Trouble in Loveland

by Jennifer Peel

  “Cherry,” Josh yelled as soon as I opened the door.

  I immediately bent down, and he ran into my arms. I picked him up and squeezed him tight while I looked at his daddy, whose smile was melting my insides. “Hi, big guy. I’ve missed you.” I kissed his chubby cheek.

  He gave me a sloppy one in return.

  “I hope we’re not interrupting anything?” Ryan asked.

  “Not at all. Do you want to come in?”

  “Actually, we were hoping you would want to come to the park with us.”

  “Pwease, Cherry.”

  Believe me, I didn’t need to be asked twice. “I’d love to. Just let me tell my dad.”

  I kept a hold of Josh as I made my way to the backyard.

  My dad was bagging some lawn clippings when I walked out. He looked up and grinned when he saw who was in my arms.

  “I’m headed to the park with Josh and Ryan. I’ll see you later.”

  “See. What did I tell you?” My dad winked.

  “Bye, Dad,” I kind of sang. I met Ryan back at the front door where he waited.

  “Are you ready to go?” he asked.

  I nodded and smiled. I set Josh down and took his little hand in mine. Gosh, I loved that kid.

  On our way out, Ryan picked up a full backpack he had left waiting on our porch.

  “What’s that?” I inquired.

  “Rumor has it that you like picnics.”

  I’m not sure if I’ve ever smiled so big. “So that’s the word on the street, huh?”

  “I’m afraid so,” he teased.

  “Very good. Did you practice that gem?”

  “All night.”

  I was loving the playful banter. “I can’t wait to see what else you’ve come up with.”

  Ryan smiled warmly and took Josh’s other hand, and the three of us headed toward the neighborhood park. I hadn’t been there for years, but back in the day, Krissy and I had spent our fair share of time there, even as we got into high school.

  The weather matched my mood: bright, sunny, and warm. Colorado summers were the best.

  Ryan and I kept glancing at each other and smiling; sometimes we would look down at Josh. It was perfect.

  “Cherry, will you swide with me?” his little voice drifted up.

  “Yes, of course.”

  “See, daddy.”

  I looked at Ryan for clarification.

  “I told him you were too old to slide.”

  “Oh … You think so?”

  “Don’t you?”

  “You’re never too old to slide, that is, as long as your butt still fits.”

  Ryan laughed at me and then surprised me by carefully looking me over. “I don’t think you’ll have any issues.”

  I looked him over in return. “So I guess that means you’re sliding, too?”

  “No, I really am too old.”

  I rolled my eyes. “Yes, ancient. Come on. You’ve never gone down the slide with Josh?”

  He shook his head.

  “Well, we need to change that as soon as possible.”

  “Not happening.”

  “I’m sorry to say, but that sounds like a challenge.”

  “I knew asking you to come to the park with us would liven things up.”

  “Are you regretting that now?”

  He gave me a meaningful look. “Not in the least.”

  “By the way, thanks for asking me.”

  “Thanks for coming.”

  The park came into view, and Josh let go of both of our hands and made a beeline for the slide. “Come on, Cherry!” he yelled.

  “Are you coming?” I asked Ryan before I chased after his son.

  “I’m just going to watch for now.”

  “Enjoy the show.”

  “Believe me, I will.”

  I raised my eyebrow at his somewhat seductive comment. I liked this Ryan very much. So did the butterflies in my stomach, they were adding new swear words to their vocabulary. I took off and easily caught up to my favorite three-year-old and picked him up and tickled his tummy. He had the most addictive laugh ever.

  “Cherry, stop, it’s time to swide,” he said through his giggles.

  “Ok, let’s slide.”

  I stood behind Josh as he climbed up the stairs to the slide. I felt very protective of him as I made sure he didn’t fall climbing or getting situated on the top before he went down. I watched him go down and then caught him at the end.

  “Again,” he shouted.

  As Josh climbed the second time, I snuck a quick glance at Ryan who was setting out a plaid blanket. I was hopeful this meant that he was getting on board the Charlee and Ryan train.

