Do Kiss the Superstar (Jewel Family Romance Book 5)

Do Kiss the Superstar: Jewel Family Romance

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CHAPTER ONE

aleb Jewel walked through the lush
neighborhood park, cradling a ball in his

lacrosse stick. He’d been a guest at an eighth-grade
team’s lacrosse practice on one of the turf fields
west of here, and now he was taking the long way
back to his car. It was a perfect October evening in
Cherry Hills, Colorado, crisp yet still warm enough
to enjoy being outside.

Caleb thought the green mountains of Colorado

were almost as pretty as the Teton Mountains he’d
grown up in, exploring and making trouble with his
four  brothers.  He’d  been  stoked  that  the  Denver
Outlaws picked him up after college as a middie. As
a  double  bonus,  his  sister  Eve  lived  only  twenty
minutes west of Denver in Golden. He was looking
at  homes  in  this  exclusive  Cherry  Hills
neighborhood south of Denver. He wasn’t sure why

a  charming  and  unattached  guy  such  as  himself
would  want  to  settle  down  to  a  house,  but  his
accountant  said  it  was  a  good  investment  and  he
apparently needed the write-off.

There was also the annoying fact that he felt

lonely,  maybe  talking  to  neighbors  over  his  white-
picket fence would help. It made no sense for him
to be lonely, as he had hundreds of friends and was
more likable than anybody he knew. Yet he’d been
tight  with  his  twin  throughout  his  twenty-six  years
of life—they’d been partners in crime, some might
say.  Then  everything  had  changed.  Seth  found  the
love  of  his  life,  got  engaged,  and  was  annoyingly
happy,  unruffled  by  any  prank  Caleb  played  on
him.

Seth was moving on, and Caleb was being left

behind. He was happy for his brother, but he could
admit that losing Seth to his perfect match, the love
of his life, was rough. The best-looking twin … left
sadly  alone.  His  grin  was  restored  as  he  started
imagining  the  pranks  he  would  pull  at  Seth  and
Breeze’s  wedding.  Disappearing  ink  on  the  bride’s
dress?  A  tux  with  the  rear  cut  out  so  Caleb  could
moon  the  entire  audience?  Fireworks  during  the
ceremony? Hmm.

His attention was yanked from tricks and drawn

across the park to a fit lady with smooth, brown
skin and long, dark hair. She stood awkwardly in a
grass lacrosse field, with a baseball mitt in one hand

and  a  lacrosse  ball  in  the  other.  Across  from  her
was  an  adorable  kid  with  a  mop  of  dark  curls,
maybe  six  or  seven  years  old.  The  kid  was
clutching a lacrosse stick, his tongue out slightly as
he concentrated on the woman.

Caleb found himself drawing closer to watch

them  and  then  stopping  in  the  middle  of  the
sidewalk about thirty feet away. His brothers would
say he had no shame, openly studying this beautiful
woman  and  her  charge.  Was  she  the  babysitter,  or
an aunt or older sister? He should’ve kept walking,
but  there  was  something  about  the  pair  that  drew
him  in—something  besides  the  woman’s  gorgeous
face.

“Okay, Krew, you ready?” she asked.
“Any day now,” the little man said.
“Don’t you sass your mama,” she said as she

chucked the ball at him.

Caleb’s eyebrows went up as he internalized

several  new  facts.  She  looked  too  young  to  be  a
mom,  she  wasn’t  going  easy  on  the  kid,  her
Southern  accent  was  alluring,  and  she  was  a
horrible throw.

The little man, Krew, instinctively jumped,

lifting his stick high above his head and snatching
the ball out of the air. Caleb was both surprised and
impressed. The kid was holding the stick like a
newbie, but he had the makings of an athlete.

“Yes!” Krew celebrated. “Your awful throws

are making me clutch, Mama.” He lobbed the ball
back at her.

“Clutch?” Her brow wrinkled as she caught the

soft pass easily with the mitt.

“Good, really good,” he explained.
She laughed, and Caleb found himself laughing

with her. He liked these two.

At the sound of his laughter, the woman

whipped around and narrowed her eyes at him. She
looked him over, and though she didn’t show it, he
knew she had to like what she saw. It was a given.
Every woman thought he was attractive.

Dropping her glove to the ground, she put a

hand on her hip and said with the most beautiful
Southern sass he’d ever heard, “Take a picture; it’ll
last ya longer.”

Caleb laughed harder. “I’d love a picture, but

your  husband  might  not  appreciate  me  taking  it.”
Please  let  there  not  be  a  husband.  Maybe  that
wasn’t a great thing to pray for. It would definitely
be  better  for  this  beautiful  woman  and  her  son  if
they  had  a  fabulous  husband  and  father  in  the
picture,  but  that  would  make  the  instant  attraction
Caleb had felt to this woman inappropriate. He was
often  doing  things  that  were  crazy  or  outside  the
norm,  but  he  respected  his  own  mother,  prided
himself  on  his  integrity,  and  loved  the  good  Lord.
He wasn’t about to mess with a married woman. He
had  hordes  of  single  women  to  choose  from.  Still,

there was something about this woman that drew
him like a bear to honey. Her full lips would taste
like sweet honey—he was sure of it.

Her delicate brow squiggled, and she tossed her

long, dark hair. “I don’t have a husband, so snap
away.”

Caleb smiled. “I think I will.” He switched his

lacrosse stick to his left hand and pulled his phone
out with his left, clicking on the camera icon.

“You wouldn’t dare,” she taunted him.

“Snapping pictures of strange women in a park?
You know that ain’t right.”

He loved her manner of speech and her feisty

personality. “Don’t call yourself strange. I think
you’re fabulous.”

She stuck her tongue out at him, then winced

when he lifted his phone and took a picture. “Are
you kidding me right now? Delete that. I probably
looked horrible.”

He examined the picture he’d taken. “Nope,

you pretty much look gorgeous.” It was the truth:
she was super cute, even with her tongue out. He
looked back at her. “Just like you look right now.”

She tilted her head down and cracked an

embarrassed smile. Since her skin was that perfect
creamy mocha color, it was hard to tell if she was
blushing.

“Mama.” Her little man had crossed the field to

her and now tugged on her hand. “Mama!”

“What is it sweet honey child?” she asked,

kneeling down and putting her forehead against his
to show him he had all of her attention.

Caleb’s smile widened, and his heart melted. It

was  a  cheesy  feeling,  but  the  interaction  between
mother  and  son  was  music  to  his  ears,  and  he
wouldn’t  soon  forget  this  appealing  image  of  them
together.

“Mama.” Krew glanced over at him with wide,

worshipful eyes. “That’s Caleb Jewel.”

The woman rocked back on her heels, her head

whipping  around  as  she  stared  at  him.  “Oh  my
saints above, it is!” She stood quickly and took her
little  man’s  hand  in  hers.  “Krew  has  a  picture  of
you on his wall. He watches clips of you over and
over  again  on  my  phone.  We’ve  been  to  your
games.  I  just  never  imagined  seeing  you  in  a  park
like  you’re  a  normal  human  or  something.  Oh  my,
I’m beside myself!”

Caleb grinned. This was more like it. He’d

loved  her  teasing  with  him,  but  he’d  never  turn
down  a  gorgeous  woman  and  her  cute  son
worshipping  him.  He  pocketed  his  phone,  bent
down,  and  extended  his  hand.  “Nice  to  meet  you,
Krew. I’m Caleb Jewel.”

“Don’t I know it!” Krew shook Caleb’s hand,

looking at him as if he’d hung the moon. “You’re
the best middie in the NLL.”

Caleb chuckled. “Thanks.” He straightened and

offered his hand to the woman. “Pleasure to meet
you. Caleb Jewel.”

She put her hand in his, and he loved the feel of

that soft palm and her long fingers against his.
“Emily Gehring—I mean, Housley.”

“Which is it: Gehring or Housley?” Was she

recently divorced? That would explain why she’d
been so adamant about not being married.

“Housley.” She lifted a brow as if daring him to

challenge her.

“Emily Housley.” He looked her over carefully.

“Beautiful name for a beautiful lady.”

Her mouth dropped slightly open. Caleb wanted

to  flirt  with  and  pursue  her,  right  now.  He  wasn’t
long  on  patience,  but  he  was  nothing  if  not  an
expert  at  lacrosse,  blowing  things  up,  and  how  to
get  a  woman  to  fall  for  him.  He  would  exercise  a
little self-restraint, and she’d want him even more.

So instead of revealing the extent of his

attraction to the beautiful mama, he squatted down
to the little boy. “You want to play some catch?”

“Yes!” Krew jumped into the air, clutching his

stick. “Right now?”

Caleb nodded. “If you and your mama have

time.”

“We have time, right, Mama? We have time.”

Krew wrapped both hands around his stick and
leaned forward. “Please, Mama, say we have
time.”

Emily smiled. “If you want to miss out on

swimming in the neighborhood pool, pizza for
dinner, ice cream, and playing those silly video
games of yours.”

“What are you trying to do, blackmail him out

of playing with me?” Caleb even loved the way she
said pool. Her inflection was adorable.

Emily shot him a sly look.
“Yes!” Krew screamed. “I’ll eat only broccoli

for dinner and not play video games for a week.”

Caleb’s chest swelled. This kid really did

worship him.

“You heard it.” Emily shot Caleb a

conspiratorial wink, and he liked being in cahoots
with her. “Broccoli and no video games.”

“Yes, ma’am,” Krew said. “Please, please,

please.”

“Well, get going.” She cast a smile at Caleb that

was radiant with appreciation.

Caleb had to wonder—did she appreciate him

because he was being cute with her son, helping her
avoid  video  games,  and  getting  some  vitamins  in
the  little  guy,  or  did  she  appreciate  him  as  a  fine-
looking  man  and  superstar  athlete?  He  caught  the
ball  Krew  tossed  his  way  in  his  lacrosse  stick  and
jogged  out  onto  the  grass  field  with  Krew  running
happily  by  his  side.  Here’s  to  hoping  the  beautiful
Mama was into him.

Emily  tried  to  pay  attention  to  the  instructions  the
Caleb  Jewel  was  giving  her  son.  She  wanted  to
work with Krew on her own once this magnificent
specimen  of  a  man  walked  back  out  of  their
neighborhood park, never to be seen again, unless it
was  on  the  big  screen  on  the  field  of  a  Denver
Outlaws game.

The problem was that Caleb was too

extraordinary.  Instead  of  cataloging  the  way  Krew
should  be  gripping  his  lacrosse  shaft  or  how  to  get
more whip or torque on the shot or throw the pass
more accurately—or “crisp,” as Caleb said it—she
could  only  catalogue  how  perfect  this  man  was.
Whoo-ee!  For  an  October  evening  in  Colorado,  it
was  as  steamy  hot  as  midsummer  back  home  in
Alabama.

She thought Caleb’s unexpected appearance

was  heaven  sent,  and  not  just  because  he  was
handsome. He was cute with her boy, he’d been fun
to  flirt  with,  and  ooh,  could  he  move!  She’d  been
around  athletes  a  long  time—she’d  been  on  track
scholarship  at  the  University  of  Alabama,  and  in
her  senior  year  she’d  married  a  football  player
who’d  gone  on  to  play  for  the  Denver  Broncos—
but  watching  Caleb  move  was  poetry  in  action.
What  would  he  think  if  he  knew  that  not  only  did
Krew have a poster of him on his bedroom wall, but

Emily  paused  to  stare  into  those  blue,  blue  eyes
every time she walked past it? And maybe she blew
kisses at his charming smile, imagining she’d see it
directed at herself one day. She smirked to herself.
Dreams  did  come  true.  She  couldn’t  believe  she’d
needed Krew to help her connect the dots, but who
truly  thought  a  superstar  like  Caleb  Jewel  would
just waltz through the neighborhood park?

That poster of Caleb infuriated her ex-husband,

Jeff.  He  thought  his  son  should  hang  his  special
edition  Denver  Broncos  poster  on  the  wall.  She’d
told  him  that  maybe  Krew  would,  if  his  father
wasn’t  a  dirtbag.  For  some  reason  her  comment
hadn’t gone over well.

Caleb snuck some looks her direction,

unbothered  that  she  was  watching  him  openly.  Of
course, she was watching her son, but Caleb was a
beautiful addition to the view. He gave her a smile
and a wink, then went back to tossing the ball with
Krew  and  offering  instruction  and  praise.  He
showed  a  million  times  more  patience  and  interest
than Krew’s own father ever had. She scowled, and
Caleb  sent  her  a  concerned  glance.  Forcing  her
features  to  smooth  out,  she  didn’t  let  herself  think
about Jeff again.

The light was fading, and she figured she’d

better get Krew home for dinner, stories, prayer,
and bedtime. He was in first grade now, all-day
school, and he always struggled in the morning. His

little  body  craved  more  sleep.  She  didn’t  like  him
leaving  her  for  school,  but  she  did  like  having  the
time  to  work.  For  the  first  time  since  college
graduation  six  years  ago,  she  was  able  to  work  in
her  field  of  home  design,  and  she  was  rocking  it.
“Krew, we’d better go.”

Krew groaned, but Caleb murmured something

that made her son’s adorable face lit up. He fist-
bumped Caleb and obediently trotted to her side.

“Did you have fun?” she asked.
“The best! Time! Ever!” Krew cheered.

“Harley will never believe it.” Harley was Krew’s
best friend and the son of Mylee, Emily’s best
friend and next-door neighbor.

Caleb walked their direction, holding on to his

shorty  lacrosse  stick.  It  was  funny  how  in  Krew’s
hands,  that  same  stick  looked  huge,  but  compared
to  Caleb’s  tall,  strong  frame,  it  looked  like  a
toothpick in a giant’s hands. Her ex was a hulking,
muscular  man,  a  defensive  end  for  the  Broncos.
She  should  be  used  to  viewing  well-built  muscles,
but  Caleb’s  long,  lean,  succulent  build  was  more
impressive  than  Jeff’s.  She  may  or  may  not  have
licked her lips.

“Did you tell Mr. Jewel thank you?” Emily

asked.

Krew looked up at her in disgust. “What do you

think?” he sassed.

Emily gave him a sharp look and a raised finger.

Krew sighed. “Yes, Mama, you taught me how

to use my manners.”

“Well, use them with me, then.”
“Please forgive me for giving you cheek,

Mama.” He gave her a brief hug.

Caleb was smiling at the interaction.
“Thank you kindly, sir,” Emily said to Caleb,

her voice much too breathy. She thought she’d held
her own pretty well, considering she was in the
presence of a superstar, but it was getting to her.
“That was unbelievably sweet of you.”

“My pleasure,” Caleb teased. “I’m just a sweet

guy. Can I walk you home?”

She tilted her head. Was he just being

gentlemanly,  or  did  he  want  to  know  so  he  could
find  her  again?  He  was  Caleb  Jewel,  so  she  knew
she could trust him, but playing the demure damsel
wasn’t  her  style.  Her  mama  claimed  she  was  born
with piss and vinegar on her tongue.

“Well now,” she drawled out like a Southern

belle. She loved her heritage and made sure to use
Southern  expressions  often  to  keep  it  real  in  her
and  Krew’s  minds,  living  out  here  amongst
Westerners  like  they  were.  “We  don’t  allow
handsome strangers to walk us home.” Flipping her
hair over her shoulder, she took Krew by the hand
and  said,  “Come  along.  We’ll  see  Mr.  Jewel  at  his
next  lacrosse  game.”  As  his  season  had  recently
finished,  it  would  be  May  before  his  next  game.

Seven long months. She hoped he’d protest.

Krew reluctantly let her lead him down the

sidewalk, craning his neck to look at Caleb over his
shoulder.

“Not soon enough,” Caleb said from behind

them.

Emily spun around and put her free hand on her

hip. “Not soon enough for you?”

He sauntered closer, a meaningful look in his

eyes. My, oh my, those eyes were as blue as they’d
been  on  that  poster,  definitely  not  touched  up  like
she’d  thought.  They  were  magnetic.  “Not  soon
enough  for  you.  I’d  hate  to  deprive  you  of  more
time with your idol.”

She lifted her own eyebrows. No way was he

getting the truth out of her on that one. “Krew’s
idol, not mine.”

“You

sure?”

His

eyes

got

downright

mischievous. “Krew told me you like to blow kisses
at my poster.”

“Oh!” Emily’s mouth dropped open and her

face filled with heat. “That’s it. Krew Gehring, you
are scrubbing the toilets after school tomorrow.”

Krew looked up at her, so cute in his confusion

as to what he’d done wrong. “Why, Mama? You do
blow kisses at his poster.”

Emily felt like the worst mom ever, chastising

her son because of her humiliation. Once they were
safely back home, she’d take away the punishment

and hopefully not confuse him with her mixed
signals.

Caleb’s chuckle was warm, delicious, and filled

her up from the outside in. Yet he was chuckling
because he was laughing at how she blew kisses at
his poster. Humiliation complete.

Emily tilted her chin. “My son must’ve misread

my signals. Let me demonstrate exactly what I was
doing when I saw your poster.”

Caleb raised his eyebrows, and his eyes

widened with a challenge.

She ushered Krew ahead a few paces. “Look

that way now, honey child.” She put the steel in her
tone to let him know that this was not the time to
challenge her.

“Okay, Mama.” Krew pushed out a heavy sigh

and stared determinedly toward the fence
surrounding their neighborhood.

Emily had no problem sassing anyone, but she

wondered if her next move was pushing it, even for
her. Yet she couldn’t back down, not while Caleb
was giving her that bold look.

“So what do you do when you see my poster?”

he asked, his eyes twinkling with humor and
anticipation. He seemed to appreciate flirting with
her as much as she did with him.

Emily took a deep breath. She blew a kiss at

him. “Kiss …”

He pumped his eyebrows and gave her such a

sexy, smoldering look that she swayed on the spot.
It was all she could do to keep going with the farce.

She pointed to herself. “My …”
His smile grew. He knew where she was going

with this, and he was daring her to finish. Oh, she’d
finish.

Whipping around, she pointed at her rear.

“Behind,” she mouthed at him, not wanting Krew
to hear how crass she was being.

Caleb threw back his head and laughed so loud,

it was impossible not to join in with him. She was
glad he hadn’t been offended by her teasing and
she had an overwhelming feeling that she’d just met
her match.

