He was funny and handsome and smart and she liked him. Until he’d come along it had been easy to ignore the men who flirted with her. Simple enough to assuage her physical needs on her own. He was here now, showing her all the ways she’d been missing out—on someone to laugh with, someone to light that fire in her belly.
No, she didn’t know how he really saw her, saw Kaylie.
Maybe it wouldn’t be so bad if she took just one step forward, to see if that fire and that laughter could grow into something more.
She turned and linked her hand with his. “So you were flirting with me. In email.”
“Seemed like the safest bet.” His deep voice rippled along her nerve endings, his hand light against hers. “Every time I tried to in person you shut me down. A man can only take so much rejection.”
Paige grinned. “Something tells me you’ve done your share of rejecting.”
Alex shrugged. He looked at their linked hands. “So is this a ‘yes’ to a date?”
“This is a strong ‘I’m thinking about it.’”
He raised an eyebrow. “Not the right answer.”
“It’s the answer you get today.” Her voice was nearly steady when she said the words. Thank goodness.
“Then I can’t wait for tomorrow.”
CHAPTER TEN
IT WAS THE best answer Alex had had so far. And who cared that they’d barely texted between Sunday and today? It’d been four long days when he’d been busy wrapping up end-of-the-season paperwork at the parks, anyway. She had school. He’d had a video chat with Kaylie on Wednesday after her swim lesson and the little girl had showed him the whale picture she’d finished during preschool. She told him she wanted to be Snoopy for Halloween but was worried they wouldn’t find a Sally or Lucy outfit for Paige. Which sent him online to find one. He’d found Snoopy, Sally, Lucy and a Charlie Brown costume. Added all four to the shopping cart because he didn’t know if Paige liked Sally or Lucy, and then had them express shipped.
He didn’t really expect to have a long, intimate conversation with Paige after she sent Kaylie off to brush her teeth, but it had been nice talking about her day. Nicer still when she blushed when he complimented the paint-speckled tee she’d been wearing. The very thin tee that left very little of her upper body to his imagination.
God, the mind was a horrible, terrible, so bad, very good thing.
A truck pulled into the parking lot and the shorts-wearing deliveryman stepped from his truck with several packages in his arm.
“Figured you were working today and I’d save you the trip to the distribution center.” Ron Cherry had been Alex’s favorite wide receiver in high school. He’d blown his knee out his sophomore year in college and come back to St. Francois County. His two boys were on Alex’s rec team last summer and were both talented athletes.
“I forgot to change the shipping address again, sorry about that.” Alex signed for the packages and set them on his desk.
Ron waved and returned to his truck.
Tuck returned from his hike around one of the shorter trails and pointed to the packages. “You didn’t order a decade’s worth of beef jerky again, did you?”
“No. Halloween costumes.”
“You hate Halloween.”
“I don’t hate it. It just seems odd that some adults need to have costuming and makeup to have a good time.” Actually, it was more that costumes and alcohol seemed to steal every inhibition from every person in the world for one night. Alex prided himself on his control, and watching other people willingly give it up made him twitchy.
“So you’re going to the party at the Low Bar this year?”
Alex shrugged and before Tuck could question him more, his cell buzzed.
“You should go, you know.”
Alex tuned Tuck out so he could read the message.
I hate to ask at the last minute, but my babysitter just bailed for this afternoon and I’m supposed to chaperone a lock-in for the third-grade girls. Any chance you could watch Kaylie? Just for a couple of hours?
“Yes!” It was another small victory but one he would take. Paige was reaching out to him.
“Sweet. I asked Alison last night. You should bring Paige.”
“What?” Alex shot back a quick yes to Paige and then put the rest of the paperwork in his desk drawer for next week. “You asked Alison what?”
“About the Low Bar Halloween party. You should bring Paige.”
“I don’t do bar parties, especially not adult dress-up bar parties.” Alex shook his head. He’d never gone barhopping on Halloween, not even in college.
