Chapter 10
I huff out a groan, hiking Bea’s car seat up my arm again, all the while never letting go of Penny’s hand as we walk up the sidewalk toward The Nook, an adorable little coffee and dessert shop, one of the only coffee shops in Sky Ridge. Of course, the sidewalk parking is packed though, so we had to park half a block away.
I remind myself that the coffee is worth it, as is the absolutely ginormous orange cranberry muffin I’m going to let myself indulge in during Penny’s weekly playdate with her little bestie Hollie.
Vi’s a nurse at Bakersfield Hospital in the burn unit, but we try to make sure to meet up once a week so the girls can play. And if I’m totally honest, I need the adult time so badly I could cry. I love my kids, but sometimes a girl just needs to have an adult conversation, you know? Something that doesn’t involve fart noises, the words ‘look what I can do’ on repeat, or baby spit up.
Ugh. I’d kill for a girl’s night free of kids. I almost laugh at the absurdity of the thought, though. Maybe I’ll ask Violette if she and Hollie want to come over soon, even if it’s just to let all the kids play while we have a glass of wine… It wouldn’t be the most relaxing girls’ night ever, but it would mean adult conversation. I know I can always ask Scottie to come over, but she works long hours as an EMT, so getting us all together is tricky sometimes.
Dalton pulls the door to The Nook open, holding it for me. I huff out a breathy, “Thank you, bud,” and direct Penny in front of me, hiking Bea’s car seat up my arm again. There’s a short line in front of us waiting to place orders, and I smile. Speaking of Scottie …
We stop behind a woman with ginger hair that’s pulled up into a sleek ponytail. She’s shorter than me by several inches, her body thin in that athletic build type of way that mine will never be.
Navy blue tactical pants cover her legs, and a white, short sleeved polo shirt in that lightweight, sweat-wicking material is stretched over her shoulders and back; the standard uniform of an EMT. She’s scrolling away on her phone while we all wait, oblivious to our presence and the noise around us.
“Auntie!” Penny shrieks in excitement as she recognizes who is in front of us, launching herself away from me and into the back of Scottie’s legs. Startled, she spins, taking my toddler with her.
“Hey, you!” she laughs, glancing down and behind her at Penny, who has her arms wrapped around her thighs in a bear hug. “How’s my girl? Hey, Dalton.” She holds out her fist, and he bumps it, grinning widely.
“Hey, Aunt Scottie,” he says, leaning in for a hug. He’s tall for his age and stands nearly to her chin already. She hugs him around the shoulders.
“Ugh, you’re so tall,” she grumbles, eyeing him with a glower, and he grins again.
“I’m pretty sure we’re in another growth spurt,” I mutter, though I wink at him. “I swear he’s outgrown half of his clothes already this summer.”
I shake my head and shift Bea’s car seat on my arm again, the handle cutting off the circulation below my elbow. I considered unpacking the stroller, but it had seemed like too much of a hassle for such a quick errand. I’m regretting that now. I blow out a breath and focus my gaze on the handwritten chalkboard over the counter, scanning the daily specials.
“Can we get cake pops?” Dalton asks, looking up at me. I side-eye him.
“Cake pops for breakfast?” I deadpan. He grins and shrugs his narrow shoulders. Penny yanks on Scottie’s hand, jumping up and down excitedly. I roll my eyes. “Ugh. Fine. Only because today is our freebie day and now that Penny heard you, she’ll be a terror if we don’t get them.”
“Cake pops are under the Mom Freebie clause. If they facilitate a no-meltdown-day, it’s a win,” Scottie mutters out of the corner of her mouth, winking at me.
I laugh out loud, grinning while I nod. “Cake pops for breakfast it is then,” I laugh, shaking my head. Dalton does a little victory fist pump and Penny dances in place.
The barista calls out to Scottie quietly to get her attention. Scottie holds up one finger and then spins toward the counter. She steps forward as the person in front of her slides out of the way. My eyes go back to the menu board, trying to decide what I want as she orders, and then pays. My eyes drop when she spins to face us, two chocolate frosted cake pops dusted in colorful sprinkles clutched in her fingers.
