Before The Night Is Over (18 page)

“
Hey,” he murmured and stretched. “What times is it?”

“
Too damned early.” She glanced at her watch and said, “Six-thirty.”

“
Mmm.” Kale looked down and smoothed his hand over Kimberly’s curls. “She woke up a few hours ago, but went back to sleep pretty easily.”

“
Snuggled up to you—I have no doubt.”
I wish it had been me.

His brown-eyed gaze slid over her from the top of her head to the tips of her shoes. “You look like shit, darlin’.”

“
Thanks, Kale,” she replied with a chuckle.

“
Did you just get here?”

“
Yeah. It took all night to process stuff and I’m beat.”

“
You look like it.”

Kimmy yawned and opened her eyes.

“
Hey, baby.”

“
Mommy,” Kimmy said, brushing the curls from out of her face. “I’m hungry.”

“
Big surprise,” Laurel replied, scooping her daughter up in her arms. “I’ll get you some cereal when we get home.” A heavy sigh left her lips as her gaze stopped on Kale. “Thanks for taking care of her for me.”

“
My pleasure, darlin’. Anytime.”

“
Be careful of saying something like that. You haven’t had to deal with little Miss Hellion on her bad days.”

Frown lines crinkled the skin between his eyes. “You need to sleep. Is your neighbor home to watch her for you?”

“
I don’t know. I couldn’t call her. It’s too early.”

Kimmy scrambled out of Laurel’s arms and Kale sat up before tugging Laurel down to his side.

“
You shouldn’t be drivin’. You’ll fall asleep at the wheel. Stay here and sleep for a few hours and then go on home. I can watch Kimmy for a bit longer. No big deal.”

“
I couldn’t ask—” Her words stopped with the pressure of his finger to her lips.

“
You didn’t ask, darlin’. I offered.” Kale stood and walked into the kitchen. Grabbing a bowl, spoon and a box of cereal from the cupboard, she smiled as he made breakfast for her daughter. The whole scene seemed so domestic, it felt right. “Up you go, honey,” he said, putting Kimberly on the chair. “Eat your breakfast and I’m going to put mommy to bed.”

To bed? Wow. I like the sound of that.

“
Your turn.”

With a small tug on her hand, he pulled Laurel to her feet and started down the hall, past the two guest rooms until they reached his bedroom. He stopped at the end of his bed and whispered, “Stay right there.” Drawers opened and closed while he searched for something. “Ah-ha.” A white T-shirt appeared in his hands. He turned around and walked back to her side. “This should work. Take off your clothes.”

Laurel’s hands trembled as she grabbed the bottom of her shirt and lifted it over her head. Heat glowed in his eyes while she unhooked her bra and let it slid down her arms.

“
Touch me,” she murmured, dropping the material to the floor. Heat sizzled between them like a sultry summer night in the South. Her pussy wept with need and her nipples tightened into hard little nubs.

“
No.”

“
No?”

“
If I do, you’ll never get to sleep and though it’s great for a man’s ego to have a woman pass out after coming so hard she sees stars, it’s not good to have her fall asleep while he’s making love to her.” The smile on his lips looked wistful and patient. “I would love to lay you out on my bed, kiss you from your sleepy eyes to those cute toes, but right now, you need sleep and I need to keep an eye on Kimmy.” He slipped the cotton material over her head and pulled it down. The edges of the hem reached to mid-thigh. “You look better in my shirt than I do.”

“
Please. I’m swimming in this thing,” she replied, glancing down.

His left eyebrow quirked and the smile lingering on his lips grew bigger. “But I envy the material clinging to those fabulous breasts and caressing your amazing thighs.”

The calluses on his index finger felt rough, but wonderful against her cheek as he traced a path from the corner of her eye to her jaw and then around behind her neck. He pulled her gently toward him and brushed his lips over hers so softly, she wasn’t sure he’d even kissed her.

Without taking the kiss deeper, he stepped back, pulled the covers down on his bed and gently nudged her under the covers. “Sleep. I’ll wake you up after bit and we’ll go from there.”

Exhaustion tugged at the edges of her mind. It had been a long time since she’d been this tired. “Don’t let me sleep too long. Okay? I can’t take up your whole day watching Kimmy.”

Need and something else swam in his eyes. “Go to sleep. We’ll deal with everything later.” After a small kiss to her forehead, he silently walked into the hall and shut the door behind him.

* * * *

Kale returned to the kitchen for coffee and to check on Kimmy. The little girl shoveled cereal into her mouth and spilled bits and pieces on the table. “Slow down, honey. You’ll choke.”

The wide, toothy, cereal-filled grin she gave him melted his heart. Laurel’s words came back to his mind and he smiled. The cute little blonde had wrapped the organ around her finger without even trying.

“
Okay. Coffee and then we’ll figure out what we are going to do today while your mommy rests. Sound like a plan?”

Kimmy’s curls bounced as she nodded and shoveled more cereal in her mouth.

“
Done?” he asked several moments later, noticing the cereal had disappeared and only milk remained in her bowl.

Kimberly jumped down from the chair and ran to the back sliding glass door. “Outside.”

“
Not yet, sweetie pea. We need to get your shoes and socks back on and I need my boots,” he said, sliding his cup into the sink.

