by Sara Daniel
Snow sprayed across his bare wrist. Olivia whooshed the metal runner sled in a ninety-degree turn and stopped just below him on the hill, still sitting upright on her sled. “You’re supposed to relax and enjoy the ride, not try to break your neck.”
“I thought I was going to crash into the trees.” He tugged his glove up and his sleeve down. Snow seemed to cling to every inch of him. He brushed his caked gloves over his hair, but that only resulted into sending snow down his neck.
She looked over at the kamikaze trees. “They’re halfway up that steep incline. Sledding relies on gravity. You’re going to have to work pretty hard to get your sled up there.”
After analyzing Austin’s run, he could almost believe her. But the threat had seemed terrifyingly real when he was flying toward the trees at a zillion miles an hour. “I didn’t get a good look at the terrain before I went down.”
“You can go at your own pace this time. If you want to steer, drag your hand in the snow in the direction you want to turn. Or on my sled, push the ends of this wooden bar across the front just like you’d turn a bicycle.”
“I’d rather put my life in your hands and ride with you.”
“If you want Austin’s respect, you have to conquer the bunny hill on your own. I’ll ride with you down the cliff though.”
“If I live that long,” he muttered. Who knew earning a six-year-old’s respect could be so harrowing?
She laughed, her cheeks pink as they peeked out from behind her bright pink scarf. She retrieved his disc and walked over to Austin, who was on the ground making a snow angel. He said something, and she dropped to the ground, spreading her arms and legs in the snow next to him. Then she carefully stepped away from her imprint and extended her hand to her son. He stood and they marched up to the top of the hill together, leaving their mother-son imprint behind.
Caleb gingerly rose to his feet and hobbled after them. His toes were so cold they ached inside his dress shoes. His neck was cold and damp from the snow that had melted under his collar. Willingly spending time outside in the winter had to be a form of insanity. At least Olivia had had the foresight to line up that babysitter for Liam.
He took the metal runner sled for his second trip. This time he was entrusting his life to something more substantial than a flimsy plastic circle. He listened as Olivia repeated her steering instructions. At least, he tried to listen. His attention was distracted by her eyes sparkling with such simple happiness.
“Have fun,” she shouted, and he went hurtling down the hill again. Once again, those trees closed in on him much too fast. Panic burst in his chest. Austin was watching, so he hung on. Olivia would not to lead him into bodily harm. The downhill tapered and then reversed into an incline. Just as quickly as the ride had begun, it stopped.
Caleb rolled off the sled, looked up at the sky and grinned. That was fun. He jumped off and raced up the hill, ready to do it again. On the plastic disc.
By the time Austin insisted they move on to the steeper hill behind the house, Caleb’s toes had lost all feeling, but he was having a blast. The hike to the top of the new slope seemed long and taxing, especially since his shoes had absolutely no traction. At the top, Caleb turned around and looked down. It was steeper and longer with more trees lining the trail. He’d been perfectly happy on the bunny hill. This was out of his league. He turned to Olivia. “You promised you’d ride with me.”
“Chicken. I thought you conquered your fears.” But she was grinning.
“You always ride with me on the first run,” Austin pointed out in a small voice.
Caleb was torn between not wanting to interfere with the family tradition and his own squeamishness.
Olivia looked at the wooden sled. “Let’s all pile on together.”
He wasn’t sure they would fit, but he sat down. Olivia plopped herself on his lap, wiggling back against his hips. No siree, he wasn’t going to argue. Austin seated himself on her lap, and she wrapped her arms around him.
“Put your arms around my waist,” she commanded Caleb. As soon as he did, she pushed her feet against the ground. The sled started down the hill. Olivia lifted her feet onto the wooden bar to steer. Her scarf whipped his cheek in the rushing wind, and her head blocked his view. He didn’t mind. He savored holding her close, even through the bulky layers of clothing. The sled bumped over the rough ground. Austin and Olivia whooped with delight. He grinned like a fool.
