by Jade Alters
“No. I did mean to do that. I didn’t mean to spit my drink all over the place.” I laughed. I really had spent too many years working with kids all day and living alone with a kid. My sense of humor had not developed beyond basic slapstick.
The blank glare left his face, replaced by a wry smile. “That was the most exciting thing that’s happened to me all night.”
“Too bad you didn’t get it on video.”
He inclined his head to the right. “We can ask for the footage.”
I hid my face behind my free hand, which was still sticky. “I am not used to being on camera all the time. My eleven-year-old just expects that someone’s always recording him.”
“You have a son?”
“Yes. He turned eleven today,” I said. “You’re probably wondering why I’m at this party on his birthday. But he wanted me to come.”
His blue eyes showed genuine surprise. “Your kid wants you to date?”
“Yes. Can you believe that? I’ve fended off meddling friends, family, coworkers, well-meaning strangers.... but my kid is the one I can’t resist.”
“So you’re here under duress,” he said. Those full lips curved at the edges.
Why was I looking at his lips? In the last five years, I’d had numerous guys foisted on me. I’d interacted with all kinds of men -- doctors, nurses, fathers -- and I hadn’t noticed any of their lips. Was five years some kind of threshold? Or was there something different about this man? This man. Wow. I was thinking about the shape of his lips and I didn’t even know his name.
“I am one hundred percent here under duress,” I said. “And apparently I can’t talk to adults anymore. Spend all day as a pediatric nurse, and it’ll happen to you too.” I held out my hand. “Sorry, it’s sticky. I’m Cassandra.”
“Hello, Cassandra. I apologize for not introducing myself. I’m Hunter.”
“Hi, Hunter. When would you have introduced yourself? Before or after I called you it?” I could not help the snicker that came from my mouth.
His eyes warmed up. Maybe he wasn’t a jerk. Maybe he was just shy. “Somehow I doubt you chose to be here either,” I said.
“You’d be right.”
“Are you going to tell me why? If that’s too invasive, just ignore me. Just FYI, I don’t have a great filter.”
“I’ll consider myself warned. My aunt wanted me to be here. She raised me. So here I am.”
“So spill. What kind of guilt trip did she use to compel you?”
“It’s a really bizarre story,” he said.
“It looks like we have time.”
“My aunt has become obsessed with beekeeping.”
“Sounds time-consuming.”
“She’s allergic to bees.”
“Oh wow,” I said. “She must be a thrill-seeker.”
“She’s definitely that. But she truly cares about the bees. She’s worried about the environment, and she thinks she can do something to help.”
“I admire that. But the nurse part of me is screaming that she’s putting herself at risk like that..”
“Tell me about it,” he said. He took a sip of his whiskey.
My cheeks flushed with heat as he swallowed. The heat crawled down my neck to my chest. What was wrong with me? I tried to take a drink of my own, but it was nearly empty. I tipped my glass back, trying to get the last bits of ice to crunch. Maybe I could freeze away this full-body blush. It wasn’t a very ladylike maneuver, but I wasn’t looking to impress.
“Would you like another drink?” he asked. All traces of the stern man I’d seen a few minutes ago were gone from his face. He watched me, but his blue eyes sparkled.
“I’m driving, so I better slow down. Ever since the kid was born, I can handle about one per night. Anything else, and I’ll be telling you all my secrets.”
“From what I can see, your secrets would be fun to hear.”
Was he flirting with me? I was so bad at this. My stomach did a crazy twist. I’d been prepared to extinguish any flirtations. But now I didn’t want him to stop.
“I’ll get you something without alcohol,” he said. “The spirit-free table has been popular tonight.”
“Thank you.” Good. Now I’d get a minute to compose myself. As much as that was possible anyway.
Hunter was a gentleman. If this had been a date, he’d get full marks from me. Not that I had much experience dating. Richard had been my first boyfriend.
