Heaven help her, now she actually felt bad for thinking such unkind thoughts about him.
“Hailey, please. Give me a chance to get to know my kids. I’m the only father they’ve got. How about we at least ask them and see what they think?”
Before she could respond, Eli came barreling into the kitchen, stopping short when he caught sight of Aaron. “Uh, hello,” he said, his subdued tone so unlike him that Hailey took a second look.
“Hello to you, too.” Aaron smiled. “Your sister and I were just talking.”
“About me?” Squinting at him, Eli went over to the refrigerator and poured a glass of orange juice.
“No, not about you.” Hailey ruffled his hair. A second later, Tom and Tara arrived, jostling each other with their elbows, each trying to get through the doorway first. Hailey was glad to see a little bit of spark in Tara.
It didn’t last for long. The instant the twins saw Aaron, their expressions identically shut down. Some of the tightness in Hailey’s chest eased when she saw that.
“Hey, kids.” Aaron cleared his throat. “I know you don’t really know me, and I don’t really know you, but I’d like to try to change that. How would you feel about hanging out with me today? I thought we could go to the lake and fish or—” he cast Tara a sideways look “—lay out. Or whatever. Just take it easy and get reacquainted.”
All three of the kids looked at Hailey in unison. “We sort of have plans,” Tara stammered.
“I know.” Aaron’s smile remained steady and even. “Hailey told me. She said she’d let you decide.”
While Hailey actually had said no such thing, she didn’t see the point in protesting. Not now. She already had a pretty good idea which way this was going to go.
“I’d like that,” Tom said, surprising everyone. He shot Hailey a defiant look. “All the other kids have dads. I’ve been sad not having my own.”
Hailey’s heart wrenched. She hadn’t thought of what it must be like to be a boy, missing a masculine influence. But that said, was Aaron really the kind of person she wanted influencing Tom and Eli?
It appeared she wasn’t going to have a choice, at least not right now.
“I’d like that, too,” Eli piped in hesitantly. He idealized his older brother, and whatever Tom wanted, Eli wanted, too.
“Great!” Aaron’s smile widened. “What about you, Tara?”
Making a show out of studying her fingernails, Tara shrugged. “I don’t know. I guess. As long as you take us out for lunch.”
At that, Aaron’s smile slipped a little. “I don’t have money for that,” he said apologetically. “I’m sorry.”
“I can pack you all a picnic lunch,” Hailey heard herself offer. “Nothing fancy, just sandwiches and chips and drinks.”
“Wonderful.” Raising his hand as if he were about to high-five her, Aaron thought better of it and lowered his arm. “Thank you so very much. As soon as I can, I’ll make it up to you.”
“Sure,” she said, knowing better. She’d heard that all her life from her mother.
“In fact,” he continued, watching her closely. “I’m going to need to borrow the car to look for work. I’ve got a lead on a janitor position. They don’t mind that I’m an ex-con.”
A paying job? Now, that would be something. For as long as Hailey could remember, neither June nor Aaron had held down steady work. She murmured something about how they could probably work out a schedule.
After breakfast, everyone went off to their own rooms to get ready. Hailey stayed in the kitchen, cleaning up before she got started fixing lunch for four people.
Movement caught her eye. She looked up to see Tara hovering in the doorway. Clearly something was bothering her, but Hailey knew from experience not to ask. When her baby sister was ready, she’d talk. Not a moment before.
Finally, just after Hailey finished making the sandwiches for the kids’ picnic with their father, Tara finally sidled in, arms crossed. Pretending to just now notice her, Hailey started. “Tara. What are you doing? If you don’t want to go, you don’t have to.”
“It’s not that. I might as well go. Maybe we all need to give Aaron a chance.”
Hailey noticed she, like the others, didn’t call him dad. Not yet anyway. “Then what is it?”
Expression serious, Tara swallowed. “Look, I just want to say something to you.”
Crap. Now what? Pushing back the shiver of misgiving, Hailey kept her face expressionless and nodded. “Okay. What’s up?”
“I know your life sucks. We all do. But we want you to know how much we—Tom, Eli and I—appreciate all you do for this family. You give so much to us. Everything. And we know it’s got to be hard. But we love you. Okay?” Finishing up, her voice wavering on the edge of tears, Tara scrubbed at her eyes with her fists. “That’s it.” Now she sounded angry. “Okay?”
Touched and stunned, Hailey nodded. “Thank you. I think. What do you mean, my life sucks?”
Tara had the grace to blush. “Come on, Hailey. You have to know. You do everything for us. Nothing for yourself. You have no life.” Outrage made her voice rise.
Then, while Hailey still struggled with what to say, Tara launched herself at her and wrapped her in a hug.
Hailey hugged her back, still perplexed. When Tara finally released her, the young girl smiled through her tears.
“Honey?” Hailey studied her, a little unsure how to handle this. “Why are you crying? Is everything okay?”
“I think so.” Expression changing in the mercurial way of a teenager, now Tara appeared grimly determined. “But I want to tell you, all of us talked about this, and you’ve got to take some for yourself.”
Still confused, Hailey eyed her. “Take some what?”
