Bad Traveler (17 page)

The memory of their lovemaking sustained him through the road trip, but it wasn’t enough. Thanks to a snowy puddle and the team bus’s tire, his cell phone met an untimely end. He decided to stop by the Sweet Spot first and then go to his apartment. Even more than a shower or a chance to do laundry, he wanted to see her, kiss those soft lips, and inhale the scent of her strawberry shampoo as he held her close. Ten days without touching her had been too long.

Bells tinkled as he opened the door, entering the cozy shop with its sedentary afternoon crowd and comforting aromas of coffee and cookies. Students occupied several tables, books open and heads bent in intense conversation. Gwen wasn’t behind the counter, but dishes clattered in the background. He glanced toward the play area.
Empty. Strange, she usually doesn’t take Chloe with her if she has an armful of dishes
. He reminded himself that family often watched her, although, he thought she’d mentioned Keira had substitute-teaching work this week. Chloe should be with Gwen all week.

The sound of the coffeemaker shifted his attention back to the counter. She stood there, resplendent in a dark red, scooped-neck T-shirt and cherry-patterned apron. The skin of her collarbone reminded him of how she looked naked in his bed. With or without a time restriction, he couldn’t wait until next time. Smiling, he strode toward the counter as she slid the coffee toward him.

“Howdy, stranger. I thought you forgot about me.” Her chocolate eyes bored into his and, combined with her husky tone, it sounded like an invitation. He longed to dive over the counter and have her on the floor. The health inspector wouldn’t approve, though.

“What else can I get you?”

Before he could answer, a piercing cry filled the air. On instinct, he turned toward the cry. A fuming, burly man held Chloe in his arms.

“Son of a bitch! She bit me!”

Gwen bolted across the room, leaving a vacuum in her wake. She took Chloe in her arms and rubbed her daughter’s downy hair. Being either the nuzzler or the nuzzlee would have been pleasant. But the setup was all wrong. Chloe cried, and that man did not belong in the Sweet Spot.

“There, there, sweetie pie. Mommy’s here.”

The sobs grew less frantic. He wanted to grab the tissue box she kept behind the counter, but he didn’t want to let that guy out of his sight.

“Sorry about that.” She spoke to no one in particular, but loud enough so most customers could hear her. “Everyone is okay.”

He pulled a few napkins from the dispenser, remembering how much Chloe drooled when she fussed. Gwen accepted his offering and moved closer to the counter and him.

“Thanks.”

As she wiped Chloe’s nose, the guy with ham hocks for arms stepped closer, putting his arm around Gwen. His eyes narrowed as his face transformed into a scowl.

“Who the hell are you?”

“Watch your language around Chloe, and me for that matter.” With a shoulder wriggle, she pulled herself free. The tension in her voice belied her cordial tone as she stood between the two men, cradling Chloe close against her body.

“Cody, this is my friend, basketball coach and former special ops, Kyle Collins. Kyle, this is Chloe’s father, Cody Nolan. He came up from Phoenix for a visit.”

Friend? That’s all?
And why hadn’t she warned him sooner that the son of a bitch was here? Had she lied when she said her ex was out of the picture? Something needed to be destroyed, or at least punched. Preferably, the jerk in front of him. His gaze met Gwen’s, a mix of pleading and nerves. He would play nice.

As he extended a hand, he forced the tension away from his eyes and put on the game face. “Nice to meet you. How long are you visiting your daughter?” The word caught on his tongue. The man was no father.

Cody ignored his hand and stared hard, but his neutral expression offered nothing to the man desperate to measure him. He appeared calm and unflustered, focusing the urge to twitch, scowl, and glower into a tightening of his abs, imperceptible to his opponent.

“The coach in the flesh. Or part. I haven’t decided when I’m going back yet. I have some time. I got a little cut working a four-alarm fire, so the bastards made me take some medical leave. Figured it’s a perfect time to come see my girls.”

Cody reached to put an arm around Gwen, but she flinched and covered the move with a bouncy rhyme spoken to Chloe. He saw through her act, even if Cody didn’t.

