“Dad’s making his twice-baked brisket potatoes,” Macie announced proudly. “They’re awesome. It’s one of the only meals he knows how to make, and luckily, he does it really well.”
I bit my bottom lip to keep from laughing. Once I had that under control, I announced, “Baked potatoes and brisket just so happen to be two of my favorite things.”
“Then just wait ’til you combine them,” Leo said, turning from the stove and coming to stop across the island.
With him facing me now, I could see the weathered band logo on the front of his shirt. “Steve Miller Band,” I said, tilting my head toward his chest. “I approve.”
“Dad’s always listenin’ to all that old music,” Hardin decreed as he hopped up on one of the stools.
“Old music?” I asked with mock affront. “Oh, honey. It’s not old. It’s classic. There’s a big difference.”
“I’ve tried teachin’ my boy the art of good music for years to no avail,” Leo said. “Please, feel free to school him. If you can get through, I’ll be eternally grateful.”
I took that as a challenge, and gladly accepted. Facing Hardin, I rested my forearms on the island and leaned in. “You know Xander Caine’s woman, Sage?”
His eyes grew glassy, and I had my answer. He definitely knew her. Not a surprise. Sage was a gorgeous biker babe who attracted attention everywhere she went. “Yeah.”
“You want a woman like her, that’s the kind of music you listen to. Sage lives and breathes classic rock.”
Leo busted out laughing, the unexpected sound initially making me jump before I settled in and took in the show that was the sexiness of Leo Drake mid-laugh. “Christ, darlin’. How have I not thought to go that route?”
I winked and turned back to Hardin to see him studying me. “Do you like that kinda music?”
Aw! “Yeah, Hardin. I don’t live and breathe it like my girl Sage, but that and country are the only kinds of music I listen to.”
“I love dad’s music!” Macie declared.
“That’s ’cause you’re a nerd,” Hardin returned, but how he said it, and the way he rolled his eyes told me he wasn’t being a jerk, he was just messing with his sister. I knew I was right when she reached out to punch him and he grabbed her fist, pulling her into him and locking her against his side while ruffling her hair affectionately.
“No,” she started once she was finally able to pull away. “It’s ’cause I have good taste, just like Dani said.”
“How about you guys go set the table instead of arguin’ for the thirtieth time today?” Leo suggested. “Dinner’s almost ready.”
“Anything I can do?” I asked as the kids jumped to do as requested.
He shot me a wink, ordering, “You can take a load off until everything’s set.”
“Really, I can—”
“Load off,” he repeated. “You’re here to teach my girl some skills I’ll definitely benefit from after workin’ a twelve-hour day on your feet. Sit back and relax.”
Well then . . . who was I to argue with that?
Leo
“So? What do you think?”
I looked across the island at my girl’s earnest expression as Danika chewed the bite she’d just taken of her completed lemon raspberry bar. I wasn’t a pro by any definition, but I sure the hell knew what tasted good, and my baby girl’s dessert tasted fucking fantastic.
But it wasn’t my opinion she wanted.
I turned my attention to the woman sitting on the stool beside mine to see her slowly point a big, wide grin in Macie’s direction. “Well, I know you’re still too young to join the workforce, but as soon as you’re old enough, there’s a job waiting for you at Muffin Top if you want it. You’ve got the gift, honey. These are outstanding.”
Macie began hopping in place and squealed so loud I thought my ears might bleed. “Really?”
Danika’s little giggle made my abdomen tighten. “Yes, absolutely. Some people think it’s as easy as following a recipe, but it’s not. You’ve got skills, girl. If you want to keep learning, I’m happy to keep teaching you.”
Macie’s eyes finally came to me for the first time in the past few minutes. “Is that cool, Dad? Can Dani keep teaching me?”
I finished chewing the last bite of the lemon bar I’d just popped into my mouth and answered, “That’s what you want, I don’t see why it would be a problem. Just as long as you make sure you always got plenty left over for your dear old dad, yeah?”
