Trouble in Loveland (The Loveland Series Book 1)

by Jennifer Peel

  I woke up feeling a little unsettled from the previous night’s revelation. I had hoped I would wake up and those feelings wouldn’t be there, but I did a gut check and they were alive and well. I reminded myself no one had to know but me, so it was okay. I showered and threw on my turquoise tankini with halter straps and a white sarong. We were headed to Water World today before it closed for the season. Josh was looking forward to it; he loved the water. I was, too. I hadn’t been to Water World in forever. As a teenager, it was one of those places I was constantly begging my parents to take me and my friends to.

  I didn’t need to bother with makeup since we would be in the water and sun all day, so I threw up my hair, moisturized, and called it good. The traditional Saturday music was on; this time it was Heart’s “What About Love.” It was eerily fitting. What about love? Why did I have to fall in love with a man who was so clearly not in love with me? Sure, he liked me, I would even say he cared for me and he enjoyed being with me, but there was a serious roadblock around his heart. He did a great job of keeping me going through detour after detour. I wanted someone to talk to about it, but no one could know how much I felt for him. Not even Krissy.

  My dad was singing along to the music as he made omelets. He was in such a good mood lately. He turned when he heard me approach. He grabbed his heart and his eyes widened. “Whoa, baby girl!”

  “What?”

  “I’ll pay you to go put on a turtleneck.”

  I laughed at him. “Daddy.”

  “I’m serious.”

  I walked over and kissed his cheek. “I love you.”

  “If you love me, you won’t leave the house looking like that.”

  I dished up an omelet and reveled in the love and protection of my dad.

  “So, what are you doing today?” I sat down at the breakfast bar.

  “Besides going into cardiac arrest, I’m going to hit the lake and get in some fishing.”

  I rolled my eyes. “Sounds like fun. Are you going with anyone?”

  He looked me over again. “I think I’m going to need to have a talk with Ryan.”

  Why did he ignore my question? That wasn’t like him, but I didn’t address it. “Don’t worry, Dad, Ryan’s a complete gentleman.” Does it sound bad that I wished sometimes he wasn’t? I would love to have to tell him to slow down once in a while.

  My dad looked like perhaps he didn’t quite believe me.

  “Really, he is.”

  “That’s good to know, but what about all the other men that will see you today?”

  “I wouldn’t worry about that, either. There will be plenty of bikini clad beach babes there.”

  “You know what I love about you?”

  “My wit?”

  “There’s that.” He laughed for a moment. “I was going to say, you never let how gorgeous you are go to your head.”

  I rolled my eyes. “You are so biased.”

  “I have good reason to be.”

  Have I mentioned how much I loved my dad? It made me feel terrible for all the time I wasted hating him, especially since my mother and I were now barely speaking. She was so wrapped up in her own world right now, it was like she had replaced me, which really hurt after everything I went through with her. It was one more emotional issue not to dwell on today.

  I helped my dad clean up the kitchen before brushing my teeth and throwing together my beach bag. It wasn’t that much later when two of my favorite people came to get me.

  Ryan stood at the door. Josh was in the car, all buckled in, with the window down. He waved to me as soon as I answered the door with my bag.

  I met Ryan’s gaze. “Hi.”

  He shook his head. “Wow, Charlee.”

  “Do you like my new swimsuit?”

  He reached behind me, touched my bare back, drawing me to him. I was surprised because he was cautious about how much affection he showed me in front of Josh. I barely caught a glimpse of his hungry eyes before he kissed me hard, albeit briefly.

  “I’ll take that as a yes.”

  “I’m only sorry I didn’t take you to the water park earlier.”

  I looked him over in his swim trunks and tight tee and thought the same thing. I was looking forward to that t-shirt coming off.

  “Daddy, let’s go,” Josh yelled, breaking the fiery connection I had going with his father. This wasn’t helping me keep my feelings for him under control.

  “I guess we better go.” Ryan couldn’t help but stare at me.

  “That’s probably a good idea.” I bit my lip.

