Shifting Dreams (33 page)

“Why?” he asked with a grunt.

“Look at the windows. We have an audience?” Caleb may have been keeping his hands PG, but what was beginning to press into her belly was definitely R-rated.

“Damn.” He sighed. “Nosey kids. You’re going to have to clean Aaron’s nose print off that window.”

“That’s what I thought.” She pulled his face back down to hers for one more kiss, brushing the sand from his hair and dusting off his torn shirt. “Thank you for taking care of my boys,” she whispered.

He put one finger on her chin to tilt her face up to his. “Don’t thank me for that, Jena. I’d do anything to keep them safe.”

She felt the smile take over her face. “I know.” Then she turned and walked up to the porch, pausing when she didn’t hear him follow. Jena turned around to see him still leaning against the dusty car with his hands in his pockets, watching the house with a curious expression.

She put her hands on her hips and said, “Well? You coming inside, or what?”

His boyish grin made her heart flip as he walked up the steps.

She was staring at the slow turn of the ceiling fan that night as she lay on her bed, Low curled up on the opposite side with Aaron smooshed between them. It had been Aaron’s request that night because he didn’t want to sleep alone, but Jena was glad for it. It reminded her of the mornings when the boys were little. She’d be exhausted from a late night at the restaurant, Lowell would be heading into work, so the boys would come and crowd on her bed, watching quiet cartoons while she slowly woke.

She didn’t doze that night. Both boys had bathed and fallen into bed early, the excitement of the day finally catching up with them. She’d called Ted to let her know what had happened and her friend had called everyone else. Caleb had spoken in quietly urgent tones with his deputy before he kissed her goodnight and taken off to the station, and Tom and Cathy were sleeping in Low’s room.

Jena’s house felt like a miniature bunker and she couldn’t have been happier. There was safety in numbers. She only wished there were one more resident sleeping in the house. Still, despite the ever-deepening ease between Caleb and her family, it would have been awkward for him to stay.

She sat bolt upright when she heard a rustling in the bushes outside her window. She looked over to the boys, who were still snoring, before she went to the closet and pulled out the shotgun on the top shelf. She cracked it and loaded two shells from the top drawer of her dresser before she snuck back to the bedroom, moving quietly toward the window.

Then, she heard the tap.

“Jena?” She rolled her eyes when she heard Caleb’s whisper. She propped the shotgun on her hip and pulled back the curtain.

His grin fell when he saw her. “Hey! Whoa. Uh… probably sneaking around the house of the scared mom isn’t such a great idea, huh?”

Shaking her head, she slid the window up. “Ya think? And what are you doing here? It’s the middle of the night.”

“Were you sleeping?”

She silently shook her head.

“Neither was I. So, I was thinking…” He held up a grocery bag with a smile. “Midnight picnic?”

“What?”

“I still haven’t taken you out on a date, woman. And I feel like I need to at this point, considering… stuff. You’re awake—probably pacing the house with that gun—I’m resisting the urge to stalk the perimeter of your house with mine. I say we put down the firearms and have a drink.”

It was a tempting idea, but she glanced over her shoulder.

As if reading her mind, Caleb said, “I brought a blanket. We can sit right here on the grass outside the window and if they get up, you’ll hear them, right?”

“I’m not sure.”

“You know, I chased off mountain lions today. Two of them. Big ones. Mean.”
 

Jena narrowed her eyes. “Are you taking advantage of my earlier gratitude for saving my children’s lives by trying to guilt me into going on a date with you?”

“Yes. Yes, I am.”

She burst into quiet laughter and leaned out the window. “You’re really, really shameless.”

“It’s worked before. Date?”

“The boys…”

“Are your parents in the house?”

Jena heard a window crack open and her father’s voice call out in a loud whisper. “Her parents are trying to sleep! Jena, just go have a drink with the man. We’ll watch the boys.”

Caleb turned back to her with a grin. “Well?”

She hesitated for only a minute before she said, “Your trailer.” Then she ducked back in the window, unloaded the gun and put it high in the closet before she made her way out the front door and jogged back to the Airstream. When she arrived, Caleb was spreading an old blanket out on the front porch and unpacking a brown paper bag.

“You were serious about the picnic thing.”

“I didn’t have a basket, but if this is going to count for a real date, I figured I’d need a blanket. With all the sand, we can pretend we’re at the beach or something.”

She smothered a grin and sat on the edge while he unpacked the feast he’d brought.

“Beer.” He presented the six-pack to her with a flourish. “Bottles, not cans.”

“Classy.”

“I try.”

He pulled out a box of crackers.

“Ritz!” She smiled. “You’ve really gone all out.”

He wiggled his eyebrows. “Hey, when I aim to impress…” He trailed off, suddenly looking nervous. “Now, keep in mind that the Quick Stop does not have the finest cheese selection available and it’s the only thing that was open at this hour.”

Jena frowned. “What…” She let out a loud groan when he pulled the can from behind his back. “You’re not calling that cheese.”

“It’s… cheese product.”

She started giggling, then grabbed for the can he was clutching. “You can’t call this cheese.”

“It’s kind of like cheese. It’s cheese-ish.”

Her giggles turned to snorts. “You brought a chef ‘cheese in a can’ for your first date?”

“Listen, Chef Snobby”—he was laughing along now—“it was this, Velveeta, or the scary-looking pimiento cheese spread that Norman had in the deli case in back.”

She couldn’t stop laughing. Her stomach was actually starting to ache. “It’s cheese product! In an aerosol can.”

“You know, if you’re going to continue to mock my efforts—”

She stopped his protest with a kiss, which he enthusiastically returned. Soon, all thoughts of cheese, crackers, and beer were gone from her mind as she pulled him next to her and stretched out on the blanket, reveling in the press of his weight against her and the soft lips that claimed her own.