“I got your usual, too, by the way,” she says, smiling at me. She grins at me as I protest, but then hands one cake pop first to Penny, then to Dalton.
I squeeze Penny’s hand and eye Dalton with my best mom-glare, focusing on what’s in front of me. “Guys, we have manners, what do we say?— ”
“Tank you so much!” Penny exclaims, her brown eyes round as saucers as she gazes at the cake pop in her hand.
Dalton grins. “Thank you.”
“You’re most welcome. Try not to be heathens for your mom today, okay?” she says, laughing. She winks at me again.
I’m so lucky to have a hopefully soon to be sister-in-law as amazing as Scottie. I never liked my brother’s ex, Molly. Good riddance to the awful woman that had broken my brother’s heart. She and her douchey husband Dave deserve each other.
Scottie ducks again and coos to Bea, who babbles animatedly up at her. “You’re just too precious.” Glancing up at me as she straightens again, she murmurs gently, “You did so good, Teddy.”
“Thank you,” I murmur awkwardly. That’s the second time in a week someone has said that to me, and it reminds me of the way Xander’s eyes had done that deep, heated thing as he’d stared up at me. I shiver. I blame it on the AC blasting directly above us.
She grins once more and then steps aside to wait for her order at the other end of the counter. We step forward as one hot mess grouping so I can order two waters with lids and straws, and the orange cranberry muffin I’ve been dreaming about for the last two days.
Scottie still has Penny by the hand—she knows the way this child can Houdini her way out of anywhere—and I’m grateful she’s here as I struggle to grab my wallet out of the bottom of the diaper bag slung over my shoulder. I’m paying as Scottie’s drink is ready along with the iced coffee with caramel sweet cream she’d ordered for me. She stands with us while we wait.
I jostle the paper wrapped and bagged muffin the barista hands me, stuffing it into the wide-open pocket of the diaper bag as we shuffle down the counter to wait for the rest of our order.
“Are you headed out to a play date with Vi and Hollie?” Scottie asks as I sidle my way over to her. Penny’s hand is still clutched in hers, and she’s swinging their arms back and forth while Penny finishes the cake pop. “That is today, right?”
“Yes, we’re heading there as soon as we’re done here,” I murmur, hiking Bea’s car seat back up my arm. I’m going to have welts in the crease of my elbow by the time we leave here.
The barista smiles kindly at me as she places the two waters on the counter in front of me. “Thank you so much. Here, Penny, here’s your water—” I say, reaching for one of the clear plastic cups, the lid and straw already in place—bless the barista's heart—and hand it to her. I hand Dalton the other one, then grab up my iced coffee that has been waiting for me. “Okay guys, head to the door. Penny, you stay close to me and Dalton and Aunt Scottie?—”
My left arm still cradling Bea’s car seat handle, I shift my iced coffee into that hand, holding it aloft over Bea as we make our way toward the door. I’m sure we’re a sight. Dalton pushes the door open, and Penny sees her chance, yanking her hand out of Scottie’s and darting out the door into the blinding sunlight.
“ Oh for the love of —” I growl, lunging forward. You’ve got to be fucking kidding me . This child. The sun blinds me momentarily and then I hear Penny’s shrill scream, and my heart stops as I rush forward.
“Do I need to get a leash for you? I know we talked about this a few days ago, Miss Penny.”
My heart thunders back to life with a vengeance as I recognize that voice. I step out onto the sidewalk and shake my head. Xander has Penny lifted in his arms—upright this time instead of hanging upside down—but those intense blue eyes of his aren’t on my runaway daughter, they’re on me.
I glance over at Scottie, who is standing behind Xander, and she winks, grinning widely, before waving bye to the kids and stepping over to where my brother is climbing out of the passenger seat of Xander’s truck parked nearby. He waves briefly, but then his attention is on his lady as she stops in front of him. His mouth drops to hers as she steps up on her tiptoes to meet him. I blush and look away, my gaze colliding with Xander’s again.
His gaze runs from my head down to my toes and back, taking in all of me, before they come back to mine. My breath stalls in my throat at the intensity in his eyes as he stares at me. Heat settles low in my belly and I blush, remembering what I’d been imagining him doing to me just last night…
Blinking, I drop my gaze shyly, and then mentally take stock of my outfit; Violette has been daring me to wear outfits way outside my comfort zone and I’d been brave this morning while dressing, but now, with Xander’s eyes on me, I’m freaking the fuck out.
