Sweet but Sexy Boxed Set

by Maddie James

  Hailey took a bite of the pie. She closed her eyes and moaned. “This is so good. Do you do all the baking for the diner?”

  Nate laughed as if she’d told a joke. “None at all. My Aunt Wanda makes the desserts and the soups. I could do the soups, but she enjoys it. It gives her a little spending money.”

  “Well, this is really good.”

  After holding her gaze for a moment more, Nate turned his attention to Lori, trying to include her in the discussion. “Everyone likes Aunt Wanda’s pies, huh?”

  Lori looked up and nodded. She dropped her spoon and signed to Nate. Her hands moved so fast, but Nate seemed to take every bit of it in.

  As he spoke to Hailey, Nate signed and answer to Lori. “How was your dad doing today?”

  Her gaze flickered between the two of them. Couldn’t he see how exclusionary he was being? Hailey knew it was easier for Lori to communicate with the sign language and she didn’t believe they were purposely keeping her out of the conversation, but it still hurt.

  She tried to push the sting away and answered Nate’s question. “Still in pain, of course. He doesn’t like the therapy they started today.”

  Nate turned all of his focus to Hailey. “I’m sure that’s more about the pain than anything else.”

  “I still feel very guilty over the whole thing. If I’d been home—”

  “It might not have changed a single thing.”

  After Lori swallowed the last bite, she picked up her plate and silverware and took it to the sink, adding it to the pile of dinner dishes.

  Nate looked at his watch and then twisted in the chair toward her. “It’s getting late tonight. You can get a bath in the morning. Brush your teeth and get your pajamas on. I’ll be there to tuck you in as soon as I’m done with the dishes.”

  She nodded to her dad and then stopped at Hailey’s chair. “Thank you…for letting me…feed and b-b-brush your horse.”

  “You’re welcome.” Lori’s footfalls could be heard as the girl headed to the bathroom, still at top speed. “Do those batteries ever give out?”

  “Yep, usually about ninety seconds after her head hits the pillow.”

  Nate began running dishwater in the sink. Hailey stood and crossed to him, taking the dishcloth from his hand. “You cooked a wonderful meal. Let me do this while you put Lori to bed.”

  He hesitated. “Are you sure?”

  “I’m positive.”

  As she did the dishes, Hailey tried to push away the feeling of exclusion that had come from Nate and Lori using the sign language. She reminded herself it had been a lovely evening with plenty of laughs. Nate had invited her to come to dinner and included her in all the activities.

  And there was an easy way to fix this problem. All she had to do was commit to learning some sign language, at least a few basic words.

  After putting the last dish away, she emptied the sinks and then headed into the family room, making herself comfortable on the couch.

  A few minutes later, Nate joined her. Sliding up tight, he draped an arm over her shoulder and encouraged her to lay her head on his chest.

  She slid her fingers up and down his denim-covered thigh. “Is she sleeping?”

  Leaning in, he kissed her forehead. “Sure is. It took a little longer than normal tonight. She couldn’t stop talking about going to your uncle’s house.”

  “I’m glad she had fun.” The conversation fell silent, and she held their entwined hands up. Encouraged by his touch, she brought up the subject that had been heavy on her mind through dessert. “I’d like to learn sign language. Can you maybe teach me, or recommend a good book?”

  Nate twisted to look at her. She could see in his face he hadn’t expected her to say that. “She can hear.”

  “I know that, but the two of you use it a lot. I feel like maybe it’d be easier for her to talk to me if I knew it too.”

  Nate scratched his chin for a moment. “I’m so touched by this. I don’t know what to say. You’re the first person outside of our immediate family who has wanted to learn.” He paused again, took a deep breath and let out an exhale. “Of course I’ll teach you, but Anna and her speech therapist have both been telling me to cut back on it. Anna says I use it to keep Lori close to me and separated from others. I did that with you tonight. Didn’t I?”

  “I know you didn’t mean it,” she responded quickly.

  He lifted her chin so he could look in her eyes. “But, I hurt your feelings. I see that now. I’m sorry. I don’t want to put barriers between you and her. It can’t be like that.”

  “I agree. That’s why I want to learn.”

  “We can do that. And I do have a couple of really great books I’ll loan you.”

  After another pause, Nate pushed his shoulders against the back of the couch and stretched out his legs in front of him as he shoved his hand into the front pocket of his jeans. “I wanted to show you something.” His fingers tightly wrapped around whatever he’d pulled from his pocket, but he hid it from her view. “Remember the other night when I said that you meant something to me, even back then?”

  She’d never once doubted it. That intensity and need in his eyes back then had been part of what scared her. “Yes.”

  He set his fist on the thigh she’d been caressing and slowly opened his hand, showing a small hourglass style sand timer. “I made this my first semester at CMU. In my art class. I blew the glass. The sand is from the beach. Our beach.”

  She picked up the timer, inspecting it closer. The glass was delicate and detailed. She had to wonder how he’d kept it all this time without it breaking. “You were always so talented.”

  He took the timer back from her and flipped it over in his fingers, so the sand could run from the top to the bottom. “One minute. To represent that one beautiful moment that I held you close to me.”