Tuck folded his arms over his chest. “Damn, you act like you’re eighty. You just said you were going.”
“No, I didn’t.” Had he? Alex felt like he was in a bad Abbott and Costello routine only instead of baseball they were talking about costuming.
Tuck grabbed one of the packages. “You have a costume.”
A costume that would get him laughed out of the bar. Not that he went there often, anyway. “I’m not going to the Low Bar on Halloween night. Those are...something else.”
He couldn’t very well tell Tuck he’d purchased four Halloween costumes and might not need any of them. He waved his cell phone. “That was Paige, she needs me to watch Kaylie for a couple of hours tonight.”
“Okay, so the Halloween party is off the conversational radar.” Tuck turned the chair on the opposite side of Alex’s desk around and leaned his arms over the back as he sat. “So this is good. A step forward and all that.”
“Yeah. A step forward.” One that Alex was determined not to mess up. He typed “babysitting games” into a search engine and waited while three million results were returned. No way he could go through that many. He narrowed the search to games for four-year-olds but that only culled the list by a few hundred thousand. “What do four-year-olds do?”
Tuck shook his head. “I’ve been around her as much as you have. She swings, plays in sandboxes. Although outdoor activities are probably out.” He pointed to the window, where the first drops of rain hit the glass. “I’m thinking you need board games.”
Alex switched from search engine to online store and typed in “board games.” Monopoly and Old Maid seemed like good bets so he made a mental note to stop by a department store on his way home.
“You liked Monopoly when you were a kid, right?”
“As much as I liked any board games, sure.” Tuck shrugged. “She’ll probably want to be the shoe. Girls love shoes.”
They’d play a game, maybe have dinner. No problem. He had this in the bag.
“So how are things between you and Alison? Costume parties? That’s a big step,” Alex said.
“Things are good. Did you know she’s the HR rep for the winery outside Farmington? Smart and funny and looks.”
“Until you decide she’s also clingy and annoying.” Too late, Alex realized he said the words aloud. “Dude, I’m sorry. I didn’t mean that. She is charming and funny and smart.”
Tuck waved a hand, dismissing the insult. “She’s different. I like talking to her. She doesn’t call me twenty times a day to say she misses me or to ask if I like chicken better than steak.” He was quiet for a long moment. “I think she might be the whole package.”
“Really?” After only a couple of dates? Alex couldn’t believe it. It usually took Tuck five to seven dates to decide if a girl was pretty, much less that he wanted to spend quality time with her.
“Really.”
He could hear the sincerity in Tuck’s voice. And who was he to judge? Since he’d met Paige all of Alex’s preconceived notions about attraction and chemistry were out the window. She turned everything upside down and he’d barely even kissed her.
A few hours later Alex knocked on Paige’s pretty pink door with the Monopoly game in one hand and a bag filled with a card game, raw vegetables and dip in the other. Paige pulled the door open and raised an eyebrow at his packages. She wore track pants and a hoodie with a pink
top underneath. Gray, pink and neon-blue sneakers were on her feet and her hair was pulled back into a ponytail. She looked adorable.
“Thank you for coming. I can’t believed the babysitter bailed, and taking Kaylie with me is out because she had a slight fever this morning. She’s fine, it broke around noon, but the school has a policy about fevers and school-sponsored events. Alison is coming to our rescue for the overnight. She should be here after work and you can go back to your evening.” She spoke nonstop, as if afraid she might forget something if she slowed. Paige eyed the game and the other bag. “Usually babysitters only bring themselves You won’t need all this.”
“I’ve never been a babysitter before. Decided I should come prepared.”
She peered inside the bag and bit the corner of her mouth. “Broccoli, carrots and sweet peppers. Nice combination. But she won’t eat any of it.” She led him into the kitchen and set the bag on the counter. Kaylie curled up with a tablet computer, playing something. “Kaylie, Alex is here until Alison gets off work. Best behavior, okay?”
The little girl didn’t say anything, just kept tapping away at the screen.
