Chapter 6
Chapter Six
Three days had passed with no other incidents. No unwelcome visitors, no calls.
To Hendrix, that only ramped up the expectation. He knew her ex was out there, and eventually he’d be a problem.
That didn’t mean they’d wasted the peace and quiet.
Nope. His house now sported multi-colored Christmas lights around the front porch and door.
He didn’t hate them as much as he’d expected to.
Actually, seeing Ryder’s pleasure whenever it got dark enough to turn them on made them more than worthwhile.
And honestly, seeing them from the beach after an early evening stroll with Joey and Ryder added a little magic to the day. Ryder would cheer when they flickered on and Joey would smile with pleasure.
Same with the live tree that took up space between the kitchen and living room. A big tree that he, Ryder, and Joey had cut themselves during a fun outing. The house now smelled of pine, and often Christmas cookies, too. It was nice. Little boy laughter was more than nice.
Having dinner each night together, getting “good morning” hugs from not only Joey, but Ryder, too? It was the kind of stuff that filled a man’s heart and made him think he’d won the lifetime lottery of joy.
The awful memories were still there, but they’d been crowded into the corner, leaving room for his heart to swell, for his lungs to breathe more easily, for happier emotions to take up space.
More than ever he was determined to protect this special peace he’d found with Joey and Ryder.
Over coffee that morning, he made the decision to better prepare them. “Tonight we’ll discuss a plan, just in case Ted shows up.”
She nodded. “Sounds good.”
Without any recent issues, and in the safety of his home, she’d grown... if not complacent, then comfortable. He wanted that. If he could remove her every worry, he would. “You and Ryder both, hon.”
Her head lifted from her phone where she’d been online shopping.
“I don’t want to scare him, Hendrix.” She reached for his hand. After a moment, she sighed. “But I do want him prepared.”
“I’ll do my best not to alarm him. We had a protocol when talking to school kids to help prep them for emergencies. Tornadoes – and active shooters. I’ll handle it like that. Just prep work. No accusations against his father or anything too specific.”
Those beautiful green eyes of hers softened. “You’re good with him. Far better than Ted ever was.”
Not much of a comparison, as far as Hendrix was concerned. She might as well compare him to a cockroach.
Just then, her phone rang and it startled her so badly, she almost dropped it.
Concern narrowed his eyes, until she looked at the screen and smiled. “It’s one of the moms I know. I tutor one of her sons. Just a second.”
Relief, along with frustration, went through him. To give her a moment, he stood and walked to the edge of the deck, his nearly empty coffee cup still in his hands. The ocean seemed more turbulent today, and off in the distance he could see a storm blowing in. Typical wet weather for December.
The soft murmur of Joey speaking slipped around him like a hug. Did she understand how much she brought to him? Yes, her finances were strained, but he didn’t need money from her.
Everything he actually needed, everything he wanted, she gave. Minus the sex, but he knew that would eventually happen, too. Each day, Ryder got more familiar with the new surroundings.
When Joey’s arms slipped around him, something felt different. Sensing her anticipation, he turned and drew her against him. He’d gotten used to her early-morning look with her curls tumbled and her eyes puffy. Leaning down, he teased his mouth over hers. “What’s up?”
“Ryder has received an invitation.”
With his never-ending carnal thoughts, that sounded a lot like: we’ll have some time alone and damned if he didn’t almost get hard. “Details?”
“It’s a Christmas party at noon today. A spur of the moment thing, she said, because she’s watching her cousin’s kids and a neighbor boy is visiting, and she decided she might as well make it a party.”
He cupped her face in his hands. “You’re okay with this?”
“I’m thrilled. The boy I tutor is a year-and-a-half older than Ryder, but she has another son who’s a year younger.
The other kids are all of a similar age, she said.
They’ll be playing games indoors, eating cookies, and each kid is asked to bring a gift to exchange.
” At that, she bit her bottom lip. “I can stop at the store to let Ryder pick out something. There’s a price limit so all the gifts will be similar. ”
Avoiding town had been his go-to for December, but now he checked his watch. “Mind if I go along?”
Her eyes went comically wide. “You want to go into town? To the store?” Worried, she blinked and whispered, “Hendrix, there will be music and decorations. There’s a big tree in the town square and the Seaglass Saloon is decked out with an inflatable Santa and lights. There’s even–”
“You and Ryder.” And that’s what mattered most. He couldn’t protect them if he wasn’t with them. “I’d like to go along if you’re okay with that.”
