by Jess Bryant
He was putting action behind his words. He wanted her here, with him. That meant his children would have to know sooner or later. She hadn’t expected it to be so soon. Hadn’t expected it to be today. Definitely hadn’t thought he would do it while she was half dressed and sex rumpled but apparently he was taking a page out of her playbook.
Impulsive.
And if she hadn’t been falling for him already, she would have been right then and there. Because they were rubbing off on each other. He settled her and she ruffled him up and somehow, someway, they balanced each other. He linked their hands and kissed her knuckles as the kids came through the doorway into the kitchen. A united front, he wasn’t letting her run and this time… she didn’t want to.
Chapter Twelve
Shane stood his ground as his kids came piling through the doorway of the kitchen. Piling was the right term for it too because Georgie, their automatic leader due to age and seniority, came to an abrupt halt when she saw them and her younger sisters ran into her. The little girls bounced off her, complaining loudly until they, like their older sister, saw that their father wasn’t alone.
He almost smiled at the comical way Georgie’s eyes widened as they ping-ponged from him to Lemon and back again. Almost. If Lemon wasn’t wearing his clothes it would’ve been funnier. Georgie’s obvious shock at finding him with a woman would have been amusing if he wasn’t absolutely certain his teenage daughter was putting the puzzle pieces together and figuring out exactly why it was Lemon was wearing his clothes.
He silently cursed himself for putting all of them in this situation.
He couldn’t believe he’d lost track of time. Lost the entire day really. He’d gotten up at his usual time, gotten ready for his usual run… and from there his entire day had run off the tracks.
First Holly had shown up to grill him with questions about last night and dinner and Lemon. Then there had been the spanking incident. A shower, sleep and more sex had dulled his senses. Lemon’s admission about her condition and his feeling of helplessness and then comforting her the only way she would allow. More sex and sleep and then he’d forced them out of bed thinking he had all the time in the world to talk to her, to touch her, to convince her to give him a chance because this thing between them was more than just off the charts sexual chemistry.
But somewhere in his fog of lust and Lemon he’d forgotten that he was only getting to spend the day with her because it was Monday. He’d forgotten that on Mondays his kids rode the bus home from school to his house because Holly had the late shift. He’d forgotten about his kids and that made him sick to his stomach.
Because his kids were his whole world. They were his life. His top priority. He never did anything that wasn’t in their best interest. He never did anything that would take his time or his attention away from them.
Until now. Until today. Until Lemon.
He hadn’t spent his day running errands or cleaning house. He hadn’t been father Shane all day. He hadn’t been cop Shane either. He’d just been Shane the man for the first time in a long time and he’d enjoyed himself. He liked the man he was when he was with Lemon.
He gave her hand a reassuring squeeze. He wasn’t letting her go. If his kids weren’t used to seeing him with a woman because he never dated, well they’d just have to get used to it. Because Lemon wasn’t going anywhere, not if he had any say in the matter. She was going to be a part of his life and it was best they understood that now. Her too. She needed to know he was serious about being with her and this, being together in front of his kids, was the best way to establish that.
“Hey kiddos.” He smiled at his daughters, “How was school?”
“Um… fine.” Georgie eyed their joined hands.
“School was so much fun today!” Rosie squealed at the same time “Dusty brought his pet leopard to school and I got to pet it!”
“Pet leopard?” He asked skeptically.
“Lizard. She means lizard.” Sophie rolled her eyes.
“That’s what I said!” Rosie’s voice rose.
“No it wasn’t.” Sophie huffed.
“Was too!”
“Was not!”
“Was…”
“Girls.” He cut the argument off with a firm shake of his head, “We have company.”
Lemon stiffened next to him but when he squeezed her hand, she squeezed back. She wasn’t running. She was standing with him. And honestly, as much as Lemon talked about running away from things he didn’t really think she was a runner.
She hadn’t run away from Fate when she was a teenager. She’d followed her dreams to Nashville. And she hadn’t run home to Fate when she got the bad news about her condition to avoid what needed to be done. She was home to see her family and seek their comfort. But she’d planned to go back. She wasn’t a runner.
