by Krista Lakes
“They really do have the stomach flu,” she told him. “I have the doctor's note to prove it. Are you sure you want to be at ground zero?”
He smiled directly at her, and the full power of his attention made her stomach do funny things. Her whole body heated when he looked at her like that, and it made her want things she knew she couldn't have. Like time off from being the provider.
“Yes, I want to be here.” He took a step forward, and she felt her knees go weak. He smelled amazing. Clean and masculine with something spicy that made her want to smell him all day.
He waved out the open door to someone coming up the walk. Craig carefully navigated the pathway to the front door carrying several large brown paper bags in his arms.
“Since you couldn't come out for the date…” he started, letting Craig pass through the doorway. “I brought the date to you.”
Laura cocked her head to the side, trying to figure out what he meant by that. What he meant by any of this. This wasn't what usually happened when she canceled a date.
Craig set the bags down on the kitchen counter, clearing a small space for the last one. She grimaced slightly. The kitchen was a mess. She had meant to clean it earlier, but having sick kids meant that nothing had gotten done. This was definitely not the impression she wanted to make on Ethan.
“Is there anything else, sir?” Craig asked, looking at Ethan.
“That should be it, for now, Craig. Thank you,” Ethan replied.
“If you think of anything else, I'll be out in the car.” Craig tipped a polite nod to them both. “I hope the kids feel better soon, miss.”
And with that, he left, closing the door behind him. Laura stared after him for a moment, unsure of exactly was going on. Ethan, on the other hand, walked into the kitchen and began unloading the bags.
“First, I got you all some ginger ale,” Ethan explained, pulling out a big green bottle. “I also got this re-hydration drink for kids, chicken broth, saltine crackers, and for dessert, graham crackers and bananas.”
Laura shook her head as she looked at all the stomach bug friendly food he had brought over. She checked the bottle of ginger ale and was happy to see it was the right kind. There was only one brand that the kids would accept when they were sick, the one with the green label. It was what their mom used to get. She knew they wouldn't drink anything else, so it was good that Ethan got the right kind.
“For us, since we can handle solid food,” he continued, going to another bag. “I got cheeseburgers since I wasn't sure what you would like. The waitress from Sandy's said this was your favorite.”
Laura recognized the handwriting on the outside of the to-go box as Elena's. She was going to have to thank her friend later. It was labeled with the green-chile burger that she always ordered.
“I also picked up some movies for the kids,” Carter added, reaching for yet another bag. He reached inside and pulled out three DVD cases. It sounded like there were more inside the bag as well. “I wasn't sure what movies you had, so I just grabbed everything in the 'new release' section.”
Laura just stared at him for a moment. They were used to scrounging the five-dollar bin for old movies and he'd just gotten them what looked like every new children's movie for the past two years. It was an amazing gift.
“Thank you,” she whispered. She realized she still had the roses in her hand and she had to shake herself. This was possibly the nicest thing anyone had ever done for her.
“You brought movies?” A small, weak voice from the couch called out. Dallas sat up a little higher, his dark hair peeking out of the top of his blanket.
Laura smiled and turned to Ethan. “You go find out what they want to watch,” she told him. “I'll take care of putting the food away.”
Ethan walked to the couch with the bag of DVDs while Laura put the flowers in a vase and started pulling out bowls and utensils for their meal. Her hand moved on autopilot as she watched as he took off his fancy suit jacket and sat on the floor in front of the couch. He looked completely out of place with his dress pants, dress shirt, and tie.
The two kids sat up under their blankets and smiled at him. They still looked sick, but at least they weren't pouting about it anymore. Their eyes lit up as he started to pull movie after movie from his bag. Each new DVD was a present to them, and he'd gotten them about a dozen new films. Laura knew they would want to watch every single one of them at least five times. She was going to be watching kids' movies for months now.
He held up two DVDs, one in each hand. The two kids would point to the one they wanted. If they both picked the same one, it stayed in his hand. If they picked differently, he pulled out two new movies.
It took a few minutes for them to work through the selection process and come up with the choice of movie, but Ethan had the two of them giggling by the end of it. He would make silly faces and pretend to fall over when they chose differently. Laura couldn't help but smile as she watched the three of them.
She'd finished putting out bowls and cups when she heard shrieks of laughter from the living room. She looked up to see Ethan using his teeth and growling like a dog as he struggled with the DVD plastic wrap on the case. The two kids rolled with laughter as he attempted and failed at opening the DVD wrapping. When he handed the case to Ivy, she easily opened it, making the two children laugh even harder.
“I loosened it up for you,” he said.
He jumped to his feet and put the DVD in the player, pressing start before heading back over to her in the kitchen.
“They say they would like some ginger ale,” he told her. “But no soup yet.”
“Okay,” Laura said with a smile. She poured the fizzy drink into two fun colored cups with straws. “You're really great with them.”
He chuckled. “I like kids.”
“You must have nieces or nephews,” she remarked, putting the lid back on the bottle. She made sure it was tight this time so the carbonation wouldn't escape.
“No, I'm an only child,” he said, shaking his head. “Being goofy just comes naturally.”
