Sweet but Sexy Boxed Set

by Maddie James

“I have to go now, but I’ll check back in on you soon.”

  Candy nodded, the strain on her face making it clear she was trying desperately not to cry. Sharon braced herself against pity, knowing she needed time, and from now on her needs were going to be met by the people in her life, or they wouldn’t be in her life. “Take care, Mother. I’ll be in touch.”

  She released Candy’s hand and turned to go, feeling better than she ever had after talking with her mother.

  It only took minutes to get back to Legend High School but nearly fifteen more to find a place to park. She exited the vehicle and looked at those also walking to the football field. Some faces she recognized as people she’d seen at one time or another, a few she actually knew when in school. But no one paid any attention to her other than giving her a friendly nod or smile when they looked her way.

  Her confidence grew as she searched for Jake in the section she told him she’d be in, and then her heart nearly stopped when she spotted him on the sidelines talking to Kyle Sanders.

  With her legs nearly buckling, she stood where she was, but Jake must have felt her gaze because he turned and looked straight at her. Kyle turned too, and the surprise and pleasure in his gaze shook her to the core.

  Since there was nothing else she could do, Sharon approached them, her heart beating painfully in her chest.

  “Hi, beautiful.”

  Sharon barely smiled at Jake before turning her attention to Kyle. “Hello.”

  “Hi! It’s great to see you. I didn’t know you’d returned to Legend. I just got here yesterday. I’ve been hired on as an assistant coach.”

  Sharon couldn’t speak. Had he met their son? Did he even know he had one? She had no idea.

  “Sharon? Are you okay?”

  She turned to Jake. “I’m, uh, fine.” She turned back to Kyle. “It’s…surprising to see you again. But I need to find my seat. Have a good game.”

  Jake frowned at her, but Sharon couldn’t say any more. She quickly turned and bumped into someone, but she couldn’t have cared less as she quickly made her escape.

  “Hey, wait up!”

  Jake was at her side immediately and grabbed her elbow, took her to the end of the bleachers, and pulled her off to the side to give them privacy.

  “What’s wrong? You look sick.”

  Sharon slid up against him and locked her arms around his waist. Jake immediately hugged her to him. “That’s him. The one I told you about. That’s Kyle’s father.”

  They stood there in silence for long moments before Jake pulled back enough to look into her eyes. “Are you okay?”

  Sharon shook her head. “I don’t know. Kyle…my Kyle doesn’t know him. And I have no idea if he even knows about my son. His father was so hateful to me, never allowed me to talk to him once I knew I was pregnant. I don’t know what to do.”

  “First, just calm down. We’ll watch the game then get your son. After that you’re going to need to talk to him, and then his father, and then we’ll see what happens. No matter what, Kyle is your son. Nothing will change that.”

  Sharon nodded, thankful someone other than her could think clearly, because she couldn’t. “Okay. Thank you. I’m sorry for falling apart like this.”

  Jake studied her a moment longer. “Just one thing. The new coach is a single man. And you told me that you were crazy in love with him back then. How do you feel about him now? Do you think, knowing he’s here and he’s the father of your child, that those feelings might resurface?”

  Knowing she had to be honest, Sharon shrugged. “I don’t know what I might feel for him anymore. It’s been years, and we were just kids. But all I can think about right now is how this will affect my son.”

  Jake nodded. “I’m sorry. I shouldn’t have asked. I’m just so crazy about you….”

  Sharon reached up and touched his lips with her fingers. “I am crazy about you too. That won’t change either.”

  Jake smiled as the National Anthem started. “Let’s get back. I’m sure Kyle is looking for his mother.”

  Chapter Nineteen

  As hard as it was to get her mind off the impending confrontations, Sharon couldn’t help being the proud mother of number 32. Kyle made a touchdown five minutes into the game, and what followed was him and his teammates blowing their competitors off the field.

