by Elle James
She wrapped her arms around his neck and buried her face against him, Sid Sloth crushed between them. Her body was stiff in his arms, as if she was tight with fear.
After a while, Lyla relaxed and loosened her grip around his neck.
Chuck crossed to the window to let in the sunshine. Everything seemed to get better when the sun was shining. The sun would scare away the shadows where bad things hid.
Lyla sat up and stared out the window, her sloth clutched under her chin.
“Feeling better?” Chuck asked.
She nodded.
“Hungry?”
Again, she nodded.
Still carrying Lyla, he entered the kitchen, then found a bowl and the cereal they’d purchased at the grocery store. He carried Lyla to the table. When he tried to place her in one of the seats, she refused to let go of him.
“Okay then.” He chuckled. “We’ll just make a few more trips. No worries.” Chuck ferried milk, a cup, a bowl and a spoon to the table. Once he had everything set out, he took his seat and settled Lyla in his lap. “Want to move to your own chair?”
She shook her head.
Chuck poured cereal into a bowl and sloshed milk over it.
Lyla picked up the spoon and scooped cereal into her mouth. With liquid dripping down her chin, she turned and gave him a milky smile.
“Whatever makes you happy.” He sat while she finished her cereal, with Sid Sloth in the chair beside them.
“You two seem to be getting along rather well this morning.”
Kate entered the kitchen, wearing jeans and a soft, baby-blue sweater. She was barefooted, and her hair was pulled back into a loose ponytail.
Chuck sucked air into his empty lungs. The woman took his breath away without even trying.
“I make a mean omelet,” she said and bent to pull out of the cabinet the frying pan they’d purchased at the grocery store. When she straightened, her gaze met his. Her pupils flared, and her cheeks reddened.
She had to be remembering what they’d done in the living room the night before.
Chuck sure as hell was remembering.
Lyla set her spoon on the table, having finished her cereal. She raised her arms to Kate.
Kate set the pan on the stove and crossed the kitchen to lift Lyla into her arms.
Chuck cleared his throat. “Why don’t you get in some morning cuddles while I fix breakfast.”
Kate smiled down at Lyla. “You’re on. Since I live on my own, I don’t do a lot of cooking. No use cooking for one.”
“I used to cook for my buddies on my SEAL team when we got together. Most of it involved a grill and huge amounts of steaks and ribs. But I’ve been known to make a decent breakfast when I have to.”
She waved her hand. “I’m not arguing. By all means.” Kate hugged Lyla close. “Where’s Sid?”
“He’s finishing his breakfast,” Lyla said, pointing to the chair where Sid sat as if he were waiting for someone to serve him cereal and milk.
Chuckling softly, Chuck manned the stove, pulled out the carton of eggs, shredded cheese, green onions, bell peppers and tomatoes. He started bacon in the skillet, cooking it while he chopped the ingredients for the omelets.
By the time everything was ready, Lyla had moved into the living room by herself and was playing with Sid and the doll Sadie had sent.
“Need any help, or did I time that right?”
He smiled. “Sit. I’ll serve.”
“Yes, sir.” She popped a sharp salute and took a seat at the little table.
Chuck set a plate full of a fluffy, yellow omelet and three slices of bacon in front of her.
“This looks amazing,” she said and sniffed. “Smells even better. But I can’t eat all of this. I’d be in a food coma before noon.”
“You need to keep up your strength. We never know what to expect or when.”
With her fork poised over the omelet, she stared up at him. “Do you think they’ll find us here?”
“I don’t know, but even if they don’t, it doesn’t hurt to be ready.” He sat opposite her with a plate filled just like hers. “Eat up.”
They ate breakfast together like a young married couple, talking and finding out more about each other.
“What does your boss think about you taking off for such a long period of time? Will you have a job to return to when Lyla and your sister are all settled?”
Kate smiled. “I should. I own the company.”
Chuck leaned back. “I’m impressed.”
