by Iris Abbott
Daisy offered him a small smile. “I’d still feel better if I had my eyes on him,” she explained. Daisy held out the containers she was holding. “I come bearing gifts. Where’s the kitchen?”
Carson wanted to ease the lingering tension that existed between them. He wanted Daisy to be comfortable around him in and out of the bank. “The kitchen is right over there. And there are big glass windows, so we can see Lucas and Rosie just fine from there.” He held out his hands. “Let me take those containers for you.”
Daisy handed over the boxed brownies. She gave Carson a tentative smile and briskly walked into the kitchen. “Lucas and I baked most of last evening,” she informed him with a nervous laugh. The big smile she received from her host made her insides flutter. The look he was giving her made the added effort well worth it.
“I can’t wait to sink my teeth into them,” he confessed. “I’m not complaining, mind you, but it looks like more than one batch here.”
“There are extras,” she happily told him. “Since you invited us over to your house and agreed to cook, I figured the least I could do is make dessert. You’re so fond of chocolate I thought you wouldn’t mind having a batch all to yourself.”
Carson patted his trim belly. “That was great thinking, Daisy.” He picked up the smallest container and gave it a light shake. The dog treats rattled around inside. “Cookies too, I see.” He winked. “I must have been a really good boy to deserve all these sweets.”
“Those are for Rosie, not you.” Daisy quickly clarified. “They’re made from regular ingredients you find in most kitchens. Nothing harmful in there, but Lucas and I figured that Rosie should have her own treats. She shouldn’t be eating your brownies since they have chocolate in them.”
Daisy abruptly stopped talking. “Sorry. I certainly don’t need to tell you that Rosie shouldn’t eat chocolate. I’m sure you knew that already. You’re thorough, if nothing else.”
“You have nothing to be sorry about,” he insisted. “I’m touched that you went to so much trouble for both me and the dog.”
Daisy felt heat flushing her cheeks. “It was nothing, really. The dog treats were Lucas’s idea actually.”
He glanced out the window at the happily playing boy and dog. “That doesn’t surprise me at all. But I’m sure that Lucas didn’t make and bake them all by himself. So I’m thanking you, Daisy Carter.”
“But…”
He placed a finger over her lips to silence her. “Just accept my thank you, and let’s move on,” he suggested. Her lips were full and warm, wet to the touch. Carson couldn’t wait to taste her. But he knew that wouldn’t be happening with witnesses, especially Lucas.
Daisy took a step back and Carson’s hand fell away. “Okay, you’re welcome. Now, what can I do to help with dinner? It isn’t going to take Lucas and Rosie long to work up an appetite.”
“There isn’t much to be done. I’m thorough, remember?” he teased her. “The steaks are on a platter in the fridge. The tossed salad is in a large serving bowl in there as well. I’m going outside to start the grill. Follow me on out. You can make yourself comfortable and keep an eye on Lucas at the same time.”
“Sounds good,” she replied. “What about drinks?” she called out to Carson just as he exited the door.
“There’s already a pitcher of sweet tea and lemonade waiting for us on the patio. All you have to do is sit back and relax, or join in some of the fun with Lucas and Rosie while I man the grill.”
She watched Lucas and Rosie rolling around on the ground wrestling with each other. “Umm, that’s quite all right. I’m fine right here on the patio.”
“Suit yourself.” He lit the grill and joined her at the table.
“Are you sure I can’t do something to help?”
“Nope, everything is under control. Just sit back and enjoy yourself. You’re my guest, remember?”
****
How could she forget? The pesky butterflies were flying around her stomach again. Maybe a cool refreshing drink would help ease the building tension inside her. Daisy picked up the pitcher of iced tea and poured a glass for herself.
She took a tentative sip of the iced beverage. It was surprisingly perfect. It wasn’t too sweet, and it wasn’t too bland either. She glanced up and caught Carson staring at her. She took a big gulp of the tea. The liquid went down the wrong way and Daisy started coughing.
Carson rushed over and rubbed her back. “Are you all right? I can get you something else to drink if you want it,” he offered.
