Chapter 2
CHAPTER TWO
“I love you, Papi!” Milo said around a loud yawn.
Kaleb grinned at his son’s sleepy face. His chest squeezed tight every time he heard those words. “Night, buddy.”
In the kitchen, he grabbed a beer and popped it open on his way to the patio. Sipping from the cold drink, he sat and kicked up his feet at the sounds of crickets.
Carolina “Lena” Butt—Lawrence.
His lips tipped up at the mere thought of her, images from their childhood springing to mind. Her long dark-brown hair in a single braid down her back. Glasses, too big for her oval face, perched on her nose. A light sprinkling of freckles along her nose from long days in the summer sun.
Kaleb rubbed the heel of his palm along his breastbone and sighed.
Coming home to St. Fleur had been necessary after he’d found himself struggling to bounce back after his wife, Jennifer, had died.
Not only had Milo needed his abuelos, Kaleb had desperately needed his parents, even if he couldn’t find the words to tell them.
He hadn’t thought of Lena in years.
Chuckling to himself, he admitted the lie as quickly as it popped into his mind. He had thought of Lena. The moment they’d arrived in St. Fleur, childhood memories had snuck their way in each time he passed a familiar spot in town.
Lena wasn’t the girl he remembered. She was more beautiful than he could have ever expected.
Her hair was shorter, but it was still as dark as ever.
Her caramel-colored eyes popped without the glasses hiding their beauty.
Gone was the girl he remembered, and in her place, a woman.
The mere thought of her curvy body had him taking a long pull from his beer.
Jennifer’s face pushed forward, and twinges of guilt pinched his sore heart.
Kaleb ran a hand down his face before finishing his beer. He moved through the small home, turning off lights and checking locked doors before climbing into bed.
Hours later when his alarm woke him, he stared at his morning wood. It wasn’t any different than any other morning, and yet it felt heavier than he could recall from the last three years.
Lena Lawrence.
Throwing back the covers, he sat up and gripped the bedsheets at his side.
He’d been celibate a long time, his desire for any sexual touch nonexistent since Jennifer’s death.
One—no, two short interactions with Lena, and his world had seemed to explode with vibrant colors, sounds, and now obvious desire.
And it wasn’t just the sexual variety, even if his dick proclaimed otherwise. His belly stirred with nerves as he considered whether he’d run into her again.
Another glance at the clock and he snapped out of his musings. If he expected to get Milo to his parents with enough time to start his shift, he needed to get a move on.
Hours later, Kaleb stepped into his parents’ home. “Hello?”
His father, Ricky Perez, popped his head from around the corner, a guilty expression disappearing at the sight of Kaleb. “Ay! Mijo! How was your day?”
Kaleb kissed his father’s cheek and returned his hug. “Mami know you’re sneaking ice cream?”
Ricky waved a dismissive hand. “Eh, she’s gotta prove it, and you’re not going to tell her.”
Kaleb shook his head and looked around. “Where’s Milo?”
“Maria took him down to the park,” Ricky said, licking the spoon clean.
Exhausted, Kaleb ran a hand through his hair. “Come on, Pa’! I’m tired and just ready to take my boy home.”
Ricky paused from washing the spoon and narrowed his eyes on him. “Que te pasa? Did something happen at work?”
“No, nada paso. It’s just been a long day running packages, and I want to go home.”
“Shh… sounds like there’s a cranky pants in the house,” his mother whisper-shouted.
Unamused by his parents, Kaleb leaned against the counter. “Papi was eating ice cream.” Over his father’s insult, he asked, “Hey, buddy, how was your day?”
Maria curled herself into her husband’s side as Milo hugged Kaleb’s hips. “Oh, he really is a cranky pants.”
“What’s wrong, Papi?” Milo asked.
“I’m just tired, buddy. Are you ready to go home?”
Milo looked between his abuelos and Kaleb.
“What?” he asked.
Maria shrugged. “It’s the weekend, and we thought he could stay.”
Milo’s pleading face met his. “Por favor, Papi?”
“Just going to leave your old man?”
Milo’s brows knit in confusion. “You’re not old.”
“Still young enough to meet a nice woman and—”
“Papi!” Kaleb snapped at the same time Lena’s smiling face came to mind. He shot both his parents a warning look. “Milo, go see if you have everything you need.”