She was just Lemon. A little wild and a little crazy and absolutely irresistibly fun and free. She couldn’t be caged or tamed and he loved that about her. Even if he knew that keeping her would be next to impossible, he wanted to try.
“Hi girls.” She spoke up with a smile.
“Hi Aunt Lemon.” Sophie offered up a shy smile, “Why are you wearing Dad’s clothes?”
Lemon stiffened and he swallowed a groan. He’d expected the question out of his oldest daughter, the teenager, the one that he’d thought would enjoy making them squirm. He hadn’t expected it out of the quiet one. But from the way Georgie smirked it was clear she already knew the answer to that question. Sophie, his sweet little eight year old, wasn’t being rude or trying to make them uncomfortable. She really didn’t understand. Rosie tilted her head, as if she was just starting to wonder the same thing and he thought fast.
“We went for a run earlier and Lemon’s clothes got dirty. I gave her some of mine to wear.”
“Why?” Sophie blinked innocently.
“So she wouldn’t have to wear dirty clothes.”
“But… why?” Sophie pressed, “Why didn’t she just go home and get her own clothes?”
“Because…” He started with absolutely no idea how he was going to finish his statement but luckily, his youngest daughter saved him from another lie that they’d probably all see through.
“Auntie! Auntie!” Rosie skidded across the room and tugged on Lemon’s shirt, which was actually his shirt, “Did you come to see my room?”
Shane vaguely remembered a conversation from dinner last night where his daughter had invited Lemon to come and see her new room. The last time Lemon had been home for a visit, she’d still had a baby room, her own words, but now she had a big girl room like her sisters. She’d proudly picked out her new bedspread and rug and bookcase and had wanted to show it all off. He’d all but forgotten about the conversation and was sure Lemon had too but his daughter clearly hadn’t and Lemon surprised him when she nodded instantly.
“Well of course I did.” She released his hand when Rosie raised her arms in the universal gesture that she wanted to be picked up. She swung the little girl onto her hip, “You promised to play princess with me and let me be the ice queen remember?”
“Elsa!” Rosie’s face lit up and Shane relaxed as the questions about Lemon’s attire slipped away.
“Yes! Elsa! She makes ice come out of her fingers right?”
“Uh huh and she has yellow hair just like you!”
“She does?” Lemon played along.
“Uh huh and her sister Anna has brown hair like me!” Rosie nodded excitedly.
“We’re gonna be sisters?”
“No, silly we’re gonna pretend to be sisters.”
“Ohhhhhh.” Lemon nodded sagely. “Of course. I can’t really make ice come out of my fingers either.”
“You’re not really a princess either.”
“Now that, my sweet little Rosie-Posey, is blatantly untrue.” Shane chuckled and Lemon stuck her tongue out at him.
Shane grinned because nothing had changed. Not for his youngest daughter at least. She didn’t find it od
d in the least to see Lemon in their kitchen. She adored Lemon and from the way Lemon smiled and held her and cuddled her, he thought the feeling was mutual. She played along, shooting him a covert smile over his daughters head.
“Thanks for hanging out with me until Rosie got home.”
He grinned right back at her, “It was my pleasure.”
She smirked before turning back to the girl in her arms, “Okay, Rosie-Posey. Point the way. I want to see this big girl bedroom of yours.”
“That way!” Rosie pointed with a giggle.
“Upstairs?”
“Yep!”
He glanced over to find his other two daughters still watching them. Georgie was smirking as if she knew exactly what she’d interrupted. Sophie was chewing on her bottom lip, her dark brows pinched. It was a classic sign that his quiet, shy daughter was trying to figure something out and he decided to cut it off before she voiced any more questions that he couldn’t answer.
He cleared his throat, “Soph, why don’t you go with them and show Lemon your new guitar that Lita and Papi got you for your birthday?”
