Emma smiled. Addison had taken to calling her mother because she thought it was more proper.
She found a vendor selling root beer and bought three cups. Taking a sip, she decided this spending money on food was not a horrible thing. She might even buy some of Martha Jean’s donuts later.
The girls loved their root beer. They quickly devoured their food and wanted to walk around the booths and look for “pretties.”
Emma held each of their hands and walked slowly, enjoying seeing friends from church and her neighborhood. She needed to get out more. She’d almost convinced herself that she was enjoying the time with her girls so much she wasn’t aching for Chayton. Until she saw him. He was standing by the booth for Martha Jean’s donuts. Jessica had a hand on his arm and they were discussing something, their heads bent together.
Emma’s breath caught. They looked so good together, both so tall and perfect-looking. His dark coloring was a perfect contrast to her blonde beauty. Tears stung at Emma’s eyelids. She tugged at her daughter’s hands. “Why don’t we go look at Fay’s cookies instead of donuts tonight.”
“Donuts,” Maryn insisted, pulling her closer to the tent and Chayton. “You can make us cookies.”
“Let’s just look at the cookies and pies. We can come back for a donut later.”
“No.” Maryn jerked from her grasp and ran to the donut tent and right into Chayton.
He glanced down and his face split into a wide smile.
“Coach!” Maryn yelled, extending her arms.
Chayton swept her up and hugged her. “How’s my girl?” he asked.
His girl? Emma’s heart expanded before she forced the idea of all of them being his girls from her head. He and Jessica made so much sense. Why, oh why had she been such a brat and pushed him away? They could’ve worked through her concerns and worries over Mason together. Now it was too late.
“I missed you.” Maryn kissed his cheek.
“I missed you too.” Chayton smiled at her then looked up and met Emma’s gaze. The air became dense between them as his dark eyes wouldn’t release their hold on her. Oh, she’d more than missed him.
Emma forced herself to walk the remaining distance, at least Addison stayed loyally by her side.
“Hello, Emma. You look pretty tonight.” Jessica smiled at Emma, releasing her hold on Chayton’s arm.
“Yes, she does,” Chayton agreed.
Emma blushed. “Thank you.”
“Well, this is perfect you showing up right now.” Jessica’s voice was sweet and confusing to Emma. “I’ll just leave you all alone.” She winked at Chayton and walked away.
Chayton was focused on Emma’s face, but he bent down and still holding onto Maryn, extended his hand to Addison. “How is Princess Addison doing today?”
She giggled. “I’m not really a princess.” Offering her hand, she giggled again when he kissed it.
“You’re a princess to me.”
Addison’s cheeks reddened. “Mother bought us root beer.”
“Your mother is very nice.” Chayton straightened and studied Emma. “Would you like a donut?”
“I would, I would,” Maryn chanted.
Emma nodded her head, still unable to find her tongue. She wanted this, him, so badly. But was it even possible for them? Especially with the way she’d treated him and if Jessica was in the picture?
Chayton bought half a dozen donuts and some apple cider. They took their treat away from the crowds to a picnic table down by the duck pond. The girls ate most of their donuts, but were pretty full from dinner. Chayton tore the rest of their donuts into pieces and chucked one to the ducks. Maryn and Addison loved that and had quickly ripped up all the remaining donuts and hurried down to the edge of the small pond to feed more ducks.
Chayton and Emma sat side by side not speaking. The crowds near them at the Harvest Hurrah, the quacking noise, and the girl’s laughter didn’t dissipate the tension that was growing by the second. Emma wanted to call the girls back and run for the safety of home, but she wanted to fix things with Chayton more. Yet if he was with Jessica it wasn’t fair for her to come between them. She knew she had to at least say one thing.
“I’m sorry I was so judgmental and mean after Mason was injured.”
He turned slightly and met her eye. “You could never be mean.”
Emma clasped her hands together. “I was. It’s hard being a parent.”
“I can imagine. I’m sorry I tried to tell you what to do. Please believe I would never put Mason in danger.”
“I know that.”
A muscle in his jaw worked slowly as if he wasn’t sure what to say next. Finally, he spoke, “Thanks for letting him come back to the team.”
“I prayed about it. It was the right thing to do.”
Chayton nodded and they continued watching the girls. They were so happy, laughing and squealing when a duck got too close. “I’ve missed you.” He gestured to the girls. “All of you.”
Emma stood, not sure if she was going to run or fling herself into his arms. Chayton grasped her waist in his hands and turned her into him as he sat on the bench. Emma gasped from the feeling of his touch. She’d missed it almost as much as she missed him.
“We’ve missed you too,” she admitted. “But I don’t want to come between you and Jessica.”
Chayton’s eyebrows rose. “There is no me and Jessica. She was telling me that I should make things right with you, and if I didn’t stay by your side and treat you right, she was going to kick my butt.”