“Duck,” Olivia shouted. Something besides the scarf stung his cheek.
“Turn,” Austin yelled.
“I am,” she shouted back.
The sled skidded sideways. Caleb could feel his butt sliding off the platform, but he was holding onto Olivia, not the seat, so he couldn’t readjust his body. The sled came completely out from under him, and he rolled into the snow, taking Olivia with him. He tumbled and stopped after two rolls. Once again, ice congealed against his collar. Under him, something gouged his thigh.
Olivia was lying on top of him on her back. She wiggled and flipped herself over, so she was on her stomach looking down at him. “Are you okay?”
He was content to lay immobile while he reoriented himself with the world. This was a good world — on his back with a beautiful woman on top of him. “I think so.”
She twisted her head away. “Austin?”
“I got the sled,” came a voice close by. “That was so cool. Let’s do it again.”
Olivia’s blue eyes settled on Caleb and filled with concern. “You’re bleeding.” She pulled off her glove and touched a finger to his cheek.
“It’s just a scratch.” Of all the things he felt right now, pain wasn’t one of them. “I don’t know what happened.”
“We got off the path a little bit. It was harder to steer than I expected, with all of us on the sled. We got into some brush and a branch caught you. Come on inside. I’ll get you some antibiotic cream.” She scrambled off him and held out her hand to help him up.
Caleb took her offering, giving him an excuse to bring his body close to hers again. He couldn’t disappoint Austin by making them give up their fun over a little scratch. Besides, he wanted a chance to make it more than halfway down the hill. “We can’t quit on that pathetic run. I’m steering this time.”
“You can’t see to steer when you’re sitting behind me.”
He shrugged and rubbed his hand over the rip on the side of his pants. “I doubt I’ll do worse than you.”
She tossed a snowball at him. Of course it landed on his neck. He was never going outside without a tie again. Maybe he’d invest in a scarf too.
“You guys go down together on the sled. I’ll take the disc,” Olivia said.
Instead of rebelling, Austin jumped at the suggestion. “Let’s race to see who can go the farthest.”
Caleb grabbed Olivia’s hand before she ran up the hill. “If you win, what do you want from me?”
“To eat one of my scones.”
He had no idea she was still stewing over that. “If I win, I earn a kiss from you.”
She stared at him. He wished his professional training had given him some insight into what was going through her head. He couldn’t tell if the idea repulsed her, or if she was so amicable to it she wondered why he felt the need to force her compliance. If only he hadn’t bungled his talk with her this afternoon, they could be lip-locked, rolling around in the snow right now.
“Mom, you go first. Hurry up,” Austin yelled from the top of the hill.
Well, maybe not.
Olivia turned away from him without speaking and walked up the hill. She positioned herself on the disc and then flew by him down the trail, coasting all the way to the bottom. In hindsight, he’d made a foolish bet. Experience was on her side. He had no idea what kind of run he was capable of. Eating a scone wouldn’t be the end of the world, but he wanted a guarantee of her lips meeting his in the near future.
“We can beat that,” Austin said confidently. “Come on.”
Caleb rubbed the mu
lti-colored bruise on his forehead. Olivia’s pairing them together no longer seemed like a good idea. If Austin could do damage with a shoelace, Caleb might very well leave here on a stretcher after sharing a sled on an icy slope.
He glanced at Austin’s eager expression and sat gingerly on the sled. Austin plopped on his lap, even though Caleb wasn’t ready for him. He sucked up his discomfort and carefully adjusted his passenger. “We’re on the same team. If I go off course, you take over steering.”
“You’d really let me take over?” Austin looked back in awe.
He didn’t trust the kid, but he needed to win over Austin more than he needed Olivia’s kiss. “Better yet, you steer for me. Show your mom boys are better drivers than girls.”
“I’m going to tell her you said that.” He giggled.