Kyle withdrew his hand. The desire to replace it with a fist to the jaw increased, especially after that little dig. Chloe cooed, as if reminding him of the need to stay even-tempered. “Workplace injuries are a bear. Does your hotel have a weight room? It’s tough to rehab without one.”

Cody clicked his tongue and responded. He’d touched a nerve.
Good
. “They claim they have one, but it’s just a treadmill, a stationary bike, and a resistance machine. I’ve got to get a temporary pass to a better place.”

“Good luck with that. There’s not too many options in town.”

He kept his voice unemotional but cheered inside. Cody had a hotel room, so he shared neither a roof or nor a bed with Gwen. She didn’t seem to reciprocate his possessiveness. During the exchange, she kept her hands on Chloe. Whatever their past relationship was like, he didn’t want to know. But Gwen wasn’t herself, and that was a problem.

The doorbell jingled. Someone left. Gwen brushed past him, en route to the empty table, Chloe on her hip.

“Let me get those.” He gathered the plates and empty coffee cups as best he could. Leaning underneath her, they shared a glance. As she looked at him, he saw relief in her eyes, as if she’d found shelter on a miserable, rainy day.

“Thank you.” Gwen’s words came out as a whisper. “This is a mess, and I don’t mean the table.”

He sensed Cody staring at them. His voice loud enough so Cody would be sure to hear him, he spoke. “Happy to help. Does Chloe go to bed early?” He bumped Gwen with his elbow “accidently”, hoping she caught onto his ruse.

She walked toward the counter. He followed with the dishes.

“Yes. It works for me though. Being stuck at home with her means I can still get a full night of sleep even though I get up for the day around four thirty.” She emphasized the word stuck, glancing at Cody. “I get to bed an hour after she does. Cody’s been here three days, and we haven’t had a chance to go out or anything.”

Her response took the conversation a different direction than expected, but she revealed something useful. He set the dishes on the counter. “Say, can I get a couple of oatmeal-raisin cookies to go? I’ve got a long night of laundry and catching up ahead of me.”

“Sure.” Rather than handing Chloe to Cody, she put her in the playpen while she packaged cookies and rang up the sale. Instead of going to his daughter, Cody hovered near the cash register, and Gwen. Testosterone-rich waves of hatred rolled off him.
Good. He recognizes me as the competition
. There would be a battle. He’d keep an eye on Cody, learn what he could, breakdown his weaknesses, which he could already tell were numerous, and destroy him. No different than watching tape and developing a plan.

Her soft voice interrupted his thoughts. “By the way, congratulations on your two road wins. My dad said they were good games overall, but he thought you made a few mistakes. He hopes you’ll call him to discuss it.” As she slid his change across the counter, she winked.

With a chuckle, he walked out of the shop, optimistic Gwen still cared, but fearful she would reconcile with Cody.
Not on my watch
.

***

The ticking clock tormented her. Although the store closed at three, a few stragglers and Cody delayed her final closing procedures. Chloe would have more fun at home. Rather than fuming, she used the time to draft job requirements and calculate a pay rate for the part-time job she intended to advertise. The sooner she brought on help the better. Childcare expenses loomed in her future. As Chloe grew more active, the playpen at work seemed so limiting. How could her daughter explore, learn, and grow when cooped up most of the day? Part-time care might be better, but the thought of spending her days apart from Chloe broke her heart.

Tonight, all that beckoned was a glass of wine, a good romance novel, and a bathtub full of bubbles that would never become tepid or turn her skin pruney. She could think of one thing better: wine, a bathtub, no interruptions, and Kyle. That fantasy seemed as likely to come true as a pig flying all the way to the moon and back.

She took Chloe home after turning down yet another invitation to see Cody’s hotel room. Yesterday, her parents invited him dinner on Friday, a more than generous intrusion in her life. There was no need to encourage more privacy than that.

Still, he was Chloe’s father and trying to make amends for being such a poor one for her first seven-and-a-half months. After being welcomed home with open arms, she appreciated more than ever the special type of unconditional love a parent provided. Even though her father teased it was “a little too late for the sex talk now” after she confessed her pregnancy, he never once criticized her poor life choices. At least, not within her earshot.

Cody might not be much of a father, but, for her daughter’s sake, she wanted to bury the hatchet and build the foundations for a relationship that might one day be of value to Chloe.

