Texas Baby

by Tanya Michaels

  "Shiver Me Rum?" she asked blankly. Interesting choice for a vessel name. "What exactly does that even mean?"

  "Did I warn you that Captain Jason is a little eccentric?"

  "Fair enough. I wasn't entirely sure what a timber was, anyway."

  A dark-haired man in khaki shorts and an unbuttoned Hawaiian print shirt waved at them. "Baker! Good to see you. And your friends." He reached down to give Addie a hand, relieving her of the bags and cooler she carried before helping her up on the boat. "It's especially nice to meet you, Ms…?"

  "I'm Addie Caine," she said. "Thank you so much for doing us this favor."

  "Jason Marcos. And no thanks necessary. Always happy to help a beautiful woman." He gave her a rakish grin. "Giff did tell you I was richer than him, right? Better-looking, too, but you can see that for yourself."

  The blue-eyed man with his teasing smile and tanned face was definitely attractive, but Addie didn't respond with the flare of interest she might once have. Giff's ruining me for other men.

  Giff snorted. "Too much time in the sun, Marcos. You've baked your brains."

  Jason winked before helping Tanner board. "You must be Tanner. Giff's told me all about you. Want to be my first officer for the day?"

  Tanner squinted. "Is it hard?"

  "Nah. You can help me steer and be in charge of deciding when it's time for lunch."

  "Okay."

  Giff handed Nicole's carrier over to Addie, then hopped aboard the boat.

  "All right," Jason said. "First order of business, life vests!" He lifted the cushioned tops of a couple of bench seats against the railing.

  It was a nice boat, and a beautiful day to be on the water. The sky overhead was a bright, endless stretch of blue, punctuated by the occasional cottony cloud. Sunshine was reflecting off the rippling surface of the water, but the breeze kept it from being too hot.

  "Want some help?" Jason offered Tanner. "I've got two that might be right for you. Let's check them out and see which one fits best."

  Meanwhile, Giff selected one for Addie, holding it open for her the way he would a lady's coat at the end of a dinner date. She slid her arms through the holes, backing toward him, noticing that she could still detect the scent of his skin and soap beneath the tang of the water and the pervasive smell of liberally applied sunscreen. It was an act of supreme discipline to stop before their bodies met, to keep from leaning her head back against his chest. In reality, she subtly stiffened, holding herself but an inch away. In her mind, she tilted her head back to look into his eyes, to study that mouth that had enchanted her so thoroughly last Sunday, to give him access to kiss the smooth, sensitive line of her neck. She trembled with want.

  Rescue came in the form of Jason. "Addie, you need any help getting one of these on Nicole? I have a couple of choices for her, too."

  "Yes, thank you." She quickly walked toward the other man, glad to have something to occupy her before she did anything stupid. Like throw Giff down on the deck and try to seduce him.

  Once they were all appropriately buckled into the life jackets, their captain announced that the next item on the prevoyage agenda was, "Tunes. Reggae, Buffett, or the soundtrack from Pirates of the Caribbean?"

  Addie laughed at the selection. "Buffett works for me."

  They seated Tanner between Giff and Addie—she couldn't help noticing the way Tanner held on to the man's hand—and Jason started up the boat. They headed for deeper waters to the rollicking tune of "Cheeseburger in Paradise."

  "I know a great cove for fishing," Jason informed them loudly, over the combined noise of the wind, music and engine. "It's not too far, and it's not usually crowded. I'll turn off the CD player and switch to the trolley motor before we get there, so we don't scare all the fish away. We'll be there in a few minutes."

  "You hear that?" Addie asked her nephew. "We'll be there really soon."

  Face pale, he nodded.

  "Are you looking forward to fishing?" she asked, trying to distract him from his fear.

  "I guess." The words were barely audible.

  "You and I are going to catch lots of fish," Giff boasted. "Way more than your aunt Addie."

  She arched an eyebrow, but it was difficult to look stern instead of smiling at the way Tanner's expression had slowly eased. "Big words, Baker. Tanner, tell this goofball that your aunt is going to fish circles around him."

  Giff smiled down at the boy. "Well, no matter who catches the most, the end result will be the same. Fish dinner tonight, mark my words."

