“It would be great for her, but can we really do that? There’s a spark, Del, neither of us can deny it.”
“You’re right, there is. But let’s not push it. I promise; no strings attached. We’ll just see where things take us.”
“I know you mean well, Del, and that you think you can keep that promise. And maybe you can. But if we’re completely honest, I don’t know if I can. I just don’t know what I want yet, or what’s best for me. And if I don’t know what’s best for me, how can we say what’s best for Sutton? I need time to think about it. I’m here for another week and a half. You can spend as much time with Sutton as you want, and I swear I’ll give you an answer before I leave. Can that be enough right now?”
“Sure, Cricket. I know how you are about change. I’ll leave it alone for now, but I’m waiting. I always have been.”
Chapter 12
By Monday morning, Delaney appeared to be keeping his promise. He had spent the weekend with them, even sleeping on the couch Saturday night so he could be there when Sutton woke the next morning. Despite the fact that the child they were caring for was their own, it felt no different than the times Delaney had assisted her babysitting. He never made a move on her, keeping a safe distance at all times. The few times their hands brushed as they passed the child between them, he would move his hand as if he had been burned. He really was trying to make it comfortable for her, without expecting that they jump into a relationship as he had hoped before learning the truth.
The weekend had made Cara’s decision easy. She wanted Sutton to have that closeness with Delaney. She could see that Delaney was head over heels in love with his daughter and she knew the right thing for her was to be close to family. She would spend the week job hunting. When she had some solid leads, she would tell Delaney her plans. She wasn’t sure that she wanted to move in with him, but she told him she would consider it. She owed him that much.
As she got her daughter dressed for the day, she thought about Delaney and the way things had been before that night. There had always been cuddling and teasing, a chemistry that simmered beneath the surface. They had both known it was there, but made a conscious effort not to let it boil over. Delaney had strict plans about his future. He wanted to establish himself in a career and explore the country on his motorcycle. Of course he wanted to settle down someday, he had always told Cara that. He just wanted to get his own desires out of the way first, so he could focus his full attention on his wife and family. Even so, it never stopped him from playing the field.
Cara had been there through the girlfriends. He always jumped in feet first, no questions. If the girl caught his eye and showed an interest, she immediately became the object of his affection. Cara always took a backseat during the relationships, but he never did let her go completely. That had upset more than one of his conquests. It always ended the same. They would push for his undivided attention, and he would give it to them for a time. Cara would stand by waiting, knowing it was only a matter of a week or two before he would be calling or texting that they had broken up and he was sorry for being a jerk.
She had mentally punished herself on several occasions for that. He knew she would be waiting, and she never let him down. She could look back, though, and see that she wasn’t waiting for him at the time. There was just no interest anywhere else, and he was her best friend.
Cara just smiled, knowing that as silly as she had been for wanting more with Delaney, he had been the best thing in her life. It was hard not to love the man that knew every one of your secrets and quirks but never judged you. She knew he had given her so much of the confidence that kept her going in Chicago when all she wanted to do was run home and hide from the world. If that wasn’t enough, their crossing the line when they did resulted in the one thing in her life that could replace him. Her daughter.
She had already told Delaney that everything she did now was for Sutton. She had no doubt that he knew she would move home to be near him, even with him if he pushed hard enough. Cara thought she might be safe from that for a while, though. They were still years away from thirty. Delaney was firm on not being married and officially settled down before thirty.
“Well, princess, what do you think? Want to help Mommy find a job?” Cara broke from her internalizing when Sutton was changed and fed. Sutton clapped her hands at the mention of helping Mommy, and her little red curls bounced as her body did. The toddler made a beeline for the front door, leading the way to the change in their future.
***
Cara was just sitting down to give Sutton her afternoon snack when Delaney called.
“Hello?”
“Cricket, what are you girls up to?”
“We just sat down at The Coffee Company. Why, what’s up?”
“I’m leaving the office and was going to swing over. I wanted to check with you before I did.”
“Oh, well, like I said we’re not home right now.”
“That’s fine, I’ll come there.”
Just as he said the words, Cara heard the ring of the door behind her, and she turned to see Delaney walk in, still holding the phone to his ear. She moved the phone away from her own and ended the call as he walked over to the booth they were occupying.
He leaned down and kissed Sutton’s curls, making the child giggle and reach for him. Cara’s heart melted when he complied and adjusted her on his lap in the booth. It only further proved she was making the right decision.
“So what have you ladies been doing all day? Manis, pedis, the works?”
“Haha, funny. I’ve actually been using my adorable daughter to my advantage, trolling the grocery stores looking for hot dates.”
“Oh, good, so you won’t judge me when I do the same. I wondered about that.”
She rolled up the wrapper she had just removed from the straw and threw it in his direction. As usual, she missed. He stuck his tongue out and gave her a full raspberry.
“Don’t teach her that!”
When Sutton mimicked her father, Cara put her hands to her face and shook her head.
“Is this what I have to look forward to when I move home?”