  It was nice that the park wasn’t too crowded, so Josh had free reign on the slide.

  Ryan joined us after a few minutes and stood at my side. “I thought you were going to show me how it was done,” he said low and close, and my body said, dang.

  “I was just waiting for you, so Josh had someone to catch him on the way down.”

  He gave me that alluring smile of his. “Thanks for being so great with my son.”

  “It’s my pleasure. Now watch and learn.”

  He grabbed Josh, and I made my ascent up the ladder. It didn’t take much as my legs were so long. I admit, I felt a little ridiculous as I climbed, and some of the other adults were staring at me, but I got over it when I looked down at the only adult that mattered to me at the moment, and at his son, who was looking at me like I was the coolest person ever. I got my butt situated at the top of the long slide that wasn’t really that long for me. To prove my point, I pushed off, raised both hands up high and shouted, “Woo hoo!”

  Ryan grinned and met me at the end with Josh in hand. He held out his hand to me, and I didn’t hesitate a bit in taking it. He helped me up and shook his head at me. He held onto my hand for just a moment longer than necessary and squeezed it before letting it go.

  “Thank you. Now it’s your turn.”

  His smile faltered. “I don’t think so.”

  “You don’t want Josh to think you’re L-A-M-E do you? I figured I better spell it out, so Josh didn’t repeat it again.”

  “Actually, I figure he eventually will, so I’m ok with it.”

  “I suppose that’s probably true, but your reputation with me is on the line, and I could go either way right now.”

  He fixed his gaze on me and studied me. “You don’t play fair do you?”

  “Did you expect anything less of me?”

  “I’m learning not to underestimate you.”

  I smiled in delight, picked up Josh, and swung him around. There was that giggle again. When I turned back around, Ryan was still looking like he wasn’t sure what he should do.

  “You know if you slide down with Josh on your lap, you would just look like the world’s best dad.”

  He smiled broadly, walked toward the slide, and then up the steps. I handed Josh up to him as soon as he was settled at the top. The look on Josh’s face was priceless. He was so excited his daddy was sliding with him. They were down within a couple of seconds. I took Josh out of Ryan’s hands and held him close while Ryan stood up.

  “How was that?” he asked.

  “Just about perfect.”

  The rest of the day could be summed up with that exact phrase. We played hard at the park and then ate a delicious meal of homemade quesadillas made with marinated steak and bleu cheese.

  “Did you make these?” I asked after my taste buds gave their overwhelming approval.

  “A guy’s got to eat.”

  “You do it very well.”

  He flashed those pearly whites at me and that was it, I was completely smitten.

  The only damper, and it wasn’t really a damper, more like a blip, was that Jacquelyn showed up with her two kids just as we were getting ready to leave. I didn’t realize that she lived nearby and this was the park they had met at. I already knew she didn’t like me, so her poisonous look wasn’t a surprise, but she wouldn
’t even look at Ryan. That was fine with me, I didn’t want her looking at him. He was definitely uncomfortable, and he picked up Josh and hurried his pace.

  “Sorry about that,” he said once we were a good distance away.

  “You don’t have anything to apologize for.”

  He stopped for a moment and gazed my way. “Being around you is easy.”

  That was one I had never heard, and for once I wasn’t sure how to respond other than to smile.

  Playing hard left Josh wiped out as we walked home, poor little guy was dragging. Ryan picked him right up, and we walked slowly home. Josh fell asleep against Ryan right before we made it to Mulberry Lane. Ryan holding a sleeping Josh was the most attractive thing I had ever seen.

  My weekend was filled with attractive sites, whether it was running the next morning with the two of them, or a rousing game of basketball where Josh and I kicked the butts of our dads. Not really, but who’s going to beat a preschooler on purpose?

  The only thing off for me was I could tell Ryan wasn’t sure about what he should do about me. I could tell he enjoyed being with me, but he was comfortable with the friendship aspect of our relationship. Once in a while, he would say something that was more than friendly, but he never followed through. My dad even gave him the prime opportunity to spend some alone time with me on Sunday as we watched the Rockies game.

