Her eyes shut briefly and he wanted to know what she was thinking. “I shouldn’t be talking to you like this. It’s unethical. My personal life stays out of it.”
“But you don’t want that?”
She sighed. It wasn’t an agreement of any sort, but he took it as such. Slowly sliding his palm across the table, he let his fingertips graze her. It was a barely existent caress, but her gaze latched on to his the moment she felt it. “Tell me why you haven’t gone on anymore dates,” he whispered.
Her finger grazed his. Her nails were trimmed in a neat little row. She pulled her palm back and he assumed the moment was over. Then she surprised the shit out of him by admitting, “Because the idea of socks and missionary only on Tuesdays terrifies me.”
His jaw nearly hit the floor. God damn she was a cool chick. Trying to play it cool himself, he teased, “Yeah, that should definitely only happen on Fridays and sometimes Mondays.”
She laughed then looked regretful. “I’m sorry about what I said.”
Perhaps he was so drawn to her because she continuously surprised him. He hadn’t expected her to revisit the topic of them. Nor had he expected her to toss sex into the combo. But most unexpected was her apology.
He didn’t want to care that she was sorry. He wanted to be over it and be able to say her words didn’t affect him, but they did. She’d cut him down by pointing out exactly who he was and making him feel less than good enough. At first he was angry, but then he’d slowly admitted she hadn’t really said anything that wasn’t true. This was who he was.
“What happened to Blake?”
She grimaced and he held his breath. That prick better not have crossed a line with Kate or Shane didn’t know what he’d do. “He asked what a Goonie was.”
His head fell back as he barked out a laugh. “What? Was he raised under a rock?”
She laughed. “At one point I felt like I was out with Emilio Estevez’s character in The Breakfast Club, right before he cries.”
“Oh no,” he laughed, totally understanding the comparison.
Their laughter died down. He nudged her knee with his. “Are you Claire?”
She drew in a deep breath and sat back in her seat. What she did next was probably one of the all-time highest ranking cool chick moves he’d ever been witness to in his life.
Her fingers swept her hair over her shoulder and undid her earring. It was a perfect diamond stud. She attached the clasp, reached for his hand, uncurled his fingers, and closed them over it.
He was totally the John Bender to her Claire.
His fingers curled over the stud and he smiled. “Did you just Ringwald me?”
She smirked. “I believe I did.”
He fisted her earring and dropped his hand to his lap. There was no way he was giving it back. “What now?” His heart raced as he brain tried to figure out what this meant. Was this a green light? Was she throwing caution to the wind? God he hoped so.
She shrugged, a bashful tilt to her eyes. “There are a hundred reasons not to go back to where we were, but I can’t seem to get past that night.”
Me neither. “What about your job?”
She swallowed. “No one can know.” His head shook, assuring her he wouldn’t say a word. “And you can’t be upset when I have to do my job. I can’t let my personal feelings cloud my judgment. No matter which way you look at it, it’s completely unethical for us to have anything more than a professional relationship.”
“But?”
“But… the feelings are there. I can’t make them go away. I should have your case reassigned—”
“No—”
“—but I don’t want to delay your life any more than necessary. You’re a good guardian and it isn’t fair to Logan to start the process all over with a new caseworker. My asking for a reassignment could also give the wrong impression about the job you’re doing, which I don’t want to do either.”
That was all true. He didn’t want anyone thinking there was something so wrong with him that Kate couldn’t work with him. That would be bad. He also didn’t want to lose the last month of time he’d invested. It weighed on him, knowing his custody could still be revoked. The sooner his court date came the better.
“I don’t want another caseworker. I want you. You know me and you know Logan.”
“Exactly. So…I don’t really know how to proceed.”
Shane really had to concentrate on playing it cool. “Why don’t we just hang out and keep it honest. You know I like you. I’d like to know you better, but there’s no rush.” He just couldn’t deal with her shutting him out again.