  * * *

  ADDIE FINISHED ATTACHING her lure, then grinned up at Giff. "You know that fish dinner you're planning?"

  "Did I say dinner?" His eyes danced with amusement. "I meant fish appetizers."

  She cast her line one last time. "Dude. We couldn't even put together an amuse-bouche." Jason was the only one who'd so far put a fish in the cooler they were taking back, although Giff had struggled to reel in something that had ultimately snapped his line.

  "Doubting Thomasina," Giff quipped. "Day's not over yet. We still have, what, another fifteen minutes?" Jason had told them he'd need to return them to shore no later than three-thirty because he was emceeing a children's cancer benefit tonight.

  "Silly of me," Addie said, "to discount the massive quantities of fish we're going to catch in the next quarter hour."

  "At least your nephew's rocking and rolling." Giff shot Tanner a fond glance. The little boy stood a few feet away, fishing rod in hand. He didn't use the boat's built-in rod holders that the adults utilized between casts.

  Although the little boy had ultimately decided that he wasn't quite ready to go into the water yet, he'd relaxed a lot in the last couple of hours and was having a wonderful time. Addie knew that the afternoon had been therapeutic for him and suspected that coaxing him into the pool at her apartment complex would be much easier after today.

  "What's he caught now, six?" Giff asked.

  Her lips twitched. "Something like that."

  Everything Tanner had excitedly reeled in had been too small to keep; Giff and Jason had explained that the fish had to be thrown back. A couple of times, Tanner's line had got another bite so soon after he'd released his catch that Addie wondered if it was just the same fish. Maybe one who was depressed and determined to end it all or, on the other end of the spectrum, a fish of undying optimism, convinced that this time the bait wriggling on the hook wouldn't be a cruel lie. Fortunately, Tanner hadn't seemed to mind that he hadn't actually kept anything.

  "I did promise the kid seafood," Giff said. "Since we're striking out here, let me take you two out to dinner. I know a great place not far from your apartment."

  She was glad she'd tossed changes of clothing into one of the bags. "Sounds wonderful." Truthfully, it sounded preferable to cooking their own fish. She didn't mind the activity of fishing—even on slow days, there was a certain cathartic, meditative quality in the casting and reeling—but cleaning the fish once they were caught? Ugh.

  Dinner out with Giff sounded like the perfect capper to the day, as long as she could stay awake. Right now, one glass of wine would be enough to put her out. She was almost boneless, mellowed from the warmth, the gentle rocking motion of the boat and the sweet, sweet sound of her nephew laughing. If Tanner were being quieter, there was a slight chance they could have caught more, but she didn't care. She wouldn't trade his joyous outbursts for anything in the world.

  Neither she nor Giff had reeled in anything worth keeping by the time Jason announced that it was time to stow away the gear and return to the dock.

  "Tanner, you want to come help me turn the boat on," the generous-hearted man offered. "I'll show you how everything works."

  "Awesome." The boy scurried after him.

  Addie's throat was tight with emotion.

  "Are you all right?" Giff stood at her side, peering at her with concern.

  The words didn't seem adequate enough, so she threw her arms around him instead, hugging him. With barely any
hesitation, he wrapped his arms around her, pulling her closer.

  "Thank you," she whispered up at him. "For today. For everything." Even for the way he made her feel.

  While she still questioned on some levels whether it was wise to fan the flames of the attraction between them, she felt alive and hopeful and connected, no longer adrift. She couldn't regret that. It was a tragedy that her brother had died so young, and it would be a disservice to his memory if she let fear keep her withdrawn, too cautious to seek happiness or let herself experience life fully.

  Stretching her calves as she went up on tiptoe, she angled her face and captured Giff's lips in a kiss that was every bit as hot and tangy and playful as their day on the water had been. He raised a hand to tunnel in her hair, deepening their kiss, then pulling away just enough to suck at her bottom lip. Need hummed within her, thick and urgent. Their tongues met and tangled, and Addie couldn't help imagining how good his kisses would feel all over her body.

  From what seemed like miles away, Tanner grumbled, "Aw man, they're doing it again. Kissing is so gross!"

  Jason guffawed. "Give it a few years, kid, and you might feel differently. Kissing's not so bad."

