by Lauren Dane
“A guy turns his back for a minute and comes back to find his woman smoking cigarettes and dancing, half-naked, through her bedroom. It’s like a collision between every single great teen movie I’ve ever seen.”
Laughing, Kelly threw her arms around him and then withdrew, getting rid of the evidence and listening to see if she’d woken the girls up when he’d surprised her. Maddie would never, ever let her hear the end of it if she saw Kelly smoking.
And rightfully so. There wasn’t any only those three times a year when I’m about to lose my mind when it came to a kid’s view of the world.
“I told you to stay at the ranch tonight.” Man was she glad he hadn’t listened. She nibbled on his earlobe and pretty much rubbed all over him like a cat.
“We finished the last meeting and I hightailed it out of there. This is where I wanted to be. I’ll go back tomorrow. But for now, I’m here. With you. You in tiny panties and a threadbare tank top looking like a wet dream come to life.” Vaughan slid his hands underneath her shirt to do all this magic stuff on her breasts and nipples. Tracing little patterns with his fingertips, tugging her nipples, all while his scruff abraded her neck where he’d been kissing.
“No one can see in here. There’s no house in the line of sight from the window seat.”
“Mmm. Too bad for them. Because you’re quite the sight.” He kissed her slowly and she hugged him, not wanting him to let go. He came back.
“Everything is okay?”
“Yes.” He pulled her shirt up and off. “Even better now.”
“Door locked?” Kelly asked.
“Shit.” He darted away to lock the door before he came back to her. He stopped a foot or two away, staring at her. “Strong and fragile all at the same time. I missed you, Legs.”
“I missed you, too. It’s nice you never listen to me. Sometimes.”
“I’m not superhuman. You’re standing there in nothing but moonlight and a scrap of cotton. How can I possibly focus on anything but the way you are, just for me?”
Her breath caught in her throat. “I am. Here just for you.” Like she’d been meant just for him. No one else fit her the way he did.
He got rid of his clothes as he backed her to the window seat she’d just been on.
“I haven’t had you here yet. We should rectify that. Put your hands on the side there. Bend forward. Yes. Yes indeed.”
She did as he asked, turning away to grip the arm of the back of the seat. Vaughan dropped to his knees, nipped the backs of her thighs as he parted her pussy with fingers and then his mouth. A shock of pleasure went through her.
“No one and nothing else tastes like you,” he said against her skin but it felt as if he said it in her head. As if he lived inside her.
Kelly had lots of people to talk to. All day long, as it happened. But not a lot of people she could really share with. The man touching her right then hadn’t always been one of them, either. But that had changed.
Letting Vaughan put his cock inside her wasn’t half as intimate as the way he texted her at two in the morning just a few days before to share a lyrical snippet. He’d gotten in and he wasn’t going to let go.
“I suppose I can tell you now my IUD is working. We’re all good to go.” Not the most romantic thing ever to say, but he surged to his feet, pressing at her, the bead of his bare cock nudging her open.
“Today keeps getting better and better,” he murmured. He turned them both, sitting, bringing her astride him, facing away.
“I want you to ride me, Kelly.”
He held himself at the root as she slowly circled herself above him and lowered herself down, bit by bit.
“I missed this, not just because of how you feel when I’m in you, but because no one else makes me feel it but you.” Vaughan pressed kisses along her shoulders and back as she slid down him and pulled back up. Over and over.
She was glad she faced away. Glad he couldn’t see her face as he said such things to her.
Vaughan reached around, slowly stroking a finger over her clit as she gripped his forearm so hard she hoped she didn’t do any damage.
“It’s a lot harder to make myself wait when I’m in you like this.”
His free hand slid up her chest, in between her breasts to her throat. He cupped her there. Not hurting, but so, so unbelievably hot, shivers ran riot over her skin.
She undulated a little, rolling her hips. This felt so ridiculously good she wanted to melt into a puddle. But puddles probably couldn’t come so she decided against that and chose climax instead.
