Man Of Few Words (10 page)

With a sigh about that girl with a dimple in her cheek when she smiled and bright, happy eyes, he grabbed the pan and shoved it into a shopping bag. As he turned to leave the kitchen, a knock sounded on his door.

The voice, full of a New Jersey accent, that carried through the door helped sink his thoughts of a good night. “Come on. How long does a lady with a baby have to wait out here?”

He answered the door to the mother of his child, the one that he’d yet to tell Kirsten about. “Mary, what are…?” Any other words of annoyance faded when a little head peeked from behind the woman with wide hips. His daughter’s chestnut curls cascaded around big brown eyes that twinkled when she saw him. Her dimple stood out with the huge grin on her face. “Little Lizzy! Come here, my baby girl.”

She jumped into his outstretched arms and hugged his neck. “Daddy, Mary said I could see you and live with you. I’m so excited.”

He narrowed his eyes at Mary for too many reasons to count, the smallest being that Mary still let Lizzy call her by her first name and the biggest being the
live with you
statement from Lizzy. “I’m so glad you are here, sweet pumpkin.”

Her head popped up from where it lay on his chest. “I gots to go potty. It’s a poop.”

“Let me show you.” As he walked from the door, he turned his head to Mary and to the three bags of luggage behind her. “You have a seat.” When he returned from the bathroom, Mary still stood at the door, but the bags were inside and topped with a large manila envelope.

“I don’t have time to sit. I have to get back to Henrick. He’s in the car downstairs.”

She turned to leave, but Duff grabbed her arm. “He can fucking wait,” he whispered. He pointed to the suitcases. “What’s all this, and what did Lizzy mean by ‘live with me.’”

“Because we always knew you would be the better parent, I’m giving her to you.” Mary shrugged out of his grasp and continued in the voice that he only liked after drinking too much, which is how he had ended up with Lizzy in the first place. “That envelope has her birth certificate, medical records, and the papers that say I’m relinquishing custody of her to you. No questions asked. Here’s her clothes, some toys, and the sheets that she likes. She’ll be happy with you.”

“Mary, you don’t dump your daughter off like that. She’ll miss you.” Duff knew he’d have to deal with some serious issues himself, but at this point, he could only think of Lizzy’s feelings. A three-year-old needed some time to transition.

“You’ll get her through it.” Mary patted him on the shoulder. “She likes you, and she’s been talking about going to live with you for months now.”

“Which means you’ve been planning this for months and didn’t tell me or even ask me about it. What the hell is wrong with you?” He wanted to call her bitch and heartless and a host of other unsavory names, but he reined in his anger.

“I’m moving to the Netherlands with Henrick, and our custody agreement contained that phrase about not taking the kid overseas, which was mainly due to your job, but it’s keeping me tied to the U.S. So, here’s Lizzy. Be a daddy full time, and I’ll talk with her over video from time to time.” Mary planted her hand on her hip.

Not a trace of sadness or worry crossed her face, and that sealed it for Duff. He had no idea how he’d manage to be a single parent and a flight instructor, but he’d damn sure do it and do it better than Mary. She disgusted him, and if it weren’t for his daughter, he’d want to go back in time to change ever hooking up with her. “You want to hug her first?”

“Probably best not to so there aren’t any long goodbyes.” She backed out of the door.

“Then go.” He pushed the door closed with both hands so that he wouldn’t slam it. Mary made him angry, not the adorable moppet of Lizzy. She’d only get the best from him, starting with dinner out at Peg Leg Pete’s down the beach road. First, he had to make an important phone call.

****

If Kirsten thought about the past two days in a realistic fashion, she’d call it a complete success. She contemplated the events of the week from the back deck of her house as the waves washed upon the sand and a gentle breeze cooled her skin. Her classes filled quickly, and after the first two, she’d had a line out of her office with students requesting to add her organic chemistry class. Boomer had kept his promise of dinner and help sorting her father’s files. The appointment with the clerk of the court was made, and she didn’t quake at the thought of showing everything she’d done to the court. Except, Kirsten’s mind myopically focused on the one message she received the past Saturday.
Emergency.

Duff hadn’t returned her calls, and his replies to her text messages only said that he would explain later.
Give me until Saturday, please. I’m drowning here.
After the first two days, she stopped trying to contact him. The worry and annoyance continued. The damn man had done the love-her-and-leave-her routine twice now. Neither time had she seen it coming. And, the fact that made her blood boil more was that she’d offered him a blow job simply because she thought he would return for it. What man wouldn’t?