“I’ve never hung out with anyone like you.”
“Meaning?”
“You’re…”
“Rough?” he supplied.
She shook her head. “That’s not the right word. I’m not sure what to call you.”
“Why don’t you try not to put a label on me and I’ll offer the same courtesy to you?”
“Okay.”
He wasn’t sure what to do. Did he kiss her? Ask her out on a date? Just then Logan announced he was awake. Shane stood then turned back to her. “Don’t leave.”
Her smile was shy. “Okay.”
He went in the bedroom and found Logan rocking his moves in his crib. He quickly changed his diaper and snapped up his shorts. “We have company, little man,” he said as he carried him into the living room. Logan squawked his approval when he saw Kate. Shane put him in the highchair and fastened him in.
“He’s getting so big,” she commented, leaning over and whispering sweet words to him. Logan shamelessly flirted. Shane totally understood. He was a sucker for her too.
“I know. He’s such a cool kid. Watch this.” Shane squatted in front of the highchair so he was eye level with him. He pulled his lips over his teeth and pretended to eat Logan’s hand. Logan squealed and let out a deep belly laugh.
When Kate laughed in concert he turned and smiled at her. She was so pretty. He wanted to kiss her.
He stood and mixed together some cereal, coming back to nibble Logan here and there. As he passed Kate he took a nibble of her neck. She squealed too. He loved her laugh.
She watched as he fed Logan. “Aw, he’s showing off, eating all good in front of his lady caller.” Logan yodeled and stretched. Such a flirt. Shane leaned in and whispered, “Laying it on a little thick, don’t ya think, buddy?”
Logan spit a mouth full of goopy cereal out, which dribbled down his chin. “Now you’re just being a show-off,” Shane admonished.
Kate giggled and went to get a napkin. She blotted up Logan’s face and he batted his long lashes at her. Shane swore he saw something in her melt. If only Shane had moves like that.
Once he finished feeding him, he rested Logan on the floor with some toys. Kate slipped off her shoes and joined him. Her toenails were painted green today.
Shane pinched her big toe, which really wasn’t big at all. “You’re a surprise, Ms. McAlister.”
“What do you mean?”
Shane stretched out beside Logan. “I mean, I can’t figure you out and I like that.”
She shrugged almost self-consciously. “I’m boring.” Her hand scooted a rattle Logan had been eyeing within his reach.
“You’re far from boring,” he informed her, his mind going over some of the many fascinating parts of Katherine McAlister. He hid a smile, mentally picturing her sweet, little, heart shaped ass, her dainty, bold colored toenails. Not every woman could pull off preppy and vintage punk.
She was classy and sophisticated, yet fun and silly. Originally, he found her unapproachable, but the more he got to know her, the more he realized she was an open book. Kate was Kate and he really liked the multifaceted woman hiding behind the simple name.
She met his gaze and energy pulled between them. Shane shifted, his body growing inappropriately hard. “You shouldn’t look at me like that in front of the child.”
Her lashes lowered. “Sorry.”
 
; He wanted to groan when her cheeks flushed. She was killing him. “Don’t be. If we were alone right now…”
“You’d what?”
“Oh, the socks would be off.”
Her lip twitched and a delicate dimple formed in her cheek.
“Will you come over this Saturday night? I mean, not for work.”
She stilled. Her lips parted and her eyes studied him. “What time?”
“I put Logan to bed around seven-thirty. Say, eight o’clock? We can order dinner and maybe watch a movie.”
Her smile was slow perfection. “All right.”
* * * *
That Saturday Shane took Logan to the park for plenty of fresh air. They played extra hard and had a man-to-man talk on the way home.
“Now, I promise to be cool when you start dating if you play it cool tonight. Let’s go over some ground rules. No massive diaper explosions in front of the lady friend. I’m sorry, but you’ve been known to clear out a room. Also, let’s try to keep the crankiness to a minimum. I’ll let you stay up an extra ten minutes, but you have to agree to not start any trouble once the lights are out.”
