The Fix (Carolina Connections #1) (15 page)

“You’re the best kind of mother,
that’s the kind you are! You always put that little boy first and, sure, he’s
going through a little stress right now but you’re doing the best you can.
Where does it say you can’t have a little something for yourself too? If Nate’s
leaving, what’s wrong with a fling? And, anyway you don’t
know
he’s
leaving – you’re making assumptions without all the information. You could just
woman up and ask him outright, you know.”

At the look on my face she read
that I was clearly not ready to “woman up”.

“Just stop stressing. Heck, you
could even find out tonight that you two don’t really like each other as much
as you thought. Then you’re just out one treehouse and you can get Gavin to
learn how to form a right angle and put it together. The point is, just have
fun tonight and worry about the rest later.”

I considered her in the mirror.
“Thanks, Fee. You’re right. You have any wine?”

She looked offended. “Do I have any
wine? Where do you think you are?”

I laughed at her and dropped my
hands back to my lap. “Alright, pour some wine, pretty me up, and let’s
Scarlett O’Hara the shit out of this thing!”

***

I had a glass of wine while Fiona
did her thing, and by the time the glass was empty my hair looked sleek and
sexy and my make-up was a step up from what I’d normally wear but it looked
awesome. I headed home to get dressed. Fiona did end up talking me into wearing
a flirty skirt and some platform sandals from my own closet, and she made me
text her a picture of my final outfit to keep me from cheating. Gavin and Brett
were in the backyard tossing a baseball around with Rocco when the doorbell
rang. At least I wouldn’t have to deal with that awkwardness. I grabbed my
purse, took a deep breath and answered the door.

Nate was wearing a blue button down
shirt that drew attention to his eyes. The sleeves were rolled up to reveal his
corded forearms and the first two buttons at his neck were left undone so I
could catch a glimpse of chest hair peeking out. His dark wash jeans were a
perfect fit and his gray Converse completed the picture. Comfortable, casual,
and hot as hell. My lower belly warmed and the butterflies took flight. His jaw
was freshly shaven for the first time and I wasn’t sure which way I preferred
it. His eyes were hot and they were focused directly on me.

“You look gorgeous,” he said as his
eyes roamed my figure.

“You don’t look so bad yourself.”
Was
that my voice?
It was so breathy.

“Are you ready to go?” He crooked
his arm out for me to take.

I wordlessly entwined my arm with
his and we walked to his truck where he opened my door and helped me in. Did he
cop a bit of a feel in the process? Maybe, but I didn’t mind one bit.

“So what are the boys up to
tonight?” Nate asked once he’d gotten in and pulled out onto the street.

“Lord knows. They were playing ball
when I left so hopefully they’ll stay out of trouble. Although Gavin’s best
friend is over so it’s unlikely.”

“You don’t like him?”

“Oh, Brett’s fine. It’s just that
when the two of them get together the chances for downright idiotic behavior
rise exponentially. I’m probably prejudiced, though, because Brett was there
when Gavin got in a really bad accident one time and it ended up ruining his
baseball career.”

“I was wondering about that but I
worried it was a sore spot so I didn’t want to ask Gavin about it. After he met
Gavin the other night, my dad mentioned that he used to watch him play when Gavin
was in high school. He said everyone thought your brother would go pro one day
but then never heard another thing after he went off to college.”

“You were probably smart not to
mention it – it’s most definitely still a sore subject.”

“What happened, if you don’t mind
me asking?”

“No,
it’s fine. He was playing on a full scholarship and was right on track to make
it big. On his twentieth birthday he and Brett and some of their other friends
had the bright idea to try out one of his team-mate’s motorcycle – having never
ridden a motorcycle in his life, mind you. Long story short, he broke his
pitching arm in three places. Goodbye baseball scholarship. Goodbye big league
dreams. At least he’d had the good sense to wear a helmet. But,
then
,
instead of recovering from the surgeries and finishing his degree, he chose to
drink and become a bum. And I haven’t quite been able to forgive him for it.” I
looked out the window and Nate was silent. “Wow, that was probably more than
you wanted to know.” I forced a smile and looked back at him.

He
glanced back at me and then his eyes returned to the road. “Sounds
very…complicated.” That was a safe way of putting it.

