Cort took pity on her and told a few funny stories of things he and Tate did as kids during the remainder of the drive to the Tri-Cities. Kaley steered the car into Kennewick to a pizza place Cort hadn’t visited in years.
“No way! This place is still open?” he said as he got out of the car and opened Jacob’s door. The little boy scrambled out and grabbed his hand, tugging him toward the restaurant’s door.
Originally opened decades earlier, the pizza place featured an enclosed play area, long pine tables, and tasty pizza.
“This is Jacob’s favorite place. His dad used to bring us here once in a while.” Kaley spoke quietly as they walked inside. The smells of pizza dough mingling with the aroma of spices made her mouth water. She attributed it to the pizza, unwilling to admit Cort’s scent flooded her mouth with moisture every time he got within sniffing distance. Like now, as he stood beside her with his hand resting on Jacob’s shoulder.
After they placed their order, Jacob looked at Kaley with pleading eyes. She smiled and told him he could play all he wanted after dinner. He sighed and looked longingly out at the playground, but didn’t move from his seat.
“I once ate a giant pizza all by myself,” Cort said, making Jacob’s eyes widen in disbelief.
The little boy shook his head and pointed to Cort, letting him know he thought he was teasing.
“For real. I’m not kidding,” he said, holding up one hand and placing the other across his heart.
Jacob eyed him speculatively and shook his head again.
“Tate and I came here one summer. I think we were sixteen because I’d only had my driver’s license a few months and drove myself up to spend the summer with Tate at the ranch. We’d been working hard all day and his dad gave us permission to drive into town if we promised to behave. We came here and made a bet — the person who ate a giant pizza first won and the loser had to do the winner’s chores for the next week. Of course, I didn’t want to have extra chores to do so as soon as our pizzas arrived, I started eating. And eating. And eating.”
Jacob intently listened to Cort, absorbed in the story. When Cort didn’t say anything else, the little boy grabbed his hand and shook it, trying to get him to continue.
“What happened next?” Cort looked at Jacob, aware the child wanted to hear the rest of the story. He dragged it out to keep him entertained until their food arrived. “Well, Tate and I both were getting full and kind of sick, but we kept eating. Finally, there were only two pieces left, one for each of us. I picked up mine and finished it off, but poor ol’ Tater, he couldn’t eat another bite. We both were as sick as dogs afterward and it took a few years before the aroma of pizza didn’t send us running, but I won.”
“You two are insane.” Kaley grinned as the server brought their pizza.
“You wound me, Mrs. Peters.” Cort theatrically slapped a hand to his chest. “You are sitting with one of the champion pizza eaters of all time, and all I get from you is an insult?”
“It’s supposed to be impressive that you have no self control when it comes to food and will do anything to get out of work?” A teasing glint sparkled in her light blue eyes. “Sorry. Not buying it.”
“Just for that, I’ll eat your share of the pizza,” Cort teased, making her laugh. Jacob grinned and bit into his slice of pizza.
When they finished eating, the little boy pointed to the playground. Since it was mid-week, the place wasn’t very busy. Only one little girl sat on a swing.
“Do you want me to go with you?” Kaley asked as Jacob stood from the table, waiting for her to give him permission to play.
He shook his head, puffing out his little chest.
“Okay. You can go by yourself, just stay where we can see you.”
Jacob nodded then hurried outside to the playground equipment. She rose from her seat across the table from Cort and walked around to sit beside him. The position enabled her to look out the window and keep an eye on her son. It also made it possible to breathe deeply of Cort’s scent without calling undue attention to herself.
“Did you honestly eat a giant pizza by yourself?”
“I sure did.” He drained the pop from his glass. Before meeting Kaley, he would have ordered a beer, or four, to go along with the pizza, but tonight he drank Dr. Pepper. The cold, fizzy flavor was oddly satisfying. “Tate and I had to stop about a dozen times on the way home to barf. It was not our finest moment.”
Kaley laughed.
Cort loved hearing the sound. He wished he knew a way to make her laugh more often. When she did, she looked young and carefree, and so beautiful.
