Thrill Me

  and I’ll be just a block away if she needs anything.”

  “Joan,” Lindsey said, “this isn’t a good idea.”

  “Of course it’s a good idea,” Mom said.

  “I’m not marrying her, Mom,” Owen said. Might as well get that all out in the open. “I know you’re old-fashioned and think the parents of a child have to be married—”

  “Old-fashioned?” Mom interrupted. “It’s not old-fashioned to want what’s best for my grandchild. So even if you aren’t married to the mother of your child, I don’t understand why she can’t live here. It’s not like you’ll be home much before the baby is born anyway.”

  “Mom,” Owen said, trying to reason with her without breaking his promise to Lindsey. He wouldn’t tell her that there were other potential fathers. And he did want to help the woman. But he absolutely did not want her to live in his home. His home was his sanctuary, and if Lindsey moved in, he’d be the one with no place to go. “She’s not moving in here.”

  “Just until they get the bathroom remodeled,” she bargained. “Ben promised it would only be a few weeks.”

  “I don’t want to be a burden,” Lindsey said.

  “You’re not a burden, doll,” Mom said, patting her shoulder before turning a harsh glare on Owen. “And I can’t believe you insist on making her feel like one.”

  “Me?”

  “Yes, you. You get a sweet innocent girl in trouble . . .”

  Owen couldn’t hold back his scoff. Lindsey might be a lot of things, but innocent wasn’t one of them.

  “. . . and then make her feel like a villain.”

  “I’m not the villain either, Mom.”

  “I know that, sweetheart. Just think about it, okay? I’m sure she doesn’t want to stay at my house in your old room with posters of half-naked starlets staring down at her.”

  For some reason, the thought of Lindsey staying in his childhood bedroom was even worse than her sharing a roof with him.

  Lindsey handed him the plastic container she’d been holding. “Your mom taught me how to bake your favorite cookies.”

  And thus it began, the war against Owen’s bachelorhood. He should have known better than to bring Lindsey to his mother. He’d thought he’d have less to worry about if his mother was around to look after her, but his mom didn’t just take in strays, she made them a part of her family. And with a baby in the equation, of course his mother would get attached to the young woman and share her oatmeal cookie recipe with her.

  “Thanks,” Owen said, accepting her thoughtful gift. He opened the lid, selected a cookie, and stuffed it into his mouth. He was going to need the entire batch to get him through this night.

  “So she can stay here until the bathroom is remodeled, right?”

  Owen swallowed the sweet, chewy delight in his mouth. “She’ll be lonely here by herself. I leave tomorrow. She doesn’t know anyone in Austin but me.”

  “And me,” Mom said.

  “I won’t be lonely,” Lindsey said. “I’ll be too busy to be lonely. I’m going out looking for a job tomorrow, and then I’ll be working.”

  That didn’t change the fact that he didn’t want her to live with him. Even if the baby was his, he’d have a room for the child in his house so he could be a part of the baby’s life, but he didn’t want to get involved with Lindsey. Even if it would make things easier on all of them.

  “Lindsey—”

  Lindsey grabbed his arm, her pretty blue eyes searching his. “Owen, I promise as soon as I have the funds, I’ll move out. Even if the bathroom remodel isn’t finished. I’ll find my own place.”

  “I thought you loved the apartment,” Mom said.

  “I do,” Lindsey said, giving Mom a quick hug. “The little office would make a perfect nursery.”

  She might as well have punched Owen directly in the gut.

  “There’s that lovely park on the corner,” Lindsey continued. “And the rent is so reasonable.”

  Owen knew apartments in the area were not reasonable at all. Unless she found a really good job—and he hoped she did—she’d be raising his kid in a low-income area. If it was his kid, and even if it wasn’t, he was sure any father would want what was best for his baby and the baby’s mother. Living here was what was best for everyone. Except for Owen.

  He selected another cookie and said, “You can stay at my place until the bathroom is remodeled.”

  “Oh, thank you,” Lindsey said, hugging him tight. “I’m keeping track of everything you do for me, Owen. I will pay you back.”

  “Unnecessary,” Owen said, stuffing the cookie into his mouth.

  “Charity is given without expectation of reciprocation.” Mom repeated a saying she’d taught Owen when he young.

  “This isn’t charity,” Lindsey said. “It’s just a loan.”

  Owen swallowed the cookie. “Lindsey, you don’t have to—”

  “A loan,” she interrupted him, ferocity in her eyes.

  “If it will make you feel better.”

  “It will.”

