“If you’re lucky.” Haley smiled, liking that she could tease with him.
“Yes. If I’m very lucky.” Cal chuckled, turned, and walked down the hall to what she assumed was his room. Haley stood by the door and watched him. He’d said, “See you tomorrow” like there was no question. She smiled to herself. Maybe being an independent woman was worth it when you were alone, but with a man like Cal around she could see that it would be even more fun to rely on someone for a change.
He swiped his key card then glanced back at her. Catching her watching, he lifted a hand and grinned so big his dimples were on fine display. “Knew you couldn’t get enough of me.”
“In your dreams, big boy.”
He nodded. “You will be.”
Haley forced herself to back into the room and hoped he didn’t hear the very immature giggle that escaped before she shut the door.
“Mama, your face is all red,” Taz hollered.
Haley pressed a hand to her warm cheek. “When a man that fine claims to be dreaming about you, a red face is the least of your concerns.”
Taz looked at her like she was nuts.
She probably was.
Taz was up early and ready to hit the beach. Haley forced him to eat a granola bar before they gathered their gear, got dressed, and set out. The beach was so peaceful and beautiful this morning. The wind had calmed to a warm breeze and the waves were much smaller than yesterday. Haley wished she could go on a run, but fifteen minutes alone and Taz could bring the entire hotel room down or need another set of stitches. One of the downsides of being a single mom. Sometimes it was tough being alone, but it was so much better than the alternative, Brad always trying to claim she wanted him. She was head over heels in love with Taz so she tried hard to focus on all the positives of the two of them being together and not get frustrated that she didn’t have help. At home her dad and brother were always willing to babysit, if she asked.
Setting down their towels and snacks, she rubbed several layers of sunscreen on Taz’s face, neck, hands, and legs. She’d force him to keep a hat on in the sand, but he might get some exposure in the water and she was always concerned about more spots appearing. Luckily, most of his spots were covered with a shirt, only the one on his neck was visible.
Taz waited impatiently. “Mama, my swimming shirt covers most of the body. Let a dude get some sun!”
Haley laughed, grateful he wasn’t affected by his skin condition. Hopefully when he started kindergarten next year he wouldn’t get teased. If he did, some little people better watch out for the Mama. She massaged lotion onto her face, neck, and arms and then let him tug her to her feet. “What are we doing first?”
“Chasing the waves.”
He jumped waves while Haley held onto his hand tightly and steadied him when the undertow tried to pull him back out. They were gradually getting deeper. The water came up to Haley’s thighs and Taz’s chest when the waves receded and the water went well over Taz’s head and up to Haley’s shoulders when a wave rolled in.
“The water’s coming, Mama!”
She wrapped her hands under Taz’s armpits, hefted him up, and then jumped. They both laughed as the wave pushed them around. It kind of felt like being around Cal. She was in control one second and the next she was lifted off her feet, completely out of control and loving every minute of it, certain her feet would never touch the ground.
A roaring announced another wave coming. Haley held onto Taz’s shoulders and turned to look. “Oh, no!” she screamed. This wave was much bigger than anything that they’d encountered. It loomed above Haley’s head, moments away from breaking on top of them. She wrapped her arms around Taz and ducked, tugging him down instead of jumping. They should be able to slide right under the breaking point.
The wave broke on top of her head, like someone walloped her with a bunch of waterpiks. Her feet were swept out from under her and she rolled under the surface as water shot up her nose. Taz’s slick shirt was ripped from her hands. Haley screamed. Water filled her mouth and she gagged. Trying to see through the churning white, she had no idea which way was up or which way her son might be.
Panic pressed in on her along with the pressure of the water, she couldn’t breathe and darkness was lining her vision. If she couldn’t find Taz, she wouldn’t want to survive anyway.
The wave receded and she popped up above the surface. Her eyes darted around for her son. She spit and screamed, “Taz!” Her chest heaved and she couldn’t catch a full breath.
Her little boy. Where could he be? She slogged through the water, looking, praying. Let him come up. Please. Let me get my boy back.
