by Mae Nunn
“Insightful point, Coach.”
“I still make one occasionally,” he joked.
Cullen hadn’t considered how sore the girls would be after a long first day of throwing a ball and swinging a bat. A little work-out in the pool would help ease the lactic acid out of their muscles. So they’d stop at the apartment and pick up the girls’ swimsuits before heading to his place to cool down. And they’d run by the Malt ’n’ Burger for carryout.
The list of details involved in parenting grew by the hour. As did his respect for Sarah and her tireless effort to hold her family together all by herself.
“Will Manuela and I see you at Miss Nancy’s wedding?”
“We wouldn’t miss it.” The invitation was stuck on his refrigerator door alongside a piece of Hope’s macaroni artwork.
“We?” Coach Uprichard caught the inference. “Are you and the lady already a couple?”
“I’m testing the waters.” Cullen was honest with his old high school coach.
“Is this part of the experiment you mentioned before?”
“Sort of. You remember how I operate, Coach. I’ve got to study things nine ways from Friday before I can make a decision. Remember how long it took me to figure out whether I wanted to play right or center?”
“I sure do. I thought you’d never settle on a spot in the outfield and stay there.” Coach laughed. “As you reminded me a minute ago, some things never change.”
Coach offered his hand, said he had to get on with his reconnaissance mission and headed for the practice fields outside.
Cullen stood amid the hubbub of the cages, lost in memories of the past and a few fears for the future, forgetting the time.
“We’re tired and hungry,” Carrie announced, moving toward him with Meg and Hope right behind.
“If we don’t eat soon Hope’s blood sugar will drop and she’ll get cranky and whiny,” Meg added.
“Will not,” Hope argued.
“Trust me, Cullen, you don’t want to be in charge when this kid morphs into the incredible brat,” Meg continued over Hope’s objection.
“Hey! I’m right behind you. I can hear everything you say.”
“Oh, shut up,” Meg taunted.
“That’s no way to talk to your baby sister,” Carrie admonished Meg. “Show some respect like Cullen says and tell her you’re sorry.”
“You’re right, Carrie.” Meg turned to Hope. “I’m sorry you’re a cranky, whiny little kid. You can’t help it.”
“Apology accepted.” Hope smiled at her sisters.
It wasn’t perfect, but the girls were catching on. More importantly, they were making sincere efforts, giving it their all.
How could Cullen give them back any less?
* * *
ON SATURDAY NIGHT, Sarah rushed over to Cullen’s to pick up her girls. But instead of the grouchy brood she’d expected, she found a quiet group around the dinner table with Cullen, and a burger was waiting for her.
Meg took a huge bite of cheeseburger, dragged three shoestring fries through the river of ketchup on her paper plate and poked them in an already overloaded mouth.
“Honey, take it easy, you’re eating like a starving animal,” Sarah cautioned.
“I’m sorry, Mama. I’m hungry,” she mumbled.
“If I crammed my mouth that full you’d be lecturing me on the hazards of choking.”
Meg swallowed and took a long pull on the straw of her chocolate milk shake.
“I can’t help it. I’m so tired that I’m afraid I’ll fall asleep in my plate if I don’t eat fast.”
“Me, too,” Carrie agreed.
“Me three,” Hope added, a strawberry milk shake mustache on her upper lip.
“Did you play ball with my daughters or make them pull a plow?”
Sarah looked to Cullen for an explanation. His lips curved in a grin over the top of his own burger wrapped in white parchment paper.
“Today I cracked the code on how to wear these three out so well they don’t have the energy to argue.”
“But they don’t have the energy to eat, either.”
“They’re doing just fine, as you can see from their empty plates. It’s the grumbling and name calling that’s missing.”
Sarah stared from one girl to the next. Three sets of pink cheeks and eyelids at half-mast indicated her brood wasn’t in peril but simply bushed from an active day in the sun.
“How can I not love a man who spends his Saturday with three girls who don’t belong to him so their mama can go shopping and get her hair done?” Sarah asked.
Had she really brought up love for the first time, at the dinner table in front of her girls? Wasn’t that normally a private, intimate moment between two people?
Maybe Cullen hadn’t noticed.
“Your hair looks especially pretty tonight.” He smiled his approval.
At least he’d noticed her cut and highlights, even if he’d missed her mention of love.
“Cullen, may I go lay on your big bed with Rocket?” Carrie asked politely.
“And sleep with the TV on?” Meg pleaded.
“Yeah, we don’t have TVs in our bedrooms at the apartment,” Hope informed him.
Sarah cut in. “No, let’s clean up this mess and then head home, girls.”
“It’s not even dark outside and it’s Saturday night,” Cullen reminded her. “Don’t dine and dash after I’ve gone to all the trouble to procure these nutritious meals.”
“Cullen, they’re not going to last another fifteen minutes. I’ll be lucky to get them out of the car when we get to the apartment.”
“Then let them go crawl on my bed with Rocket. It’s a California king so there’s plenty of room. When they wake up you can take them home.”