Delaney had started tickling Sutton, but stopped abruptly. He looked to Cara quizzically.
“When?”
“I don’t know that yet. I have to find a job first.” Cara knew full well that he wasn’t asking her to elaborate, but to confirm. She gave him her impish smile, and took a sip of drink.
“Okay, smart aleck. Did I hear you right? You said when, not if? You’ve made up your mind?”
“Yeah, I guess I did. But…” she paused and held up a finger. “Rules still apply. No strings attached. I’m uprooting everything, with a toddler. I don’t have time for your games or any relationship drama.”
“What games are you talking about?”
“The back and forth games; I’ve got too much on my mind in a day without adding your indecision to the list. We’ll stick to the rules.”
Delaney looked a bit taken aback by Cara’s words.
“Cara, I’ve never been indecisive. I fell in love with you the minute I saw you walk through Mrs. Anders door. I didn’t know it right away, but there was something about that hot little redhead that lit a spark in me. The flames ignited, and it’s been a slow burn ever since. I might have been a little slow to mention it, but that doesn’t mean it isn’t true.”
“Saying things like that is breaking the rules, Delaney.” His mention of the day they met made Cara’s heart skip a little, but she wouldn’t let him know it. During their closer years, he had found a way of telling the story of their first meeting that never failed to make her smile. She had to be past the point of being wooed by it, and had to keep her resolve or she knew she would never last living with him platonically. He would break her heart within the week if she let herself be that girl again.
***
Delaney held silent at her accusation. He planned to continue breaking the rules she had put in place, and he was going to do it
with more than words. But for the time being he would let her believe she had the upper hand. He always did.
He’d told her the truth when he said that he was slow to act. She had told him more than once that he thought more than he felt, which was true. And despite his better judgment, he always followed through with a plan. But he hadn’t been the one to be indecisive.
He had been her yo-yo for years. One minute she would be holding him in the palm of her hand, and the next she would whip him away from her as hard as she could. Every time he returned to her warmth, he wondered if the next occurrence would be the one to break the string. He knew better now. It wasn’t an ordinary string tethering them to one another. Every intimate moment, their deep understanding of each other, and now their shared connection through Sutton, was just another piece of the braid holding them together.
Chapter 13
The next two days were no different. Cara would take Sutton job hunting with her throughout the day, and they always met with Delaney when his work day ended. Sutton, though not shy to begin with, was becoming even more open with him.
They were also spending more time with Dan and Cheryl, hoping to make up for some of the lost time since Sutton had been born. Wednesday night welcomed another family dinner, with Sutton climbing like a monkey over her Grandpa Dan, a title he had adopted without question. Cara melted when she watched the large, burly man with his granddaughter. He was a natural, and Sutton appeared to gravitate toward him.
That was until Delaney walked into the room. Whenever he entered her line of vision, he became the center of her universe. This time she clambered out of Dan’s lap and went running to him, yelling “Daddy, Daddy!”
Cara’s eyes widened as she watched for Delaney’s reaction. The first time she had heard the word momma she had burst into tears. Would it be such a reverent experience for Delaney? Watching the way his deep blue eyes shone, she thought maybe, but he would never admit it.
“Hey, baby girl. What are you doing in here?”
“Boppa, Boppa,” she said as she curled one little arm around her father’s neck and pointed to his father. Dan’s eyes took on the same sheen as Delaney’s at the child’s words.
Sutton had been learning more and more, mimicking as frequently as a trained parrot. But Daddy and Boppa were words that Cara had never heard her say before. She was fairly certain that the two men who had captured her heart when she was in high school had also captured the heart of her daughter, and quickly become her two favorite men in the world.
As Cara observed the interactions, she became engrossed in her own thoughts, paying no attention to the conversations around her. She nearly jumped out of her chair when Delaney snapped his fingers and called her name.
“Sorry, what did you say?”
“I asked if you would like to go out tomorrow night. Thursday nights we like to go out for drinks after work, kind of a pre-weekend celebration.”
“Isn’t there a minimum age you have to be to get into a bar?”
“Yes, and I’m sure you’ve passed it by now. A few years past it, actually.”
“I wasn’t talking about me. I was talking about Sutton.”
“Wow, you really were zoned. Mom and Dad said they would watch her. They’d even keep her overnight if we wanted them to.”
Cara had rarely left her daughter outside of daycare. A few dates here and there, but those had been few and far between. She thought it might be good for her to go out and have some adult interaction, and Sutton would clearly not be starved for attention with the Blakes.
“Sure, why not?”
Before leaving, Cara had managed to write out a full schedule as well as a meal plan and contact information, and they planned to drop Sutton off with the Blakes at six p.m. the following night. Cara rode in silence as Delaney drove her home, wracked with nerves at her first night away from her daughter in nearly four months.
***
Thursday afternoon when Delaney walked into the house, the music was blaring and he was instantly reminded of Cara during high school. She had always listed to her music loud while getting ready to go out, saying that it calmed her nerves and amped her up for socializing. She was the type of girl who twisted herself into knots when dealing with crowds of people, though you would never know it watching her.
