A Hero for Tonight (24 page)

“Krista,” he muttered. He knew he should tell her to stop, but honestly, nothing had felt this good since she’d left, and having her love him this way was amazing.

As the room began to once more spin and his body tensed and tightened with need, he let himself go in her capable hands.

Although he longed to lie there forever, hold her in his arms, and make love all day, the harsh reality was they were in a store that was supposed to open in an hour. And it took almost that long for them to stop stealing kisses and touching each other while they dressed.

He watched her gather her hair up into a ponytail as he pulled on his shirt.

“Hmm, that’s a pretty hot look, there. Maybe some night you can dress up like a policeman for me.”

Shane glanced at his bare legs then lifted the hem of his uniform shirt to reveal his naked lower half. “Oh yeah, you like this, do you?” He wiggled his hips.

Krista laughed, crossed the room and wrapped her arms around him to squeeze his bare butt cheeks. “Definitely.”

He dropped his arms over her shoulders as her head tilted for another kiss. “We’re never going to get out of here if you don’t stop.”

She shrugged. “We don’t have to open the store today. We could pretend I’m sick.”

“I thought Melissa was coming in to help again.”

Krista dropped her head on his chest and let out a deep sigh. “She is, but not until noon.”

Her hands stroked him again, but he pushed her away. “Stop. I have stuff I have to do, too. And you are making it very
hard
for me to focus.”

“You’re right.”

She finished buttoning her blouse, but something in her voice had him pausing. He pulled his pants on and tucked in his shirt before crossing the kitchen to her.

Tipping her chin up, he forced her to look at him. “It’s going to be all right. I promise you, we’ll be fine.”

Tears glazed her eyes. “How do you know? How can you be sure? We’ve only been together a few weeks, and two of those we weren’t speaking.”

He dropped a kiss on her trembling lips. “We’re going to fight. Yes, we’re both stubborn, but I’ll get you to come around to my way of thinking and we’ll be fine.”

He grinned when she swatted at him.

“It’s not always going to be your way, you know. Just because I gave in on this one, doesn’t mean you get your way all the time.”

He dipped his head to nuzzle her neck and nibble her ear. “I think I have ways of making you see things my way.”

After Shane finally left, and she opened the store, it was difficult for Krista to focus. Her heart was heavy as she worked in the store she’d known most of her life. A little niggling voice kept pestering her about her decision. Not that she was having second thoughts, she definitely knew being with Shane was what she wanted, but shouldn’t he want her to be happy? Didn’t it bother him that she was giving up something so incredibly important to her...for him?

Then again, she knew better than any other woman in the world what he was like. He was who he was. The fact that he liked it when things went his way was not a surprise. Her body tingled in remembrance of his kisses and the way he’d thoroughly caressed every inch of her body. Shane loved her. They would build a future together and she’d find something new to focus on, whether it was a family or increasing her web design business. Besides, even if she didn’t have her own children for a while, she’d have Mary’s and Karen’s babies to help with in the meantime. She wouldn’t let herself get depressed, thinking about closing the shop after Christmas for the very last time.

Chapter Fourteen

Shane whistled as he walked out of jewelry store. He felt a bit of a heel for letting Krista believe she had to give up her dreams for the store if she wanted to be with him. But he’d right all that tonight. He was already anticipating making love to her while his diamond sparkled on her finger.

Shane bounded up the steps of his parent’s house where they’d agreed to meet to talk with his mother, together.

The aroma wafting down the hall as he walked in made his mouth water. His stomach grumbled, reminding him the sandwich he’d eaten at noon was a distant memory.

“Wow, what smells so goo—?” He stepped into the kitchen and frowned at his mother who stood near the stove.

“Pot roast.” She lifted the lid of the heavy cast iron pot and peered inside, poking with her wooden spoon.

He moved to the backdoor and glanced out over the yard. “Where’s Dad? And aren’t you supposed to be lying down?”

“Your father just went up to shower and I have been resting most of the day. I can still stir a pot, you know. It’s not an exhausting exercise.”

Moving to the refrigerator, he pulled out a bottle of water and took a long drink before looking at his mother once more. How was she going to look in a few months? No matter how many people told him it was exciting, it was still going to be weird to see her round and pregnant. He shuddered and pushed the thought away.

“I was surprised when Krista said you’d both be here for dinner. Apparently, you’ve decided to play nice together again?” His mother set the spoon down and wiped her hands on the dishtowel.

She reached up to the cupboard, and Shane quickly moved to her side to take the plates from her. “Why don’t you sit down? I’ll get all this. And yeah, Krista and I are definitely playing nice together.” He winked and she shook her head.

“Knowing you two, the peace treaty won’t last too long.” She sank into the kitchen chair and pulled the cutting board toward her.

Shane set the plates on the table and pulled out the silverware drawer. “Oh I think you might be surprised by how long this one lasts.”

“Krista’s bringing a salad, so we need salad bowls out too. You two have been bickering since the day you were old enough to say ‘mine, mine, mine’ when she took your bottle from you.”

An inappropriate, but very enticing image of Krista sharing a bright pink nipple with him popped into his mind. Clearing his throat, he bit back a smile. “Well, maybe she’s learned how to share since then.”

His mother grunted. “I don’t think it’s Krista who ever had the sharing issue.”

“Okay, maybe I’ve learned too. You always told me I just needed to meet the right woman and I’d change my ways.”

His mother’s knife stopped in mid cut through an apple. “Don’t play with her, Shane. I mean it. Krista means too much to me.” She waved her knife in his direction. “She’s like my own daughter, and you know it.”