  She enjoyed watching the game from the perspective of the stands, something she’d never gotten to do while cheering. Jake made her laugh despite her heavy heart with his hooting and hollering along with the vast majority of the other Legendarians, though she wondered at his silence and the look of concern he sent her during half-time.

  When the game ended, they exited the stands and went to wait for Kyle to come back out of the locker room. She looked up to find Jake staring off at nothing.

  “Is something wrong?”

  Jake smiled down at her, but it wasn’t the same smile she was used to seeing.

  “I’ve been thinking. Maybe you and Kyle need some time to get through this thing with his father, without me there to cloud the picture.”

  Sharon shook her head. “Why?”

  “Your son, and maybe even his father, will need time together to get to know each other. That means you and the coach will be spending time together. It isn’t fair of me to stand in the way if there are still unresolved feelings between you two.

  “It isn’t fair to me either.”

  Sharon wanted to protest and would have until he’d added the last. “If that’s what you really want.”

  Jake nodded. “I think it’s for the best.”

  There was nothing more Sharon could think to say, which was just as well as her son ran up to them, the smile on his face as huge as the odor coming off his body. “Did you see?”

  Sharon hoped her smile was as big as it should have been. “I sure did. You were fabulous!”

  Jake patted him on his still padded shoulder. “Great game!”

  Kyle looked up at him, his grin still ear to ear. “Thanks!”

  “Well, I’m going to head out, congratulations on a job well done.” He turned to Sharon and his smile melted. “I’ll see you on Monday at the office.”

  Sharon nodded, wanting so badly to ask him to reconsider, but she wasn’t going to beg. “Okay.”

  Jake walked away and she tore her gaze from his back to find Kyle frowning at her. “What’s up with you guys, Mom?”

  There was no point putting it off. “He’s decided I needed a little space.”

  Clearly confounded, Kyle made a face. “What does that mean?”

  Sharon blew out a breath. “I’m not sure. But I need to talk to you about something really important when we get home.”

  Kyle glanced over and grinned as Sharon’s breath caught. Kyle Sanders was making his way toward them with purpose in his stride. He smiled at his son and then turned to Sharon with raised brows. “Your kid is a genius on the field. Reminds me of myself when I was younger.”

  He turned to Kyle. “Coach Hood needs to see you boys for a minute before everyone leaves.”

  Kyle nodded and took off toward the field as his father turned back to her. “You never told me.”

  Sharon didn’t react, though in truth she was relieved he knew. “I told your father. He wouldn’t allow me to contact you.”

  A look of surprise followed by anger sharpened his gaze. “Are you serious? My father has known about him all these years and never told me?”

  Sharon wasn’t going to lie, not even to spare his feelings. Kyle deserved to know the truth. “He probably assumed I used the money he sent to me to have the abortion he told me to get. I didn’t.”

  Kyle looked like he was going to fall over, so Sharon placed a hand on his arm. “I’m sorry to tell you all this, but I’ve had to live with that truth all these years, so I’m not going to lie for him.”

  He shook his head, his eyes filled with tears. “I can’t believe he did that. I always wondered why you left without a word. I wanted to look for you,
but he told me you ran off and married some guy.”

  Sharon wasn’t going into all that. It was irrelevant. She had only one concern where Kyle Sanders was concerned. “I need to know what you plan to do now that you know about him.”

  “I’d like to get to know him, of course, and be a part of his life as much as you will allow. I want to help support him, even though I know it’s late in the game for that, but let me know what you need and I’ll take care of it.”

  Sharon studied him, liking what she saw. He was still good looking, but she felt no attraction to him anymore. What was important were his words, the calmness of his manner, and since Coach Hood’s hiring him was an endorsement in and of itself, Sharon breathed a sigh of relief. “He’s been wanting to meet his father ever since I told him about the boy I once loved.”

  They both smiled at that before Kyle spoke. “I was crazy about you too.” He looked her over, but was polite about it. “You’re still beautiful. Maybe even more so than back then. The doctor is a lucky guy.”