“Seriously.” Suzy asked from the chair she occupied next to Kirsten. A bottle of wine sat between them. “Are you sure you offered him a blow job? Because, realistically, what man turns that down?”

“Apparently, Duff,” Kirsten answered to Suzy’s question.

Suzy wrinkled her nose. “I wanted you to take one of the guys to bed, but I didn’t think you’d take an ex-boyfriend. Revenge sex never works out. At least it hasn’t for me.”

Kirsten shook her head. “That’s where you’re wrong. I regret that he had the opportunity to not return, but the sex, no regrets at all. Amazing.” If they’d been in a bar, she’d not be so open. With only the seagulls and pelicans for an audience, she relaxed into the conversation. “It had to be. I agreed to give him a blow job. I wanted to, and I would have done it on the back porch if I didn’t live in such a public space where anyone could see from the beach. That’s how much I wanted him.”

“That’s really saying something. You hate giving blow jobs.” Suzy poured herself more wine. “I’m sorry. I’m not a good friend right now. I don’t know how to help with this. I have no way of bringing him back here. Poor Groveman won’t take no for an answer. He says he’s scared of your Major Duffy and that Stone isn’t much better. So no help from Suzy.”

“You don’t need to, except to listen to me when I need to vent.” She pushed away her glass of wine. “I keep thinking he meant to make a go of the relationship, but then he doesn’t give me a full answer.” She frowned and wished she could punch something. “Do you know what really bugs me?”

“I’m afraid to know. You’re like a ticking bomb lately.”

“That’s stress. Sorry.”

“So, what bugs you?”

“I almost felt comfortable letting nature take its course, to keep up the energetic sex and see where that left us. I could see me caring for Duff again. Like a lot.”

Suzy gulped her glass of wine. “Sounds like I need to try for an older man instead of the younger ones.”

Kirsten thought of Duff’s thrusts the last time they made love in the early morning hours. Some time in the night, he’d fallen asleep behind her with one arm secured around her waist. Half asleep, she’d felt his fingers tugging at her nipples.

His breath had heated the air near her ear. “I want to last a long time with this.” He’d teased between her legs for an eternity, allowing her time to reach two orgasms by the time that he’d pushed into her wet pussy with his huge cock. She came close to pledging her undying love to him, but reason won out. Ecstasy didn’t equate to love. She’d learned that lesson a few times.

“Earth to Kirsten. Come in.” Suzy waved her hand across her friend’s face.

“Sorry. Got distracted thinking of sexy men.” One man in particular, which got her thinking that she wouldn’t let him win this. He couldn’t treat her like this, like she was just a casual fuck. He’d have to let her into his life and everything that entailed if he wanted to have a piece of her ass.

“Happens to me every time I read a novel. It’s why I teach literature. I can read, read, read and fantasize, fantasize, fantasize. I even turn Regency heroes into impossibly muscled men when I know that they found big muscles to be abhorrent and a sign that they worked too much. It stinks knowing historical social customs.” Suzy downed her wine. “I know you told me to drop it, but when have I ever listened?”

“Drop what?”

“You should go for Boomer. Hot man, useful with tools, and he thinks you walk on water.”

Kirsten propped her feet on the railing and shook her head. “I like him, and you’re right that he’s got a smoking bod. But, Suz, I don’t want him like that. You should try him out. He’s looking.”

Suzy frowned. “And give up my bunnies? Not a chance. But,” Suzy leaned towards her with her eyes narrowed, “I want you to promise me that if all this falls apart with Duff that you give Boomer a chance. See what he’s like in bed. We already know he’s the stable type.”

She couldn’t make that promise. Even though she jogged with him and had accepted his help with the mess of closing her father’s estate. She couldn’t lie to Suzy. “Can’t do it.” The only man she wanted was Duff. Reuniting with him had proven that to her. Military or not, he gave her happiness, and that was worth pursuing.

“Okay, no sex. Just a date where you think of him in sexy ways.”

Her shoulders drooped. Kirsten said the words Suzy wanted to hear. “Fine.”

“Let me know which night so I can be out of the house. Then you two can make all the noise you want.”