Milo took in the adults before walking away slowly to the room his grandparents had outfitted for him.
The moment he was out of earshot, Kaleb hissed, “Please don’t confuse my boy!”
Maria placed a hand over his heart, and her smile didn’t reach her vibrant eyes. “Mijo, he’s the one who’s been asking why he doesn’t have a mama. It’s been years. You’re young, and that boy needs a mother.”
Kaleb’s chest squeezed. “Ma, he has you…”
Maria’s arms wrapped around his waist, hugging him tightly. “I just want both of you happy. We’ll keep him tonight. Why don’t you go make some friends?”
Kaleb kissed the top of his mother’s pixie-cut hair. “I have friends. I have you two.” Words his mother had told him all his life.
Ricky chuckled and Maria placed a hand on her hip as soon as she left Kaleb’s embrace. “And you, you think I don’t realize the ice cream is eating itself? If you kill yourself with your diabetes, I’m not going to your funeral,” she snapped and followed the path Milo had gone.
Hungry and uninterested in cooking for one, Kaleb drove into town. The local pub hadn’t been there in his youth, but it was clearly the heart of the St. Fleur community.
He heard music playing as he opened the door. Tables were being pushed aside to make room for a small dancing area. Jesse and Jaime Lynn, the owners, offered him a wave as they adjusted chairs.
Kaleb found an open seat at the bar as his name was called out.
“How are you adjusting to small-town life?” Sheriff Noah Tyler asked.
“Not much different than base living.” Kaleb chuckled.
Noah, also ex-military, grinned as he nodded. “Touché. If you need anything, let one of us know. You’re welcome to pull up a chair and join us,” he said and pointed toward a booth in the back. “That’s my wife, Sofia.”
Kaleb tipped his head in greeting at the pretty woman. “Thanks, but I don’t want to intrude.”
Noah smiled. “Fair enough.”
Minutes later, Kaleb stared into his rum and Coke.
“Penny for your thoughts?”
Cocking his head to his side, he found the woman who was occupying his free thoughts. He peered around her before allowing his gaze to sweep down her front. “Hey,” he said, his voice husky and suddenly dry.
“Everything okay?” she asked as she set her small hand on his shoulder.
He offered her a smile. “Yeah, why shouldn’t it be?”
Her caramel-colored eyes narrowed as she saw through his evasive question. “Where’s Milo?” she asked and lowered her hand.
Missing the warmth of her hand, he bit back a sigh. “With my parents.”
“Ah…”
It was his turn to narrow his gaze. “What’s that supposed to mean?”
Lena shook her head, and the knot on top of her head bounced around.
“Hi, honey, were you going to eat in instead?” Jaime Lynn asked Lena, appearing before them.
Kaleb didn’t miss Jaime Lynn’s curious glance—or the way Lena hesitated.
“Join this pathetic dad for dinner?” His ears heated and his belly flipped with nerves he could only recall with his interactions with Carolina Butt.
“Depends…”
“On what?” he asked.
“Are you going to be a grouch?” she asked, and Jaime Lynn snickered.
“Carolina Bu—Lawrence, would you like to join me for dinner?”
She studied him for a moment before turning her attention to Jaime Lynn. “Bring it out whenever his order is ready?”
Jaime Lynn grinned. “Got it.”
Lena pulled herself onto the stool and turned toward him. Kaleb did the same and his gaze dropped to their knees when they touched. Desire stirred in his groin, and he sucked in a breath. His work pants would do nothing to hide an erection if he didn’t get it under control.
“I take it you don’t go out much without your son?” Lena asked.
“And you don’t eat in often,” he observed aloud.
Lena shrugged. “I ate here yesterday.”
“By yourself?”
“With my friend JJ.”
He studied her a long moment as he tamped down his jealousy. “Do you eat with JJ regularly?”
Her lips twitched, and a sweet blush colored her cheeks. “Not as often as we’d like.”
Kaleb lifted his glass to his lips and watched a twinkle of mischief flash in her eyes. He leaned in closer and tucked an errant strand behind her ear. “Lena, you still can’t lie worth a damn.”
Her giggle warmed him from the inside out. “I’m not lying, but your face is—”
Kaleb leaned in closer, the pub noises falling away as all his attention zeroed in on her. “What? My face is what?”
