Chapter 10
Ten
Holt had spent most of his military career getting up well before the ass crack of dawn. From basic training to PT to missions, there was always something keeping him from lolling around in bed, so the prospect of more of the same as a professional baker hadn’t fazed him much. Not until those hours meant leaving a still sleeping Cayla behind. He liked being cuddled up with her, feeling the easy rise and fall of her breathing. And he liked being around for the morning routine of getting Maddie up and off to school. Starting his day off with both their smiles was like being injected with a little shot of sunshine. Plus, his help meant Cayla was a bit less rushed. A little less stressed.
But work was work, and he’d made promises to his partners before he’d made vows to his wife, so he hauled his ass in to the bakery well before the dark and early to help stock their cases for the limited run they had planned for the day. In honor of BB, he made banana nut muffins, along with lemon poppyseed scones, and a cinnamon streusel coffeecake he suspected was going to fly off the shelves when they opened at 7:30. It was still in the oven when he stripped off his apron.
“Hey, can you take care of that coffee cake? It’s got another twenty minutes before it needs to come out. I’m gonna run home to help Cayla get Maddie off to school. I’ll be back as soon as we get her dropped off.”
“No worries. Tell the missus we said hi.” Jonah batted his long-lashed eyes.
Brax thumped him on the arm. “Hey, we can handle the morning rush if you and Cayla want to take advantage of that empty house.”
“Are we really making excuses so he can bang his wife?”
Brax rolled his eyes. “You’re a pig. And at this point, yeah. I feel flat sorry for him. They didn’t get a kidless honeymoon.”
“Our perpetually interrupted love life is none of your business, although thanks for the offer. She’s got a client meeting early, so no time for a post-school-drop-off tryst.”
“Did he really just say, ‘tryst?’” Jonah wanted to know.
“I don’t even want to know what you’d call it. I’ll be back.” Leaving his friends bickering in the kitchen, he bagged a few of the muffins and headed for home.
Brax’s suggestion wasn’t a bad one. They both ran their own businesses. If they could just schedule a block of uninterrupted time while Maddie was in school… Well, he could think of a million and one erotic ways to spend it.
Satisfied with the idea and intent on planting that little seed in Cayla’s head before they went their separate ways for the day, Holt was smiling as he slid out of the driver’s seat.
Then he opened the kitchen door and walked into absolute pandemonium.
Maddie was sobbing. Cayla had her hand fisted in BB’s ruff, her own eyes red-rimmed as she struggled to wrestle the dog back outside. The smell. Dear God, the smell. BB had unquestionably been skunked. Holt crossed over, registering that he was sloshing through water coming from… somewhere.
He opened his mouth to ask what happened, but shut it again when he saw Cayla’s face. She was barely holding it together, and he recognized that one more thing was going to send her over the edge. Instead, he scooped Maddie up, sniffing to see if the skunk had gotten her, too. Just the hands, probably from petting BB.
He sat her on the counter and pointed. “Stay. And don’t touch anything.”
From Maddie’s room, he grabbed the dog crate, tossing out the bed and carrying the whole thing straight out the back door. Cayla followed him out, nudging BB into it and shutting her in.
She straightened, shoving her hair out of her face with the back of a hand. Her shoulders shook. “I have a client meeting in forty minutes. Maddie’s going to be late for school. All I wanted was the chance to refinish that table and chairs for the office this afternoon, so I can finally have clients come there instead of going to them. And now…” Her voice choked.
Holt’s brain was already running scenarios, prioritizing tasks. Mission prerogative: Keep his wife from crying. “Do we have hydrogen peroxide?”
She sniffled. A dangerous sound. “I… yes. In the bathroom, under the sink.”
He bolted to the back, snagging the hydrogen peroxide and hurrying back to the kitchen. As the only one who hadn’t touched skunked dog fur, he dug through the cabinet for the baking soda and dish soap, mixing up a quick batch of de-skunking solution. They’d need more for the dog, but she wasn’t the top priority. Scooping Maddie up with one arm, he carried her to the sink and helped her wash and dry her hands before doing another sniff test. She was gonna need a change of clothes.