Krew whipped around and asked, “What? What

did you say, Mama?”

“Never you mind, my sweet boy.” She took his

hand firmly. “Goodbye, Mr. Jewel,” she called over
her shoulder.

“No, no way.” Caleb strode determinedly

toward them. “If you won’t let me walk you home,
you have to at least give me your phone number.”

“No.” She was tempted, but she was only eight

months out of a horrific marriage, and despite all
her sass, she wasn’t quite ready to rock the boat
with Jeff yet.

She’d been awarded a huge child support

settlement because of how well her ex did with
football and the fact that she hadn’t been working

at  the  time.  Jeff  had  been  granted  one  weekend  a
month and six weeks in the summer with Krew. She
hadn’t wanted to take away his rights with his son,
but  the  custody  arrangement  had  terrified  her.  Jeff
had  been  a  good  guy  when  they’d  married,  but  a
combination  of  his  natural  aggression  and  far  too
many  vicious  hits  to  the  head  had  made  him
unstable emotionally and often downright mean. In
his  more  lucid  moments,  he  used  to  recognize  that
he  scared  her  and  Krew.  Lately,  he  just  seemed
crazy.

He’d taken Krew on his first weekend away

after the divorce, and Krew had come back with a
terrified  look  in  his  eyes  and  would  only  tell  her
that  “Daddy  was  scary.”  Emily  cornered  Jeff,
demanding  to  know  what  he’d  done  to  their  child.
The  judge  and  family  case  workers  had  claimed
that  Jeff  could  be  trusted  with  their  child,  and  the
lawyers  had  convinced  her  that  it  was  a  good
custody  arrangement,  but  Emily  had  known  right
then  that  she  should’ve  fought  harder  for  only
supervised  visits.  Jeff  had  claimed  that  he  hadn’t
“coddled the wimp” like she always did, and maybe
if  their  son  played  a  real  sport,  he  wouldn’t  be
“such a wuss.”

She’d gotten fired up, and they’d fought. Emily

couldn’t  stand  the  thought  of  Krew  being  belittled
by  his  own  father  for  not  playing  his  sport.  She’d
told  Jeff  she  was  giving  up  all  child  support  and

fighting for him to lose all visitation.

Then he’d surprised her by changing tactics,

apologizing  and  saying  maybe  he’d  been  too  hard
on the kid. He’d asked her not to make them both
go  through  court  again.  Last  time,  it  had  dragged
his  name  through  the  mud  and  been  hard  on  his
football image and fan sales. Everything was about
football and his image to him. They’d both spent a
lot  of  his  money  on  lawyers,  not  to  mention
sacrificed  a  great  deal  of  time—Emily  had  to  be
away  from  Krew,  and  Jeff  had  missed  important
workouts  and  practices  with  the  home  evaluations
and  court-ordered  appearances.  He’d  promised
Emily that he would only come visit when she was
present,  that  Krew  would  never  have  to  be  alone
with him, and that she could keep the child support.
His only stipulation was that she had to promise not
to date anyone until they’d been divorced at least a
year, giving the media a chance to settle about their
publicized  divorce  by  keeping  her  out  of  the
limelight  and  not  getting  photographed  with  other
men. Then he would leave her and Krew alone.

She’d agreed. It wasn’t in writing, but for the

past  eight  months,  he’d  kept  his  end  of  the  deal,
hardly ever showing up at all, and she’d kept hers,
not  dating  anyone.  Though  she’d  been  asked  out
often,  it  hadn’t  been  much  of  a  problem  …  She
glanced over the handsome face of Caleb Jewel …
until now.

“No?” Caleb sidled in closer with a confident

grin. “Did you just tell me no?”

Obviously, he’d never heard the word before, at

least  not  from  a  woman  he  wanted  to  pursue.  He
didn’t  believe  she  meant  it  now.  Did  he  want  to
pursue  her?  The  very  thought  gave  her  heart
palpitations  and  good  chills.  Yet  this  man  was  a
handsome,  single  playboy.  He  didn’t  need  or  want
the baggage of Emily’s ex, and she shouldn’t take a
risk  on  a  well-known  lacrosse  player  who’d  only
want a fling. That would drive Jeff more nuts than
usual.  Not  to  mention  that  Krew  already  adored
Caleb,  and  Krew  would  be  devastated  if  Caleb
ditched them for the next beautiful model.

“Let me spell the unfamiliar word out to you.

N-O.” She grinned, enjoying their banter. “Deal
with it, big boy.” She turned and walked away
again.

“Meet me here tomorrow at five?” he asked

behind them.

Krew looked up at her. “Please, Mama,

please?”

It wasn’t a date, Emily reasoned. Caleb was

working  with  Krew  on  lacrosse.  Krew  loved
lacrosse. They’d just treat Caleb like a coach. Krew
hadn’t  played  on  an  official  team  yet,  but  coaches
came and went, and he’d have to learn how to deal
with  that.  She  wasn’t  giving  in  to  this  impressive
man,  she  was  teaching  Krew  to  be  resilient  for

when Caleb inevitably left them both.

She glanced back at Caleb. “You pray extra

hard, and we’ll see tomorrow night if your wish is
granted.”

Caleb bowed slightly, his eyes glinting at her.

“I’ll do that.”

She smiled as she tugged Krew along the

sidewalk  and  to  the  pathway  that  led  to  their
neighborhood.  It  wasn’t  a  date.  She  could  easily
justify  spending  more  time  around  that  beautiful
man  without  feeling  guilty  that  she  was  breaking
her promise to Jeff. At the same time, she couldn’t
remember when she’d last been this excited.

CHAPTER TWO

mily should’ve been ashamed of herself for
all the effort she made to gussie up for

walking to the park the next night. Last night, she’d
been  in  a  long-sleeved  T-shirt  and  yoga  pants  with
no  makeup  and  her  hair  pulled  tightly  back.
Tonight, she was wearing a pale pink tank top that
flattered her dark coloring, a white jacket, and her
best  jeans—Forever  Karlie  jeans  in  a  dark  wash
with just the right amount of rips to show off some
smooth skin. She did her makeup in an understated
way  so  it  wouldn’t  be  obvious  she  was  a  try-hard
tonight. She pulled her black, curly hair into a low
ponytail.  It  showed  off  her  neck  and  shoulders
better but still looked casual. It also kept the focus
on her face yet softened her features.

“Are you ready, Mama?” Krew had been

chomping at the bit since he got home from school

at three-thirty.

She understood his excitement. Caleb Jewel.

Ooh.  She  wanted  to  squeal  and  do  a  cheerleader
jump  in  the  air.  She’d  blown  many  kisses  at  his
poster  today,  while  Krew  was  at  school  and
couldn’t  see  her.  “Yes,  child,  let’s  do  this.”  She
smiled brightly at him.

Krew whooped and did a sort-of cheerleader

jump in the air. Clinging to his lacrosse stick and a
ball, he rushed in front of her and out the front
door. It was a beautiful late fall evening, and Emily
let the soft, dying sunlight kiss her face. She said a
silent prayer of gratitude. She and Krew were
happy and—for the most part—safe from Jeff. Her
parents were healthy, and her siblings were faithful
and currently on the right side of the law. She was
satisfied with work aplenty, and she had much more
money than she needed between her recent success
with her career and the twenty grand a month from
Jeff. Best of all, she was going to meet Caleb Jewel
at the park with her boy. Yes, life was good, and the
Lord above should be praised.

“And I practiced since I got home from school,

and Caleb is going to be super jacked that I
listened. My shot is stinging the top shelf, Mama,”
Krew prattled on. Emily listened, but her thoughts
raced ahead to one fine-looking lacrosse superstar.
Caleb Jewel. Mm-hmm.

“Where are you going, all hot and ready for

some action?” Mylee hollered from her front porch.
Their neighborhood was spacious with large lots,
but Emily’s and Mylee’s front porches were close
enough that they could call to each other.

Emily glared at her friend and called back, “I

am walking to the park, Miss Busybody, to spend
some time with my son.”

Mylee cackled and danced off her porch to

meet them on the sidewalk. “Gig’s up, sassy pants.
Harley  told  me  that  Krew  told  him  that  you  met
Caleb  Jewel  at  the  park  and  you’re  meeting  him
again.”  She  smacked  Emily  on  the  rear.  “My,  oh
my, you are looking good, my friend.”

Emily froze, unsure how to respond to her best

friend. They talked several times a day, and yes
Emily had omitted mentioning Caleb Jewel. “It’s,
um … just for Krew.”

Mylee’s blue gaze said she knew that Emily was

lying.

“Where’s Harley?” Krew interrupted. “Can he

come with us?”

“Sorry, love.” Mylee bent down and gave Krew

a quick hug. “Harley’s with his daddy; they got
given passes to watch a Broncos practice.”

“Oh.” Krew’s face fell. He wasn’t into football

—maybe it was his way of rebelling against his
father—but he knew his own daddy played for the
Broncos. They got tickets and went to some games,
but it was sad how few privileges Krew actually got

with  a  dad  on  the  team,  especially  as  Jeff  often
raged  about  how  Krew  should  be  into  football,  a
“real man’s sport.” Harley, on the other hand, went
to  Broncos  practice  and  games  all  the  time,  as  his
dad,  Vance,  was  a  mortgage  broker  who  got  free
tickets  to  everything.  There  was  also  the  small
matter of Vance being a loving husband and father
who  wanted  his  child  around  and  enjoyed  him,  no
matter  what  sport  Harley  chose  to  be  obsessed
with.  Vance  was  a  good  guy,  and  quite  often,  he
included Krew in their adventures while Mylee and
Emily had some girl time.

“He would’ve taken you,” Mylee explained,

“but  I  told  him  you’d  rather  be  with  Caleb  Jewel.
Harley  begged  to  stay  and  meet  Caleb  Jewel  also,
but  Vance  thought  maybe  the  three  of  you  wanted
some  …”  She  dropped  her  voice  dramatically,
tossing her spiky blond hair. “… alone time.”

“I’m sorry I didn’t tell you,” Emily rushed to

say. “It’s only for Krew. I wasn’t trying to leave
you or Harley out.”

“Girl!” Mylee snapped her fingers in her face.

“I’m not mad at you. If I could get Caleb Jewel
alone, I’d do it in a second.”

Emily shook her head. Mylee was completely in

love with Vance, but she also loved to tease. “I’m
not getting him alone. It’s for Krew.”

“Uh-huh. And I wear my two-hundred-dollar

designer jeans to go to the grocery store because

the meat guy is … smoking hot.”

“You’re a hot mess, that’s what you are,” Emily

shot back, relieved that her friend wasn’t upset that
she’d kept a secret. “We’ll take our leave now.”

“Talk him into walking you home so I can drool

from my front porch,” Mylee begged as Emily
ushered Krew toward the walkway to the park.

Emily thought of how Caleb had offered to

walk  them  home  last  night.  She’d  been  mighty
tempted,  but  she  had  four  more  months  until  she
could  date.  When  she’d  made  that  promise,  she’d
been  relieved  to  not  go  through  lawyers  and  the
court runaround again, and she’d also been certain
she  wouldn’t  want  to  look  at  a  man  for  ten  years.
She’d fallen in love with Jeff in college and thought
they  were  going  to  live  happily  ever  after.  He’d
gradually  gotten  more  unstable  and  volatile
throughout their marriage. The only thing he wasn’t
erratic  about  was  his  obsession  with  football.  Six
years of trying to keep the peace and not knowing
how  he’d  react  from  moment  to  moment  was
enough  to  cure  her  of  wanting  to  date.  Yet  who
could’ve  predicted  that  the  Caleb  Jewel  would
show up at her park?

She was getting ahead of herself. He wasn’t

begging her for a date, yet he had asked to walk her
home and for her phone number. She waved a hand
to Mylee and called, “Watch Netflix; it’ll be much
more exciting.”

“Nope. I’m curling up on this porch swing with

a bag of Swedish Fish and a Jennifer Youngblood
novel and waiting for my show. Don’t let me
down.”

Emily ignored her friend and kept walking,

smiling to herself. She wished she could give Mylee
a show, but that wasn’t happening. Maybe in six
more months.

They broke through the tree-lined path—the

fall  colors  were  gorgeous  this  year—and  entered
the  beautiful  park.  Walking  down  the  sidewalk
toward the field where they’d met Caleb last night,
Emily  found  her  stomach  fluttering  and  her  palms
sweaty. Krew bounced slightly by her side, cradling
the  ball  in  his  stick.  The  ball  slid  out  and  went
rolling; he ran for it, scooping it up and then taking
off toward the field.

Emily watched her son and saw the target he

was focused on. “Caleb,” she breathed out.

When she’d seen Caleb last night, he’d looked

great in a nicely fitted T-shirt and joggers. Tonight,
it appeared that he’d taken some extra care as well.
His  golden-brown  hair  was  styled  away  from  his
face. He was wearing a pale blue Henley that could
have  been  designed  for  his  muscular  upper  body,
showcasing bicep muscles that had her mouth going
dry,  and  dark  gray  chino  pants  that  moved  fluidly
with his leg muscles. My, oh my.

He greeted Krew with a fist bump and ruffled

the  little  man’s  curly  hair.  Jeff  had  stick-straight
blond hair, Emily’s own daddy was a redhead, and
her  mama  was  as  dark  as  a  finely  brewed  cup  of
delectable  coffee.  Krew  had  gotten  a  nice  mix  of
everyone with his caramel skin and his sleek, dark-
brown  curls.  Emily’s  own  curls  were  a  little  too
rambunctious at times.

Caleb glanced over Krew’s head and met her

gaze.  His  mouth  fell  open  slightly  as  his  eyes
traveled  over  her,  so  slowly  that  there  was  no
question  he  was  taking  her  all  in,  and  so  warmly
that there was no question he approved of what he
saw.

Emily found herself breathing quicker, and she

was very, very grateful she’d made an effort with
her appearance tonight.

Caleb put his hand on her son’s shoulder and

directed him back toward Emily. She appreciated
that he hadn’t forgotten about her child and that he
wanted to get up close and personal. Stopping right
in front of her, Caleb said softly, “Emily … you’re
exquisitely beautiful.”

Emily put a hand to her throat. “I bet you say

that to all the ladies.”

Caleb shook his head shortly. “I’ve never met a

woman as beautiful as you.”

Emily had no clue how to respond. Her throat

was dry, and her hand trembled against it.

“Can we play now?” Krew begged, tugging on

Caleb’s arm.

“Of course, little man.” Caleb gestured back

toward  the  field,  where  a  camp  chair  was  set  up
next  to  a  small  table.  “I  thought  you  might  like  a
chair  and  some  snacks  and  drinks  while  you
watched,” he told Emily.

She blinked in surprise. “Wow, um, thank you

kindly.”  So  he  was  not  only  incredibly  good-
looking,  excellent  with  her  son,  witty,  and  an
impressive,  successful  athlete;  he  was  also
thoughtful. Wow, oh wow.

He put a hand on the small of her back and

walked  her  to  the  chair.  Emily  trembled  from  the
warmth of his touch searing through her jacket and
shirt.  She  didn’t  think  this  could  be  considered  a
date,  but  she  was  grateful  that  Jeff  rarely  came
around. If he saw her with this incredible man, his
jealousy  would  kick  into  overdrive.  Four  more
months. Sheesh. She was in trouble.

Caleb  had  seen  many  a  beautiful  woman,  dated
many  a  beautiful  woman.  He’d  never  been  drawn
in  like  he  was  by  this  gorgeous  female.  He  tried
hard  to  focus  on  teaching  the  adorable  little  man,
but  his  thoughts  and  his  eyes  strayed  often  to
Emily.  He  needed  some  questions  answered,  he

needed to ask her out on a date, and he needed to
simply be closer to her.

His brain was mush from too many times of

staring at Emily in awe rather than thinking straight.
Her pale pink top complemented her almond-
colored skin and dark eyes. If he ran his hand over
one smooth shoulder, would she smack him? He
was willing to try at this point. She was driving him
to distraction.

Krew was doing great, but Caleb was racking

his brain for a drill that would keep him distracted
so he could flirt with the little guy’s mom. “Okay.
We need to work on ground balls and cradling,” he
said.

“Yes, sir.” Krew saluted him, mostly respectful,

but the kid had a smart-alecky streak that had to be
from his mother. Caleb loved it. These were his
kind of people.

“I’m going to stand by your mama and toss the

ball, and you’ll have to run for it, scoop it, and then
cradle to the end of the field and back. Got it?”

“Yes!” Krew was lit up with excitement just

like he’d been for the last hour. This kid lived and
breathed lacrosse. He was perfect.

Caleb walked over to Emily. She smiled a warm

greeting from her chair. She’d drunk one of the
sparkling ice drinks but hadn’t touched the snacks.
She stood as he approached.

“Hey,” she said softly, running her hand along

the outside of her thigh.

Caleb thought it might be a nervous gesture, but

it made his heart pump faster. Had she lost her sass
from  last  night?  He’d  liked  that  sass  a  lot,  but  he
liked  the  idea  that  he  made  her  nervous  too.  Oh
boy.  He  needed  to  slow  down.  He  wasn’t  big  on
commitment  or  responsibility,  and  these  two
deserved both. “Hey,” he said.

“I’m ready,” Krew called.
“All right.” Caleb slung the ball from his

lacrosse stick, and it flew over Krew’s head and
bounced across the deserted field. Caleb was glad
that this section of the park was relatively quiet.

“What kind of drill is this?” Emily asked,

standing next to him.

Caleb glanced down at her, getting a whiff of a

light, sweet scent like honeyed lilacs. She was tall
for a woman, a couple inches shy of six feet, but he
was six-four. Her height fit him as perfectly as her
sass did. “Ground balls,” he said.

“Really? I was thinking you could call it ‘make

the adorable child run so you can have a minute
alone to flirt with the mama.’”

Caleb grinned. There was that sass, and she was

encouraging him to flirt, right? “Was I really so
transparent?” he asked.