Now Kirsten tossed back her wine. “Shut up. I’m not going to go directly to sex with him. I may not even have a date. There are plans forming in my head right now as to how I’m going to bond Duff to me.” She had a pair of jeans just on the edge of tight and a low cut shirt that looked great on her. Pants would say he couldn’t have her, because she knew he remembered why she used to only wear skirts. He’d been the one to ask all those years ago.

“Are you even paying attention?”

“No.” She and Suzy preferred honesty with each other, which was why she tried to tell her the truth about not wanting to date Boomer. “I refuse to take this lying down. Duff isn’t going to get away with these cryptic messages. I’ve been busy, too, and I still had time to call people. I’m plotting.”

“I’m going to leave you to it, but don’t bring him back here. I’m settling in for a movie marathon with wine and cheese.”

“No date? That’s unlike you.” Kirsten suspected Suzy hid something, but she only wanted to deal with one problem at a time.

Suzy shrugged. “Eh, I’m done with sex for a bit. My last outing really turned me off.”

“I know you ended things with Eric, but I thought you had another guy you were interested in.”

“Eh, who wants to have sex the same way all the time? Eric was a one trick pony. I think he had a formula in his head. He probably chanted it as he was driving home with me. ‘I lick her until she moans, flip her over, and insert until I moan.’ Seriously, all night.” Her head flopped back. “I don’t have the energy right now to go through all of them to figure out which one trips my trigger.”

“You’ve got to learn to speak up and take control.”

“I know, but at least I got to come each time. Don’t talk about it anymore. Go conquer your own man. I’m sure you’ll succeed. Very little stops you from getting what you want.”

“That is the nicest thing you’ve said to me in a while. Thank you.”

“It’s true. You get all down in the dumps about all the estate stuff, but you kept at the college until you got a real job. I’m still mucking it with the adjunct position.”

“Not everything is great for me, and you can get ahead with the job.”

“Eh. That’s my motto for life right now. Eh. Thrill me with yours. You can even wake me if I’m asleep to tell me how it goes with John Duffy.”

“You got it. It’s sure to be epic. Do you know what?” She stood from her lounge chair. “I’m not going to wait for the weekend. Screw his Saturday request. He can tell me what’s going on.”

“Go get ‘em, Kit.”

She sneered at Suzy. “Don’t call me that.” Her father’s nickname for her always made her think that he’d wanted a boy to turn into the perfect soldier.

“Sorry. Go get ‘em, Kirsten.” She added a smile at the end.

“Damn straight, I am.”

“Can I listen in?”

“No.”

“Oh fine, I’ll go read a sappy historical romance. Let me know if you leave to go have fantastic sex.”

“Oh, I plan to leave. He’s going to have to deal with me face to face, baby.”

“You’re right. It’s sure to be epic.” Suzy grinned. “Ahh, to be that proverbial fly.”

Chapter Nine

Duff had had two days from hell. But each evening when he got a hug from Lizzy, he decided that it hadn’t been that bad. She erased all of the work necessary to move to a new apartment and to hire help for his working hours. For that last one, he turned to family, meaning a new crimp on his life. The weight of everything he still had to accomplish for their lives to be somewhat normal nearly crushed him each evening, especially this afternoon, when he’d wanted to call Kirsten, but instead ended up building sandcastles on a windy beach in mid-January.

Afraid that she’d grow fussy with hunger and tiredness, Duff said to Lizzy, “Time to go inside. Gram said she was making dinner, and we don’t want to be late for that.”

“Just a little more.”

“Lizzy.” Duff could tell from the constant negotiating that Mary hadn’t been a strict mother. When Lizzy visited for a week or two, those behaviors weren’t a problem for him. Having her full time made a huge difference. The kid had to live in his world, and that meant doing what he said when he said it.

“Pl-eeeea-sssse.”

Cute, Duff thought, but not enough for me to cave. “We have all day tomorrow to play on the beach. Right now, it is time to go inside. Up and at ‘em, kid.”

“Okay.”

Except it came out as o-tay, which made Duff laugh. He couldn’t get enough of this kid and how she mangled words. To think that he had a lifetime with her gave him warm fuzzies, and he knew that was difficult to do to a Marine. He helped Lizzy to her feet and hefted her onto his back. She hung onto his flight suit and tried to reach for the zipper of one of the upper pockets. He stopped her by kissing her fist. “We can get you one of your own. I even know where. Stop wiggling so I can get across the street.”