Chapter 1 #2
Hendrix braced himself, his heartbeat going into overdrive, every body part, especially those below his waist, perked in interest.
Before making contact, she caught herself and instead clasped her hands together around the broom. “Couldn’t we stay here, too, Hendrix? I promise we won’t get in your way. You’ll barely know we’re here.”
Oh, he’d know, all right. Hadn’t he just anticipated a simple touch to his chest – over his clothes – as much as he anticipated sex with other women? Yes, he had.
Even when Joey wasn’t standing so close, he was aware of her.
Always. He’d often watched her laugh with other campers, or offer to assist them when they didn’t know how to work their new RVs.
She often talked quietly with Ryder, hugged him and teased him.
In the hotter weather, she’d worn a swimsuit on her early evening walks with Ryder to the beach.
He hadn’t been the only man in the park who’d noticed her.
Her combo of sex appeal and maternal love packed one hell of a wallop. Yet Joey seemed unaware. Or else she just plain didn’t care.
Their evening ritual had worried him. Even in the hottest part of summer, the Pacific Ocean was cold with strong currents that would make swimming a challenge for just about anyone, much less a slight woman and young child. As the owner of the park, he’d once felt compelled to talk to her about it.
She’d laughed at him, explaining that they didn’t swim. They just played in the sand and got brief splashes of the tide as it rolled in. And of course, once she’d told him that, he’d been driven by curiosity to see them doing exactly that.
As if Joey in a swimsuit wasn’t enticing enough, seeing her race her son along the beach, blonde hair reflecting the sunlight, had the power to steal his breath away. They always played the same games – he knew, because her ritual became his own.
Watching her with her son always left him with a terrible yearning, both sexual and... emotional.
He fucking hated it. He didn’t want to be drawn in by her or anyone else.
But he never turned away.
There’d been other disturbing encounters, too. Like her at the playground, not only pushing Ryder on the swing, but other kids, too, because their parents were on their phones. Or her with Ryder at the pool, patiently teaching him how to swim while also keeping watch on all the kids.
For almost a year now, she was always there, chatting at him whenever she could, waving at him as if they were friends, keeping her small rented cabin tidy, forever complimenting him on anything and everything to do with the park, and worst of all, she invaded his dreams. His thoughts.
His frozen heart.
His only reprieve was December...and she was still here.
“Have we been such a burden?” Her teasing smile showed off twin dimples.
Who knew dimples were such powerful magic? He’d found out early on, of course, not long after meeting her, so he did his best to guard against them.
For now, he’d look only at her eyes – but they were compelling, too. An unusual shade of green encircled by a darker, smoky hue. With her blonde hair and brown eyelashes, her eyes were incredibly noticeable.
“Yoo-hoo, Hendrix? Where’d you go?”
As she spoke, Hendrix realized he was just standing there staring at her.
Damn it, he ended up pacing away after all. “I like my time alone in December.”
“What if I promise you won’t see us?”
I’ll still know you’re here. Worse, Ryder might think he was avoiding him, and the kid seemed...what? Not needy, because Joey was an attentive parent. So maybe just lonely? Hungry for company? With no one else around, Hendrix wouldn’t do anything to make the kid feel unwelcome.
Taking a firm stance, determined to stay put, Hendrix asked, “Why, Joey? Don’t you have holiday plans somewhere? Everyone does, right? Family and friends to see, all that festive...stuff.” Almost said shit, but that’d be rude.
More rude than requesting that she and her son go away.
With her bottom lip caught in her teeth, Joey looked back at the cabin to ensure Ryder wasn’t listening. Her voice dropped to a breathy whisper. “No, we have nowhere to go and no one to see.”
How could that be? Bending toward her, Hendrix matched her tone when he asked, “What about Ryder’s father?” It was something he’d wondered about many times. How could any man, once he had her, let her go? And Ryder was such a great kid, you’d think he would have seen the dad hanging around.
She inhaled, slowly exhaled, and braced herself. “We haven’t seen Ted in a while.”
His curiosity ramped up. “How long is a while?”
“At least eight months, though I wasn’t counting the days. Over six months ago, he quit making any pretense at child support. Apparently, he left town. I only know that because his parents blame me.”
Anger on her behalf rocked him. Anyone who knew Joey would know better. If there were problems, he’d place blame on the dude right now. “They actually said that?”