“Taz!” she screamed, panting for air and pushing at the water as if she could find him underneath it somehow.
“Haley!” a voice hollered from behind her.
“Mama!”
Haley whirled around. Cal held Taz in his arms, striding through the water toward her. Taz was smiling, but Cal’s face was filled with concern. Relief washed over her, making her weak. She pushed against the water, running as fast as she could. Another wave came in and helped move her up the beach, when it receded she ran to them.
She grabbed Taz in her arms, burying her face in his wet hair then kissing his cheeks over and over again. “Taz! I was so scared. I’m sorry, I’m so sorry.”
Taz held her face with his little hands. “It’s okay, Mama. I flew out of the water like Superman and rode a wave. Cal picked me up. It was fun!”
Haley gave a strangled half-laugh, half-cry. Fun. She shook her head and looked at Cal. “Thank you.” He was dressed in a t-shirt and shorts that brushed his knee. His shirt was sweat-stained and wet from holding Taz. It was impossible to not notice how the material stretched across his muscled chest.
His blue eyes were somber. “I was about ready to go in after you.”
“Rescuing Taz is so much more important. I was fine. A bit beat up, but fine.” She tried to smile at him, but it probably came out as a grimace.
He blew out a long breath. “The waves can surprise you.”
“I know. They were pretty gentle then it’s like a rogue one came in. I guess that’s not a facetious term.”
“No, it’s definitely not.”
“How did he pop up when it just took me down?”
“Probably because he’s so light. Maybe the position he was in.” He shook his head. “Currents and tides are more unpredictable than the stock market.”
Cal had a serious side and it made her even more interested in him. He could be funny, but he also knew when not to be. Taz tried to squirm out of her arms. Haley didn’t want to let him go, but finally set him on the sand. “No more waves today,” Haley said.
“Ah, bummer.” He glanced up at Cal. “Can you get us more toys and stuff and we’ll build another sand castle?”
Haley shook her head. “No. I’m sure Cal has important things to do today.”
“More important than building sand castles?” He winked at her. “You make me doubt your priorities, pretty lady.”
Pretty lady? Haley pushed her dark hair out of her face. She probably looked like a drowned rat, but Cal made her feel pretty no matter how she looked. “We don’t want to bug you.”
“You two could never bug me.” He ruffled Taz’s hair. “Did you already eat breakfast buddy?”
“Just a gross noler bar.”
Cal laughed and the terror of almost drowning and losing her boy dissipated in the warm sun. “I need to grab a shower. I’ll have someone bring breakfast, the chairs, and toys down. After we eat we’ll build a sand castle.”
“Who’s the one with screwed up priorities now?” Haley asked. “You don’t need to spoil us.”
“I live to spoil you.” He actually bowed and Haley was swept up in deep like for this man.
“Can I have sausagers?” Taz tugged on Cal’s hand.
“You bet. Any requests from Mama?” He looked her over with those blue eyes.
Haley had a hard time not taki
ng a step closer. It’s just vacation. He’s a nice, thoughtful guy and you’re shook up because of how smooth he talks and because you thought you’d lost Taz. Don’t take this too serious. She shook her head. “I’m not picky.”
He tilted his head and smirked. “Really? That’s nice to hear.” Holding out his fist to Taz, Cal kept studying her until she blushed. Taz bumped his fist. “I’ll be back in a few minutes.” He turned and jogged up the sand toward the hotel, stopping to talk to the first employee he encountered.
Haley couldn’t help but watch him go. The striations in his calf muscles were impressive. She’d always been a sucker for the tall, lean athletes. Which is why you became a single mother in the first place, a little voice reminded her. She sighed. Yes, she needed to be very leery when Cal stared at her like that. Yet he didn’t seem anything like Brad who would strut around without a shirt and was forever making stupid bets with hundreds of dollars just to show how much money he had. Even though Cal was wealthy, he didn’t flaunt his money or his looks like Brad always had. Haley shuddered just thinking about him. Brad was another reason she loved vacation, no chance of bumping into him like back home in Crested Butte.