  It was such a sentimental thought Hailey felt tears spring to her eyes. She’d been so reckless with his heart. No wonder he found it hard to let her completely in. “You really went to the beach and collected some sand?”

  “From the spot where I had the truck parked.” He set the delicate piece of glasswork back in her hand. “I’ve been holding on to that slice of time for a while. Now I want you to have it. To hold it.”

  She slid her fingers over the delicate ridges he’d constructed in the glass, admiring the details of his art. “It meant something to me too, you know.”

  “That’s what made it so special.”

  “Leaving wasn’t easy.” She stopped herself. That wasn’t exactly true. It had torn her apart, but she did it because it was easier than staying.

  “You weren’t ready. As much as it hurt, I wasn’t either. I know that now. If we would have changed all our plans, we would have ended up resenting each other.”

  “Those dreams didn’t make me happy. Had I stayed, I think you might have.”

  He fingered her hair, pulling her a little tighter. “I think you would have blamed me for holding you back. We needed to experience life away from high school. Away from here. We needed to reach for the stars, even if we missed.”

  “Maybe you’re right. I know I’ve done a lot of growing up. I’ve also hit some bumps in the road. Even though you still have some doubts about me, I’m sure of what I want now.”

  “I don’t have doubts about you anymore.”

  She twisted her body so she was facing him. “Really?”

  He slid his fingers against her cheek. “The last few days I’ve gotten a chance to get to know you again. When you stepped up to help Anna, the way you handled Mrs. Crawford and Mrs. Albrecht, the way you’ve been with my daughter; you’ve shown me all those qualities I found so endearing back then. I believe you won’t just take off. If we run into problems, I believe you’ll at least try to work it out.”

  She leaned forward and kissed his cheek. “It means a lot to me that you feel like you can trust me.”

  He twisted to the corner of the couch, so he could guide Hailey to lie on top of
him. He pushed his fingers through her hair. “It really touched me that you thought about stopping off to get your car—you were thinking about what I would want or what would be best for Lori—but I’d like you to stay. If you want.”

  “I want.”

  Chapter Eighteen

  After spending the night at Nate’s, the next couple of days became a blur. Hailey remained committed to spending time with her father and keeping tabs on his recovery. Her brother and sister split the time with her. As the week progressed, more of those bad moments showed themselves, fulfilling the doctor’s warning that his dementia might be worsened by the trauma of his broken hip.

  She treasured the good moments and did her best to help him through the bad ones but was increasingly glad to have Nate to talk to when things got rough.

  He tried to resume a somewhat normal schedule at the diner, but each day he ended up taking at least a couple hours off after the lunch rush.

  One day he spent that time at Hailey’s side in the hospital, the other he picked up the needed supplies and fixed the soft spot in the barn’s roof.

  The evenings were divided between time for Lori and time for the two of them, but Nate also told Hailey he’d like it if the two of them spent a few hours alone.

  When she asked if he had an idea how he wanted to spend the time, his answer had been skiing.

  Downhill was familiar to her, but Nate was thinking cross-country. The last time she’d done that, was probably during a trip with her high school phys-ed class to the very same park they were at now.

  Was Nate trying to gage if she was “too city” to play in the snow? “I haven’t been in years, but it sounds like fun.”

  “Are you sure?”

  “I am.” At least she was sure she wanted to prove to Nate she wasn’t the person everyone thought she’d become. That—at heart—the city had been where she lived, went to school, and then worked, but it hadn’t changed the person inside, as they all seemed to think it had. That determination hadn’t quieted the voice in her heart that was scared of making a fool of herself.

  While Nate had gone into the park office to rent two sets of cross country equipment, she’d changed into the snow pants and down jacket of Anna’s he’d brought for her, opting to keep her scarf, hat, and gloves. Though she picked up the second pair he’d thrown in the truck, pushing them into the pocket of her jacket, just in case.

  In the first few minutes, she’d fallen twice. Each time, Nate was there offering her a hand back up. Quickly, she found her balance and was able to get the rhythm between her arms and legs working. Soon, they were traversing the nature paths at a good clip.

  The scenery in the park was beautiful. The combination of setting and physical exertion was giving Hailey’s mind a chance to process everything that had happened in the last six months. With each pull of her arm and slide of her foot, she exorcised some of the stress, negativity, and failure that had been polluting her mind.

  It was a difficult activity to do and talk though. She was pleasantly surprised when they were about halfway through the two-mile trail that Nate slowed to a stop. A little way off the path was a bench—probably better used in the summer than the winter—but he led her to it and they took a seat.

  “You thought you were going to trip me up with this, didn’t you?”

  He shook his head. “You showed me the other night at your uncle’s barn just how athletic you still are.”

  Hailey giggled. “That’s when you noticed I was athletic? In the barn?”

  He leaned in close to her, grazing his lips with hers. “You’ve shown me on another occasion or two.” He reached behind him, pulling the backpack off his shoulders and opening it. He lifted two coffee mugs out, handing one to her and then removed a thermos from the bag. “Are you cold?”

  “You thought to bring coffee?”

  “No. Hot chocolate. I was trying to duplicate your recipe, but I don’t think I got it right. You’ll have to teach it to me.”