“Yup.” As if embarrassed, she looked away.
“They’ve stopped inquiring about Ryder. My parents are gone, and my sister lives in New York.
” Her gaze returned to lock with his. “I can’t afford to go to New York right now.
” A deep pink flush colored her cheeks, but she held his gaze as she said, “I can’t afford to go anywhere. ”
Sympathy at her plight, and anger at her ex and his family, clashed in his head and heart. “Is your ex court-ordered to pay support?”
“Yes, but he’s always been hit or miss, and he’s never paid the full amount.” She pushed curls from her face and again glanced at the cabin. “I have full custody, and Ted has supervised visitation.”
That didn’t sound good, causing him to frown. As a rule, supervised visitation wasn’t given without good reason.
She must have misread his concern, because she said defensively, “If it was only a matter of money, I wouldn’t keep Ryder from his father.”
Wondering about this side of her life, something she’d never before discussed, Hendrix encouraged her to continue. “So not just missed child support?” Though to him, that was reason enough.
With the air of a great confession, she said, “Ted drinks too much. Always has.”
Hendrix was willing to bet it was more than that, too. “Even before you had Ryder?”
A measure of shame put a hush in her tone. “I knew it was a problem, but I married him anyway.”
“So you misjudged how things would turn out. Happens to humans all the time.” The urge to tweak one of her corkscrew curls had him tightening his hands in his pockets.
“Hate to break it to you, but no one is perfect. Not even you.” By looks alone, though, Joey came close with her large eyes, the dimples in her smooth cheeks, and that elfin chin.
Even her nose, a tiny bit too long to be deemed perfect, absolutely suited her face.
She sighed heavily. “One time, Ted came to court drunk and it was so ugly.”
“I’m guessing that embarrassed you more than him?” From what he’d seen, Joey was always polite, respectful, and helpful when she could be. She did not cause public disruptions.
She shot him a grimace. “I was mortified. Ryder wasn’t there, thank God.
He was too young to be in a courtroom, but he’d spoken with a guardian ad litem.
He told her that anytime his dad was around he’d yell at me and Ryder didn’t like it.
” Her voice softened even more. “Ted was so loud and angry, it scared him.”
“I imagine that held a lot of sway with the court.” Over the years, he’d seen many cases where courts valued the opinions of the kids.
“Ted didn’t do any of the court-ordered programs, so that influenced things, too.”
Sounded to him like old Ted had screwed up priorities. “What type of programs?”
“Parental counseling, anger management, and an alcohol treatment program. Plus he kept dropping in unannounced.” Worry turned down the corners of her mouth.
“Ted hated being supervised for visitations, even though the court ordered it. Sometimes he’d catch Ryder and me outside. It always turned ugly.”
“Then he should have done what he could to correct things.”
“The thing is, Ted wasn’t cut out to be a dad. Not every man is.”
From what she’d said, he could easily agree, but he added, “Not every woman is meant to be a mom, either.”
She chewed the edge of her thumbnail, caught herself and wrapped both hands around the broom handle.
“The things I saw in court... It was awful. While I was waiting to see the judge, a fight broke out between a mom and stepmom. Apparently, the mom kept destroying any clothes that the father and stepmom got for the kids.”
Jesus. “Because?”
“From what I heard, she didn’t want the stepmom playing mom. She jumped that poor woman the moment she saw her. Her kids were sitting there, dressed in hand-me-downs, because she wouldn’t let the dad or stepmom dress them better.”
Hendrix realized he was grinding his teeth again.
See, this was the kind of shit he wanted to forget during December.
Strangling a little, he said, “Rough for the kids,” when that word didn’t even come close to how savage he felt about some things.
Children should be protected, always, from anyone doing them harm. Of course, there was all kinds of harm.
And he, himself, had once failed to prevent it.
“I detested going to court,” Joey continued, “and Ryder dreaded the idea that he might have to see his dad again.”
“He told you that?”
Sadness filled her eyes and she glanced toward the cabin.
“I tried to reassure him. I wanted him to know that none of it was his fault, that his dad did love him, but...” For only a moment, her lips quivered, then she lifted her shoulders on a helpless shrug.
“In the end, Ted being gone seems easier than going to court again, except now I only have what I make tutoring and it’s never quite enough to cover everything. ”
Especially at Christmas, when gifts were expected.