“Wash your hands and arms with that,” Holt told Cayla. “I’ll get her changed.”
“I don’t wanna change!” Maddie wailed in a register that reminded him of nothing so much as an incoming mortar round.
“No choice, baby girl. You smell like skunk. Nobody at school wants to sniff that.”
“But this shirt is my f… f… favorite!”
He eyed the sleeping sloth across the front of her t-shirt. Last week, the favorite had been one with unicorns. He supposed it was a kid’s prerogative to change her mind. “We’ll get it washed, and you can wear it tomorrow.” Adding that to his mental to do list, he stripped the shirt up and off, grabbing the nearest one that came to hand and helping her into it.
“I don’t like this shirt!”
Struggling for patience himself, Holt crouched down. “Bumblebee, sometimes we have to do things in life we don’t like. Today is one of those days. Your mom is having a hard day already, and we don’t need to make it worse, okay?”
Maddie rolled into a magnificent pout, but the tears stopped, so he was calling it a win. He scooped her up again, grabbing her backpack on the way through the living room and sloshing back into the kitchen. Cayla still stood at the kitchen sink.
“Do you need to change?”
“Probably.”
“Go do that. I’ll get her buckled in.”
Bypassing the Camry, he settled Maddie into the car seat he’d bought for the 4-Runner, tucking the backpack and lunchbox at her feet.
“I’ll be right back. Do not unbuckle that seatbelt.”
Back inside, he paused to verify the source of the water. Something had busted on the dishwasher. A hose. Or maybe the door seal. He wouldn’t know for sure until he got it pulled out. It was a damned good thing the floors in here were tiled. Grabbing up a stack of the second string towels from the laundry room, he dumped them at the edge of the room to contain the water until he could get back and deal with it.
Cayla was in the closet, pulling on a fresh blouse. Her movements were brittle, her hands shaking.
Holt cornered her inside, stroking his palms down her arms. “Take a breath.”
The glare she shot him was clearly meant to vaporize.
“I’ve got Maddie. I’ll take her to school. You go on to your client meeting.”
“I need to reschedule. The dishwasher?—”
“I’ll handle it.”
“And the dog?—”
“I brought her into this household. I’m responsible for her. I’ll take care of the bath and whatever else is necessary. Seriously, you need to get the hell out of here and let it all go for the rest of the day. I’ll take care of all this.”
“You have work, too.”
“I have two business partners who can cover me. You don’t. Let me do this. Go do what you need to do. I’ll pick Maddie up from school this afternoon, and you can still get your painting time in. We can trade off after that so I can get to the custom order on my plate today.”
“But—”
“No buts. You’re not in this alone anymore, okay? I’ve got your back, and I’m taking all this off your plate. Now go or you’ll be late for your meeting.”
She opened her mouth, clearly intending to argue again, but he simply laid a finger over her lips.
“Go, Cayla. And I don’t want to hear or see you until later this afternoon, okay?”
After a long, searching look, she relented. “Okay. Thank you.”
He saw her off and joined Maddie in the 4-Runner, realizing he’d forgotten to give Cayla her muffins. Bigger priorities. Turning in the driver’s seat, he passed one back to Maddie. “Have a banana bread muffin. It’ll make you feel better.”
She gave him a side eye she’d clearly learned from her mother, but bit into the muffin. “Mmm. Can I have two?”
“If you finish the first one and there’s time before we get to school.”
He backed out of the driveway and put in a call to Brax on the SUV’s Bluetooth as he headed into town to the elementary school.
“Calling for that extra time off after all?”
“Not like you think. The situation at home has gone entirely FUBAR.” Holt outlined what he’d walked in on. “I’m about to drop Maddie at school and then go deal with the rest of this. I’m not gonna make it back in until later.”
Brax made a low whistle. “That is an impressive level of FUBAR. We’ve got you covered, man. And let us know if we can do anything to help.”
“Appreciate it.” He hung up and turned onto Main Street.