He walked away, I couldn’t stop myself from checking out his backside. Very nice. Then I noticed his limp. I’d seen that exact walk before, from other soldiers, and every now and then, in my work as a nurse.
Hunter had lost his leg.
I’d have to suppress my natural need for having all the information, and not ask him about it tonight.
He returned within a few minutes with a glass of amber liquid with a blackberry on top. “It’s a Blackberry Vanilla Mocktail.” He held it out of my reach. “You don’t have allergies do you?”
“Nope, none at all.”
“Good.” He handed it over.
“Oh my God. This is amazing!” The taste was better than a real mojito.
“It’s club soda, lemon, blackberries, honey, and vanilla.”
“Wow,” I said. “I’ll have to make these for my son. He loves fancy drinks.”
“I had to pose as a bartender once, on an assignment. It wasn’t an undercover mission, so I didn’t have time to train. It’s a lot harder than it looks.”
Richard had had a few fun stories like that, light-hearted ones that weren’t depressing or violent, and he’d always relished sharing them. Bringing that up now was sure to be a mood-killer. If I ever did date, I couldn’t base all my stories on my late husband. “It sounds fun. A lot better than creating explosions.”
Oh no. I’d done it again. Why did I always say stuff like that? “Sorry. I’m full of cringe-worthy comments. I’m just going to slink away now.”
“Cassandra, it’s fine. You’d have to try pretty hard to offend me.”
“That would make you different than most people.”
“It’s charming.”
Maybe this guy could be a friend if he found my foot-in-mouth syndrome charming instead of horrifying. Just as I was about to launch into a story about a crazy parent I’d encountered last month, the lights dimmed briefly, then brightened.
To my shock, I was bummed. “Looks like our time’s up,” I said to Hunter. “It was nice to meet you. Knowing there’s someone here against their will was surprisingly helpful.”
As couples began to shuffle out, we followed, leaving enough space that we didn’t get swept into any well-meaning conversations.
Hunter held his arm out at an angle. “For solidarity.”
“For solidarity,” I said as I slipped my arm through his. A few heads turned to glance at us, but no one questioned us or asked if we’d hit it off.
“Is your son forcing you to attend the family picnic next week?” he asked as we made our way through the double doors.
“I’m hoping he doesn’t know about it. And no offense to anyone here, but I’m just not ready to date yet.” It wasn’t much of a confession, but it was all I was ready to say. And unlike me, Hunter didn’t appear to be super nosy.
“I’m not either,” was all he said.
“Are you divorced? A widower? Or a life-long bachelor?” Damn it, the words just slipped out. I put my hand over my mouth. If I didn’t want to answer that question, why would he? “You do not have to answer that.”
“It’s not a problem. I’m a bachelor by choice,” he said.
“Ah. No one’s been able to snag you?”
“I don’t know that anyone’s tried.”
Now that was impossible to believe. Hunter was the shyest soldier I’d ever met, and whether that was because he was naturally reserved, or because he was self-conscious about his leg, I had no idea. Any woman would consider him a catch based on his looks alone.
He walked me all the way
to my car and even opened my car door for me. “Drive safely, Cassandra.”
If I had been here for a date, I’d have lucked out. I felt a little bad for all the women inside who’d missed out on a chance with this guy.
Should I shake his hand? Was that weird? I shook hands with men all the time. It would be weird, I decided. Way too formal. A hug would be much better. “I’m a hugger,” I said. “Better get away from me if you don’t like it.”
That blush colored his cheeks again. “I can handle it.”
“Of course you can,” I said as I embraced him. At first, it was just my arms around his waist. Then strong arms wrapped around my shoulders. He didn’t hesitate in his hug but held me against his firm chest.
The fabric of his uniform lapel pressed into my cheek. He smelled great, a little bit woodsy with some sage. Oh, God. This felt good.
It had been five years since a man in uniform held me like this. It had been five years since any man had hugged me for longer than a few seconds.
