She’d only felt the nape of his neck when they’d kissed in her yard that day.

  No doubt that was the last time she’d ever get to kiss him.

  She sighed. They’d never get past their history. But she could go and make some coffee for Dutch. She’d leave it warming for him, along with a note.

  Who was she kidding—she needed some coffee.

  She eased herself around Rascal and slipped between the
sofa and the chair to get to the door.

  A hand grabbed her wrist.

  She looked down into Dutch’s blue eyes and saw a sparkle of amusement in their depths.

  “You’re awake!” she whispered.

  “Oh, yeah.” He yanked on her arm and she fell into his lap. In an instant she was looking up into his face, very conscious of his morning arousal. “What a nice way to wake up…”

  Unlike the kiss by the barn, this was a more welcoming event. Dutch’s warm mouth was on a slow, patient journey and his hand caressed her face. Claire felt wanted, desired.

  She blamed her lack of resistance on the early hour. Even after almost two years of tending to the llamas at the crack of dawn, Claire didn’t consider herself a morning person. It always took her at least two cups of coffee.

  “Dutch, the girls,” she whispered as he nibbled her chin. “They’re going to wake up.”

  “Then we shouldn’t talk or they’ll hear us.” He kept his focus on her face, her nose, her lips. His lips were firm yet soft, and elicited a curl of longing.

  Claire reveled in Dutch’s attention, his deft caress. She shifted on his lap and heard the creak of the old leather chair. In Dutch’s study. In his house—his and Natalie’s home.

  Claire pushed against his chest. He didn’t fight her, but his puzzled look betrayed his thoughts. He wanted nothing more than to keep making love.

  Claire couldn’t argue with his desire to be together. But neither could she be with him here, in Natalie’s house, with Sasha and her girlfriends sleeping in the next room.

  She stood and looked at him. “I believe we had a deal.”

  “Deal?”

  She sighed in exasperation.

  “Or maybe we need to make a new one. We’re friends, friendly, not dating. That’s what you asked for.” She left him and went to make coffee.

  CLAIRE WATCHED Dutch make pancakes and bacon for the girls, who were still asleep in the television room. It was seven-thirty and the girls would leave one by one over the next few hours as their parents came to get them and take them to various sporting and other extracurricular activities that set the Saturday pace in Dovetail.