"Oh, God," she said on a shaky exhale. "Kiss me then."
His mouth covered hers, and he made a sound like the purr of a contented cat.
She loved the way he didn't rush anything. The one thing about Alex was he was all in and totally present.
He savored her kisses like they were special. A brush against her lips. A bite that stung, but quickly relieved when he sucked her lip into his mouth and soothed it with a swipe of his tongue.
Every nerve ending came alive and tingled like energy skirting over her skin. It was like the feeling of electricity hitting ground so close that it made the hairs on her arms stand.
"Take this off." He tugged at her shirt until it was free and tossed it to land near his.
"How much time do we have?" she panted.
He tugged at the button on his jeans. "When do you have to get Maddie?" Alex always went commando, so when his jeans dropped, and he kicked off his shoes, he was gloriously naked.
"Forty minutes."
"How late do you think you can be? Forty-minutes is not enough."
Bubbly laughter burst forth. It was the same happy sound she made when she opened a present.
"I don't think she'll hold me to the minute."
"I like this town more and more." He tugged her jeans free, and once the condom was on, he pressed inside her. For the next hour, Alex made love to her all over the house.
She would never be able to walk around her home and not see him in every corner—feel him in her muscle memory.
When they finished, he gave her another passionate kiss. The kind that said he'd be back.
"You're glowing," Katie said. "I guess you had a playdate too?"
They sat at Katie's kitchen table, sipping sweet tea, and staring at the calm lake. A passing boat sent a ripple across the glassy surface. Alex was her ripple.
"It was a pleasant hour."
"You could have taken two." She looked over her shoulder, where the girls sat side by side on the sofa, holding hands and watching Dora the Explorer. "Aren't they precious?"
A sad look flashed across Katie's face.
"Something wrong?" Mercy asked.
Katie heaved a sigh. "Not really. I mean, how could anything be wrong? I'm alive, I've got the best husband, and Sahara is my miracle child, but sometimes I wish I could have more. A brother or sister for my baby would have been nice." She tapped the space above her heart. "Bad ticker."
It wasn't hard to learn about residents in a small town, and Katie was a pink letter recipient of Bea's, a woman Mercy never met but would have loved to. Katie didn't only inherit the bakery, but she was also the recipient for Bea's daughter's heart when Brandy died. The tale was fascinating and something perfect for a Hallmark movie.
"I always wanted a houseful of children. Since I'll never have any of my own, I have to parent vicariously through other's children," Mercy said.
"I thought I'd risk it to give Bowie a son, but as soon as I mentioned it, he had a vasectomy. He wasn't willing to lose me."
"How did you know he was the one?"
She laid her palm over her chest. "I just knew. Bowie was actually quite the a-hole at first, but I softened his disposition. What about you? Is Alex the one?"
She waved the question away. "It hasn't been long enough to really know."
"Yes, it has. If there's something there, you know it."
She watched a water-skier zip past Katie's dock, leaving the water churning and lapping against the shore.
"My inner voice constantly warns me not to fall too soon because there's so much to lose when love goes wrong."
"You didn't have a good one the first time. Don't put yourself out to pasture because one bull was bad." Katie's Texas upbringing was always present in her accent, but her reference was straight from the Lone Star state, or at least it sounded authentically Texan to Mercy's untrained ears.
"In all fairness, it wasn't all Randy's fault. There is a lesson to be learned from being a pleaser. Maybe while I focused on being the best wife, cook, and housekeeper, I overlooked more important things. I thought he was madly in love with me until that knock on the door."
Katie silently shook her head. "That was on him and not you. Now back to Alex. What do you feel?"
"I'm falling fast and hard. Alex is everything I thought I'd loathe and yet it turns out I love it all." She chuckled. "Not the groupies. They are my biggest concern. What happens when he's on the road, and women show up on the bus and his hotel room?"
Katie sat for a moment as if contemplating. "You have to trust him to do the right thing. No one can give him what you do."
