Remember When...

by Scarlett Finn

  “I take it back,” Shane said. “This is the happiest I’ve ever been. Only one thing would make it better…”

  “One thing?” she asked. “What’s that?”

  “If you were pregnant right now.”

  “What?” she asked, Cam wiggled until he had enough space to sit down and crawl away. “Don’t be premature, Boo.”

  Shane nuzzled against her ear. “Never. That would be a waste of my swimmers and I want them all in there.” He spread his hand on her belly, it was large enough to span her and she looked down to admire his massaging hand.

  “We should get dressed,” she said. “The door’s not locked… and you’re too easily distracted.”

  “By your body, true,” he said, rolling onto his back to link his hands behind his head when she picked up his tee-shirt and pulled it on.

  Cam pulled a pot of chocolate pudding from his diaper bag and held it up to babble. “Mama!”

  Leaning in, she kissed Shane’s cheek. “Will you give him his pudding? I’ll get his sleepsuit.”

  “Isn’t it early for his pajamas?”

  “If I put him in clothes, he’ll think he’s going out again,” she said.

  Shane went to retrieve son and pudding, as she got everything ready for his bed and put on the water for his bath. “We can have a slumber party,” Shane said. “I can bring a TV up, we can watch a movie.”

  Sounded great, but impossible. “We can’t leave Rocky downstairs all night alone,” she called from the bathroom, typing her hair back.

  Ginger came out of the bathroom to find Cam sitting in Shane’s lap on his crossed legs. Eating chocolate pudding. The carbonara bowl was still uncovered and it smelled great. She went over and sat down to sample the pasta. It was good, so she twirled some around the fork and offered it to Shane who finished putting pudding in Cam’s mouth before accepting the pasta from her fork.

  “It is good,” he said.

  They kept on eating with Shane feeding Cam and her feeding both the adults. It was a strange, but intimate experience. This new kind of bonding was as important as father/son bonding. This was parent/child bonding… they were becoming a family.

  Closing the bedtime book she’d just read for Cam, Ginger glanced at the boys lying on the other side of her bed. Shane was flat on his back with Cam lying on his belly on top of his father. Cam was fast asleep and Shane’s eyes were closed too, so she guessed he’d succumbed to his own tiredness.

  Leaning over to kiss the back of Cam’s head and hesitated for a moment before kissing Shane, she was surprised to feel him respond. But when she looked at him, he still appeared asleep. Maybe it was autopilot that made him react to her. That was a nice idea, which made her smile.

  Leaving the bed, she put the book away and prepared Cam’s crib, she retrieved him from his father and laid him down believing it best for him to start the night in his own bed even if he didn’t end there. The adults hadn’t eaten desert, so when she picked up the diaper bag to begin packing away the utensils they hadn’t used, and pulled out a pot of chocolate pudding from inside.

  “Do you want me to move?” Shane mumbled from the bed.

  She hadn’t expected to hear his voice, but just the sound of it made her smile as she turned and leaned on the dresser. “Nope,” she said, peeling the lid from the pudding pot and dipping one of Cam’s plastic spoons into it.

  “What you got there?”

  “Pudding,” she said and went to the bed, she crawled on her knees toward him and spooned some pudding into his mouth.

  “Mm,” he said, “that’s amazing.”

  She laughed in a whisper. “Babies get all the best food.”

  Shane tried to ease up, but she pushed his shoulder with the ball of her spoon-occupied hand to put him on his back again. Sliding her legs over his hips, she sat on him and ate more of the pudding. His hands curled around her hips and she admired the planes of his incredible chest.

  Smearing the back of the spoon with pudding, she smudged it against the nook in his collarbone at his throat and bent over him to lick it clean. Brushing her lips against his Adam’s apple, she felt the vibration of his groan and raised her hips as the bulk of his erection grew against her soft center. But he grasped her hips tighter and urged her down against him, keeping her there so he could grind his pelvis against hers.

  “I’d still prefer to be eating you,” he said and his hands slid around to her ass. “This is the best fucking restaurant in the world.”