“Good,” he muttered. “We’ve skipped to my favorite part of the date.”
 

“It’s going well so far. Mostly.”

“I still think you’re being awfully judgmental about the cheese.”

“Favorite color?”

“Guys don’t have favorite colors.”

“The boys do.”

“Boys have favorite colors,” Caleb said. “Men don’t.”

“You do, too. You just haven’t thought about it. What’s the first one that sprang to mind when I asked?”

“Red.”

“See? Why red?”

“Remember that shirt you were wearing the night we met?” He grinned at her wickedly and Jena forced back a smile.

“You mean ‘your special shirt?’”

He pulled her a little closer and wrapped his arm around her waist. “Yes, it is. I’m glad you recognize this now.”

They had both drunk a few beers and Caleb had gone into the trailer to get a couple more blankets, which he piled up so they could lay on their backs and stare at the stars. They were curled up around each other under a blanket, talking quietly while they looked into the clear night.

“Your favorite color?”

“Green. The color of the boys’ eyes. They both have Lowell’s eyes.” She felt Caleb tense a little. “Does it bother you when I talk about him? About Lowell?”

He paused, then let out a small sigh. “Let’s just say that it kind of does, but I know it shouldn’t. Don’t worry about it. I’ll get over it.”

“I’m not…” How could she explain? “I’m not in love with him anymore, if that makes any sense. He’s gone. But I did love him, and I treasure those memories, so it’s hard—”

“You don’t have to explain.”

“I want to. I don’t want you to feel like you’re competing with a ghost. Because there’s no competition.”

With that, she felt his arms relax and she nestled her head into his shoulder again.

“You’ve got great kids, Jena. I’m not gonna lie. I’m a little jealous.”

“You wanted kids. Your ex didn’t?”

“To be fair, it’s not something we talked about before we got married, which was stupid. I just assumed she did. My mistake.”

“And she assumed you didn’t? It goes both ways, Caleb.”

He shrugged. “It’s in the past. Does this resort worry you? This hotel that Alex wants to build? It’ll definitely change things about the town. Expose it more, maybe expose your kids.”

“It does bother me, but it’s not all about me. The town needs something. Is it going to change things? Yeah, definitely. We’re going to have to be more careful.”
 

“Everyone is. But you think it’s good in the long run?”

“I do.” She nodded slowly. “There had to be something or the whole town would just dry up and drift away. And then where would we go?”

“You went away once.”

“And it would have slowly killed me.” She felt him start. “I’m exaggerating, but I do feel stronger here. When I lived away, I slept a lot. Didn’t have near the energy I do here. I just always felt… off.”

“But people do. Move away, I mean.”

What was he thinking? She pulled away from him, feeling an ache in her middle at the thought of Caleb leaving. “Um… yeah. Sometimes. But I’m not moving again.”

He put a hand at the back of her neck and tugged her toward him, pressing a kiss to her lips that slowly grew from easy to heated.

“Good,” he said. “Because I like it here. And I’d like to keep you. So when the resort comes, we’ll deal with it.”

“We will?” She was distracted by his hands teasing under the edge of her shirt.

“Mm-hmm. I’m a good ally.”

“I’m not gonna lie. You knowing everything is a big relief.” She gasped when he brought his warm palm up to press against her ribs. Slow, steady strokes moving upward until she arched into his hand. He caught the cry on her lips with his kiss and pressed the length of his body into hers.

“We’ll deal with it together, Jena Crowe, because I have plans. And none of them involve leaving you.”

“Good.” She dug her fingers into his thick hair and tugged his head to the side, licking along the rough stubble on his jaw. “I like you here.”

“Right here?” He swung her leg over his hip and pressed their bodies together.

“You got it.”

“Yeah.” He smiled. “I do.”

Chapter Twenty-Four

“Caleb?”

He blinked his eyes and grunted.

“Hey, why don’t you go lay down on my bed? You’re going to get a crick in your back from this couch.”

“Mmnf. I’m okay.” Her concerned face swam above him when he opened his eyes. “You need help with stuff?”

“No, Low’s helping with the salad, and Allie and Ted are bringing everything else. Go sleep in my room. Aaron’s taking a nap, too.”

He closed his eyes, then opened them again as the warm afternoon light spilled into the living room of Jena’s house. He’d slept on the couch the night before, after they’d come back from their “date,” and he had to admit, his back was feeling it.

“Okay.” He sat up and grabbed her arm before she could leave, pulling her into a long, lazy kiss. “Lay down with me.”

“I have to finish the food. People are coming over in an hour and a half.”

Caleb pulled her closer and laid his head against her hip. “Too many people.”

She laughed and mussed his hair. “Go sleep. You got practically no rest last night.”

And then she’d woken him up for church services that morning. Well, Aaron had, anyway. It was impossible to sleep with the small tornado whirling around. So he’d woken up, gone to his trailer to shower, and joined them, sitting next to Jena and the boys as they listened to the priest—it was the Catholic’s turn that week—offer a short homily and minister to the devout. It had been… nice. Nicer than he’d expected.

He smiled down at her. She had on a stained apron and her hair was starting to do that feathery thing around her face. The big scary “I love you” was on the tip of his tongue when Low called from the kitchen, so he bit back the words for what seemed like the hundredth time.

“I’d better go help him,” she said.

“Yeah, okay.”

“Go nap, sleepyhead.”
 

It never quite seemed the right time to tell her. And he had to admit that he was a little afraid she wouldn’t say it back. He bent down to give Jena another quick kiss before she disappeared and he stumbled down the hall. Looking around, he noticed the family pictures along the walls. So many pictures of Jena and her parents. Of Alma and what had to be her husband. Tons of pictures of the boys.