She stopped sputtering and caught her breath. “No, no, I’m fine.” She insisted while waving him away. “Your sweet tea hit the spot. It’s really good, actually. It just went down the wrong pipe.”
Carson gave her a knowing look that was topped off by a boyish grin. He sat down next to her and helped himself to a tall glass of lemonade. “The grill will take about ten minutes to preheat,” he explained. “That gives us time to visit with each other while those two play themselves out.”
Daisy suddenly found herself tongue-tied. She nervously rubbed her hands up and down her denim-clad thighs. At least the denim skirt had been a good choice for dinner attire. It was one less thing for her to be nervous about.
That didn’t mean she was up to making small talk with Carson. A thousand conversation topics ran through her mind. She couldn’t settle on any one of them. She remained silent long enough that things started to get awkward.
Finally she fell back on good ole Southern manners. She was a Texan born and bred after all. “It was really nice of you to invite Lucas and me over for dinner. I can assure you that my nephew will be talking about this for days to come.”
Carson looked at her with his sinfully sexy and dark eyes. Daisy was sure her heart skipped a beat. She continued to look into his eyes until he broke the spell by speaking.
“You’re welcome, but I have to confess that dinner with a beautiful woman bearing the gift of brownies is not a hardship.”
Daisy wasn’t sure if he was jesting or being serious. “I don’t know about beautiful. I’m just a woman with a child in tow.” She felt compelled to remind Carson of Lucas’s existence.
Carson slid forward to the edge of his chair until their knees were touching. “You seem to be under the mistaken impression that that makes a difference to me, or worse that I’m anti-child. I can assure you that neither is true.”
This was an awkward can of worms. Daisy wished she hadn’t opened it, but it was too late to do anything about it. “Well you’re almost thirty-five and single, without a child in sight.” She shrugged. “I thought maybe you were too focused on your career to want or need a family.”
“That’s not true,” he was quick to correct her. “I was actually married right out of college. I’d hoped my wife and I would start a family sometime in the future. But it didn’t happen. And it was a long time ago,” he said with a sigh.
He looked pained and Daisy was really sorry she’d started this conversation topic. “I’m sorry, Carson. I didn’t mean to upset you by reminding you of your loss.” She was ruining everything, with her big mouth.
Carson laughed a bitter laugh. “Trust me, she was no loss. She never loved me and her obsessive ambition slowly poisoned our relationship until there was nothing left. Then she moved on to someone else with a better job title and bigger wallet.”
Daisy was surprised that Carson would share something so personal with her. She did her best not to participate in gossip, but she was pretty sure not too many people in Rancher’s Bend knew about Carson’s failed marriage. “That sounds horrible,” she said in a whisper. “You must have felt really betrayed,” she guessed out loud.
“I did at the time, but I’ve been over my ex-wife for years.” He shrugged. “And I’m sure whatever I went through was no more awful than what Travis did to you.” He shook his head in disgust. “Who abandons his wife because of her love for a small child?” He reached out and grabbed her hand. “You’re better off without
him, and so is Lucas.”
Daisy knew that. But sometimes it was nice to hear someone else say it too. “At least he was honest about wanting nothing to do with Lucas upfront. It would have been much more devastating if Lucas had gotten attached to him, and then Travis decided to leave.”
Daisy pulled her hand away from his. Holding hands seemed innocent enough, but nothing with Carson was ever that simple. Lucas and Rosie came running their way. “Lucas doesn’t know why Travis and I divorced. Let’s please discuss something else, especially when he’s around.”
“No problem. I’d much rather talk about you anyway.”
He winked at her, and Daisy felt her insides melt.
Lucas stopped by his aunt’s side. “We’re hungry. When’s dinner?”
Carson stood. “Dinner is coming right up.” He looked at Daisy. “I’m going to put the steaks on the grill. It won’t take more than ten minutes. Why don’t you go ahead and get Lucas cleaned up. The weather is cooperating beautifully, so I thought we would eat out here. How does that sound?”
“Yay!” Lucas cried.