“Yes, sir.” Yet there was something vulnerable

in her eyes, something just for him. He wanted to
earn her trust. He wanted to be the one to step up

and  love  and  be  there  for  these  two.  Wow.  He’d
never  felt  anything  like  this  before.  Wouldn’t  his
brothers  be  chortling  with  glee  if  they  could  hear
his  thoughts?  Caleb  hadn’t  even  thought  of
pranking Emily; flirting with her was more fun than
any  prank  he’d  been  involved  in.  He  should  be
terrified with the switch, but he was thrilled with it.
He  could  still  get  lots  of  pranks  in  with  his  own
siblings,  especially  Seth.  Just  yesterday,  he’d  had
thirty-seven  pizzas  delivered  to  Seth  and  Breeze’s
fancy  motorhome.  Seth  had  thought  it  was
hilarious,  and  all  of  the  nearby  motocross  crews
had loved the pizza.

Krew raced the length of the field and headed

the other direction, cradling the ball in his stick.

“You didn’t like the snacks?” Caleb asked,

gesturing to the table.

“You don’t get this shape by popping in peanut

M&Ms like they’re candy,” Emily said.

Caleb grinned. So she knew that she was fit and

appealing? Good for her. “You look great, but they
are candy.”

“You know what I mean.” She put a hand on

her  hip  and  tossed  her  long  ponytail,  but  then  she
gave  him  the  sweetest  smile  he’d  ever  seen.  Her
lips  were  beautiful,  full  and  irresistible.  His  mind
was  racing  ahead  to  many  evenings  spent  at  the
park with her and Krew; then it raced further ahead
to  many  dates,  sometimes  with  Krew  with  them,

sometimes  all  alone  so  Caleb  could  get  a  taste  of
those  luscious  lips.  “Thank  you  for  the  treats  and
drinks,” she said. “It was mighty thoughtful of you.
I  thought  the  three  of  us  could  share  them  after
y’all get done.”

“I like that idea.”
Krew raced back with the ball and drilled it

their way. Caleb instinctively snatched it out of the
air with his stick, before it could smack Emily in
the abdomen.

“Nice catch,” she said.
“Thanks. Careful where you throw it,” he

cautioned Krew.

“Sorry, Coach. Sorry, Mama.” Krew grinned up

at them, only partially repentant.

Coach? Caleb liked the sound of that. He liked

children, but this little man was special. Where was
Krew’s dad? He slung the ball down the field and
called, “You got this, Krew!”

“Yes, sir!” Krew took off running.
“You sure you shouldn’t be working more on

his passing?” Emily asked dryly.

Caleb chuckled. “It’ll come. He’s a natural.”
Emily nodded. “Thanks, and thanks for doing

this with him. He’s in heaven.”

“I’m enjoying it.” Did he tell her he’d been

drawn to her more than he’d been drawn to time
spent playing lacrosse? Had he ever had such a
crazy thought in his life? “Did his dad or you play?”

She shook her head quickly, focused on her

child rather than him. “I ran track.”

He waited for something about Krew’s dad, but

she didn’t give him anything more. “Ah, that
explains why you look like an athlete, but Krew
said your awful passes were making him ‘clutch.’”

She laughed. “You noticed that, huh? Yeah, I

can run, bike, swim, anything individual, but you
throw a ball at me and I’ll duck and scream.”

Caleb smiled. “I won’t ever throw a ball at

you.”

“See that you don’t.” She gave him that sassy,

sexy, fun look.

Whew. He was a mess for this woman, and it

was  only  day  two.  Was  it  the  added  bonus  of  the
adorable  Krew  who  worshipped  him,  or  could
Emily stand all on her own with capturing him like
no  one  ever  had?  He  didn’t  want  to  dredge  it  up,
but he needed to know. “And his dad? Did he play
lacrosse?”

She looked away. “His dad plays football, for

the Broncos.”

Caleb whipped to look at her. Her smooth jaw

was tight, and her full lips were pressed thinner.
“Gehring … Jeff Gehring?” he asked.

She nodded shortly and focused on Krew, who

was racing back to them, panting for air from his
run down the field and back.

Caleb caught the pass from Krew. “Nice job,

bud. The cradling looks good. Nobody’s getting that
ball from you.”

“Thanks, Coach!”
Caleb launched the ball down the field, and

Krew saluted them with his stick and then took off
after  the  ball,  a  bit  slower  this  time.  Caleb
considered  what  he  knew  about  Jeff  Gehring.  He
was  an  impressive  athlete—not  a  superstar,  but  a
solid player who’d been with the Broncos for three
years, traded from the Patriots.

“You know him?” Emily asked.
“You can’t live in Denver and not know the

Broncos players.” He gave her what he hoped was
a reassuring smile. He noticed she lost her spice as
they  talked  about  her  ex.  The  guy  was  aggressive
on  the  field,  had  a  reputation  for  being  downright
mean.  This  season  he’d  had  some  nasty  hits,
accumulating  penalties  and  fines  that  had
commentators  wondering  if  other  players’  safety
was a concern with Gehring on the field.

Had he …? Caleb’s neck tightened. “Was he …

rough with you or Krew?” Krew was moving much
slower than the previous rounds; he’d finished his
laps on the field and was walking-slash-jogging
back toward them.

“Not horribly. Mean, sometimes scary when he

got upset, but he never hurt either of us physically.”
She darted a gaze his way.

Caleb read between the lines and decided that

he was going to find Jeff Gehring and thrash the
guy. Jeff scared her, even if he hadn’t hurt her
physically.

“Don’t get all overprotective jock on me,”

Emily cautioned.

Caleb’s eyebrows rose. “Was I that obvious?”
Her full, beautiful smile came out. “You looked

like you were going to track him down and rip his
arms off, like Fezzik from The Princess Bride.” She
imitated the Spaniard’s voice. “‘Fezzik, rip his arms
off.’”

Caleb returned her smile, though his gut was

still churning. “That was only part of my evil plan.”

“What was the other part?”
“I own a fireworks shop. I was going to set up

my best aerial display, aimed right at whatever
fancy car he drives, and set it off right as he walks
out of practice.”

Emily burst out laughing. “Dinging up his

Ferrari would definitely hurt him worse than
slamming your fist into his hard head.”

Krew trotted up to them, panting for air. He

looked exhausted.

Caleb couldn’t in good conscience chuck the

ball again. “Your mama says we need to work on
passing and catching.”

Krew blew out an exaggerated breath. “Good. I

can’t run any more; my legs might fall off.”

They both laughed. Caleb tossed him a water

bottle, and he chugged a few drinks.

Then they walked a short distance away and

worked on sharp passes, but his mind was on Emily.
She’d  been  in  an  abusive  relationship.  Even  if  he
hadn’t hurt them physically, she’d said that Jeff had
been  “mean,  sometimes  scary.”  Had  she  healed?
Did  that  loser  still  have  any  contact  with  her  or
Krew? Caleb didn’t take much in life seriously, but
sometimes things hit him hard—like when his sister
Rachel had been badly burned in an explosion last
summer,  and  when  he’d  found  out  his  twin’s
fiancée,  Breeze,  had  been  abused  as  a  child.  He
wanted to right those wrongs.

He glanced over at Emily. She was still standing

next to the chair, looking gorgeous with her long,
dark hair, her smooth skin, her dark eyes, and her
full lips. Could he right her wrongs? Would she let
him?

CHAPTER THREE

he next night was cooler outside, so Emily
wore a long-sleeved pale blue T-shirt, a black

jacket,  and  black  pants.  As  they’d  left  last  night,
Krew  had  asked  Caleb  if  he  could  invite  his  best
friend  along,  and  Caleb  had  been  great  about  it.
Now Harley and Krew bounced in front of them as
Emily and Mylee followed them to the park. Emily
was  nervous  and  excited  to  see  Caleb  again,  and
she  wondered  what  unpredictable  flavor  Mylee
might  throw  into  the  mix.  Her  friend  was  funnier
and  sassier  than  her,  and  sometimes  people  didn’t
know  how  to  handle  that,  but  if  anybody  could
handle  some  spice,  it  was  Caleb.  In  a  way,  Emily
wanted  to  selfishly  keep  him  to  herself,  but  she
couldn’t  in  good  conscience  do  that.  It  wasn’t  just
that  she  adored  Mylee  and  Harley;  they’d  also
introduced  Krew  to  lacrosse,  which  Krew  enjoyed

despite his father’s disappointment. No matter how
Jeff loathed it, Krew lived and breathed lacrosse.

Mylee was chattering about their grumpy old

neighbor,  Carl.  Carl  had  cussed  Krew  and  Harley
out  for  throwing  a  lacrosse  ball  onto  his  lawn  and
stepping  on  the  grass  to  retrieve  it,  then  brought
Mylee  Crumbl  cookies  the  same  day  to  thank  her
for  picking  up  garbage  in  the  neighborhood.  “I
swear  Carl  is  completely  losing  it,”  she  griped.
“How  could  you  yell  at  angels  like  these  two  and
then act all nice to the adult? Ooh, it just burns me
to bite my tongue.”

“I can imagine it does.” Emily smiled. Mylee

biting her tongue was rare indeed. “But I do think
he’s going a little senile.”

They entered the park and walked toward the

field. Mylee grumbled, “A little? The man’s bat-
crap cra— … cra— … Holy shnikies, he’s even
more gorgeous in person!”

Caleb stood waiting by two chairs and a small

table, grinning their direction.

“Carl?” Emily asked dryly.
“Who cares about Carl?” Mylee grabbed her

arm and dug her fingernails in. “How do you even
talk to the Caleb Jewel? Look at that body. Look at
that face. Look at those eyes.” She let out a dreamy
sigh that turned into a squeal. “Ooh my, I’m gonna
pee my pants.”

Emily pulled her arm away. “Please say you

wore your Depends.”

Mylee didn’t even glare at her, she was so

focused  on  ogling  Caleb.  Krew  and  Harley  ran
over,  and  Caleb  bent  down  to  their  level  and  fist-
bumped  both  of  them,  focusing  on  them  as  if  they
were the most important people in his world.

“Oh my, oh my,” Mylee was muttering under

her breath. “He’s cute with kids too.” She turned to
Emily and grabbed her arm again. “Has my eyeliner
run? Do I need lip gloss? Is he the most gorgeous
human you’ve ever seen?”

Emily rescued her arm, shaking her head. “No,

Krew is.”

“Ugh! You know what I mean.” She fluffed her

short blonde hair.

“I’ve got two words for you, friend.”
“Yes?” Mylee leaned forward, as if anxiously

waiting those words.

“Vance Harmon … your husband.”
“That’s four words. Don’t get your bra straps

twisted, I’m just drooling. I’m not going to act on it
and attack Caleb Jewel. No matter how badly I
want to,” she muttered under her breath. Then she
shot Emily an imperious glare. “You know I love
my Vance.”

Emily arched her eyebrows.
“Hey.” Caleb walked up to them. He looked

glorious in a fitted gray T-shirt and navy-blue pants.
“Good to see you, Emily. You look beautiful … as

always.”

“Hi.” Emily ducked her chin and felt her face

heat up.

“Whoo-ee! The man knows how to slide in a

compliment. Can I just say that I’ve loved you for
years from afar, but in person you make my blood
run hotter?” Mylee asked.

Caleb’s eyebrows lifted, but he chuckled easily,

as if he was used to married women throwing
themselves at him. He extended his hand. “Caleb
Jewel. Pleasure to meet you …”

“Mylee Harmon. I kiss your poster every night.

Don’t tell my husband,” she hastened to add. “Oh
crap, did I just admit I have a husband? Oh, my
flapping tongue.”

Caleb laughed. “Well, at least you kiss my

poster. Emily does something else to my poster.”
He gave her a significant look.

Emily pressed her lips together, hiding a smile.

She glanced at her friend and said, “Gig’s up, sassy
pants. He knows about your awesome husband.
Stop flirting.”

Mylee whacked her on the rear. It stung. “Gig’s

up, sassy pants. I know you blow kisses at his
poster. Krew got a picture of it and texted it to us
just last week.”

Caleb was grinning broadly. “Thank you,

Mylee. I knew she was hiding the truth.”

“Coach.” Krew tugged on his shirt. “Can we

play now?”

“Of course.”
Caleb winked at Emily and then blew her a kiss

before turning and heading out to the field with
Krew and Harley.

Mylee sank into one of the chairs and fanned

herself. “Just take me to heaven right now. Saints
above, I love that man. Please say you’re going to
date him.”

Emily sat gingerly in the chair next to her friend

and watched the practice progress. Harley and
Krew were doing great, but it was hard to not focus
on Caleb. Just the way he moved made her blood
run hotter like Mylee had said earlier. “You know I
can’t date anybody until March.”

“No!” Mylee groaned. “That jerk-bait loser …

Jeff.” She said his name like a curse word. “I hate
that you agreed to that.”

“Would you rather I exposed Krew to a

weekend every month and six weeks in the summer
alone with the ‘jerk-bait loser’?”

Mylee grimaced and shook her head. “No.

You’re right. We can’t let our little man be subject
to Mr. Moody Moose. Ooh, I loathe him!” She
leaned forward as Caleb scooped a ball off the
ground. “Dang it, this bites the big one. Four more
months until you can date our new hottie friend?”

“Yeah.”
“Well, at least this isn’t a date. Just keep

coming to practice with your son every night.”

“What am I going to do when the snow flies?”
“We’ll find an indoor facility.”
Emily laughed. Despite her backside still

smarting from the hit, she loved her friend.

The time flew by as she and Mylee chatted,

mostly about Caleb’s patience with the boys,
sometimes about how good he looked, occasionally
about some neighborhood gossip.

As the sun set, the air cooled, and Caleb, Krew,

and  Harley  jogged  their  direction.  They  each
downed  a  water  bottle  and  ate  some  of  the  snacks
as  Krew  and  Harley  chattered  excitedly  about
different  moves  they’d  learned  or  improved  at.
“Mama,  did  you  see?”  was  asked  many  times.  All
the  while,  Caleb  kept  sharing  conspiratorial  smiles
and glances with Emily.

Mylee scooped up all the garbage and said to

the boys. “Daddy just called, and he wants to take
you two for ice cream.” Emily smiled, knowing
Mylee’s phone hadn’t rung but Vance would be
great about taking them for ice cream.

“Yes!” Krew and Harley exchanged fist bumps

and started to race for home.

“Thanks, Coach!” Harley yelled. “You’re the

bestestest!”

Krew turned back, ran to Caleb, hugged him

fiercely around the middle, and said, “Thanks,
Coach.” Then he ran back to meet his friend.

Caleb looked a little stunned but mostly pleased

by  Krew’s  impulsive  hug.  Emily  put  a  hand  to  her
stomach.  Krew  hugged  her  dad  and  brothers  when
he saw them, but they all lived in Alabama and they
didn’t see them often enough. Krew didn’t hug his
own  father,  stayed  a  fair  distance  away  from  him
when he visited, and only gave fist bumps to Vance,
even  though  he  seemed  to  be  comfortable  around
his  best  friend’s  dad.  Sadly,  he  hadn’t  seen  Jeff’s
family  for  a  few  years,  as  Jeff  was  estranged  from
them.

Emily gave Caleb a wobbly smile. “I’d better

…” She was going to say go.

Mylee interrupted her. “No, no, no. Caleb can

walk you home.” Mylee speed-walked after their
children but called back, “I’ve got the boys.” With
that, she dumped the garbage in a nearby can and
ran after them.

Emily stood there, almost frozen. She was far

too attracted to him and impressed by him, and her
little man had just hugged him. She didn’t know
whether to laugh, cry, or throw her arms around his
neck and show him exactly how she wanted to kiss
his poster.

Caleb eased in closer, granting her a whiff of an

intriguing citrus-and-musk cologne and an outdoors
scent. She glanced up at him. His eyes were
incredible; that bright blue just yanked her right in.

“Th-thank you for being so cute with Krew and

Harley,” she said. That was a much safer display of
gratitude  than  seeing  how  his  perfect  body  and
nicely  formed  lips  felt  against  hers.  If  she’d
promised not to date, she’d dang well better not be
kissing. Four more months. Caleb would most likely
be  long  gone  by  then.  She  had  to  keep  reminding
herself  he  was  not  only  famous  but  dated  models,
actresses,  and  successful  businesswomen.  She
knew. She Googled him regularly.

“They’re cute kids. It was a lot of fun.”
She wanted to throw herself at him, but she

couldn’t do it. Even if she’d promised a snake, she
wasn’t  going  to  break  her  word,  especially  as  it
might  risk  Krew  being  alone  with  Jeff.  She  didn’t
think Jeff had any real interest in their son, beyond
occasionally using him for publicity photo shoots to
make  Jeff  look  good  and  as  a  pawn  to  control
Emily.

“I’d better jet,” she mumbled. “Tomorrow

night?” she asked brightly, starting to back away.

“I’ll be here.” He eased in closer and

murmured, “I’m supposed to walk you home.” The
look  in  his  eyes  was  energizing  and  a  promise  of
good  things  to  come  between  them.  He  was  ready
to  find  out  where  she  lived.  He  was  ready  to  take
this to the next level.

She was more than ready, but … “I can’t,

Caleb,” she said miserably.

“Can’t let me walk you home?” Caleb reached

out and brushed her hair behind her neck. His firm
fingers caressed her neck, and she trembled from
his touch. “Or can’t let me show you exactly how
you should kiss my poster?” His eyes smoldered at
her.

Emily’s breath rushed out of her. He’d gone

there. Oh my, oh my! How did she explain? How
did she stay strong? Krew. She had to do this for
Krew. “I can’t date anyone for four more months,”
she blurted.

He blinked at her and his hand fell back to his

side. “Pardon me?”

She pressed her lips together to keep from

crying.  This  was  awful,  worse  than  divorcing  Jeff.
The divorce had been a lot of work and stress, but
after  it  was  done,  it  was  freeing  and  wonderful.
This was like a noose around her neck. “I promised
my  ex  I  wouldn’t  date  anyone  for  a  year  if  he
wouldn’t  use  his  visitation  and  would  only  come
see Krew while I was there.”

Caleb’s mouth turned down and his fists

clenched.  He  looked  away  across  the  dark  field  as
the  lights  in  the  now  dusky  park  illuminated  some
of  the  grass,  trees,  and  sidewalks.  Emily  feared
he’d tell her she was being stupid or that Jeff would
never know if they kissed or she was too protective
of Krew.

Instead, he said, “You’re an amazing mom,

Emily.” His eyes were warm on her face.