Her gaze dropped to his mouth, and the tip of her tongue ran along her lips. “JJ stands for Julie Jolie,” she whispered.
“Muffuletta for the lady, and Cajun pasta for the gentleman,” Jesse said, smothering the building tension between Lena and Kaleb with the arrival of their food.
“That was fast,” Kaleb managed to say.
“What made you want to become a mail carrier?” Lena asked, wrapping her hands around the sandwich.
Kaleb chuckled. “I wanted to pay the bills. How about you? A teacher?”
“Mrs. Clifton,” she said with a shrug.
Kaleb set down his fork. “Should I know that name?”
Lena laughed. “She was one of our teachers.”
He shook his head slowly. “Not ringing a bell. I don’t remember much from back then.”
“You remembered me…”
He nodded. “I did.”
She was one of the few people he remembered from his time in St. Fleur.
Lena was hard to forget. The beautiful girl had stolen his heart in the sweetest of ways before he learned girls could be anything else.
Growing up, he’d witnessed some become manipulative in destructive ways.
Others turned ugly, mean, and vindictive.
Jennifer had been sweet and kind. One of the reasons he’d been attracted to her.
“Hey? Where did you go?” Lena asked.
Kaleb sipped from his drink, pushing back memories of his dead wife. “You never left?”
She shook her head. “Other than college and vacations, no. There’s no place like St. Fleur.”
One side of his mouth tipped up. “That’s why my parents returned.”
“And why did you return, Kaleb Perez?” she asked, her voice lowering for only his ears.
“Milo needed his abuelos,” he said, studying a piece of chicken on his plate.
Lena placed her hand on his forearm. “Just Milo needed them?”
Kaleb sucked in a breath and shook his head. “No, I needed them too.”
She squeezed his arm, and without a thought, he pressed a kiss to the top of her hand.
The rest of their dinner flowed easily, considering a few townsfolk stopped by to speak with the beloved teacher. He enjoyed watching her interact with them. Kindness and sincerity seemed to effortlessly flow from her.
Kaleb felt a sudden pang of jealousy for the attention the students would receive from Ms. Lawrence in the coming school year.
His childhood feelings for her gripped him, and for the first time in what seemed like forever, hope moved into his being. The concern and words from his parents came forward, and he wondered what Milo would think if Kaleb pursued Lena.
He wasn’t ignorant. The woman she was today was unlike the girl he’d loved as a boy.
“Kaleb?”
“Hmm…”
“I um… was wondering if you wanted to watch a movie at my place?” Lena asked.
He shook his head.
Lena stood from the stool as her lips pulled tight. “Oh—um, okay. Well, thanks again for dinner.”
Wrapping his fingers loosely around her bicep, he stopped her escape. “Would it be okay if we hang out at my place instead? I’m feeling grimy as hell after working in today’s heat. Or I can come by after I cleaned up.”
She took him in, and her cheeks became rosy.
His dick stirred at the sweet look.
“Oh, of course. I didn’t think…”
Kaleb was aware of the curious glances directed at them as they left the pub side by side. His hand itched to hold hers, and for the first time in a while, he was excited to spend time with a woman he wasn’t related to.
After walking her to her car, he gave her his address and jogged a few cars down to his own. Boyish wonder bloomed within him, in contrast to the man of thirty-two he was.
A few minutes later, Lena slipped her purse over her shoulder. Her gaze darted around the yard and the outside of the house as she walked up the driveway to where he stood waiting.
“You could have parked on the driveaway.”
Lena shrugged. “Doesn’t matter. The town’s tongue will be wagging either way.”
Kaleb paused, considering her words and their innocent actions thus far. They’d spontaneously decided on eating together, a dinner he’d insisted on paying for. They’d left the pub together, and her car was parked outside of his home.
“I can go home,” she said, backing up.
Kaleb chuckled. “What’s there for them to say, two childhood friends were spending time together?” A moment passed between them before he nodded toward the house. “Come inside, unless you’ve changed your mind.”
She bit her lip, and blood rushed to his dick. He shoved his hands in his pockets and waited for her to make her decision while also attempting to hide and control his erection.
Lena nodded and passed him on her way inside. “You better have popcorn.”
Kaleb laughed. “I don’t, but I do have chips and queso.”
“Even better!”