Logan let out a high-pitched babble.
“I know you like to nap on her boobies, but so do I. And you’re too young for that anyway. I’m onto your games.”
The baby prattled something that sounded like “Ladle, ladle, ladle…”
“You can be mad all you want. I’ve given up a lot since you came along. I’m not negotiating this one. Especially if she shows up in the Madonna shirt again.”
When they got home Shane cleaned the trailer, paying special attention to the space around the toilet seat and the couch. There wasn’t much he could do about his furniture, so he pulled off his bedspread and draped it over the couch, tucking it in like a slipcover so he didn’t look too optimistic.
He found a half empty bottle of wine in the fridge and dumped it. Outside, along the perimeter between his property and his neighbor’s, tiger lilies grew. He plucked three of the long stemmed orange flowers and carried them inside. Filling the bottle with water, he arranged the flowers and put it on the coffee table as a centerpiece.
He fed Logan an extra heavy dinner that night, making his cereal thicker and leaving him all carbed up and tired. Around seven he did some bicycles on the carpet with him, which led to an impressive poop—Logan’s, not his. That would also help him sleep better.
By seven-thirty his little man could barely keep his eyes open—so much for his extended curfew. Shane gave him a bottle and put him to bed.
He grabbed a quick shower, shaved, and pulled his hair into a ponytail. He decided on wearing his favorite Zeppelin shirt and a dark pair of jeans. He left his socks off, opting to go barefoot.
She pulled up at eight on the dot. He cued up his stereo with an unarguably perfect album for seduction. U2’s All I Want is You opened the evening.
She came to the front door wearing a faded Back to the Future t-shirt. Holy shit, if Sims was there he’d be all over that. He held the door for her. “Hey.”
“Hey.”
He brushed a kiss over her lips. They tasted like cherries.
“I brought this.” She held up a bottle of red wine. “I didn’t know if you only drank beer and Wild Turkey, but I figured…”
“Thanks.” He took the bottle and placed it in the kitchen, desperately trying to quell the surge of nerves suddenly assaulting his senses.
“You cleaned.”
“A little. Do I need to let this breathe or anything?” That’s what fancy folk did with wine, right?
She shrugged. “I usually just give my wine mouth to mouth.”
Her humor was so unexpected, he laughed. “Sounds good to me.” He cracked it open and poured her a glass. “Sorry I don’t have any fancy cups.”
“That’s okay.” She took the glass and sipped, turning and looking around the trailer as if it were her first time there. “I like U2.”
He smiled. “I like you too. Sorry. That was corny. Did you want to order dinner?”
“Sure. What did you have in mind?”
“There’s a Chinese place that delivers or we could do pizza.”
“Chinese sounds good.”
He went to get the menu off the fridge. Fuck, he was nervous.
“Is Logan asleep?”
“Yeah. He was an animal today. We went to the park and he had all the other girls rubber necking from their strollers.”
“I bet their mommies were getting an eyeful too.” She sat on the couch.
“Are you suggesting it wasn’t Logan drawing all the attention?”
“Women are suckers for cute dads.”
I’m not his dad. He laughed nervously and handed her the menu. She had jeans on and gray plaid slipper shoes. He squeezed her foot. “I like your shoes. You never wear the same ones.”
“I’m sort of weird like that. I don’t like to repeat outfits.”
“So what? Do you follow some sort of wear and toss standard?”
“No, I just remember what I wore and try to not repeat it for a while.”
“Did you last wear this in eighty-seven?” he asked, his finger pulling at the sleeve of her t-shirt.
“Are you making fun of me?”
“God, no. If it was in my size I’d totally steal it from you.”
“I collect retro shirts. It’s really from the eighties, you know? Not one of those reproductions they sell at Wal-Mart.”
“It’s awesome. I love how you can rock your little cardigans and then pull off a vintage classic.”