  She sipped from the cup. It touched her that he’d tried to duplicate her mother’s cocoa recipe, that he’d put so much thought into this date. “You’re very close, just missing the secret ingredient.”

  “What is it?”

  “If I tell you, you won’t have any reason to keep me around.”

  He leaned over her again, leaving another chaste kiss on her lips. “Your cocoa is not the reason I keep you around.”

  She laid a gloved hand against his cheek. “It’s not, huh?”

  He shook his head, and then licked a dribble of chocolate from her lip. “No.”

  They sat on the bench a few moments longer, but the hot chocolate wasn’t enough to fend off the chill. They both agreed they were a lot warmer when they were skiing.

  For the second half of the trail, they moved at a little slower pace and were able to chat. Around the first curve they saw a few deer digging in the snow, probably looking for food.

  They paused again and watched the animals until the deer became aware of them and ran off.

  Then they started moving again. The first few moments in silence, but then Hailey found the courage to ask him more questions about their time apart.

  “Did you ever get to play basketball at CMU?”

  Nate seemed shocked. She couldn’t blame him for that. Maybe it had been a mistake to darken what had been a light and lovely conversation with what was probably a painful topic.

  But, he didn’t shy away from it, and talked as they continued to maneuver through the snow. “I played two games.”

  “And then Lori?”

  “Yes, well, in part. I twisted my knee and the doctor benched me for two weeks. During that time, I found out about the pregnancy and quit the team. I had to work to pay the medical expenses then provide for Lori.”

  “You paid for everything?”

  “It was part of my deal with her mom. At least she let me stay in the apartment with her, even though we’d broken up. There’s no way I could have afforded another place to live.”

  “You were good.” Realizing the innuendo in her words, she felt a flush warm her cheeks. “At basketball, I mean.”

  “I did all right. It wasn’t like I was going to go pro or anything.”

  This wasn’t the first time he’d minimized one of her compliments. She didn’t like seeing this broken side of Nate. It bothered her that she might have had a hand in making him think less of himself. She twisted the skis to one side, stopping for a moment.

  He followed her lead.

  “I stand by my words. You were a sharp player.” She lowered her voice and peeked at him under hooded lids. “And, well, in those other areas, you’re better than good.”

  His hand curled around his mouth as he tried to hide a blush. His other reached for hers.

  Words seemed to escape him, but she didn’t want a lull in the conversation. After they started moving down the trail again, she asked another question. “What about school? Do you ever think about trying to finish?”

  “Sometimes, but not right now. Mom and Dad had to move out west for Dad’s emphysema, so the restaurant is on my shoulders.”

  “That wasn’t part of the plan either.”

  “No. But, that’s okay. You know? Back then we looked into the future with these grandiose plans. Sitting here, looking back, I’ll take what life gave me. Basketball and art were a very small price to pay for my daughter and the life I have now.”

  “You really mean that.”

  “You looked shocked.”

  She shook her head. It didn’t surprise her. She could identify with what he was saying; it just took her a lot longer to realize it than it had him. “You were always smarter than I was.”

  He laughed. “No!”

  “Yeah. I agree with you. The reality isn’t anything like the dreams we had. That one night, I had everything I ever needed to be happy. It just took me a lot longer to realize it and find the road home.”

  “We’ll see how it goes, huh?”

 
Something in his eyes told her he wanted this as much as she did, but he was still holding a piece of him back, wasn’t completely ready to surrender. “Take your time, it’s okay. I know I have to earn your trust, but I’m going to make you a promise. A few days from now, on New Year’s Eve you’re going to be the one I’m kissing at the stroke of midnight. And it is just going to be the first of many New Year’s Eve’s I spend in your arms.”

  He locked his gaze to her as they came out at the end of the trail, back in front of the park office.

  She bent over and unclipped the skis from her boots. “Thank you, Nate. That was really wonderful.”

  Seemingly ignoring her promise for that New Year’s Eve kiss, he picked up the equipment. “I’m glad you enjoyed it. Let me turn these in and we’ll grab some lunch before I take you back to the hospital.

  Chapter Nineteen

  Nate rubbed the sleep from his eyes as he maneuvered the streets between his house and the diner. The late nights with Hailey and early mornings of work were beginning to take a toll on him. Like it or not, he was going to have to work in some time for a full night’s sleep.

  When he slowed down to make the left turn onto the main street, the engine began to cough and sputter. It was long overdue for maintenance and Nate wondered if it might be time to replace it. After all, he’d had the truck a decade now and it wasn’t new when he bought it.

  It struck him as funny. Now that Hailey was back, he felt like he could let go of the truck. He had to wonder if he’d held onto it all this time for the memories of the two of them?

  Not that he wanted to liken himself to some of his classmates—the ones who had nothing better to do than sit up at the bar talking about their glory days a decade after the fact. His truck wasn’t like a trophy. Yet, when he sat behind the wheel, he couldn’t help but think of Hailey and that first night they’d spent together.

  As he turned into the alley behind the diner, the phone rang and her number flashed on the screen. He picked it up and pressed the button. “Good morning,”