The Gift of Love

by Lori Foster

  “You sure we’re not dealing with something else here?” he asked, his mouth twitching as if he wanted to laugh at her again.

  The adult in her had survived all sorts of heartbreak. With her accomplishments, she should have been immune to the insecurities. If the tumbling in her stomach were any indication, she wasn’t.

  “We were talking about Nate,” she said.

  “You sure this isn’t about you?” Heath leaned in closer. “Us?”

  At this brief distance she could smell the crisp coolness of the outdoors on him. That was enough for her to push back in her chair. If she wanted the scent of sunshine and changing seasons, she could walk outside and take in a big whiff of October. Inhaling the air around this man could only lead to trouble.

  “There is no us,” she said, ignoring the old sadness that descended over her heart when dealing with that reality.

  “Serena, come on.”

  “I’m a grown woman.”

  His gaze never left her face. “Obviously, but according to you, these things wreck girls and cause all sorts of problems for years to come.”

  “Well, they can. Yes.”

  He slid his thigh on the edge of her desk and let his hand wander closer to her locked palms. “So, is this about Nate or is this about me?”

  “My job is to watch over your son. To help guide him.”

  Heath started shaking his head before she even stopped talking. “Your job is to teach him English. As his father, I can handle the rest.”

  “We’ve gotten off track.” She tried to push her chair back but the rollers got stuck on something. Stupid chair. “I’m worried about Lexy’s feelings.”

  Heath’s eyes narrowed for a second before he pulled his shoulders back again. “If you say so.”

  “I do.”

  He dropped his feet back to the ground and stood up, stretching a little and showing off a flat stomach in the process. “I’ll consider your concerns.”

  Just when she thought she could exhale in relief, he threw something else at her. Something vague enough to suggest trouble. “What does that mean?” she asked.

  “Exactly what I said.”

  That explanation did not make his intentions one ounce clearer. “Are you—”

  He stopped her words with a simple nod of his head. “I’ll handle Nate.”

  “I still don’t know what you plan to do here.”

  “Maybe you should concentrate on my question instead.”

  As if she’d be able to think about anything but him for the next two days. She’d turn over every comment he said, every look, and then close her eyes and relive the rumble of excitement that filled her belly whenever he stepped close.

  “And when you’re ready to discuss that subject—us—let me know.” Then Heath winked at her and turned around. He lumbered out the door with the same precision as when he walked in. Only this time he whistled.

  two

  Despite time ticking away, Heath skipped the rest of the work-day and headed for the house he shared with his uncle and son. Pulling into the driveway of the two-story craftsman-style home Heath had updated through hours of sweat, he made a plan. He refused to lecture Nate on his girl and texting choices, but the gnawing in his gut made him want to spend some extra time together.

  The hours had been brutal lately what with the new townhouse complex going up on the edge of town. Responsibility for bringing it in on time and on budget fell to Heath. That meant putting in long days to beat the bad weather that could come as early as mid-November.

  But if Nate needed attention, Heath vowed to give it to him, even if that meant time away from the one thing that kept him sane. Construction did more than pay his mortgage. It fed his need to stand in the fresh air and see the physical progress from his labor. Used to be the adrenaline rush came with the cheers of the crowd. That all crashed to a halt with a career-ending injury to his wrist right after he made the decision to forgo college and turn pro. Even now his hand swelled and ached at the end of every day. But hammering, throwing wood on piles, seeing a hole in the ground turn from nothing into a house, filled him with a quiet satisfaction he’d once taken for granted.

  Twenty and devastated by the loss of the only dream he ever had, with a surprise baby on the way and a girlfriend who yearned for bigger things than the hard work of finding a new life outside of the money and fame his football career once promised, Heath hadn’t known where to turn. Then his uncle offered him a job and a home. Having Lucy split right after Nate’s birth, complaining about her lost opportunities and ruined figure, turned out to be a relief. Almost thirteen years in, Heath didn’t regret the choices he’d made. His uncle handled the bids and office work. Heath hired the workers, acted as the job supervisor, and performed the hard labor.

  Yeah, his life finally ran on track.

  Except for Serena.

  She had moved back to town less than a year before and ignored him every second since. Well, she had until Nate ended up on her class list. Now Heath ran into her as often as he could make it happen without being obvious. Hard to apologize for being a simple teen boy who hurt her all those years ago when she never allowed a moment of privacy between them.

  “You’re home early,” Stan said as he rested his arms in the open window of Heath’s truck. “Something wrong?”

  Heath fiddled with his keys before finally grabbing them out of the ignition and climbing out. “I need a reason to be here in time for dinner now?”

  Stan laughed as he clapped a firm hand on his nephew’s shoulder. “Was more worried about the fact you’re sitting here with that stupid look on your face.”

  Heath blamed that one on Serena. Just thinking about her made his IQ dip. “I had to go to the school.” Stan stopped but Heath took a few extra steps until he realized his uncle’s reassuring presence had disappeared and Heath turned around to find him. “What?”

  Stan’s stunned expression said it all. Worry, fear, it all lingered right there on the surface. “Is Nate in some kind of trouble?”