“Happiness, silly.” Tara mocked punched her in the upper arm. “Don’t let second chances pass you by. That’s all I’m sayin’, okay?”
Second chances. Now Hailey understood. Tara had her eye on a romance for her big sister. In the uncomplicated world of a fourteen-year-old, this concept seemed simple and straightforward, without all of the crazy emotional undertones.
Hailey managed to nod. “Thanks,” she said dryly. “I appreciate you thinking of me.”
“You’re welcome!” Tara gave that particularly sly smile that meant she was up to something. “Have fun on your day off, okay?” With that, Tara dashed out of the room.
With all the sandwiches made, Hailey bagged them in one brown paper sack, added a large bag of generic potato chips and got out four bottles of store brand water. These were an indulgence since they usually just drank tap, and she kept them in the pantry in case a spring storm knocked out their water supply. Now she was glad she’d gotten them. Putting them in a small Styrofoam cooler, she added ice and then, lastly, put the sack with the food in it on top.
That done, Hailey eyed the clean kitchen, poured herself a glass of lemonade and wandered outside to sit in one of the old chairs on her front porch.
Her younger sister’s words rang in her ears.
Happiness. The idea made her dizzy. Mac. He embodied her idea of happiness. If she closed her eyes, she could see him, his rugged features and broad shoulders the epitome of masculine strength. More than that, more than the physical sum of his body and hair and eyes, she knew him. Deep inside, she understood every dream and wish and desire. Still.
As he did her. Ten years had barely been a blink in the timeline of their lives. Mac. Just like that, she swore she could feel him next to her, his muscular arm heavy on her shoulders, his warm breath caressing her cheek.
Mac. Dizzy with need, she could hardly catch her breath. Take some happiness for herself, Tara had said. No one would ever know how deeply this tempted her. But at what cost?
She wasn’t entirely sure she trusted Aaron. But he was the kids’ father, and t
hey were all old enough to know right from wrong. Shaking her head, she wasn’t sure what she imagined he’d do—try to recruit them as accomplices to rob a bank or commit petty crime? Surely not. And worrying about it would accomplish nothing but make herself ill.
Daydreaming about Mac was much more fun. Smiling, she settled back in her chair to do exactly that.
As if thinking about him had worked some sort of magic, her cell phone rang, Mac’s number on the screen. Taking a deep, shaky breath, she answered.
“A little birdy just called and told me you have the day off. How about a ride?” he asked, the husky timbre if his deep voice skittering along her nerve endings, bringing them to life.
“A ride?”
“On my motorcycle.”
She swallowed. “Oh. I don’t know.” Take some happiness for yourself.
His quiet chuckle elicited a reluctant smile from her. “Are you afraid?”
Maybe she was, just a little. But her sister’s words came back to her again and dammit if Hailey didn’t realize she really wanted to feel the thrum of that powerful motor under her, to press her body up against Mac’s and hold on while the road whizzed past.
“Yes,” she said, quickly, before she could change her mind. “When?”
“How about now?”
“Now?” she squeaked, secretly thrilled.
“Why not? You have the day off. We’ll head up to Mineola and grab lunch.”
“What about Gus?” she asked, responsible as always.
“I called Dolores before I called you. She told me sometimes she takes private caregiver jobs. It just so happens she’s available and on her way over. We have the entire day to ourselves.”
Her heart skipped a beat as she realized she needed to change, put on some makeup and fix her hair. And put on my earrings, of course. “Give me thirty minutes, okay?”
“Sure. I’ll see you then.”
* * *
As dates went, Mac thought this would be pretty damn perfect. Casual and close, or at least he hoped.
Just being in the same vicinity as Hailey made desire uncoil and rise up inside him. He wanted to touch her so badly he shook with it. Even more, he wanted to taste her—her mouth, her creamy smooth skin, her womanly essence. There had never been anyone else for him; none of the women he’d known in the past decade had even come close to making him feel what he felt for her.
He hadn’t been surprised to realize his emotions had never abated. Being with her felt right. Now, for the first time since they’d split up, for the first time in ten long years, he felt complete. As if the missing half of himself had snapped back into place.
If only she felt the same way.
He got his bike out, glad he’d washed it earlier. The sky had clouded up, but the weather forecast hadn’t said anything about rain. Spring in Texas brought unpredictable weather, but he had the weather app on his phone and knew it would alert him if anything changed.
Too impatient to wait, he started the engine, grabbed his extra helmet and, after securing it, he took off. If he got there too early, he’d wait outside until Hailey was ready. He didn’t want to waste one second of precious time when they could be spending it together.
Turning down her long and winding driveway, he rounded the last corner, and her house came into view. His heart gave a quick leap as he caught sight of her waiting on her front porch.
Engine rumbling, he pulled up and stopped. “Do you want to hop on?” he asked. Slowly, she shook her head, motioning to him to kill the motor. Once he had, he removed his helmet and eyed her. She gave him a slow, unintentionally seductive smile and saluted him with a glass of lemonade.
“Do you realize this is the first time I’ve had the entire house to myself?”
He blinked. “Ever?”