Lemon spun to face his middle daughter instantly, her attention grabbed just as he’d known it would be, “Your grandma and grandpa got you a guitar for your birthday? And you didn’t tell me? Soph! I thought we were friends!”
His shy daughter twisted her hair, “It’s not that big a deal.”
“Oh, I beg to differ.” Lemon grinned as she headed for the stairs, “Let’s go little ladies. You’ve been holding out on me. I want to see all your goodies and I want to see them now. Show me to the tiaras and guitars immediately, Princess Lemon is ready to play.”
Georgie moved aside to let Lemon pass. He watched the gorgeous blonde sashay out of the room with his two youngest daughters and felt a pang of loss when she was out of his sight. He had to consciously remind himself that she wasn’t leaving. She was just going upstairs with his daughters. He’d go after her again in a minute. After he talked to his oldest daughter. Georgie started to turn and go after them but he stopped her.
“Not you. Stay. I want to talk to you for a minute.”
His oldest daughter turned back to him, “What about?”
“Lemon.”
Georgie’s brows furrowed, “Why?”
“Because you’re old enough to know what you walked in on.” He leaned against the counter and crossed his arms over his chest, “And I don’t want you to be upset.”
“I’m not upset.”
“I’m seeing Lemon.”
Georgie snickered, “Um, yeah Dad. I kinda got that.”
“I like her, Georgie. I like her a lot.” He tried to explain it a little better when she simply shrugged as if he wasn’t telling her anything she didn’t already know.
“Again, Dad. Kinda obvious.” Georgie giggled, “You two made googly eyes at each other all through dinner last night. Everyone knows you like Lemon. Trust me.”
“Googly eyes?” He grinned at the thought.
Had it been that obvious? He hadn’t thought so but clearly he’d been wrong if his daughter had picked up on it. Did that mean Seth knew too? He’d intended to call his brother this morning to talk to him about that little spat last night. He’d gotten distracted and forgotten but he supposed he’d have to tell him about Lemon. His little brother would undoubtedly have an opinion about Shane getting involved with his lifelong best friend. He wasn’t looking forward to that conversation even if a small part of him relished the idea of claiming Lemon as his.
“Uh huh.” Georgie giggled again and made a moony face, “You look at her like she’s the most beautiful thing you’ve ever seen, Dad. I think you even drool a little. It’s kinda sweet actually.”
“I…uh…” He scratched his head, unsure what the hell he was supposed to say to that.
His daughter had caught him mooning over Lemon. He wasn’t exactly the mooning type. Was he? He tried to remember how he’d acted with her last night at dinner. He’d gone out of his way to talk to her, to include her, to keep her near him. But he hadn’t thought his kids would notice that.
His parents had glanced between them a few times. Seth had made that comment about him treating Lemon like she was his date. But if Georgie had noticed, did that mean Sophie and Rosie had too?
“I told Mom you were totally into Aunt Lemon and she looked at me like I was crazy. She’s gonna freak out when I tell her you two were making out in the kitchen when we got home from school.”
Shane groaned as the reason for Holly’s visit this morning was explained. He’d wondered why his ex-wife had come by to give him the third degree. He’d thought it was just because he’d taken the kids back to her last night instead of keeping them with him like he normally would have. He’d known he would have to explain his actions to his ex-wife but she’d surprised him when she showed up this morning. Now he knew it was because his daughter had piqued her curiosity.
He made a mental note to have a discussion with Georgie about the things he and Holly didn’t necessarily need to know about each other’s lives. He’d told Georgie before that he didn’t need the dirt on when Brad stayed the night and how often he was around for breakfast. He’d never imagined he’d have to do the same for himself because he’d never really planned to start dating again. It had just kind of happened. Fast and unexpected, that was Lemon so for now he focused on this conversation.
“You’re not freaking out.”
“Nope.” Georgie popped a square of cheese into her mouth and eyed him carefully, “Should I be?”
“You’ve never seen me with a woman before…”
“So?”
“So I thought… I mean, I didn’t know if maybe you thought your mom and I might get back together someday.”