  Sharon nodded. “Yes, he is. I just need to remind him of that.”

  At the curiosity in Kyle’s gaze, she laughed. “He thought he was being honorable in stepping aside, just in case there were some lingering feelings between us, now we’re both back in Legend.”

  “And is there?”

  Sharon laughed. “Not on my part. You?”

  Kyle grinned. “If you were single, I might give it a shot, but nothing like an honest woman shooting you down from the get-go to put that to rest.”

  Her son ran back and put on the brakes in front of them, sending dirt up from the drying grass at their feet. He looked at the coach curiously. “Coach Hood said he didn’t know what you were talking about.”

  Kyle looked at his son, his heart in his eyes. “I really just needed a minute with your mom.”

  Kyle looked at his mother curiously. “Am I in trouble?”

  Sharon shook her head. “Nope, but I’d like you to meet your dad.”

  ****

  Since Kyle and Kyle were in total bonding mode, Sharon allowed them to head to town together. She wrote down Kyle’s address and then kissed her son goodbye. Kyle didn’t even protest he was so excited to find out his dad was once a Legend Dragon star player, as he planned on being Legend’s future star player.

  The house Old Doc turned into his clinic years before was dark except for the one light shining in what Sharon guessed was Jake’s room.

  She pulled into the small parking lot and floodlights immediately illuminated the entire area. Either that or something alerted Jake to her arrival so he was standing at the open door as she approached. Before he could say anything, she pushed him back and closed the door behind her.

  “I’m only going to say this once more. Don’t tell me what I need. Ask me, because I will be more than happy to tell you.

  “I don’t need an old boyfriend in my grown-up life.

  “I don’t need the man I am in love with telling me he wants me to be fair to him where another man is concerned.

  “And I don’t need time to know I have never loved anyone the way I love you.”

  Jake smiled at her, his eyes filled with joy. “What do you need, Sharon?”

  She smiled back. “I already told you that, too. All I need is you.”

  THE END

  Janet Eaves

  Janet Eaves fell in love with reading while in high school after being given a novel called Run Baby Run. That story captured her imagination and fed her mind in a way that nothing ever had before. What followed were those thick romance novels of the time that swept her away to places she’d never been, introduced her to people whose lives were filled with adventure and passion, and reading became an addiction that kept feeding her own (already overdeveloped) imagination.

  After years of devouring books written by others, she ran across a novel and thought, “I can write a better book than that!” Which now makes her laugh. Especially since she ran across her first attempt at a novel a few years ago in a box of old manuscripts that never saw the light of day. Needless to say, she couldn’t, at that time, write a better story than the one she’d read.

  But that “not so great” novel was the catalyst that began a journey that lasted years, until she finally found that one story a publishing house thought worthy of release. And now, all these years later, Janet has so many contracted writing projects she won’t be able to leave her writing-cave for fresh air anytime soon.

  One of those projects was accepting an invitation for a spot in the Unforgettable Heroes boxed set and she is honored to be in the company of so many wonderful Turquoise Morning Press authors. Janet’s contribution, Sins of the Father, can be purchased separately later this year, or now, within the boxed set, and is about a young woman whose life always seems to be on hold…only she doesn’t know why. When she has the chance to step out and declare her freedom from those who have always kept her on a tight leash, she embraces the experience with wild abandon. But she doesn’t really know who she is, or who her parents were. Worse, she doesn’t know what kind of danger can claim her now that she’s left the protection she’s always resented. And though the sexy and delightful struggling artist, Phillip, seems like he could become the love of her life, she has no idea who he really is either…. Friend with benefits? Possible life-long lover? Or foe? She can only hope in the end that he’s her Unforgettable Hero!

  SECRETS

  Jan Scarbrough

  How was she going to keep her secret? It had been with her like a living thing for twenty-one years.

  With her daughter all grown up and married, single mom Kelly Baron can start her new life, responsible only for herself. But first she must help her mother by returning to the small Indiana town she’d fled years ago.