As he sat beside her, watching Jacob play outside, it was easy to imagine them as his family. Kaley’s soft, floral fragrance floated above the scents of pizza, especially when she tossed her head. His fingers itched to bury themselves in the mass of dark hair she’d left hanging loose down her back.
Tan from the hours she spent outside in the sun, her skin still looked soft and silky. He longed to trace a finger along her cheekbone and down her jaw, capture that stubborn chin in his hand and kiss her senseless — as senseless as he felt with his gaze locked on her dazzling eyes that tugged him into their depths.
Before he embarrassed them both by giving in to his urge to lay her back on the pine table and ravage her with kisses, he got to his feet and wandered outside to play with Jacob.
Twenty minutes later, Cort felt like an over-sized oaf, stuck in the spiral slide. Jacob urged him to go down it and since no one else was on the playground, he reluctantly agreed. After climbing the few steps to the top, he stuck his feet down the slide and found himself wedged into it from the chest up. Apparently, the slide wasn’t constructed for tall men with extremely broad shoulders.
As he unsuccessfully attempted to work his way free, the boy’s giggles floated around him. “Listen, partner, could you please go get your mama?”
Jacob’s footsteps echoed back to him, although he couldn’t see out of his metal-encased cocoon.
“I can’t believe you tried to go down the slide. Are you crazy?” Kaley’s voice held a mixture of disbelief and humor as she spoke from her position near his feet.
“Yes, ma’am, I am. Otherwise, I wouldn’t be stuck in here. Any suggestions?” Annoyance and embarrassment colored his voice.
“I don’t know. What do you think, Jacob?” he heard her ask. He pictured Jacob shrugging then he heard the boy’s giggles again. At least someone was having a good time.
Kaley sounded amused when she spoke. “That’s a good idea, Jacob. He thinks we should grease you like a pig and let you slide out.”
“He didn’t say that.” Cort knew Jacob’s communication skills weren’t that advanced. Kaley most likely made up the story to diffuse his growing irritation.
“We could get a big pot of oil from the kitchen and pour it around you. What do you think, Mr. McGraw? Would that work?” Kaley’s tone sounded unusually sweet as she reveled in Cort’s helplessness and momentary lapse of good judgment. Since he was always so capable, confident, and in charge, she enjoyed his predicament immensely. It made him more human to her somehow.
“No, that won’t work. I’m not letting you grease me or oil me. After that, you two might decide to toss me on the grill or in one of the pizza ovens.” Cort hoped to make them both laugh again. When he heard the giggles, he knew he’d accomplished the task. “I can’t back out of here. I’ve got to come down. How about you pull on my legs? It might help if Jacob came up here and pushed while you pull.”
“Let’s give it a try.” Kaley moved around to the front of the curved slide where she could reach Cort’s legs. “Buddy, run up the steps and push on Mr. McGraw’s shoulders.”
Jacob scurried up the steps and nodded to his mother when he stood behind Cort, ready to push with all his might.
“On the count of three.” Kaley grabbed Cort’s legs. Even through his jeans, she could feel the solid muscles of his calves above his boot tops. “Ready? One, two, three! Push, Jacob!”
With Kaley tugging and Jacob pushing, Cort added his own effort at working his way down the slide. Finally, he inched downward, skin scraping off as he kept going.
When he reached the bottom, he breathed a sigh of relief. Jacob slid down, thumping into his back with another giggle.
“Thought that was funny, did you?” Cort reached around his back and grabbed the little boy. He tipped him upside down and tickled him before setting him on his thigh.
In the moment he took to catch his breath, he gazed at Kaley and saw something in her eyes that looked a lot like affection and maybe even a little like love.
Convinced he imagined things, he set Jacob on his feet and took his hand.
“I think it’s about time to clear out of here,” Cort said, walking back inside the restaurant. While he paid the bill, despite Kaley’s protests, she and Jacob studied the photos on the wall of people who’d eaten giant pizzas by themselves.
Jacob pointed to a photo, so she picked him up to get a better look. Although he was nearly twenty years younger, the photo of Cort was unmistakable from his silvery eyes and black hair to the dimple in his chin and the determined smirk on his face.