“Thank you,” she rasped through her dry

throat. She wanted to kiss him more than ever.

“You know one thing I’ve never been?” He

gave her a longing smile.

“What’s that?”
“Patient.”
Emily’s breath constricted. Of course he

wouldn’t be patient for her. He had no reason to be.
He  hardly  knew  her.  He  had  women  chasing  him
nonstop.  Why  would  he  want  to  wait  four  months
to  date  an  older  lady,  and  a  mama  at  that?  She
would  rip  anyone  apart  who  called  Krew  baggage,
but  she  could  understand  how  a  single  man,  even
one  as  great  as  Caleb,  could  view  her  situation  as
heavy with baggage.

Caleb eased in closer again. He gently trailed

his fingers along her jawline and then cupped it.
“But for you, I think it’ll be a good trait for me to
learn.”

Emily’s eyes widened. What was he saying?

She barely restrained herself from flinging her arms
around his neck. “Are you joking with me?
Because if you’re getting my hopes up like that to
just slam me down to this grass, I might punch you
in the gut.”

Caleb chuckled and shook his head. His eyes

had a mischievous twinkle, but they sobered as he
said, “I’m not joking. I want to wait for you, Em.”

She felt weak from his touch and his words and

his smile, and had he just used her nickname? My,
oh my, Caleb Jewel was perfect.

“So if we can’t date, can we continue

practices?” he asked.

“I think that would be okay.”
“Would a kiss be considered dating?”
Emily panted for air as he leaned closer. She

wanted to scream no, a kiss was a wonderful idea.
Caleb Jewel. How could she possibly resist this man
when he stared at her as if she lit up his world?

Her stomach rolled as sadness encompassed

her. She couldn’t lie to herself. A kiss would
definitely be considered dating. “I’m afraid so,” she
said, hating herself.

Caleb stopped coming closer. He studied her for

a few beats and then straightened and released her
face. “The patience is already being tested, but
that’s okay.” His gaze swept over her face, warm as
his fingers had been on her jaw. “You’re worth the
wait, Emily Housley.”

Emily blinked quickly. Caleb Jewel thought she

was  worth  the  wait.  He  wasn’t  just  some  ultra-
good-looking superstar to her anymore, though she
imagined she’d still blow kisses at his poster every
time  Krew  wasn’t  looking;  he  was  her  Caleb,  and
he  wanted  to  date  her.  Even  better,  he  wanted  to
learn  patience  for  her,  wait  for  her.  “Thank  you,”
she whispered.

He nodded solemnly, still studying her like he

was having a hard time not wrapping her up and
making her regret her decision to wait for that kiss.

She backed away. “I’d better go. See you

tomorrow.”

“See you.”
She turned and speed-walked away. Glancing

once over her shoulder before she entered the path
to the neighborhood, she could see he hadn’t
moved. He was watching her. She put a hand to her
heart. Caleb would wait for her.

CHAPTER FOUR

mily was giddy as she got ready to go with
Krew to meet Caleb for their nightly lacrosse

practice.  Their  meetings  had  been  happening  for
almost four weeks now, and they had only missed a
few  nights  for  rain  or  because  he  had  flown  to  be
with his family in Vermont for the weekend. Harley
had  come  with  them  off  and  on,  but  for  the  most
part  Mylee  tried  to  keep  Harley  busy  so  Emily
could be alone with Caleb and Krew.

Since his season ended the first of October,

Caleb  was  mostly  focused  on  attending  youth  and
high  school  practices  as  a  guest  coach.  She  also
understood  he  exercised  and  practiced  on  his  own
for hours each morning, since it was off-season for
his team.

She smiled to herself as she slipped into a fitted

jacket, wishing they had more time to talk each

night.  It  was  the  middle  of  November;  the  nights
were becoming downright frigid, and it was getting
darker earlier and earlier. Caleb mostly focused on
Krew as they practiced, but he always made certain
to flirt with and talk to Emily as well. He sometimes
teased  her  that  his  patience  was  being  tested,  and
she  would  laugh.  But  then,  when  he  asked  her  to
pray that he could be patient for her, it sobered her
right up. March seemed so far away.

She kept reminding herself that they weren’t

dating  and  it  was  all  for  Krew,  but  her  heart
disagreed.  Caleb  was  patient  and  fun  with  Krew,
and  he  could  make  her  heart  race  and  her  palms
sweat  with  one  glance  of  those  blue  eyes.  He  also
made  her  laugh  and  was  more  fun  to  tease  with
than anyone else she’d been around. How was she
going to last three and a half more months without
going on a date with Caleb?

She rushed down the stairs and to the foyer.

Krew  was  waiting  in  a  T-shirt,  shorts,  and  his  cute
little lacrosse gloves; he had a lacrosse stick in one
hand  and  a  ball  in  the  other.  Caleb  had  given  him
the  gloves  during  their  fifth  practice  when  he’d
found out that Krew had no gear of his own. It was
so  sweet  of  him.  Krew  had  only  become  obsessed
with  lacrosse  last  spring,  and  she  thought  six  was
too young to sign him up for a team, so she’d only
bought him a ball and a stick.

“Sweatshirt,” she said.

He scowled. “I won’t be cold, Mama.”
“Sweatshirt or no Caleb.” She folded her arms

across her chest and waited.

“Who’s Caleb?” The voice came from the

darkened dining room off the entry.

Emily jumped and cursed, her heart racing. She

whirled to face her unwanted guest.

Jeff sauntered out of the room, glaring at her.

For a brief second, Emily mourned what was gone.
When  they’d  dated  and  married,  everyone
commented on how Jeff could be soft only when he
looked at her. That softness disappeared as he went
through  concussion  after  concussion,  many  of
which  went  undiagnosed  because  he  lied  to
everyone,  including  her,  about  not  having
symptoms. Now any softness he’d had for her was
replaced with ugly hatred.

“And why are you looking so pretty?” he asked,

as if her attractiveness was an affront to him.

“I always look pretty,” she flung back at him.

“What are you doing here?”

“My house,” he grunted.
“The divorce decree says it’s not.” She turned

to Krew, who was watching them argue with wide,
fearful eyes. Had her son let him in? She’d changed
the locks and the codes after their divorce. She
didn’t want to have Krew see her fear or be afraid
of his dad, but they were already past that point.

“Sorry, Mama,” Krew murmured, looking at the

floor to avoid his father’s gaze. “Me and Harley
must’ve left the door unlocked.”

“It’s not your fault, love,” she hastened to

reassure him.

“Who’s Caleb?” Jeff’s bluish-gray eyes

narrowed as he approached. Those eyes used to
appeal to her, but now their irate look made her
skin crawl with apprehension.

“Did you say hello to your son?” She

challenged Jeff with the most impertinent look she
could muster. She’d told Caleb the truth that Jeff
had never hit her, but he’d become so increasingly
unstable that every time she saw him, the fear that
he’d come unhinged was always in the back of her
mind. Thank heavens he didn’t take Krew away on
unsupervised visits.

“Hey.” Jeff raised a hand to Krew. No hug. No

getting  down  on  his  son’s  level.  No  asking  how
school or lacrosse was going. She wasn’t surprised,
and  she  was  sadly  relieved  that  Jeff  kept  his
distance.  Jeff  had  never  been  super-involved  with
Krew, too busy with football even when Krew was
small,  but  now  he  seemed  to  dislike  his  own  son.
She blamed the concussions, but maybe it stemmed
from  the  aggression  of  being  a  professional  athlete
and  pushing  himself  so  hard  that  he’d  lost  all
natural  affection.  The  final  straw  was  when  Krew
had  chosen  lacrosse  over  football.  Since  then,  Jeff
had treated Krew as annoyance at best—definitely

unworthy of his attention.

“Hey.” Krew also raised a hand, but he still

didn’t  look  his  father  in  the  eye.  Emily  wanted  to
teach  him  to  be  confident,  but  she  knew  it  wasn’t
just  that  one  custody  visit  that  had  changed  their
relationship. Jeff viewed Krew as a disappointment,
and  it  broke  her  heart  for  her  son.  She  was
determined  to  not  only  keep  Krew  away  from  Jeff
but build up her son and let him know how special
and incredible he was. “Can we go, Mama?”

“Where are you going?” Jeff finally turned to

their son.

“To the park to practice with Caleb Jewel. The

best lacrosse player in the world!” Krew hefted his
lacrosse stick, his eyes alight with happiness and
anticipation. He looked confident and not afraid at
all. Good for him.

Yet Krew didn’t know that he’d pushed a hot

button.  Jeff  hated  lacrosse,  thought  the  sport  had
stolen  his  son’s  attention  from  the  sport  he  should
be  pursuing.  Jeff  had  actually  admitted  to  her
shortly  before  the  divorce  that  there  were  five
reasons he’d married her: her skin color, her beauty,
her speed on the track, her sense of humor, and the
super-athletic children they’d make together. She’d
made  a  smart-aleck  retort,  stung  that  he’d  never
loved her. He’d told her that he no longer enjoyed
her sense of humor.

Jeff slowly rotated back to her as her stomach

filled with ice. “Are you cheating on me … with a
loser lacrosse player?” he asked in a cold yet
incredulous voice, as if any athlete from a different
sport was beneath him and nobody could ever
replace him.

“Do I have to remind you again that we aren’t

married?” She put as much contempt into her voice
as possible.

Jeff moved surprisingly fast for such a big guy.

He was towering over her with his hands wrapped
around her arms before she registered that she
should’ve dodged away. “Do I have to remind you
of our agreement?” he asked quietly.

“No, but you have to get your hands off of me.”

She  narrowed  her  eyes  and  tilted  her  chin
imperiously,  though  inside  she  was  quaking.  She
never knew if he would explode or back down. He
was  big  enough  to  loom  over  her  like  an  unstable
giant.  She  knew  his  strength.  If  he  wanted  to,  he
could  easily  hurt  her.  She  glanced  at  Krew,  who
was  watching  with  an  open  mouth  and  fear  in  his
dark eyes.

Jeff also glanced at their son. Thankfully, he

uncurled his fingers from around her arms. He
didn’t back away, using his intimidating size to his
advantage. “So this isn’t a date?”

“No.” She kept her eyes blank so he wouldn’t

see that she wanted to date Caleb. “This is a nice
person helping our son with the sport he loves.”

Jeff  would  take  that  as  a  low  blow  but  she’d  tried
many  times  to  explain  to  him  there  were  a  lot  of
different sports and one wasn’t better than another,
but  he  didn’t  get  it.  Everything  was  a  competition
to him.

Jeff’s gaze flickered to Krew. “Kid’s a wuss.

Should be playing football.”

She wanted to scream at him for calling their

son  a  wuss,  with  Krew  right  in  the  room,  but  she
wasn’t  going  to  get  into  it  right  now  with  him,
especially  as  he  already  seemed  more  upset  and
aggressive  than  usual.  She’d  tried  to  explain  that
Krew  loved  lacrosse,  and  that  Jeff  had  never
worked  with  him  on  football,  except  when  he
pretended to play catch with him for media stunts,
so  why  should  he  love  it?  None  of  it  sank  in.  She
didn’t  really  want  Jeff  working  with  him  anyway.
He had none of Caleb’s patience, and he would yell
insults at Krew more than he instructed him.

She slid away from Jeff and walked to the front

door, swinging it wide. “Let’s go, Krew.”

Krew didn’t need to be told twice; he hurried

onto the wide porch and down the steps. Emily
followed him into the crisp fall evening, praying
that Jeff would take the hint and leave.

Sadly, she wasn’t that lucky. Jeff stormed out of

the door, slamming it behind him. “Do you want to
lock the front door?” he asked.

“We live in a safe neighborhood,” she shot

back. “Unless you come by,” she said under her
breath.

“What was that?” Jeff jogged to her side and

then matched her long strides as she followed
Krew, who ran happily toward the path that led to
the park.

“Nothing,” she muttered.
“So if you’re not dating this guy, why are you

all dolled up?”

She shook her head. “I’m keeping my end of

the agreement. No media is going to make you look
bad, so stop worrying.”

He didn’t say anything as they hurried to keep

up with Krew. Why, oh why was he coming with
her? Why had he chosen this moment to show up?

They burst through the opening into the park,

and  Krew  ran  for  Caleb,  who  was  waiting  by  the
chair  and  small  table  as  usual.  Caleb  took  Krew’s
exuberant  hug  and  looked  over  the  boy’s  head  to
see Emily approach. She forced a smile. He grinned
back, but his gaze froze as he took in Jeff tromping
by her side.

“Looks like he thinks this is a date,” Jeff

grumbled,  almost  as  if  he  were  jealous.  That  made
no  sense;  he  seemed  to  loathe  her,  not  want  her
back.  He  was  so  up  and  down,  she  never  knew
what  he  wanted  or  how  he  thought.  She  preferred
to blame the head injuries, but maybe she’d simply
been  deluded  and  married  an  unstable  jerk  who

didn’t know his own mind.

“You shut that mouth,” Emily flung at him,

irritated that he’d followed her and ruined the time
she  had  with  Caleb.  She  also  felt  a  sting  of  guilt.
Maybe it was sort of like a date. She should just tell
Jeff  off  and  deal  with  the  repercussions.  The
thought  left  as  quickly  as  it’d  come  when  she
looked at her beautiful son. No. She couldn’t allow
Jeff to be alone with Krew.

“Don’t you give me your lip,” Jeff shot back.
“Please just leave,” she said, thoroughly

exhausted of the fighting, and he’d only been here
for  a  few  minutes.  Why  was  he  even  here?  She
didn’t  dare  ask  that  and  set  him  off  again.  If  he
grabbed  her  arms  like  he  had  at  the  house  with
Caleb close by, she could imagine Caleb getting in a
brawl  with  him.  The  thought  warmed  her,  but  she
didn’t want Caleb to fight him. Caleb was well-built
and  fit,  but  Jeff  was  huge  and  meaner  than  a
rattlesnake.

“Don’t

you

have

practice

something?” she asked. He’d never missed practice
except when he’d been ordered to by a doctor for
one of his concussions or ordered to by a court for
divorce proceedings. Those had each been hard
days she was happy to never repeat.

“We’re done for the night,” Jeff muttered.
Caleb approached with Krew trotting happily

by his side. “Dad!” Krew called, showing more
excitement and confidence than he ever did around

his father. “This is Caleb Jewel. Best middie in the
NLL.” He tilted his head toward Jeff. “That’s my
dad.” The excitement left his voice, but he seemed
to understand how an introduction worked.

“Starting defensive end for the Denver

Broncos,” Jeff said with a note of superiority in his
voice.

“I’ve seen you play,” Caleb said coldly. He

slowly removed his right glove and tucked it under
his left arm, extending his hand as if it was
physically hard for him to do so.

Jeff gripped his hand tightly but winced and

pulled back first. Emily hid a smile. Whatever
happened there was a win for Caleb, though she
knew how ugly Jeff would get if he suspected how
she felt about Caleb.

“Funny, I haven’t seen you play,” Jeff said.
Caleb gave him a cocky grin. “That’s all right.

Lacrosse is probably too fast-paced for you to keep
up with.” He turned toward Emily. “You look
beautiful tonight, Em. Krew and I are going to get
to work.” He winked at her as if nothing at all was
wrong, yet his gaze questioned if she was all right.

She gave him an imperceptible nod. He gave

Jeff a warning glance and trotted away, shoving his
glove  angrily  back  on  and  starting  into  a  passing
drill with Krew. Caleb always seemed so happy and
easygoing,  but  right  now,  his  emotions  were  high.
Emily  hoped  he  didn’t  smack  a  ball  into  her  son,

yet she knew Caleb would never hurt Krew.

Jeff was fuming beside her. “Not a date? ‘You

look beautiful tonight, Em’?”

“A man can notice I’m beautiful without us

dating.” She folded her arms across her chest and
focused on Caleb and Krew running through drills.

Jeff grumbled something, but she ignored him.

The time spent on the field passed more slowly than
it had this past month. It was getting dark, and
Caleb and Krew were still going through drills.
She’d rarely seen Jeff be this patient, but it seemed
like he was waiting her out.

Finally, he hurled at her, “So you just sit and

watch them practice?”

“Yep.”
“This is so lame. I’m outta here.”
Finally. His visits were as erratic as his

behavior. She should demand that he call before
showing up, but she was so grateful he never took
Krew alone that she didn’t dare demand anything.

Jeff stomped past her but paused long enough

to threaten, “See that you’re not dating him, or I’ll
start taking your precious baby boy away from you.
Use up all that visitation time I should be getting
and teach him to be a real man.”

Emily’s neck and stomach tightened. There he

went threatening the very thing that terrified her.
The only responses that came to her were snippety
and would tick him off more, so she bit her tongue.

She watched him storm into the growing

darkness,  and  then  she  turned  back  to  Caleb  and
Krew.  From  across  the  field,  she  could  see  Caleb
watching  her.  Wearily,  she  sank  into  the  chair  he
always  provided  for  her.  She  wanted  to  bury  her
head in her hands and bawl. She wished Jeff would
just move on, date someone else, and let her do the
same,  but  all  he  cared  about  was  football,  and  she
wouldn’t  wish  his  volatile  personality  on  anyone
else.

How was she going to keep protecting Krew?

Obviously,  she  needed  to  stop  seeing  Caleb.  She
could  lie  to  herself  that  it  wasn’t  a  date,  but  she
wanted to date him—wanted it with every fiber of
her  being.  There  were  only  three  and  a  half  more
months  to  go,  and  the  agreement  would  be  done
and Jeff would leave them alone. She hoped. Three
months had never seemed so long.

She watched as Caleb gestured Krew toward

the lacrosse net, and Krew started shooting, running
to retrieve the ball, and then shooting again.

Caleb took the opportunity to walk toward her.

Emily’s  heart  leapt,  and  she  wanted  to  push  away
the disturbing interaction with Jeff and just flirt and
tease with this beautiful man. He dropped his stick
and  gloves,  and  she  started  to  stand  as  he
approached,  but  he  gently  pushed  her  back  down,
knelt in front of her, and caught both of her hands
between his.

“You okay?” he asked in a gravelly voice.
Emily couldn’t catch her breath. His hands

brought warmth to her chilled fingers, but more
importantly, his concern was like a salve to her
scratched-up heart. “Um, yeah, no, not really,” she
admitted.