Hardin, who’d bailed once the baking lesson got under way, came sauntering through the kitchen just then, snatching up a bar and biting it clean in half. His eyes got big right before he spoke through a full mouth. “And your big bro.” As far as teenage boys went, that was a glowing review of Macie’s skills, and I could see from my daughter’s expression just then that she was on cloud nine.
“Then I guess it’s settled,” Danika spoke as she started tucking her stuff back into her bag. She’d made a fuss when I started washing everything once the bars were in the oven, but I’d ignored her, shooing her off when she tried to join me at the sink. I might not have been able to bake worth a damn, but the least I could do was wash a few dishes and utensils. “Next time I’ll teach you how to make my famous cranberry orange cookies.”
“Yes!” Hardin shot his fist into the air before hustling back out of the kitchen to plop down in front of whatever mindless show he’d been watching.
“Awesome,” Macie whispered.
“All right, baby girl. It’s a school night. Head on up and hop in the shower, yeah?”
“Okay, Daddy.” She rounded the bar in order to lift up on her toes and press a kiss to my cheek. Then she scooted down to wrap Danika in a hug, issuing a quick, “Bye, Dani. See you soon,” before skipping to the stairs.
Danika kept her gaze pointed toward the staircase for several seconds before finally, and oh so slowly, turning back in my direction. As soon as I caught sight of her profile, I understood why it had taken her so long to look back at me. At the realization that she and I were left alone in my kitchen, the flush had returned to her cheeks and that bashfulness I found so goddamn cute was coated over her expression.
She was nervous to be alone with me.
Maybe it made me a sadist, I wasn’t sure and I really didn’t care, but I secretly got off on that knowledge.
“Well . . .” Her gorgeous gray eyes darted all around, landing anywhere but on me. “I guess I should get going.”
She went for the stand mixer, but I was faster. “I got this, sweetheart.” Hefting it up, I noted for the first time just how heavy the thing was. I repeated the action when she went for her bag, snatching it up and hooking the handles over my wrist. “That everything?”
She did a quick scan of the island before muttering, “Yeah,” and reaching for her purse, looping it over her shoulder. “Good to go.”
I stepped back to allow her to pass and followed her toward the front door. With her now walking in front of me, there was no missing how incredible her ass looked in the jeans she was wearing, or how long her legs were. The woman had curves in all the right places, and seeing them just then, I knew it was an image that wouldn’t be leaving my head any time soon.
“Goodnight, Hardin,” she called out, pausing at the entry for the living room for just a beat.
“Night, Dani.”
“Have a good day at school tomorrow.”
Christ, this woman, I thought as she started moving again. Just when I thought she couldn’t possibly get any sweeter, she went and did something to show I hadn’t even scratched the surface of all that was her.
“Can’t begin to thank you enough for this,” I started once we were outside. “I already knew you made my girl’s day, but I think you might have made her week as well.”
“It was so much fun,” she said with a passion that told me she genuinely meant it. “All the staff at the coffee shop started with their skills already honed. It was nice being able to teach someone who’s as ex
cited about it as I am.”
Danika smiled up at me, the streetlights playing with the shadows stretched across her face. The sight of those gray eyes and pearly whites aimed toward me—hell, even that streak of flour on her cheeks—caused something to slither beneath my skin, something hot and extremely pleasant.
My intense reaction to her must have been written all over my face, because a second later, the smile vanished as her expression turned curious. “Why are you looking at me like that?”
“I just don’t get it?”
“Get what?” she asked, beeping the locks on her SUV and opening the passenger door.
I placed her stuff in the seat before turning to her and giving her my full attention. A chilly breeze blew by just then, picking up her scent and wrapping it around me so she was all I could smell. Vanilla and sugar. Just like her personality and smile, her smell was pure sweetness. “You got a man, Danika?”
Her eyes grew even wider and her chin tucked back into her neck in surprise. “I-it’s Dani.”