"Not true. A million women are willing to try, and I'm sure they all have something good to offer."
Katie topped off their glasses of sweet tea. "Don't repeat your mistakes. In my experience, a man who has to work harder appreciates you more."
She had a point. She wasn't impressed with Alex when they met. He didn't win her over with his fame and fortune.
"I wasn't easy at first. We banged heads long before we banged bodies."
"You're already different from the rest. They wanted something from him, and you didn't."
She took a long drink and let the sweet liquid ease down her throat. "He pays me to watch Maddie."
"He should because she's not your daughter."
That truth cut her deep. "I wish she was. I don't know what her mom was like, but from the things she's said, and after listening to the friend tell Alex the cause of her demise, I can only imagine that she's seen enough sorrow to last a lifetime."
"Kids are resilient. Nothing about her screams abused or neglected. You are a positive influence in her life, and that's another plus for you. How lucky was he to need a sitter just when you needed a job?"
"That was pretty remarkable—a much-needed coincidence."
Katie laughed and stared at the ceiling. "I think there's a higher power involved."
Mercy's brows lifted. "You mean, God?"
"No, I mean Bea. She's filled this town with pink letters and love, and I think she's up there working her magic on the people she never got a chance to meet."
"I like the thought of that. I could use a little heavenly interference in my life."
Maddie climbed off the couch and walked to stand in front of her. She tugged on the arm of Mercy's T-shirt. "Mommy, can we go home?"
Mercy stared at her. As she started to correct Maddie, Katie touched her arm. "I'm telling you, that's Bea at work, just go with it."
She'd have to talk with Maddie, so she didn't get confused, but today was not the time, so she pretended not to hear Mommy. "You ready, sweetheart?"
Chapter Nineteen
Alex woke missing Mercy because moments with her were like eating potato chips—he couldn't have just one. Every time he was with her, he wanted more.
He poured a bowl of cereal for Maddie and made a cup of coffee for himself. Looking at the little girl in front of him, he considered how Aspen Cove had changed his life. The small town he reluctantly moved to brought him a world of frustration with obsessed fans, but it also brought him Maddie and Mercy and a whole cast of characters to color his life.
Maddie might not be his by blood, but she was his by choice.
"Daddy, when are we going to Mommy's?"
He stared at Maddie, confused. "Honey, we can't go see your mom." Hell, he didn't even know where to find her. Eventually, Maddie would want to visit her grave, and Alex would need to know where to find it. "She's in heaven."
"No, I mean, mommy Mercy."
He nearly dropped his coffee mug. "Why are you calling Mercy, mommy? Does she ask you to call her that?"
"No, but I want a mommy, and Ms. Mercy is a good one. She makes me cookies and lets me play in the sink. She rubs my back until I fall asleep when I'm tired. Mommy's should be nice, and she's nice."
He didn't want to mar the memory of Maddie's mother, but he needed more information.
"Was mommy Layla nice?"
Maddie shov
ed a spoonful of Cheerios in her mouth, and he waited for her to finish chewing and answer. All the while, her brows shifted, and her head tilted this way and that like she was pondering her answer.
"Yes, mommy was nice, but some of the daddies weren't. They yelled, and I don't like yelling."
A lump of sadness lodged in his throat and took two swallows of coffee to force it down. He knew what living in volatility was like. His mother was an emotional yo-yo. When his father was in town, which was rare, they'd have a day or two of a honeymoon phase, and then all hell broke loose.
His childhood was a vicious circle of loneliness, drinking, yelling, and abandonment. Maybe that was why he was determined to give Maddie something better. In the beginning, it was because he didn't want to repeat his father's mistakes and abandon a child that belonged to him. But even after discovering that she wasn't biologically his kid, he knew deep inside she was exactly like him anyway. As the daughter of a groupie, she probably never knew stability. Who knew how many couches she slept on while Layla marked off boxes on her bucket list. How many men were on it?