Georgie’s eyebrows shot up her forehead, “You and mom? Back together? Uh… no. I never thought that was why you don’t date. Is it why you don’t date anyone else? Did you want mom back?”
“No. I love your mom but…not like that anymore.”
“Well, that’s good because she’s got Brad now and she’s really happy with him.” Georgie popped another piece of cheese in her mouth and chewed, “And now you’ve got Lemon. Everyone’s happy. That makes me happy. No freak outs. Promise.”
Shane scratched his head again. He hadn’t been expecting such a mature response. George was an emotional teenage girl. He never knew what thing he would say or do that would result in crying and screaming. He’d thought the news he was involved with Lemon had a high probability of whining and accusations but instead he got this. The glimpse of the smart, capable woman his daughter was growing up into warmed his heart.
“I like Lemon.” She continued, “She’s really cool and nice and so, so pretty. And she’s famous, like super famous. You could do a lot worse, Dad.”
He snorted, “Thanks… I think.”
“No prob.”
This conversation wasn’t going how he’d expected it to at all. Georgie didn’t care if he dated Lemon? She liked Lemon. She knew Lemon. He supposed that must be why it wasn’t causing a total breakdown. He’d always thought if he ever did start dating that his kids would hate him for it. He’d assumed they would see adding another woman to his life as someone to compete with for his time. Now he wondered if he had any clue what the hell he was doing with this whole parenting thing because Rosie and Sophie were upstairs with Lemon like it wasn’t odd in the least and Georgie was shrugging her way through the whole thing like it wasn’t a big deal at all.
Maybe it wasn’t.
“Look, this thing with Lemon it’s really new but I want to make it work so it’s nice to know you support it.”
“Totally.” Georgie popped another piece of cheese in her mouth, “Maybe just save the make-out sessions for when I’m not in the house because… gross.”
He laughed, “You didn’t see a thing.”
“Oh, Dad, I didn’t have to. She’s wearing your clothes for God’s sake.” Georgie made a face, “Sophie and Rosie might
buy that she got hers dirty and needed something to change into but I’m not a gullible little kid and I don’t.”
“Georgie…”
“No way. We’re not having that talk about you and Lemon. You’re my Dad. Gross.”
“Georgie…”
“Mom gave me the birds and the bees talk already. I don’t want to have it again. Please just drop it?” She plugged her ears with a laugh, “La-la-la I can’t hear you. I can’t hear you. I can’t hear you.”
Shane laughed because there was his precocious daughter. She was still such a kid sometimes. He grinned and pulled his daughters hands down from her ears.
“No sex talk.”
“Promise?” She asked skeptically.
“Promise.”
“Good.”
“So you’re really okay with me dating Lemon?” He was the skeptical one this time.
“Sure.”
He might have missed it if she wasn’t his daughter, if he wasn’t watching her so closely, but he saw it. He saw the split second of hesitation. The slight wrinkle between her eyes. It was the same one Holly got when she was thinking really hard. Georgie and Sophie had both inherited that wrinkle but Rosie was still so young and carefree he hadn’t seen it on her yet. He figured it was only a matter of time.
For the most part, their daughters resembled them both. He saw both himself and Holly in each of the girls. But Georgie was a little more Holly than the other two. Sophie and Rosie had both inherited his darker skin tone and dark hair. Georgie was the blonde with the pale porcelain skin like Holly, so much so that when he was still a dumb teenage boy he’d questioned if it were even possible he was her father once or twice. It had been a stupid thought. He knew that now. Georgie might not have gotten his coloring but her stubborn hard-headedness was all him. It was the main reason they butted heads all the time.
“Georgie? What’s going on in that head of yours, honey? Spit it out. If you’re not okay with this we need to talk about it now because…”
“No. It’s not that. I love Lemon. Just…” She lowered her voice, “Does this mean she’s staying? In Fate? I thought she was just visiting and I…I don’t want you to get hurt when she leaves and goes back to her real life.”