Once the first wave hit her, she let it go, let it crash over her and suck her down. Dimly, she knew he’d joined her but she was more aware of the way he held her—her back to his front—as he remained deep inside, one arm now around her waist and the other still banded up her chest.
He muttered a curse and lurched them both over to the bed, where they crawled beneath the blankets. Kelly found a shirt and her panties to pull back on as Vaughan pulled her into a hug.
“Going without this part sucks. I’m glad to be home.”
“I’m glad, too,” Kelly said, smiling in the dark.
CHAPTER TWENTY-SIX
“OH MY GOD, Stacey, I don’t know what the hell I was thinking.” Kelly paced in her closet, looking at all her clothes, not finding any of them suitable.
Stacey was on the phone because she was currently visiting her mom, who lived down in Eugene.
“I know your mom just had hip replacement but really, is that more important than being here to help me choose an outfit for this dinner? Selfish. Tell her I said that,” Kelly teased. Mainly.
After she finished laughing, Stacey adjusted her screen and gave her best scary lawyer face. “I need you to take a deep breath. Think of this as something you’d solve for someone who came into the boutique. A dinner and then stopping by a gallery opening. The kids will be with you at both, so there’s that. What’s on the menu?”
“Ham. It’s one of her specialties, I’m told.”
“Navy. It’s a good color on you. Understated and classic. Twist your hair back.”
“Pop of color.” Kelly found a pretty navy fit-and-flare dress. A good length. Flattering. No excessive cleavage. To go with, Kelly chose cute tangerine pumps. Not too high. And she had a bag that would go well. After showing Stacey everything—thank goodness for video calls—and getting approval, Kelly got ready to hang up.
“Thanks for talking me off the ledge.”
“You want her to like you. It’s okay, you know. She should like you. You’re wonderful. If she still doesn’t she can suck an egg.”
“Suck an egg, huh? Your mom must be nearby,” Kelly said.
“Yes indeed. You’re going to be great. You’re awesome. Vaughan loves you, your daughters love you. How can Shurley resist?”
“We’ll see. I’ll talk to you later.” Kelly hung up and got dressed. It felt like a job interview, which seemed stupid, but it did anyway.
She didn’t want to wish Sharon liked her. For years her former mother-in-law had been so unpleasant, Kelly had gotten to a place where she’d gone numb. But when she’d seen how Sharon was with Tuesday, Mary and Natalie, Kelly couldn’t deny that she was hurt.
She wanted that, too. Wanted Sharon to look at her with the same warmth she looked at the others with. Sure it’d be nice for the girls to have their mom and grandmother friendly, but it was more than that.
Kelly wanted the other woman to like her. To finally believe—to see—how much Kelly cared about Vaughan and their family.
It made Kelly feel weak, to want that sort of relationship with Sharon. But she wanted it just the same. And the call Shurley had made would have seemed a small thing to an outsider, but it was huge. Which was what gave Kelly the strength to keep hoping things would work
out.
Despite her nervousness, things were going well. Vaughan was showing her his commitment. Every day. Being there.
He’d come home to her that night before. He’d wanted her and sought her out and it wasn’t just the sex. It was that he wanted to be home. Where she and the girls were.
That put a bounce in her step.
And when she got downstairs to find both girls still clean, their hair still in place, Kelly knew it was Vaughan and his guitar that had kept them calm.
“Is that some of your new material?” she asked as she came into the room.
“Yep. You ready?”
“Sure.” Kelly smiled brightly. The girls ran to gather their things and they were off shortly after that.
She tried not to think on all the ways that night could go wrong and instead sang along with the radio with everyone else.
Vaughan knew Kelly was nervous but he let her pretend she wasn’t. What could he say? Kelly and his mother had a complicated relationship and now that his mom knew the whole story, Vaughan believed she’d come around.
But the damage had been done. Years’ worth of it. He just needed to find a way to mediate, to keep himself between Kelly and anyone who’d harm her. He knew she expected him to protect her should his mother go on the attack.