She shrugged modestly. “I started out as a company of one employee. I now have twenty, and one of them is my general manager. She’ll have everything under control. I’ve been handing the reins to her over the past year, ready to move on to another challenge.”
“Like?”
Kate shrugged again. “I’m not sure. I haven’t found anything that inspires me yet.”
“The timing for relinquishing authority couldn’t have been better, what with Lyla showing up on your doorstep.”
“I know.” She shook her head. “Some things can’t be explained. You could say it was fate.”
Chuck stared down at the food on his plate. “Fate can be benevolent at times, and sometimes she can be a bitch.” He stabbed his fork into the omelet and raised a bite to his lips.
“Like when your family died in the car crash?” she asked softly.
He nodded. “And like finding Hank and the Brotherhood Protectors. I count myself lucky that I can use my training as a SEAL, taking care of others who might not be able to take care of themselves.”
Kate nodded. “I’m just glad I could be here for Lyla. She’s a beautiful little girl with a wonderful personality. I hope we can reunite her with her mother soon. I’m sure Rachel is beside herself worrying about her.”
“Hank’s working on finding her.”
Kate set her fork down beside her plate. “I’m glad she knew to call on Hank and the brotherhood. I wouldn’t have known which way to turn.”
“Fate,” Chuck concluded.
They finished their breakfast and laid out a plan to keep busy for the next few days. It included sprucing up the house with fresh paint on the interior walls.
After another trip to the hardware store for the supplies they needed, they spread plastic sheeting on the floors and furniture, opened the windows and went to work painting one room at a time.
For the next three days, Chuck kept his hands to himself, though it was a challenge.
The more time he spent with Kate and Lyla, the more he wanted to spend with them.
In the evenings, they sat around the living room. He or Kate read to Lyla, or Lyla played with Sid and the doll Sadie had given her.
Chuck insisted on cooking meals to keep from having to go out each night when Lyla was tired and cranky. Kate always pitched in, helping chop vegetables or setting the table. Lyla helped too, drying dishes and folding napkins.
An outsider looking in would think they were one happy family.
Even Chuck was beginning to feel that way. But he knew it couldn’t last.
He touched base every day with Hank to keep abreast of anything Kujo found out about the cult in Idaho. So far, Kujo hadn’t seen Rachel or made it past the cult’s security. He’d reported that in order to get inside the camp, he’d have to join the cult. And the cult members weren’t very open to outsiders at the time.
After the third day, they’d finished the painting inside by completing the touchup on the baseboards.
Three days inside was enough. Chuck cleaned the paintbrushes and washed his hands. “Who wants to go to the park?”
Lyla clapped her hands. “I do. I do.”
Kate stood behind Lyla, her eyebrows pulling together. “You think it will be all right?”
Chuck nodded. “All three of us will go as a family.”
Kate nodded and smiled. “Great! These walls were closing in, and the paint fumes are getting to me.”
“We’ll leave the windows open to air ou
t the house. Ten minutes enough to wash the paint off the tip of your nose and change into clean clothes?”
Lyla ran for the bathroom.
Kate followed, touching the tip of her nose and looking down, cross-eyed, to see where the paint might be.
Chuck laughed, his heart light for the first time in what felt like years. He liked being with Kate and Lyla. If, at the end of this assignment, they parted ways, he would have at least learned something.
Life continued after losing a loved one. And he needed to live it.
With that in mind, he decided to enjoy the day while keeping a close watch on the two ladies in his care.
Chapter 9
Kate scrubbed the paint off her nose, hands and arms and helped Lyla do the same. After she helped her niece into clean clothing, she ran to her own room and dressed in freshly laundered jeans and a white, cotton blouse. She brushed her hair out and left it hanging long around her shoulders.
Chuck seemed to like it when she left her hair loose. His eyes darkened and his nostrils flared when she came into a room with her hair down around her shoulders.
