I stare at the pot. “She sure is. Now what do we do?”
Sev breaths in deep and waves her hand, holding the spoon over the pot. “Apple camera bubba, brings us a mommy!”
I love that she says apple camera bubba instead of abracadabra.
“I don’t think that’s what you say.” Camdyn gets down from the chair she pushed over to the stove. “Can I have hot chocolate?”
“Sure.”
They show me where hot chocolate is, and while they’re enjoying some, I notice Barron approaching the house in his truck. My heart flips around in my chest, struggling to find a steady beat. Crap. I’m still wearing his shirt. I’d completely forgotten about my clothes in the washing machine.
Within a few minutes, he comes inside the house, stomping his boots on the mat, flush-cheeked, jeans soaked and looking like Noah from The Notebook when they got caught in the rain. Boom. It’s official. I’m in love with Texas.
He smiles at me, removes his beanie cap, and sets it on the counter. His eyes drift lower to my bare legs. Cat’s out of the bag.
“I, well, I wanted to wash my clothes. I hope you don’t mind. I can take it off if it bothers you.” I reach for the hem, not even realizing that I’m standing in the same room as his children, who more than likely haven’t seen a naked woman before, and, hello, I’m starting to take my clothes off in front of a man and his two small children.
Did I hit my head too hard in the accident? Do I have brain damage? Who does this shit?
“You don’t have to give it back to me right now,” Barron says, eyes wide in shock and gesturing with a tip of his head to his kids on the couch mindlessly drinking their hot chocolate.
“Right.” I drop my hands. “Well—” And then I do quite possibly the most embarrassing thing I’ve done yet in my life. I choke on my own spit. I’m not talking about clearing my throat or coughing politely. I’m talking about choking and then coughing, spitting, face red, freaking out that I can’t breathe. That kind of choking that requires a good five-minute recovery, and even then, your throat is sore for the rest of the day, and not in a good way, if you know what I mean.
Anyways, that happened.
After my not-so ladylike recovery of obsessively clearing my throat for a good two minutes, I realize Barron is staring at me like he’s not sure whether I need the Heimlich or mouth to mouth. Honestly, if he was touching me in any way, I’d love it. His face pales. “Are you okay?”
“Christ on a cracker.” I clasp my hand to my chest. “I think my lung got stuck in my throat there for a second.”
He stares at me as if he can’t believe he left this whacko with his children all day. And I can’t blame him one bit.
“What happened to your clothes?” he asks, but there’s a smirk on his face as if he knows and he’s not saying anything.
“We went up to the barn.” And I leave it at that because me falling into cow shit isn’t a story I want to tell this guy. It’s about as embarrassing as smashing into the side of his shop with my car or running around in his clothes like I’m playing house in some kind of Hallmark movie pretending to be something I’m not.
Standing closer to me, his breath hits my face, his eyes drifting over my shoulder to his kids, still engrossed in whatever it is they’re watching on television. “I’ll let you in on a little secret,” he whispers, his rough Southern accent sending chills through my entire body.
“What?”
“There are cameras in the barn.”
I hang my head in defeat. “I knew it.”
“Daddy!” the girls yell when they notice their dad.
“We makes a mommy spell.” That comes from Sev, who’s rubbing her entire body on the rug in front of the fireplace.
Barron’s eyes shoot to mine. “What?”
“They made a potion,” I say, gesturing to the pot on the stove.
He glances into the pot and then eyes me with amusement. “Sounds like an eventful day.”
“And Kacy fells in Poppy’s poop!” Sev rats me out, itching her arms.
Barron chuckles and sets his thermos on the counter. “I thought something smelled in here.”
“I don’t stink.” I grab hold of Sev, placing her in front of Barron. “She had these hives when I found her this morning.”
He holds his arms out, and Sev reaches for him. “Ya itching, little girl?”
She shakes her head, still itching. “No.”
Tenderly, his lips press to her forehead, and he pushes her blonde curls from her face. I nearly have to fan myself. Who knew watching a man be a good dad could be so sexy. Reaching into the cupboard behind him, he retrieves what looks to be Benadryl.
I help him out by taking the measuring cap off the top so he can hold Sev at the same time. “Is this normal? Camdyn said this happens sometimes.”
“She has sensitive skin. Could be the cold weather.” He sets her on the counter, where she continues to scratch her stomach and face. When he gives her the medicine, she stares at him. “Or she’s coming down with something.”
“I not sick!” she yells, sliding off the counter and onto the floor. Reaching into the back of her pants, she scratches her bunny as she walks away.
Barron smirks. “Such a little lady.” His dark eyes find mine, a warmth to them I haven’t seen on a man in a long time, if ever. They travel lower, taking a long pass over my body, and then meet my eyes again with the sincerest tenderness about them. “Thank you for watching them.”
“It was the best day I’ve had in a long time.” It’s in this moment, I want to tell him what I know. My lack of words give my existence in their life an expiration date.
But at least the view is nice.
BARRON
“So, who won the bet?”
“They’re still alive. So I think I won,” Kacy says with a certain cocky vibe I find incredibly sexy. It’s probably because she’s half-naked and wearing my T-shirt, or she’s got that crazy but insanely hot thing going on.
“Or a tie.”
She steps forward. “What’s the tiebreaker?”
Breathing in, I lift my eyes to the girls and then back to Kacy, grabbing a handful of my shirt she’s wearing and bringing her closer. “All your clothes on my bedroom floor later,” I whisper, wishing I could fuck her on the counter. Really, anywhere. I won’t be picky.
There’s a fire in her eyes, desire, but something stronger too. She’s hesitant for reasons she’s not sharing with me. “If we’re going to get naked soon, would you mind if I took a shower?”
Only if I can watch. I don’t say that though. “No.”
“No you don’t mind, or I can’t?”
I nod, reaching in the fridge for a beer. “I don’t mind.”
“Perfect.”
“You can take one in my bathroom.” I point to my room at the end of the hall. “There’s towels under the sink.”
She pauses, her hands on the counter separating us, much like it did last night. I want so badly to kiss her again and more, but I don’t. The kids are in the room. Kacy smiles. “Thank you.” Backing up, she turns to leave but then stops snapping her fingers together. “Oh, my clothes.”