Her throat worked on an emotional swallow, then she nodded fast, as if thrilled by something. “Yes, I’m okay with that. I’d love for you to go along.” Her smile held absolute joy. “And then we’ll race back here and I’ll have you all to myself for two whole hours.”
It wasn’t a lot of time, not for what he wanted, which was basically a lifetime. But it was a start and parts of his anatomy were already heating in preparation. “How can I help you get ready?”
She went on tiptoes to kiss him. “Keep an eye on Ryder while I shower?”
“I can even help him get dressed.”
They stepped into the kitchen to see that Ryder was busy creating another masterpiece. A colorful array of crayons were out of the box, scattered all around him. “Don’t look!” He leaned over the artwork, nearly knocking his mostly empty cereal bowl to the floor.
Together, he and Joey turned their backs, but Hendrix was the only one to snicker. “Watch the bowl, bud. There’s still some milk in it.”
“Okay, but don’t look.”
“We wouldn’t dare.”
Joey said, “Would you like to go to Duke’s Christmas party?” She quickly gave him the details. “Other kids will be there.”
The picture was instantly forgotten. “A party? For real?” He raced around to face them, the epitome of excitement. “Yes!”
Joey knelt down. “How about you put up your artwork, then Hendrix will keep an eye on you while you wash your face and brush your teeth so I can shower? We’ll need to stop at the store so you have a gift to exchange.”
“A gift.” Smile dimming, he paused for a moment. “I want to go, Mom. I really, really do.” His gaze shifted to Hendrix. “But we were gonna walk on the beach, remember?”
Instantly, Hendrix understood the problem. “I figured we’d go tonight, after dinner.”
He eyed his mom. “Just us, huh? So we can talk ‘bout more men stuff?”
Joey gave Hendrix a questioning look.
He winked at her, and then confirmed to Ryder, “Just us.” Making it sound secretive, he lowered his voice to a hush. “Your mom already said she’d fix dinner.”
Since Joey hadn’t said any such thing, he appreciated how quickly she caught on. “That’s right. I’ll need you two out of the way. Say...for an hour?”
“Maybe a little longer,” Hendrix said.
“Yes, that would be good. So I have plenty of time.”
Ryder grinned guilelessly. “Okay.” With that worry out of the way, he raced off.
In one way or another, each interaction with Joey and Ryder became his current favorite. If he had his way, adding up those favorites would never end.
Joey couldn’t stop smiling. Talk about a stellar day, and it was still early afternoon.
After dropping Ryder off, they drove back to the campground in near silence.
It wasn’t awkward at all, just charged with a lot of sexual sparks going off.
It was a cool, damp day with a storm brewing, yet the interior of the car felt steamy.
A few minutes later, with his broad palm opened on the small of her back, Hendrix guided her into the house.
That’s as far as she made it before she turned into him and kissed him with all the want and need she’d accumulated since first meeting him.
Locking her in close with one arm, he managed to close and secure the door one-handed. As soon as he did, he gave her his full attention, his mouth hungry, his hands sliding over her shoulders, down her back to her hips, then her backside so he could hold her against him.
The contact was incredible. “I gave birth,” Joey said against his mouth, making him pause in confusion. Yeah, that came out of nowhere. She wasn’t overly insecure about her body, except... “Ted always noticed, so–”
“Fuck Ted. We know he was an idiot.” Holding her gaze, he slowly pulled her lightweight jacket from her shoulders and let it drop to the floor.
“It isn’t just your body that keeps me awake at night.
” He caught the hem to her long-sleeve thermal shirt and began edging it up.
“It’s you, Joey. All of you. Every smile.
” The shirt came up and over her breasts, making his breathing deeper.
“The way you care, and how you show it.”
Trusting him, she raised her arms, and he tugged the shirt over her head.
“Your determination is sexy.” Jaw flexing, his concentrated stare took in her body in low jeans and a lacy beige bra.
His gaze lingered at her breasts until, with one finger, he traced the soft flesh above the edge of the lace.
“Your nature is sweet,” he rasped, as his open hands cupped her.
“But you’re brave enough to face the challenges. ”
“You’ve made it so much easier.”
“You’d have figured it out, with or without me.” Warm gray eyes rose from her body to her face. “But know this, Joey: you’re perfect.”