Rescued by Mr. Wrong

by Cynthia Thomason

  His mouth came down hard and hungrier this time. He leaned her back against the sofa. His hands cradled her face. His tongue pressed on her lips, invaded her mouth. The kiss was hot and sweet, a dizzying contradiction that left her breathless, but this time in a good way. Oh, so good.

  He ended the kiss with a few blissful nibbles on her cheeks, her ears. His mouth was like velvet and sandpaper, the softness of an experienced lover combined with the ravages of a bitter winter wind. She melted with the tenderness while she gasped at the raw pleasure tingling in her nerve endings.

  He drew back. “That was nice,” he said. “Wouldn’t mind doing it again.”

  “I can’t believe we did it that time.” She might have said more, but she could hardly breathe—this time for all the best reasons.

  He picked up the remote. “Well, a man would be a fool not to take advantage of a situation like this. I mean, a cold day, a warm fire and a lady who can’t run away.”

  She smiled but kept her gaze on her lap. In a voice so soft she didn’t know if he even heard, she said, “I wasn’t thinking of running.”

  CHAPTER TEN

  FOR THE REST of the day Carrie had trouble concentrating on anything that wasn’t directly or indirectly about Keegan. The way he didn’t bother to comb his hair when he came out of the bathroom after a shower. The way he held one long finger against his chin when he contemplated dinner choices in his cupboard. The straightness of his back and his keen focus as he sat at his computer.

  Was he thinking about her, about the kiss? He glanced over at her a few times and smiled. She hoped that meant he was remembering the kiss with appreciation.

  Was she as good a kisser as Keegan was? He held his own very well in that category. She’d been wrapped in his arms. He’d ministered to her cut with gentleness, but that kiss overshadowed everything else and made her certain that if it happened again, she wouldn’t mind at all. And she began to think that if his interest went beyond kissing...well, no use wondering about what might never happen.

  After dinner, Keegan sat in his favorite easy chair and pulled his phone from his pocket. When he looked over at Carrie and caught her staring, he smiled. “Calling Taylor,” he said. “Just so you know.”

  “Of course.” She shrugged. “It’s none of my business.”

  He laughed softly. “You know what they say, ‘If I had a nickel for every time...’”

  She pushed her reading glasses up to the bridge of her nose and concentrated on her book. “Very funny.”

  The conversation went about as it had several nights ago. Keegan spoke to his son as if he were a distant, concerned uncle, asking about school, sports, his friends. Keegan was polite and encouraging, and she assumed the same manners were on display from his son. Not once did Keegan laugh, tease or cajole as the Fosters regularly did with each other. He could have been an executive speaking to a coworker in an office environment. Carrie reminded herself that it had been more than a year since the two had physically been together. Distance is difficult, a potential bond killer.

  When he disconnected, Carrie said, “How is Taylor?”

  “He’s fine,” was the succinct answer. “Nothing much new.”

  She remembered when she was thirteen years old. There was always something new that she couldn’t wait to share with her parents.

  “I’ll bet you wish you could see him.”

  “Well, sure, and I will. I’m planning on flying out to Seattle this summer.”

  “That’s a long way off. Have you ever thought of bringing Taylor here?”

  “To the campground?” Keegan stifled a laugh. “Yeah, any kid would be thrilled to spend a few cold, bitter days in this rockin’ environment.”

  “You enjoyed it when you were his age, didn’t you?”

  “Well, yeah, but that was when my grandfather was alive. And I wasn’t around much in the winter. There was always a lot to do in the good months. I helped around the campground, we went fishing and boating. Back then it was fun.”

  “Have you thought about ways to make it fun in the winter, as well? Taylor might surprise you and really enjoy himself here.”

  “Carrie, kids are different today. They’re not like I was. Taylor’s into electronics, movies, probably girls.”

  She smiled. “My, you are old! There were no movies or girls when you were growing up?”