Laura handed him the cups of ginger ale. “Well, color me impressed.”
He smiled proudly, puffing out his chest a little and it made her giggle.
“Ethan,” the kids called from the couch. Ivy sat up a little bit. “The previews are done. The movie's going to start.”
“I'm being summoned,” Ethan told her, picking up the two cups. He walked over to the two kids, handed them the drinks, and then sat on the floor in front of them.
“Laura, will you sit with me?” Dallas asked, his eyes big and hopeful. There was no way she could say no to that face.
She scooted him over on the couch so she could sit between Ivy and Dallas.
“Will you sit up here too, Ethan?” Ivy asked. She smiled when he looked back at her.
“Of course,” he told her, rising to his knees and then sitting in the only open space next to Dallas.
Ivy cuddled happily into Laura, while Dallas laid his head down on Ethan's lap. It was as if the boy had known him forever. Ethan simply smiled and rubbed the boy's back as the movie started.
“I think you've got a fan,” Laura whispered, nodding to the half-asleep smiling boy between them. Ethan just smiled.
“What can I say? I'm pretty awesome,” he told her, making her chuckle.
“Shh, I can't hear the movie,” Dallas complained. He reached for the remote and raised the volume.
They all sat on the couch watching the movie for the rest of the evening. The kids sipped on their ginger ales and managed to keep them down, which made Laura happy. The movie was about singing pigs and piano playing gorillas, and Laura found herself enjoying it. It was a good pick.
The credits rolled after the last song and Ethan reached for the remote control.
“Okay guys, what movie next?” he asked.
But there was no answer. Both kids were fast asleep. Dallas was even snoring a little bit.
“How long have they been asl
eep?” Ethan asked, turning the TV off rather than putting a new video on.
“Um, I think the part where the gorilla dad escapes to see his son perform,” Laura replied. “It hasn't been that long.”
“How come you didn't say anything?” Ethan asked her.
“Because I wanted to see how it ended,” she replied. She shrugged. “It was better than I expected.”
He laughed and shook his head. “Fair enough. Are you ready for some dinner?” he asked. “We can eat while they sleep.”
“Okay,” she agreed. Her stomach rumbled. She was definitely hungry for that burger from Sandy's.
Chapter 11
Laura
Being very careful not to wake the small humans, Laura slipped off the couch. She gently put Ivy's head on a pillow and tucked her in while Ethan did the same for Dallas. When they were done, they both headed into the kitchen to wash their hands. Laura had them do it twice, just to be on the safe side.
While she was microwaving their food, Ethan went to the bag of DVDs and pulled out something. She wasn't sure what it was until she turned around and found that he had a little candle on the center of the table. It flickered and cast a warm light on the small wooden table.
“You didn't have to clear the table,” she said gently, bringing the food over. It was still in the paper take-out containers, but she didn't want to do dishes.
“Yeah, but where else would we eat?” he asked. She could see he'd neatly stacked all the bills, homework, and art projects on one of the empty chairs. “Next time, I really do want to bring you someplace nice, but for now, would you join me for a candlelight dinner?”
“I would love to.” She giggled, feeling warm and fuzzy. It wasn't a big gesture, but it was such a sweet one that she felt overwhelmed. He was taking care of her. It had been a long time since someone had looked after her. She'd forgotten what it felt like.
He went and pulled out her chair for her to sit. She felt like a princess, rather than a harried caretaker in sweatpants as she sat down at the table.
“This burger is fantastic,” Ethan announced after taking his first bite. He sounded slightly surprised as he held up the big bun to look at it closer.
“Sandy's is the best place in Silver Springs,” Laura agreed. Her green-chile burger was amazing as always. Even after two hours, it was still delicious. “I don't know how they do it, but I always get good food there.”
“I just picked it because it was on the way,” Ethan admitted. “Now, I'm really glad I did.” He took another big mouthful of burger and sighed with contentment.
Laura wiped a drop of green-chile from her chin. “Out of curiosity, where were we going to go tonight? I mean, if the kids hadn't gotten sick.”
“The science museum,” he said with a shrug. He looked up and winked at her before smiling. “I had reservations for us downtown at Lance's Steakhouse.”
“The football guy's restaurant?” Laura asked, impressed. “I think that might be the fanciest place in Denver.”
“According to the internet, it is,” Ethan replied. He held up the last bite of his burger. “But this is probably better.”
Laura laughed. She'd never eaten at Lance's, but it would be hard to make a meal better than Sandy's burgers. Even a fancy one.
“So, how's work coming along?” she asked, finishing off her own burger. She was hungrier than she thought.
He shrugged, popping a french fry into his mouth. “Carter really wants an R&D office down in Denver. It's a work in progress. There's a lot of bureaucracy and zoning issues I have to work through to put it where he wants.”
“Sounds fun,” Laura replied. The French fries smelled amazing. They were always crispy and salty at Sandy's.
“Oh, loads,” he replied sarcastically. “It's basically like a Disneyland for lawyers.” He ate another fry. “And I am not a lawyer.”
She chuckled. Carter was the visionary designer of the W Motor cars. He enjoyed making them and testing them. He hated the business aspect of it, which was why he had partnered with Ethan when he wanted to start his company. Ethan was now the CEO while Carter just played with cars all day.
