Then There Was You: A Single Parent Collection Page 4

  I only have a tiny part and that just barely covers my thigh. The thigh that’s touching Serenity’s leg. Her hand is resting on top of where we’re connected and I’ve been thinking about covering it with mine for the last ten minutes. Screw it. Yes, I said screw. This day has been the most intriguing, most eventful, and most rewarding in whole my life.

  Gently, I let my fingers slide over her skin before I lace them with hers. Serenity’s eyes fall to were my thumb is stroking hers. Her skin is so soft, but so very cold. I lift the blanket and place our hands underneath it.

  “Want me to light a fire? Maybe turn the heater on?” I mumble.

  She squeezes before she mutters, “No, no. I’m hot. Shit. Fine. I’m fine. Warm. Dammit.”

  “Bad word mom, I heard two…oh! Run, you gotta run, Coyote is underneath…” Amelia covers her head with the blanket for an instant before she slides it down ever so carefully, just to see what comes next in the movie.

  Serenity giggles and places a kiss on the top of her daughter’s head. Even leaning forward doesn’t slip her fingers from mine, but instead she takes my hand with her.

  “I feel like a damn teenager all over again.”

  The squeeze around my fingers and the intensifying of her chuckle make me aware I muttered my thoughts out loud.

  “Whatever happened to the carefree days of going to the movies and holding hands, huh? Instead we have to handle work, pay bills, and for me…raise this little bundle of joy.” Serenity adds another kiss to her daughter’s head.

  “I actually work because I like it. It’s not like I have a little bundle of joy to take care of.” I grumble and shit, that surprises even me.

  Am I annoyed I don’t have kids? Well, I wasn’t before…but I’m thirty-one years old. My siblings, Earle and Zeke, twins, are both twenty-eight. Roscoe is twenty-six, Cyrus twenty-four and Hallie Mae and Elsie are both twenty-one. Cyrus and Elsie each found their true love and got married, both are soon-to-be parents.

  I’m the oldest of the bunch and never had a real relationship. Not that I’m a virgin or anything. I had my fair share of sex when I went to college. I shake my head at the heavy-duty stuff that bounces around in my brain.

  My brother, Cyrus, and my sister, Elsie, both raved about the ‘when you know, you know’, thing. Love at first sight. I’d throw that statement in the dirt every single time they brought it up. Except when it comes to Serenity…I understand completely. And now, I’m lost. Because I have no clue at all how to handle this love thing.

  Shit. If you want something programmed or a computer to put together, gimme a few minutes and I’ll make it happen. When it comes to getting what my heart desires? I’m holding hands like a teenager with no clue what the next step is supposed to be. Why the effin’ hell don’t we have a prom or something?

  “Do I need to check on my brother? He’s taking a mighty long time down there.” Serenity squeezes my hand at her question.

  Probably to pull me out of my mind-rant. Luckily, I was staring at the TV. Yes, great cover, sorry…I was deep in a Looney Tunes adventure.

  “If you want.” Bringing her hand up to my lips I place a kiss on her knuckles.

  “You wanna come too, booger?” Reaching for the remote with my other hand, I press pause. “Then I can show you my boulder pile, you can even jump on them if you want.”

  Standing, I drag Serenity to her feet and regretfully untangle our fingers.

  “Follow me.” I walk into the hall with those two strolling after me.

  Making a pit stop in the kitchen to grab some cookies, we make our way downstairs into the basement. Oliver isn’t behind the computer but is striding back and forth with his hand rubbing the back of his neck. With the noise comparable to an elephant herd, we rumble down the stairs, making him stop mid stride.

  Frustration shines clearly in his eyes. “It’s like we had an ocean. Well it’s more like a muddy puddle now, and I know water has been leaking for months, hell maybe years, but these last few years instead of dripping it’s flowing away. I mean money. Money is disappearing and I can’t see where it’s going.”

  I’m starting to feel sorry for this guy. “Want me to hack into the system and see if I can find a leak? Or go through your files? I’m good at that stuff. I mean, not at saving your company and turning it back to making a profit. If you need that…then my sister would be the right person for that job.”