With a low gasp, I jerked away from him. What was I thinking? This wasn’t Richard. I couldn't replace my husband.
With a laugh pitched too high, I scuttled backward and thumped into my car. Ouch. Tomorrow my tailbone was going to pay the price for my freak out.
He frowned down at me. “Are you okay?”
“I’m good,” I said. “Thank you for entertaining me. I have to go.”
He nodded. He watched me as I drove away.
By the time I collected Jacob from Charlie’s house which was next to ours, it was ten p.m. “How was it?” he asked before even had their door closed.
“It was nice,” I said, wrapping my arm around his shoulders.
“Nice? What does that mean? Did you like anyone?”
An evening breeze rustled the leaves around our cabin. “I told you I’d go, but we aren’t going to discuss my dating life.”
His mouth formed a pout. “Come on mom. I’m in middle school now. You can tell me.”
“I love you, and you are my favorite person in the whole world. But we are never going to dish about dating!”
“Dish? What does that even mean? Is that one of your prehistoric words?” He cackled at me.
“No, it was more from your grandmother’s time than mine.”
I grabbed him on the nape of the neck with one hand while I unlocked the front door with the other. “Go brush your teeth.”
“You really aren’t going to tell me anything?”
How could I tell him that for the first time since his father died, I enjoyed being near a man?
Hunter
Aunt Debra was on the front porch when I pulled up. Once the car was parked, I stayed in the passenger seat, closing my eyes and letting my head thunk back against the headrest.
Cassandra’s scent still lingered on my uniform. It was a bright clean scent, like lemons. I wanted to stay in this weird limbo, a moment where I didn’t have to explain my evening to my aunt, but my time with Cassandra was still fresh in my mind.
It had been months since I’d spent much time thinking about a female's appearance. I didn’t spend a lot of time around human women, and not many had caught my eye, but Cassandra captivated me. Her lean body had just the right amount of curves, and with her scent rubbed all over me, arousal wound through my veins.
Shifters had powerful libidos, and before I’d lost my leg, I indulged in frequent casual flings, mostly with female soldiers that weren’t in my unit. Since the accident, I’d hardly felt aroused. Every now and then my body reacted, but the drive to find a partner wasn’t there.
It wasn’t just her body I’d liked -- her friendly chatter had been just right.
What I’d told her was the truth. I didn’t want to date. Yet I’d enjoyed my time with her more than any “real” date I’d ever been on. Replaying the way her round bottom looked in that red dress had my body reacting.
Aware that my aunt was approaching, I exhaled but didn’t make any move to get out of the car.
A knock sounded on my car door. I opened one eye to see Debra with her face pressed against the glass.
Her lack of patience was legendary.
She hopped back as I pushed the door open. “Well?” she asked, hands on hips.
“It was fine,” I said.
“Fine! That is the most useless word in the English language.” She whacked me on the arm. “Boy, you better give me some information. If I’m risking my privacy over this, I need a little more than a throw-away word!”
I held up my hands. “Okay! It was better than I expected.”
She took me by the elbow and dragged me to the porch swing, pointing until I sat. She settled into the nearby rocking chair. “And?”
“I met a woman named Cassandra. She has an eleven-year-old son.”
“Okay. Good. So why’s she single?”
“I don’t know.”
“You don’t know. How can you not ask?”
“We weren’t on a date. I’m not going to interrogate some woman I just met.” I’d always considered myself a private person, but I found Cassandra’s questions charming. There was no pretense to her, just a fresh honesty.
Debra made a hmph sort of sound. “Well. I’m glad you went.” She patted my knee. “You’re a young, handsome man. It’s good for you to get out.”
Getting out usually felt the opposite of good, but once Cassandra had waltzed over to me, spilling her drink and laughing, the time had flown by. I had zero desire to attend the upcoming picnic, but if I did, I’d want to see her there.
“Which means that the family picnic next Saturday will be the perfect time to try again.”
A groan escaped my mouth.
