Finish What We Started (15 page)

Oliver strained at the leash, half of his body already hanging over the side of the boat. She grabbed his collar to get a better hold on him. He paid her no mind, hanging over the side and barking into the spray.

As they approached the bank, Lee jerked the throttle just enough that she lurched from her half-seated position at the stern, which allowed Oliver just enough give on the leash to make a dive for the water. She lunged for him putting herself off balance so that she started over the side as well. Unfortunately, the leash was still wrapped around her wrist and the momentum of the six-month-old Great Dane going into the lake was enough to pull her in too. She grasped at the closest thing to her, which, unfortunately, was her tote bag full of her clothes and necessities for the weekend.

She and Oliver came up sputtering, surrounded by all her clothes. The boat hadn’t gotten far. She could still hear Holly screeching. Oliver looked as shocked as she felt.

“Candy!” Lee’s voice rang over the water. “Are you okay?”

She waved her arm high over her head. “Yeah. I’m here.”

Oliver splashed around, getting the hang of the doggie paddle. She treaded water and tried to wrangle her clothes before they all sank while the boat made a circle and came back for her. It wasn’t that far to the bank. But it would have been harder to make it while holding all her clothes and the dog.

As the boat neared, Holly peered over the side, her eyes wide. “Oh my God, are you all right?”

Lee nudged Holly aside. “I’m so, so sorry.”

“I’m fine. Oliver’s fine.” In fact, the dog seemed to be having a grand time.

“That was amazing.” Holly’s and Milo’s heads reappeared behind Lee. “The way you just flipped right over the edge. One second you were there and the next you were gone. All I saw were your legs disappearing over the side.”

The humor of the situation was not lost on her, and she was certain that, years later when this story was told for the seven thousandth time, she would be laughing at it. She’d probably tell the story herself.
This one time when I went camping...
Ha. Ha. Ha.

“I’m fine. Get the dog up first before he exhausts himself.”

Mark dropped the short ladder over the side and stepped down far enough into the water that he could grab Oliver around the middle and haul him back up. Holly squealed when he shook off the river water all over the inside of the boat.

Lee leaned far over the side to scoop out her things still floating in the water. “I’m really, really sorry.” There was no hint of the amusement she’d seen from Holly and Mark.

Jason slowly motored his boat near enough that Marisol could call out her concern. When Lee promised she was unharmed, the two of them laughed at her as well.

With a weak smile, Lee said, “Well, at least the water’s not too cold, huh?”

“Actually, it’s quite nice. Why don’t you join me?” She flashed her beauty-queen smile and the tension on his face relaxed. “I know you didn’t do this on purpose. Just get me out of here.”

He helped her up the ladder. Oliver was there to lick the water as it sluiced from her legs and arms. She squeezed water from her hair, which now felt nasty and tangled from the icky lake.

Holly watched in amusement. “Honey, I’m so sorry, but that was funny.”

She laughed and noticed Lee relax further. “Call me Grace.”

Lee very cautiously drove to shore. Mark jumped out and moored the boat, tying the bow to one of the trees. Then, swear to God, Holly slipped over the side and Mark carried her and Milo to the shore. The woman never got wet. Not even a toe.

Screw it. Candace jumped over the side and landed hip deep in water, then slogged herself up to stand next to Holly on the bank. “I hate you,” she told Holly.

Holly put down her dog, who immediately ran off with Oliver to investigate the camp site. She smeared a look of false indignation across her cute features. “These shoes are Giuseppe Zanotti. They were made in Italy, and they do not get wet.”

Candace looked down at the absurd wedge sneakers the girl had on. “You always wear three inch heels camping?”

“I don’t go camping.”

Candace started to giggle. “Those are ridiculous. You understand that right?”

Holly raised an imperious eyebrow. “Ridiculous shoes are my trademark.”

“She likes them ’cause they make her taller.” Marisol squished up. It seemed that she’d been brave enough to jump in the water and wasn’t too concerned about the state of her old canvas tennis shoes.

“No.” Holly grinned and smacked her friend on the arm. “I love my shoes because they’re glorious.” She turned to her husband. “Hey Mark, you love my shoes, right?”

Her husband stopped unloading the boats and gave her his full attention. “Sugarplum, I looove your shoes.”

The look Mark and Holly exchanged was heated. Candace felt a little like she was intruding on something very intimate.

Marisol rolled her eyes. “All right you two, simmer down.”

Holly made a kissy face at her man then turned back to the ladies with a huge, satisfied smile. “That’s why.”