  Heath didn’t make his uncle wait. “No.”

  Relief flooded Stan’s face. Heath recognized the dizzying feeling since he’d experienced it as soon as Serena started talking about texting instead of fighting or something much worse. Nate was a good kid, smart and dedicated to sports over drinking or drugs. But even the levelheaded ones could stray. Heath knew that from experience. To prevent as much trouble as possible, he and Stan traded off work hours and responsibilities to ensure Nate stayed busy, active, and subtly supervised.

  Heath opened the door and stepped into the large foyer, spying Nate sitting on the family room couch in his usual position. Phone in hands, head lowered, and eyes unblinking as his fingers moved over the keys. “Hey, kid.”

  “Dad?” The cell fell forgotten to the couch. “What are you doing home?”

  A little less surprise would have been nice. Heath wondered if he was flunking this dad thing by being away too much and working too hard. “I heard it was pot roast night. Only an idiot would be late for that feast.”

  Stan passed them both and headed for the kitchen. “Speaking of which, let me get it on the table.”

  “I’m starving.” A huge grin spread across Nate’s face as he jumped to his feet and slid to a stop in front of Heath.

  “Now there’s a surprise.” Heath fought the urge to ruffle Nate’s hair. Settled for the brief touch of a loving hand across his back instead.

  The opportunity came and went that fast as Nate lifted his phone to eye level and headed for the kitchen at a near run. Heath tried to show a bit more restraint even though the aroma of cooked beef and vegetables lured him in.

  By the time he hit the doorway, Nate had the plates on the table and was eyeing the foil-covered platter on the counter. “Can I—”

  When Nate tried to sneak a piece, Stan tapped his fingers with the back of a spoon. “Wait until I get it out on the table.”

  “You know the rules.” Heath tried to sound stern but k
new he’d failed when Nate tried a second time and met with the same smacked-fingers fate.

  Contentment flooded through Heath as he watched the by-play. His parents had divorced and moved on to new families in faraway states right about the time the potential professional-football money train stopped. Stan stuck around. He was rock solid and the best role model Nate could ever have. Stan took them in and loved Nate as his grandson from the day he changed the first diaper. The same kid who now leaned against the counter with worn blue jeans falling off his hips despite the belt cinched at his waist.

  The latest growth spurt had taken a good fifteen pounds off Nate’s frame and added two inches in height. The sudden shot left him lanky and a bit clumsy, tripping over his feet as if his legs suddenly got in his way with every step. Heath smiled at how in one year his kid went from chubby to a mess of long arms and legs.

  The brown hair hanging down in Nate’s eyes probably didn’t help either. His mother’s hair. He never asked and Heath didn’t offer, but Nate got the dimple in his check and his wide smile from her.

  Just then Nate’s phone buzzed, and he broke speed records whipping it up to stare at the screen. Heath wondered how Nate didn’t wrench his shoulder with that action.

  “Who is it?” Heath asked after a few seconds of silence.

  Nate just shrugged.

  A tickle of unease moved across the base of Heath’s neck. “Does that mean you don’t know or you don’t care?”

  “It’s no one.”

  Uh-huh. That supposed no one had Nate nodding and smiling. Then he dropped the phone on the table and sat down ready to be fed. “Is it dinner yet?”

  “Aren’t you going to respond to the caller?” Heath asked.

  Nate executed shrug number two.

  “Let’s trying using words. What does the shoulder roll mean?” Heath asked.

  “Nah.”

  Stan stopped cutting the meat to glance at them. With the blade moving in the air, pointing and accenting, he joined in. “I don’t see why he even needs that thing. I got through life just fine for all these years without everyone being able to track me down every second.”

  And then came Nate’s third shrug of the early evening. “It’s for emergencies.”

  Stan spun the phone around on the wooden table and stared down at it. “This Lexy person is an emergency?”

  Heath stifled a groan.

  Nate skipped the shrugging and went straight to denial. “She’s no one”.

  The stupid grin. The rush to the phone the second it rang followed by the nonchalance. Yeah, Heath knew the signs. Nate liked Lexy and was making her work for it. Twelve and already a player.

  Conflicting emotions battered Heath. He wanted Nate to be good to women, not use them or take them for granted. He also wanted his kid to maneuver the dangerous road of girl-boy relations without being told what to do.

  Rather than rush in, Heath settled for a wait-and-see approach. “No texting at the table. Take the phone into the family room. You can get back to the girl after dinner.”

  “It can wait until tomorrow.” Nate took his time getting up and reaching for the phone. He glanced at the screen about six times as he shuffled his way out of the room.

  Heath assumed Nate expected the poor girl to text again before giving up for the evening. “You know, if you don’t answer, she might decide you’re not interested and stop texting.”

  Nate shot back a confident smile. “I doubt it.”

  SERENA reached across her sister’s kitchen table and dipped a chip in the homemade salsa. “I met with Heath today,” she said between crunches.

  Lindsay spun around from the stove so fast she almost dropped the glass casserole dish of enchiladas on the floor. “What?”

  “Set that down first and I’ll give you the details.”