And he would. He sure as hell hoped that wouldn’t happen. He didn’t think it would, actually. But if it did, he had to choose Kelly or everything they’d worked to rebuild over the past two months would go to hell.
Once he’d pulled into his parents’ driveway, they got out and Kelly paused to take in the view. The sky was beginning to get pink as the sun got ready to set.
“This is so pretty. I have always loved this spot.”
He kissed her temple. “This is going to be just fine,” he said quietly. “I got your back if there’s a problem.”
“Let’s hope that won’t be tested.”
Minnie came racing down the front porch but instead of running to Maddie and Kensey, she leaped at Kelly, who grabbed her and stood.
“Hey there, Minnie,” Kelly said.
His mother, yelling the dog’s name, came outside but when she saw them, she lost her annoyance.
“Hello, my loves! Come on inside.” After hugs for their grandmother, they ran in, off to search for their grandfather.
Minnie didn’t want Kelly to put her down. When Kelly tried the dog just looked up at her with those big eyes and waited.
“I think she likes you,” Sharon said. “She ate one of my slippers today so she’s been keeping a low profile. Come on.” She waved them inside. “Dinner in about fifteen minutes. Would you like something to drink, Kelly?”
“Oh, Vaughan, the stuff is in the car. Some wine and soda and juice. Can you grab it?” Kelly asked him.
He ran out quickly to retrieve the stuff, not wanting to leave them unsupervised for very long.
But when he came back inside, Kelly was offering to help with dinner, an offer his mother declined, but it was a friendly response.
Ten minutes down. They could do this.
* * *
MICHAEL CAME IN, a child under each arm. He wore a big grin and was clearly happy to see Maddie and Kensey. This softened Kelly’s heart toward the Hurleys every time.
They loved her girls. Even when they hadn’t loved her, there had been a place for Maddie and Kensey. Kelly hadn’t seen her grandparents since she was younger than Kensey was. But their daughters were surrounded by people who loved them and counted them as one of their own.
If Kelly screwed up everything else in her life, that would be something she’d be proud of still.
They sat and it was pretty clear Sharon was trying. Which was enough right at the moment.
It wasn’t fixed immediately. It would take some time to get it back on track, but Kelly didn’t feel like they watched her as if she were from another planet. Or worse, watched her as if she was planning on kicking a kitten or two after she’d harmed their precious baby boy.
Sharon clearly had wanted to say something privately a few times but it had been impossible with the girls and everyone else around.
The ham was all it had been cracked up to be; the rest was also delicious. Vaughan and his dad had looked a little nervous a few times, but Sharon and Kelly had gone out of their way to be pleasant. And the kids were there in any case. Even when Sharon had been at her absolute worst, she’d never exposed the kids to any negativity.
After dinner, they washed up. Sharon even let Kelly help. It was a little tense because everyone was trying so hard to be nice, but by the time everyone was ready to head down to the gallery opening, Kelly was glad they’d done it and survived and ready to see her friend’s fantastic debut on their way back home.
They stopped by Vaughan’s house for a few minutes. Kelly hadn’t been inside it since the divorce, but it hadn’t changed much. Half the furniture in the place was something she’d bought.
“Yes, that’s the couch you bought. I’m still sleeping in our old bed.”
All night long she’d been holding on. Because that was what she was supposed to do. She was a grown-up. She had dinner with her former in-laws and managed to even have a decent time. She’d agonized over what to wear, but that was okay, too.
She’d held on, trying to keep the fiction that everything was just fine when in all truth, she was excited and scared and worried she’d mess it all up.
What if she couldn’t make this work? What if she tried her hardest and it still didn’t work out? What would happen to their daughters? Had she been foolhardy? She should have gone slower maybe.
Kelly held the pudgy corgi, who seemed content to be exactly where she was, as her daughters gave her a tour of the house. Vaughan had tried to explain to them that Kelly had been there before, a long time ago. They were more about showing off and sharing something they knew than really giving her a tour.