Taz tugged on her hand, interrupting her thoughts. “Mama?”
“Yes, sweetie?”
“Look.”
She glanced toward where he was pointing. Two young male employees were bringing chairs, an umbrella, a small table, and a whole basket full of sand toys. They stopped next to Haley and Taz and quickly set everything up.
“Thank you,” Haley said. She cleared her throat, embarrassed. “I don’t have any money on me to tip—”
The redheaded boy cut her off. “Oh, no, ma’am. We wouldn’t dream of taking a tip from one of Mr. Johnson’s guests.”
“You deserve it,” Haley objected. “This is everything we need.”
“Don’t worry, ma’am,” the other boy said. “Mr. Johnson will take good care of us. Enjoy.”
They both dipped their heads to her and walked away. Haley dried off with her towel, trying to tamp down her crazy curls that were worse than ever with the salt water and humidity. Taz started digging with a shovel. Her heartbeat was finally back to normal after the scare of losing him in the water. She didn’t want to take her eyes off of him now. She only wished he’d let her sit and hold him to her heart’s content.
She heard someone approaching and smelled breakfast meat. Her stomach grumbled. Cal was so thoughtful, but this was really a bit too much. Did he treat all his guests like this? A hot stab of jealousy poked her as she wondered if the redhead boy had been inferring that Mr. Johnson had many female guests and the employees were rewarded if they took very good care of them. She was pretty certain Cal was the manager, though he’d skirted her question about it. Would a manager have this much leeway and free time?
A twenty-something brunette approached with a huge tray stacked with covered dishes. She set it on the table and smiled at Haley. “What can I serve you, ma’am?”
“Oh, no, I can get my own.”
“It’s really much easier this way.” She held onto a plate.
Taz popped up next to Haley. “Sausagers and bacon. Please, please, please!”
The pretty girl grinned and started filling his plate with breakfast meat.
“Thanks. You wanna be my girlfriend?”
She laughed. “Sure.”
“I can’t amember your name.”
“It’s Kelsey.”
“Kelsey is my girlfriend and she’s beautiful.” He sat in the little chair next to Haley and immediately filled his mouth with a sausage link.
Kelsey turned to Haley, still beaming from Taz’s words. “Sausage and bacon for you as well, ma’am?”
“Um, one of each is fine. What kind of pancakes are those?”
“Banana-walnut. They’re amazing.”
“I’d love to try those also and some of the fruit.”
“For sure.”
Haley thanked her and she left them with an assortment of drinks on the table and more food than they would ever eat. One bite of the pancakes had Haley moaning. They melted in her mouth and the coconut syrup was the perfect touch.
Cal jogged up to them. “How’s breakfast?”
“Yummy,” Taz yelled.
Haley glanced up at Cal, freshly showered and dressed in only swim trunks. He looked yummier than any breakfast.
“Did you save me some bacon?”
“Is there more?” Taz looked greedily at the table with a piece of bacon in his hand.
“You’ve had enough.” Haley shook her head, stabbed some strawberries and watermelon, and transferred them to Taz’s plate. “Try these.”
Taz groaned and Cal laughed. He filled up his plate with pancakes, sausage, fruit, and an omelet that was stuffed with spinach, mushrooms, tomatoes, onions, ham, and cheese. He caught her staring. “Do you want one?”
Haley nodded, her mouth too full of pancake to respond properly. He slipped one onto her plate. Haley swallowed. “Thank you. This is delicious.”
“No problem.” Cal sat down in the chair next to her and bit into the omelet.
“It’s too much, though,” Haley said. The umbrella shading them, the warm sand underneath her toes, the waves rolling in, and Cal next to her, smelling and looking like some kind of cologne model. His warm, musky scent was better than the pancake. Yes. It was all a bit too much.
“Too much?” Cal’s brow furrowed.
Haley gestured at walkers and joggers running around them and eyeing their breakfast spread like they were royalty.
“Oh.” Cal’s face dawned comprehension. “I’ll call a couple of the boys and we can move it up to the pool deck so you don’t have spectators.”