She wagged her finger. “Nope. Don’t give me that. I want to go. I was invited, and I haven’t seen the other widows in a few months.
How was she so good at the guilt trip?
Saturday was a perfect seventy-eight degrees. Shorts were a better choice than jeans, but I wasn’t quite ready to wear shorts yet, even around a group of veterans, soldiers, and their families. Some guys I knew went for a more in-your-face approach with their prosthetic limbs, but I hadn’t gotten there yet.
Debra strolled along beside me, with a big smile on her face. She’d been trying for a year to get me to attend these events with her, and now satisfaction radiated from her.
She’d even kept up her part of the bargain. She went to the doctor about her allergies this week. She’d grumbled the entire time, and even told the doctor she knew what they were up to, but we’d left with the necessary prescription.
On the green grass, at least a hundred people milled around, weaving in and out of tables packed with food. Next to the food tables were scads of games, like Baggo and some giant Jenga blocks. Kids screeched and shouted, running back and forth, and even a few dogs played near the owners.
“Hunter!”
From at least ten feet away, I spotted Cassandra waving her arm over her head. She was dressed casually today, in white capri pants and a blue tank top. Her blond hair fell in short waves that came right to her chin.
Debra went from absently happy, to laser-focused. “Who’s that?”
Lying would get me nowhere. “Cassandra.”
“That’s the woman you met last week?” She squeezed my arm as Cassandra and her son got closer. “Hunter. You didn’t tell me she was gorgeous!”
“Because that’s not important.” I’d always said that, but losing my leg had really brought it home. Even with all the people and food, Cassandra’s bright lemon scent hit me right in the face.
Do not get hard. Not appropriate.
“It’s not the only thing that matters, but it is important,” Debra said. “Sexual attraction is…”
Talking about sex was the last thing I needed right now. Debra’s comments were often explosive, and Cassandra might be her new favorite target. “Aunt Debra. Do not bring up sex in front of her. Or sexual attraction, or anything that contains the word sex. Her son is here. And
do not talk to them about conspiracy theories.”
“Fine. Stifle me.” Debra pulled away from me as Cassandra reached us. “Hello, you must be Cassandra!” She turned to Jacob. “And who are you, young man?”
“I’m Jacob.”
The kid was cute, with a spunky grin and big brown eyes. He didn’t look much like his mom, so I was guessing he resembled his father.
“Jacob,” Debra said. “That’s a strong name. Hey, Jacob, do you like insects?”
His face lit up. “I love them! We went to the Museum of Science and Technology in February for the fifth-grade field trip, and we studied cicadas, dragonflies, and fleas!”
My aunt clapped her hands together. “What a great lesson. Would you like to go with me to look for some bees?” She leaned closer to him and whispered in his ear. “I raise bees. So I’m a little bit of an expert.”
His eyes danced. “Really? Let’s go!”
“Aunt Debra,” I wasn’t into minding her business, except for this one thing where she was coercing a child into something potentially dangerous. “Do you have your EpiPen?”
She gave me a flat look. “Did I raise you? Yes, I did. So let me take care of myself.”
Shaking my head, I looked at Cassandra. “Is it okay if he goes to look for bees?”
“Sure.” Cassandra gave him a quick hug and kissed him on the top of his head. “Just be careful, and don’t go into the lake yet, okay?”
“Okay, mom!” They took off, leaving me and Cassandra alone together.
“Here we are, off in the corner again,” she said.
“After we said we weren’t coming.”
“Looks like we’re big suckers,” she said.
“Yes it does,” I said. “If we’re not careful, we’ll be at one of these parties every weekend.”
“That might not be so bad if you’re here.” Her blonde hair swung as she tossed her head. “With both of us wanting to avoid dating, it’s the perfect setup.”
“Agreed,” I said. “Maybe we should up our stakes a little.”
“Ooh,” she said. “I could get Jacob to do the laundry for a month.”
“And I could get Debra to stop watching reality TV in the kitchen.”