“As long as you prove it. Ready, set, go.” Caleb pushed off, his mouth filled with the dry, hard taste of scone. The blast of cold air across his cheeks wiped it away. They sluiced down the hill, bumping over ruts, past a blur of shrubbery where they crashed last time. Austin shouted with glee and Caleb echoed with his own whoop of excitement. They were headed straight for Olivia.
The sled glided past her, carrying him and Austin through a flat open area. Hot damn. They won. “Austin, give me five. That was awesome.”
Austin exchanged the high five as he jumped off the sled. Then he threw his arms around Olivia, who’d walked over to join them. “Beat you. We blew you away, Mom.”
“Yeah, yeah, yeah.” She looked amused, but she didn’t rush to shower Caleb with his prize either. He had no doubt she was thinking about it, but with anticipation or dread he didn’t know. Olivia picked up a handful of snow and drizzled it over Austin’s head.
He shrieked and immediately reached down to scoop up a handful of snow. She ran behind Caleb for cover. Austin’s snow missile smacked him on the chest. He answered the war call by retaliating against both of them. Within seconds, they were all throwing snowballs at each other and rolling around on the ground.
Caleb laughed as he took a face full of snow. He couldn’t remember ever having so much fun.
“I’m freezing,” Austin suddenly declared, letting his handful of snow fall to the ground at his feet.
Olivia glanced at the setting sun. “It is getting late.”
Caleb’s frozen hands and feet nearly wept at the prospect of a warm, dry house. But the rest of him was prepared to cheerfully sacrifice his extremities for more wholesome family interaction.
“Dinner will be late,” Olivia said.
“Fine with me. Maybe I’ll be dry by then.”
Austin gripped his hand as they trudged back to the house. “We make a great team, Caleb. Want to come sledding with me again?”
Did he ever. He couldn’t wait until Liam was old enough to join them.
Chapter 12
Penelope stared at her lab table. Ethan had covered it with a white tablecloth. In the middle, a pair of candles blazed from Grandma MacDermont’s best candlestick holders. “This is supposed to be a business dinner.” She blew out the candles.
He stood on a stool and pushed the test button on each of the new smoke detectors on the ceiling, blaring a nerve-pinching sound. Then he stepped down, relit the candles with a match, and shook out the flame. “If you blow them out again, I’ll assume you want to skip business and go right to seduction and hot sex. So, tell me about your business goals.”
This was going to be the shortest business dinner in history. “I want enough income to feed myself and pay the bills. Eventually, I want a place of my own.”
“What about building up money for retirement, creating a perfume empire, and passing on the great Penelope MacDermont legacy to your children?” He ticked off the ambitions normal entrepreneurs probably had when they started their businesses.
There was enough unwanted MacDermont legacy in the family. She felt no need to add to it. As for children, she would never subject an innocent child to such an inept, awkward mother. She couldn’t remember her nephew’s birthday party happening upstairs. Her own kid would die of starvation before she surfaced from her latest perfume creation to feed him. If he did survive, the school years wouldn’t be any better; kids were cruel to those who didn’t fit in. She had normal parents and had been an outcast. Her child would become a laughingstock. “I’m a realist.”
“You can aspire to something better than burying yourself from the rest of the world.”
He didn’t understand. She didn’t expect him to. He was gorgeous, suave, and confident, with a social life to die for. Or at least, he should have one, which begged the question of what he was doing here with her.
“I’m perfectly happy buried in the lab with no human interaction.” She stuffed a forkful of gourmet takeout in her mouth.
“Then a makeover is in order.”
A makeover. Once again, she’d been judged and been found lacking in the appearance department. It didn’t surprise her, but it still hurt. She lifted her wine glass to her lips. Without sipping a drop, she carried it to the sink. She dumped the contents down the drain and filled the glass with tap water. “I don’t put a lot of stock in appearance. It’s shallow and superficial.”
“What kind of people do you think buy the most perfume?” Ethan asked.
“Rich people.” She ignored his point as she seated herself at the table again.
He shook his head. “You use your perfumes to bring out the aura of a person. Outward appearance can be used to showcase inner beauty. In the case of your business, you’re projecting your belief in its ultimate success.”