Daisy laughed. “Out here on the patio it is then.” She gave Lucas a stern look. “But there will be no sneaking food to the dog under the table.”
“But, Aunt Daisy!”
“Mind your manners, Lucas!” She was quick to correct her nephew. “And no buts, Rosie needs to eat her own food.”
“I’ll bring her food and water bowl out here, so she can eat with us,” Carson promised.
“Yes!” Lucas pumped his tiny fist in the air.
Another crisis averted. Daisy sent Carson a thankful smile. “Let’s go inside and get you cleaned up,” she told her nephew.
“On your way back out, grab the salad from the fridge. I have outdoor dishes I use for the patio. I’ll get those along with the silverware and set the table while the steaks are cooking.”
Dinner was animated due to Lucas’s constant chatter. Her nephew asked so many questions, Daisy lost count. Much to her surprise, Carson seemed to take it all in stride. He didn’t lose his patience, or if he did he hid it very well. He engaged Lucas in conversation throughout the entire meal and answered the boy’s endless questions.
Daisy took full advantage of the opportunity to observe their interactions. It was painfully obvious to her that Lucas thrived under the spotlight of Carson’s attention. He listened with wide eyes to every word Carson had to say. And the two males enthusiastically talked about dogs, sports, and cars, the very subjects that Daisy knew almost nothing about.
The extended conversation dragged the meal out for almost an hour. Daisy’s nerves were stretched so taut she was frazzled. Finally when all three plates were mostly empty and a companionable silence fell, Daisy pushed back her chair and stood.
“I’ll be more than happy to help with cleanup before we leave,” she offered. It was the least she could do after he’d cooked such a wonderful meal.
Carson stood also. “I usually just throw everything into the dishwasher,” he admitted. “But I’ll take you up on that offer, thanks.”
“No problem, it’s only fair after you did most of the cooking.”
“I wanna help,” Lucas volunteered.
Daisy reached over and ruffled his hair. “I know you do, honey.” She used her ace in the hole. “But then who’d keep Rosie company?”
“Oh yeah,” he loudly sighed. “Can we go back into the yard?”
“I’m afraid not, sport. It’s mighty dark out there away from the house.”
Carson cleared his throat. “Sorry about that, I’ve been thinking about installing more outdoor lighting. I’ve just never gotten around to it,” he admitted. “I’d be happy to turn on the TV. Lucas and Rose can crash in the living room while we clean up,” he suggested.
“Sounds good,” Daisy and Lucas both agreed. She turned her attention toward Lucas. “Let’s go wash your hands and then we’ll find something age-appropriate for you and Rosie.”
“Okay!” Lucas excused himself from the table and hurried toward the bathroom. Daisy gave Carson a quick smile and followed after her nephew. She was looking forward to a few minutes away from Carson to gather her wits. The man kept her on edge when he was near, and quite frankly she could use the break.
Her short reprieve from Carson’s nerve-racking presence was over almost as soon as it began. Lucas wasn’t one to linger over washing up. The little boy most certainly didn’t waste time with Rosie waiting for him. Daisy followed him into the living room at a much slower pace. She took slow, deep breaths as she went.
That lasted until she saw Carson. He sent her a knowing look and the breath caught in Daisy’s throat. She coughed. “Find anything good on TV?” She quickly asked the question to hide her embarrassment.
He gave her a crooked smile that caused her heartbeat to skyrocket. “I actually found a nature show about dogs. I thought that Lucas and Rosie both might appreciate that one.”
Daisy smiled her approval. Lucas was already seated on the sofa with Rosie at his feet. His eyes were glued to the television. The sooner they finished the dishes, the faster Daisy could leave. “I’ll be back in about thirty minutes,” she informed Lucas. “Call out or come to the kitchen to get me if you need anything.”
“Okay, Aunt Daisy.” The little boy quickly turned his attention back to the dogs on the screen.
She swallowed a sigh and took a couple of steps toward the kitchen. “Let’s tackle those dishes.” She sounded more enthusiastic than she felt.