“I didn’t like him,” Caleb said bluntly.
Emily startled and let out an empty laugh. “I

don’t like him much either.”

Caleb smiled. He released one of her hands,

brushed his knuckles along her chin, and
murmured, “Ah, Em.” He studied her intently with
those blue eyes that she was addicted to. “This is
rough.”

Emily wanted to pull him closer, but she knew

she couldn’t. Even this was playing with fire. What
if Jeff came back and saw them so close together?
“I think we need to stop practicing,” she squeaked
out of her dry throat.

Caleb rocked back onto his heels, releasing his

grip on her hands.

“You know, the weather’s turning and … it’ll be

the holidays soon.” She couldn’t meet his gaze.

“I thought you were too tough to let a loser like

that scare you,” Caleb said from between clenched
teeth.

Emily lashed back. “I am tough, but I’m also

protecting my son.”

Caleb pushed to his feet and paced away from

her. She stood also, focusing on Krew, who was
happily shooting.

“Nice shot,” Caleb called.
“Thanks, Coach!”
“You are an amazing mom,” Caleb said quietly.

“But you can’t cower to him. Who’s to say he
won’t make more demands of you contingent on
him not visiting Krew once March comes?”

Emily put a hand to her throat. She knew it was

a strong possibility, but she hadn’t let her mind go
there … at least not too often.

Caleb glanced over at her. “Why don’t you

fight him, Em?”

“How am I supposed to fight him? If you

haven’t noticed, he’s huge.” Emily hugged herself
for warmth. Why wouldn’t Caleb fight him for her?
That would just make matters worse, but she’d love
to have Caleb be her champion and knock Jeff to
the ground.

“In court,” Caleb said, folding his arms across

his chest. “Prove he’s an unfit father, unstable
mentally, has no relationship with Krew.”

Emily wasn’t sure she was brave enough to do

that.  Their  last  court  battle  had  been  rough,
expensive,  long,  and  obviously  hard  on  Krew.  Jeff
had  somehow  been  charming  and  kind  at  all  the
right  times  and  been  awarded  partial  custody.
“What if it backfires, he gets more custody, and he
actually  takes  Krew  during  his  custody  time?”  She

could see Jeff doing just that out of spite.

Caleb drew in a long breath and pushed it out as

Krew made another shot and danced in celebration
before  running  to  retrieve  the  ball.  Her  little  man
was  her  world.  How  could  she  expose  him  to  time
alone with his beast of a father? She didn’t believe
Jeff  would  hurt  him  physically,  but  he’d  definitely
belittle  and  berate  him,  or  ignore  him,  which  was
almost as bad.

“What if he keeps blackmailing you until Krew

turns eighteen?” Caleb asked.

She sucked in a breath. Jeff could very well do

just that. He’d claimed that their deal would let the
media hailstorm around their publicized divorce die
down, and a year had seemed like an okay request
when  he’d  made  it.  Yet  he  seemed  to  get  angrier
and  more  delusional  every  time  she  saw  him.  She
didn’t dare risk anything that might lead a judge to
order  Krew  to  spend  time  alone  with  Jeff.  She’d
wait  until  March.  If  Jeff  tried  to  go  back  on  their
deal, then she’d see about going back to court. She
couldn’t live in fear of him being alone with Krew,
but she also couldn’t expose her sweet child to him.

Krew came running up. “Did you see that shot?

Did you?”

Caleb and Emily both smiled and nodded.
“You were stinging top shelf.” Caleb ruffled the

little boy’s curls.

“Peanut butter,” Krew said with a grin.

Caleb chuckled. Emily hoped Krew didn’t hear

how uneasy that laugh was.

“Peanut butter?” she managed to ask, wanting

to be involved.

“Top corner of the goal, Mama. Almost

impossible to defend top shelf where Mama keeps
the peanut butter.”

She smiled at her son but then risked a glance at

Caleb.  He  looked  as  miserable  as  she  felt,  and  it
made her hurt. He’d been so happy, and though he
was  also  kind  and  thoughtful,  he  was  an  almost
carefree  soul.  Until  Jeff  had  shown  up  tonight.
Emily  hated  to  be  the  reason  why  Caleb’s  smile
was gone.

“We need to go,” she said.
Caleb looked sharply at her but didn’t say

anything.

“See ya tomorrow,” Krew chirped to Caleb.

“Thanks.”

“See you.” Caleb bumped fists with Krew.

When he turned to Emily, the look in his eyes said
he knew she wouldn’t be back. “See you
tomorrow?” he asked.

Emily couldn’t bring herself to tell him the

truth, but she had to stop coming. He was too
tempting, too intriguing, too wonderful, but he also
wanted her to rock the boat with Jeff. She was a
brave soul, but she didn’t know that she was ready
for that.

“Thanks,” was all she could get out before she

pivoted  and  hurried  after  her  son.  Looking  back,
she  saw  Caleb  watching  her.  His  shoulders  were
rounded  forward,  and  his  face  was  filled  with
sadness. She bit back a sob as she turned her walk
into a run, beating Krew to the entrance to the path.

“Hey!” Krew called. “Wait up!”
Emily obeyed, but it was all she could do to

pretend that nothing was wrong. She’d hold off on
collapsing until she got Krew into bed. It was silly,
as she and Caleb weren’t even dating, but she’d
been falling head over heels for him. She knew
she’d lost him, and it hurt.

Caleb was decidedly not himself as he watched
Emily walk away. He was angry and irrational, and
all he wanted was to chase after her and pull her
into his arms. Why did her jerk ex have to show up
tonight? Why had she ever agreed to not date for a
year?

Because of Krew. Caleb had quickly fallen in

love with the little man, and he’d do anything in his
power to protect him as well. There had to be some
way to get Emily and Krew out from under Jeff
Gehring’s power, but if she refused to take him
back to court, Caleb didn’t know what to do. He’d

broken the law plenty with illegal fireworks and
bombs, but he wouldn’t risk Krew either.

Caleb watched her until she disappeared

through the trail that led to the neighborhood where
he’d  looked  at  several  houses.  He  couldn’t  take
standing here like an indecisive loser for one more
second. She wasn’t coming back. Pushing off from
the grass, he sprinted after her. He slowed his steps
when he reached the trail so she wouldn’t hear his
pounding  footsteps.  The  trail  was  short,  and  he
stopped  at  the  edge,  underneath  a  shadow  of  pine
trees and evergreen bushes.

Three doors down, he saw Krew bouncing up

the steps to a classically beautiful home. It fit Emily
so well with a wide front porch, large windows with
black shutters, and beige clapboard siding. It might
have fit better in the South than in Colorado, but it
was  perfect  for  her.  Caleb  watched  her  wearily
climb  the  steps.  Krew  opened  the  door  and  held  it
for  her;  then  they  stepped  inside,  and  Caleb
couldn’t see them anymore.

Caleb put a clenched fist to his chest. He’d

spent  his  life  being  a  prankster:  joking,  laughing,
and  blowing  things  up.  In  the  past,  the  only  things
he’d  been  serious  about  were  his  family,  his  faith,
and  lacrosse.  He  realized  now  that  he  was  also
serious  about  Emily.  He’d  only  spent  the  past
month around her, but his heart belonged to her and
to  that  cute  little  man,  Krew.  He  couldn’t  let  them

go. Yet he also couldn’t risk Krew being hurt by
that loser Jeff Gehring.

Glancing around the quiet neighborhood, he

started  to  form  a  plan.  If  nothing  else,  Caleb  was
willing to go to great lengths to pull off his schemes.
This  one  was  far  from  the  “sturdy  tricks”  he  and
Seth  used  to  play  on  everybody  as  children  and
teenagers;  nowadays,  Caleb  mostly  played  those
tricks on Seth from a distance. Just yesterday he’d
paid  one  of  Seth’s  crew  members  to  hold  up
different signs during his race, telling Seth not how
many  laps  were  left  but  things  like,  “Caleb  says
hi!”  “Caleb  wants  his  $10!”  “Can’t  you  jump
higher?”  and  then,  on  the  final  lap,  “It’s  a  girl!”
Apparently,  even  though  Seth  knew  it  was  most
likely  a  joke,  he’d  flown  over  the  remaining  track,
beating  the  competition  and  then  running  for  his
wife,  Breeze.  She’d  been  confused  and  had  to
explain  that  she  wasn’t  expecting.  Of  course,  Seth
and  Breeze  had  both  laughed  when  they  realized
they’d been pranked by Caleb yet again.

Caleb sobered as he studied Emily’s house. No,

this wasn’t a prank or a sturdy trick. This was on a
grander scale. Even if he couldn’t be with Emily
and Krew, he could watch over them.

He’d told Emily he’d be patient for her. His

mom would be so proud and relieved if she knew
how patient he was being. The rest of his family
would be stunned.

CHAPTER FIVE

he end of November and the long, cold
December were some of the hardest weeks

Emily  could  recall.  No,  that  was  a  lie.  Being
married to Jeff had been harder than mourning the
loss  of  Caleb,  but  only  barely.  With  Jeff,  she’d
learned how to shut her heart off, and it hadn’t hurt
much  when  he’d  stopped  caring  for  her  at  all  and
then started belittling and yelling at her constantly.
With Caleb gone, she ached every day. It was silly,
as they’d never dated and had hardly even touched,
but she missed his smile, his patience, the fun way
he  worked  with  Krew,  and  his  beautiful  blue  eyes
watching her with that slightly mischievous look.

All of her feelings paled next to how Krew

missed him. When she told Krew they weren’t
going to the park the night after Jeff had appeared
because it was too cold—luckily, it was raining that

night, which backed up her words—he’d pitched a
small  fit  but  seemed  to  understand  about  the
“weather.”  As  the  days  wore  on  and  he  didn’t  see
his superstar, his “coach,” he got downright grumpy
and cranky. Thanksgiving weekend was spent doing
fun  things  with  Harley,  Mylee,  and  Vance,  which
distracted  him,  and  then  the  Christmas  holidays
kept them both busy. They flew to Alabama on the
eighteenth  of  December  and  didn’t  get  back  until
January third.

As Krew went back to school in January and

Emily went back to working from her home office,
she  felt  despondent  and  desperate.  March  was
coming,  and  she  would  then  be  free  to  date,  but
she’d ditched Caleb, and he hadn’t made any effort
to  find  her.  Not  that  she  blamed  him;  she  simply
missed him. Was he right, and even after their deal
ended in March, Jeff would keep hounding her and
not let her date? Would she have to take him back
to court and pray that the result would keep Krew
safe?  She  hated  to  think  about  it.  It  didn’t  really
matter  at  this  point.  If  she  didn’t  see  Caleb  again,
she wouldn’t want to date anyway.

She started scheming how she’d find him again.

His  first  home  game  wasn’t  until  the  end  of  May.
That  loomed  so  far  away,  but  she’d  already
purchased  front-row  tickets  for  her  and  Krew
through  the  Denver  Outlaws  website.  They  were
going  to  attend  every  home  game,  and  she’d  pray

he’d notice them and give them another chance.

Her phone buzzed, and she silenced it, trying to

focus on the home plans she was drafting. The
phone fell silent but then started buzzing again. She
glanced at it. Mylee. Her friend knew she was
working and usually wouldn’t interrupt. The phone
stopped, so she tried to focus back on her project.

A minute later, there was a pounding at the

front door. Emily sighed and stretched. She ran on
the treadmill every morning in the winter, and she
ran outside with Krew riding his bike next to her in
the warmer months, but today her body felt like she
hadn’t given it any kind of workout, and it was stiff
and unused.

She walked through her office and into the

entryway. Pulling open the front door, she saw
Mylee bundled in a fitted coat and wearing gloves
and a hat. A plate of cookies rested in her hands.

“C’mon, girlie, gig’s up,” Mylee said. “We gotta

go!”

“Go where?”
“Get your coat on. Now, woman!” Mylee

tapped her foot impatiently.

“I’m working here,” Emily grumbled. It bugged

her  when  Mylee  treated  her  work  lightly.  Mylee
was  busy  with  PTA,  volunteering  at  their  church
and  with  local  charities,  and  she  was  an  incredible
cook,  so  she  was  always  creating  delicacies,  but
none of her work paid the bills. Emily had the large

child  support  payment  from  Jeff.  It  was  way  more
than she needed, and since she’d started working in
August,  she’d  been  blessed  to  be  successful  at  her
own work. She’d started using Jeff’s money to pay
off  her  car,  pay  down  her  house,  build  up  her
savings, and even put some away in a college fund
for Krew. If she had to go back to court, she could
offer  to  give  up  child  support  to  keep  him  away
from  Krew.  Things  would  be  tight,  but  she  could
definitely make it without his money.

“It’ll just take a minute. Move, sloth!”
Emily rolled her eyes. There was no talking

Mylee  down  when  she  got  in  one  of  these  moods.
She gestured her in and shut the door, then hurried
to  the  mudroom  off  the  kitchen  and  slid  into  her
boots,  coat,  hat,  and  gloves.  It  was  bitterly  cold
outside, as usual for January in Colorado.

She returned to the foyer, and Mylee flung the

door open, rushing out. Emily followed her and
asked, “Where are we going?”

“Somebody moved into the Monsons’ house.

We need to welcome them.” Mylee hurried down
the cleared sidewalk. Though Emily had longer legs
and usually was out front when they walked or ran,
Mylee was plowing ahead today. “They moved in
right after Thanksgiving, and we missed welcoming
them. We can’t wait a day longer.”

“Okay.” Though Emily didn’t understand why

they couldn’t do this while the boys were home. It

was  good  to  have  Krew  and  Harley  see  them
helping others. Yet as they walked, Emily was glad
that Mylee had gotten her out. Though it was cold,
the sun was shining, and it felt good to move and be
outside  after  sitting  at  her  computer  most  of  the
morning.  She  liked  their  friendly,  tight-knit
neighborhood.  Most  everyone  had  been  great,
especially when Jeff had left; there were only a few
who  were  loyal  to  Jeff,  and  Emily  suspected  that
was  only  because  he  was  a  football  player.  Emily
wanted to be the kind of neighbor who gave back.

They walked along the sidewalk, then up a

nicely  stamped-concrete  sidewalk  to  the  spacious
front  porch  of  the  Monsons’  house.  It  was  on  a
larger  corner  lot,  and  it  was  one  of  the  largest
homes  in  the  neighborhood.  Emily  had  always
admired  the  clean  brick  exterior,  the  numerous
windows, and the beautifully landscaped yard. The
backyard  bordered  a  wilderness  area  with  thick
trees.  The  house  was  so  open  that  you  could  look
through  the  massive  front  windows  off  the
entryway and see clear through the floor-to-ceiling
panes  of  glass  at  the  rear  of  the  great  room,
catching a view of the yard and forest beyond.

They walked onto the porch, and Mylee hit the

doorbell. She bounced impatiently.

“Excited?” Emily asked.
Mylee nodded, and her eyes lit up. “You should

be too.”

“Why? Someone famous bought the house?”

Emily was semi-joking, but it was a pretty enough
spot for a celebrity. Her curiosity was piqued.

Mylee nodded again.
The door flung open, and Emily felt her mouth

fall open. Caleb stood there, grasping the door. He
looked exquisitely gorgeous in only a tank top,
some workout shorts, socks, and shoes. She’d seen
many a fit body in her day, but nothing compared to
the lean lines and smooth muscles of Caleb’s
shoulders and arms. Most importantly, he was here!
She couldn’t have spoken if her life depended on it.

“Em!” His handsome face split in a wide grin,

and he stepped back and ushered them in. “Come
in. Hi, Mylee.”

Emily numbly walked in, questions and hopes

and dreams rolling through her head. Caleb was
truly here, as her neighbor. Mylee had found him
for her. Emily may never sass Mylee again.

Caleb’s beautiful welcoming smile made it clear

that  he’d  wanted  to  see  her  as  much  as  she’d
wanted  to  see  him.  Yet  the  way  he  greeted  Mylee
was  too  casual.  He  acted  like  he’d  been  expecting
them, and now that Emily was taking a better look,
she  could  see  that  even  his  outfit  was  suspicious.
He  was  in  a  tank  top  and  shorts  in  the  dead  of
winter.  He  was  in  workout  gear,  but  he  wasn’t
sweaty. On the contrary, he looked like he’d come
off  a  photo  shoot  for  American  Male,  and  he

smelled good. She’d missed that combination of
citrus, musk, and the outdoors.

“Mylee?” she asked in a warning voice. Maybe

she did need to sass her friend.

Mylee set the cookies on the entry table,

grinned at Caleb, and shouted, “Welcome to the
neighborhood!” Then she slipped back through the
door and slammed it behind her.

Emily’s temper flared. The nerve. She looked

back  at  Caleb,  who  was  grinning  so  broadly  that
she wondered if it hurt his cheeks. Her eyes flitted
from  his  handsome  face  and  over  his  incredible
body,  and  she  said,  “You  need  to  cover  up  those
luscious  shoulders  right  now.  That  tank  top  is
indecent.”

Caleb chuckled and took a step closer. “Have

you missed me?”

“Horribly,” she admitted before she could help

herself. Pulling off her gloves and hat, she set them
on  the  nearby  entryway  table  and  turned  to  him.
“No,”  she  corrected.  “Haven’t  thought  about  you.
Busy,  busy,  busy  with  life  and  Krew  and  running
and work and …”

Her voice trailed off as he kept advancing. She

backed into the door. He came up close and rested
one  hand  on  the  door  next  to  her.  Emily’s  breath
caught,  and  it  was  all  she  could  do  to  not  ogle  his
perfect shoulders. Good heavens, it wasn’t as if he
was  shirtless.  Plus,  she’d  been  married  to  a

professional athlete. This shouldn’t be so hard. Yet
Caleb’s lean body was a million times more
appealing than Jeff’s brute strength had been.

Forcing herself to meet his gaze, she asked as

casually as she could, “So, how’ve you been?”

He chuckled. “Miserable, missing you.”
No! She hated that this happy man was

miserable. She wondered if it was all because of her
ditching him, but she didn’t want to assume too
much.

He didn’t touch her, but he leaned in, and she

was suddenly short of breath. “How about you?” he
asked.

“I’m okay.” She wanted to tell him how

miserable she’d been without him but she still had
to stay strong until March.