“Not at all a concern that she might break
my
heart? Just the other way around?” He set the bowls on the table.

“Whose heart are you breaking now?”

His father walked into the kitchen and the familiar scent of his deodorant soap filled Shane’s nostrils.

“Shane and Krista are sleeping together again.”

Shane tipped his head to his mother and opened his mouth, but then shut it again. What could he say after all? It was the truth.

“Is that so?”

He waited for his father to make another comment, but he merely moved to the refrigerator and took out two beers. Shane took the offered bottle and searched his father’s face. But again, no indication of what he was thinking.

His mother started to stand, but his father pressed his hand to her shoulder, taking the bowl of apples from her. “Stay there; I’ll take these. Where do you want them?”

His mother twisted in her chair. “Just take the lid off the roast and put them in there.”

The front door opened and Shane’s pulse sped up, knowing it had to be Krista. He walked out of the kitchen to greet her.

He took the loaded bags from her arms as he stole a quick kiss. “Hey,” he said, leaning in for one more.

She smiled. “Hey.”

Slipping off her coat, she glanced down the hall. “I’m so nervous.”

He would have loved to have a second to hold her in his arms, but the bags were between them. He settled for simply winking at her. “It will be fine. I
promise
.”

She closed her eyes for a second, then gave a brief nod as if she was going in for major surgery. “Okay, let’s do this.”

Krista walked past him and he heard her greet his folks. His father said something he didn’t quite catch, and Krista laughed as Mary scolded her husband. His heart swelled. How did he go so many years without realizing this was exactly how it was supposed to be? What did they say, sometimes you find love where you least expect it?

Back in the kitchen, he caught Krista’s eye from across the room. She looked nervous, and he could tell she didn’t want to wait until after dinner to talk to his parents about the shop.

Clearing his throat, he crossed to her side as she pulled out a chair near his mother.

“Mary, I need to talk to you about something.”

His mother raised her eyebrow. “Shane already told me that the two of you are together, at least for now.”

A red flush creep up into her face as Krista glanced at Shane and then back to his mother. “This has nothing to do with Shane. It has to do with me and you, specifically The Apple Basket.”

Mary frowned. “Is everything okay? I feel so guilty sitting here while you work our busiest time and...”

Krista put her hand on Mary’s where it rested on the table. “That’s not it, or rather it is, but not in the way you think. Melissa’s been great, she’s doing a terrific job, but no, it’s not the same without you.”

She drew a deep breath and Shane moved closer laying his hand on her shoulder.

Shane’s mother smiled. “I know, and I’d feel the same if I was there without you, but next year...”

“There won’t be a next year,” Krista blurted out.

Mary grabbed her hands. “Oh honey, I know it seems like that now, but I promise you, next year I’ll be right by your side. You’re just feeling a little abandoned.”

“I think I want to sell. I mean, I don’t know what you want to do, but I’d like to sell my half of the business.”

Shane’s heart squeezed at the catch in Krista’s voice, but he kept quiet, waiting for the right moment. He looked over their heads to where his father leaned against the counter. He read exactly what he was thinking; his father was relieved at Krista’s announcement.

“But honey, this is what you always said you loved to do,” his mother said. “You were even thinking about keeping it open longer.”

“You knew that?”

“Of course I did.” Mary smiled and tipped her head. “But, well, to be honest with you, I was hoping in time you’d either change your mind about that or I’d find a way to embrace it.”

“But you didn’t want to do it.”

The older woman reached out and cupped Krista’s cheek in her hand. “No, but I would have for you. I love you, and I’ll always do whatever needs to be done to make you happy.”

“But now you should be focusing on the baby.”

She dropped her hand. “But what will you do? I know you have the web design business, but I also know it’s not your passion. Is there something else you want to do?”

Shane watched as Krista swallowed hard.

“I don’t know yet, but something will come along.”

His heart tightened even as it beat rapidly while he watched the exchange between the two most important women in his life.

Taking a slight step back and dropping his hand from her shoulder, he reached into his pocket and pulled out the ring he’d picked up at the jewelry store hours before.

When Krista turned to him, he dropped to one knee on his parents’ kitchen floor and held the diamond out. “I think I have a great idea of what you can do for the rest of your life.”

Krista frowned, her gaze bouncing from his face to the ring and back again, then she gasped.

His parents were strangely quiet, but he never pulled his attention from Krista’s face as he drew a deep breath. “Krista Marie Saunders, you’ve been a part of my life literally since the day we were born. I love you, and I want to be with you forever. Will you marry me?”

Her eyes filled with tears and her bottom lip quivered. She drew it into her mouth, and he thought he’d go insane as the silent seconds ticked off.

“We drive each other crazy.”

He grinned. “And I promise to drive you crazy for the rest of our lives if you’ll have me.”

She searched his face as if trying to figure out what he was thinking. Finally, her lips twitched and a slow smile spread across her face. “Well, I guess I don’t really have anything else to do for the next fifty years or so.”

He tipped his head. “Is that your romantic way of saying yes?”

“Yes, yes, I’ll marry you, Shane. But only to save the rest of womankind from dealing with you.”

She held out her hand and Shane slipped the diamond on her finger, then hauled her into his arms as he stood.

Next to them, his mother was crying, as he dipped his head to kiss his fiancée before hugging her hard.

After a round of hugs, tears and congratulations, his father insisted on opening a bottle of sparkling wine he found in the cupboard for a toast.

Shane cleared his throat to get everyone’s attention. “I have something else I’d like to ask.”

She looked up from her ring and frowned. “There’s a catch?”