Candace looked to Marisol. “You wanna know why I love her shoes?” Marisol nodded. “’Cause she can’t run in them.”

Holly’s expression was blank for a moment before realization of what Candace intended became clear. “Oh, no.”

She turned and made a valiant effort to escape, but it was useless. Candace caught up with her easily after only two or three strides. She grabbed her and wrapped her in a big, wet, soggy hug. Holly squealed.

“That’s what you get for laughing at me.”

It turned out a lot of her stuff was at the bottom of the lake. Her hairbrush, toothpaste and deodorant were all gone. None of her underwear made it, but her swim suit had. Her shorts and T-shirts were about fifty-fifty. Of course, all of it was sopping wet. Marisol had lent her some clothes, so at least Candace wasn’t chafing anymore. What she had left was hung on a tree branch to dry.

Once everything was unloaded, they got the camp set up. The three tents were pitched in a triangle formation with a good fifteen yards between them—close but private. Lee hung a hammock between two of the cottonwoods and gave her a randy grin. She looked at the rest of their group and shook her head. There was no way she could imagine repeating what they’d done before in the hammock with all these people around. He waggled his eyebrows at her. She turned away and wrapped her arms over her erect nipples, the memory of that afternoon making her hot and breathless.

Despite the water-logged beginning, she enjoyed the first day. She napped in the shade, they went swimming with the dogs in the afternoon, and then they ate outrageously excellent steaks cooked by a very talented chef.

In a ring around the fire, they laughed into the night, drinking cold beer and telling stories. Oliver and Milo lay together in a doggy heap, exhausted from so much activity.

Camping might not be so bad. In fact, it might actually be fun. Who the hell would have thought?

* * *

Candy smelled like outdoors with a hint of smoky nature and an undertone of musty lake water. Lee wrapped his arms around her and she leaned her back into his chest. He rasped his day-old beard against the skin of her cheek when he nuzzled her. He pulled her hair to one side and kissed her hairline, making her shiver.

The light of the dying fire didn’t reach all the way to the big chair they were cuddled up in. He slipped his hands under her borrowed T-shirt and released the strings on her bikini top. Her breasts were warm and the nipples were already peaking against his palms. He lifted and fondled each one, gently massaging and pressing her flesh against her chest. He took it as an encouraging sign when she sighed heavily and reclined her head against his shoulder. Copping a feel in the midst of their huddle was a total turn-on and the fact that she allowed it made it that much better.

“Mmm,” she hummed and subtly scooted her butt back into his crotch, where his dick was already hard for her.

As he rubbed her nipples between his thumb and forefinger, he nibbled her earlobe. Pinching a bit harder, he bit the sensitive place where her neck met her shoulder.

She inhaled through clenched teeth. Her hand rubbed up his thigh and she shifted between his legs again.

He sent one hand smoothing down her belly, then tucked his fingers down the front of her shorts. He petted her there for a long teasing moment, stroking her wiry hair. She turned her face and he bent to kiss her, tangling his tongue with hers, stroking in and out, mimicking what he was going to do to her pussy soon. He found her clit and pressed gently with his finger. She jerked against him. When he slid one finger inside her, he found her damp and welcoming.

He broke the kiss and whispered in her ear, “Are you ready for bed?”

“God, yes.”

They said their good-nights and made a beeline for their tent. Oliver followed along behind, but was too tired to do much of anything once they were inside other than curl up in the corner and go to sleep.

The zipper wasn’t even all the way closed and she was tearing off her top, her bottoms already abandoned.

Jesus, he was a lucky man. She was breathtaking in the filtered light of the moon.

He lowered her to the pallet they’d made as a bed, padded with the air mattress and sleeping bags zipped together. He was peeling his clothes off as fast as he could, but her hands were everywhere on his body, distracting him, smoothing across his shoulders, down his chest, until she grasped his cock in her hand. Gripping him tightly, she took him in her mouth.

He wasn’t capable of speaking. She was amazing and this was about to be over too soon. He withdrew and pushed her on her back. Her fingers tangled in his hair while he spread her legs and tasted her. She moaned, the sound desperate and wanting.

“No, inside me.” She tugged at his hair. “Now.”

Desperate, he looked around the tent for her bag. He tossed their clothes out of the way and felt around next to the bed. “Where is your stuff?”

“In the lake, remember.” Beneath him, she moved her hips in an inviting rhythm.

“Oh fuck.” He sat up on his knees. They didn’t have any condoms.