  Moaning on his lips, Ginger kissed him again and eased up to circle her hips on his as she spooned more pudding into her mouth. “I’ve got the best seat in the house.”

  “Always reserved for you, baby. Only you.”

  Working her hips as she spooned more pudding into his mouth, Ginger loved the way his eyes rolled and his throat rolled when he groaned. “Last one,” she whispered, scraping the last of the dessert onto the spoon. She put it on his tongue and expected him to seal his lips to swallow, instead he pulled her down and slid his tongue into her mouth, sharing the sweet dessert with her in a delectable kiss that made her drop both spoon and pudding pot.

  If this was what being intimate with Shane was like, she was in trouble. Her body was fizzing and bubbling, she couldn’t keep still, couldn’t stop her mind from filling with heat that blurred her thoughts.

  She didn’t even think about acting before she did. Covering his hand with hers, she slid it up her body, around to her breast, giving him permission to squeeze and caress her. Like a pro, he unclipped her bra with his other hand and cast it aside to allow the heat of his large palm to meet her flesh.

  “Shay,” she whispered, “I love your hands on me.”

  As if in contradiction to what she’d said, Ginger took his hand away from her breast and he grumbled in protest, but she wasn’t taking it away, she was just relocating it. Lifting her hips, Ginger pushed his fingers down the front of her panties and he made a noise of satisfaction.

  When his fingertips grazed over her clit, she froze, her mouth a breath away from his, her eyes wide, fearful with curiosity and satisfaction. “Feel good, Bit?” He kept massaging, circling and she could feel herself swelling and softening for him. “Relax, baby, just relax for me.”

  The bark of a dog broke through the haze and there was male shouting, then another bark. She tensed and grabbed his wrist, but Shane put his other arm around her to hold her against him. “Boo, there’s—”

  “Just a minute, baby. I’ll make you—”

  “No,” she said. “No, Shane, let me go.”

  His arms opened and she leaped up. Rocky had taken her out of her dream, she should never have gone that far with Shane. What was she thinking? But it was so easy for her to forget herself with him and be swept into the moment.

  “Bit?” Shane asked, pushing onto his elbows. “You ok?”

  “Yeah, I… I…” She wasn’t sure how to put herself back together after… that. She didn’t know if she should be offended that he’d been persistent or galled at herself for being so forward. “Rocky needs his walk. Can you take him out for—”

  “You better put some clothes on first or I’ll never get rid of this boner,” he said, gesturing to the pronounced lump in his underwear.

  “Shay, I…” She squeezed her eyes shut and closed her eyes. “God, you’re too hot to be my husband.”

  He laughed. “All yours, baby, and you’re all mine… come back to bed.”

  “No,” she said. “You have to get up and walk Rocky. I have to… I have to…”

  “What, baby?” he asked and if she was more together she’d be offended at how amused he was by her bewilderment. “What do you need, Bit?”

  She balled her fists. “Stop it, you’re screwing with my mind. Stop… being all you… and hot like that. Get out of bed, go walk the dog.”

  “Ok,” he said, sniggering as he rose. He came to her and with a hand on the back of her head, he pulled her forward and kissed her forehead. “I’ll do your bidding,
my sweet.”

  “Good,” she said, pushing at him, trying to put some distance between them because if she didn’t, she might get carried away again. Trouble was, he didn’t budge. “Thank you. And I’ll… I’ll clear up the food.”

  “Ok, Bit,” he said, kissing her temple and her cheekbone. He bent his knees to lower and kiss her jaw, then beneath, to slide his lips down her neck and she exhaled.

  He was doing it again, distracting her, but was it for her benefit or because he couldn’t help himself? Pressing her hands on his chest, she smiled. “You’re insatiable,” she said, deciding to be more forceful. Grabbing his waist, she turned him, rather he allowed her to turn him, and she pushed him backwards, walking with him toward the bathroom. “You go to your bedroom and lock the door while you’re getting changed.”

  “Why?” he asked, running his hands up her shoulders to her neck where he tried to angle her head back again.

  “Stop,” she laughed, trying to pull his hands down. “Shay, please—”

  “I love that you’re calling me that again. You’re the only one who ever shortened my name like that… turns me on.”

