“I’ll get it, Momma.” Carson barrels down the hallway as fast as he can and I’m hot on his heels.
“Carson Andrew, don’t you dare open that door without knowing who is on the other side of it.” I stop behind him with my hands on my hips.
“But, Momma? We know it’s Landon.” He crosses his arms across his chest.
“We don’t know that for sure. It could be anyone.” I step around him and look through the peephole. It’s Landon, of course, but Carson still needs to know the dangers of opening doors without knowing who stands on the other side. I crack the door and allow it to swing open wide. Landon stands on my front porch dressed in denim jeans and a plain white T-shirt. He has a baseball cap turned backward and he looks so damn sexy I can’t even control my thoughts. My mind wanders to the night at his place, the feel of his hands on my body and the same smirk he’s wearing now. Until my five-year-old speaks.
“See, told ya it was Landon.” My son steps up and holds his fist out for Landon. Landon takes a step in then squats so he is eye level with him.
“Bud, your momma is right. Answering the door can be dangerous, you never know who could be standing there.” Carson drops his head in defeat. Landon looks up to me and says, “Heard the two of you through the door.”
“I’m sorry, Momma.” He steps up to me and wraps his arms around my waist. I run my hand along his back.
“It’s fine, baby. You just have to be more careful.”
“Are you two ready for a fun afternoon?” Landon stands to his full height and towers over me.
“As ready as we’ll ever be.” I follow both Landon and Carson out the door. We walk up to the side of Landon’s jeep. It’s the hunter green one I saw in his garage bay when I was at his house last.
“Let me grab his booster seat out of my car really quick.” Landon nods and then helps Carson climb into the backseat. He takes the seat from me when I step up and I watch as he easily secures it before buckling Carson in like he’s done this a million times.
When he’s finished, he turns and catches me watching.
“What?” He raises a brow at me and does that damn smirk.
“Nothing, just looked like you knew what you were doing.” I shrug and start to walk around the back of his jeep. He follows, opening the door for me. His hand goes to the small of my back as I take a step and climb in, then drifts from my back down to my ass and lands on my thigh. He waits as I secure the seat belt around me before shutting my door and making his way to the driver’s seat.
As he’s backing out of my driveway, I ask, “Where are we going?”
“It’s a surprise.” He winks at me before pulling away and exiting our neighborhood.
Carson is watching trees out the window as we drive and I’m curious as to what is going through his little mind at this entire experience. The only man he has ever been around is my dad and the occasional men Jennifer or Chrissy bring around.
“How much longer?” Carson asks as he leans sideways in his booster seat to see out the front window.
“Not too much longer, bud.” Landon flips his blinker on and turns into the parking lot of the newest go-kart and laser tag place.
“No way!” Carson squeals from the back seat. “We’re going here?”
“Yeah, dude. That okay with you?” Landon shuts off the jeep and pockets his keys. I watch as he grabs a ball hat from his dash and places it on his head. I make a strange face, one because I've never seen him wear a ball hat before and noticed it when I opened the door earlier and second, because I for some reason only associate ball hats with baseball players. “What?” He asks, chuckling slightly at the look on my face.
“What’s with the hat?” I point to where it sits on his head.
“It’s my disguise.” He turns to look at Carson, who is beaming with excitement. The thought never crossed my mind that he’d need a disguise for times like this. His focus falls back on me. His eyes roam my face before focusing on my lips. “How about you? This okay with you?” he asks and I don’t miss the hidden meaning; he knows how I feel about letting someone into Carson’s life.
“Yeah, I’m okay.” And maybe I am.
Chapter Ten
After nearly four hours of go-karts, laser tag, putt putt golf, and pizza, Carson is passed out in the backseat and we are heading back to my house.
“I have never seen him play so hard,” I say as I look over my shoulder at a sleeping Carson. His head keeps falling forward in his booster seat. “Thank you for bringing us.” I turn my attention back to Landon.
“I had fun. I really enjoyed it, and I enjoy Carson. That kid is hilarious, you’ve done a really good job with him, Kels.” Kels. The butterflies flutter in my stomach at the shortened version of my name.
“Thank you. I’m sorry about the other day, Landon. I’m just nervous about all of this. I haven’t been with anyone since his father; well, except that night that you and I…” I trail off. I feel my face flood with heated embarrassment.
“Don’t be embarrassed. I don’t regret a single bit of it, except for the way I treated you the next morning. I just heard you on the phone and jumped to the wrong conclusions, I’m sorry.” He reaches for my hand and squeezes. I don’t pull away, loving the feel of my hand in his.
“I just need to go slow, this scares me and the last thing I want is for Carson to get attached to you and us fall apart and break his heart.”
“Hey, I totally understand that, and honestly I’d be bothered if you weren’t being this protective of your son. You’re a damn good mom, Kels. I can tell that just by being around you this little bit.” He pulls his jeep into my driveway and shuts his engine off.
“I guess I better wake him up, he’s getting too big to carry,” I say as I reach for the handle of the door.
“Let me.” Landon hops out and scoops Carson up into his arms like he weighs nothing at all. I reach past him and grab the booster seat and walk up the sidewalk to my front porch. I fish my key out of my pocket, unlocking the front door and holding it wide for him to step inside.
“His room is the first door on the right.” I gesture to the hallway as I set Carson’s booster by the back door.
When I get to Carson’s room, I can hear his little voice. “Thanks for such a fun day Landon, my momma needed it.” My heart jerks. “She never has fun but she did today.” I glance around the corner and see Landon unlacing Carson’s tennis shoes and slowly setting them down beside his bed as he pulls the covers up over my son.
“No need to thank me. Anytime you want to go, just say the word.”
“What’s the word?” Landon giggles at my son’s innocence.
“It’s a figure of speech, you just tell me when you want to go and we will plan something, okay?” Landon fist bumps him and stands from his bed. Carson has already curled into a little ball and fallen back asleep.
I’m back in the kitchen when Landon makes his way from Carson’s room.
“I’m glad you came today, Kels. I had a really good time.” He stops right before he reaches me and shoves his hands in his pocket. He looks nervous. “I would really like to continue seeing you both.” I jerk my head in his direction at the mention of both of us.