  Mom was all smiles as she went out on the porch and picked up Lindsey’s overnight bag. Owen rolled his eyes. His mother had known he’d cave long before she’d arrived.

  “I’ll see you Tuesday morning and take you to meet Dr. Kurt. She delivered Owen. Did you know that?”

  Lindsey smiled. “Thanks, Joan.”

  “She can borrow your Jeep to job search tomorrow, right?” Mom asked Owen. “If not, I can cancel my appointments and drive her around.”

  His mother was a master manipulator, yet he knew she really would cancel her appointments and not complain about being Lindsey’s taxi.

  “She can borrow it, but she’ll have to take me to the airstrip in the morning unless I can get one of the guys to give me a lift.”

  “Of course I’ll take you,” Lindsey said. She blinked at him, her eyes wide with incredulity. “Are you really going to let me borrow your car?”

  “Just until we can get yours here from Oklahoma.” He still wasn’t sure how they’d accomplish that feat. If he’d had more time off, he’d have taken a road trip.

  “You are the sweetest guy,” Lindsey said. He tensed when she hugged him.

  “I’ll leave you two alone,” Mom said, looking far too pleased for Owen’s comfort.

  Within seconds Mom had vanished and he really was alone with Lindsey. He sighed and picked up his bag and hers and carried them upstairs. He heard her light footsteps on the stairs behind him, but he wasn’t in the mood to talk to her. Kelly was the one he wanted to talk to. The guy always gave the best advice, and Owen could use a truckload of the stuff at the moment. But Kelly was undoubtedly busy with Dawn. He hadn’t even answered his phone when Owen had called him on the drive back to Austin.

  “I hope you don’t mind me asking . . .”

  Lindsey shifted from foot to foot when he dropped off her bag in the guest room. He was pretty sure he was going to mind her questions very much.

  “What do your parents really charge to rent that place? It’s way too nice to charge what they do. They could easily get three times that amount, I’m sure.”

  “They don’t get anything for it most summers,” he said, “because they’re fair enough to give students a nine-month lease instead of charging them for a full year. So they’re actually making extra money off you.”

  She rolled her eyes. “What a bunch of crooks.”

  “New shirt?” Owen asked, nodding at her soft blue tunic. It made her enlarged belly very noticeable.

  “And pants. I kept all the receipts so I can pay you back.”

  That again. “Look, Lindsey, you don’t have to pay me back for anything. It’s a gift.”

  “I don’t feel comfortable accepting gifts from people I hardly know.”

  “Would you feel comfortable if we were married and having a baby together?”

  She released a soft gasp, and Owen mentally kicked himself for putting that image in her head.

  “Go ahe
ad and keep your receipts if it makes you feel better,” he said.

  She nodded, still looking at him like he was her personal savior.

  “Whoever fathered the kid will pay me back.”

  “I’ll pay you back,” she insisted.

  Damn, the woman was stubborn, but then maybe he was making her feel incapable of paying her own debts.

  “Don’t forget to ask that doctor to do one of those early DNA tests.” There. Now she wouldn’t think he was such a nice guy.

  “You expect me to ask for a paternity test in front of your mother?”

  “She won’t be there through the entire appointment.” As soon as he said it, he knew he was wrong. His mom would totally be there for the entire appointment. She’d probably take notes and write dates on her calendar in whatever color she chose to represent Lindsey’s schedule—Owen’s was orange, Chad’s was red, Dad’s was blue, and Mom’s was purple. She’d even kept track of Kelly’s high school schedule in green. Owen supposed Lindsey’s schedule would be written in pink.

  With a heavy sigh—he’d done this to himself by trying to pawn off his responsibility for Lindsey on his mom—he dropped his bag in his room and checked his phone. Nothing from Caitlyn. Nothing from Kelly.

  “Have you eaten?” Lindsey asked. “I can make you something.”

  “You already made me cookies.”

  “Why are you home early?” she asked in a rush, as if she’d lose the courage to ask if she spoke at a normal pace.

  He glanced up from his phone and found it too dark to read her expression in the dim pink-tinged light filtering in through the windows. That light reminded him that he was supposed to be picnicking on the beach with Caitlyn right now. He was supposed to be making love to her in his Jeep while they watched the sun set over the Gulf.

  “Something came up,” he said vaguely. “I’m really tired. I think I’ll go to bed early.”

  “It’s not even nine o’clock,” she said.

  “Make yourself at home.” He closed his bedroom door.

  “What time do we need to be at the airstrip in the morning?” she called through the door.