  “You know, if you two want to go catch a movie or something, I’ll watch Josh,” my dad offered.

  For a moment, my insides felt like Mardi Gras, but the party was squashed almost instantly. I looked hopefully at Ryan who was sitting close to me on the couch, but not too close. He, on the other hand didn’t look at me, only my dad. “I have to drop Josh off at his mom’s soon, but thanks for the offer.”

  In my head, I kept thinking, We could go after you drop him off. But I wasn’t going to throw myself at him. I looked at my dad, who shrugged his shoulders. I decided it was time to jump on the trampoline with Josh, by myself. Josh thought it was a great idea. At least one Carter man liked spending one-on-one time with me.

  Chapter Thirteen

  Monday dawned, and I was puzzled by the weekend’s events, so much so I almost decided against running with Ryan. That, though, would have been a terrible misstep.

  We didn’t say much at the beginning of our run. I was a little annoyed with him, and for some odd reason, he was acting nervous.

  Then out of the blue he said, “I have two tickets.”

  I had heard this before. “And you need a babysitter?” I responded wryly.

  He laughed at me, reached down, and grabbed my hand. “Hold up for a second.”

  I stopped and faced him. He kept my hand in his; his touch wasn’t lost on me … or the butterflies.

  “I’m not asking you to babysit Josh.” He smiled. “I’m trying to ask you out.”

  I bit my lip. “Like on a date?”

  He stepped closer, just as a fellow runner passed us and grinned.

  Just keep on going, buddy, there’s nothing to see here, I thought. I didn’t want any distractions for the moment I had been waiting for since before I was even old enough to date.

  “I think that’s what they call it when a man and a woman go to see One Republic.”

  That was it, Ryan had officially ruined me for life. I think I squealed a little and threw my arms around him, not thinking that we were both sweaty. Actually, that was a little bit of a turn on, I’m not going to lie. “How did you manage to get tickets?”

  He reciprocated the hug quite nicely, “I know a guy. So does this mean you’ll go with me?” he practically whispered in my ear, which drove me crazy.

  I let go of him, but not before kissing his cheek.

  He reached up and touched his cheek where my lips just departed. “I’ll take that as a yes.”

  “Heck, yes! Oh my gosh, I’m so excited.”

  “I couldn’t have our first date be to the movies, and of course, I had to top Friday night’s date.”

  I rolled my eyes at him. “Believe me, this wins best first date ever. Not like it’s a competition though.”

  “Best ever, huh?” He grinned.

  “Don’t let it go to your head,” I said as I jogged away.

  He followed after me. “Better than horseback riding?”

  “Are we still on that?” I smiled over at him. “Thank you, by the way.”

  “It was my fault that you missed out on the tickets in the first place.”

  “Well, at least you got to see your foreign film.”

  “Are we still on that?” he threw back at me.

  I nudged him and he chuckled.

  I think I floated into the house. I didn’t even bother with stretching. I think I was going to wear a permanent smile on my face for, like, ever. In two days, I was going to be with both of my Ryans. I had to text Krissy. She was coming home the next day, but I knew she would want to know this. She could spare a few minutes for her best friend, right?

  Krissy was going to have to be second in line though. My dad was up and eating a bagel when I glided into the kitchen. I walked right over to him and kissed his cheek. “Good morning, Daddy.”

  My dad lowered his bagel and grinned. “You’re in a good mood, baby girl.”

  “Am I?” I smiled toothily from the sink.

  “I take it your run with Ryan went well.”

  “You could say that.”

  “Are you excited about the concert?” my dad asked surprisingly.

  I swallowed the water I was drinking. “How did you know?”

  “Ryan told me about it last night after you left with Josh. I told him he was being foolish and if he didn’t watch himself, he was going to waste his chance with you.”

  I set my water bottle down as my euphoria went out the window. “So he only asked me out because my dad told him to?”

  My dad shook his head and smiled. “Not at all. He was already planning on asking you, he just wanted to get my take on it, or more like my permission. He also mentioned something about you finding movies to be inappropriate first dates, so that’s why he didn’t take me up on my offer last night.”

