Chapter Three
It was a great day. Shane said it was the best birthday party any kid ever had.
He caught two trout—a rainbow and a cutthroat.
Dillon caught one. As for Riley, she caught three.
Josh caught the limit of six. He released all but one, explaining that he made it a rule to only keep what would be eaten that day.
Back in the house, they had a quick lunch, after which Josh cleaned their catch in the utility room sink.
Riley had cleaned a lot of fish in her day, but this time she made a point not to watch the process too closely.
Queasiness hadn’t been much of a problem for her with this baby or with Dillon, but why tempt fate?
The boys pulled in kitchen chairs to stand on and observed the process with great interest, asking an endless series of questions and declaring the whole thing “gross.” A moment later, they were begging to be able to help do the “yucky” job themselves.
“It’ll be a few years before you two will be cleaning your own catch,” Josh explained. “A fillet knife is very sharp, and you’re not quite ready to work with one yet.”
“How long until we’ll be ready, Dad?” demanded the birthday boy.
“We’ll see,” Josh replied. “Take it little by little. For now, do just what you’re doing. Watch and ask questions, that’s how you learn…”
Riley found herself thinking what she always thought when she watched him with the boys. Josh was a great dad. He put in his time with his son. He was patient, and he listened. And he would horse around with the kids, too. He played T-ball, catch and tag and gave them piggyback rides.
She had no doubt he would be a fine dad to the baby he didn’t yet know he was having.
The thought made her smile. It also caused an ache in the center of her chest. Because like both Dillon and Shane, the baby she was carrying wouldn’t have an old-school nuclear family.
From the first, he or she would have two homes—one with Daddy and one with Mommy.
She thought of TJ suddenly—of his big smile, his ready laugh.
The ache near her heart throbbed. TJ had been the best dad ever for the one year he’d lived after Dillon came along.
Her husband had been a big fan of babywearing.
That whole first year, he carried Dillon in a sling against his chest every chance he got…
Tears blurred her vision just from remembering the sweetness of that, baby Dillon cuddled close to his father’s heart.
And wouldn’t you know? Josh chose that moment to glance her way. She read the concern in his eyes.
“What’s wrong?” He mouthed the question.
She played it off by leaning into it, pressing her hand to her heart and whispering, “You’re the best,” to let him know she appreciated how great he was with the kids.
He seemed reassured—at least, he winked at her and grinned.
With the fish cleaned and in the fridge, they went rock-hunting along the creek and then hiked up a winding trail into the low hills above the house, stopping for a snack in a small grove of aspens and then heading back down to the house again.
The day flew by the way good times do. In the wide cleared space in front of the house, they played Simon Says and ring toss.
As dinnertime neared, Josh built a campfire in the circle of small boulders set up for that purpose.
He baked potatoes in the coals and used a campfire grill to cook the fish they’d caught.
They sat at a picnic table under a tall pine to enjoy their feast.
Once the meal was over, the boys helped clear the table, and then Josh emerged from the house with a fishing-themed sheet cake personalized with Happy Birthday, Shane in big, blue letters. They sang the birthday song, whistling and clapping when Shane blew out his five candles on the first try.
The sky slowly darkened. Wrapped in warm jackets against the cold, the four of them sat on the front steps together. A noisy owl hooted at them from somewhere nearby as they stared up at the thick blanket of bright stars above.
Together, they picked out the best-known constellations. Shane leaned on Josh. Dillon’s curly head slowly drooped toward Riley. In the end, she put her arm around her boy, and he settled against her side.
Around ten, Josh caught her eye. “Way past their bedtime,” he whispered.
“I know.” Her gaze tracked upward toward the shimmering swirl of stars above. “It’s beautiful out here.”
His smile was slow and downright dangerous. “Time for bed, Riley Jane.”
Josh picked up Shane, and Riley took Dillon, who wrapped his arms around her neck and nuzzled her shoulder. Soon, she wouldn’t be able to carry him like this—because of the new baby and because Dillon was growing bigger by the day.
They carried the boys inside. Halfway up the stairs, Dillon woke up and muttered, “Mom, I’m not even sleepy yet…”
Shane lifted his head then and yawned hugely. “Me, either. Let us stay up…”
Dillon piled on. “Yeah. Just for a little while.” And then he yawned even wider than Shane had.
“Time for bed, boys,” Josh said firmly.