  Oliver releases a deep breath. “I kinda need both but I can’t afford it. How much will it cost me if you take a peek at our files?”

  Personal gain. I’m not normally this way, but I can’t help it. “The kid. Let her stay the weekend so I can take her to see the hatchlings again tomorrow.”

  From behind me the sound of two gasps are then followed by silence. I’m guessing they’re holding their breath, awaiting Oliver’s answer.

  Oliver looks around me and a smile starts to tug at his lips. “I probably need to head over to the office tomorrow. But…they do have their own car. So, if Serenity’s okay with getting a hotel,”

  “They can stay here. I’ve got bedrooms upstairs and I can crash in here or in another spare room.” I’m not ready for them to leave. I need to make every second of time with them count.

  “Again, Serenity’s choice.” Oliver fires back.

  Turning, I look at the one who seemed to touch my heart, spreading longing for her like wildfire through my body. Amelia is pulling on her arm, trying to get her attention, yet Serenity’s got her eyes locked on mine.

  “How can I say no to that?” The tone in her voice tells me she’s happy I found a way for all of us to spend more time together.

  “Yaaaaaaaaayyyyy. This rocks. Oh, look, rocks.” Amelia runs over to the boulder pillows and launches herself at it, landing on a huge pile. She giggles and starts to roll around.

  Oliver laughs, drawing my attention back to him. He holds out his hand for me to take. “Seems like you got yourself a deal.”

  “Can you manage on your own? Should I come with you?” Serenity asks tentatively.

  Oliver shakes his head. “Nah, I’ll be locked in my office anyway. If I need someone to get me stuff or help out, I’ll call Gloria. She’ll come over anyway if she knows my ass is in the office.”

  Serenity laughs at his comment. “True.”

  I wonder who the hell Gloria is. Maybe it’s Oliver’s…

  “Gloria is sixty-two and isn’t anywhere near retiring. She likes to take care of us and will shove food in his mouth if Oliver doesn’t leave his office. So with that being said, I’m okay with Amelia and me staying for the weekend if your offer stands.” Serenity strolls over to her brother and gives him a kiss on his cheek. “But you better make sure to rest up because all of this stress isn’t good for you. This little vacation time was something that you needed as well. It wasn’t just for Amelia or me for that matter.”

  “I know.” Oliver slides a hand through his hair. “Give me a little slack. I just asked Chester to help me out on this. With just one glance around the room you can see he knows his shit. That settles some of my nerves and gives me hope he can find out where the money is going.”

  It might give some folks the willies to have that kinda pressure on their shoulders to get a job done. For me? It’s a puzzle I wanna solve. If something is wrong inside their computer system? Damn sure I will find out.

  “If you’re hungry for more than cookies, I’ve got enough cheesy beef goulash for all of us.” What can I say? I’m hungry and I want a family dinner.

  Not the one with my ma and pa, my brothers and sisters around the table, nah…I want these people around my kitchen table.

  “Someone say cheesy?” Amelia comes up next to me. “Is that like mac and cheese or something?”

  I shrug my shoulders. “Well it’s got macaroni and cheese in there. But also, tomatoes, ground beef, some garlic and spices.”

  Her face lights up. “That sounds yummy. No fish, right?”

  I raise my eyebrow at her question
. “I didn’t see anything with fins in there this morning, so if they didn’t fly in, I think we’re good.”

  Amelia face palms herself. “Fish can’t fly, silly.”

  She makes me snort. “Some do.”

  “Oh, no they don’t.” The little girl puts her hands on her hips, ready to take on this argument.

  Mimicking her pose, I shoot back. “Oh, yes they do.”

  “Great, this is going to take a while.” Serenity’s voice comes out in a sigh and yet it’s tainted with a little laughter.

  “Come on, little know-it-all, let’s google that sucker so you can see how they do it.” I step toward my desk and flip on my screens.

  “Wooooooooooooow.” Amelia states.

  “Come sit in the driver’s seat.” I tell her and she jumps on my leather chair that’s designed for comfort if you have to spend hours behind a desk.