He studied Maddie to see if he recognized anyone in her features, but when she looked up at him, all he saw was himself. How lucky was he that Layla gifted him with a child—a child he didn't know he wanted or needed until she showed up.
"I'm sorry, Mads. People get angry, and sometimes they yell. That's never fun." He took the seat next to her. "Were you scared?"
She nodded.
"Did anyone ever hurt you?"
She shrugged.
Rage rushed through him, pricking at his skin like angry bee stings. She was five for God's sake, and at five, her life should be filled with sandcastles and ice cream cones.
"No one will ever hurt you again." He made a mental note to take Maddie to Doc's to get a complete physical. She'd need one for school anyway. He hadn't considered a therapist but would talk to Doc about it the next time he saw him.
"Finish your cereal, and I'll comb your hair before we go to Mercy's." Just thinking about the pretty blonde made his body react. He remembered only a handful of times when he'd slept with a woman more than once. Layla was one of them because she was attractive, and if he were honest, a beast in bed, but no matter how much fun those moments were, the time he spent with Mercy was special. They connected on a deeper level.
Maddie finished her cereal and skipped to the bathroom to get the brush and whatever hair tie she chose. Today, Maddie was in a hurry to get to Mercy's, so a single ponytail with a green ribbon was all she wanted.
When it was done, she was out the door. All he'd given her was a place to live, safety, and love, and she bloomed like one of the mammoth sunflowers in Mercy's garden.
"Can you stay with us and go to the park?"
He buckled her into the booster and kissed her cheek. "I wish I could, but Daddy missed some practice yesterday, and he has to lay down his tracks for the album."
She stuck her bottom lip out in a pout, and he wondered if that was a learned trait or if it came naturally.
"I'll make it up to you."
Before he could back out, she placed her hands on his cheeks and pulled him closer. "I love you, Daddy."
"Love you too, squirt."
He rounded the car and climbed inside. The drive to Mercy's only took minutes, but in that time, he counted all the blessings he had. There were ones he never knew he needed. While he didn't have the kind of childhood he wished for, he could do better for Maddie.
She was tugging on her seat belt when they pulled in front of Mercy's bungalow. As soon as he let her free, Maddie raced to where she was on the porch.
"Slow down, or you might fall." An ugh sound burst from Mercy when Maddie plowed into her.
"Mommy Mercy, I missed you."
Mercy froze. "Honey, I'm not your—"
"Hey," he broke in before she could finish the sentence.
She shuffled Maddie to the door and told her to sit in the reading chair, and she'd be there in a moment.
"I'm sorry," she said, as soon as they were alone. "I don't know where that came from. She said it yesterday at Katie's, too. Maybe she's missing her mom."
"I don't think so. Maybe she sees that you treat her better than her mother ever did."
"I don't want her to get confused. It's probably not wise to let her call me something like mommy. I mean, if things didn't work out, then I'd be another loss in her life."
He cocked his head. "Is something not working out between us?" He prowled toward her. "Yesterday, everything was perfect."
"Yes, but yesterday isn't forever."
He touched his lips softly to hers. "Every day is the first day of forever."
He was halfway through his set when his phone vibrated in his pocket, and he snuck out of the studio to answer it. They were busy listening to playbacks, so the timing was perfect.
"This is Alex."
"Hey man, it's Pablo."
What the hell was Pablo calling him for? The last time he'd seen him was at his father's memorial.
"What's up? Where have you been?"
"You know," there was a chuckle. "Living the dream." There was a moment of silence. "Did you hear that Drive Shaft is being inducted into the Rock Music Hall of Fame?"
"Yes, I saw that. Congrats." He read about it and knew his father would have laughed. Bastian Cruz never cared for the awards. He lived for the music.
"That's why I'm calling. Since your father isn't here, we thought you might want to sit in for him at the awards ceremony. I know it's last minute, but you're not an easy man to get ahold of."
"Should have asked a fan. They have no problems getting to me."