As Cort walked over to them, Jacob grinned and pointed to the photo.
“See you found my photo.” He took Jacob from Kaley then offered her his arm as they strolled out to her car.
“You really are something, Mr. McGraw,” she said, getting in the car while Cort set Jacob in his booster seat.
Sliding in the passenger side, he fastened his seatbelt then turned her direction. “Be that as it may, I prefer you call me Cort. Mr. McGraw makes me sound like some ol’ fuddy-duddy. I’m pretty sure I’m not a fuddy or a duddy.”
Jacob laughed and slapped his hand on his leg, making Cort grin.
Kaley smiled back at him, shaking her head. “Fine, Cort. You’re crazy is what you are. Certifiably so.”
“Don’t forget it.” He leaned back, content and happy as Kaley drove them through town toward home.
Cort generally didn’t worry about scrapes unless they were deep enough to require stitches. However, thoughts of all the slobbering, germy kids who played on the slide at the pizza place left him intent on doctoring the patch of missing skin on his chest.
He searched through the bathroom in his room but didn’t find anything that would disinfect the wound. The small bandage he found in his shaving kit wasn’t of much use to him either.
Uncertain what had peeled the hide off him on that idiotic slide, something most definitely removed a strip of skin, seeping blood into one of his favorite shirts.
Fortunately, neither Kaley nor Jacob noticed since it was starting to get dark outside when they arrived home. She’d ushered Jacob right to his room, insisting it was past his bedtime. Cort went to change his shirt and see what disinfectant or antibiotic cream was available in his bathroom medicine cabinet.
Resigned to asking for help, he wandered into the kitchen where he listened to Kaley tell Jacob to have sweet dreams before she walked into the room. She stopped abruptly when she noticed him standing with a washcloth held to his bare chest.
“Do you have anything I can put on this?” he asked, moving the washcloth aside so she could see the spot.
“Ouch. That looks nasty.” She stepped closer and examined the seeping wound. “Wait here a sec. I’ll be right back.”
Cort sat on a stool at the counter. He didn’t have long to wait before she returned with a basket of supplies.
The cotton balls soaked in alcohol she used to wipe off the blood made him suck air through his teeth at the sting. She smeared antibiotic ointment over the spot then covered it with a gauze pad.
“There, that ought to do it.” She gently pressed the edges of waterproof tape holding the pad against his skin, to make sure it stayed in place.
It had done it, all right.
Kaley’s soft fingers tenderly rubbing against Cort’s skin ignited a fire at the point of contact that quickly spread to every extremity. Her fragrance flooded his senses and his mouth went dry, yearning to quench his thirst with her lips.
Cort lowered his head toward hers, desperate for the kiss he’d been cheated out of earlier.
She leaned toward him, closing her eyes and parting her lips. A breath of space separated them when a thumping sound from Jacob’s room pulled her attention away and she hurried down the hall.
That kid has bad, bad timing.
Cort released a frustrated sigh and abandoned plans of wooing Kaley, at least for the evening.
Disappointed, he strolled to the living room, turned on the television, and mindlessly watched the end of a comedy.
Kaley finally appeared, holding out a bowl of ice cream Cort eagerly accepted. When she sat in the chair opposite the couch, he knew she definitely did not intend to let him get any closer.
He held back another sigh, taking a bite of the ice cream. For now, hanging out with her would have to be enough.
Chapter Eight
Nervously jiggling his boot-clad foot, Cort glanced across the pediatrician’s waiting room at a little girl with golden curls. She stared with undisguised curiosity in his direction.
When he smiled at her, she buried her face against her mother’s arm then peeked at him again.
Aware his size could be both intimidating and frightening, especially to children, Cort made it a point to appear friendly and approachable. He usually got along great with kids.
The talent he possessed to win childish hearts was the reason he sat in the doctor’s office in a bright purple chair entirely too small for his large frame, waiting for Kaley and Jacob.
After finishing the chores that morning, he returned to the kitchen to discover Kaley acting like a nervous wreck. When she dropped her cup of tea, breaking the cup and splashing hot liquid all over the floor and her legs, it became obvious something bothered her.