I
quickly moved us on to lighter subjects and we arrived at his apartment building
minutes later. It was pretty dingy as a whole, with cracked sidewalks and weed infested
lawn spaces.

“I
know,” Nate said as he took my hand and walked me up the stairs to his second
floor apartment. “It’s nothing to look at but it’s cheap and it’s only
temporary. It was the only place I could find that would offer a month-to-month
lease.”

My
stomach dropped. I did not need that reminder and I suddenly had the urge to
turn around and run home. The feel of his warm hand in mine was the only thing
that stopped me.

He
unlocked the door and it opened to reveal a small kitchen, an old sixties style
table and the ugliest couch I’d ever seen.

“Nate?”

“What?”

“Roseanne
called. She wants her couch back.”

“Who’s
the smartass now?” He elbowed me. “I borrowed it from my parents’ basement. My
real furniture is in Austin.”

“I’m
relieved I won’t have to pretend to like your phenomenally bad taste.” I smiled
up at him.

He
held a few strands of my hair and ran his fingers down until they caressed my
collarbone. A shiver ran straight through me. “Let’s reserve that thought until
you taste my cooking. I hope you like spaghetti.”

At
that moment I thought I’d like anything he wanted to dish up.

Big Head vs. Little Head

Nate

“Well,
that wasn’t half bad if I do say so myself.” I leaned back in my chair and took
a swig of my beer.

“I
didn’t realize there was any possible doubt. And it
was
good.” Laney
leaned her elbow on the table and sipped from her wine glass.

Conversation
over dinner had flowed easily. We’d talked about our experiences growing up in
the same town and realized that we’d probably nearly met each other dozens of
times throughout our youth. But with our age difference it wasn’t so surprising
that we hadn’t. Then we’d moved on to her history with Rocco and his dad, a guy
named Dominic who lived in California. The guy sounded like an assclown to me,
but Laney was pretty laid back about it so I obviously didn’t have the whole
story. It did explain, however, how she was able to afford a mortgage in a
decent neighborhood while sending her kid to that stuffy daycare. I was
guessing her job didn’t pay enough to afford it all on her own. And I knew
Gavin had only recently begun contributing.

Her
relationship with her brother seemed really complicated, as I’d noted earlier.
There was definitely some tension there, but I liked the guy and by all
accounts he was working his ass off and catching on really quickly at work. Regardless,
the love between brother and sister was clear, and he was great with Rocco. Thinking
of my relationship with Bailey and knowing the intricacies that exist between
family members, though, I wasn’t going to pry into that one. If Laney wanted to
share I’d let her do it in her own time.

She
sat across from me, her hair all glossy and her eyes looking smoky and sexy as
hell as her finger ran absentmindedly over the rim of her wine glass. My dick was
standing at attention and I’d been fighting a hard-on since the moment she’d
answered her door in a short little skirt and sleeveless V-neck blouse that
pointed the way to my biggest temptation. Damn, she was the definition of a
bombshell and I couldn’t wait to get her into my bed and under me.

“So,
I’m guessing the home repairs are on hold in favor of treehouse construction?”
she asked, taking another sip of her wine. I nodded and stood with my beer,
motioning her to follow me to the hideous, but surprisingly comfortable, couch.

“Maybe
so. The project has inspired me.” I set my beer on the scratched up coffee
table.

That
got a grin as she sat down next to me and I put an arm across the back of the
couch behind her neck.

“I
may have spoken too soon about the couch,” she said. “This is actually more
comfortable than mine.”

“See,
I do have good taste after all.” I wrapped my arm around her shoulder and pulled
her in closer. “About the treehouse, I’ve actually already drawn up some
potential plans but I won’t know specifics until I take some measurements of
the tree. It’s going to be pretty awesome, though.”

She
beamed at me, then set her glass next to my beer and snuggled right into my
side. If that’s all it took to make her happy I’d build a hundred treehouses. I
could see right down the front of her shirt and I didn’t even pretend not to
stare.

“I
can tell you Rocco is beyond excited so that is music to my ears. It’s really
sweet of you to do this for him. It’s sweet of you to do
all
of the
things you’re doing for us. I feel like I don’t deserve it.” She put her hand
on my thigh.

