DEWY WHITE FOG SWIRLED OVER the herbaceous plants of the marsh behind Richmond’s home. Birds flapped their wings overhead, flying past the estate. The early morning sun nestled behind an ancient oak slowly rose, its rays bouncing off wet leaves as they dangled from curved branches.
Promptly at seven-fifteen, Kayla stood on Richmond’s front porch, with CJ perched on her hip.
“Make sure you smile when you meet Mr. Spaulding. Okay?”
CJ nodded.
Oh God, here goes, she thought, pressing the doorbell.
Short seconds later, the front door cracked open. One look at handsome Richmond, and Kayla’s heart squeezed. Her belly fluttered. Suppressing the hot, robust sigh at the back of her throat, Richmond glanced at CJ, then back at her.
“Good…morning.” Looking just like the guy named Russell in the photo she’d accidentally stumbled upon at her house, Richmond’s deep, throaty voice rolled over her, stirred her female senses.
On the verge of tingling while stressed, she offered him a nervous smile. “Good morning. This is my son, CJ. He broke his arm last night, and I had to take him to the hospital. If it’s okay with you, may I please bring him to work with me today?” And tomorrow? And the next day? And the day after that?
His voice was resigned as he said, “Why, this has completely caught me off guard. Ummm. Come in.” Richmond stepped to the side, letting her pass him by. As she crossed over the threshold, his ember fragrance sailed up her nose, enticing her.
Kayla entered the living room and sat CJ on the sofa. “I can understand if you’re not comfortable with me bringing my son to work with me.” Pressure built inside her head as she awaited his answer. Stone-faced, his eyes flashed a familiar display of impatience. “Richmond, I’m sorry, but I failed to tell you if I accepted this job, then I’ll have to bring my son to work with me for a while. I’m in a jam. I can’t afford daycare; however, if you let me bring CJ to work with me, I promise not to neglect Isabelle while he’s here. I can ensure you she’ll get the best care possible.” Please say yes.
Richmond’s brows hiked. He curled his finger over his mustache. “Why can’t you afford daycare? Don’t you get child support for the kid?”
“Sometimes.”
Bestowing her with a concerned look, his brows furrowed. “Sometimes.”
Tearing her gaze from CJ, her eyes moved upward along his broad chest to his gorgeous face. “His father only pays child support when he feels like it. Some months I get money, some months I don’t get a single dime. Or a single penny.” I know he thinks I’m a big dummy for letting Carson treat CJ and me this way.
“Kayla, please excuse my frankness, but nothing irks me more than a sorry ass man.” His eyes traveled to CJ. “I don’t know what happened between you and your ex, but I do know that your son shouldn’t have to suffer because of it. His father should be taking care of him on a regular basis, not whenever he feels like it.”
“I agree. Thanks.”
“I tell you what…you can bring CJ to work with you as long as you ensure his being here doesn’t take away from Isabelle’s learning.”
Kayla’s heart rejoiced. She smiled so hard until her face hurt. “I promise CJ’s being here will not interfere with what you want for Isabelle. Thank you so much, Richmond.”
Richmond smiled in return. “You’re quite welcome. Isabelle is still sleeping. Her daily schedule is on the counter. Please don’t deter from it without my permission. Today, she has a ballet lesson at noon. Shortly thereafter, she has horseback riding lessons at the equestrian. Jason is her instructor.” Ohgodno. Not his creepy behind. “If you have any questions, please feel free to call me on my cell. Plug the emergency numbers written on the blackboard inside the kitchen into your cell.”
“Okay, I will.”
Speaking of cell phone, if Jason hadn’t showed up at her home after nine last night to drop off her cell phone, she wouldn’t have left CJ alone inside the bathroom, and he wouldn’t have jumped off the toilet and injured his arm. Guilt stirred up inside her when she looked at the blue cast on CJ’s arm.
Then again, who was she kidding? CJ was a boy, and he could be hardheaded at times. Instead of blaming Jason, she needed to learn how to better discipline CJ. Being that this was her first child, she was still learning in the whole discipline area.