  Ryan kissed me one more time before taking my hand and leading me to the passenger side. He opened my door, but not before kissing me again. Oooh, I liked this Ryan, okay, I loved this Ryan.

  “You’re in a good mood today.” I got in the car.

  He winked before closing my door for me.

  I turned back to Josh. “Hey, big guy. Are you ready to play in the water?”

  He gave me a thumbs up. “But I have to stay by you and Daddy all day.” We had gone over and over the rules with him last night. I was glad he remembered.

  “That’s right. We don’t want anything to happen to you because we love you.”

  “I love you, Cherry.”

  Yep, that was never going to get old. I looked at Ryan to see how he felt about it this morning. He threw on his shades and smiled. I took that as a good sign. And did I mention how amazing he looked? He hadn’t bothered to shave this morning, and I loved it. A little scruff on a man was so sexy to me, and he pulled it off with flying colors.

  Once on the main road, Ryan took my hand and slid his fingers between mine—they fit perfectly. I also noticed the covert glances he snuck in when he could, but Josh occupied most of my time for the hour-long drive. We were working on the alphabet song.

  “A, B, C, D, E, F, G, H, High J’s,” it sounded like. I also enjoyed the, Lelephant P’s, which I translated into L, M, N, O, P. He was the most adorable kid on the planet.

  “You didn’t tell me you could sing something besides ‘Ring Around the Rosy’,” Ryan cut in.

  “You know, I’m trying to keep a little mystery.”

  “So what other talents have you been hiding from me?”

  “It would take the fun out of it if I told you.”

  “I look forward to discovering those.”

  I swore if he wasn’t driving and if his son wasn’t a witness in the backseat, I would have reached over and kissed him until we were both gasping for air. Instead, I taught Josh a new song about the “Five Little Speckled Frogs.” It was amusing to both father and son when I pretended to eat bugs and sang loudly. Josh had me singing it over and over again. His favorite word was “again,” and I was a sucker for him.

  Though I did a good job of entertaining Josh, he was more than excited when we arrived. He was trying to undo his car seat before his dad could get to him. I was excited, too. I finally felt like maybe some of the barriers were going to come down.

  We finally made it through what seemed like a never-ending line to enter. We locked up our valuables before we applied serious amounts of sunscreen to Josh, who was fair-skinned like his mother. Ryan already had a call from her on our drive in warning him that Josh better not have even a patch of sunburn on him. Ryan promised we wouldn’t let that happen. I could hear her say, “I suppose Charlee is with you.” She said my name with such disdain. I was trying my hardest to not let it get to me. As weird as it sounded, I wanted us all to get along. I wanted to be part of Ryan and Josh’s life, and I knew she was part of the package. I had read enough studies that showed that it’s possible, and more importantly beneficial, for the children involved to see the adults in their lives behave in such a way.

  Once we had Josh lathered up and in his swim vest, it was time for his daddy to remove his shirt. His chest was as glorious as I had imagined. He was defined, not like six pack defined, but well sculpted. I snuck in glances of him applying sunscreen while I applied my own to my legs. He kept looking
my way, too. I think it was safe to say we were into each other.

  Ryan came and sat behind me. “Let me get your back.”

  I happily handed over my sunscreen.

  His hands felt good gliding across my back. I could tell he was taking his time. He leaned in low and whispered in my ear, since Josh was sitting in my lap. “You are beautiful, Charlee Jensen.”

  I turned toward him and kissed him. I barely caught a taste of his lip balm.

  He gave a sexy grin. “Now it’s my turn.”

  I was more than happy to oblige.

  He took Josh out of my arms, and we switched spots. I knelt behind him and enjoyed the feel of his skin beneath my hands. I wanted to dig in and really rub his back, but I resisted the urge. “Speaking of beautiful.” I hated to finish.

  “You’re good for a guy’s ego. Not many women compliment men the way you do.”

  “Well, there’s plenty more where that came from.”

  He chuckled when he stood up with Josh, who was beyond anxious to hit the water. Sunscreen was just a nuisance to a three-year-old. We didn’t tell him this would be an hourly occurrence.