While Cody lurked in her shop the last few days, her stomach knotted, aching in a way antacids couldn’t control. Yesterday, two customers had left when he glared at them. He took their table and parked himself there the rest of the day. His presence made her jumpy. She broke three coffee mugs, all dropped when he’d materialized from behind, on her side of the counter, and goosed her. He didn’t offer to help with Chloe unless she specified what to do. Being a parent was new to him. The learning curve was steep. Understanding Chloe’s moods and wants was a skill she’d developed over months of observation and practice.

Mostly Cody ate scones, cookies, and whatever else he could grab. He drank coffee by the gallon. His wallet remained secure in his back pants pocket. Cody was not good for business in more ways than one.

Today’s scene with Kyle infuriated her further. Chloe was cutting teeth. Sometimes, she bite. That was why Gwen kept teething rings everywhere. If he’d read anything about parenting or asked any questions or observed any children, he would have known that, wouldn’t he? She’d have to give him her copy of
What to Expect the First Year
.

And the men. Kyle’s calm demeanor as Cody tried to intimidate him impressed her. All the same, he shouldn’t have had to endure such posturing after he returned from a long trip. She would have warned him or vented if he’d bothered to call her this past week. Something was up with him. Kyle didn’t seem all that calm, not to her.

Worse, Cody cheated her out of a reunion moment that should have involved one of those kisses that made her toes curl in anticipation of what would come.

The stress wasn’t good for her. Her breasts no longer filled with milk, and Chloe worked hard to nurse. To be the mother she wanted to be, she needed to unwind. After tucking Chloe in bed, she put on a green-clay face mask and climbed into a hot bath, lavender scented with essential oils. With closed eyes, she reclined and inhaled the calming scent. Her toes wiggled, and the warm water soothed her aching feet and calves. In her mind, she was at a fancy spa, preparing for a massage. This was as close as she could get to one. Her muscles loosened until a pounding on the door jarred her back to her surroundings.

“Gwen, honey, you have a phone call.”

“Who is it, Mom?”

“Coach Kyle. Should I tell him you’ll call him back?”

Her shoulders eased, almost back to where they were minutes ago. “No. I’ll be right there.”

She sloshed out of the tub and held a towel across her body as she opened the door. “I’ll take it in here.”

Her mother arched a disapproving eyebrow. Rather than insisting she speak to a boy dressed and on the kitchen phone as was the house rule when she was in school, Mom passed the phone through the open door. “Don’t drop it in the tub.”

“I won’t.” She took her hand off the speaker. “Hi.”

“Hi, gorgeous.”

She eased into the bathtub, keeping the phone away from the water, and pressed it tight against her ear. “Is this a bad time?”

“Not at all. I’m relaxing in the tub.” The water wasn’t as warm as earlier, but still soothing, especially combined with his silky tones.

An audible gulp reached her ears. “So, you’re wet and naked in the tub.”

“That’s how a bath works.”

He groaned. “You have no idea what you’re doing to me. I called for a reason, but now all I can think about is how much I want to be there to scrub your back.”

As she sat upright in the tub, a wave of water splashed against her stomach. He must have read her mind. When she tried it in the past, dirty talk had made her uncomfortable, but tonight it seemed right. She reclined again, smiling to herself. “Is that all you would scrub? I have other body parts, too, that might need your attention.”

“Hmmm, like what?” His voice grew deeper, and she envisioned his green eyes darkening with lust.

Damn him. He’s going to make me be explicit
. She was nervous and thrilled at the prospect. “I suppose I could dangle my feet over the side of the tub.”

“Then I would work my way slowly up your leg, caressing your calf, kissing your knee, touching your thigh.” His words grew more ragged. Maybe he hadn’t done those things to her, but her skin tingled in anticipation as he tantalized her thigh through the phone line. “I’d look in your eyes, with their dilated pupils, and wait for your next direction.”

Remembering the intensity in his lust-filled eyes the other night nearly made her quiver inside. How could he have this powerful an effect on her with his words? She considered what to do next. “I’d sit up, splashing water out of the tub, and I’d grab your tie, using it to pull you closer to me until we kissed, and you fell into the tub with me.”