“What’s mine is yours, Bit,” Shane said and Cam took the block away from him to throw it at his uncle on the seat beside them.
“No!” she said. “Cam, no throwing blocks.”
He pushed away from his father and slithered onto the floor, still holding his father’s keys in his soggy fist. “What do you need in town?” Calvin asked her.
“I have some dry cleaning,” she said. “And I thought I might make dinner tonight.”
“Cook?” Calvin said like it was a repulsive thought. “You’re going to cook?” She nodded. “Why?”
“I don’t know, I just… I thought I might like to give it a try. You aren’t obliged to stay and eat. You can go to the lodge if you want to, you too doctor.” She looked at Shane, Murphy, and Owen. “You three are obliged.”
“Why are they obliged while Boyd and I are not?” Calvin asked, sneering at the other men.
“Because Cam is obliged. I’ll need Shane to be on Cam duty while I prepare and serve. My brother is required to be supportive of my new ventures and Murphy’s not going to eat alone with you guys… and someone has to do the washing up.” That was the truth.
Owen clapped. “This is fun, you were always a great cook. Do you remember how?”
She shrugged. “I’ve been reading recipes on the internet and I looked online, there are some nice food stores in town… it will be fun to try and if I screw it up… well there are a couple of jars of baby food upstairs.”
“I’m sure it will be delicious,” Shane said. “I look forward to it.”
“How much do you think you’ll need?” Calvin asked, reaching to his inside pocket for his money clip.
“Oh no,” she said, glancing around at the others. “It’s ok. I… I got my old cards back. I have money in my accounts.”
Calvin stopped in surprise and drew his eyes to Shane. “You did that?”
Shane smiled and looked at Murphy. “I love how he’s pissed at me for giving her financial freedom. Man, aren’t I just a prick?” Then his glare landed on Calvin. “When you’re secure in a relationship, you don’t have to work overtime to control someone.”
The tension was beginning to rise and Ginger was aware of her baby being in the room. “Ok,” she said. “I don’t want a fight.”
Cam picked up another block and when he turned to crawl towards his father with it, he left the keys on the floor. “Are you ready to leave?” Doctor Guinness asked, probably sensing the same friction in the room that she did.
“Yes,” she said, leaving the floor. “I’ll grab our stuff. Shay, can you put on Cam’s shoes and jacket, please?”
“Sure thing,” Shane said, sweeping up his son who was at his feet again. “You going out with mommy, buddy?”
“I can get him ready,” Calvin said.
Shane laughed and turned a sneer on Calvin. “Really feeling threatened today, aren’t you, Bishop?” he asked.
“Guess that’s what happens when you lose your wad at poker,” Murphy said.
They didn’t need this. Not now. “Shane,” she murmured and he turned to look at her. His smile slid away when he saw how serious she was and he nodded once. “Thank you… Calvin, I’ll need your help getting Cam’s car seat from your car.”
Ginger went toward the stairs but heard what was said next. “What was that?” Murphy asked in a hushed tone as Calvin went to retrieve his own car keys.
“Nothing,” Shane said. “Forget it.”
They all headed to the parking lot in front of the lodge as a troupe. Cam was in his stroller, shaking his father’s keys. Calvin walked ahead with Boyd, keeping Ginger’s hand so she had to keep pace with him and leave Cam with his father and uncles.
When they got to Calvin’s car, Boyd carried on to go into the lodge. Calvin unlocked the car, but his phone rang, so he answered it.
“One second,” he said to her and walked away to talk into his phone.
Ginger bent over to unfasten the seatbelt from the baby seat. A second later, two hands slid onto her hips and she looked over her shoulder to see Shane behind her. “I’m sorry,” he said and she went back to doing her work. “I can make it up to you right here.”
“Good,” she said. His hand slid lower, but she straightened and turned to dump the heavy car seat in his arms. “You need to learn how to put this in properly anyway.”