She smiled. “I’ll take the chicken lo mein.” She handed him the menu. When he didn’t immediately take it, she asked, “What?”
“I want to kiss you.”
Her lips parted and she seemed to hold her breath. “Okay,” she whispered.
He leaned in and gently traced his lips over hers. Cherries. She trembled slightly as he brushed his hand over her shoulder and slipped it under her hair and around the back of her neck. As soon as he pressed his lips more firmly to hers she opened.
He breathed deep, wanting to swallow her whole. Her hand came to the side of his face and slid over his ear. Jesus, everywhere she touched him his flesh seemed to purr for more.
Her fingers tugged on his earlobe where he’d stuck her diamond stud and he groaned. He wanted her to touch him everywhere.
Her fingers gently trailed over his jaw and to the back of his neck. She played with the damp strands of hair in his ponytail. Shane leaned into her and she eased back. Had he ever wanted anyone like he wanted her?
He needed to slow down. He was already hard and he didn’t want to scare her off. After a few minutes he pulled back. She stared up at him, her lips a bit swollen and her cheeks flushed.
“Should we order?” he asked.
She nodded, but her eyes said she didn’t give a shit about food at the moment. He turned and took in a deep breath. Attempting to walk it off, he stood and went to the kitchen. His dick was so hard he could barely get his phone out of his pocket. Turning, he shifted, attempting to make room in his pants without drawing too much attention to his pre-dick-ament.
Jesus, grow up, Shane!
He called and placed the order, not even sure what he got for himself. When he returned to the couch she was hiding a smirk.
“What?”
“These are nice,” she said, motioning to the tiger lilies. “Did you do that for me?”
“Well, you know… you or one of the other women who visit often.”
Her smile fell.
“Fuck, Kate, I was kidding!”
“Oh.” Her grin was shaky when it returned.
He sat next to her again. She wouldn’t meet his gaze so he pinched her chin and turned her face. “Hey, let me make one thing clear. You’re it. As long as we’re doing this, I don’t have any interest in anyone else.”
“Okay.”
“I mean it. I’m not a complicated guy. When I say something I mean it. I don’t want anyone
else.”
Her smile grew confident. “Me neither.”
Her words shouldn’t have hit him so hard, but they did. She wanted him. He drew in a deep breath and released it. This was going to be a long night.
When the food arrived they moved to the kitchen table to eat. They were on their second glass of wine and discussing various things like where Kate went to school, where she grew up.
“I have an older sister who lives in Tennessee.”
“What’s in Tennessee?” he asked as he worked through his shrimp and rice.
“Her husband. He’s in the Army Reserves. They moved there after he finished his time in Italy. They made friends there so they sort of stuck around.”
“What about your sister with the two kids?”
“That’s Melissa. She lives just outside of Tobin County.”
It occurred to him he had no idea where she lived. “Not to sound stupid, but where do you live?”
“In Columbus. I have a small ranch house. Nothing special. It’s just me so…”
His brows lifted. “You own your own home? That sounds pretty special to me. Don’t discredit it. Some people spend their entire lives trying to own a home.”
“Well, I mean, I have a mortgage. It won’t technically be mine until I’m in my fifties.”
“Still an accomplishment. I told you how we used to have a nice house, but after my parents died and the money ran out, we couldn’t make the payments and the bank foreclosed. I know how hard it is to own a home.”
“What did you do when you lost the house?”
That had been such a scary time. Noel was only fifteen, three more years until she was an adult. If he couldn’t put a roof over her head, the state would have taken her. “That’s when we moved to Lakota.”
“When did you get the trailer?” she asked.
“When Noel turned eighteen and could be on her own.”
Her expression tightened at the mention of his sister. “Were you close?”
“Yes and no. Noel was different. She was smart, but acted entitled in a lot of ways. She definitely had her little sister moments. But when I think back, think about all the times I thought she was just being annoying…now I see it differently.”