  Since Josh was too little to ride most of the attractions, we were limited to family rides where we could all ride together in a raft or kiddie land. I didn’t mind at all, I was just happy to spend the day with the Carter men. Besides, floating on the water enclosed in a floating device with the three of us was like heaven to me. Josh’s squeals of delight were only icing on the cake. Everything to him was exciting and new. He particularly loved the Pharaohs ride. My favorite was the lazy river. Josh and Ryan rode on one tube. I had my own, but Ryan held my hand as we casually drifted along the slow-moving water. I could have stayed like that all day, basking in the sun and holding hands with my guy, but Josh found it to be a little too tame for his liking.

  We traded the lazy river in for the shallow end of the wave pool. Josh loved it when either Ryan or I jumped in the waves with him. I loved watching the two of them together, and I loved them both. Maybe I shouldn’t, but I did.

  The rest of our day was spent in Calypso Cove where there was a myriad of activities, from small water slides to splash pads made for younger kids. Josh did everything. He didn’t even want to eat lunch, but we made him take a break for food and sunscreen.

  As we sat at a picnic table under the shade of one of their pavilions, we had a little blip. I should have known not to have gotten too comfortable around Ryan. A dear little lady was there with her grandchildren who looked to be about five and seven. They were at the table next to us, and she kept looking over at us and smiling. I think I was the only one that noticed, Ryan and Josh were busy eating.

  I smiled back at her, and she said, “You have such a cute little boy; my son had hair just like that.”

  “Thank you. He’s definitely cute, but …”

  Ryan’s head flew up. “She’s not his mother.” Panic raced through his words.

  I was getting to that part.

  The lady looked a little taken aback by his panicked state.

  I tried to smile at her to smooth it over. I turned to Ryan, who was sitting on the other side of Josh, and he didn’t get such a reception. “I know I’m not his mother. I was trying to tell her that.” I kept my voice quiet. I put my sandwich down, suddenly not very hungry anymore.

  At first, Ryan looked surprised at my reaction, but his eyes softened and realization settled in. “Charlee.”

  I turned to Josh and kissed his head. “I’ll be right back, big guy.” I wasn’t sure where I was going to go, but I wanted a moment alone. My heart hurt a little. I wasn’t hurt that Ryan would point out I wasn’t his son’s mother, it was the way he said it, like he had to say it. I stood up.

  So did Ryan. “Charlee, I’m sorry.”

  I pressed my lips together and walked off. I decided I would go to their surf shop and browse. I didn’t know where else to head. The whole way over, I scolded myself for falling in love with him and then wondered why I did.

  I perused the store, not even remotely interested in anything they were selling. Unfortunately, I must have looked like I was mildly interested because one of their over-friendly sales clerks kept following me around asking me if he could answer any questions or help me find anything. I think I said, “No, thank you” ten times, but that didn’t deter Paul, according to his name tag.

  “So do you live around here?” Paul asked.

  “Uh, no. Not really.”

  “That’s too bad.”

  I picked up an azure blue towel and looked it over. “Why?” I looked up at him, and he was a tad red. I smiled. He seemed like a nice kid, and I mean kid, like high school kid. I was so glad when I heard my name being called. I needed a graceful way to exit this uncomfortable, yet kind of flattering, situation.

  “Charlee,” Ryan called my name as he walked over.

  Josh ran to me. I picked him up and cuddled him as soon as he got to me.

  “Oh, you’re a mom?”

  “No,” I responded, almost in exasperation.

  Ryan joined us, looked at Paul, and kind of snickered. That sent my little admirer scurrying away. Ryan faced me as soon as he left and shook his head at me. “Poor kid.”

  I rolled my eyes.

  “I can’t say I blame him. He has excellent taste.”

  “Can we go back in the water now?” Josh asked.

  “If it’s okay with your dad.” I didn’t want to overstep my non-parental bounds.

  We both looked to Ryan to answer.