He studied her but didn’t make her expound.

“And Krew?”

“Krew’s great. I mean, he misses you. We went

through a pretty bad phase after we stopped …
practicing. But Christmas helped. We went home to
Alabama.”

“I wondered. I kept going past your house.”
“How do you know which house is mine? How

long have you lived here?”

For the first time, he looked a little chagrined.

“I followed you that last night.”

She nodded shortly, not minding that he had.
“I had my realtor stalk the neighborhood for the

perfect house and moved in the first of December.”

“Then why haven’t you come to see me?” The

words  ripped  from  her  throat,  and  she  hurried  to
cover  her  mouth,  but  in  the  process,  her  hand
grazed  his  firm  arm.  She  gasped  and  planted  both
hands  on  the  door  behind  her,  praying  that  she
could be strong enough to keep from touching him
again. That skin had felt incredible. He smelled and
looked  incredible.  Why,  oh  why  couldn’t  it  be
March already?

“I didn’t get the impression you wanted me to,”

he said quietly, his smile dropping away.

Emily swallowed and admitted, “Walking away

from you was the hardest thing I’ve ever done, but
you know why I did it.”

“Krew.” He studied her solemnly, then said, “I

don’t blame you, Em. Krew is more important than
how I ache for you.”

“You … ache for me?” Her voice squeaked as

her heart thudded quicker and quicker.

He nodded solemnly.
She couldn’t continue with that vein of

conversation without forgetting her promise to Jeff
and kissing Caleb with all of her pent-up desire.
Instead, she asked, “Did Mylee set this up?”

He smiled again. “Yeah. She saw me yesterday

and planned it all out. Even threatened me with
Vance beating me up if I didn’t ‘wear minimal
clothing.’ She requested me shirtless in jeans, but I

thought this would work.” He glanced down.
“Sorry, it’s a little cheesy to still be in workout gear
at one in the afternoon.”

“I like it,” she admitted. Shirtless in jeans would

definitely  have  given  her  a  heart  attack.  Even
imagining  it  made  her  short  of  breath.  “But  I’m
going  to  be  the  one  beating  her.”  She  laughed
uneasily.  “Like  you  were  afraid  of  Vance  beating
you up.”

“Mylee said he’s shredded, an ultimate fighter,

that he used to be in the Marines.” He smiled as if
he knew the truth.

“She’s such a liar. He’s a mortgage broker who

plays golf for exercise.”

Caleb chuckled. “At least she followed through

on the cookies.”

“There is that.”
“Hey.” He eased back and folded his arms

across  his  chest.  If  he  thought  he  was  covering
something  up,  he  was  crazy,  because  now  she  was
keenly  aware  of  just  how  well-built  his  shoulders
and  arms  were.  My,  oh  my.  “I  know  we  can’t  …
date,” he said.

She blew out a breath and nodded in

acquiescence.

“But I wanted to be closer to you and Krew.

Could I see the little man? Could we be friendly
neighbors?”

“He misses you,” she admitted. “I’ll bring him

by after school. If you promise to be clothed by
then.”

He held up his hand in the three-fingered

Scouts’ symbol.

She thought she’d better go. If she stayed in this

house alone with him for much longer, she’d touch
that arm again, maybe even let her fingers stray to
his shoulder, and then she’d race down the rabbit
hole of kissing him until neither of them knew
which way was up.

“So what can I plan on with a friendly

neighbor?” Caleb asked, stepping closer again and
resting that lovely, manly hand on the door next to
her head.

Emily panted for air. “Cookies,” she breathed.

“I make a mean snickerdoodle.”

“I like snickerdoodles.” He stared deeply at her.

“I’d forgotten how beautiful you are.”

Emily blinked up at him. “I hadn’t.”
“Hadn’t what?” A half-smile curved his lips.
“Forgotten how beautiful you are.” Because

she walked by and blew kisses at his poster every
chance she got.

He grinned and leaned closer. She caught

another whiff of that incredible cologne.

“What else might the friendly neighbor gig

entail?” he asked.

She licked her lips. Breathing was becoming

more and more difficult. “Um … pumpkin bars? Do

you like those? I use Paula Deen’s recipe, from
back home. Delicious.”

“Cream cheese frosting?” he asked, his gaze

wandering to her lips. What she wouldn’t give to
lick cream cheese frosting off of his incredible
mouth.

“Yes, sir,” she got out. “Thick layer of cream

cheese frosting.”

“Perfect.” Caleb put his other hand on the door

and effectively pinned her in. He breathed her in,
then let out a soft groan that made her stomach flip.
“You smell almost as good as you look.”

“You … also,” she admitted. “Smell good.

Smell delectable. Smell delicious.”

Caleb smiled. He was so close that if she leaned

up at all, their lips would brush. “So could friendly
neighbors maybe get together for game night?”

Emily lifted her shoulders, careful not to move

her hands; they were begging to snake around his
lower back and yank him in tight against her.
“Krew and I play a mean game of Uno.”

“I love Uno. What about dinner? Not as a

date,” he added. “Just a friendly neighbor bringing
over dinner, maybe staying to eat with his favorite
buddy Krew.”

She didn’t know but she liked the possibilities.

“Maybe,” she conceded.

He didn’t look thrilled by that answer, but he

persisted. “What about kissing? Do friendly

neighbors kiss, or do they only kiss posters of each
other?”

Emily was fighting for each breath. “Kissing is

definitely off-limits between friendly neighbors.”

“Really?” He arched an eyebrow. “See, the

problem is that the only poster I have of you is the
picture of you sticking out your tongue at me. You
don’t look like you’re ready for a kiss in that shot.
The poster you have of me is a smoldering look just
begging for kisses.”

She couldn’t help but smile, though she was

dying to just lean up and kiss him. “You didn’t
make that awful picture of me into a poster.”

“Yes, ma’am, I did.”
“You are certifiable.”
He chuckled, and his chest expanded and

brushed  against  her.  Emily  sucked  in  air  and
moaned at the same time. It just felt too good to be
close to him. His laughter fell away, and the desire
in his blue eyes deepened into a sexy smolder that
had  her  knees  weak.  She  pressed  into  the  door,
praying  for  strength.  Only  two  more  months  and
she’d be free of her promise to Jeff. Then she could
date and kiss this man any time she wanted.

“Mylee kissed me when she saw me,” he said in

a deep voice.

“I’m sure she did.”
“Just on the cheek. Don’t be jealous.” He

smirked at her and then asked, “So maybe, could I

just kiss you on the cheek? Just as friends?”

Emily felt like her heart would beat right out of

her  chest.  She  pressed  her  sweating  palms  into  the
door  and  managed  to  squeak  out,  “On  the  cheek
sounds  okay.”  Okay?  They  were  so  far  past  okay
she was about ready to melt into a puddle of desire
right here and now.

Caleb gave her an incredible smile and then

slowly leaned in. He took his time and Emily’s legs
were mush as she leaned into the door for support.
Slowly,  deliberately,  and  tenderly,  he  brushed  his
lips  along  her  cheek,  dangerously  close  to  her
mouth.  She  sucked  in  a  breath  so  fast  it  was
audible.  He  smiled  against  her  cheek  and  then
finally  eased  back.  Even  without  his  lips  on  her
cheek, she could hardly catch a breath.

His blue gaze was serious and intriguing. “It’s

amazing to see you again, Em.”

She nodded. “I can hardly imagine how much

you’ve been missing me.” She attempted sass, but
there was too much truth to the statement.

He chuckled but then sobered. “I don’t know

that you can imagine it. I’ve been missing you and
Krew like I lost a piece of myself,” he said.

Emily let out a sigh. She wanted to stay right

here,  flirting  with  him  all  day,  but  she  was  playing
with  fire.  Even  though  Jeff  was  a  jerk,  she’d
promised  him  she  wouldn’t  date  until  March.  She
had to somehow keep that promise. “I’d better go,”

she admitted.

Caleb looked like he wanted to argue, but he

gave  her  a  short  nod  and  stepped  back.  Emily
retrieved  her  gloves  and  hat  and  stepped  to  the
side.  Caleb  reached  out  and  opened  the  door  for
her,  swinging  it  wide.  She  walked  onto  the  porch
with trembling legs.

Caleb held on to the door, the beautiful muscles

of his arm flexing. “Thanks for coming, Em,” he
said.

“Like I had any choice with Mylee tricking

me.” She smiled to show she was teasing.

“Thanks for staying for a few minutes, Em,” he

said, also grinning.

“Like I had any choice with you looking so

appealing.” She winked.

He chuckled. “I’m sure I’m impossible to

resist.”

“That you are.” She wanted to stay on this cold

porch and flirt with him all day, but she forced
herself to pull her gloves and hat back on and back
up to the steps. “See you about four.”

“I can’t wait.”
Emily agreed. She turned and fled down the

stairs  so  she  didn’t  push  him  back  into  that  house
and  kiss  him.  Bringing  Krew  back  with  her  this
afternoon  would  be  a  great  buffer  so  she  could
control  her  impulses  and  stay  out  of  Caleb’s  arms.
Two more months. She’d have to be careful not to

CHAPTER SIX

aleb waited impatiently for four o’clock so he
could see Emily again and be around Krew

for  the  first  time  in  almost  two  months.  He  had
missed  both  of  them  horribly,  and  he’d  never
exhibited  this  kind  of  patience  in  his  lifetime.  He
used  to  spend  his  days  practicing  or  playing
lacrosse,  researching  and  testing  fireworks  for  his
and Seth’s online company, flirting with and dating
women,  planning  and  executing  pranks  on  his
family  members  and  friends,  and  traveling  to  be
with family and friends. Since he’d met Emily and
Krew,  though,  all  he  wanted  was  to  be  close  to
them.

He’d gone to Vermont for Christmas, but only

because he adored his family and couldn’t break his
mother’s heart. He’d separated himself from all the
women who chased him, responding with a kind but

firm  no  to  every  invitation.  He  spent  his  time
working  out  hard,  getting  in  lots  of  extra  lacrosse
practice,  being  with  close  friends  and  family,  and
watching out for Emily and Krew, from a distance.
Of course, he still pranked Seth. His latest one had
been great. He’d paid Breeze’s brother, Ridge, who
worked  and  traveled  with  Seth  and  Breeze,  to
temporarily  trade  out  Seth  and  Breeze’s  million-
dollar  motorhome  for  an  RV  that  resembled  Uncle
Eddie’s  “tenement  on  wheels”  from  Christmas
Vacation with Chevy Chase. Ridge had gotten him
some great video footage of their stunned reactions.

Caleb’s thoughts returned quickly to Emily, as

they  often  did.  When  Mylee  had  caught  him
walking past Emily’s house last night, she’d hugged
him and kissed him on the cheek and forced him to
agree  to  her  plan  today.  Not  that  he  had  any
objections,  but  he  wanted  to  respect  Emily’s  need
to wait until March to date, and being close to her
muddied his brain and made him forget all about his
proclaimed  patience.  He’d  basically  pinned  her
against  his  door  and  almost  kissed  her  on  those
luscious  lips.  The  kiss  on  the  cheek  had  been
incredible, yet it hadn’t been nearly enough.

He hadn’t dared tell his family about his

obsession with Emily and Krew, but some of them
were wondering what was going on with him. Over
Christmas break, he hadn’t acted as crazy as usual;
little Paisley had been mad at him about it, and

Rachel claimed he’d matured overnight. He smiled
to  himself,  but  it  faded  away.  Rachel.  He  hated
seeing her still suffering from the burns on her face,
neck,  and  shoulder  that  she’d  gotten  last  summer
because  of  a  selfish  jerk  who  was  trying  to  hurt
Seth and Breeze. Rachel was still staying with Mom
and  Dad,  and  that  in  and  of  itself  was  worrisome.
Her  skin  grafts  were  healed,  and  though  her  skin
wasn’t  completely  smooth,  she  hid  most  of  the
scarring  with  her  hair  swept  over  her  face  and
across  her  neck  and  shoulder.  Caleb  thought  she
was as beautiful as ever, but why wasn’t she going
to law school or out to conquer the business world
like  she’d  planned  on?  She  was  only  twenty-four,
but Dad had told her he’d give her the five-million-
dollar inheritance they each received at twenty-five
early  if  she  wanted  to  go  start  a  business  of  some
sort.  She’d  told  him  she’d  think  about  it.  It  had
been  weeks,  and  apparently,  she  was  still  thinking.
She’d  be  twenty-five  this  summer,  so  the  point
would  be  moot  then.  Like  his  dad,  Caleb  really
wanted to see her go for something.

The doorbell rang, and Caleb pushed the

worries  about  his  family  aside  as  he  raced  for  his
entryway. Jerking the door open, he saw the pair he
dreamt  about  every  night.  “Emily!  Krew!”  He
wanted  to  hug  Emily,  but  he  should  demonstrate
some of the self-restraint he’d lost this morning.

He needn’t have worried about time to hug

Emily. Krew screamed, “Caleb!” then launched
himself against Caleb’s abdomen. Emily shut the
door behind them, grinning.

Caleb caught the little guy easily, lifting him

into the air and hugging him tight. “Krew! I’ve
missed you, my man.”

Krew hugged him fiercely around the neck, but

then he leaned back and punched Caleb in the
chest.

“Krew,” Emily admonished.
Caleb jerked in surprise as the little man

squirmed out of his arms.

Krew put his hands on his hips and glared up at

him. “Why did you ditch me? I thought you were
my coach and my friend.”

“Ah, Krew.” Caleb pushed a hand at his hair,

wondering how to respond. He would never blame
Emily, but it had been her choice to sever ties, not
his.

Krew’s

reaction

suggested

obvious

abandonment and neglect issues from his dad, and
now he thought Caleb had left him.

Emily gave him an apologetic glance, pulled off

her coat and gloves, then knelt down in front of her
son and took him by the shoulders. “Krew. Oh,
sweet honey child. It was my fault, not Caleb’s.”

Krew narrowed his eyes at his mom. “Why?”
“I made the choice to stop your practices and

stop you from seeing Caleb. I’m sorry, little love.
I’m so sorry.”

“Did you choose it, Mama, or is it because Dad

showed up that last night we practiced?”

Caleb’s own eyes widened at the little man’s

perceptiveness.

Emily glanced up at Caleb. He wanted to make

this easier on her, to protect her from her ex, to
love her and Krew. He was moving too fast, even if
it was only in his own mind. He kept trying to show
that patience he’d promised her. The pair of them
were worth waiting for, but it was tough to not just
rush in and try to solve her problems.

“Your dad doesn’t want me seeing Caleb,”

Emily admitted to Krew. “But there are other
factors as well.”

Caleb wondered what she meant. Was there

another reason, or was she trying not to badmouth
Krew’s  dad  in  front  of  him?  What  if  the  “other
factors” had to do with something Caleb had done?
He’d  never  lacked  any  confidence,  especially
where women were concerned, but when it came to
Emily,  he  was  ready  to  beg  for  any  attention  she
could  send  his  way,  like  a  stray  dog  needing  just  a
scrap of food.

“Dad ruins everything,” Krew muttered.
Emily didn’t contradict him, and Caleb agreed

with  the  little  guy.  Yet  Caleb  had  pushed  Emily  to
get  the  jerk  out  of  her  life  last  fall,  and  it  hadn’t
gone  well,  causing  them  six  weeks  of  separation
and pain. He wasn’t about to bring back up the idea

to fight Jeff in court when Emily and Krew had
finally returned to his life.

Emily stood and wrapped her arm around Krew.

She smiled at Caleb. “Caleb is our neighbor now, so
we’ll get to see him again.”

“Yes!” Krew fist-pumped, and then his cute

face crumpled. “Sorry I hit you, Coach. I forgot
about our lessons on self-control.”

“It’s okay, bud. Do you remember what I taught

you?”

Krew solemnly said, “The best player is never

angry.”

Caleb allowed himself a smile. “That’s right. If

we’re in control, we can play our best. Plus, it
keeps us out of the penalty box … most of the
time.” He winked at Emily.

“I’ve seen you in that penalty box,” she sassed

him, looking so perfect here in his home, where she
was meant to be.

He wanted to grab her and pull her close.

“Have you now? Did I look good?”

She laughed. “You know you always look

good.”

“Ditto,” Caleb said.
She bit at those luscious lips and then looked

around as if not sure what to do now.

Caleb didn’t want this visit to end so soon. He’d

craved their attention and their smiles and yearned
to spend time with this pair for the last two months.

“Krew, you won’t believe what I have in my
house,” he said.

“A lacrosse field?” Krew asked, his eyes wide.
“Close. Follow me, please.”
Krew nodded eagerly, and Emily beamed as

they hung their coats on the coat rack. Caleb
wanted to take her hand, but he remembered his
self-control.

Caleb led the way through the foyer into the

huge  great  room,  which  had  two-story  windows
showcasing the backyard and forest beyond. There
were  bedrooms  off  the  loft  above  the  five-car
garage,  and  there  was  a  master  suite  off  the  right-
hand  side  of  the  great  room  area,  but  the  thing  he
wanted them to see was built under the suspended
garage,  down  some  stairs  off  the  laundry  and
mudroom.

He flipped the lights on, and they descended the

staircase.  Turning  on  the  lights  in  the  huge  sports
court,  he  stepped  back  and  gestured  them  in.  The
room  had  a  twenty-five-foot  ceiling  and  had
originally  been  built  as  an  indoor  basketball  court.
There was also a small playset off to the side. Caleb
liked  shooting  hoops  with  his  brothers  and  friends
and watching Paisley play on the playset, but he’d
also added a lacrosse goal and a rebounder for wall
balls.  He  had  a  variety  of  sticks  hanging  on  one
wall and a bucket of balls waiting for Krew.

Krew turned back to him with wide eyes, then

plowed  into  him,  hugging  him  tight.  “I  love  you!”
Krew  screamed.  He  released  Caleb,  then  ran  to
grab  a  stick  off  the  wall,  pick  up  a  ball  out  of  the
bucket, and start shooting at the goal.

Caleb was momentarily frozen. Krew loved

him? He knew they were the words of an impulsive
little boy, but they were so good to hear. Caleb had
a lot of people who loved him, but Krew and Emily
were coming to mean as much to him as his own
family.