  Not bad? From Addie's perspective, it was pure, soul-deep bliss.

  * * *

  WHEN THE WAITRESS BROUGHT Tanner his plate of popcorn shrimp, she asked if he needed any cocktail sauce to go with it.

  He wrinkled his nose. "No. Just ketchup. Thank you," he added at Addie's pointed glance. She watched him dig in, recalling the way he'd barely picked at his food when he first moved in and smiling at his rediscovered appetite.

  "When I was a little boy, I loved ketchup," Giff told them. He was seated across the round table from Addie. They'd placed Tanner and Nicole, in a high chair, seated between them.

  With Giff right across from her, Addie had a natural excuse for watching him through dinner without feeling self-conscious. The day she'd first seen Giff, she'd thought immediately that he was one of the handsomest men she'd ever met. Even with that high standard as a starting point, he still seemed to become better-looking the more she got to know him.

  "My mom could tell you stories," Giff continued, "about the Year of Ketchup. I was four and I wanted ketchup on everything. Not just the normal stuff like hamburgers but eggs, macaroni and cheese, ice cream—"

  "Ew." Tanner laughed. "Ketchup on ice cream? That's even grosser than kissing."

  His reference to the kiss earlier caused Addie to blush in memory. Peering from beneath her lashes, she found Giff studying her, desire clear in his eyes, and her blush intensified.

  "Your mom is still alive?" Tanner asked.

  "Yeah. She was really sick for a while, but she's better now. My dad's dead. He went to heaven, just like yours," Giff told him, his gaze meeting the boy's in a moment of man-to-man kinship Addie couldn't duplicate.

  "Do you miss him?" Tanner asked, his voice trembling.

  "Every day. But I try to do things that I know would make him proud and that makes me feel closer to him."

  Tanner thought this over, then nodded soberly.

  "I think it would have made your father proud that you were brave enough to get on that boat today," Giff told him.

  The little boy sat taller, expanding under his hero's praise.

  "My mom's been away on a boat," Giff said in a more casual tone. "One that's lots bigger than Captain Jason's. The ship she was on can carry more than a thousand passengers."

  "Really?" Tanner sounded as dumbfounded as if Giff had said a million.

  "Really. If you ever meet her, maybe she can tell you about her cruise." He turned to include Addie in their conversation. "You ever been on one?"

  She shook her head. "I've only lived vicariously through Jonna. She went on one a couple of years ago and came back regaling me with stories about the midnight buffet." And her hot flirtation with the parasailing instructor, but that conversation wasn't fit for a minor's ears. "To tell you the truth, I'm not really a seasoned traveler. I've only been outside the state of Texas a few times. You?"

  "In the last couple of years, I've been on the road a lot," Giff said. "My friend Jake gives me a hard time. He loves to see new places and whenever I get back he'll ask about local points of interest or great restaurants in the area, but half the time the only places I saw were the inside of my hotel room, the client's office and whatever bar and grill happened to be midway between. I guess it never occurred to me to seize the opportunity to sightsee because…I never had anyone to share it with."

  That seemed lonely to Addie, but she didn't want to say anything that sounded like pity.

  "So if you could go anywhere in the world," he asked her, "where would it be?"

  She nibbled her bottom lip. "I can't pick just one. I would love to go to Italy…see Rome, eat lots of pasta. But the Louvre's in Paris. And I've never been to the Grand Canyon."

  "I know where I'd go," Tanner volunteered. "Mars! I want to see if any aliens live there."

  The conversation turned to NASA and the city's Space Center. Tanner had never been and Giff matter-of-factly offered to take him someday.

  Catching himself, Giff stammered, "If that's all right with your aunt, that is."

  "Please?" Tanner pleaded. "It sounds awesome."

  Addie nodded. "We'll find a day when we can all go." As she said it, she discovered it was no longer difficult to picture Giff as part of their future.

  In fact, it was becoming much harder to imagine a future without him.

  * * *

  ADDIE UNLOCKED THE FRONT DOOR while Giff, carrying Nicole, and a sleepy Tanner stood behind her. Once she had it open, she instructed Tanner, "Go brush your teeth, honey. I'll be there in a second to get your pajamas."