“Do you want to wash or dry?” she asked Carson when they reached the kitchen. Her voice was husky and she cleared her throat in an attempt to sound normal.
“I’ll dry, since I know where everything goes.”
Daisy busied herself running hot water and dispensing the dishwashing detergent into the sink while Carson brought in the dirty dishes. She spent the next few minutes scrubbing, rinsing, and generally looking anywhere but at Carson.
Working in such close quarters with her boss turned dinner host frazzled her nerves. “That’s the last one,” she managed to get out without stammering or stuttering. Their fingers touched when she handed him the plate. Her stomach dropped as if she was on a rollercoaster ride.
She yanked her hand away and the dish clattered to the floor. Thank goodness the outdoor dishes were far from fragile. “Sorry about that,” she bent down to retrieve the plate.
Carson made a move for it too. Their heads collided. Daisy reeled backwards. Carson instantly came to her aid. He reached out and steadied her with his strong, capable hands. “Whoa, I’ve got you,” he proclaimed.
And that was exactly what Daisy was afraid of. She took a quick step away from Carson and shook off his grasp. She could still feel the imprint of his fingers on her skin. She lightly rubbed her arms. “That was clumsy of me, sorry.”
“I guess we both have hard heads, no damage done.” He chuckled.
His deep laughter put her at ease. Daisy relaxed and evened out her breathing. She laid down the dishtowel and rubbed her hands down the front of her skirt. “Well, thank you for inviting us. The steaks were perfect. It was a nice change from having to eat my own cooking.”
Carson narrowed his eyes. “I’ve tasted your cooking more than once. There’s nothing wrong with it. I could make a meal off of your brownies alone.” He rubbed his belly.
“Shh,” Daisy insisted. “Don’t say that too loud. It’s hard enough for me to get healthy food into Lucas. If he hears you say that my job will only get harder.”
“Sorry,” but the wicked grin he gave Daisy told her he was anything but.
She took the opportunity to make a break for it. She definitely needed to regroup. That was only going to happen when she was well away from Carson and the myriad of emotions he made her feel. “Speaking of Lucas, his bedtime is fast approaching. We should be going.”
“I’m glad the two of you could make it tonight. It was nice to have a meal in the comfort of my home with someone besides myself for
company. Rosie appreciated the company too.”
Daisy gave him a disbelieving look. “Rosie I would believe, but the rest? Come on, Carson! I doubt if you have any trouble finding dinner guests, especially women. So don’t try selling that one, because I’m not buying.”
He just shrugged. And they both walked into the living room where they’d left Lucas and Rosie. Neither of them spoke.
The only noise in the house was the soft sound of the television show playing in the background. Lucas was curled up on the couch fast asleep. Rosie was stretched out on the floor in front of where the child was lying. The dog was worn out and didn’t even look up when they entered the room.
“Those two are done for,” Carson whispered. “Do you want to wake Lucas or do you want me to carry him out to the car for you?”
“No! Don’t wake him,” Daisy said in a horrified whisper. “He’ll be whiney and fussy for the rest of the night if he’s disturbed.”
Carson stopped next to the couch. “I’ll carry him then,” he offered in a low, hoarse whisper.
“That’s all right.” She brushed aside his offer. “I can do it myself.” She moved next to the couch and bent down toward her nephew.
Carson gently moved her aside. “I know that you are used to doing everything for you and Lucas on your own.”
“Yes,” she firmly nodded her head. “It’s just been Lucas and me for a long time now.”
Placing a large, strong hand over hers, Carson guided her a few steps away from the sleeping child. “It doesn’t have to be that way,” Lucas informed her. “You have some great friends here in Rancher’s Bend. I hope you count me among them,” he said. “Now I want to help. Let me,” he gently commanded. Before she could say anything else, he held up a hand. “I insist.”
Who could argue with that? Not Daisy, she nodded her agreement. She didn’t stop him when he scooped a sleeping Lucas into his arms.
“Ready,” he whispered. He slowly walked toward the front door, careful not to jostle Lucas as he moved. Carson stopped a couple of feet from his destination. He turned toward Daisy with a searching gaze.