  Amelia looks down at the keyboard that looks more like a glass plate. “Look, uncle. No buttons. You can throw something over it and I bet it won’t be ruined.”

  Chuckling, I agree. “Booger bonus all over that one, Sunbeam, we can wipe it clean like nothing ever happened.”

  I let my fingers slide over the keyboard and have the information about a flying fish on one screen, YouTube on another, and Pinterest on the left screen showing pictures, so she’s surrounded with information.

  “This is so cool. I never want to leave. You have the best cookies, the best computer, the best TV, and the best gators. You’re the best, Chester.” She jumps off the chair and hugs my legs.

  I ruffle her soft little hair that got a little messy and out of the two pigtails, probably from rolling around in the boulder pillows. My throat clogs up and the squeezing in my chest starts up again. It’s a hint of the feeling Serenity lights up inside me, and yet totally different. Seems like this little girl might have taken my heart too.

  6

  SERENITY

  “I never want to leave…you’re the best, Chester.”

  I keep silently repeating the words Amelia said out loud a few hours ago. Logic, simple thoughts and yet it hits me so damn hard. I know she is missing a father figure and although Oliver helps out and is there for her, it’s not the same.

  She makes me want to repeat the exact same words, because he is the best. Or so it seems. Shit. My ex-husband really did pull a number on me. All those years, wasted. Maybe it is time to get back on the horse and throw caution to the wind.

  Some might say there are two kinds of people; ones who break and ones who bend. I’m not broken. I might have some scarring around my heart from bending it out of shape. Maybe it’s because I was pregnant with Amelia that I didn’t break. Not being one person anymore, deciding things for two instead of one makes a big difference.

  If you never take risks in life, you will never know what might have been. Every person is different, every bump in the road is different. That’s called living. It’s time I head in another direction. One where the destination lies open while I enjoy sightseeing along the way. I don’t want to look back twenty years from now and say “Coulda, shoulda, woulda.”

  I hit the lights and plunge the spare bedroom into darkness. Amelia is already fast asleep in the big bed that’s against the left wall. That’s all that’s in this room actually. Chester only seems to decorate rooms he thinks are worth it. Like his basement or his kitchen. The rest of the house? The only things in rooms are the ones that need to be in there.

  Pulling the door closed until there’s a tiny crack, I make my way downstairs. Oliver was still in the basement when Amelia was taking a bath. Seeing as she took her time in there and then getting ready for bed, I’m curious if Oliver is still behind the computer.

  Softly taking the stairs, I notice legs on the boulder pillows beneath the stairway. A few more steps and I see Oliver cuddled into the pillows, fast asleep. I feel a smile spreading over my face. Finally, he’s getting some much needed rest. Even if it’s not on a bed, he’s sleeping. His face shows no worries. Good enough.

  Silently, I head back upstairs and stop in the kitchen first. Leaning against the doorway, I take my time enjoying the view. Chester is standing in front of the stove. His arm is moving slightly, like he’s stirring something on the stovetop.

  It’s like I’m seeing him for the first time and I need this moment, standing here and do nothing more than take him in, because he’s absolutely captivating. He’s wearing nothing but dark gray sweatpants.

  His upper body resembles strength. Muscled back and his skin is kissed by the sun. Probably due to the fact that he’s outdoors a lot. Something that Amelia is missing. We live in the city and it’s hard to just head into nature and enjoy the outdoors.

  Chester’s arm moves and I need to swallow. His left arm, from his wrist all the way up and over his shoulder is decorated with tattoos. I’m used to looking at suits in an office most of the time, not half naked, inked up men. I mean, even my ex-husband made sure to kill the lights when we had sex so you could argue that even the muscles are a little distracting.

  I don’t have a lot of experience and standing in this kitchen, looking at a body like that I can only imagine how…

  “That feels nice.” Chester’s voice makes me freeze.

  Shit. How am I suddenly standing next to him, and was I really feeling up his muscled arm?

  “Don’t stop.” His words make me step back.