Dillon started squirming. “Put me down, Mom. I’m not a baby anymore.”
“All right.” She let him slide to his feet, and he trudged to the landing and on to Shane’s bedroom.
There was grumbling as the boys were helped into their PJ’s and some whining when they had to take turns brushing their teeth. But it wasn’t all that long until they were climbing into the bunk beds in Shane’s room, Shane in the top bunk, Dillon below.
“’Night, Mom…”
“’Night.” Riley kissed Dillon’s cheek. With a low sound, he pulled the covers up close to his chin, and she got out of the way so Josh could tuck Shane in. Two minutes later, she and Josh were standing in the upper hallway.
Quietly, Josh shut Shane’s bedroom door.
There was a silence, one weighted with so much—the perfection of the day just passed, the smiles on the boys’ faces as they ate the fish they’d caught themselves.
The beauty of the star-thick sky as they sat out on the deck steps picking out the constellations.
And there was more. There was the big news she needed to share with him…
But no—definitely not tonight.
He took her hand. She made zero effort to pull away. Instead, she followed without a word as he led her to his bedroom just across the hall. Once they were over the threshold, he flipped a switch that turned on the floor lamp a few feet from the door.
Right then, she found her voice. “I should be in my room, in case Dillon wakes up.”
“He won’t.” Josh shut the door and engaged the privacy lock. “The boys had a big day. They’re out for the night.”
“But if he does happen to wake up—”
“He’ll end up knocking on my door. I’ll lie and say you went out to the car.”
“For what?”
“He’s not going to care.”
“You don’t know that.”
“Rile. It will be fine. I’ll tell him to go back to bed. I’ll say that I’ll go get you and send you in to see him.”
She stared up at him, thinking how much she wanted to kiss him and how wrong it was to be thinking about kisses. She’d promised herself that the next time they were alone, she would tell him what he needed and deserved to know…
And what were they talking about?
Right. The lie he would tell if Dillon came looking for her during the night. “I, uh… Well, Josh. Lying is not good.”
“Very true.” He tipped up her chin and brushed those warm, soft lips back and forth across hers.
“So. Um. You know. We shouldn’t…”
“Rile.”
“Hmm?”
He nuzzled her cheek with that fine, bladelike nose of his. “Dillon won’t wake up.” His breath was warm against her skin. “And if he does, I’ll handle it. You have my word on that.”
A tiny moan escaped her. Because, well, she had no backbone at all. She was going to give in to her longing for him. She was going to give in, and she knew it.
Because…
Well, what could it hurt in the greater scheme of things to share one more perfect night with him? A perfect night after a beautiful day at his place. The truth would still be there in the morning.
Josh stepped back a fraction. He slid his jacket off his shoulders and tossed it to the leather chair a few feet away. “Hey.”
“Hmm?”
He stepped in close again, bringing a faint hint of woodsmoke from the campfire and his own scent of leather and evergreen. “Please stay.”
That did it. How could she possibly refuse him when he asked her so tenderly?
She lifted her arms and twined them around his neck. He took that as a signal to pull her in close. With a sigh, she leaned her head on his shoulder. “For some reason, I cannot resist you.”
“Good,” he replied. “That makes us even.” She looked up at him again, planning to argue some more. But he was right there, all warm and tall and manly. Her objections died unspoken.
He took hold of her jacket, pushed it off her shoulders and down her arms. Then he tossed it on the leather chair with his.
And then he kissed her.
That kiss?
It wiped her brain clean of everything but desire.
His mouth played on hers, and she opened for him, eager now. Giving herself over to the beauty of the moment, she pressed herself closer and murmured his name against his parted lips.
Her feet left the floor. One arm at her back, the other under her knees, he carried her to his king-size bed, a gorgeous, rustic creation made of reclaimed wood. Gently, he set her down and then knelt at her feet.
Before dinner, she’d swapped her waders and rubber boots for old jeans and comfy Tecovas. She stared down at his bent head as he pulled off her left boot. A moment later, the right boot was off, too, as were her heavy socks.
Rising again, he took her hands and pulled her up with him.
“Too many clothes,” she whispered, impatient now to dispense with every last barrier between them.
He made a low, gruff sound. “Let me help you with that.”
They laughed together as he undressed her, peeling off the layers, unbuttoning, unzipping, unhooking and undoing. In a few short minutes, she stood there wearing nothing but a wide, silly smile.