The skintight, square neck tank top style bodysuit she’d talked me into buying is sucking my gut in and snatching my waist like a paid actor, and also pushing my tits up like crazy. White and ribbed, I hadn’t even worn a bra underneath—brave of me, I know—the stretch and compression top notch in this contraption. The bodysuit is tucked into a pair of high waisted, light wash cutoff jean shorts that leave little to the imagination, but Vi had said they make my ass look amazing. I’d reapplied my sunless tanner on my legs, so at least they don’t look pale, and my toes are painted Funny Bunny white, peeking out of my flip flops.
My hair is down and curled in slight waves around my shoulders, a small claw clip securing it half up and away from my face. I’d even managed to put on makeup today, which I’m extremely thankful for now, with Xander still staring at me with that intense heat in his gaze. He’s just so unfairly attractive.
One of his well-muscled forearms is banded beneath Penny’s bottom like a seat, his large hand spanned wide across her leg to hold her up. I huff out a heavy breath as I move toward him and Penny, who is looking properly contrite. This child is going to be the death of me .
My mouth opens to scold Penny for taking off again . Before I can make a sound though, he takes me completely by surprise when he steps forward, straight into my bubble, and reaches for the handle of Bea’s car seat without a word. My hands move without any conscious thought from my sluggish brain at having him so close, and I move my iced coffee from that hand back to my free hand, allowing him to slide the handle off my arm. The crease of my elbow has deep red marks on it now from holding the handle for so long, and instinctively I straighten my arm down at my side to try and return some blood flow to my numb arm.
I watch as his fingers grip the handle of her car seat tightly, holding her down at his other side, making sure to angle her away from the sun. His eyes never leave my face, which makes me blush hotly and I drop my gaze from his.
Ugh , but his body is just as nice to look at as his face though, covered in army green tactical cargo pants that fit his thighs and hips, and a tightly fitted black t-shirt with the Sky Ridge Hotshot emblem on his left pec. His usual baseball hat is on his head, shielding the upper portion of his face from the midmorning sun as I peek back up at him shyly.
He nods to Dalton. “Hey, Champ, why don’t you take that diaper bag from your mom so she doesn’t have to carry everything on her own? We should always help out when we can.”
Dalton nods, eyes wide, but I murmur, “No, that’s okay, I’ve got it?—”
“Hey.” His eyes laser focus on mine, stopping my stammering words. “Let us help you, Mama.”
I hear variations of Mom and Mommy all day long, every day. But this?
Mama . The way he says it in that husky, intimate rasp, has completely short circuited my brain. All I can do is stare up at him dumbly before nodding.
I drag the diaper bag over my shoulder and hold it out to Dalton, and he places it on his shoulder. His body dips slightly with the weight, and I instinctively reach for it again, but Dalton just assures me with a grin, “I’ve got it, Mom!”
I swallow hard, letting my hand drop to my side. I feel naked now, with no diaper bag, car seat, or toddler attached to me like usual. I’m left feeling incredibly self-conscious and fully second guessing my outfit choice now that I don’t have my built-in shields up. So I smile gratefully down at him, even if my lips tremble just the slightest. “Thank you, bud.”
“Now you can take a drink of your coffee before it starts to melt,” Xander says quietly, notching his chin toward the drink in my hand. I laugh nervously. What must that be like? To drink an iced coffee before it melts or a hot coffee before it gets cold?
He chuckles then, the sound deep and soothing, his eyes crinkling at the corners with his smile. “Teddy, I can see your brain buffering because it’s such a foreign concept to you. Take a drink. Where are you parked? I’ll walk you.”
I dutifully take a sip of my coffee, the caramel sweet cream lighting up my tongue. Gosh that’s good when it’s fresh and not all melted. Some of the cream sticks to my upper lip and I lick it away quickly, daring a glance up at Xander again.
But those eyes of his are no longer on mine; no, they’re on my mouth, and the heat in that gaze is enough to scorch me alive.