Her skilled fingers came around his dick again. She used her thumb to smear a bead of come around the head. “What?”

“The condoms are at the bottom of the lake, too.”

Her fingers paused and she looked at him, her breasts rising and falling with each panting breath. “You didn’t pack any?”

“Yeah, I did. I tucked them in your bag because it was closer.” He made to stand and move away, figuring he’d go take a swim to calm down.

“Where are you going?” She didn’t let go of his cock, so clearly, he wasn’t going anywhere.

“To go cool down. We don’t have any protection.”

She swallowed as the full impact of what he was telling her registered. They stared at each other for a long moment.

“I’m sorry,” he said and meant it from the bottom of his horny soul.

“Do you think just this one time it’d be okay?” She squeezed as if to sway him.

Like he needed swaying.

“Yes.” He pulled her down with him. “Just this one time.”

Chapter Sixteen

Candace loved the new clinic. Lee had done an excellent job. The building was modern and spacious with tons of natural light. Everything was squeaky clean and sparkling and arranged just the way she wanted it, and she was looking forward to building this practice into the career she’d dreamed of.

A new-to-her Jeep Wrangler sat outside in the freshly paved parking lot. It didn’t smell like a condiment bar, and she adored driving around town with the top and doors off. It was a fun vehicle, not one she’d imagine herself driving in a million years. She was a solid midsize sedan kind of girl. A sensible car for a sensible driver with a sensible life. A reliable car. When she and Lee had gotten to the car lot, she’d immediately headed to the midsize sedans, all lined up like a bunch of honor roll students. Except Lee had noticed her eyeing the Jeep on display all catawampus like it was climbing a mountain or something. He’d convinced her to test drive it, then buy it because it was obvious she was completely fascinated with it. He promised her she wouldn’t be sorry, and she wasn’t.

“A reward for all your hard work, babe” is what he’d said. And then he’d backed her up against the fender and kissed her to the point where the salesman had wandered off, embarrassed.

Living in Marisol’s house rocked. No one was in her business. Although she had a laugh when she opened one box of clothes and found a
Parenting
magazine on the top. Jeez, her mother moved fast. Just the week before it had been an issue of
Modern Bride.
In turn, she left the magazine in the vegetable crisper in her mom’s kitchen with a sticky note suggesting her mother try leaving it for one of her sons. And for the first time in years, she had girlfriends.

She loved who she was with Lee. While her work was still vitally important to her, she remembered to have fun. And while she was certainly capable of being independent, it was awfully nice to have someone to take care of her. Still, it wasn’t the same relationship they’d had before. They’d both grown into different people, matured separately. While he was still the same man who took everyone’s care as his responsibility, there were personality traits that were new. Unveiling the new Lee was like rereading a favorite old book and finding new levels of meaning in the well-remembered text.

She’d had a fairly light appointment schedule that day, which had been a relief. A litter of dachshunds who were there for their first shots and an elderly Siamese cat with severe allergies had taken up the morning, but the afternoon was clear. She double-checked the calendar with Lisa, the receptionist, to make sure no new last-minute appointments had been made and then she decided to go home early. She was bone-tired. She’d felt awful for the last several days and hadn’t been able to keep food down. She wasn’t running a fever, though, so she’d kept up her office hours. She hadn’t wanted to put off new patients by rescheduling them.

She texted Lee that she was going home early for a nap, then collapsed across the bed without even pulling down the covers.

Three hours later, she was awakened by the purring of an outboard motor on her head and a fuzzy foot tapping her cheek.

“Hey, Romeo Darling.”

Her cat ran to the end of the bed, then looked back to make sure she was following him.

“Did Jose eat all your food again?” He meowed in response. “Okay, I’m coming.”

She picked up her phone on the way to the kitchen and saw that she’d missed two calls and five texts from Lee. She swiped the return call button while she followed the dancing cat. Jose discovered the parade to the food bowl, so he joined in the frantic display.

“Hey,” Lee said. “How are you feeling?”

“I feel okay. I don’t know, it comes and goes.” She moved the cats out of the way since she couldn’t fill the bowls with their fuzzy faces shoved in there in anticipation.

“Are you up for dinner?” He must still be on a site since the background noise was super loud.

“Yeah.” She was suddenly starving.

“Where do you want to go? Infinity Blue or somewhere else? Mexican food, maybe? Seafood?”

The thought of smelling fish started her stomach roiling again. “No on the seafood. Mexican sounds good, though. Some cheese enchiladas.” Mmm, warm tortillas.