“I thought you wanted to do that by charging through-the-roof prices.”
He grinned as he lifted a sandwich triangle to his lips. “We’re going to do both.”
“Isn’t that like fraud or something?”
Now he laughed. Like everything else about him, the sound was sexy and enticing. “Letting everyone know how beautiful you are and charging what your product is worth is not fraud.”
“But charging me for advice that’s total bunk is. This meeting’s over. Goodbye.” He’d almost convinced her he had a decent strategy. But he only wanted to find a way to make her easier on his eyes so he could pretend she was the type of woman he usually slept with.
“If you want to eat burned Pop-Tarts and mooch off your sister for the rest of your life, that’s your prerogative. As you said, the meeting’s over.” Ethan looked directly at her and blew out the candles. His gaze smoldered with hot sex and seduction.
After dinner, Olivia worked on drying out and cleaning up her apartment while Austin and Caleb played with airplanes in the sitting room and Liam lay on a blanket underneath their airspace. She was pleased Austin had finally gotten over his resentment but was a little worried at how quickly his attachment was growing.
She needed to worry about her own attachment too. She owed Caleb a kiss. As soon as they tucked their child chaperones in bed for the night, he’d collect. And it wasn’t going to be a little comfort kiss like he gave her earlier.
“Aw, not bedtime yet,” Austin moaned, as soon as she entered the sitting room.
“You guessed it. You’ve had a busy day. And you have to go back to school tomorrow.”
“Okay.” He capitulated easily. “But I want Caleb to tuck me in bed.”
“I’ll come as soon as I settle Liam down in my room.” Caleb picked up the baby, who was almost asleep, slurping on his fist. His gaze connected with hers as he walked to the doorway. The edges of his lips curled up as he walked away, leaving her breathless.
Olivia hurried Austin along in the bathroom, hoping she could have him settled and asleep before Caleb returned. The routine took longer than usual, however, because of the disinfectant spray lining the bathroom counter and the fans set up to dry everything out.
Austin babbled about Caleb’s ideas for improving his planes and how to make them out of Legos once he was allowed to play with them again. Next weekend Bryce would take him on an ove
rnight ski trip. It would do him good to connect with his real father so he wouldn’t try to fit Ethan, Caleb, or any other man who came along into the father role. And it would give her impressionable son distance from the men who came and went as guests of her inn.
At last, she tucked him in bed and kissed his cheek. “Night, Austin. I love you.”
“Love you too.” He tightened his hold on her neck when she attempted to straighten. “If you want to spend more time with Caleb, it’s okay with me. He’s not a stupidhead.”
Olivia glanced out the door. Caleb was waiting at the top of the stairs. He’d obviously overheard Austin’s comments. “I keep telling you I’m a great therapist.”
She rolled her eyes as she stepped through the doorway. “When you stopped trying to analyze everything like a therapist and related to him as a person, that’s when Austin accepted you.”
He looked surprised but didn’t reply before walking into the room. She tried to listen to what Austin said, but his whispers were too quiet. Caleb listened seriously, said something she couldn’t hear and patted Austin’s shoulder before moving out of the room.
“What did he say to you?” she demanded, closing Austin’s door behind her and facing Caleb in the middle of the living room.
“Male talk. I can’t tell you,” Caleb said.
She considered arguing but decided it would only blow the words of a six-year-old out of proportion. “So about that kiss.” She steeled herself to get it over with. “I’d rather do it downstairs, so Austin doesn’t accidentally witness it.”
“I’m not ready to collect just yet.”
Already walking toward the steps, Olivia stopped and looked over her shoulder at him. “You want to wait?”
“What’s the rush?” he asked.
The rush was she wanted it over with. No, that wasn’t true. The rush was she wanted to feel his mouth on hers. Soon. Now. “It’s a threat hanging over my head.”
He walked toward her and traced his index finger over her bottom lip. “Do I threaten you?”