Chapter 17 That Sunny Afternoon in Spring
That Sunny Afternoon in Spring
Callan
Matilda stomped ahead in her boots. The path to the river was a woven line battered by a lifetime of different feet trudging through the grass, and no doubt she could see the sunlight skipping on the ripples of cool, clear water by now. Her marching had picked up speed.
Erin’s shoulder bumped against my arm. “Regretting your decision to take us swimming?”
“Nope,” I said.
Not for a second. Erin and Matilda were a package deal.
I didn’t mind if our time together was heading to the river or if we huddled on the sofa watching a kid’s movie with Matilda like we’d done last night.
Any excuse to be closer to Erin would do.
An opinionated toddler with a stubborn streak was the least of my problems when the slimy ex-husband still hovered a flight away.
“A Friday afternoon by the river is the perfect way to play hooky,” I said. “I feel like I hardly got to see you this week.” Grinning, I added, “I’m not sure you packed enough food, though,” and teased her with a wink.
Erin blushed. The picnic basket was stuffed so full the lid couldn’t close, and my arm strained carrying the weight—and I was used to lugging around boxes of fruit.
“Til can be fussy sometimes,” she muttered, embarrassed.
“I love it.” I wrapped my arm around her waist and pulled her close enough that her hip bumped into mine. “We have no reason to leave. We can enjoy the whole afternoon together. Just the three of us.”
“You might change your mind once Til starts powering down for naptime.”
“She can’t be any worse than Mim after Christmas lunch.”
Erin laughed. “A few too many wines and Mim’s ready to let us all know what she thinks.
I still remember the time she told off my parents.
No softening the blow, just… ‘You two need to pull your head out of your ass.’” Her smile slipped into a frown.
“Mim seemed a bit out of sorts this morning when she dropped by the house… Distracted…”
“I think she worries about Dad more than she lets on… And about the farm. I’ve asked her to slow down a bit more, but…
” Shaking my head, I let out a sigh. “She sees how much help I need now that Bronte’s caught up with her renovation.
Dad’s no help. Cole’s MIA. I’m already finding it difficult to take time away from the fields to do more, and when the harvest comes… ”
Well, I didn’t have a solution for how I was going to manage everything. Days on the farm were long in the summer. Picking, packing, so many seasonal workers to worry about, tourists dropping in, and the cottages were booked out until autumn—there was a lot to do. Work was about to become endless.
Erin bumped her shoulder into my arm again. “I’m here if you need an extra set of hands. You’re opening the shop up when berry picking starts again next week, right? What about if I help out?”
“I couldn’t ask you to waste your weekends.”
“What else am I doing?”
“Well, if I can be completely selfish… I’d like to steal you away on Sundays so we can spend time together.”
“As my new boss, I’m sure you can give me the afternoon off.” She wiggled her eyebrows.
“Ez, you don’t have to…”
“I worked more than a few summers in the shop. I’m perfectly capable of scooping ice cream and making a milkshake. If Mim doesn’t mind watching Til, I’d only need Bron to walk me through any changes to the register and get me a uniform.”
“You really want to?”
“Sure.” Erin grinned. “I can still rock the pink polo shirt.”
“You really, really want to?”
“Yes, Cal. I’m perfectly sure I want to help out. That’s part of this—of us—isn’t it?”
“Okay, well…” I downplayed how excited I was that she was interested in the farm with a slight shrug. “I’ll ask Bron to set you up in the payroll—”
Erin barked a surprised laugh. “There’s no need for that.”
“Of course there is. If you’re working, you should be paid, just like everyone else.”
“And last time I checked, I’m staying for free in one of your cottages. That’s money you could be earning every night and is worth a lot more than selling tokens to pick berries and scoop ice cream.”
“I’ve got an alternative solution for that problem. Hear me out, okay?”
“O…kay?”
“Move into the house—”
“Cal!”
“You could take any of the rooms upstairs. Better yet, sleep in my room. I promise I’ll be a perfect gentleman. No funny business. I swear. And then you won’t feel guilty if I pay you for the work you do on the farm, just like I pay everyone else.”
“Cal… that’s…” She bit down on her lip.
I sighed. “I know it’s too soon, Ez. I do. I just…” The picnic basket in my hand was suddenly heavier than a boulder as the strength seeped out of me. “Is it so wrong I want you around all the time?” What would I give to fall asleep next to her? Almost anything.
Erin’s fingers curled around my bicep. “I like knowing that you want me around.” She kissed my jaw.
The rest of the walk was silent except for when I hollered out for Matilda to pause her stomping so we could set up by the river. I dropped the picnic basket on the grass, and with a quick flick, the checkered blanket was stretched out for us to sit down.
Erin dropped the oversized bag stuffed with towels and clothes. She shielded her eyes and squinted to look down at her watch. “What if we have a snack first—”
“No snack!” Matilda stomped her foot. “Swimming!”
Erin frowned. “Til, that’s not very nice manners.”
“But…” Matilda’s bottom lip popped out, and she turned longing eyes on the river sparkling only a few feet away.
“It is scorching after all that stomping,” I said.
Erin sighed. Two against one. She’d lost this battle. “Okay, a quick swim to test out the water and then a snack, okay?”
Matilda nodded eagerly. Erin tried to wrestle the little girl into the floaty vest, but she was too busy twisting and bouncing in place to cooperate. She wanted me to see her outfit. The pink-and-purple vest had a tail on the back, which she showed off by wiggling her bottom to make it swish.
“See?” Matilda grinned. “Like mermaid!”
“Don’t you swim too fast,” I warned her. “I don’t want to have to chase you.” I kicked off my shoes and tugged my T-shirt over my head.
A sharp breath spun me around.