“Ever. Well, a long time anyway. It seems like forever. Come here?”
Though she’d phrased it as a question, damned if he could resist. Putting the kickstand down, he climbed off and crossed the short distance between them.
“Pull up a chair,” she said, still smiling.
Instead, he took the porch steps two at a time and went to stand in front of her. He wanted to touch her so badly he shook with it. A touch. Just one, he thought, giving in to the urge to caress the silky smooth skin on her shoulder. But the instant his fingers connected, he knew he was lost.
Unless she shrugged him away. But, no, she didn’t. Instead, she held herself still, watching his face, her eyes huge and the dark blue of a sky before a storm. Emboldened, he took a step closer. As he did, she stood and embraced him.
Dizzy, he thought his heart might pound right out of his chest. Holding her, breathing in the clean shampoo scent—strawberry—of her hair, his body became instantly aroused. Because this was the first time she’d reached out to him, he didn’t want to rush things or push too hard. He closed his eyes and prayed for strength.
“Mac?” Her lips moved against his skin, sending a lightning bolt of raw need straight to his groin.
Though he didn’t want to, he drew back slightly, so he could look down at her upturned face. Right then, he would have given her anything. All she had to do was ask.
“Everything has been crazy, I know. And we should try to get a little distance so we can consider the consequences of our actions.”
Jerking his head in a nod, he fought to keep his disappointment from showing.
“I know we should...” she whispered.
He waited, unable now to focus on anything but the heady temptation of her parted lips.
“But I don’t want to. I want you.” Standing up on tiptoe, she pressed her mouth to his. That first contact, and he was lost.
Chapter 12
His. The way it used to be, the way it should have always been.
Mac deepened the kiss. She opened her mouth to him, warm and moist, kissing him back, her tongue claiming his. This. He felt himself drowning, going under, not even caring that he might never find his way back.
A clap of thunder sounded, so loud the ground shook.
Hailey gave a self-conscious laugh and stepped back, her hand automatically going to her hair. “Wow. Nature is sending us a hint.”
“Or an invitation.” He bit the words out, the savageness of his need making his voice sharper than he intended.
She looked down, shifting from one foot to the other. Apparently suddenly remembering the lemonade, she reached for it the way a shipwreck victim grabs at a buoy. Two long swallows and she finally raised her gaze to his again. Her enlarged pupils showed her desire.
His own arousal had to be obvious to her, straining the front of his jeans. He was so hard he could barely walk. And then she shifted against him, aligning their bodies up perfectly, so that his desire nestled right into her softness.
Aware the decision belonged to her, he couldn’t move. He’d clenched his hands into fists to keep from touching her. He vowed she’d never know how badly he wanted to back her up against the wall and kiss her until she melted against him.
Then he decided what the hell. Maybe she needed to understand. “When you kiss me like that, do you know what that does to me?”
Eyes wide, she shook her head. But then a small smile played around the edges of her mouth, and he realized she did. Maybe she wanted to hear him say it anyway.
“I want to make love to you, to bury myself deep inside you. I want to move together with you, slow as hell, until you beg me to go faster. And then, I want to take you so hard and so deep, the walls shake.”
At his words, she caught her breath. He could see her pulse beating like a trapped butterfly at the base of her neck.
Every muscle quivering, he waited on her response. She only licked her lips, her gaze dark, eating him up with her eyes.
“Say something,”
he groaned.
“Yes,” she replied. “Yes, yes and yes.”
They came together like two storms in the middle of the plains. Locked as one, she fumbled with the door, and they fell inside. They barely made it to her bedroom before shedding their clothes, each of them helping the other, shaking with the desire to come together again, skin to skin.
Except for one necessary impediment. He located the condom he always kept in his wallet and, fingers shaking, tried to fit his engorged body inside. Hailey finally helped, each touch of her slender fingers pushing him closer and closer to losing control.
After what seemed an eternity, it was on.
“Fits like a glove,” she chuckled, the throaty sound of her voice making him shudder with need.
“Come here,” he ordered. And she did.
Back onto the bed they fell, still locked together. Breaking the kissing off long enough to meet and hold his gaze, she helped guide him inside of her. The instant he felt the moist heat of her sheathing him perfectly, his entire insides settled, no longer alone, no longer apart. This was where he belonged.
Finally.
Bodies slickened by desire, they moved together in that perfect unison he remembered. She’d been a virgin the first time they’d made love, yet because they’d come together in more than just a physical need, there’d been no awkwardness or hesitation. They simply were, and so it was again, two people becoming one.
As her body clenched around him, signaling her release, she clutched him to her and cried out. In that instant, one second before his own release claimed him, he knew he could never let her go. Not ever again.
They held each other, bodies still locked together, while their heart rates slowed and their breathing went back to normal. Finally, she gave him a small shove, and he rolled over onto his back. There was no need for words, neither needed to tell the other how incredible their lovemaking had been. Each already knew.
“Now,” she said, pushing herself up off the bed and standing, completely unself-conscious in her nakedness. “Let me get cleaned up, and we can go on the motorcycle ride you promised me.”
The Texan's Return Page 15