“I’ll come get you in a couple hours.”

“Perfect.”

* * *

Lee tried to be surreptitious, but he was obviously horribly bad at it.

“Stop staring at me. I’m fine. Just a bug.” Even though she was sexy as hell in a spaghetti-strap sundress, she still looked tired.

“You’ve been working too hard to get the clinic open. You need to take it easy before you run yourself into the ground.” He slipped an arm around her waist and hugged her to him. “Maybe you need a good massage to help you relax.”

“You just want to get me naked.”

He did the eyebrow wiggle that always made her giggle.

“Maybe after dinner,” she promised, then kissed him. He loved the way she’d sway into his body and fit her softness against him. There was a little sound she’d make every single time, not a sigh and not really a moan, just a soft whisper of satisfaction.

If he was a religious man, he’d say kissing Candy was like a benediction.

She tickled the back of his neck with her fingernails. “If you want me naked you’ll have to buy me dinner first.”

He nipped at her bottom lip. “I want you naked so bad, I’ll buy you a yacht if that’s what you want.”

“I don’t know. The last time I was on a boat, I fell off.”

He chuckled. “It was all worth it to see you in a wet T-shirt.”

“You’re a naughty man.”

“I’m cute, too.” He traced a finger over the vee of her neckline, dipping deep into her cleavage. This dress pushed up her boobs in the most tantalizing way. In fact, they looked magnificent today. “I like this dress.”

She adjusted her breasts, trying to get the material to cover more...acreage, but it was a losing battle. “The top is tight.”

“Well, I like it.”

“So long as I don’t have to bend down. I might fall out.”

He pushed his eyebrows together in serious study. “Bend over and let’s see.”

“Mmm-hmm,” she said dryly. “Go get in the truck, hammer boy. You’re feeding me before you get any boob action.”

“Okay.” He held the front door open for her. “Don’t worry. I’ll keep an eye on them for you. Make sure they don’t need to be wrangled or anything.”

“My hero.”

The next morning Candace was in the bathroom, sick again.

“You need to call a doctor,” he told while he held back her hair. “Maybe you caught some weird thing.”

She sat back on her knees and wiped her face with toilet paper. “Hardly.”

Following her back to the bed, he said, “You’re not going to call a doctor are you?”

“Probably not. I’ll be fine in a bit.”

God, she was so frustrating. “At least make sure you drink plenty of fluids today.”

“Yes, Mom.” He glared at her and she apologized, adding, “I promise.”

“I have an early meeting, but I hate to leave you like this.”

She looked pitiful and small curled up in bed. “I’ll be fine.”

“All right, baby.” He kissed her on the forehead. “I’ll check in with you later.”

* * *

Candace was feeling much better an hour later and she kept her morning office appointments. Lisa said she was looking a little pale, but otherwise didn’t comment on her appearance.

When Holly and Marisol texted her around lunch to see if she was available, she jumped at the chance. She found she was starving again. When she mentioned why she was so hungry, Holly gave her a look.

“What?”’Candace shoveled a forkful of rigatoni into her mouth.

“How long have you been sick?” Holly asked.

She shrugged. “About a week, but off and on.”

Holly arched her brows. “In the morning?”

“No.” Candace arched her brows right back, suspecting she knew where her friend was insinuating. “Sometimes in the afternoon.”

“Hmm.”

“Don’t you
hmm
me. I know where you’re going with this and it pisses me off. Why, the minute a woman gets a stomach bug, does everyone assume she’s pregnant. It’s insulting.”

“I agree.” Marisol tore off some bread, ran it through some olive oil, and nodded in solidarity. “Maybe she’s just sick, Hol.”

Holly did that one shoulder shrug that said,
Sure, maybe she has a stomach bug, but she doesn’t because I’m right. Just wait and see.
“Obviously it’s possible.”

“Lee and I have been careful.” She didn’t know why she was defending her sex life to— Wait a minute. “How long ago did we go camping?”

Marisol’s eyes widened. “Five, no six, weeks ago.”

Holly bit her bottom lip and grimaced. “Have you had any other symptoms?”

“Her boobs are bigger,” Marisol noted helpfully.

Candace narrowed her eyes and tossed her a dry expression. “Really? Thank you for noticing.”

“Well.” Marisol gestured with her fork, back and forth in front of Candace’s chest. “They are. Deny it.”