  He scowled. “All I’m saying is that Taylor would be bored stiff here. I was never bored. There was always land to explore and creatures to catch. And my grandfather kept me busy sweeping the concrete pads and gathering wood.”

  She wanted to remind him that there could be lots to do again on these seven acres, if she had her way, but now wasn’t the time to bring up her sketches again.

  “Besides,” he said, “I won’t be here much longer. Just waiting out the winter until I can spruce the grounds up a bit to make the property more saleable. And urge Duke and Delores to hook up their trailers to the nearest pickup and find greener pastures.”

  “What do you suppose will happen to the two of them?” she asked.

  “I don’t know. I’ve let them live here rent-free for a year. I figure my responsibility is over.” He took his jacket from a hook by the door. “I’m going outside to move the trash cans to the curb. I’ll be a few minutes because I have to get Delores’s and Duke’s, as well. If you need anything just holler. I’ll hear you.”

  Carrie didn’t believe for a moment that Keegan hadn’t considered his neighbors. She figured he’d spend his last days at Cedar Woods finding Delores and Duke a new place to park their trailers. Keegan was a much more caring guy than he let on.

  She thought about missed opportunities between this father and his son, ones that Keegan would regret. He shouldn’t let such valuable time slip away. Soon his son would be grown, and if the two didn’t build a base of friendship and respect now, maybe they never would. Even a few months could result in a big difference when a kid was only thirteen.

  She picked up her book but didn’t open it. Instead she glanced across the room to Keegan’s chair. On the end table sat his cell phone, and an idea struck Carrie with such force that she couldn’t ignore her excitement. Could she do this? She made her way to the chair, picked up a pencil and paper, and opened the antiquated cell phone to the last screen, showing most recent calls.

  There it was, a call of five minutes duration with an out-of-state area code. Taylor’s number. She scribbled it on the paper. Of course, the number could belong to the household or Keegan’s ex-wife, but Taylor was thirteen. Carrie figured most kids his age had their own phones.

  She should have a few minutes before Keegan came back, but just in case, she went into the bathroom and closed the door. Sitting on the commode, she brought up the dialing screen on her own smartphone and input the number. A young, husky voice answered. “Hello.”

  “Taylor Breen?”

  “Yes. Who’s this?”

  “My name is Carrie Foster. I’m a friend of your father’s.”

  Taylor inhaled a quick breath. “Is he okay? I just talked to him.”

  “Yes, he’s fine. But I know he misses you, and I’d like to surprise him. Your dad has done a number of favors for me, and this would be my way of repaying him.”

  “What do you want to do?”

  “I’d like to bring you here to where your father is staying. I’ll pay for the plane ticket of course, round-trip. The best route should be Seattle to Cleveland.”

  “But Dad’s in that campground in the middle of nowhere, isn’t he?”

  Taylor sounded less than enthusiastic. Perhaps he wouldn’t want to give up his life in Seattle for a few days in the wintry countryside.

  “Yes, he lives in the campground, but he has a charming cabin. It’s cold now, but the snow is beautiful. Just a long weekend to start, and
you two will find plenty to do. He has some cross-country skis here. Maybe you’d like to try that.”

  “This would be a surprise?”

  “Yes.”

  “I don’t think my dad likes surprises,” Taylor said.

  Ordinarily, Carrie would agree with him, but she hoped this time would be different. “I bet he’ll like this one.”

  “I’ll have to ask my mom. She’ll probably want to talk to you, too.”

  “That’s fine. I’m happy to speak with her. Tell her your dad will pick you up at the airport.”

  “Okay. I’d kind of like to come.”

  “Great. When do you suppose you can get away?”

  “Maybe Saturday. It’s still Christmas break from school. We don’t go back until next Wednesday. I could fly back to Seattle on Tuesday.”

  Two days! Carrie could pull this off. She doubted many people were filling seats from Seattle to Cleveland this time of year. “Put your mother on the phone, Taylor, and let me explain everything. And then I’ll call the airline. I’ll text you the details.”