  “Not until noon.” Which meant he’d have to spend even more time in her company. He felt like a prisoner in his own house.

  “Okay. Good night.”

  He waited until he heard her move away from the door before he flopped back on his bed and rubbed his face with both hands. He checked his phone again, in case he’d somehow missed a message or call, and after staring at the darkening ceiling for several long minutes, he chanced texting Kelly. Maybe he wasn’t having the time of his life with Dawn. Maybe he was as miserable as Owen felt at the moment.

  Caitlyn says she needs time to find herself and wanted me to leave. What exactly does that mean?

  He was surprised when Kelly responded almost immediately.

  It means she’s too nice to dump you outright.

  So it’s over? If that was the case, he should have just stayed for the sex. At least that was something. This waiting for her to figure shit out was nothing.

  Sounds like it. Sorry.

  Fuck. How’s Dawn?

  Amazing. I gotta go.

  Owen knew he should be happy for Kelly, but Owen was miserable and alone. He’d very much like some company in that feeling, though he doubted anyone was half as miserable as he was. Well, with the exception of Lindsey. Her life was even shittier than his. Lying across his bed, staring at the ceiling wasn’t making him feel even slightly better, but he knew something that would take his mind off his troubles for a couple of hours.

  He pulled himself to his feet and opened his bedroom door. He could see Lindsey in her room, unpacking her overnight bag and tucking her belongings into the dresser he kept empty for visitors.

  “You want to go out?” he asked.

  She sucked in a startled breath and spun in his direction.

  “To a movie,” he added.

  “Like on a date?”

  There he went giving her the wrong idea again. “Friend outing.”

  “I can’t affor—”

  “Yes, a date. And where I’m from, the guy pays and the gal doesn’t make him feel like an ass about it.” Anything to get her off her running-a-tab mantra.

  Her pretty blue eyes brightened with her smile. “I’d love to go to the movies with you. Just let me pee first.”

  They were halfway to the movie theater when he asked, “When a woman asks you to wait for her while she finds herself, does that mean she’s dumped you?”

  “Did Caitlyn dump you?”

  “I don’t know. That’s why I’m asking you.”

  “She’s an idiot. Doesn’t she realize how great you are? You’re perfect, and she doesn’t deserve you.”

  “I think she does realize how great I am.” He smirked and tried to find a good parking spot so Lindsey didn’t have too far to waddle. “Her ex-husband showed up, and they got into a huge fight.”

  “That’s not good. If they’re still passionate enough about each other to fight, they still mean something to each other.”

  Owen hadn’t thought about it that way. “She said she doesn’t want to get back together with him.”

  “But she doesn’t want you either.”

  “I’m not sure.” He pulled into a parking spot and shut off the engine. “Should I call her?”

  “You’ll seem desperate.”

  He nodded at her wisdom. “So I’ll just obsessively check my cell all night.”

  Lindsey laughed. “The modern version of waiting by the phone.”

  “Yep. Except now you can go out to a movie while you wait.”

  They chose a slapstick comedy, which was good. They both needed a laugh. In the concession line, Lindsey had insisted she didn’t want popcorn, but her hand kept dipping into Owen’s giant tub of buttery kernels the entire movie. At least she’d let him buy her a Sprite without mentioning she owed him. Sharing a straw would have been far more intimate than he was willing to go.

  As they were leaving after the show, an older woman smiled at them and said, “Such a lovely young couple. When is your baby due?”

  Lindsey glanced sidelong at Owen, her mouth opening and closing as she struggled to answer.

  Owen smiled at the curious woman, placed a hand on Lindsey’s distended belly, and said, “Mid-September.”

  The woman giggled. “I know what someone was doing around Christmas time last year.”

  Uh, probably not exactly what they’d been doing, but an exchange of genetic material had been involved.

  “Congratulations,” the woman said. “Any baby of yours will be a blue-eyed little cutie pie.”

  “Thanks,” Owen said.

  The woman patted Lindsey’s belly without permission before she wandered off through the theater lobby.

  “Thanks for handling that,” Lindsey said to Owen. “I never know what to say.”

  “When you’re with me, we’ll just let everyone assume the baby is mine. It will make situations like those a lot less awkward.”

  Lindsey turned toward the exit. He was pretty sure she muttered something like, “That woman is a fucking idiot,” as she waddled off. Maybe Lindsey was referring to the nosy stranger, but he figured she was actually referring to Caitlyn. Which reminded him to turn on his phone.

  She still hadn’t contacted him.

  Just how many hours did it take a woman to find herself, anyway?

  Chapter Fifteen