  “I get that,” she said and reached beyond him to open the bathroom door. “Please, baby.” Rocky barked again. “You have to take him out.”

  Shane groaned as he turned a hundred and eighty degrees. “You drive me crazy, baby. Drive me crazy.”

  Apologizing to Calvin was becoming a habit that Ginger didn’t like. Shane took Rocky for a walk while she took their dishes down the stairs to wash. Being domestic gave her some alone time to think and there was a lot to reflect on.

  Ginger didn’t know how long she’d been in the kitchen by herself, it was a good while, probably close to an hour as she tidied up and made plans. But when Calvin came to join her, she was disappointed by the interruption.

  “You’ve been in here a while,” Calvin said. “You’re not still obsessing about earlier, are you?”

  “No,” she said, washing her hands. “I still feel bad for what I said to Shane but—”

  “He should’ve paid more attention to what we told him,” Calvin said, coming over to lean on the counter beside her as she picked up a towel to dry her hands. “But I don’t want to talk about him.”

  Good, because she didn’t want to talk to Calvin about Shane, that was too risky a subject right now. “Ok,” she said, watching him put his hand in his pocket. “What do you want to talk about?”

  “This,” he said and picked out her engagement ring.

  Uh-oh. She hadn’t even thought about that ring, not since she’d taken it off. “What about it?”

  “I want you to wear it. I understand that you were angry and confused when you took it off. But I think it’s time we refocused on our future, don’t you?”

  “Our future,” she said, pleased that her hands were still tangled in the towel because as long as she was drying them, he couldn’t put the ring on her. “Calvin, I don’t know what’s going to happen tomorrow, let alone next week or next month.”

  If she offended him, they might argue, and if Shane came back to see that, he’d jump to her defense, and there would be a fight. She knew it.

  “Are you saying that you don’t want to wear it?” Calvin asked, his expression becoming severe. “I see no reason why you shouldn’t. If you’re worried about offending Warren, I’ll speak to him.”

  Yeah, because that would be a smart idea. “No, I don’t want more fighting,” she said, trying to be diplomatic. “I just… I think we should all be cautious and, you know, focus on one thing at a time.”

  Calvin took her hand, pulling it free of the towel to hold it out flat. “It would mean a lot to me if you would—”

  The back door opened and Rocky came racing in. He ran over and circled her, pulling her away from Calvin as he nosed her and barked. “Oh, baby,” she said, sinking into a crouch. “Where’s momma’s baby? Who’s a good boy?” Rocky barked again and she laughed.

  “It’s a nice night,” Shane said and she looked up to see him just inside the back door. “Rocky really went for a run out there.”

  “Did you?” she asked Rocky, scrubbing her fists behind his ears and kissing his nose. “Did you have a good walk with daddy? Good boy, who’s a good boy?” He barked again and she laughed. “Shh, sweetie, if your baby brother hears you he’ll wake up and want to play… Do you want to play with Cam?” Rocky barked and she looked at Shane. “He knows him.”

  “Course he does,” Shane said, rubbing his knuckle between Rocky’s ears then going to the sink to get a drink of water.

  “Does it have to bark all the time?” Calvin asked.

  She looked over her shoulder. “Sorry, that’s my fault, I encourage him.”

  Calvin said nothing, but rolled his eyes and turned away. She stood and made eye contact with Shane who was gulping from his glass. “Thank you,” she mouthed and he winked at her.

  He had to have heard, or seen, what was going on before he came in. Interrupting, without starting a confrontation, was considerate of him and probably not his first impulse, which meant he’d done it for her.

  “Took your time, bro, come on!” Murphy called from the living room and when she turned, Ginger saw all the men, minus the doctor, heading toward the dining room. “We’ve been waiting for you.”

  “What’s going on?” she asked Shane who went to pull a box of beers from the fridge.

  Rocky dashed off after Murphy. Shane slid an arm around her as he walked in the same direction as the dog. “Poker. You in?”

  “Poker?” she asked, turning against him to block his path. “Do you think that’s a good idea?”

  “I promise not to break the bank,” he said and kissed her hairline, but she eased back a step. They were just out of view of the dining room door, unless someone was deliberately peeking at them.