  Convincing Taylor proved much easier than convincing his mother. But Carrie coaxed and cajoled Marta Breen into accepting that Carrie didn’t have an ulterior motive. She explained about her accident and Keegan’s kindness in helping her. She used her own connection with the Forest Service and told Marta how to look up her credentials. And mostly, she told the mother that Keegan missed his son and wanted to see him.

  “I want this to be a surprise, Marta,” she said. “I owe Keegan so much.”

  Taylor’s voice in the background was insistent and pleading, and finally, Marta said, “I guess it would be okay. Taylor does want to see his dad.”

  Carrie heard the front door of the cabin open just as she ended the call. “Please, let’s keep this a secret. I want it to be a true surprise for Keegan.”

  “All right,” Marta said. “Let Taylor know if you get the tickets. And Carrie...?”

  “Yes?”

  “How is Patrick?”

  Naturally, Marta would still refer to her husband by his other name. “He’s fine. Healthy, making plans for the future. He misses his son terribly.”

  “He’s a good man,” Marta said. “Difficult to live with, or live without, as in our case. But he’s still a decent guy. Take care of my son, Carrie. I’m counting on you.”

  “I will.” She disconnected, made a quick call to an airline to reserve the seat, and left the bathroom. She hoped the grin on her face wouldn’t give away the fact that a secret was brewing.

  * * *

  “WHAT’S GOING ON with you?” Keegan asked. Carrie was usually cheerful, but tonight she looked positively euphoric. She tried to read her book but seemed unable to be still. She kept looking over at him as he worked. Well, he understood that part. He kept looking over at her, too.

  “Nothing,” she insisted. “It’s been a nice day. Lunch out, meeting new people.”

  “You mean Jeanette?”

  “Of course I mean Jeanette. Who else would I mean?”

  He narrowed his eyes, trying to read what was going on in her mind. Sometimes his reporter’s instincts did not allow him to let a pleasant moment be just that—pleasant. “I’m glad to know that meeting Jeanette was such a high point for you.”

  She rested her book on her lap. “Actually it wasn’t her so much. I was gratified to see that you have friends.”

  “I have friends,” he protested weakly. “As many as I want, anyway.”

  “Well, sure, but living here in isolation, don’t you find that you need variety in your life, something to keep you occupied, hold your attention?”

  He smiled, thinking back to the afternoon. “I had someone’s lips keeping me occupied earlier,” he said. “How about you?”

  She grinned, a coy upturning of her lips that seemed as much an invitation as an agreement. “I’m not talking about that kind of stimulation. I meant...”

  “I know what you meant.” He opened a drawer in his desk and took out a deck of cards. “Tell you what... Let’s go for some variety right now. Do you play gin rummy?”

  “I happen to be a master at gin rummy,” she said.

  He cocked an eyebrow at her. “The lady has skills, eh? That sounded like a challenge to me.” He moved a pillow to the coffee table so she could rest her leg there. Then he sat next to her on the sofa and started dealing.

  “What are we playing for?” she asked, giving him just the opening he’d been waiting for.

  “Winner gets to decide how to say good-night.” He cleared his throat and glanced sideways at her. “That’s assuming you’re not sleeping with me again tonight, which would definitely be my choice.”

  “You assume correctly,” she said in a haughty voice he was beginning to quite like.

  “Okay, then. Whoever gets five hundred points first wins. But I should tell you, Carrie...”

  “What?”

  “I’m going to try my hardest, but whoever scores highest, I’m hoping we will both end up winners.”

  She licked her soft pink lips, the ones he had been thinking about most of the day, and raked her fingers through strands of blond hair falling over her shoulder. Cute, tempting and yet somehow innocent. He’d never met anyone quite like her, and he was enjoying every minute of trying to figure her out. Enjoy... That was a word he didn’t find in his vocabulary too often these days, either.