  Ryan’s face registered understanding. “I’m not in charge.”

  “You are of Josh.”

  “I’m in charge,” Josh countered loudly.

  I smiled at him, kissed his cute cheek, and set him down, but made sure to take a hold of his hand. I may not have been his mother, but I cared about him and worried over him.

  Ryan took my other hand. “Charlee,” he whispered.

  I faced him. “What?”

  “I’m sorry. I didn’t mean for that to come out so harshly back there.”

  I shrugged my shoulders as Josh tugged on me anxiously. I followed Josh and let go of Ryan’s hand. Ryan trailed behind us out into the bright sunny day and back to Calypso Cove. He didn’t say anything more to me until we were all back in the water. Ryan and I sat in the water and watched Josh splash and play in front of us.

  “Victoria is having a really hard time with this situation. She’s really sensitive right now, and it’s making me overly so.”

  “I’m sorry she’s having an issue with me. I’m not trying to step on her toes or take her place.”

  Ryan scooted closer and kissed my bare shoulder. “I know that.”

  We sat quietly for another moment and watched Josh interact with some of the other children there. He was kind of shy, which surprised me.

  “Can we please hit the reset button?” Ryan said close to my ear, which drove me crazy. “As sexy as you are angry at me, I want you happy with me.”

  I turned and stared straight at him. Did I fail to mention how attractive, wet and shirtless Ryan was? I couldn’t help but grin. “I’m not angry. I’m thinking.”

  “Either way, you’re still sexy.” He looked me over from head to toe.

  “So what am I when I’m happy?”

  He kissed me on the lips. “Irresistible.”

  “I think you just like my swimsuit.”

  He laughed. “No, I love your swimsuit.”

  I nudged him with my shoulder. “You’re such a guy.”

  “Guilty.”

  So we hit the reset button and spent a lovely, but exhausting, day in the sun and water. Josh was so tuckered out that he fell asleep almost as soon as we hit the highway on the way home.

  “Hey.” Ryan reached over and held my hand as we zoomed along I-25. “I had a great time today.”

  “Me, too. Thanks for inviting me.”

  “Are we okay?”

  “Yes.”

  “You know this is uncharte
red territory for me, right?”

  “I know. Me, too.”

  He rubbed his thumb gently across my hand. “Do you want to cross some new territory tomorrow?”

  I gave him an inquisitive glance. “What does that mean?”

  “Some friends of mine asked me to meet them at a sports bar in Longmont to watch the Broncos play one of their preseason games. I would love it if you would come with me.”

  “You want to introduce me to your friends?”

  “You sound surprised.”

  “I am.”

  “What’s the use in dating someone young and beautiful if I don’t show her off?” He winked.

  “I hope that’s one of your gems.”

  He laughed at me. “So, will you come?”

  “What about Josh?”

  “I was going to see if your dad could watch him for a few hours.”

  “I’m sure he would love to.”

  “Then it’s a date?”

  “Absolutely.”

  Chapter Seventeen

  What I should have said was absolutely not, but how could I have known the outcome? All I could think of was how thrilled I was that Ryan wanted to introduce me to his friends. It was a great sign that he wanted me to be part of his life. Every romantic advice column in Cosmo would tell you that’s the case. I rue the day I ever clicked on “Ten Ways to Know if a Guy is Really Into You.” It’s all lies!

  So what happened?

  It all started off so terrific. I was looking super cute in my Bronco’s jersey and nice fitting white shorts that showed off my long tan legs. Ryan was pleased, let me tell you. I even curled my hair a little glam. I had to say, I was rocking it. I wanted to make a good impression in front of Ryan’s friends.

  Ryan pulled me to him before he opened my car door. “You look amazing.”

  I wrapped my arms around his neck. “I’m glad you approve.”

  “I’m glad my friends are married.” He brushed my lips.

  “Darn it. And here I thought I would get to expand my horizons.”

  “Sorry, you’re stuck with me.”

  I kissed him and lingered for a bit. Gosh, I loved his lips. “It’s not a bad consolation prize.”