“Why
would you say that? You deserve all sorts of good things.” I turned her in my
arms and leaned my head down to kiss her. She tasted of wine and her own unique
flavor, and the intensity of our clinch ratcheted up immediately as my tongue
explored her mouth wildly, like I’d never get another chance. She moaned and
arched her back, and we were soon leaning down into the couch, one of her hands
fisting in my hair and the other squeezing my ass. I moved on top of her and
ground my erection into the heated apex of her thighs which were still covered
by her damn skirt. We were moving at lightning speed and it was hot as fuck.

“Nate,”
she breathed and began to pull away a bit but she was trapped under me so I
lifted up a few inches to give her some room.

“What’s
the matter?” We were both breathing heavily and my hand was caressing her thigh,
moving closer and closer to the edge of her panties and the heat that waited
there.

“I…I…I’m
not sure.” Her flushed face turned toward the back of the couch.

“Laney,
look at me.” She turned her face back and her hooded eyes met mine. “We don’t
have to do anything you don’t want to do.” My cock called me every name in the
book, but judging by the look on her face, this was going no further tonight.

She
put her hand to her forehead and I sat up, releasing her. She sat and
straightened her skirt. “God, I feel like such an idiot. I really want this.” She
motioned back and forth between us. “I mean, I
really
want this.” She
attempted a smile.

I
had no fucking clue what to do so I just shut up and hoped she’d clue me in.

“But
I have more than just me to consider – I have Rocco. I can’t just let someone
jump into his life, play with him, build him a treehouse and then just
disappear. He won’t understand that.”

“Who’s
disappearing?”

“You
know what I mean.”

“Laney,
there is no guarantee in any relationship. I don’t know for sure what will
happen between us down the road but I can tell you that I am more than into
you, if you can’t tell that already. I can also tell you that while I’m seeing
you I’m not even remotely interested in seeing anyone else – and I hope you
feel the same way.”

She
nodded but still looked unsure.

“But
I understand that you’re a mom and that has to come first. I just really want
us to be able to spend time together and see where this goes.”

“Can
I have some time to think about it?”

My
mouth said, “Of course.” My dick said, ‘No fucking way!’

She
gave me a small embarrassed smile and stood up. “Thanks, Nate. I’m so sorry
about…this.” She waved her hand awkwardly in the general direction of my lap.

“He
understands,” I said, and that got a laugh out of her. “Let me drive you home.”

The
ride back to her house was mostly silent and I did not have a good feeling
about the way we were leaving things. I felt like I was missing some crucial
piece of information but I couldn’t put my finger on it and I hated the
uncertain feeling.

“Will
you still come over to start the treehouse on Saturday?” she asked. “I know I’m
sounding like a complete contradiction right now, but Rocco is so excited.”

“Of
course. I can’t wait.” I pulled into her driveway and got out to open her door.

She
stepped down. “Hopefully you guys can finish it before it’s time for you to
leave. Thanks, Nate. I’ll call you.” And then she kissed my cheek and ran to
her front door.

I
waited for the door to close behind her before I pulled out of her driveway.
That bad feeling I had was turning worse.

***

By
Friday morning I still hadn’t heard one word from Laney and I felt a heavy
weight in my gut. My only solace was that I’d at least get to see her tomorrow.
I’d visited a couple sites already today to meet with some contractors and I
was pulling up to the Old Oak Ridge site wishing I could just drive down the
street and knock on her door. But I’d promised to give her time and I knew she
was at work anyway so it made little difference.

As
soon as I got out of my car I noticed Doug and Gavin walking my way.

“Nate!”
Doug called. “I’ve got Gavin on framing but Mark mentioned he might pull him
for some of that siding work. You know anything about that?” Both men
approached and I adjusted the bag I was carrying.

I
threw out my hand. “Don’t worry about it. Stay on framing, Gavin.”

“That’s
what I thought,” Doug said distractedly and hurried away to address one of the
contractors who’d just pulled up.

“How’s
it going, Nate?” Gavin asked with his hands perched stiffly on his hips.

“Alright
I guess,” I responded. Gavin continued to stand that way and then I caught him
clenching his jaw like he was mulling over a difficult problem. “Something wrong?”