"What do you say? We also have a limited tour starting that week for a month, and we'd love for you to join us."
When he was a kid, he wanted to be just like his father. He dreamed of playing in the band and going on tour with his father's bunch of rowdies. Through a child's eyes, everything looked exciting and glamorous until birthdays and Christmas were forgotten, and phone calls never came.
Red walked out of the studio and leaned against the wall.
"Hey, Pablo, give me a minute." Alex put his hand over the phone. "Drive Shaft wants me to fill in for my father for the music awards and the following mini-tour."
"Holy shit."
"I know, but I've got Maddie."
Red lifted his brow. "Dude, you can't pass this up. It's a once in a lifetime deal. That was your dad's band. How many people can do that? Besides, you have Mercy, and I'm sure she'll understand and watch Maddie."
He was right. It was a gift. He brought the phone up to his ear. "I'm in. When do I have to be there?"
"As soon as you can. We need to get you up to date with your dad's guitar riffs."
"I'll try to get out there within a day or two."
"See ya soon, kid."
He hung up and rolled his eyes. No one had called him kid in years.
Red slapped him on the back. "Let's tell the group."
"Hopefully, we can find a fill-in for the concert." He hadn't considered the Fireman's Fundraiser, but knowing Samantha, she wouldn't want him to miss the opportunity.
When he went back inside, he got the blessings of the band; now, all he had to do was get Mercy's.
Chapter Twenty
Mercy glanced at Maddie, who stood on a stool playing in a sink full of water. She was a curious little thing, and today's experiment was to see what would float.
Mercy believed that hands-on was the best way to learn, and she let Maddie try anything as long as she couldn't ruin it or get hurt. That was why her outside table was covered with things that didn't float like oven mitts and shoes so they could dry.
"Hey, Mads … should we make that banana pudding your dad likes so much?"
"Yes." Maddie clapped her sudsy hands, wiped the moisture on her shorts, and jumped down from the stool to get the bananas.
"How about you mix the pudding, and I cut the fruit, and then we can both place the vanilla
wafers?"
She high-fived Mercy and took a seat at the table. It was beautiful to see the once quiet little girl come out of her shell.
Every once in a while, she talked about her mom, and it broke Mercy's heart to hear the stories about Maddie trying to wake her or when a nice lady came and took her to a sleepover. The only thing Mercy could figure was social services had picked her up.
"Are you happy, Maddie?"
"Yes."
Mercy gathered the ingredients and sat down beside her little helper.
"I'm glad." As a child, she spent hours in the kitchen cooking and baking with her mom. During those times, she learned the greatest lessons of her life, like patience, and that failure was okay, and although differences of opinions were tough, that's what makes us individuals.
She poured the milk into the pudding mix. If her mother knew she used instant, she'd be disowned.
"If we hurry, this will be ready by the time your daddy comes to get you."
"Is it a surprise?"
"Sure." Mercy ruffled her hair. "Surprises are nice."
On reflection, Alex was a pleasant surprise. He was a reasonable man or at least seemed to be. How funny that she'd completely disregarded him as a love interest. It's been said that opposites attract, and Alex was north to her south. He was famous, and she was forgettable, and yet, they seemed to have a connection beyond simple attraction. Somehow she was tethered to him by something deeper. Was it their twin desires to make sure Maddie's life was stable? She came from a place of love and wanting every child to have what she did. He came from a darker place where he wanted to make sure Maddie didn't have the childhood he had. He wanted better for her, and she respected that.
While they assembled the layers, Mercy considered her life, and just as she came to terms with falling in love with him, a soft knock sounded at the door.
"He's here, Maddie."
The light in her little eyes brightened. People said that a daughter's first crush was on her father, and Maddie was utterly smitten, but she couldn't blame her because Alex had a way of wheedling his way inside and settling in for the long haul.
One Hundred Lessons (An Aspen Cove Small Town Romance Book 15) Page 13