He nodded in acquiesce, wearing a knowing smile, and turned to take the seat to his vehicle which they’d passed on the way here. Calvin was wandering toward the lodge. Cam was with his uncles and Doctor Guinness in the middle of the parking lot.
“Put it behind the driver,” she said when they got to his pick-up. “That way I can turn around and get to him from the passenger side.”
Shane did as told and she slid in between him and the back seat to show him how the straps slid into place. “Are you going to let me make it up to you?” he asked when they were done.
“By screwing me in the parking lot? No.”
Ginger turned around and he trapped her against the frame of the car, the door still open at his back. “I’m sorry,” he said into her eyes.
She wanted to stay mad, but like she’d told him, it was easier when they were communicating. “Don’t you get that you’ve won?” she asked. “Why do you have to keep goading him? And Cam was right there, what if an argument had started?”
“I know, you’re right, I’m sorry,” he said.
“Cam adores you. He worships you… but if he sees you shouting and, god forbid, getting physical with anyone… you’ll scare him, Shane. I don’t want our baby to be afraid of you.”
While he was searching her gaze, it hurt her to see him so scared of that idea. “I just… the guy gets on my nerves. The way he treats you and what you’ve been through… I want to knock out his teeth.”
She could understand that, but that wasn’t what they’d agreed on. “We’re playing this cool, remember? We’re supposed to be on the same side. I don’t want us working against each other—”
“We’re not,” he said, scooping his hands up to her face. “I promise, baby, I’m sorry. But you do know if I suddenly start being super nice to the guy, he’s going to know something’s up.”
Fair point, but she wasn’t expecting them to be best friends. “I’m not asking you to be nice to him, just… ignore him. That’s all. Just let it slide.”
“As soon as this business stuff is done later… We’re going to have to tell him it’s over.”
She straightened enough to spread her hands on his ribs. His hand was on the roof above her head, his whole body slanted towards her, shutting her into this enclosed space. “I’m going to have to tell him. You won’t be anywhere near it. You’re going to be with Cam, protecting him with your life.”
“Murphy and Owen have our backs. They can be with Cam while—”
“Having you there will just be antagonistic,” she said, thinking about where they were and the day ahead. “But we can talk about this later. Julianna doesn’t leave until tomorrow morning, so we won’t be telling Calvin a thing until after she’s gone.”
“Ok,” he said. “I’ll put Cam in the car.”
Ginger nodded and Shane twisted, but she slid her hands to his sides, increasing her grip and stalling him. Returning to his post, he lowered. “Something else?” he asked, his attention heating.
Biting her lip, she was too tempted to be self-conscious, especially when they were going to be apart for most of the day. “He’s not watching, is he?”
Shane looked over the roof of the car. “No, his back is to us.”
“Just a little one?”
“You got it, Bit,” he said, stooping to touch his mouth onto hers. “The only way I know you’ve forgiven me is if I get a kiss… Sometimes it’s like you remember everything.”
“And some things just feel natural,” she said. “Go get Cam for me.”
The dry cleaning and stroller were put in the truck as Cam was strapped in by his father. Everyone said their goodbye
s and then she was off for her day with the doctor. Leaving the men to their business should be safe, unless any of them ran into each other. But that would happen whether she was at the chalet or in town, at least this way, she could be confident her son wouldn’t witness any carnage.
Typical that Ginger should gear herself up to try something new only to collapse at the first hurdle. Her day with the doctor had been great. They’d had lunch; Cam had slept a little in the car on the way home but he hadn’t had his full nap, so she worried how that would impact his mood for the rest of the day.
It didn’t help that she’d had to rush up to the lodge in a panic when her brand new laptop decided to screw around on her.
Walking along a corridor on an upper floor, she was trying to find the specific office that the receptionist had directed her to. Pushing the stroller along the narrow space, Ginger came to a door and leaned over the stroller to pull it open as she tried to angle herself through it.