“Kay!” Paige raised her voice and Kaylie’s attention shot to the kitchen counter. A smile stole over her face.
“Alex! You’re gonna sit on me!”
Paige shook her head and laughed softly, the sound tickling the hairs on the back of his neck. “Am I supposed to sit on her?” he asked in mock sincerity.
“Kaylie-speak. She’s taken to shortening as many words as she can lately. But if she gets out of hand, sure, sit on her. Metaphorically speaking.”
Kaylie, out of hand? Alex didn’t think that was possible, at least from what he’d seen so far. He had games and snacks. This night was going to be a piece of cake and he said so.
Paige raised an eyebrow but didn’t contradict him. She turned her attention to Kaylie. “Five more minutes and ‘Angry Birds’ is done, got it?” The little girl nodded and then started tapping at the screen again. Paige checked her watch and grabbed her bag off a nearby chair. “Alison should be here by six. Text me if anything explodes in the meantime. I really appreciate this.”
“Momma, wait!” Kaylie’s little footsteps clattered down the hall and she threw her arms around Paige’s hips. “I’ll miss you.” Paige hugged the little girl close.
“I’ll miss you, too. But Auntie Al has a lot of fun stuff planned and I’ll see you for breakfast in the morning, okay?”
Kaylie pecked a kiss on Paige’s cheek. “Mmm-kay. See you in the morning.” And then she ran back down the hall. Alex heard a soft thump that had to be Kaylie landing on the couch.
“There’s a twenty on the counter for pizza. Thank you.” She held on to the doorknob but didn’t move.
“You’re welcome. I’m glad you called. It means a lot.”
She waited another moment. “You know, Monopoly is a little, uh, advanced for four-year-olds. Maybe just color? Everything you’ll need is in the hall closet.”
“I’ll let her be the shoe.” Doubt clouded Paige’s eyes so Alex pushed on. “What little girl doesn’t like buying stuff?”
“Yeah, but—”
Alex touched her hand and her car keys jingled. “Go, you’ll be late. We’ll be fine. It’s only a couple of hours, right?”
“Okay, well, text me if you need anything. I’ll talk to you soon.”
And she was gone.
Alex looked into the living room at the painting of the daisy. A small house had been added to the background and it looked remarkably like Paige’s home. He ran his finger over the side and smiled. Painting Kaylie’s own house onto the canvas was a nice touch. He wondered what other surprises Paige had in store for their daughter.
In the kitchen, Alex grabbed a bottle of water from the fridge and asked Kaylie what she wanted to do.
“Play ‘Angry Birds,’” she replied, never looking up from the game. “Do you like ‘Angry Birds’?” She reclined against a couple of pillows, feet on the couch and knees pulled up. The tablet rested against her legs and she tapped the screen.
“Never played it.” Alex checked the clock. At least five minutes had passed since Paige left. “Your mom said five more minutes, kiddo. You should turn it off now.”
“After I finish this level. I have a red-bird bomb and a chicken bomb to set off next.”
Seemed like a good compromise so Alex left her to the game and set up the Monopoly board on the kitchen counter while he finished his water. He glanced at the clock again. At least ten minutes had passed.
“Kaylie, time’s up.” He used his most firm voice, imitating the tone he remembered his father using often when he was growing up.
“I don’t have three stars yet. I need three stars.”
Alex walked to the sofa as Kaylie used her last bird-bomb and started the level over. “It’s time to turn it off, kiddo.” Alex reached for the device but Kaylie pulled it away from him.
“I have to have three stars. It’s not done ’til I have three stars.” She hit the play button, took aim with a yellow bird and tapped the screen to let it fly. Two monkeys and a wooden stick house were taken out. Interesting game. Alex settled beside her, giving her a hint for the next bomb. Another two monkeys and a cement house dropped this time, along with a pineapple. “We got the treasure!” Kaylie’s voice squealed across the room. She high-fived Alex and loaded another bird into the slingshot.