  All wide-eyed and staring, poor Linds looked too stunned to do anything constructive. Serena finally took pity on her younger sister and used a napkin to help guide the food to the dinner table without burning either one of them.

  Kicking the stove closed behind her, Lindsay slid into the chair across from Serena. “I thought you were avoiding him.”

  “Hard to do that when his son is in my class.” Serena scooped a heaping portion of juicy Mexican food onto her plate then, hoping the tempting smell of the food would put a stop to the inevitable string of questions from Linds.

  One of the benefits of moving back home was her sister’s cooking. Being the sibling of a caterer had its privileges. Acting as the willing and eager guinea pig was the biggie. And “big” was the right word. Serena knew if she didn’t get to a gym soon, the size of her butt could double.

  “Is something wrong with the kid?” Lindsay snapped out of her shock long enough to fill her plate.

  “There’s a girl in the class who has a crush on Nate.”

  Lindsay snorted. “Sounds familiar.”

  “Excuse me?”

  “Seems to me you know a little something about having a crush on a male in the Sanders clan.”

  That would teach her to share haunting secrets with Linds. “And to think I once begged for a little sister.”

  Lindsay wiggled her eyebrows. “I’m a dream come true.”

  More like a nightmare if Serena didn’t get control of the conversation. She knew Linds wouldn’t let the subject drop without being dragged in a different direction. “The thing with Heath happened a long time ago.”

  “Sure it did.” Lindsay let out a sound somewhere between a snort and a chuckle.

  “I’ve been married. He has a child. There is a lifetime of experiences separating my moment of stupidity from the people we are today.” There. Serena felt a flutter of satisfaction at her reasoned argument. No way could her sister…

  Silverware clanged against Lindsay’s plate. “Are you kidding me?”

  So much for changing the subject. Serena refused to look up. She shoveled the food in her mouth fast enough to make conversation impossible. She even cut off her breath and fought back some wheezing to get it all in there.

  Well, she did until Lindsay grabbed the edge of the plate and pulled it away. “Stop eating, Serena.”

  “Hey!”

  Lindsay tapped her fork against the side of her plate. “Are you trying to tell me that you don’t relive that day fifteen years ago every single time you look at that dreamy hottie?”

  “You think Heath is cute?” The thought of that sent Serena’s stomach into freefall. Lindsay qualified as the perfect catch. Twenty-six, semimature, a successful business owner, and stunning with her floaty blond hair and grass green eyes. She’d look perfect standing next to Heath or hanging on his arm.

  Serena shook her head to wipe the horrifying mental image out of her head.

  “I’m not dead, Serena.” Lindsay surrendered the fork back to Serena. “Every woman in Glen Ridge thinks he’s hot. It’s a combination of his looks, which are smoking, and his dedication to Nate.”

  Serena didn’t need a play-by-play on that issue. She knew exactly how silly women got around Heath because she was one of them. Crushing down the flirting and wanting took all of her strength whenever he came around, which seemed to be more and more often lately.

  “I get it,” she muttered.

  But Lindsay was on a roll and didn’t show signs of slowing down. “I’ve catered parties and heard married women buzz like teenagers about how Heath takes off to see Nate’s games and then goes back to work. About how he raised the kid on his own. About how good he looks in his jeans.”

  Serena ignored the last part, but the way Heath acted with Nate never ceased to send her heart spinning. She had tried to build up an immunity to Heath, but then he walked into parents’ night at the beginning of the school year and smiled down at his son with such pride and affection that Serena’s will broke. That impenetrable wall around her heart started cracking.

  Maybe he didn’t understand young girls, but he sure understood his son’s needs and filled them. She tried to imagine
if there was anything sexier than a man who adored his kid that much.

  “The man is swoon-worthy.” Lindsay toasted Serena with her glass. “There, I said it. You think it, but I’m the only one in the room brave enough to spit it out.”

  “Are you done saying it?”

  “And you love him.”

  Lindsay’s singsongy voice seeped right into Serena’s brain, making her defenses snap into place. “I do not.”

  “Did you ask him to be your first again?”

  Heat rushed to Serena’s cheeks at the personal question. It was too late to deny that scene all those years ago since she let the information slip in a sisterly moment of negative common sense. “That day has long passed, and now it’s time to change the subject.”

  “Did you ask him out?” Lindsay kept shifting in her seat as if the energy bouncing around inside her screamed to get out.

  “Of course not.”

  Lindsay’s smile fell. “So, you actually kept the discussion to business only?” Her disappointment filled up every corner of the room.

  “It was business.” Or that was the excuse Serena kept repeating in her mind.

  Part of her wanted to see Heath’s actions and husky-voiced questions in her office about their past as something more than an attempt to stroke his ego. He sounded almost … interested. But that couldn’t be the case. He barely noticed her and had certainly made his opinion of her known.

  “Why are you blushing?” Lindsay asked.

  “The food is warm.”

  “You’re not even eating right now.”

  Serena knew the only way to move on from this topic was to capitulate, let her sister say whatever she needed to say, and then ignore her. “Why don’t you get to the point so I can get back to my enchiladas?”