  Oh, how awkward is this? I was feeling him up. Tracing his tattoos. Damn nice too.

  Dammit. “Sorry, I shouldn’t have. I don’t know what I was thinking. I…”

  Chester’s hands move around the stove and he steps away from it.

  His finger touches me gently underneath my chin and he tilts my head to lock eyes. “Hey. I liked your hands on me. Don’t you dare say you’re sorry. Now if you were apologizing for stopping, that, I would accept.”

  A groan slips from my lips. “Why do you have to be like that?”

  “Like what?” Confusion spreads across his face.

  I step away from him because I can’t focus when he’s so close, or touching me, or pinning me with his intense gaze for that matter.

  “Like Mr. Perfect. For real, you cook, bake, you’re sweet with kids, well, with my kid anyway. You have a solution for everything, there’s that make my whole body tingle thing, you saved the day with the computer and want to help out with the company and didn’t ask for anything in return. Oh, and you opened your house to us. It’s…”

  “Make your body tingle, huh? Well, that’s good. Because you set mine on fire. I think that somehow makes us even.” His voice is husky and sweet while he takes a step forward.

  My body seems to be locked in place while he inches closer, his lips closing in on mine until my eyes fall close as he covers his mouth with mine. Minty. He tastes like me; brushed teeth, ready for bed. Yet his taste is more addictive and brings a whole new meaning to the phrase ‘ready for bed’.

  A moan rips out of me that he greedily swallows. He nips my bottom lip before he pulls back. “Let’s have some hot chocolate and head on over to the living room so we can watch a movie.”

  My breath releases in a rush, objecting to the distance he’s creating.

  “Don’t give me that.” He feathers a kiss on the corner of my mouth. “You test my control, Peaches. If I keep my lips melted with yours, my hands will have you naked faster than you can blink.” Chester leans his forehead against mine. “So I dare you to provoke me some more because I’m very much looking forward to feel you wrapped around me. I’m not looking for a quick hookup and seeing as you have Amelia sleeping in this house, as well as your brother, I have to contain myself. You also need to be aware of the fact that once I have you, I won’t be able to let you leave.”

  Somewhere along his statement my mind and body were doing a wave and a happy dance in sync, waiting for him to finish using his mouth for talking. Because I need to kiss him silly.

  I tip my head slightly to reach for one of his addictive kisses
but I feel his finger pressing against my lips. “Living room. Hot chocolate, Peaches. That’s it for now. You need to think over what I said.”

  I want to scream and tell him I’m in, he can get in, whatever. But with my next breath sanity falls back into place and he’s right. Slow. I need to take it slow not hit the gas pedal just because I decided to take a different route…to lover’s lane, or sex-street for that matter, dammit.

  Hot chocolate it is. “Are there any cookies left? Because I need to put…”

  Wow. I manage to shut my mouth just in time to save me myself from blurting out that I need something in it. Sex on the brain. I don’t think I’ve ever had that. But I swear Chester brings it out in me. I’ve never even had a penis in my mouth and yet I needed to stop myself from saying I needed to put something in my mouth. Which obviously clicked in my mind that I wanted to taste him. Obvious. Not. At. All. And yet it is to me.

  He’s right. Spinning on my heel, I hightail it out of the kitchen and into the living room. Distance. I have to create it. The soft chuckle that flows through the air, coming from the kitchen shows he understands me, and my thoughts.

  Flipping through the channels, I sit on the couch and wrap myself in the blanket. Thankfully I was able to change into comfy yoga pants and a large V-neck shirt. I had a backpack in the trunk of my car in case we decided to stay for a day or two in a hotel. It definitely came in handy when Chester thought of a way to let us spend more time together.

  “Here.” Chester holds out a cup, I’m guessing it’s filled with hot chocolate.

  I’m pretty comfy snuggled underneath the blanket with my hands tucked in. Again, his chuckle flows through the air as he sets both cups on the table in front of us. He lifts one side of the blanket and snuggles next to me. Shit. So much for creating distance.

  “Do you have to sit this close?” I grumble.