As he walked closer to Emily, she looked up at

him with bright eyes. “You tricky man. You realize
he’s never going to want to leave.”

He smiled. “That’s what I’m banking on.”
“You might get sick of us eventually.”
“Don’t plan on it.”
She simply shook her head and smiled, but her

quick blinking told him all he needed to know.
She’d missed him too.

The next couple of hours flew by as Caleb and

Krew went through drills while Emily watched, and
then  they  made  her  get  a  stick  and  he  taught  her
how  to  pass  and  catch  and  shoot.  She  claimed  she
couldn’t  do  team  sports  with  balls,  but  it  was
obvious  that  she  was  athletic  and  she  was  doing
pretty  great.  Caleb  loved  having  the  two  of  them
here  with  him,  and  he  loved  helping  her  position
her  stick  properly,  sneaking  in  some  opportunities
to touch her hand or her arm.

The doorbell rang, and Krew yelled, “Just

ignore it! They’ll go away!”

Caleb chuckled heartily. “You teach him that?”

he asked Emily.

She bit at her lip, and he could’ve sworn her

beautiful skin darkened.

“I think we want to answer this one,” Caleb

told Krew. “That is, if you like pizza.”

“Pizza! Whoo-hoo!” Krew rushed toward the

steps and tried to rehang his stick, but he couldn’t
quite reach it.

“You can just drop it,” Caleb told him.
Krew obeyed, dropping the stick and dashing

up the stairs.

“Wait for us,” Emily called.
“Ah, Mama,” Krew groaned from the stairwell,

but his footsteps paused.

Caleb gestured for Emily to go first. He

followed her up the staircase. She glanced over her
shoulder at him, and he was glad that he’d kept his
eyes on the pretty long dark hair bouncing on her
shoulder blades, not focused on her backside. His
mom and sisters would be proud.

“Did I imply we’d be staying for dinner?” she

asked.

Caleb shrugged. “I figured if you couldn’t, I

could send some home with you, or I could eat
pizza by myself for a week.” He gave her what his
sisters would call his puppy-dog eyes.

She laughed and shook her head. “You knew

Krew  would  be  starving  and  that  he  loves
pepperoni  pizza.”  The  words  might’ve  sounded
accusatory,  but  she  said  them  so  sweetly,  almost
like  she  appreciated  that  he  knew  that  pepperoni
pizza was Krew’s favorite food. The little man had
told him that at one of their practices in the fall.

“Hey, I know stuff.” He splayed his hands.
She giggled, and the sound brought warmth to

his heart.

They reached the main level and followed Krew

as  he  skipped  happily  through  the  great  room
toward  the  front  entrance.  “Like  I  know  that  you
blow  kisses  at  my  poster  every  chance  you  get.”
Caleb  lowered  his  voice,  leaned  in  closer,  and  put
his hand on her lower back.

Emily swallowed, stared at him with those dark

eyes  he’d  missed  so  much,  and  tripped  on
something. He wrapped his arm around her waist to
steady  her.  They  stopped  walking  and  turned
toward  each  other.  Emily  looked  up  at  him,  lips
parted, and he bent down closer.

“Mama? Caleb?” Krew called from the entry.

“Can I open the door, or is a pizza guy like a
stranger?”

They both laughed uneasily. Caleb eased back,

but couldn’t resist tucking a stray curl behind her
ear.

Emily turned from him and hurried toward the

entryway.  He  followed,  opening  the  door,  signing
for  the  food  and  a  tip,  and  then  carrying  the  stack
of  pizza  boxes,  breadsticks,  and  salads  that  he’d
bought  from  his  favorite  pizza  delivery  place,
Midici’s.

They settled in at his table with drinks and all

the  food,  said  a  prayer,  and  dove  in.  Caleb  loved
hearing  all  about  Krew’s  school  and  his  friend
Harley,  and  he  listened  as  Krew  told  him  all  about
what he’d done in ’Bama at Christmastime with his
cousins and how Santa had rocked it this year with
a real hoverboard and lacrosse gear and a bag so he
could play in the spring. Caleb had wanted to leave
presents on their porch, but that would’ve revealed
that he knew where they lived. He would’ve stayed
strong  until  March,  he  thought,  if  Mylee  hadn’t
found  him.  His  patience  was  impressive,  even  to
himself.

Emily didn’t say a lot, but her smile and her

presence was a salve for Caleb’s lonely heart. He’d
never been lonely before, always had tons of
family, friends, and willing women surrounding him,
but he’d been lonely for Emily and Krew these past
two months.

After they finished dinner, Emily and Krew

helped him clean up the garbage, and he insisted
they take the leftovers home with them. Sadly, that
spurred Emily to say it was time to go.

“No!” Krew and Caleb protested at the same

time.

Emily nodded firmly, giving Krew a no-

nonsense look. “Don’t sass me, child,” she said in
that Southern accent that Caleb adored.

“Yes, ma’am.” Krew picked up his box of

pepperoni pizza and looked to Caleb. “Thank you,
Coach. Thank you so much. I’ll see you tomorrow.”

Emily smiled, but it was tight. “Not tomorrow,

love. Maybe next week.”

“No!” Caleb and Krew protested again.
“How about if we come over next Monday for

another practice, and this time I’ll bring dinner?”
She looked to Caleb as if begging him to give her
the week.

It was an entire week away and Caleb didn’t

want  to  wait,  but  he  knew  she  was  trying  to  slow
things  down.  If  they  saw  each  other  every  day
again,  it  would  be  impossible  to  wait  to  progress
their  relationship.  March  was  the  magical  month.
What  if  her  loser  ex-husband  didn’t  release  her
from  her  stupid  promise  in  March?  Caleb  couldn’t
allow  himself  to  think  negatively  like  that,  and  he
couldn’t  risk  pushing  her  away  for  two  months
again.

“I would love to have you cook me dinner,” he

said, giving her what he hoped was a charming
smile. He wanted to beg her to stay longer, to come
back tomorrow, to let him come over the next day
and the next.

CHAPTER SEVEN

he next week crawled by, and Emily could
hardly stand staying away from Caleb. She

usually ran early in the morning on the treadmill in
the  winter,  but  she’d  taken  to  working  on  house
plans  at  five  a.m.,  getting  Krew  off  to  school  at
eight-thirty,  and  then  running  outside  before  she
showered  and  focused  on  work  again.  She  may
have  run  past  Caleb’s  house  multiple  times  each
day.

Monday morning, she noticed a black Cherokee

parked in the driveway. It had been there yesterday
afternoon when she and Krew had come back from
church  and  the  potluck  dinner,  and  maybe
happened  to  drive  by  Caleb’s  house,  which  was  at
the  end  of  the  cul-de-sac.  She’d  done  a  long  loop
through  Cherry  Hills  for  her  run  and  was  now
cooling  down  and  walking  past  Caleb’s  house  on

her way back home. It was out of the way, but she
needed  more  of  a  cooldown.  Walking  very,  very
slowly,  she  prayed  he’d  appear.  Her  excuse  was
that she needed to talk to him, get his advice. She’d
had an idea about Jeff and the custody and waiting
until  March,  and  she  thought  it  would  make  Caleb
happy—if she was brave enough to try and see if it
worked.

As she walked past his house slowly, craning

her  neck,  she  stopped  in  front  of  his  neighbor’s
house,  turned,  and  used  the  light  pole  and  curb  to
stretch.  It  was  probably  too  cold  outside  to  be
stretching,  even  though  she’d  gotten  pretty  warm
running ten miles, but she wanted to see him.

His door flung open and he walked out, with

one  arm  holding  a  beautiful  toddler  girl  and  the
other  arm  around  an  equally  beautiful  dark-haired
woman. Emily could only see part of the woman’s
face  as  she  was  turned  toward  Caleb,  but  it  was
easy  to  tell  she  was  fit  and  beautiful,  and  Caleb’s
attention was focused on her.

Emily lost all pretense of stretching as she

stared,  her  mouth  open  in  shock,  her  heart
thumping  painfully,  and  cold  chills  racing  over  her
body.  The  three  of  them  looked  like  the  most
perfect and gorgeous family she’d ever seen. Caleb
was  with  someone?  She  could  hardly  grasp  it,  yet
was it so unbelievable? She’d stalked him on social
media  and  hadn’t  seen  any  pictures  of  him  with

another woman since she’d first met him the end of
October, but that didn’t mean anything. This
woman’s profile looked familiar. Was she famous?

Please, please, please let me be reading this

wrong.

“Do you really have to leave?” Caleb asked.
“Please, Mama, please don’t make me leave,”

the little girl begged. She clung tightly to Caleb’s
neck and then kissed his cheek. “I just love him too
much!”

If Emily hadn’t wanted to bawl at this scene,

she would’ve thought it was the cutest thing.

Caleb kissed the little girl’s cheek in return and

said, “I love you more, my Paisley girl.”

Emily wished she could see the woman’s whole

face,  and  she  wished  she  could  be  her  friend.  She
was struck by the calm beauty the woman seemed
to radiate. This woman was just one of those people
who  were  serene,  confident,  and  made  everyone
around  her  feel  peace  and  love.  Dang  it!  Why
couldn’t  the  beautiful  brunette  be  a  snotty  brat?
Emily  knew  that  she  herself  was  sassy  and  funny;
she was nothing like the kind, sweet woman Caleb
had  his  arm  around.  Was  that  his  type?  Why  did
Emily’s  life  have  to  be  such  a  mess?  She’d  had  to
push him away time and again. Of course he would
be dating someone amazing.

The lady opened her arms to the little girl.

“Come on, Pais.”

The little girl stuck out her lip, and Emily

thought she would refuse, but then she went to the
woman.

The lady leaned against Caleb, and he tenderly

kissed  the  top  of  her  head.  “We’ll  see  you  soon,
Caleb.”  She  laughed  throatily  and  shook  her  head
at  him.  “Don’t  give  me  those  puppy-dog  eyes.
You’ll be fine without us. Love you.”

“Love you too.” Caleb was in stocking feet, but

he followed them down the cold concrete steps and
to the black Cherokee.

Emily let out a whimper and started to back

away.  She  could  not  believe  this.  She  understood
that  she  and  Caleb  weren’t  dating,  she’d  ditched
him  back  in  November,  and  they  had  no
commitment, but she’d lied to herself that he felt as
deeply  for  her  and  Krew  as  they  felt  for  him.  She
was  an  idiot.  He  had  a  beautiful  girlfriend,  maybe
fiancée,  and  he  loved  her  and  his  “Paisley  girl.”
Who  wouldn’t  love  Caleb,  and  who  wouldn’t  love
these  two?  They  were  the  perfect  fit  for  a
handsome,  wealthy  superstar  like  Caleb.  Whereas
Emily was a mess, dealing with a loser ex-husband
and  not  even  able  to  officially  date  Caleb  for  two
more  months.  All  her  dreams  of  telling  him  her
idea,  of  maybe  changing  that  two-month  deadline,
went up in smoke.

She scuttled backwards, unable to turn and run

properly away from this nightmare she was

viewing. Yet it wasn’t a nightmare for Caleb. It was
a  dream  come  true.  She  wanted  to  be  happy  for
him. If she truly cared for him, she’d be happy he’d
found  such  a  beautiful  pair  of  females  to  love  and
hold.  No.  She  was  a  selfish  brat  and  just  wanted
him for herself and Krew.

Caleb’s head whipped around at the sound of

her steps, and his eyes and mouth widened before
his incredible smile lit up his face. “Em!”

Emily choked on a sob, spun, and sprinted

away from him.

“Em! Wait!”
Emily ignored his calls, ignored the sound of his

feet  pounding  behind  her.  She  raced  up  the  street
and  then  around  the  corner.  She  only  lived  two
blocks  away,  and  normally  that  was  no  challenge
for her to sprint, but the tightness in her chest and
the  sobs  wanting  to  spill  out  made  her  weak  from
lack of oxygen and the pain that racked her body.

Caleb’s footsteps were getting closer and closer.

It  was  crazy  that  he  was  chasing  her  when  he  had
that  perfect  model  and  her  adorable  little  girl
waiting  for  him,  probably  wondering  what  in  the
world  was  going  on.  Why  was  he  chasing  Emily?
He  should  just  say  good  riddance  to  all  her
problems and focus on that woman and little girl.

Emily had almost reached her porch when he

grabbed her arm and easily tugged her to a stop.
She whirled around to face him, pulling her arm

free and dashing away the tears on her face. When
had  she  started  crying?  She  took  deep  gulps  of  air
and looked away from Caleb’s handsome face. “It’s
okay,  Caleb.  We  aren’t  dating.  I’m  just  being  silly.
That  woman  and  her  little  girl  are  perfect.  Perfect
for you.”

“Emily,” Caleb said sharply. “Stop it!”
Her gaze darted to him, and fire filled her.

“Well,  excuse  me.  Here  I  am  trying  to  be
magnanimous  while  I  watch  you  hug  and  kiss  a
beautiful  woman  and  her  sweet  child  when  you’re
all  I  want,  all  I  think  about—and  you  tell  me,  all
jerky, to ‘stop it.’ You can’t even let me pretend to
be  happy  for  you?  At  least  give  me  that  scrap  of
pride!”

Caleb grinned as if she’d just handed him the

best gift of his life. “Oh, Em.” He shook his head,
bent down, and kissed her.

Emily gasped in surprise, but wasted no time

wrapping her arms tight around his neck and kissing
him  back.  No  kiss  had  ever  felt  like  this  one.
Caleb’s  lips  were  firm  and  perfect  and  warmed  up
the  cold  air  surrounding  them.  He  tugged  her  in
tight, and his strong arms around her and his strong
body  molded  to  hers  told  her  that  nobody  and
nothing could hurt her, that she would be protected
and loved until the day she died.

Caleb pulled back and murmured, “Sorry. I

didn’t know how else to shut you up.”

“Oh!” she gasped. She tried to jerk away, but he

didn’t allow it. “Why would you have to shut me
up?”

He bent down low and kissed her once, twice;

then they became entangled in the kiss again, and it
took  on  a  life  of  its  own.  His  lips  on  hers
transported  her  to  a  different  world,  where
happiness  abounded  and  no  one  would  ever  take
her away from him.

Emily finally pulled back when she had no

choice but to gasp for air and demand, “Why would
you have to shut me up?”

“Because you were so cute and misguided

thinking I am dating Eve or something.”

Oh, perfect. Even the woman’s name was

gorgeous.  “You  said  you  loved  her,  and  they  both
said they loved you.” Again she fought to leave the
circle of his arms, and again Caleb held her fast and
gave  her  a  soft,  lingering  kiss  that  only  made  her
crave  more.  Yet  he  shouldn’t  be  kissing  her  when
he was with someone else.

“Eve is my sister. Paisley is my niece.”
Emily lost all fight and all ability to think

straight. She leaned into him for support and
muttered, “S-sister?”

He nodded solemnly. “Would you like to come

back to my house with me and allow me to properly
introduce you?”

“Y-yes,” she managed weakly. “But first … oh,

Caleb!” She kissed him again.

Caleb chuckled against her mouth and kissed

her  in  return.  The  chilly  world  and  every  worry
around  them  disappeared  as  their  lips  connected.
His  strong  body  surrounded  her,  and  she  felt  safe,
loved,  and  happy.  She  never  wanted  to  leave  his
side or face reality again. She fisted his shirt in her
hands  and  let  out  a  soft  moan.  Caleb  drew  in  a
breath and then proceeded to pull her in so tight she
could  feel  the  ridges  of  muscle  in  his  chest  and
abdomen. He kissed her with reckless abandon, and
she was filled with bubbly warmth like a hot tub.

When the beautiful kiss ended, he gave her a

secretive  smile  before  they  turned  and  started
walking  back  arm  in  arm.  She  looked  down  at
Caleb’s  stocking  feet  and  realized  he’d  chased  her
down with no shoes on. “Are your feet okay?”

“I stepped on a rock,” he admitted, grinning

down at her. “You might have to kiss it better.”

“I am not kissing your feet,” she tossed back.

Then  a  horrible  thought  chilled  her  more  than  the
crisp morning air. “I shouldn’t be kissing you at all.
This would definitely, definitely classify as dating.”
And  just  like  that,  all  the  warm  beauty  of  their
kisses  was  sucked  from  her  life  as  if  by  a
commercial  vacuum,  never  to  be  emptied  and
returned to her.

Caleb stopped in the middle of the street and

said seriously, “I know. I’m sorry. I just couldn’t

resist you any longer.”

“Truly? Have you been fighting to resist me?”

Emily peered up at him through her eyelashes,
anxious to hear his answer. She’d admitted that he
was all she wanted and would love to hear that he
felt the same—even though she knew they couldn’t
be together right now.

“Fighting to resist you?” Caleb let out a low

groan. “Oh, Em. It’s been the toughest battle of my
life. You’re my dream woman, Em. I’ve never felt
like this about anyone. I’d do anything for you.”

“Oh, Caleb.” She put a hand to her heart.

“That’s the sweetest thing anyone’s ever said to
me.”

He smiled, but then it slid away. “This is so

hard,  Em.  I  hate  your  ex  and  I  don’t  think  you
should be beholden to him, but at the same time, I
admire  you  even  more  for  trying  to  keep  up  your
end  of  the  bargain.  But  I  just  don’t  know  if  he’s
going  to  ever  let  you  go.”  His  voice  deepened.  “I
guess that’s the only thing I understand about him. I
don’t want to ever let you go.”

“Oh my.” She wanted to kiss him all over again.

Two more months of waiting to date him? Maybe
her idea with Jeff would work. She wanted to try,
but she was terrified of how he'd react.

She and Krew had only seen Jeff once since

he’d followed her to the field back in November,
and he’d been more upset and erratic than she’d

ever seen him. He’d made her snap pictures of him
pretending  to  interact  with  Krew,  even  throwing  a
football  to  him.  She’d  hated  it,  but  she’d  been
terrified  to  tell  him  no.  He  hadn’t  even  made  an
effort  at  Christmas.  It  was  a  relief  not  having  to
deal  with  Jeff,  not  worrying  about  him  trying  to
take  Krew  away  and  scaring  her  boy.  Yet  she
wanted  to  date  Caleb,  and  she  was  afraid  he  was
right  that  Jeff  was  never  going  to  stop  trying  to
hang  custody  over  her  head.  Maybe  Jeff  wouldn’t
let her go because he thought that if she stayed out
of the limelight and dated a famous lacrosse player,
it would hurt his football career and image. Maybe
he  was  just  insane.  She  really  didn’t  know  at  this
point.