  "Okay," he mumbled agreeably. He started to pass her, then stopped, studying the two adults. "My mom and dad used to kiss a lot."

  "Yeah?" Addie asked cautiously, not really sure where he was going with this but hoping it didn't result in something uncomfortable like asking Giff to be his new daddy.

  Tanner nodded, looking unbelievably nostalgic for someone who'd only been alive six years. "I was thinkin'…Maybe kissing's not so yucky."

  Touched to have his blessing, Addie leaned toward him. "Well, in that case…" She kissed him on the forehead with an exaggerated smack of the lips. He giggled.

  "Night, sport." Giff squeezed the boy's shoulder and they both watched him scuffle tiredly down the hall.

  "That is one kid who is going to be asleep in seconds," Addie predicted. "Now, wish me luck with the other one."

  Nicole had been good-natured through dinner, not too fussy, but definitely wide-awake after an extended nap on the boat, alert and chattering her favorite nonsense syllables. Addie took the baby from Giff.

  "Tanner and I will be drawing thank you cards for Captain Jason tomorrow," she told him. "It was an amazing day. I wish…"

  "Yes?" Giff prodded, seemingly prepared to make her every wish come true.

  She averted her eyes. "I wish I could invite you in."

  He tipped her chin up. "Something changed today. You changed your mind…about us?"

  "Yes." She still had the kids to think of—she didn't want to rush into anything she'd regret later—but there was no more pretending that she didn't want to explore a relationship with this man.

  He flashed a heart-stopping smile before leaning in to kiss her good-night. "You won't be sorry."

  * * *

  GIFF COULDN'T REMEMBER the last time he'd overslept—back in college, he supposed. But last night, after he'd dropped Addie and the kids off at her apartment, he hadn't been able to stop thinking about her kiss, the way she'd shocked him on the boat, how right she felt in his embrace. The unmistakable desire in her expression when she'd admitted she wanted to invite him inside. In an attempt to distract himself before the images made him crazy, he'd fired up his laptop and worked until just before dawn.

  And now he was late. He'd promised to help Jake today with a do-it-yo
urself home improvement project.

  Without bothering to shave, he threw on a pair of jeans and an old T-shirt, then grabbed a cup of coffee for the road. As he drove, he realized that the last time he'd been to Jake's place had been the night he'd gone out there to give his friend his blessing to woo Brooke. When she'd broken up with Giff, she'd worried that dating Jake would cause too much strife between the two men. But Giff had realized, belatedly, that she was not the right woman for him and hadn't wanted to stand in their way.

  Had he now found the right woman? Heading to Jake's house now felt as though he'd come full circle.

  He'd no sooner climbed out of his car than Jake appeared on the front porch.

  "Hey," Jake called. "I was debating calling your cell."

  "Sorry," Giff said sheepishly.

  Jake shrugged. "Sunday's your day off, don't want you to feel like you have to punch a time clock. It's just that, with you being Mr. Punctual, I wondered if I should worry."

  "Overslept," Giff said. "I was up pretty late."

  "Let me guess, working late?"

  "Guilty." But not because he was a stuffy businessman with no other interests in his life—quite the opposite.

  "Well, come on in," Jake invited. "You just missed Brooke."

  "She didn't leave because I…?"

  "Not at all. She and some friends are throwing a surprise baby shower for Kresley today, and Brooke's the decoy, the one who made plans with her and is supposed to lure her to the party site later."

  Mention of the shower made him think of Nicole. It had been a challenge to change her diaper while she'd been kicking her legs and gurgling, but he'd managed. Even though she couldn't communicate yet like her endearing older brother, the baby girl had captured his heart. Her cinnamon-colored tufts of hair and blue-gray eyes matched Addie's coloring almost perfectly. If Addie had a baby of her own, would it look like Nicole? He knew she sometimes felt anxious about raising the kids, but she would be a terrific mother. She already is.

  "You okay there, hoss?"

  Giff caught himself. He was standing on the front steps of Jake's porch with a goofy grin on his face, thinking about Nicole's baby powder smell and that grin that made her look as if she knew a great joke she couldn't wait to share with the rest of the world.