  Dang it. I could have already been out with Ryan. Oh well. “So he asked for your permission?” I practically laughed.

  My dad wasn’t laughing. In fact he looked quite serious. “Honey, I don’t want you to worry about dating Ryan, but I need to caution you. Dating a divorced man with a child, and also someone you work with, isn’t going to be easy.”

  I paused for a moment and took a few more sips of water. “Do you think this is a bad idea?”

  “I didn’t say that. The best life has to offer is always hard. I just want you to be aware.”

  “Thanks, Dad,” I said—though I wasn’t feeling very thankful. His warning kind of took the excitement out of my triumph this morning. It’s not that I didn’t think it was wise or good counsel, but it’s not what I wanted to hear this morning.

  My dad reached out and took my hand as I walked by sullenly. “Honey, I think you and Ryan are a terrific match.”

  I gave him a tight-lipped smile in response.

  “I mean it.”

  I kissed him on the cheek and headed for the shower.

  I took longer than normal in the shower, but suddenly I was contemplative. On the one hand, I was excited out of my mind. In two days I was finally going to have my first date with Ryan, but my dad’s words kept playing over and over in my head. I hadn’t really stopped to think about all the nuances of dating Ryan. I had never dated a divorced man or somebody that was a dad (at least not that I knew of). I guess I was a little ahead of the game, because I already knew Josh and we had mutual affection for one another. I also knew that Ryan’s time wasn’t just his, and I was ok with that. One of the things I really dug about him was that he was really into his kid.

  That was all the positives, then I started to think about the what-if’s. Like what if things went south? How could we work together? Would my dad hate Ryan, his p
artner? What about Josh? I loved Josh and I would hate to not to be part of his life. Or what if things went really well and we decided we wanted to be a couple in the “till death do you part” kind of way? How would I deal with him having an ex-wife? And what about the kids we would have? Would he love them less because I was the mom? And what about Victoria? I could tell he still had some type of feelings for her.

  Then I thought, You’re being stupid. You haven’t even gone on a date yet and you’re worrying about things that’ll probably never happen. Just enjoy this, I told myself, and take it a day at a time.

  With some of my giddiness back, I texted Krissy, “Don’t feel the need to respond to this, I know you’re preoccupied with things we don’t ever need to discuss, and I mean like ever, but I thought you would want to know that Ryan asked me out. And guess where he’s taking me? The One Republic concert. That’s right! Can’t wait to see you! Lots of love.”

  I swore Monday and Tuesday were the longest days ever. I felt like I was a seven-year-old waiting for Christmas to get here, but in my mind this was better than Christmas because I already knew what the gift was, and he was amazing. I was trying not to act like some idiot around him when we ran or when I saw him at work, but it was hard. I was having these urges to pull him to me and kiss him senseless, or me senseless, but I refrained. I also hoped I didn’t look like some fan girl every time I saw him in the office. I wondered if anyone could tell that I was totally into him. I think Felicity might have had her suspicions, but she never said anything directly, she just seemed to give me lots of knowing glances.

  I worried, too, if it looked completely obvious, since Ryan and I were leaving work together Wednesday. The concert started at eight and Ryan had gotten us reservations at the Ship Rock Grille at Red Rocks for six-thirty. He must have a really good friend to get us in there and get us tickets. We needed to leave right at five to make it there on time.

  I was a mixed bag of emotions that day. Of course I was extremely excited, but I was also nervous. I brought five different outfits to change into because I couldn’t decide that morning what would look best on me. I texted Krissy pictures of each, since she had returned from her honeymoon. She may have been more excited than me. She wanted a full report, of course, and I couldn’t wait to hear about the honeymoon, well, at least the PG parts. We had plans to meet for lunch on Friday. After much thought, and fifty texts from Krissy, I went with the white lace shirt dress. It was very flirty, showed off my figure and tan, and I felt feminine in it. I paired it with some comfortable wedges, pulled my hair into a sexy messy bun, touched up my lip gloss and called it good.