For the past three days, she’d done her best to keep from begging him to make love to her again. And it was just as well she hadn’t. Lyla had made a habit of waking up in the middle of the night calling out for her mama.
If she’d done that the first night in the house, the situation would have been embarrassing for all three of them and might have generated a barrage of questions Kate didn’t want to have to provide the answers for. Rachel should have that honor, several years down the road.
When Kate emerged from the bedroom, Chuck was attempting to teach Lyla how to play the Miss Mary Mack hand-clapping game in the living room.
Kate laughed when she saw them. “Where did you learn how to do that?”
A grin tipped up the corners of his mouth. “I have an older sister. She made me play this game until she had it down.” He returned his attention to Lyla and tried again to get her to clap in the correct sequence. They both laughed.
Kate smiled at the silly game, but her smile faded as she remembered how she and Rachel had played that game and others when they were little girls, not much older than Lyla.
She wished Hank would find Rachel soon. She missed her sister and hoped she could help her out of whatever mess she’d landed in.
Chuck straightened, his gaze going to Kate. “Hank’s people are on it. They’ll find her,” he said, as if reading her mind. “For now, we’re going on a picnic to the park.”
He lifted a backpack off the kitchen counter.
She blinked. “You made lunch that fast?”
“You ladies took more than ten minutes. I had plenty of time to make sandwiches and pack some chips, bottled water and a blanket.”
“You’re an amazing man.” She cupped his cheek with her hand and leaned up to plant a kiss on his lips. She did it all as if it was the most natural thing to do. When she realized what she’d done, she shrugged. What the hell? Why not?
Without an apology, she swung her hair back over her shoulder and headed for the door. “Last one to the truck is a rotten egg.”
She flung open the door and would have run out, but Chuck’s hands caught her arm and Lyla’s before either one could race outside.
That’s when Kate noticed a man on the road outside the house, walking a dog.
He slowed as he passed the yellow cottage, his gaze swinging toward them, his eyes narrowing.
“I’m going to be a rotten egg,” Lyla cried and wiggled free of Chuck’s hand. She ran outside, straight for the truck.
Kate’s heart stuttered, and then her pulse kicked into high speed. She ran after her, but Chuck reached her first, swinging her up into his arms. He carried her the last few steps to the truck and let her lean forward to touch the truck first.
“I win!” she called out.
“Yes, darlin’, you win,” Chuck said, his gaze on the man and dog. “Hop in so I can buckle your seat belt.” Chuck opened the door and deposited Lyla on the seat, buckling her in and then closing the door firmly.
Kate stood beside him, trying not to be too obvious about watching the man walking his dog. She could see him in her peripheral vision. He’d walked to the end of the road, turned around and was on his way back.
“Hop in, sweetheart.” Chuck held the passenger door for Kate. “He doesn’t appear to be armed unless the dog is his weapon of choice. In which case, you need to get in.”
Kate jumped up into the seat, and Chuck closed the door.
Her heart continued to race as Chuck rounded the truck and climbed into the driver’s seat.
“Do you think he—” Kate broke off her sentence and nodded toward the stranger.
“I don’t know, but apparently he’s the one Mrs. Turner was talking about the other night.”
“Should we stay at the house?”
“No. We’re going on a picnic on the other side of town. Hopefully, he won’t follow us there.”
“And if he does?”
Chuck opened his jacket, displaying a shoulder holster with a handgun tucked inside.
Kate’s eyes rounded briefly, but then she settled back in her seat, reassured he was prepared to protect them. As a SEAL, he had to be a good shot. She prayed he wouldn’t have to use the gun, but she was glad he was packing.
The drive across town took less than five minutes, and only that long because they had to stop to let an old woman using a walker cross Main Street.
The sun was shining, the day was warm without being too hot and Kate was ready to breathe fresh air.
Yet she couldn’t get over the feeling they were being watched. Perhaps it was seeing the man walking his dog that had set her on edge, but she had a hard time shaking the feeling.