  Ginger dropped her volume. “That’s not what I’m worried about.”

  “What are you worried about?”

  “Murder and mayhem,” she said. “All of you are competitive. Someone has to lose and… Cam is asleep upstairs, if there’s a fight—”

  “There won’t be,” he said. “I promised you Cam would be my priority and he is. Anyone gets out of line, I’ll put them outside before I’ll endanger you or our son.”

  “Calvin hates to lose,” she whispered.

  But that wasn’t going to sway Shane’s opinion. “Well he better get used to it, ‘cause he’s going to find out soon that he lost the biggest prize.”

  Narrowing her eyes, she didn’t back away when he got closer. “I am not in the pot, Shane. He’ll goad you into promising to back off and if you do…”

  He laughed. “You think I’d do that to win a hand of cards? I don’t fucking think so, Bit, you have nothing to worry about.”

  Worrying about Cam’s wellbeing was hard enough on her nerves, now she had to worry for Shane’s too. “I don’t want you to kill each other.”

  But he didn’t seem worried. “If you’re that worried, play.”

  She scoffed. “That will make it worse. Besides, I don’t have a clue how to play.”

  “We’ll teach you.”

  “I have nothing to bet.”

  “I’ll spot you.”

  She smiled. “You have an answer for everything, Mr. Warren.”

  “Shane!” Murphy and Owen called out from the dining room.

  “Put my sister down and get in here!” Owen shouted.

  Calvin would just love Owen for saying that. Shane gave her another chance. “Coming?” he asked and she shook her head. “Ok. I won’t push. You know where I am if you change your mind.”

  “I’m going to bed. Please, Shane,” she said, curling her hands in his tee-shirt beneath his jacket. “Please, please, please keep it together. I don’t want a rabble.”

  “Scouts honor,” he saluted and leaned down to kiss her.

  Ginger stepped away wearing a smirk. “You play nice with the other boys and then we’ll see if you get on
e of those,” she whispered.

  He smiled and she gave him a wide berth to head for the stairs. “Rocky!” she called. “Come with momma.”

  “He can stay down here,” Shane said. “You don’t need to look after both our kids.”

  “It’s a mommy’s job to protect her babies from madness like this,” she said, touching Rocky’s head as he bounded past her, up the stairs. And she didn’t want Rocky getting the blame for any tension, if there was a fight, the dog would want to protect his master.

  She carried on up the stairs, Shane watched her the whole way. At the top, she glanced at him and they shared a smile. He was in a good mood, she just hoped it would last until tomorrow.

  21

  “Doctor Guinness, how would you like a drive into town with Cam and me?” she asked, coming out of the kitchen with Calvin in her wake.

  He’d just asked her to go to dinner with him, alone, but she’d already had another idea that she hoped would save her from that encounter. Calvin seemed sure he’d get points for having all the gifts removed from the house that morning, but it had been his fault that they were there in the first place.

  The doctor was seated in the living room, reading. “Yes,” he said, closing his book. “That could be interesting.”

  “With this bunch all going off to do business at the lodge, I thought it might be nice to get out and run some errands.” Going around the coffee table, Ginger sat down on the floor in front of Rocky, next to Cam who was banging his wooden blocks together. “We can take Shane’s truck… it would help me out if you’d come because I don’t have a driver’s license.”

  Cam took a block to his father and struggled to stand up while holding it, Shane bent over to pick up his boy who handed over the block. All of the men were seated in the living room, except Calvin who stood behind the couch.

  “Absolutely,” Doctor Guinness said. “I have a few things to do as well.”

  “Why his truck?” Calvin asked.

  Ginger hadn’t expected the question, or the abrupt tone. “It’s not fair to ask the doctor to use his gas,” she said. “And Cam will like sitting up high, he’s never been in a pick-up before… And Shane is the only one with two vehicles in the parking lot, he still has that rental too. So if he needs to go anywhere, he still has access to a vehicle. You don’t mind, do you, Shane?” Taking her eyes to him, she wasn’t surprised to see that Cam was already holding his father’s keys.