“I don’t know...” She really should get them moving while there was still a chance they’d make it to the car under their own steam.
“I was hoping to talk about next week’s lectures with you. Otherwise, I won’t be prepared.”
How could she refuse to help him out when he’d devoted two full days this week to her family? And to tell the truth, there was nowhere she’d rather be, anyway. They were way past the friendship stage, barreling headlong toward emotions that wouldn’t be denied and couldn’t be hidden.
Sitting beside Cullen on his sofa while he expounded on some bloody battle over ancient relics sounded like the perfect evening.
CHAPTER SEVENTEEN
FROM THE DOORWAY of Cullen’s bedroom, Sarah had a perfect view of her three beautiful daughters and one long-legged blond puppy tangled together in a snuggly web. Their breathing had changed as soon as their heads had pressed into the pillows atop the huge pine sleigh bed. Though the girls were fast asleep, Sarah switched on the flat-screen television, tuned it to the country music channel and dialed the volume low.
“They’re down for the count,” Cullen whispered into her ear. “I bet they don’t wiggle before daylight.”
“I’m afraid you may be right. How am I going to get them home and into their own beds now?”
“Just leave them here. I’ll move Rocket into one of my guest rooms with me later and the girls can sleep over. You can bring them a fresh change of clothes for church in the morning.”
“I can’t ask you to be responsible for them all night.”
He smiled and gestured toward the comatose mound of warm bodies beneath the covers on his bed.
“I don’t think you have much choice, my dear.”
His hand was warm on the small of Sarah’s back as he guided her away from the bedroom and into the kitchen where they’d shared their meal. He’d swept away all signs of the carryout burgers and fries he’d generously provided. She’d been prepared to cook spaghetti, feeling a bit guilt
y for taking the day for herself. But it had been a relief to arrive at Cullen’s house to find he already had dinner covered.
And now he had the girls covered for the night, as well. The man was making himself indispensable and Sarah wasn’t sure if that was a good thing or a bad thing.
“What will I do all by myself in a quiet apartment?”
“You can soak in a hot bubble bath with a glass of pink wine while you listen to Michael Bublé. I hear ladies enjoy that activity.”
“And where did you pick up such a tidbit?”
“I’m a well-rounded man. I watch The View.”
“Of course you do.” She nodded her head at the mental picture of Cullen watching a panel of women yakking over the top of one another about fashion and food. “Well, I have neither bubble bath nor pink wine—” she made a sour face at the idea of the sweet drink “—and I’m more of a Tim McGraw kinda girl, so that whole plan is a no-go. What else have they taught you on The View?”
He opened the glass door of the small refrigerator that held his wine collection and pulled out a dark green bottle with a foil-wrapped neck and two chilled crystal flutes.
“That a lady can’t refuse a glass of champagne and sunset by the pool.”
“Champagne? Are we celebrating something?”
“Peace and quiet for starters. And that pretty new hairdo.”
“Thank you for noticing.” She made a production of fluffing her auburn waves.
“I heard what you said a little while ago.”
“About my hair?”
He set the flutes and the bottle on the countertop. In a motion so fluid and fast that she couldn’t possibly resist, he wrapped Sarah in strong arms and pulled her close. His chest was Rock of Gibraltar solid and just as formidable.
He lowered his head until eyes the color of wet slate hovered just above her face.
“I heard what you said about loving a guy like me.” His voice was husky with an emotion she’d never heard from Cullen before. “Was that just a figure of speech or do you actually love me, Sarah?”
He asked the question with such need in his voice that it couldn’t be disguised.
Her chest tingled where their bodies touched. Blood rushed to her face as her heart pumped double time. Even this soon in their relationship she was sure of the answer to his bold question. Would speaking the words out loud jinx a situation that seemed too perfect to be true?
“You first,” she said simply, content to let him lead the way.
“You’re right, I should go first. A woman has to be certain she’s standing on solid ground with a man before she agrees to take a leap of faith with him.”
Her breath seemed to grow still in her lungs as she waited to hear him say the words that would change her world forever. He cupped her chin with his hand, gently but firmly ensuring he had her attention for what he was about to say.
“I love you, Sarah Eason. And I love your girls. Y’all came at me like a line drive and I never had a chance to get out of the way. Wouldn’t have wanted to even if I could have.”
Sarah slid her hands into his hair, gripped the curls at the nape of his neck and pulled his lips to hers. She took the lead in a bold kiss, saying what he needed to hear with tenderness and urgency, her mouth hungry for Cullen’s. Their sighs mingled as they pressed close, his arms snaking around her body and holding her as if he’d never let her go.
They were breathless when he finally lifted his face from hers. He continued to cradle her close.
“Don’t expect that you can distract me with a wanton kiss, woman.”
She tilted her head back and laughter burst toward the ceiling. “Wanton kiss? You’ve gotta stop watching The View.”
“I read that in one of Alma’s romance novels.”
“You really are a well-rounded guy, Dr. Temple.”