My head cocked to the side in confusion. “What?”
“My name. Well, my nickname. What I mean is, all my friends call me Dani, so . . . you can call me Dani too. And, um . . .” She cast her eyes down, but not before I caught the blush on her cheeks. “To answer your question, I’m single.”
“How is that even possible?”
Her head shot up, her brows rose, and her throat bobbing on a swallow. “I don’t really have an answer to that question. I just . . . am.”
Two things became glaringly obvious in that very instant. First, the men of Hope Valley—myself included up to this point—were clearly idiots. And second, I was a lucky bastard that was the case, because their loss was a gain for me and I had every intension of moving on it. As much as I wanted to act right then and there, make my intentions known by seeing exactly what those full, plump lips of hers tasted like, the woman was skittish as a newborn foal. I was going to have to move slower than that if I didn’t want to risk scaring her off.
Closing in another step, I reached up, using the excuse of getting the flour off her cheek so I could finally feel her soft, porcelain skin. “Drive safe, Danika.”
“Dani,” she whispered quickly, repeating, “My friends call me—”
“Got no problem with my kids callin’ you Dani, and I like that you’ve got a lot of people in your life who care about you and call you Dani. But to me, Danika is unique. It’s beautiful, and it fits the woman I’m lookin’ at right now. To me, you’re Danika—unique and beautiful.”
Her lips parted on a tiny exhale. “Well okay then,” she whispered dazedly. “Have a good night, Leo.” Still in a daze, she rounded her car and climbed in behind the wheel.
“You too, darlin’.” I waited until she closed her door and started the car up before stepping up onto the curb. I lifted my hand in a wave and winked when she turned to look at me one last time. Then I waited until her taillights disappeared around the corner before moving back inside.
I closed and locked the front door, thinking that tomorrow I’d probably have such a strong hankering for coffee, it would require multiple trips to her shop.
Chapter Seven
Leo
“Hardin! Knock it off!”
I let out a sigh as I moved out of the closet, buttoning my shirt and tucking it into the waistband of my jeans as I headed toward my dresser. I listened to the pandemonium taking place downstairs as I slipped my belt through the loops on my jeans.
It never failed to blow my mind how just the two of them could create so much noise and chaos. Our house wasn’t small, I’d made sure of that when I finally set us up somewhere permanent after the divorce had been finalized, wanting to make sure the kids had their own spaces and could grow here, but they still managed to yell the place down every damn morning as they got ready for school.
“You’re hording the Cap’n Crunch! Gimme the box!” Hardin yelled.
“Cap’n Crunch is mine! Get your hands off! You have Frosted Flakes!”
Fucking shit.
“Cereal isn’t gonna up and disappear from the face of the earth tomorrow,” I shouted in return. “I can get more, so you guys stop fighting.”
Blessed silence fell on the house after that as I took a seat on the edge of the bed and pulled on my socks and boots. But by the time I hooked my badge and holster to my belt it started up again.
“Gah! Hardin, stop! Dad, Hardin’s drinking all the milk!”
“I’m a growin’ boy! My bones need it.”
“Enough! Both of you,” I boomed, moving out of my room and down the stairs. Once I reached the kitchen I stopped and planted my hands on my hips, staring both of them down. “Macie, there’s another gallon of milk in the fridge, so relax. Hardin, stop messin’ with your sister.” I stepped up to the coffee maker, thanking the Lord I’d had the foresight to get one with an automatic timer for situations just like this. There was already a cup waiting for me amidst all the chaos. Moving there, I grabbed the cup and turned to brace my hips on the counter so I could face off with my kids as I brought it to my lips. “I’m officially instituting a ban on any and all fighting until I’ve finished this cup. You two get me?”
“Yes, Daddy,” Macie said quietly.
“Yeah, Dad,” Hardin responded.
Then they both got back to eating their breakfast in peace and harmony. At least for the time being. I knew them well enough to know it would be short-lived, but I’d take what I could get.