Emma half-laughed. “Yeah, right. She told me last week that I shouldn’t hold you down.” She frowned. Was that how Jessica had phrased it? Her memory of Jessica’s words included a lot of self-doubt and jealousy. Maybe Jessica was on her side. “I don’t understand, Chayton. You and Jessica are perfect for each other. Young, beautiful, successful careers, unattached.”
“First of all, I’m not interested in Jessica, especially since she just threatened to kick my butt.” Chayton’s grip grew stronger on her waist as he tugged her a bit closer. Emma didn’t resist. “Second of all, I’ve never seen anyone as beautiful as you.” He pulled her onto his lap and his chest brushed against her arm. Emma caught a breath, but couldn’t stop her heart thudding out of her chest. “And third, I’m definitely not unattached.”
“Wh-what do you mean?”
He pulled her even closer and brought her body into full contact with his. Emma couldn’t find anything in her to protest.
“I’m attached to Mason, the tough lacrosse superstar who should’ve been my son; Addison, that beautiful sweetheart who is all princess; and Maryn, the adorable little firecracker who has me wrapped around her pinky.” He used his other hand to cup her face. “And most of all, I’m completely attached to their gorgeous mother who I can’t get enough of.” He lowered his face and kissed her with such fervency Emma wrapped her hands around his shoulders and hung on.
When he finally pulled away, she was faint with desire for him.
“Is there a chance you will let me into your lives?” Chayton whispered.
Emma held his dark gaze for a few seconds then she turned her head to check on her girls. The ducks had lost interest when the food disappeared, but the girls were throwing rocks into the murky water and laughing at the splashes. She focused back on Chayton. “Which part of our lives do you want?”
“Every part.”
“Are you really up for three children?”
Chayton grinned. “I have a question.”
“What?”
“How old are you?”
She swallowed and admitted. “Thirty-four.”
Chayton’s grin grew. He kept her securely in his arms as he said, “Perfect. I’m up for five or six children then.”
“Five or six?” Emma swayed in his arms.
“Your three children, that I love, and any other children that you and I can have together.”
Emma’s entire body flushed. “You want to have more?”
/> “If I can be with you.”
Emma nodded. “I can’t imagine anything I’d like more.”
Chayton answered her with a kiss.
“Gross, they’re doing it again!” Maryn screamed out.
Chayton pulled back and smiled. “She’s going to have to get used to this.”
“Maybe if we just keep doing it.” Emma said, a little too breathlessly.
“Perfect idea.” She laughed and then he was kissing her again and the entire world melted away. Maryn would definitely have to get used to the kissing.
1 lb. butter
1 1/2 C. white sugar
2 C. brown sugar
Cream together for 5-10 minutes
Add
3 eggs
2 Tbsp. vanilla
Mix together
Add
5 1/2-6 C. flour
1 tsp. salt
1 1/2 tsp. baking soda
Mix all together, adding enough flour until the dough isn't sticky then add 2 packages of chocolate chips and bake at 350 for 7 minutes convection oven or 8-9 minutes, regular oven.
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CAMI CHECKETTS is a part-time author, part-time exercise consultant, part-time housekeeper, full-time wife, and overtime mother of four adorable boys. Sleep and relaxation are fond memories. She’s never been happier.
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www.camichecketts.com
FAY HAD NEVER WISHED to escape from a library before, but suddenly felt a consuming desire to get away before she got roped into something more.
“Hardcover,” Marian, the assistant librarian, added before Fay slipped through the doors into the cool autumn air.
“Easier said than done,” Fay muttered as she tipped her face back to capture more sunlight. She had shivered through the library board meeting for the past hour and was glad to get out.
Not that she didn’t love working with the library or look forward to her role as the food competition organizer for the upcoming library fundraiser— the Harvest Hurrah. She saw Kirke Staples and Jennifer Solomon getting into his Toyota sedan across the parking lot. Those two were the best of friends, and rarely found apart— she admitted to herself that she was jealous of their closeness, even if they did say their relationship was platonic. Who were they fooling, anyway— besides themselves?
She let that thought float away as she turned to the right, heading the half-block to the café she owned. The lunch rush would get started soon and apparently she had to add finding a copy of Shakespeare’s play Much Ado About Nothing to her lengthy to-do list before the Harvest Hurrah. In hardcover, no less. Marian had ruthlessly cornered everyone on their way out of the meeting— she was a woman with a mission and not afraid to chase it. Fay appreciated that quality, even though she wished she had escaped without an assignment this time. When would she find the time to shop for a special enough book to please Marian? She shook it off for the moment, needing to put the meeting into its mental cubicle and focus on what she needed to accomplish at work.
The “bustling” city center of Echo Ridge was nothing compared to New York City, where she had lived for nearly eight years before returning home to take over her grandmother’s café after the original Fay had passed away. Though she missed the mix of sights, sounds, and smells that had encircled her in the city, she had finally been ready to return home to face the people who had made her life miserable as a teen. Now, partly thanks to her work with the library board, she felt like she had found her groove in the quaint town that had changed so much and so little in the last decade.