“I’m not sure your mother is going to like it when I put this dog in the car and we run off with her.”
Vaughan grinned. “I got the dog for the girls without asking you. Remember? Then my mom stole her when I was on tour. But she looks pretty darned happy with you. We’d need a dog door. Supplies.”
“Make it so, Number One. I dig this little dog. Though I don’t want to actually steal the dog from your mom. I’d be sad if someone stole Minnie from me.”
“They weren’t supposed to take her forever. Just until I got back from tour. And then I moved in with you. But I promise to clear it with her first.”
“Well, talk to her about it first. Let’s not make a thing if we can avoid it.”
They took Minnie back to Sharon and Michael’s. She tucked Minnie into her bed. “I think I’ll be springing you soon. Mum’s the word,” Kelly whispered to the dog, who licked her before she tucked herself into a little ball and went to sleep.
* * *
EVERYONE THOUGHT PARENTING was pretty easy until they did it. Kelly didn’t want to freak anyone out but Kensey had too much sugar and was way past cute and precocious and well into bratty territory by the time they’d arrived at the gallery opening.
As they’d arrived, some horrible scene had been breaking up between Tuesday and the parents of her dead husband. Vaughan, concerned, rushed off to get caught up to speed while Kelly shadowed their daughters, trying to keep their hands to themselves.
Art gallery openings and kids were things to mix very sparingly.
Maddie was more patient than her little sister due to age, but also temperament. Maddie was introspective. She thought hard about things. Kensey emoted. All the time. Usually while moving at seventy-five miles an hour.
And right then she wanted to touch. Everything.
Finally, Kelly took Kensey’s hand. “We’re going outside for a moment,” she told Vaughan on their
way past. “Maddie needs your supervision unless you want to buy everything in the store she breaks. Tuesday would probably prefer to sell them under different circumstances.”
He snapped to attention and she led Kensey outside. They sat on a nearby planter.
“I know there’s a lot of stuff you want to touch. You want to look at it up close and see how the light hits it. You want to see how heavy it is. If it’s smooth or rough. I understand. But this is Tuesday’s special night and if you broke something she’d be sad. Oh sure, she has good manners so she’d act like it was no big deal. But it would be and then you’d be sad because you would have hurt her feelings.”
Kensey’s bottom lip quivered a moment. “I don’t want to make Tuesday sad. She’s nice and pretty and she teases Uncle Ezra until his grumpy face goes away and he smiles. She would be mad at me, huh?”
Kelly let Kensey climb into her lap. “She would be sad. Which is worse than mad. Because you like her and respect her talent, you need to take care around her things. Like a big girl. I know you can do it. We’ll go soon, but Tuesday is family and we want to celebrate with family. This is Tuesday’s big night.”
Kensey slid off Kelly’s lap. Tuesday stood near the windows, talking to Vaughan and Ezra.
“Why don’t you go in, tell her how much you like her work and then you can come out here with me. You can dance here in this courtyard until it’s time to go. Okay?”
“Okay, Mommy.” She kissed Kelly and then went back inside, heading straight to Tuesday.
Kelly gathered Kensey’s sweater and her bag and turned, nearly running Sharon down.
“I’m sorry. I didn’t see you there.”
“I heard all that,” Sharon said. “I remember what it was like having kids that age. So much energy. Hard to keep still.”
“Kensey and still have a very tense relationship.” Kelly smiled, watching her children through the window.
“I was an asshole for years. I’m sorry. I’m sorry for everything I’ve said that was cruel and hurtful. He told us the truth. But you could have many times. Why didn’t you?”
Kelly, still stunned by the apology, worked to find her reply. “If I had, it would have been to hurt the father of my children. As hurtful as the cheating was, as being thrown away by him was, he loves Maddie and Kensey. And you. You’re his mother. What could I have said? You knew he wasn’t a choirboy. Long before I came around. And it was over. I didn’t tell you because that’s something my mother would have done.”