“I want my other muffin.”
Holt stretched his arm to hand it back to her.
“Thank you.”
She made more yum noises as she bit into the second one, and he gave himself a mental pat on the back for diverting that disaster.
“Holt?”
“Yeah, kiddo?”
“What’s FUBAR?”
Misty tucked a pencil into the twist of auburn hair knotted at her nape, dislodging some of the yellow freesia she wore today to advertise her wares. “Okay, I’ll get to work on some designs this week and try to pull something together for you by next Thursday.”
“Thanks. I really appreciate it.” Cayla began gathering her own notes from this morning’s client meeting. It had run long but had gone well. She’d landed the gig for planning the Sandersons’ golden anniversary party. Since she’d already been in town from that, she went ahead and stopped by Moonbeams and Sweet Dreams to talk to her friend about prospective flowers.
“Now, how about you tell me why you’ve looked on the verge of tears since you walked in here?” She shot a look toward the front of the store, verifying they were alone. “Is everything going okay with… stuff?”
Appreciating the concern and the discretion, Cayla slumped in her chair. “So far, everything’s been relatively quiet. No real problems there. At least none we didn’t expect.” Though she’d have felt better if her FBI contact had provided more information than, “We’re working on it.”
“The day just started as a total poop parade.” She gave Misty the rundown of the terrible, horrible, no good, very bad day.
“Wow. That’s a special level of awful, right there.”
“I wouldn’t have made my meeting at all if Holt hadn’t come home to help get Maddie off to school. He shooed me out of the house and said he’d take care of everything. I was ordered not to think about it, but that’s like telling me not to breathe. So I’m about to head back to the house to get things sorted.”
“You don’t think he meant it?”
“Oh, he’s absolutely well-intentioned, but I don’t think there’s a snowball’s chance in heck the day can be pulled out of the nosedive it took straight out of the gate. For my own sanity, I need the chaos rectified. Right now, I’m just hoping he at least managed to de-skunk the dog.”
“Fair. How are things going with married life? Big adjustment?”
“Not as much of one as I expected. He’s gone out of his way to be accommodating, and he’s fantastic with Maddie.”
“As previously documented.” Misty leaned closer. “I’m more interested in how he is with you. After the reception, it seemed like you two were getting along… well.” She only smirked a little.
Cayla’s brain supplied a helpful replay of their little bathroom interlude from earlier in the week. She shivered. “We’d be getting along a lot better if not for a profound case of kiddus interruptus. I love my child. I adore my child. But I seriously wish she would sleep through the night in her own bed in her own room.”
“Sounds like you need to invoke the time-honored tradition of parents everywhere.”
“What’s that?”
“Sleepover at grandma’s house.”
“Mama already takes on so much to help with her. I can’t ask her to take Maddie overnight just so that I can jump my hot new husband. Especially as she’s aware this wasn’t exactly a love match.”
“I mean, you don’t have to say that’s why you’re asking.”
“My mom is not a stupid woman. She’ll know. And that’s just… awkward.”
“Cayla, honey, you gave birth. Your mom knows you’ve had sex at least once.”
“I know, but… this is different. This was a marriage of convenience. Almost a business arrangement.”
“It’s still a marriage. She won’t think less of you for treating it as such. Hell, I think most women would think less of you for not taking advantage of being married to someone like him.”
Cayla snorted.
“I’m just saying,” Misty continued, “married people have needs. It’s worth thinking about.”
Maybe after the specter of disaster had stopped hovering over her head. “Fair enough. I’m gonna head on home and do whatever’s left that needs doing. Catch up soon, okay?”
She made the short drive, pulling into the garage with a deep sense of foreboding. Holt wasn’t here. Was he out picking up some kind of supplies or had he needed to get back to the bakery? What level of chaos was waiting for her inside? Already wishing for an entire bottle of wine, she got out of the car.