  She picked up her cards and fanned them out in her hand. “Both winners?” she said. “I rather like that idea.”

  CHAPTER ELEVEN

  THE NEXT DAY was a period of expectation for Carrie. She’d decided not to tell Keegan anything about his son’s visit until they were in his car on the way to the airport the following morning. That was about as much of a surprise as she could pull off with a man like Keegan, a man who craved answers to life’s most perplexing questions. There was no chance she’d get him to drive the whole distance to the airport without knowing exactly why.

  Carrie was happy. Her nerves were on edge, but the anticipation felt good. She didn’t think she’d sleep a wink the night before.

  And almost as if he knew she’d planned something pretty spectacular for him, Keegan had been caring and kind and affectionate without being pushy. She enjoyed the occasional peck on her cheek, the touch to her shoulders and arms as he passed by. Without talking about the changes, they had definitely become more than accident victim and Good Samaritan. He’d done no more than kiss her, yet he had made her feel secure and comfortable in his presence ever since she’d first met him.

  She didn’t know what they had become to each other, but their time in the cabin was relaxed and natural, and Carrie didn’t want to think about the day her leg would be healed and she would have to leave. She didn’t love Keegan, but she liked him more and more. When she opened her eyes in the morning, she liked knowing he would be the first person she’d see. When she ate across the table from him, she liked being the one he talked to. When they watched a movie together, she liked when he paused the film so they could talk about what was going on in the plot. But love him? No, all these things weren’t love, were they?

  On the other hand, in one week, her feelings for him had grown to be as deep and profound as she’d experienced with any of her other boyfriends. She was beginning to believe that love, even an intimate relationship with a man, wasn’t an emotional impossibility for her.

  Late Friday afternoon, he came and sat beside her on the sofa. “Tomorrow is New Year’s Eve,” he said. “You probably make a big deal out of that holiday. Party dress, dancing, kissing at midnight.”

  “Last year, I pruned trees in a greenhouse until the ball dropped in Times Square,” she said. “For real excitement I kissed a rose petal.”

  He squeezed her shoulder. “You’ll do better than that this y
ear. Sorry I can’t take you out for a fancy dinner, but we can go to the diner if you like. I’m not much for dressing up these days, and you aren’t getting around so well anyway.”

  She smiled at him. “Why don’t we just let New Year’s Eve take care of itself? And as far as my leg is concerned, I practiced walking without the crutches, just using the boot, and I did quite well.”

  “Good for you. A real step forward, pardon the pun.” He waited a few minutes before saying, “Did you call your office in Michigan?”

  “I did. Told my supervisor I had been in an accident and I would need a bit more time to heal before I could come back to work.”

  “Wow.” Keegan grinned. “The whole truth and nothing but the truth. How did he take the news?”

  “Actually he offered to come pick me up, but I told him I wanted to wait awhile longer on my car. He understood all that foreign car, steering box jargon. But, Keegan...?”

  “Yeah?”

  “He’ll come whenever I ask him to. You don’t have to keep me here until I start to smell like week-old trout.”

  “So far I don’t have a problem with your smell.” He paused as if he wanted to say more.

  “But you do have a problem?”

  “A small one. I’d like to ask you some questions, get to know you better. Is that okay?”

  She’d thought she would dread this time in their relationship, but instead, she figured it was right for Keegan to want to know more. “Sure, ask away.”

  He put a hand on each of her shoulders and turned her gently to face him. “I don’t know what’s going on here exactly, Carrie. When I pulled you out of a snowdrift, I sure didn’t expect we’d still be together a week later. As a matter of fact, I spent the first couple of hours wondering who I could pawn you off on.”

  “That’s flattering,” she said.

  “I know, but as far as my relationships with women go, this one must be running on Duracell batteries to have lasted this long.”

  She covered one of his hands with hers. “My relationships don’t really have staying power, either. So, okay, ask me questions. We might as well see if you like the answers. What do you want to know?”