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“I got him.”I cradled Owen to my chest.His bleary amber eyes opened, but he rested his head against my shoulder.I leaned my face on his head as I carried him in.Muscles I hadn’t exerted in a while, or ever, protested.
I could start working out or, at the very least, going for walks like I used to during the summer when I wasn’t teaching.I could start yoga again.When I made it a regular habit, the residual ache in my joints from having chronic Lyme disease didn’t bother me as much.I could find some online videos.I’d had an emotional breakdown, and much of me lived in fear of another, but I could prevent a physical one.
I’d never joined the gym on our limited budget, and it wouldn’t be happening now that the mortgage and benefits were coming out of my paycheck.Derek’s life insurance had gotten me through the worst of the grief, but what little was left needed to last until I got a higher-paying position.Anything left over was my only safety net.
Liam laid Eli on one end of the couch, and I put Owen on the other side, grateful I hadn’t dropped him.Both boys stayed asleep.I pushed my hair back, a sense of accomplishment prompting a smile.
“Ready to unload?”Liam’s eyes sparkled.The end table and two-drawer chest were the lightest items we’d brought back.The rest were steel rods and chunks from the scrap yard.
Anyone other than Liam would encourage me to wait with the kids.But Liam would probably turn it into a race just to see how I’d hold up.So I beat him to it.“I’ll race you.”I darted out of the house as quietly as I could.
His chuckle drifted behind me.Outside, his long strides caught up to me, and he tapped me on the shoulder.“Gotcha.”
I slowed to a walk, giggling.“It was worth a shot.”
“I don’t need to spend my ten days home nursing a sore back.I’ll pull around to the shop.You wanna open it up?”He tossed me the keys.
I let out a delighted squeal when I caught them and shared a grin with Liam.The way the green glinted in his eyes made my heart stammer.His laughter sent a flush through my body.I whirled around, willing my hormones to settle down.I’d given myself one orgasm.Was my body going to start reacting to a man?This wasn’t an appropriate time—or an appropriate guy.Liam was a good person, but he was a friend.
I unlocked the entry door, flipped the lights on, and punched the button for the overhead door.It creaked open.The sound might be enough to wake the kids.They’d either stay asleep while Liam and I unloaded, or they’d watch as much TV as they could sneak in before Liam made them turn it off.Either way, I’d be alone with Liam.
The thrill of our unfinished race lingered along with the lick of heat.Would I need to go home and get myself off again tonight?I was comfortable with what had happened.The orgasm had been a release I hadn’t known I needed.It was like I’d been handed sixty years back, likehere, you’re not a withered crone.
I waited just inside the shop as Liam backed the pickup in.Unloading was just the distraction I needed from my X-rated thoughts.We worked side by side.I missed being this comfortable around someone.Just existing together.Doing activities next to each other without thewhat should I say?awkwardness.
“We’re working up an appetite,” Liam said, brushing the back of his wrist across his brow.“I’m gonna hafta feed you again.”
My stomach rumbled as if the pizza I’d had at the alien-themed restaurant in Bismarck had burned off as soon as it hit my stomach.“You don’t need to feed me.”
He hefted long bars of steel, his biceps flexing and veins protruding in his forearms.It was the last load, so I leaned against the side of the pickup and crossed my arms over the top.My gaze stuck on his muscled back as he carried his load into the shop.His shirt was untucked and the hem made a one-sided frame above his butt as it flexed with each step.
I blinked and ripped my gaze away.These hormones.
This longing.
Should I get serious about dating?I’d caught myself staring at Liam too often today to deny that I was moving into another phase of my life.I couldn’t have this affect how I was around Liam.My online Sexy, Young, and Widowed support group would have good advice.
He stopped by the back of the pickup.The scent of his aftershave wafted between us.I’d always liked that he didn’t douse himself in cologne.He’d said he’d sweat it off anyway when he got to work.“I have to feed the boys.You know they’re going to wake up starving.”
“Because they talked all the way through their meal about the games they wanted to play in the arcade?”
He chuckled and leaned against the tailgate of his pickup, facing me.“They’re going to be up late, so it’s no problem to eat before we run you home.”
I did want to stay longer.I loved being around Liam and his kids and witnessing what a naturally good dad he was after the piece of crap he’d had for a father.I also loved his place.Sounds of crickets, frogs, and birds mingled and soaked into my bones.A light breeze ruffled my hair and cooled the exertion from unloading the bed of Liam’s truck.I turned around, propped myself against his pickup, not caring if I was going to get a backside full of dust, and dropped my head back.
“It’s so peaceful here.”I used to love going to Derek’s place after we started dating.I let out a soft exhale.I loved my in-laws.But it was easier to enjoy the peace of country living when I was at Liam’s than when I was at Bruce and Willow’s.
I opened my eyes and looked at Liam.His steady gaze was on me, his expression unreadable.He was respecting my time.He could tell I was enjoying the moment.Energy zinged between us, an awareness of him I wasn’t ready for.
So I brought up a topic that doused that spark.“What was with the whole fence thing?They don’t want to fix any of it?”
Irritation flashed through his expression.He didn’t bother to cover it.Another thing I appreciated about him.He didn’t feel like he had to hide from me.“They want Grandma Gin to sell sooner than later, and to sell to them.”
“But they’re nearing their own retirement years.What would they do with more land?”
His smile was grim.“The Barrons have always tried to gobble up land.It’s why they don’t get along with the Grangers.But Grandma Gin heard Derek’s brother mention his interest in moving back home.I’m sure Bruce thinks he can hand over an empire.”
“Evander’s moving home?”Why hadn’t Bruce or Willow mentioned anything?Derek and his brother hadn’t been close, but his parents’ relationship with Evander was even more complicated.Maybe they didn’t know what to think themselves.