Brushing at her tears, she blindly bent to pick up the broken pieces. Cort took her hands in his and pulled her against his chest.
Rigid and unmoving in his arms, she slumped against him when he began rubbing his hands comfortingly up and down her back. Finally releasing a shuddering sob, hot tears dampened the front of his shirt as she cried.
“What’s wrong, Kaley?” he asked, using her first name for the first time.
“Jacob.” With her face pressed against his chest, her voice sounded muffled.
Cort glanced at her with concern, pushing her back so he could see her face. “What’s wrong with Jacob? Is he hurt?” He took a step in the direction of the hall to check on the boy but her hand tightened on his arm.
“No. Nothing like that. He has a doctor’s appointment today. The visits always make him upset and withdrawn. I’m not fond of them either.” Kaley kept her eyes glued to the floor.
“Why does he need to go to the doctor? Is he sick?” Cort worked to figure out what was wrong with the boy. Jacob seemed healthy when he told him good night the previous evening.
Kaley walked around the counter and sank onto a barstool. Cort sat beside her, taking her hand in his, sensing her hesitation. “Go on, Kaley. Tell me. It’ll make you feel better.”
Warily glancing at him, she cleared her throat. “You’re aware that my husband and father-in-law died two years ago in an accident. What you don’t know is that Jacob was in that car, too. The three of them went to town and refused to let me go, so I didn’t ask any questions. Dean often went to town without me and I didn’t think anything about it. They were gone all day and late getting back. I tried calling Dean’s cell phone, but he didn’t answer.”
Kaley stopped and took a moment to gather her thoughts and composure before she continued.
“By the time the house phone rang, it was dark out and I was sick with worry. I grabbed the phone, expecting to hear Dean’s voice, but it wasn’t him. I listened as a police officer informed me there’d been an accident. He asked if I wanted someone to come get me or if I could drive myself to the hospital. I got
in my car and drove as fast as possible to find my poor baby covered in blood.”
Kaley shut her eyes, shuddering at the memories. Cort squeezed her hand, willing her to finish the story. “A drunk driver hit them head-on. Dean and Ed died instantly but Jacob remained trapped in his car seat in the back for quite a while. The drunk driver was in a truck and barely had a scratch. Ever since the accident, Jacob hasn’t talked. The doctor… well, he um… he has us come in every six months to see if there’s any change. Physically, there’s no reason Jacob can’t talk. The doctor thinks it’s psychological and when Jacob is ready, he’ll speak again. I hope he’s right, but the appointments always make Jacob upset, as if he’s remembering the accident all over again. No one knows what he saw, what he experienced.”
“Oh, Kaley.” Cort enfolded her in his arms and let her cry. “I’m so, so sorry. No one, especially not a child, should ever have to experience that.”
All the times he drove home drunk without a single thought to the consequences flooded Cort’s memories. The blow of realization struck him like a punch to the stomach. He could just as easily have been the driver who killed someone, who traumatized a child so badly it robbed him of the ability to speak, who took away a woman’s beloved husband and left her struggling.
He held Kaley tighter and rested his chin on her head, waiting for her tears to stop, for the ache in his heart to ease enough he could draw a breath.
Finally pulling away from him, she placed a hand on his cheek and gazed at him with gratitude in her eyes.
“Thank you, Cort. For listening.” She disappeared down the hall to change her tea-stained jeans.
He cleaned up the shards of her broken cup and mopped the floor. Jacob joined her when she returned to the kitchen and they ate a quiet breakfast.
“Mind if I tag along with you to town?” Cort asked as she washed the breakfast dishes.
“I’d like that.” She gave him a nod of appreciation. “We need to leave in about an hour.”
Cort hurried to finish the rest of the chores, took a shower, and dressed in what he considered town clothes before warming up his truck and parking it at the end of the walk. As October drew to a close, the days began to turn cool and nippy.
Wrestlin' Christmas: (Sweet Western Holiday Romance) (Rodeo Romance Book 2) Page 10