“What about you?” Ethan asked, his green eyes focusing on hers. “How's your work going?”
“Great actually,” she replied with a smile. “Mia's foster kid charity camp is set to open in a couple of weeks, so we've just been getting everything together for that.”
“How is Mia going to run the camp with a new baby?” Ethan asked. “I know mothers can do anything, but that seems like a lot of work.”
“She won't run it,” Laura explained. “Kenna, another social worker who worked with Mia, is in charge. Mia made sure to have everything in place so she wouldn't have to run it and take care of a newborn at the same time. Once Miri is older, she'll have a more active role, but for now, she's going to work on getting more investors and raising awareness.”
“And you're running the barn, right?” Ethan asked. “You're in charge of the horses?”
“Yeah.” She nodded. “Mia loved what the horses did for Lily, Alexander, and Grayson, so she really wants them to be an active part of the camp. I'm making sure that happens.”
“And it's going well?” he asked. She loved that he seemed genuinely interested.
“The horses are ready. We actually just got a couple of new therapy horses that the kids are going to fall in love with. They're amazing and will really help bring kids out of their shells,” she gushed. “It's actually gotten me interested in equine therapy again.”
“Again?” He raised his eyebrows and his eyes focused on her.
“I didn't tell Carter, but I was applying to schools before my parents died,” she explained. She looked over at the couch full of sleeping kids and shrugged. “But, it's not an option right now.”
“Why not?” Ethan asked.
Laura looked back at him. “The kids. I can't leave them.”
He frowned. “There's no schools in-state with the program? I thought Colorado was known for ranching and horses. I would assume an equine therapy program would be easy to find here.”
“I just don't have time right now,” she said. He studied her for a moment as she stared at the candle flickering between them. She hated that she felt like she wasn't doing enough. Being enough. Taking care of the kids and the barn was enough work. Her dreams could wait.
“So, now you know my secret dream,” she said, breaking the silence. She smiled, trying to change the mood back. “I want to become a therapist that uses horses to treat people. What's your secret dream?”
She took a sip of her drink. She expected him to want to race cars or boats. Maybe sail around the world or climb Mount Everest.
He smiled and leaned back in his chair. “Take over the world.”
She rolled her eyes. “Just like you do every night, eh Brain?”
He laughed at her cartoon reference and shrugged.
“Honestly? I love my job. It's fast, it's fun, it's incredibly profitable.” He chuckled and looked at the candle as if focusing his thoughts. “I don't want to do anything else. I'm lucky that I found my dream job on my first try.”
“So, you have everything?” she asked.
“Not… everything,” he said slowly, his brow creased as he thought about it. “What would really make my life complete is someone to spend my time when I'm not working.”
His green eyes lifted to meet hers. Her heart sped up, and her insides started doing twists. In the candlelight, she could swear that he meant he wanted to be with her.
“There you go,” he said, breaking contact and shrugging. “There's my secret dream. It's family.”
She quickly took another sip of her ginger ale. He didn't say that he wanted it to be her, but she found herself hoping he did. She found herself wanting to be the person he was talking about. She looked back up at him, and her body heated at his gaze.
The table suddenly seemed very small. His foot was touching hers, just barely, and all she could think of
was touching the rest of him. All she'd have to do is lean over, and she could kiss him. She wanted to. She wanted to with everything in her.
“Laura?” a little voice called from the couch.
She closed her eyes and waited to see what happened next.
“Laura, I don't feel good,” Dallas said. He sat up and as she turned she could see his little face pale and turn a shade of green.
Oh no, Laura thought.
Chapter 12
Laura
Laura scrambled out of her chair and sprinted across the room. She didn't even care that she knocked her chair over or that she was fairly sure her fork hit Ethan in the face. She had to get to Dallas in time. Time moved in slow motion as she reached for the Halloween bucket and managed to get it into Dallas' lap just in time.
She was about to sigh in relief, but Ivy started making the same gurgling noise. She turned, sure she wouldn't make it in time to find that Ethan already had the bucket under her and was holding back her long red hair.
Ethan cuddled Ivy close, unconcerned for his nice pants or shirt. His lovely green tie was thrown over his shoulder, reminding Laura of a cape. He was certainly Ivy's hero as he cuddled her close and comforted her.
It was so domestic and so laughable at the same time. She smiled at him, even though he was too busy to see it. If he wasn't here, she wasn't sure what she would have done. If nothing else, she would have had a mess to clean up. So far she'd managed to have them not both go at the same time, but that couldn't last forever.
“All done?” he asked Ivy, his voice quiet and gentle. She nodded weakly, as he wiped her face with a napkin from the table. He was far more prepared than Laura was. Ivy rested her head on his chest, her eyelids fluttering with exhaustion.
“There you go, Dallas,” Laura said gently, settling Dallas back onto the pillow. He looked pale, and his little cheeks were pink.
“She has a fever,” Ethan said softly, his hand cupping Ivy's small face. “I'll have Craig bring some medicine. Do you want a doctor to come take a look at them?”