“I
don’t know. You tell me.” His voice was curt.

“Tell
you what?” I was pretty sure I knew which direction we were headed.

“Dammit,
I knew this would happen!” His voice had risen by this point and we were
getting a few glances.

“What
exactly has happened, Gavin? I’m at a bit of a loss here.”

He
looked at me like I was stupid. “Laney. She’s been in her room crying the past
two nights and it didn’t escape my notice that the timing just so happened to
coincide with the early end of your date the other night. So what the hell did
you do to my sister?”

I
was dumbfounded – it took me a few moments to speak. “Gavin, I didn’t do a
thing. I thought things were going great and she’s the one who put a stop to
it. I’ve been the one waiting for her to call and tell me everything is okay.”

“Well
shit!” He pulled his hardhat from his head and smacked it to his thigh. “Now
I’ve got to wade into this like some fucking girl and find out what the hell is
wrong.”

“Don’t
worry about it – I’ll get to the bottom of it. You can keep your man card. She’s
been hesitant about getting involved with me and it has something to do with
Rocco and not wanting to have men going in and out of his life. But I swear I
have no intention of ditching them, Gavin.”

His
hand pulled through his dusty hair and his shoulders dropped. “Damn, I think I
get it now. It actually makes sense if you think about it. Rocco getting
attached and then when you leave for Texas I guess that would suck for the
little guy. It probably is for the best to just cut your losses.” He dropped
his hand to his side and put his hardhat back on with the other one. “Shit, I
feel like I’m growing a vagina here. I gotta get back to work. No hard
feelings, man.”

He
waved and left me standing there feeling like the most oblivious fucking moron
on earth.

***

At
6:30 that evening I was standing on Laney’s front porch pounding on the door.
“Laney, I know you’re in there. I saw you peeking through the curtains!” I
continued to pound on the door knowing that I was being a bit of an asshole but
not caring one bit. My girl was in there and I needed to see her.

“Nate,
please go away. I’m not ready to talk yet,” she hissed through the door. “And
stop pounding. I don’t want to scare Rocco.”

“Open
the door and Rocco will be fine. Come on, Laney. Please.”

I
heard a frustrated huff but the door opened a crack and I saw her beautiful
face. I also saw the dark circles under her eyes and I cursed myself for the
tenth time today.

“Laney,
baby, please let me in. I need to talk to you – to explain.”

Her
will seemed to give out and she let the door fall open as she stepped back. I
came through the doorway and wrapped her in my arms like I never wanted to let
go. And in that moment it was the God’s honest truth.

“Where
is Rocco?” I asked, careful not to say too much if he was close by.

“He’s
in his room watching cartoons on the iPad.” Her voice was quiet.

I
kissed the top of her head. “I think I get it now, Laney, and I am such an
idiot,” I declared.

She
sniffed and said, “That’s usually a title I reserve for Gavin but go on if you
must.” I loved that even when she was sad her sass came through.

“I
don’t know how I didn’t see it before, but like I said, I’m an idiot. You think
I’m moving back to Austin, don’t you?”

She
pulled away from me cautiously and looked up into my face. “Well, yeah,
eventually.”

“Baby,
I’m not going anywhere. I’m here in North Carolina to stay. It was always my
plan to come back – my dad’s heart attack just sped up the timing.”

“But…but
you kept saying all these things about ‘temporary’ stuff,” she said, her eyes
becoming wet.

“I
just meant that the apartment was temporary. I don’t want to live in that
shithole any longer than necessary.” I smiled at her. “As soon as I have the time
I’m finding a house or a condo or something.”

“Oh.”
That’s all she said, eyes still teary.

“You
forgive me for confusing you?” I leaned down and couldn’t help but kiss her
quickly on her sweet mouth. She just nodded, looking a bit dazed. At that
moment I just wanted to take her in her bedroom and show her how sorry I was
but I knew that wouldn’t happen for several reasons, Rocco being the main one.

And
despite my desire to pull her into my arms and assume that everything would
work out perfectly, I knew I had to say one more thing. “But you know as well
as I do that there are no guarantees in life. And I understand that you need to
consider Rocco in all of your decisions, but I’m just asking for a chance,
Laney.”