This time the last of the wooden houses fell down and the last monkey fell over, leaving two birds with nothing to hit. They’d won the level.
Kaylie bounced on the couch, tablet held high over her head. “I won, I won, IwonIwonIwon.” She bounced a few more times and then flopped down on the sofa. “Let’s get more pineapples!” she said, her voice lowered into a growl. Alex reached for the tablet and she jerked it away from him. “No!”
“Kaylie, it’s time to stop. You have three stars and it’s time to stop.” Alex used his dad voice again, but it didn’t work.
Kaylie grabbed the tablet and scooted off the couch. “No, I want pineapples. More pineapples.”
What did that parenting book say? Kids needed limits. This was the limit. It was past Paige’s five-minute mark, she’d finished the level and gotten the three stars. “Kaylie,” he began.
“I need more pineapples!” Kaylie yelled, little hands fisted around the tablet.
Alex kept his voice steady but the blood was pounding in his ears. He didn’t want to be the bad guy but he also wanted to be obeyed. What was it Paige had said that first day? Kids had to learn there were things they had to do—like homework and jobs. Well, there were also things they had to learn not to do. Like throw fits. “No.”
Kaylie pushed into a corner of the sofa, the tablet pulled to her chest like a shield. “More pineapples,” she said, this time in a quieter voice and with tears in her eyes. Okay, so Paige made this look supereasy.
Alex took the tablet from her and put it on a high shelf while she sniffled about pineapples and treasure. He could handle it.
Hadn’t he talked a drunken hiker back to the campground just a few weeks ago? And didn’t he deal with angry, didn’t-understand-how-RVs-worked city dwellers on at least a weekly basis during the summer months? He’d graduated at the top of his college class. Hell, he’d managed just fine when Dee was so sick she couldn’t stomach the smell of fresh fruit in the house. He could deal with a four-year-old’s tantrum.
“Why don’t we play a different game?”
“I was playing a game. I want ‘Angry Birds’!” Kaylie folded her arms over her chest and kicked her foot against the sofa once more for good measure. Where had the sweet, funny little girl he’d known for the past two weeks gone?
“I brought Monopoly and Old Maid.” Alex kneeled down before her, offering a perfectly sound solution, at least in his opinion. He ignored the sweat rolling down his back and the panic he could feel clawing its way from his chest. He could handle this. “Which would you like to play?”
&nb
sp; “I’d like to play ‘Angry Birds,’” she said, in the calm Kaylie-voice he recognized.
“We’re not playing video games right now. It’s time for something different.”
“Then I want a snack.”
Alex took a breath. “I brought veggies and dip or we can see what’s in the fridge.”
“I like dip.”
Alex breathed a sigh of relief. That hadn’t been so hard. A little uncomfortable, but to be expected. No one liked to be told no. He pulled veggies and dip from the bag on the counter, and then read Paige’s note about tableware and glasses. Kaylie picked up the serving spoon he’d set down, scooped half the container of dip out and plopped it mostly on her plate, then raked her finger through it and tasted.
“Yum. Good snack!” She devoured a little more dip while Alex dished a couple of carrots, broccoli and a sweet yellow pepper onto her plate. She pushed the veggies off. “Don’t like those.”
“Broccoli’s good.” Alex dipped a stalk and took a bite. Kaylie wrinkled her nose.
“Broccoli trees grow in my mouth. Yuk.” And she dipped her finger into the dip again before licking it off.
Okay, lots of kids probably didn’t like broccoli. He hadn’t liked it until he was a teenager. No big deal. “How about a carrot?”
“Too crunchy.” She dipped her finger again.
“A yellow pepper?”
Kaylie shook her head and her curls bounced around her face. “Pepper makes me sneeze.” And she directed a fake sneeze toward the veggies.
Alex held back the chuckle threatening to escape his throat and dipped a pepper, took a healthy bite. “That’s a different kind of pepper. These are sweet.” He held one out. “Try it.”
She shook her head furiously. “No. Don’t like it.”
The Daughter He Wanted Page 13