“
Outside!” she shouted, giving him a glimpse of the hellion Laurel mentioned.

“
Whoa! Hold your drawers on little girl. Shoes and socks first,” he said, grabbing her tiny sneakers from the coffee table. “Come here and we’ll put these on.”

Within seconds of having footwear in place, the two of them walked out the backdoor. Kale followed quickly as Kimmy took off at a dead run for a three year old, toward the barn and the chickens roaming the ground. Irritated squawks, flying feathers and little girl giggles rang true in the early morning light. The sounds of a happy child made Kale wish he had some of his own, although not with his ex.
Thank God, we never had any.
A shudder rolled down his back at the thought of a child between him and Judy. The fight he would have had on his hands during the divorce and subsequent issues of co-parenting with the bitch surely would have soured any thoughts of other children. A pleasant notion of a child between him and Laurel washed away the acid thoughts of his ex.

“
Enough of that. Good God! Laurel isn’t looking for any kind of relationship with me or anyone else.” He raked his fingers through his hair and followed Kimberly with his gaze. “The last thing I need is to think of any kind of relationship with her. Great sex? Yeah, I’m all for it, but a relationship? No way. She doesn’t even want to stay here in Red Rock.”

Kale planted his butt on the fence rail and watched the little girl. When she got tired of chasing the chickens, he picked her up, planted her on his hip and headed for the barn. Squeals and giggles almost broke his eardrums as they got closer to the horses.

“
Horsie?”

“
Yep. Want to ride?”

Twin dimples peeked out of her cheeks with her big smile and his heart melted into a gooey puddle.

One of her blonde curls wrapped around his finger when he pushed some of her hair out of her face. “Someday some poor fella isn’t going to know what to do when you flash those dimples at him. He’s gonna gush all over himself just to get close to you.”

“
Horsie!” she squealed and Kale laughed.

“
Okay, okay.” Sitting her on a bale of hay, he said, “Stay there and don’t move.”

He grabbed a halter from the nail on the wall and slipped it over the head of his gentlest mare. Knowing he didn’t have a saddle small enough for her, he decided to put a regular sized one on and let her ride in front of him. “You know, if your momma sticks around, I’m going to have to buy a saddle your size so you can ride by yourself. I’ll even teach you how to ride. How does that sound?”

Her high-pitched giggles and clapping of her small hands made him shake his head.
Girl’s.

Once the mare was saddled, he put Kimmy on the back of the horse, told her to hold on and led the animal out into the sunshine. He led her around the yard a few times while she laughed.

“
You’re a natural, honey. Look at you!”

With thoughts of checking the fences and cattle on his mind, he tossed the reins over the mare’s head, slid his foot into the stirrup and hoisted himself up in the saddle behind Kimmy.

“
How about we get a little work done while your momma is sleepin’?”

“
Go horsie,” she said, rocking in the saddle.

“
A regular horsewoman you’ll turn out to be,” Kale said with a laugh as he wrapped one arm around her small body and nudged the mare into a trot.

For over two hours, they rode the fence line checking for breaks, stopping by the water troughs to make sure the cattle had plenty and just enjoying the scenery—well he did anyway. Kimmy chattered like a magpie with every movement she saw and all he could do was laugh and be amazed at the energy one three-year-old had.

Deciding to cut the time in the saddle short today, he turned the horse around and headed back for the house. Kimberly’s chatter had slowed down a little bit so he figure she might be getting tired.

“
We can go back to the house, get you a bath and sit and watch cartoons. Maybe I can get some of the work done on the project I have going since I didn’t get any done last night.”

“
Cartoons?”

“
Yep. You like cartoons?”

She nodded and smiled as she peeked over her shoulder at him.

“
What are we gonna do for clean clothes though, huh?” Contemplating the newest development, he mulled over in his mind how to get Kimberly some clean clothes and probably Laurel too, even though Laurel could run around in his T-shirt and her underwear and he’d be happy as a clam. “I bet your momma’s keys are in her purse. We could run over to your house, get you both some clean clothes and bring them back to my house. Then she wouldn’t have any reason to have to run home right away.” He looked down at the blonde head in front of him. “What do you think, little pixie?”

When they reached the barn, he dismounted and then pulled Kimmy down to set her on her feet. One of the tame barn cats rubbed against her legs and she squealed in delight.

“
Good grief, girl. We need to tone down those squeals or I won’t have any eardrums left before the end of the day.”

Kimmy laughed and chased the cat toward the door with her arms outstretched.

Several minutes later, Kale had the mare unsaddle, brushed down and turned out so he went to find the little scamp, hoping she hadn’t gone far.

Walking out into the blinding summer sun, he glanced around, but didn’t see her. “Kimmy?” Around the back of the barn—nothing. “Kimberly!” he yelled, starting to panic when he couldn’t locate her right away. “Fuck! The pool.” Taking off at a dead run, he skidded around the corner of the house and came to a dead halt. A roar of laughter burst from his lips as the terror calmed and relief took its place. Sitting in the middle of the mud hole he made almost daily for the pigs, sat Kimberly with mud from the tip of her blonde, now dirty brown curls, to the tips of her once white tennis shoes.