  Newly divorced lawyer, Rob Scott, seeks solace in his small-town roots. The last thing he’s looking for is a relationship—until he runs into Kelly, and the secret she’s been keeping.

  Chapter One

  Seneca Park

  Louisville, Kentucky

  “Kelly, will you marry me?”

  Heat swept Kelly Baron’s face, and it had nothing to do with the warm June day. Choking back dismay, she stared at the kneeling man at her feet. “For goodness sakes, Thomas, stand up.”

  Thomas struggled to his feet and sat down beside her on the park bench. His normally flushed face was peppered with sweat, and he had an expectant look in his eyes. “I’m serious,” he said, fumbling in his pocket and withdrawing a small, black velvet box. “Dead serious.” He lifted the lid.

  Secured inside the box was a spectacular princess-cut diamond solitaire set in a white gold, cathedral setting. Kelly was somewhat of an expert about diamond engagement rings because of her daughter’s recent wedding, but she never expected Thomas Dunlap to offer her one, let alone one that looked to be the size of a carat.

  Kelly focused on the beautiful ring, avoiding the conflicting emotions whirling in her head and the warning bells ringing in her ears.

  Her usually reticent suitor became assertive and removed the ring from its box. “Here. Try it on.”

  Before Kelly could demur, Thomas grabbed her left hand and slipped the ring on the third finger.

  “It’s too big,” were the only words she could force from her dry lips.

  “That’s no problem,” Thomas said, bending over her hand. She could see the thinning spot of hair at the top of his head. He slid the ring up and down on her finger, and then raised his eyes. “We can get it sized to fit. What do you think?”

  “It’s lovely.”

  “No, about marrying me.”

  That again. Panic set in. It’s not that Kelly didn’t like Thomas. They had been dating since his divorce. He was an elementary school principal in Jefferson County, and she taught fifth grade in a local Catholic school. They liked to walk for exercise, go to Broadway Series plays, and eat Italian. They had a lot in common. But she had never, ever considered marrying anybody, not even when she’d bee
n pregnant with C.B. and needed to get married in the worst way.

  “I’m not sure it’s the right time,” Kelly mumbled, looking at the way a thin strand of salt and pepper hair fell across his forehead.

  Thomas sat back, opening a little space between them but continuing to hold her hand.

  “It’s a perfect time.” His voice lowered turning persuasive. “We’ve dated five years. Colleen is happily married, and you finally settled your great-aunt’s estate.”

  “But her house hasn’t sold.” She looked down, avoiding his gaze. Aunt Bess had left her house to both Kelly and Colleen, and when it sold her daughter and new husband would have a tidy nest egg.

  “A technicality.” Thomas grasped both hands and renewed his efforts. “Look, Kelly, you’re not responsible for anyone but yourself now. It’s time for you to do what you want and move forward with your life.”

  Kelly lifted her eyes to gaze into his face. She blinked. For twenty-one years she’d packed her life full of busyness and responsibility, spending her time taking care of first her daughter and later Aunt Bess. Thomas was right. All that responsibility was over. She would be forty in July. It was time to be a little selfish.

  But did that include marrying Thomas?

  She shook her head once. “I don’t know. This is so,” her voice faltered, “unexpected.”

  “I know it is, Kelly, darling. But you must have guessed how I feel about you.”

  Kelly dropped her gaze again, uncomfortable with his earnest, direct stare. Yes, she had known Thomas cared, but part of her had believed he would never marry again given the hideous nature of his divorce. It wasn’t as if theirs was a platonic relationship. They enjoyed good enough sex twice a month, usually the weeks he didn’t have his son.

  She met his gaze again. “What about Clayton?”

  “Clayton goes to college in the fall,” he said. “Kelly, you and I are footloose and fancy free, sweetheart!” A smile transformed his face, smoothing out the worry lines in his brow, but leaving Kelly’s chest tight. “We’re good together, professionally and personally. It’s now or never, darling.”