“Oh, let me help you.”
The redhead on the other side of the door pushed the door from her side allowing Ginger to navigate through. “Thank you,” she said.
The woman didn’t move aside. “I’m sorry, do I…? Do I know you?”
The redhead was beautiful, taller than Ginger, more refined in her expensive clothes and complete with perfect makeup. Ginger smiled. “No, I don’t think so.”
But the woman was really peering at her. “You look familiar to me, but I… I’m not sure why,” she said. Cam kicked and babbled, getting the woman’s attention. When she smiled, this stranger’s beauty became more striking. “Hello, little one.” The woman crouched to touch Cam’s head. “Aren’t you precious? How old is he?”
“Almost eleven months,” Ginger said. She was in a hurry, but never really minded when anyone commented on how perfect her boy was.
“He’s gorgeous.”
Well, duh. “Thank you,” Ginger said.
“Are you lost up here or looking for something specific? There are only conference rooms and offices down there.”
Maybe this woman was a manager or employee and that was why she was so smartly dressed. “No, I asked at reception. They sent me up here to find their IT guy, I’m having some computer issues.” Ginger touched the laptop resting in the folded hood of the stroller.
Cam began to kick and pant again, getting himself excited. Ginger hoped he wasn’t going to throw a hissy fit because he was tired. She needed him to stay calm while she spoke to this IT guy, if she ever found him. He might not want to help her if she brought a screaming baby into his office.
The woman narrowed her eyes as she peered up at her. “Are you sure we don’t know each other? You look really—”
“Dada!” Cam hollered and Ginger looked up as the redhead turned.
There at the opposite end of the corridor, just coming through the double doors was Shane, Murphy, and Owen with a couple of suited men. Cam must have seen them through the glass panel in the door. Great, she hadn’t thought about this being the business suite, the woman on reception had just said second floor, right and then left to the end of the corridor.
All of the men’s expressions were serious as they spoke in hushed whispers. “Is that what he calls all men?” the redhead asked, surprised as she rose.
But there was no time to answer or retreat. “Dada!”
Shane immediately stopped talking and his staunch expression lightened in an instant. “Hey, buddy!” he said. Ginger was as shocked as the redhead whose jaw fell. Shane sped up as he headed toward them.
“I… I—”
“This is a nice surprise, Bit, you ok? You looking for me?” Shane asked and actually leaned over the stroller to kiss her temple before he hunkered down to blow a raspberry on Cam’s cheek.
Cam laughed and kicked again. “Dada!”
“You… you’re his father?” the redhead stuttered.
“I sure am,” Shane said, tickling his son before glancing up at the women. “Sorry, Ginny, this is Julianna. Julianna, meet my wife, Ginger.”
Shane was curious about Julianna’s reaction, it was obvious from how he looked at the stunned woman. Maybe that was why he’d told the truth. They could’ve made excuses, he didn’t have to introduce her when their lives were so complicated.
Julianna gasped. “You’re… you’re… Oh my God, you’re Ginger Warren!”
“Yes,” Ginger said, offering her hand.
Julianna was still gaping when she shook her hand and Shane ruffled Cam’s hair. “Are you ok, Bit?” Shane asked her. “We’re just finishing up.”
“When she said she was looking for an IT man, I had no idea she meant her IT man,” Julianna said, though she still blinked at her like she was looking at a mythical creature. “I’m sorry, I’m amazed. Everyone thought you were—”
“She’s stronger than ever,” Shane said. “It’s been a journey.”
“I’m sorry, but… where have you been?” Julianna asked and looked down at Cam. “And your baby… you have a baby.”
“We have a baby,” Shane said and Ginger identified the thread of irritation in his voice.
“Dada!” Cam said, straining to try to see up over the back of the stroller.
Her boy wasn’t going to be patient for much longer. “I’m sorry,” Ginger said. “I have to get going.”