Jason is not at fault for what happened to CJ. I should be grateful he thought enough to bring me my phone. But looking up my address on the Internet creeps me out. The look in Jason’s eyes when he looks at me petrifies me.
Richmond glanced at the watch on his wrist. “I’ll be leaving shortly. Make yourself at home.” His voice deepened as he reminded her, “Remember…Salina’s room is off limits. No one but me is allowed in her room.” When he spoke of Salina’s room, his eyes were full of remorse.
Her room? “I understand. Have a great day.”
“I will. You, too, Kayla.”
Kayla lifted CJ in her arms, and as she clambered up the stairs to the second floor, she felt the heat of Richmond’s gaze burning a hole in her backside. Mounting the staircase with CJ on her hip, Kayla’s gaze fell to the first floor to catch him staring up at her, just like she’d suspected. Thrusting his hands in his pants pockets, his burning eyes made her breath still before he turned and stalked away.
Working for a stallion like Richmond wasn’t going to be easy. She reached the top of the staircase, walked the short distance of the hallway to her left, and quietly entered Isabelle’s bedroom.
Walking over to Isabelle’s white canopy bed as she slept like a beautiful princess, a warm feeling enveloped Kayla. Thankful Richmond had agreed to let her bring CJ to work with her every day, she lowered him to the foot of the bed.
“Isabelle,” her name eased out of Kayla’s mouth like a sweet caress. In an effort to awaken the darling little girl, she gently shook her shoulder. “Wake up, sweetie. It’s time to start your day.”
Lying on her side, clenching the linen to her chin, Isabelle yawned. Her eyes slowly peeled open. As if trying to adjust her vision, she blinked repeatedly, then gave Kayla a peculiar stare. Kayla caressed her spine, trying to stimulate the cute little child.
“Good morning.”
“Good morning.”
Isabelle rubbed her eyeballs with her knuckles. She sat upright in bed, turned her legs sideways. Kayla grabbed her small hand, gestured her toward the bathroom. It didn’t take too long for Isabelle to use the restroom, brush her teeth, and wash her face.
Knowing they had a busy schedule today, Kayla quickly applied moisturizer to Isabelle’s face, brushed her long, curly hair into a high ponytail, and after she dressed her, she introduced her to CJ. For long moments, the two kids stood inside Isabelle’s bedroom, staring at one another, when finally Kayla grabbed their hands and took them downstairs.
“Daddy. You’re still here.” Isabelle entered the kitchen and hurried over to her father as he sat at the table reading the newspaper.
Kayla’s pulse perked at the mere sight of him. I thought he’d left.
Peeping at Isabelle over the edge of the newspaper, Richmond looked at Kayla, then down at short CJ, then back at Isabelle. “You didn’t think I’d leave without saying goodbye, Pumpkin, did you?” He pecked her cheek.
“No,” Isabelle quipped. “Kayla brought me a friend to play with, Daddy. His name is CJ.”
Richmond smiled. “That was very nice of Kayla, wasn’t it?”
Isabelle twisted the top of her shirt in her hand. “Uh huh.”
Richmond’s nearness tantalized Kayla’s being. The magnetic attraction she had to this handsome man was undeniable.
“Isabelle, take your place at the table while I fix your breakfast, sweetie.” Doing as she was told, Isabelle rounded her father’s chair and took her seat.
When Kayla sat CJ in the chair across from Richmond, she noticed him grimace. Hard lines crinkled near his eyes. Uh oh. Assuming that may be Salina’s old seat, she moved CJ to the chair closer
to Isabelle. This is going to be quite an adjustment.
“Why did you move CJ?” Richmond asked bluntly.
“Because his sitting there seemed to have upset you.”
“Did I say it upset me?” It was obvious to her that he had clear, observant eyes.
Hoping she didn’t upset him, she shook her head. “No.”
“Then why’d you assume?”
“Because of the expression your face made.” Turning her back to him, Kayla walked over to the counter, lulled open the cabinet, and pulled down a container of apple cinnamon oatmeal.