At the park, they found a grassy spot beneath the spreading branches of an oak tree and laid out their blanket.
They were only a few yards away from the playground equipment.
“I need to call Hank,” Chuck said.
Lyla grabbed Kate’s hand and dragged her toward the swing. “Push me. Please.”
Kate looked over her head at Chuck. “It’s not far. You can keep an eye on us while you talk to Hank.” She nodded toward a woman who’d just arrived with her daughter. “Isn’t that the woman from the grocery store?”
Chuck stared across the field at the woman as she and her daughter walked toward the swings. “I think so.”
“We’ll be fine. I’ll stay close to Lyla. Join us when you’re finished with your call.”
“Okay, but don’t go any farther.”
“We won’t.”
“And Kate…” Chuck said.
“Yes?”
“Don’t share information with anyone, no matter how inconsequential. Words have a way of finding the wrong ears.”
“I’ll be careful.” Kate let Lyla lead her to the swings, while Chuck anchored the blanket with the backpack and pulled out his cellphone.
The woman she’d met in the grocery store was already at the swing set, gently pushing her daughter.
“Hello,” Kate called out as she neared. “Becca and Mary, right?”
“That’s right.” The woman smiled. “And you’re Kate and Lyla.”
Kate nodded toward the woman and helped Lyla up into the swing. “Seems we keep running into each other.”
“Hard not to, since it is such a small town.”
“How are you settling in?” Kate asked, glad for a little variation in her adult conversation. Coming from a thriving marketing company in LA to being sequestered in a house with one man and one small child, she found she craved a little more social interaction.
“Actually, we’re staying in a camper just outside of town while we look for just the right piece of property to buy.” Becca pushed Mary in the swing in a steady rhythm. “We’d like to have a garden to grow our own vegetables.”
“Wow. A camper?” Kate glanced around the park. “No wonder you’re at the park. I’m sure the ca
mper walls were closing in around you.”
Becca nodded. “Yes, they were. It’s nice to be outside in the fresh air. We needed the exercise.”
Lyla looked back at Kate. “I want to climb on the slide.”
“Okay, but be careful on the ladder.” Kate stopped the swing.
Lyla jumped off and ran for the slide.
Becca stopped Mary and tipped her head toward the slide. “Why don’t you go with Lyla and show her how it’s done.”
“Yes, ma’am,” Mary said and hurried off to join Lyla.
Kate walked more sedately behind Lyla and found a bench within easy reach of Lyla and the slide. She sat on one end and was glad to see Becca settled onto the other end.
“Is Mary your only child?” Kate asked.
“No, I have two sons I left with my mother back where we’re from. They’re in school, and I didn’t want to uproot them before we found a place to live.”
“That’s understandable.” Kate glanced at Becca before turning back to watch Lyla. “It must be hard to be away from your children.”
“It is, but they’re used to being with my mother. She takes very good care of them.”
Still, Kate couldn’t imagine leaving even one of her children behind.
Her lips curled upward. Here she was thinking she wouldn’t leave her children behind when she hadn’t had any and probably never would. She was getting to that age when women had trouble getting pregnant. At the ripe old age of thirty-five, she’d resigned herself to being alone.
Until Lyla came into her life, and then Chuck.
The two of them had opened a door she thought completely closed. Now that she knew what she was missing…
Sweet heaven.
She wanted a family.
Her gaze went from Lyla to Chuck and back.
She’d always thought her life was perfect. She was a successful career woman with a nice apartment in an upscale area of LA. She had employees who looked up to her and clients who trusted her work and tastes. What more could she ask for?
A husband to come home to and a child to love.
Kate swallowed hard on the lump forming in her throat. She loved being with Lyla. Sure, she was a lot more work that she’d ever thought a three-year-old could be, but her niece gave the warmest, sweetest hugs. How could she not love that little girl? And Chuck…there was so much about the man that Kate could love. Her chest swelled, and her pulse quickened. God, she hoped their first night of passion wouldn’t be their last.