Fifteen minutes later, their bowls were in the dishwasher, my cup of coffee had been downed, and we were out the door, on the way to drop-off. Macie was back to her normal, bubbly self by the time we hit the car and had been chattering away up until the moment I came to a stop in front of her school, unbuckling her seatbelt and leaning over from the backseat to place a kiss on my cheek. “Bye, Daddy.”
“Later, baby girl. Have a good day.”
“You too,” she returned, then hopped out and skipped into the building.
Without Macie there, the drive to the high school was filled with a tense silence that made the air in the cab of my truck thick and heavy. Danika had been a buffer the evening before, and Macie this morning. Now those were gone, and he was back to doing his best to pretend I didn’t exist.
I turned into the drop-off line for the high school, my gut twisting into knots as I rounded the curve to the front of the building. His hand went to the door handle as soon as I pulled to a stop, but I spoke before he was able to get out of the truck.
“Son.” He hesitated for a beat before turning just his head back to me. “I know things have been hard for you lately. I wish I could take your anger away, bud. You have no clue how badly I want that. But you need to know, you and your sister are the most important things in my life and you always will be. I love you, and nothin’ is ever gonna change that. You have that until the day I die. You get me?”
He didn’t move. He didn’t blink. But his throat bobbed with a thick swallow as he gave me a nod. “Yeah, Dad. I got you.” With that, he climbed out and shut the door.
It wasn’t some grand, emotional breakthrough, but I could read my boy, and what I’d said had at least penetrated that fortress he’d built to keep me out this past year. It was a start.
Feeling a bit lighter, I started for the station. I was halfway there when my cell rang, and the name on the screen took a sledgehammer to that calm I’d been feeling after that last encounter with my boy.
Blowing out a sigh, I hit the button on the steering wheel to activate the Bluetooth. “I’m five minutes from the station, Whitney. What is it?”
“Are you fucking kidding me, Leo?” She clipped through the line.
“What the hell are you goin’ on about?”
“In front of our kids? Really? That’s low, even for you.”
“Not real big on repeating myself. I already asked once what the hell you were talkin’ about. This is the last time I’ll ask. You don’t shine some light on what you�
�re harpin’ about, I’m hanging up.”
“You had a woman in your house last night!” she screeched so loud it was a wonder my windows didn’t shatter. My vision began to bleed red. I had to breathe deep and work to calm myself so as not to run off the road, which was a struggle, because the damn woman wouldn’t stop talking. “Lori saw you walking outside with some bitch last night. Said her car was parked in front of your house for hours!”
“Lori needs to mind her own goddamn business and worry about her own situation,” I growled into the line. “Especially when that consists of tryin’ to keep it from her husband that she’s been steppin’ out on him for the past two years.”
“She was being a good friend to me,” Whitney shouted.
That was a joke. Not a single one of Whitney’s friends was good in any sense of the word. They were all just like her: lying, scheming, backstabbing, catty bitches. “She was starting shit,” I barked back. “And you need to be very careful with what you say. Danika’s not a bitch.”
“Danika? You mean Danika Parrish?” She let out a cold, callous laugh. “The fat, ugly chick from high school? That’s just great.”
“Watch it,” I snapped. “You don’t talk about her like that. You hear me? Ever.”
“Oh my God. You’re a real piece of work, bringing your latest piece around my kids,” she hissed, but I was done listening.
“You know what? Since your friend is too busy stirrin’ up trouble when she doesn’t have the first fuckin’ clue what she’s talking about, I’ll fill you in on a couple things. First, if there comes a time when I have a woman in my life I feel like introducing to the kids, it’s not anyone else’s business. Especially yours.”
“If you’re bringing some woman around my kids—”
“This seems to have slipped your mind, so I’ll remind you, they’re my kids too. Second, Danika’s a friend. The only reason she was there last night was because Macie asked her to teach her how to bake. Last night was their first lesson.”
Waiting for Forever (Hope Valley Book 8) Page 6