As he went in search of the two girls, he could hear Sutton’s loud giggling. It amazed him how happy she was. He had not seen her cry or pout yet, but he knew that he had spent pretty minimal time with her. He had not seen her first thing in the morning, or throughout the night. He knew that was going to change, but was hoping to readjust the time he would have to wait for that. He was thinking about his plan for the evening as he turned into Cara’s bedroom, and stopped in his tracks when he saw her standing in front of her mirror.
He had mentioned that her body had changed, and knew that to an extent, so had her confidence level. She had always dressed with a flare, but tonight was different somehow. She was wearing jeans that hugged her form, the back pockets resting perfectly on her ass, the denim stretching firm across her expanded hips. She paired them with a brightly colored strapless top, the bottom hem swirling with more brightly colored print. She capped it with a black vest fitting tightly under her breasts, putting them perfectly on display. He might have drooled if Sutton hadn’t broken him from his daze.
“Daddy! Up, up!” Her giggling had stopped, but the happiness in her voice was still present. He smiled as he picked her up.
“Hey, pretty girl. How are you?”
Instead of words, she placed her tiny hands on his cheeks and kissed him. He laughed and returned the kiss, then turned to Cara.
“Hey, Cricket. You ready to go?”
“I’m not sure. I think so.” She was fiddling with the chunky bracelet she had added to her right wrist.
“What’s the problem?”
“I haven’t been out in more than six months, Del. And before that, it was even longer. I always get nervous leaving Sutton.”
“There’s nothing to be nervous about. She’ll be with my parents, and if anything comes up, you know they’ll call us. It’s not like we’re leaving her with strangers.”
“I know you’re right. I’ll be fine. It’s just the anxiety. We’ll drop her off and get to the bar, and I’ll calm down. Let’s just go.”
She moved around the room, turning off the music and picking up her purse. She slid into her shoes, which Delaney couldn’t help but notice were high enough to put her within six inches of him. They also did something for her ass that he couldn’t quite understand. He knew it was going to be a long night if he was expecting to keep his hands off her.
Chapter 14
Cara had been right. A few drinks later, and you would hardly guess that she had been anxious about the evening out. She was mingling with Delaney’s coworkers like the energetic girl he remembered. She was the life of the party, shooting pool and laughing with everyone within a five foot radius. When she was in a crowd she became the girl that Delaney had lusted after, the one who had attracted him like a bee to a bright, fragrant garden. He couldn’t keep his eyes off her.
“Delaney, who’s your friend?” The question came from his coworker, Devonny. If it hadn’t been for Cara and his resonating feelings for her, he might have pursued Devonny. She was tall, thin, and had silky brown hair. In actuality, she was the opposite of Cara. To his mind, it only proved that you fall for everything you didn’t know you needed.
“My best girl. Her name’s Cara Wyatt.”
“Your best girl, huh? Why haven’t we seen her before?”
If Delaney was paying attention, he would have seen Devonny’s eyes narrow in Cara’s direction when he explained who she was. However, as usual, he was oblivious to the woman’s wants.
“It’s complicated. She’s been away a while. She’s been my best friend since high school. I have pictures of her on my desk.”
“That’s the girl on your desk? She was so mousy looking in school. Where o
n earth did the curves come from?”
“Our daughter.” Delaney laughed. He looked at Devonny, the goofiest grin spread over his face. If someone had told him two weeks ago that he would be thrilled at having his life thrown into a tailspin, he would have thought the person needed to be committed. Now, he was questioning his own sanity, but he knew he would never be happier than when Cara and Sutton were on his mind.
As if aware of his thoughts, Cara sauntered over to lean against him. He could see from the flush in her cheeks that she had a sufficient buzz going, but he also knew that she was plenty lucid. When she rested her hand in his back pocket, he wondered what she was playing at.
“Del, come play with me,” she said, allowing her face to form into a slight pout. “I need you. I can’t make any of the shots.”
He knew that wasn’t true. She had always been better at pool than he had. But he decided to play along with her, taking any chance he could to get his hands on her and stake his claim in front of the men who had been nearly drooling over her all night.
“You’re on, Cricket. Let’s go kick some ass.”
***
When she took his hand in both of hers, she spared the glaring look she wanted to give the lanky brunette standing next to him. Instead, she walked backwards while pulling him to the table, arching her back away to display her breasts. She knew that she had no claim on him, but she couldn’t stand seeing that woman brush against him and look at him like he was a piece of meat. Tonight he was hers, even if it was only temporary.
She turned and called out to Ryan and Phil, the guys who were up the next game. They came to the table, and Cara left Delaney standing at one end of the table while she racked the balls. Leaning as far over as she could, she looked up at him and narrowed her eyes to sexy slits and smirked. As many times as he’d seen it before, the look never failed to set his fire burning.
Braided Strings Page 6