Standing with her back to him, she heard the legs scrape the floor when Richmond scooted the chair back. “I was that apparent, huh?”
“Yes.” She poured the oatmeal grains into the heating pot, added three cups of water, and stirred.
Richmond came to stand beside her. His cologne smells so good.
“Just so you know…” She transferred her gaze from the pot to his face. His eyes bore into her, drugged her. Made her knees weak. Caused her insides to quiver. He continued. “CJ can sit anywhere he wants to. So can you. As I stated before, my wife was murdered inside her bedroom. Her case is still open, so until the police find her killer, I want the door to stay closed.”
“Do you sleep in there?”
“No. I sleep in the guest bedroom right off the den. Haven’t slept in my bed since the day she died.”
“I’m so sorry to hear about your wife’s murder.”
Gloom spread across Richmond’s face. “Me, too, Kayla. Me, too.”
Stalking toward the back garage door, a blank manifestation washed over Richmond’s face. Without uttering another word, he pulled open the door and exited.
A deep breath expelled from Kayla’s lungs as a cold chill ran up her spine. Seeing how deeply Richmond still loved his wife, she knew she needed to stop lusting for him. Even if he wasn’t grieving, or madly in love with a dead woman, he wouldn’t want her. Not only was she divorced, but she had a son. She had too much baggage. A wealthy millionaire like Richmond Spaulding could have any woman he wanted, and he definitely wouldn’t want one with drama.
Kayla’s cell buzzed against her hip. Spooning the hot oatmeal into a bowl, she slid the cell from its clip and answered without spying the Caller ID. “Hello?”
“Why in the hell did you keep blowing up my damn phone last night?” Carson’s cold tone punctuated her eardrums.
“Because,” she sat the children’s porridge in front of them, “wait ‘til it cools off some,” she advised Isabelle and CJ.
“I’m listening,” Carson barked.
The last thing Kayla wanted was to get into an argument in front of the children, so she left the kitchen and walked into the den. “I called you to let you know that CJ got into an accident last night.”
Carson’s sigh sounded as if he was irritated. “Well, is he okay?”
“Yes. He’s fine now.”
“What happened?”
“He jumped off the toilet and broke his arm.”
An irritating groan came through the line. “How’d that happen? Weren’t you watching him? He’s a boy…you shouldn’t have taken your eyes off him, not even for one second.”
She shriveled at his condescending tone. “Don’t you think I know that, Carson?”
“I don’t know; you tell me.”
“Look. I just called you to let you know he’d hurt himself and to ask you if you could pay your child support on time this month, or maybe pay a little extra to help pay for the hospital bill.”
“Hell no! It ain’t my fault you decided to do whatever and not keep an eye out on him. Maybe you’ll learn something from this and think before you act next time.”
Kayla’s temper flared. Rolling her eyes, she switched the cell to her other ear. “Carson. Are you serious? I was watching him.” Not really, but he doesn’t have to know. “Accidents happen. I bend over backwards to work with you and let you pay child support whenever you can. Even when you do pay, it’s not that much. You should be thankful. Please don’t make me take you to court.”
“Yeah. Yeah. Do what you have to do.”
Click!
“Hello? Hello?” Kayla held her cell out in front of her eyes. That selfish, no-good dog had hung up in her face. Uuugh. How’d she ever gotten involved with such an inconsiderate jerk was beyond her comprehension. As soon as she saved up some money, she was going to hire a good attorney and take Carson Terrell Crawford to court. If it weren’t for CJ, she’d change her last name back to Van Buren.
Fuming, Kayla turned on the soles of her shoes and collided into a hard body. Startled, she gasped. Gazing into Jason’s penetrating blue eyes, fright coursed through her veins.
He clutched her arms, dipped his head, and let his robust eyes roam freely over her surprised face. Light tremors spread through Kayla’s bones.
“Good morning. Why are you shaking?” His breath smelled like caramel coffee.
Because you scared the living crap out of me! Tempted to knee him in the balls, Kayla suppressed her frustration and just smiled. “Good morning, Jason.”