“And how does a guy like me figure into your future?”
“I don’t have a crystal ball but I do have a hammering heart and wobbly knees. Those are sure signs of a whirlwind courtship.”
“Does that mean you’ll agree to let me court you?”
“Yes, sir, it does.”
“Because?”
“Because I love you right back.”
He kissed her again. This time softly, gently, his lips a promise of what would be, making Sarah all too willing to forget her own warnings about things that seemed too perfect to be true.
* * *
TOO MANY CHANGES at once can unsettle children. The success rate is highest when couples wait two years or more instead of piling one drastic family change onto another.
Cullen remembered well the point he’d been studying that very morning. He should go by the book and take things slow. But it was hard to keep a level head when he was holding this amazing woman in his arms and his mind was spinning out of control. Alma said courtship was a lost art, and right now he’d be smart to revive the practice and keep his eager hands to himself.
He could do that; Cullen was nothing if not disciplined. But he’d given his heart and he desperately wanted something in return. Simply had to hear the words again.
“What was that you said? Was it something important?” He tipped his head to the side as if his hearing was fading.
“When?” she teased.
“Right before you distracted me with that kiss,” he reminded her.
Sarah’s blue eyes crinkled when she smiled at his silliness.
“I said I love you, too, Cullen.”
“Why?”
“You are really fishing for a compliment tonight.”
“Kinda, but my mama and Alma are the only women who’ve ever told me they love me and it wasn’t as if they had any choice.”
“You’re kidding, right?”
“Nope, and as soon as you humor this old boy he’ll reward you with a glass of shamefully expensive champagne.”
“I love you because you’re generous and kind, patient and understanding, all grown up but still a mischievous boy inside, and it doesn’t hurt that you’re good-lookin’ as the Texas sky is high.” A soft chuckle deep in her throat held promise for future intimacies. “But mostly, Cullen, I love you because you’ve accepted the four of us just as we are, without reservations or conditions. I never dared to dream we’d find you, and suddenly here you are. Loving us.”
Sarah’s words washed over him like a second baptism, cleansing away the fears and insecurities she couldn’t see that stained his spirit. His hand slipped through her soft curls and he pressed her head to his chest, hugging her fiercely, determined to hang on to this special woman who was changing his life forever, little by little, day by day.
She raised her face, her eyes shining, a mirror of the happy tears that welled up and spilled over his own lashes. His heart thundered, his palms grew moist, his breathing shuddered. In another lifetime, those would have been dreaded symptoms, and he’d have run and put his head under the covers for sleep and blessed relief. Or much worse, taken a razor blade to his flesh.
But tonight his relief would be holding the hand of the woman who held his heart.
He dared to kiss her waiting lips again and again for long minutes. Slow, deliberate kisses alternating between his hunger and his restraint. In response, Sarah showered him with touch and tenderness, a taste of their life to come.
Later they sat together in the wooden swing on his patio. He pressed her close with his arm around her shoulders and they enjoyed the quiet sunset and their sparkling wine.
“Does it get any better than this?” Cullen murmured.
“I’m sure it must but at the moment this is perfection.”
“How about Sunday brunch at Temple Territory after church in the morning? Then you can all come over here, the girls can swim and you can join me to watch the Rangers whip
up on the Angels.”
“Wouldn’t you prefer some downtime away from us ?”
“Darlin’, you are my downtime. Before you came along, my days in this house were spent with my nose in a book reading about how life used to be hundreds of years ago. I want to experience how life is right now, and that’s what you and the girls have brought to me.”
“That’s a very kind thing to say.”
“It’s the simple truth. My brothers will give me the business for waiting this long to catch on to life outside the cover of a book, but it’s their job to bust my chops and I suspect I’ve got it coming.”
“Cullen, your academic achievements are nothing short of amazing. All the years of focus and dedication have paid off for you in spades, so I don’t understand why they’d be hard on you.”
“I never said it was understandable, just that it was coming. I give as good as I get, so I won’t mind.”
He reached for the champagne bottle chilling in the bucket of ice on a small table beside the swing.
“No more for me.” Sarah handed her half-empty flute to Cullen. “The mosquitoes are starting to bite and that’s my cue to go inside.”
“You wanna watch a video? It’s still kinda early.”
He was hopeful she’d stay, but she shook her head and pushed to her feet. Sarah held out her hand and pulled him upright. He took advantage of the chance to pull her close for another lingering kiss.
“Are you sure about letting the girls sleep over?”
“I’m sure. My little buddy and I will be fine in the front guestroom.”
Rocket had long since loped outside to find his master. The pup was another delight that had come into his life compliments of Sarah’s gaggle of girls.
“Then I’m going to take advantage of what’s left of this quiet evening to go over my finances.”
“Maybe you should take the rest of the wine with you. That might make the situation seem a little better,” he teased, praying she wasn’t having problems paying her bills.
“Oh, it’s not a bleak picture, just tight since it’s about time for school shopping.”