“Oh, sure, sure,” Julianna said and waved to the suited men hanging back with Murphy and Owen. “We should have dinner, when you get back to California. I’m sure you have quite a story to tell.”
Ginger just smiled because she didn’t want to commit to anything. “It was nice meeting you,” Ginger said.
“I’ll get that paperwork to you,” Julianna said to Shane, then she and her colleagues stepped over Cam’s stroller to get to the door.
Ginger backed away as much as she could, squishing herself into Shane who was at her back, to give Julianna and her colleagues space to pass. When the door was closed, Ginger swatted his stomach. “You got defensive.”
“I did not,” he said, rubbing his stomach and then put his hands around onto hers on the stroller handle when she tried to move away. “I just didn’t like the way she said—”
“You’ll have to get used to it,” Murph said, coming over with Owen. “Ginny disappears for a year and a half and comes back with a kid? Suspect much?”
“People will think I faked it?” she asked. “You think they’ll think I disappeared to have some other guy’s kid?”
Murphy shrugged and she didn’t like that. “No one will think he’s another guy’s,” Owen said. “The math works, it easily works.”
“And how many people really pay attention to math when there’s a scandal?” Murphy asked.
Scandal, fantastic, that was never a fun word. Sighing, Ginger couldn’t handle stressing about one more thing right now. “Ok, well now you’ve brightened my day, Murphy, thank you, I have to get going. I’ll see you back at the chalet.”
“Whoa, wait, I’ll come with you,” Shane said, picking up one of her hands to link their fingers as he bowed his head to the back of her ear. “Where are we going?”
“You want to come, but don’t even know where I’m going,” she said.
“Maybe she’s going to meet Bishop for some afternoon delight,” Murphy said.
Haha, served him right, Ginger smiled up at Shane. “Yeah, maybe I am.”
“Then I’m definitely coming with you,” Shane said. “He’ll get the shock of his life if I walk in there first.”
Murphy and Owen laughed, then Murphy cringed. “Oh, nasty visual. You could walk in there and see more than you ever wanted to, know what I’m saying?”
This was venturing towards mocking that she didn’t want to become habit when everyone’s moods were frayed. “Shane,” she murmured, tipping her chin to her shoulder.
“Right, yeah, sorry, baby. Enough, guys.”
“What is with that,” Murphy said. “How does she give you into trouble by saying your name in that soft way?”
He looked to Cam. “You’ve got your work cut out, dude. Momma’s gonna be strict with you.”
“Cameron is an angel,” she said. “It’s his daddy who needs to learn to behave.” Murphy and Owen jeered and she rolled her eyes, typical that they would take it in a dirty way. “Can I go now?”
“I thought you were looking for me,” Shane said. “Julianna said you wanted your IT guy.”
“No, I said I was looking for the IT guy, the lodge’s IT guy. He has an office around here somewhere.”
“Problem?” Shane asked.
She nodded. “Something with my computer, I was looking up my recipes and it just… I don’t know, went weird on me. I hope he’ll be able to fix it.”
“Use mine,” Shane said. “That’s a piece of junk anyway.”
She didn’t appreciate him being glib. “Because you didn’t pick it?” she asked, Calvin had bought it for her.
“Because you deserve better. Either way, I can fix it or you can let me give you something of higher performance,” he murmured, getting closer and wrapping his arms further around her as he hummed the words in his bedroom voice. “Something that won’t ever let you down, something customized and designed to fulfill your every need. Dedicated to you and your needs every minute of every day.”
“Mm,” she purred, like she was considering it. “That sounds like an interesting proposition… but that doesn’t help me tonight.”
She tried to walk, but he drew her back again and lowered to whisper through her hair into her ear so the guys wouldn’t hear. “I’ll make it worth your while, Mrs. Warren… Let me do this for you and you can have my hands all to yourself all night, directed by you, devoted to your pleasure, anywhere you want them. Just you and me—”
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