The library had been an escape for her as a child— almost as much as her grandma’s café had been, so she had been excited at the prospect of joining the board to help improve and support it. The other members of the board had mostly stopped staring at the tattoos on her arms, and the hot pink streaks in her otherwise black hair. When she had lived in New York City, neither of those things would have even caught someone’s eye.
She waved to Jonah through his gallery window as she passed and felt flutters in her stomach when she thought of the showing in a couple weeks highlighting her work. Funny how she had run to New York City with dreams of being discovered, but it hadn’t happened in any real way until she moved home again. Life had a way of surprising you.
She took one last glance at her notes from the meeting and scribbled something about the book she needed to find and then pushed through the front door of her café. Her eyes swept through the 50’s decor, black and white Naugahyde booths, shiny silver trim, black wooden frames around some of her drawings on the walls, and the rotating seats at the counter. She waved to her regulars— a trio of middle-aged women sitting in the corner booth who were taking a break for some peach pie and coffee. Strangers ate at another table and Maria, a single mother of two young boys, cleaned a coffee pot on the far end of the waitress area.
“Hello,” Fay greeted Maria and Hank, the cook in back. Hank took care of most of the greasy spoon-style food these days while Fay bounced between paperwork, baking, and covering the front during Maria’s off-hours. Once a week she even flipped burgers and deep fried various things for customers so Hank and his evening relief, Dale, could have time off. She was glad business had grown enough to bring Maria on full time instead of having to work day and night herself, though she would soon need to add more workers to keep up with everything.
The extra help was especially nice now she was baking in the mornings before they opened.
Fay checked in with Hank and Maria to see if they needed anything before heading to the baking end of the kitchen.
Though she tried to focus on the recipe, her mind kept wandering. The kick-off for the library fundraiser next week was going to be great. People in the community were so excited to have the bestselling author Armand D. Beaumont in their midst. She wanted everything to be perfect for the Hurrah.
In the meantime, she had another event she was providing cookies for, so Fay pulled her hair back and covered it with a net, donned an apron, and started mixing dough. She would let it chill overnight and bake in the morning.
She had whipped up enough dough for six dozen peanut butter cookies, eight dozen chocolate chip cookies and had moved on to snicker doodle dough when Maria stepped into the kitchen area. “There are a couple of men here who want to speak to you.” Maria’s Spanish accent from her childhood in Peru was barely noticeable most of the time, but it showed up when she was nervous. Fay was surprised to hear it now— were they IRS or something? Maybe cops?
“Tell them it’ll be a minute.” She needed to add the rest of the dry ingredients first so she wouldn’t forget where she was.
As she dropped the salt into the enormous bowl on the stand mixer, someone came through the door.
“I can’t believe you kept us waiting,” a familiar male voice said.
“She’s big on playing games,” another joined in.
Fay was surprised by both voices, but the second one jarred her. She felt her breath hitch, then set down the empty spoon. What were they doing back again?
When she turned, she saw her step-brother Bret and his best friend Austin Sparks standing in the doorway to the kitchen. “I told you to wait a minute, I’m not supposed to have people back here.” Besides, hair n
et. Ugh! Of course Austin would see her wearing one. It would give him an extra reason to make fun of her.
“We’re not technically in the kitchen. We’re at the threshold. And is that any way to greet your brother?” Bret asked.
“Or me? I know you can greet me far more nicely than that.” Austin was taller than her brother with light brown skin from the mix of his African American dad and Italian mom. Last time she’d seen him he’d been clean shaven, but now he wore a thinly-trimmed beard and mustache which somehow made his angular jaw look even better than before.
She glared at him as she moved away from the stand mixer and pulled off her hair net. She gave Bret a hug, intentionally snubbing the big jerk. “I’m glad to see you. What brings you both to town?” She gestured for them to move back so she could join them in the public area of the café.
Bret shifted out of the way, but Austin didn’t budge, making her put a hand on his shoulder and nudge him back so she wouldn’t have to push past him. Moron. Gorgeous, obnoxious, brilliant, funny moron.
“We’re moving back,” Austin said.
“You are? Both of you? Wh-why?” She got a hold of herself and gave him her steeliest gaze. “You’ve run through all of the snow bunnies and mountain biking girls at Gore Mountain? Maybe you hoped there would be more at Ruby Resort? Thought you’d drag Bret back too?”
His gaze cooled slightly. “Something like that.”
“Hey, I know you two get a kick out of insulting each other, but seriously, can’t you at least try to get along?” Bret asked. He and Austin had been best friends for years before Bret’s dad had married Fay’s mom when they had all been in eighth grade. It was a good thing Bret was so nice, or she would never have put up with his friend.
“I’ll be civil if he doesn’t tease me,” she vowed.
Austin smirked. “I don’t know if I can hold up my end of the bargain. She’s way too fun to tease. Her face grows pink and her eyes sparkle.” His gaze veered toward her hair.
She narrowed her eyes at him. “Sparking with anger is not necessarily a good look.”
Kisses Between the Lines: An Echo Ridge Anthology (Echo Ridge Romance Book 2) Page 30