She sighed, hating to concede the point, but she couldn’t deny it. Just last night she’d commented about it herself. She closed her eyes. She wasn’t pregnant. It was impossible. Everything was exactly how she wanted it—the job she’d always dreamed of, a relationship she’d never thought possible again. Everything.

She pushed her plate of pasta away, no longer hungry. “Goddamn it. What if I’m pregnant?”

Marisol looked as freaked out as Candace felt.

Holly reached across the table and grabbed her hand. “It’ll be all right.”

The three of them left the restaurant and went directly to a drug store. Holly read every label of every pregnancy test in the store, but Candace just wanted to buy the first one and get the hell out of there.

As they stood there and stared at it on Candace’s bathroom sink, the hateful stick turned blue.

* * *

Lee was trying to remain calm, but her news was not the kind of news one remained calm over. He furrowed his brow and wiped the beginnings of a smile from his lips. Candy was obviously upset and he didn’t think she’d appreciate him whooping it up until he got her calmed down.

He sat next to her on the giant leather sofa in his great room and took her hand. “Tell me why you’re freaking out.”

“Freaking out?” She had a wild look in her eyes. “My God, where do I start? I can’t be pregnant. This is not how my life is going to go. I just got my degree and my license. I’m not supposed to get pregnant for another seven years.”

Wow. Even for Candy that seemed like excessive planning. “Do you have a chart?”

“What? What are you talking about?”

He took her in his arms. “Baby, you can’t schedule your life. You’ve been living on a very tight timetable for a long time now.”

“But it’s not time for me to be a mom.” The last word petered out into a sob.

He gathered her up and shifted her so she was on his lap. She pressed her face into his shirt while he rubbed her back and waited for her to cry herself out. She was usually such a self-possessed person, he’d never needed to comfort her before. That time when he’d spied on her at the airport, he’d been too much of a coward to stay around for her emotions. He’d been too wrapped up in his own feelings of betrayal and abandonment to care that she was equally distraught. It occurred to him, much too late, that if he’d taken her feelings into account, things might have worked out in a much different way.

He wouldn’t have had to wait five years to fall back in love with her.

This new development only pushed them closer, faster.

When her breathing became less frantic and her sobs less heart wrenching, he raised her face and kissed her. A sweet meeting of their lips.

“Sweetheart, everything is going to be all right. You’ll see.” He used his thumb to wipe away her tears, then kissed her again. “What are you so afraid of?”

“I don’t know.” She straightened on his lap. “I have so much to do before I have kids.”

“Kids won’t stop you from accomplishing anything, honey. You’re the most driven person I know.” He turned her chin and made her look at him, the tears enhancing her beautiful eyes. She broke his gaze and looked down at her hands.

She didn’t answer, so he continued. “You’re not alone. If you think I’m going anywhere you’re crazy.” He made her match his gaze again. “I love you.”

She sniffed. “Yeah?”

“Yeah.” He kissed her again and put some more convincing
oomph
into it this time. A long stroke of his tongue against hers and the rigidity in her spine relaxed. “It’s not how I expected to do this.”

“Me neither.” She exhaled with a shudder.

“No. I mean, this wasn’t how I was going to ask you to marry me. I was always going to have kids with you.” He cupped her face with his hands. “Candace, will you marry me?”

Her face went blank and, for a long, terrifying moment, he thought she was going to say no. He was ashamed to realize that even though he was genuinely thrilled about having a baby with the woman he loved, a small part of his initial excitement had been because he’d thought this would make her less likely to leave.

“You’re only asking because you knocked me up. This is just another responsibility for you to take on, the way you always do.”

He shook his head and grinned. “No. I’m asking you because you’re beautiful and brilliant and I love you. I’d always imagined us having kids together. I’m sorry you’re scared and this is happening when you’re not ready for it.” He shifted her on his lap so that she straddled his hips. He grasped her face with his hands and angled it to the desired tilt. He traced the seam of her lips and, when she opened her mouth, he slipped inside. Their tongues stroked together in a languid tangle. Her hands gripped fistfuls of his T-shirt around his waist.

They finally broke away to breathe and she said, “I never thought we’d be back here, in this space. Happy, you know.”

“I know.”

At first he’d been too angry to consider a better ending. Then he’d been too depressed to. And then, he was simply too busy building his house to ponder it anymore. By the time he’d seen Candy again in her father’s office that day, he’d finally come to the point in his life where he was willing to consider that it was okay to want something for himself. That maybe he wanted more than to just take care of his mother and Sarah and Sidney.