“No. I don’t want those cute kids having to work anymore.”
“Why not? They need to keep busy.”
“Spoken like a true boss.”
He arched an eyebrow at her. “Don’t you like your employees to be busy?”
“Yes, but not doing superfluous stuff.” The two very part-time employees she had didn’t do near as much as she’d like.
“How is taking care of my most important guests superfluous?”
Haley couldn’t help but smile, loving that he’d included Taz in that statement. “We are definitely not your most important guests.”
“I say you are.” He tilted his head and studied her. “Definitely.”
Haley blushed and looked down at her plate. She cut a bite of the omelet and slowly chewed the delicacy. “This is really good.”
“Then please sit back and enjoy it. I promise you those ‘cute kids’ will be more than compensated for taking care of you.”
“Were you raised being catered to?”
Cal’s eyebrows jumped. “No, actually. I was raised working on a cattle ranch.”
“You were a cowboy?”
“Yep. Still got the spurs and chaps. Wanna see ‘em?”
Haley’s face flared even more. The image of him in spurs and chaps was really, really good. “If you’ll let me ride the horse with you.”
He pumped his eyebrows. “Sounds great. So, I still have a chance to see you again, even though I’ve done ‘too much’ today.”
“I didn’t mean to sound ungrateful. Thank you.”
He studied her and nodded slightly.
Taz set his plate in the sand and jumped up. “Will you play football with me?”
“Sure.” Cal set his half-eaten plate on the table and grabbed the football from the toy basket.
Haley sat back and savored her breakfast and fresh-squeezed orange juice as she watched Cal teach her son how to catch and throw. They laughed and teased. When Taz would finally make a catch, Cal would pretend to sprint after him then pick him up and gently tackle him into the sand. She’d had her fair share of dates since Taz was born, but if the men even noticed Taz it was like they’d premeditated it and brought him a little treat or gift or something. None of them seemed genuinely interested in him. Cal prob
ably liked Taz more than he liked her. She wouldn’t blame him.
Cal was having so much fun chasing Taz around and catching Haley’s eye every chance he got. She looked really great in a really odd swimsuit. The top was a fitted tank top and the bottoms a flirtatious skirt. He was used to bikinis, but this look worked for her. She was such a natural beauty with her olive skin and greenish-gold eyes. He could stare at her all day.
He didn’t notice Raul, his head of security, until the man tapped him on the shoulder. Cal straightened and set Taz on the ground. “Hey, buddy. How fast can you run to your mom and finish your sausage?”
“Really fast,” Taz said.
“Okay, go!” Cal smiled after the little boy as he churned through the sand, flinging a generous amount onto his plate before picking a sausage up, brushing the sand off of it, and plunging it into his mouth. To Haley’s credit, she simply shook her head and gave Cal a chagrined smile.
“What’s up?” Cal asked Raul, keeping his eyes focused on Haley and Taz.
“We have a situation I wanted to keep you appraised of. Can we talk somewhere more… private?”
Cal nodded. “I’ll meet you in my office in ten minutes.”
“Thank you, sir.”
Cal waved him off then made his way to Haley. His energy from a few minutes ago had dissipated. Usually work kept his full attention, but right now he’d rather hang out with these two. “Duty calls,” he said to Haley.
She stood. Cal had to resist the urge to touch her soft skin. “Thanks for breakfast.” She tilted her head toward her son. “Thanks for saving my baby.”
“I’m not a baby,” Taz protested with a mouthful of bacon.
She smiled. “And thanks for playing so cute with him.”
Cal couldn’t resist then. He reached out and brushed his fingers down the firm skin of her shoulder. The definition in her arms was impressive. She must lift a lot of boxes at that store of hers. “I enjoyed the first and the third task. Please don’t go too deep in the waves again, unless I’m here.” His hand wrapped around hers of its own volition. A tremble passed through her. Cal squeezed her hand. He shouldn’t have reprimanded her and brought up something that was probably terrifying, but he needed to protect these two.
The Independent One: A Billionaire Bride Pact Romance Page 5