The rumble of the washer greeted her as she stepped into the house. Washing whatever clothes and towels had come into contact with the skunk spray was smart. She didn’t smell a trace of it as she moved into the kitchen. The dry, sparkling kitchen. She stopped in the middle of the floor and stared. There was no sign of the flood she’d left behind. But there was a note on the kitchen table, beside a stack of painting supplies and a bag from the hardware store.
Hope your meeting went well. BB is having an afternoon play date with Leno over at Mia and Brax’s in their fenced-in backyard while she dries off from her bath. The seal on the dishwasher door has been replaced. Started the skunk load in the washer. If it finishes while you’re home, you’ll probably want to switch it to the dryer. Picked up the new lock at the hardware store when I went to get the seal. I’ll get it installed when I get home. Happy painting.
Holt
Cayla read the note through twice, not quite believing it.
He’d taken care of everything, exactly as he’d promised. No muss, no fuss. No putting it off until later. He’d just done it. And she actually had time to finish painting her table and chairs for the office, exactly as he’d said she would.
She’d officially married a unicorn.
Drowning in gratitude, she burst into loud, messy tears. God, this man. He paid attention. He saw what needed doing, anticipated the best course of action, and took care of business. Without her having to ask. Without her having to feel like she’d failed. All these years on her own, she’d been the one who had to see, anticipate, and tend. But he made her feel seen and taken care of, and she didn’t quite know what to do with that. She kept expecting to wake up from this dream. And during all the moments when she knew she was awake, a part of her kept waiting for him to regret his impulsive offer of marriage as protection. Because he was too good to be true and there had to be something that made him real.
Despite the tears, she didn’t waste the afternoon he’d given her. In two uninterrupted hours, she’d finished a second and final coat of paint on the table and entire set of chairs. As soon as they dried, they could haul them to her office and put them in place. Flushed with a sense of accomplishment and more relaxed than she’d been in weeks, Cayla changed again and drove up to the bakery to pick up her daughter.
Knowing the front door would be locked, she walked along the wrap-around porch to the service entrance, noting the faint thump of music. Holt was rocking out to something while he worked, that was for sure. She tugged open the door and got blasted with sound. Maddie sat on one of the worktables, her smile radiant as she boogied in place while Holt belted out “Can’t Stop The Feeling.” Cayla propped her shoulder against the door frame, enjoying his damned fine impression of Justin Timberlake, using a whisk as a microphone. And as he shook his ass and shimmied his shoulders, to the absolute delight of her daughter, she felt her heart simply thud to the floor at his feet.
She’d been in lust with this man for months. In very heavy like with him almost as long. But now, she understood she was unquestionably, irrevocably, in love with him. Her friend. Her co-parent. Her husband.
Still absorbing the implications of that, she wasn’t prepared when he snagged her hand and spun her into the dance. He just wrapped his arms around her, blue eyes sparkling as he continued to sing, until she fell into his rhythm and began to dance, too. She was laughing by the end, going to her toes to steal a kiss. He lingered, even as Maddie clapped her hands and begged for another song.
“Get your painting done?”
“I did.” She curled a lock of his hair around her finger. “Thank you for being my hero today.”
“You’re welcome.”
“I came to collect the munchkin so you can get to your custom order.”
“I want another song!”
Cayla peered past Holt’s shoulder. “You’ll have to content yourself with me, baby. Holt’s got work to do. And we need to go pick up Banana Bread from Mia’s.”
Maddie wrinkled her nose. “I hope she smells better.”
“She does,” Holt assured them. “Unless there’s a vengeful skunk stalking the neighborhood.”
“Let’s just not put that idea out into the Universe. One close encounter of the odiferous kind is my quota for a lifetime. C’mon, sweetheart. Get your stuff.”
Maddie hopped off the table and scurried into the office.
“I’ll probably be late getting home. The cake’s in the oven now, and it’s still got to cool completely before I can start decorating. I’ll do my best to make it for bath and bedtime.”
Cayla really loved hearing him call them home. She wondered if it was part of the role he was playing or if he really felt that way. She intended to do everything in her power to make sure it was the latter. To that end, she herded her child toward the door and waved goodbye.
She had plans for her very good man.