Erin’s eyes quickly skidded away. “Oh, um…” She pressed her palm to her chest. “You, um… You should put on some sunblock.”
I rolled my eyes. “There’s plenty of shade here. I’m not getting burnt today.”
“Oh, um…” She gulped.
“Quit worrying about me. What are you waiting for? It’s boiling.” I tapped my bare foot against her sneaker. “Strip off!”
Erin twisted the hem of her T-shirt in her fingers.
“Hey.” I crouched in front of her. “You don’t have to come in if you don’t want to. I can keep an eye on Til in the water.”
“No… I want to… It’s just that…” She flicked off the bead of sweat trickling down her cheek. “You haven’t… seen me… before.”
My brows pinched together. Did she mean in a swimsuit? We’d spent loads of hot summer days by the river. Erin was usually last in the water, but she’d happily sunbathe on a towel in the long grass with Lila. Had she worn a bikini then? Maybe?
“I’ve seen you in a swimsuit loads of times,” I reminded her.
“Yeah, but not since…” Her cheeks flushed hot pink. “Did you ever look at me before? Like… look?”
“Oh, um…” Bloody hell, she was right. I wasn’t prepared to see all that skin now that I knew it was a hint of what else I might get to explore someday when I was lucky. “No… actually…”
“Will you look now?”
“I might take a peek. I’ll be very discreet.” I tried a smile, but she looked almost green. “If that makes you uncomfortable, I can look at… the, um…” I glanced around the forest. “Well, there are plenty of things out here to look at. Those old apple trees have enough branches to keep me occupied.”
She shoved a playful hand into my shoulder. “Cal…”
I laughed. “Come on. Get your gear off.”
The tension easing from her shoulders, she peeled off her T-shirt and stood.
I looked at precisely the wrong second, catching her as she wriggled out of her shorts, bent over enough for my dirty mind to spin into overdrive.
Those breasts… Glorious… Just enough spring breeze prickled at her skin, and the hint of her nipples peeked out of the red fabric.
Heat slammed into my chest. I tried to drag in air while she took her sweet time neatly folding her clothes on the picnic blanket.
Erin’s ass jiggled far too perfectly as she walked over to Matilda and clasped her hand. “Ready?” Her gorgeous smile landed on me. “Cal?”
I couldn’t look her in the eye. My cock was too damn hard for this not to be the most awkward moment of my life. “Uh, you two…” I cleared my throat. “I’ll be right there.” I turned away just enough and heaved in another big breath.
Snap the hell out of it. You’ve seen a naked woman plenty of times. She’s wearing a swimsuit.
That red swimsuit. With those killer curves.
“Cal? Are you okay?”
“Yeah. I’m fine.” There was nothing wrong with a certain part of my anatomy. “But, uh…” I motioned at my crotch. “If we could avoid that little missy over there seeing this…”
Erin’s gaze dropped. She slapped a hand over her mouth to cover the shock.
“I peeked,” I confessed. “Bloody hell, Erin. You’ve got one hell of a gorgeous body. I couldn’t help it.”
She wasn’t disgusted by it. If anything, she seemed to relax even more. She gave me a broad smile. “Come when you’re ready.”
My eyes narrowed, but I couldn’t pretend to be angry.
I burst out laughing and waved her off. A brisk walk around the picnic blanket, mulling over the pile of invoices sitting on my desk, bored my dick to an acceptable size.
I headed to the water, let my toes curl over the sandstone rocks for a breath or two, and dived in.
The cool water stripped the heat from my skin in one sharp, clean rush. I broke through the surface.
“You splash us, Cal!” Matilda slapped at the water to get me back.
Laughing, I shook the water out of my hair. “Sorry, girls.”
“That okay. Watch!” Matilda flapped her arms and paddled over to me in the water. “Watch!” She paddled about, shrieking with laughter as she flipped onto her back and kicked water at me.
“Hey! Who said you could splash the pirate captain? I’ve got just the thing for cheeky little buccaneers.” I caught her by the belly and lifted her out of the water, soaring her above the ripples bobbing to the riverbank. “Whoosh!”
Matilda’s tiny legs kicked in the air. “Higher, Cal!”
“I dunno…” I swooped her close to the water. “You sure you’re brave enough to go higher?”
Goggled eyes turned to me, her mouth set in a determined line. “Matilda brave!”
“If you say so…” I lifted her up, up, up, until she was soaring above my head.
“Oh no… My hands… They’re slipping…” I shot Erin a grin as I lowered Matilda to a safer distance.
“Oh no!” I let go. Matilda plummeted into the water with a splash, and when she popped to the surface, her floaty vest not letting her sink far, I grinned. “Oops.”
Matilda giggled. “Oops!” She shoved the wet curls off her goggles and grabbed my arm. “Again!”
I must have tossed Matilda into the water a dozen times before Erin swam over to rescue me.
Her palm settled on my cheek, and she pulled me down for a kiss.
I couldn’t help sliding a hand over her gorgeous rump and giving it an appreciative squeeze.
That ass… The stuff dreams were made from.
Even my fantasies hadn’t imagined she’d be that gorgeous under all those clothes.
“Get on with you,” I whispered before I got myself into a hard spot again.
Grinning, Erin paddled to Matilda. The two of them drifted away to the rock pools, and Erin pointed at all the secret spots in the shallows, their excited voices hushed so they didn’t scare away any critters.
I hauled myself out of the water and shook out my hair, the sandstone bank hot under my toes, and the sun baking my shoulders.
My gaze flicked back to the silhouette of Erin by the rocks.
That was when I felt it. That feeling. This wasn’t just the hope of love.
The heavy warmth settling in my chest was the real deal.
I’d waited so long, and finally, Erin was here with me.
We might really work out.