They walked slowly back to his house. His

sister and niece were waiting by the Cherokee, the
little girl shivering.

“I’m sorry, sis. Sorry, Pais.”
His sister smiled, and her blue eyes that were so

similar to Caleb’s were twinkling. Now that Emily
was thinking reasonably and seeing Eve straight on,
she easily recognized her as a Jewel. “It’s okay,”
Eve said. “We’ll deal with a little cold to watch you
chase down a beautiful woman.” She extended her
hand. “Eve Jewel. It’s wonderful to meet you.”

“Emily Housley.” She shook Eve’s hand, then

turned to the little girl. “Hi, Paisley. It’s nice to
meet you.”

“Why was you a-running from my Uncle

Caleb?” the little girl asked suspiciously.

“Um, I was being stupid and …” Emily trailed

off as the little girl gave her a saucy look. Emily fell
instantly in love with her; this was a kindred spirit
who didn’t take guff and knew how to dish it. “The
truth is, Paisley, I thought your mama and Uncle
Caleb were dating.”

Paisley’s eyes widened, and then she hooted

out a laugh. “You weirdo!”

“Pais,” Eve cautioned as Caleb and Emily

chuckled.

“I know,” Emily said. “Crazy weird, right?”
“You talk funny,” Paisley said.
“I love the way she talks,” Caleb said, giving

Emily a meaningful look. “It’s called a Southern
accent.”

“A Southern accent with a side of sass,” Emily

quipped.

Eve laughed while Paisley looked a little

confused. “I think everyone is going to like you,”
Eve said. “I’m so sorry we have to go, but I have a
personal training appointment at eleven at my gym
in Golden. Caleb talked us into staying last night, so
now I need to rush.”

“It was lovely to meet you,” Emily said. “I

hope I see you both again soon.”

“You’re lovely,” Paisley said, giggling as she

tried to imitate her accent.

Emily grinned. This little girl was adorable. Her

mind raced ahead to spending more time with Eve,
Paisley, Caleb, and Krew. Paisley and Krew would
have a great time together. She didn’t know nearly
enough about Caleb’s family, only what she’d seen
online, but she was pretty certain Eve wasn’t
married. She’d introduced herself as Eve Jewel.

Caleb opened the back door of the Cherokee,

and Eve lifted Paisley inside, fastening her car seat.
Caleb leaned in and gave her one more squeeze.
“See you soon. Love you.”

“Love me too!” Paisley giggled.
Caleb laughed and shut her door.
“I hope to see you again soon,” Eve said.
Emily shook her hand and said, “You too.”
Eve glanced up at Caleb. “Don’t start anything

of hers on fire or scare her away with your sturdy
tricks.”

Caleb laughed heartily. “Don’t worry. I save

most of those for Seth now.”

“I heard about the sign at the airport,” Eve said

dryly. She glanced at Emily and explained, “Last
week he had a driver waiting at the Atlanta airport
for Seth and Breeze with a sign—‘Welcome home
from prison!’”

Emily giggled, and Caleb grinned. She loved his

playful personality.

“You’ve got a story for me, little bro.”
Caleb looked over at Emily. “I’m hoping for a

good one.”

Emily’s cheeks flushed with heat.
Caleb got his sister’s door and then walked over

to stand by Emily while they pulled away, waving
them out of the driveway. He turned to Emily, and
his eyes lit up. “Now that we’ve kissed, I think that
should be all we do if Krew isn’t here. Lacrosse at
nights with Krew. Kissing all day.” He leaned
toward her.

Emily put a hand on his chest, savoring the

well-formed muscles under her fingertips. “I have
to be done with this deal with Jeff first.”

“Oh, yeah.” Disappointment filled his face. “I

pushed that loser from my mind.”

“Wish I could. Do you have a second? I have

an idea I wanted to share with you.”

“Do I have a second for you?” Caleb’s gaze

swept over her face, making her feel like she was a
supermodel,  not  a  single  mom  who’d  just  run  ten
miles.  At  least  it  was  cold  enough  that  she  wasn’t
sweaty  and  stinky.  “Always,”  he  said  in  a  deep
voice that resonated through her.

He took her hand and led her into his house.

Emily  loved  having  her  hand  in  his,  but  they  were
pushing  the  envelope.  She  was  terrified  that  Jeff
might  somehow  find  out,  and  she  also  had  to  live
with herself.

Caleb led her into the kitchen area and asked,

“Can I get you some water, Gatorade, a smoothie,

breakfast? I make a mean omelet.”

Emily smiled. “Water’s great. Thank you.”
He got out two water bottles and handed her

one. “Would you like to sit?”

She shook her head. “I’d better not. If I get too

comfortable here, I’ll set up camp and never want
to leave.”

“How’d you know that’s on my list of top ten

daydreams?” he asked.

Emily quivered from the depth of meaning in

his eyes and words, and she had no sassy
comeback. He daydreamt about her? Oh my.

Caleb took a drink of his water, and she

followed suit. The cold liquid tasted great after her
long run. He tilted his head and smiled. “I love you
in running clothes.”

She glanced down at her pink long-sleeved shirt

and black running pants.

“The pink reminds me of the second time I saw

you at the park. I’ll never forget the way you
looked in that pink shirt.”

She pushed at her limp ponytail and felt her

neck heat up; to cool herself, she gulped down
some more water. “Um … thank you.”

“I’m pushing you too hard?” he guessed.
She shrugged, loving his compliments and

wishing for the millionth time that Jeff was out of
her life. “So, my idea.” She set the water bottle on
the counter and gesticulated as she explained.

“With  Krew  in  school  full-time  this  year,  I  started
back  at  work  doing  home  designs.  I’m  an
independent  contractor,  but  Vance  got  me  in  with
an  amazing  builder,  True  Homes,  so  my  business
took  off.  Jeff  pays  me  a  lot  of  child  support,  and
I’ve  been  putting  it  all  aside  and  paying  extra  on
my car and the house.”

He watched her carefully. She didn’t really like

sharing her finances with him—well, with anyone
—but it was important to her idea.

“Anyway, I’m able to provide for myself now,

and I’ve built up my savings, paid my car off, and
have  no  other  debts  besides  the  house.  So  here’s
my  idea.  What  if  I  ask  Jeff  to  restructure  our
agreement?  I  tell  him  he  can  stop  paying  child
support  if  he’ll  give  up  all  custody  besides
supervised  visits.  We  could  do  it  all  through  a
mediator  and  not  even  have  to  deal  with  the  legal
battles,  lawyers,  or  time  spent  in  court.  No  bad
publicity, which seems to be his main concern.”

Caleb leaned toward her. “Do you think he’ll

do it?”

She shrugged. “I think … maybe. He honestly

has only come by once in the past two months, and
he never gives Krew more than a few glances when
he comes. He seems angrier and out of control too.
I know all the brain injuries have messed with his
brain, because he’s not even close to the man I
married. Anyway, I’m hoping the money would be

enough motivation for him. He does well, but he’s
not at the top tier or anything, and I can’t imagine
he’s got many more years of playing in him.”

“Do you mind me asking how much he pays

you a month?”

“Twenty thousand.”
Caleb’s eyebrows lifted. “That might be a

decent motivator. Is that about a quarter of his
take-home pay?”

“A third, and he has some sponsorships on top

of that. I think he agreed in the first place because
the  media  made  a  big  deal  about  how  generous  he
was  being,  which  helped  with  his  image  during  a
nasty  divorce  and  in  turn  helped  his  sponsors.”
There  was  silence  for  a  second;  then  she  said,  “I
think  I’m  going  to  try  it.  Do  you  see  any  holes  in
the idea?”

He splayed his hands and said, “I don’t know

Jeff  well  enough  to  say,  but  I  don’t  think  it  could
hurt  to  ask.  If  he  truly  doesn’t  seem  interested  in
Krew,  then  he’s  only  doing  this  to  control  you.
Hopefully, his brain injuries aren’t bad enough that
he’s  completely  unreasonable.  I’ve  known  some
athletes who got there.”

That was her fear too. She clutched her water

bottle.  If  this  worked  with  Jeff,  she  and  Caleb
would  be  free  to  date.  She  prayed  it  would  work
out,  but  she  had  to  protect  Krew  no  matter  what.
“I’d better go shower and get working. I’ll see you

tonight.”

“When you make me a delectable dinner,” he

said with a wink.

“Yes, sir. Do you care if I cook in here while

you play with Krew? Then it’ll all be fresh and
hot.”

“I’d love to see you cooking in my kitchen,

another daydream of mine,” he winked, “and I love
any time I get with Krew.”

Was it too early to tell him she loved him?

Definitely. She simply thanked him and let him
walk her out.

On the porch, he said, “So I’m guessing you’re

going to tell me I can’t kiss you goodbye?” His
voice was so low and husky that she didn’t know
how to say no.

“I think we’d better …” She swallowed hard.

“… wait until everything’s settled.”

He nodded solemnly.
She backed away, then swiveled and started

running. Running away had never been so hard.

CHAPTER EIGHT

mily clutched bags of groceries as she and
Krew walked the couple of blocks to Caleb’s

house. She should’ve driven. Even though she wore
thin  gloves,  the  handles  of  the  grocery  bags  were
digging  into  her  palms.  Krew  happily  carried  his
lacrosse  stick,  gloves,  and  a  cake  she’d  made
earlier today. She prayed the cake didn’t topple.

“Then Harley and me told Ethan that Caleb

Jewel is my coach, and he was like, ‘No way,’ and I
was like, ‘Yes way,’ and then after, like, a bunch of
‘ways,’ he finally believed me—’cause you have to
believe Harley; he’s, like, the best kid in the class—
so then Ethan said me and Harley could play on his
team this spring. How beastly is that, Mama?”

“Way cool.” She shifted the bags in her hands

and walked faster, her shoulders aching now.
Beastly? It was his new word, and she wasn’t sure

about it yet.

“Cool?” He snorted in derision. “Ethan has the

best lax team, and some of his coaches played for
Denver

University

when

they

won

the

championship. Can you believe that, Mama?
Clutch. I mean, it’s not as beastly as Caleb Jewel,
but still … beastly.”

Emily could see Caleb’s front porch now.

Almost there.

The door sprang open, and Caleb hurried across

the  porch  and  down  the  stairs.  It  wasn’t  a  bitter
January  night,  probably  about  forty,  but  it  still
wasn’t  warm  enough  to  rush  outside  in  a  T-shirt,
joggers,  and  socks.  He  looked  incredible,  and  just
the  sight  of  him  brought  back  the  memory  of  their
kisses. Heaven. If the memories of kissing him were
all she had to survive until March, at least she had
amazing ones.

“Caleb!” Krew rushed toward him.
Caleb grinned and upped his pace to meet her

boy. It melted her heart as much as the memory of
his kisses.

Emily watched the cake pan wobble in Krew’s

arm. “Oh, goodness’ sakes.” She hurried forward.
“Krew, be care—”

The cake went flying. Emily watched her hard

work  go  to  meet  its  demise.  Caleb  dove  …  and
scooped  the  cake  before  it  hit  the  pavement.  His
elbows  scraped  along  the  pavement  instead.  Emily

winced and cried out. Krew cheered. Caleb popped
up to his feet, grinning at her as a thin trickle of
blood worked its way down the back of his right
arm and to his elbow.

“Caleb!” Emily set all of the groceries in the

middle of the street and rushed to him. “Your
arms!”

Caleb glanced down as the drop of blood fell to

the pavement. He shrugged. “It’s just a little
scratch, but I saved …” He lifted the tinfoil and
grinned. “Chocolate cake? That was a good save.”

“For sure!” Krew put out his hand for a high

five.

“Boys!” Emily put her hands on her hips.

“Let’s go doctor you up.”

Caleb’s grin grew. “Now you’re talking.” He

hurried over to the groceries she’d abandoned and
easily scooped all the heavy bags into one hand,
balancing the cake on the other.

Emily stared at him. Oh my, he was impressive.
Krew danced by his side, repeating his story

about Ethan and how he could hardly believe that
Krew and Harley knew Caleb.

“Pretty big accomplishment to know me.”

Caleb winked at Emily over Krew’s head.

They reached the front door, and Emily held up

her hands. “Let me take those sacks and go find
some paper towels so you don’t drip blood on your
beautiful wood floor.”

Caleb pushed through his door, laughing.

“Blood wipes up easily.”

“How do you know that?”
He hurried through the entryway and into the

huge great room, luckily only dropping a few
splatters of blood. “My twin Seth and I were crazy.
Well, I guess we still are.” He set the groceries and
cake down and pulled out some paper towels,
trying to dab both elbows with them.

Emily hurried to help him, holding the paper

towels to each elbow to stop the bleeding before
she investigated to see how bad it was. She wanted
to hear more about his twin. She’d read about his
family members online, but she would love to hear
about each of them from him.

“Coach,” Krew called out. “Can I go start

practicing?”

“Sure, buddy,” Caleb said.
Krew dashed toward the laundry room and the

stairs leading down to the sports court.

Emily was acutely aware that she was alone

with  Caleb.  He  gazed  down  at  her,  and  the  air
between  them  seemed  to  pulse.  Being  so  close  to
him  made  her  feel  a  bit  unsteady,  or  maybe  it  was
the blood.

“I love when he calls me coach,” Caleb said.
“He loves being around you.” She smiled. “And

bragging about you as well.”

“Since I’m such a big deal to brag about.” He

winked.

“You are.” She thought it was illuminating that

while Krew had a dad who played for the Broncos,
he’d rather brag about Caleb. Lacrosse wasn’t
nearly as well known as football, but Krew didn’t
care. “Sit,” she instructed him.

He arched his eyebrows. “Yes, ma’am.” He sat

on a barstool and held up his elbows.

She pressed against his lean thigh muscles to get

close enough and gently dabbed at the scrapes. The
right  side  was  worse,  but  they  were  both  bleeding.
She  could  hear  Krew  cheering  for  himself
downstairs  while  the  ball  thumped  with  every
bounce, but right here and now it was just her and
Caleb. His slow, rhythmic breathing complemented
her quick, elevated breaths.

“At least I saved the cake,” he said.
“That was some save,” she admitted.
“It was a chocolate cake.”
“You’re my hero.” It had been a heroic and

instinctive save. She wanted him around if there
was ever an emergency.

“I’ll do a lot for homemade cake.”
She laughed. When she glanced at his

handsome  face,  she  wanted  to  kiss  him  right  then
and there. Forcing herself to look back at his arms,
she lifted the paper towels away. There were some
ugly  red  scrapes,  but  they  weren’t  bleeding
anymore.  “I  think  it’s  just  a  ‘flesh  wound,’”  she

said, giving her best Monty Python imitation.

“Nice.” He lifted his arms up to inspect. “Oh

yeah, I don’t even need a Band-Aid.”

“You might need a Band-Aid.”
“Naw. Seth and I were always getting beat up,

burned, and broken. I’m too tough for Band-Aids.”

She shook her head. “You are tough, but I don’t

like seeing you hurt.”

“Do you like seeing me, though?” His blue eyes

turned serious.

She nodded. “I think that’s more than obvious.”
“I missed you even more than usual today. All I

could think about was kissing you this morning.”

Emily sucked in a quick breath. She could

relate. It had been hard to get anything productive
done today with work, and even harder to not call
Mylee and share every detail of those glorious
kisses, but sharing would’ve made it too real, made
it valid that they were “dating.” She couldn’t date
him, and she shouldn’t kiss him again until she was
through with Jeff, no matter how much she wanted
to.

His voice deepened. “I won’t kiss you again

…”

She swallowed hard and blinked to keep the

emotion back. He wouldn’t kiss her again?

“Until we can officially date.”
She let out a relieved sigh.
He leaned closer. He didn’t touch her, but his

warm, minty breath tickled her face; combined with
his musky, citrus scent and the longing look in his
eyes, it was more than enough to make her insane.
“But just know I’ll be thinking about you and
dreaming of your lips on mine.”

Emily swayed closer to him. Forget her stupid

promise  to  that  jerk  Jeff.  She  was  going  to  make
Caleb’s  dreams  come  true  right  this  moment  and
kiss  him  until  Krew  got  bored  of  shooting  at  that
rebounder  thing.  She  dropped  the  paper  towels  on
the  counter,  leaned  down,  and  gently  framed  his
face  with  her  hands.  With  him  sitting  on  the  tall
barstool, he was only a little shorter than her.

“Em?” Caleb whispered. His voice was husky

and full of hope, but there was also a warning note
as  if  she  were  doing  something  wrong.  Hang  her
overinflated  guilt.  She  was  falling  in  love  with
Caleb,  and  she’d  made  it  almost  a  year  on  her
misguided promise to Jeff.

She moistened her bottom lip, and Caleb let out

a low groan. He wrapped his arms around her lower
back  and  pulled  her  flush  against  him.  Yes.  This
was  happening.  Her  pulse  hammered  in  her  ears
and  her  body  filled  with  heat  as  she  crossed  the
distance and brushed her lips against his.

“Em,” he groaned out. His eyes were full of

desire,  but  she  could  hear  the  conflict  and
frustration  in  his  tone.  He’d  just  told  her  he
wouldn’t  kiss  her  until  they  could  officially  date,

and here she went kissing him.

They didn’t move. Their bodies melded

together, him looking at her so beseechingly and
her wanting him so much that she could hardly
stand the thought of waiting longer.

“Mama? Coach?”
Emily yelped and stepped back.
Caleb released her and stood quickly. “Hey,

little man.” He held up his arms. “Your mama
doctored me all up. No more blood. I’m ready to
play.”

“Okay.” Krew was eyeing them strangely.

“Why were you two hugging?”

Emily wasn’t sure how to answer, but Caleb

answered for her: “Because I like your mama, a lot.
Is it okay if I hug her?”

Krew nodded, his full lips pursed. “Sure. ’Cause

we like you too.” He turned and walked back to the
stairs.

Caleb followed, but as he brushed by her, he

gave her a significant look. “We need to talk.”

She knew they did, but honestly, when she was

around him, she didn’t know which way was up.
“Okay. I’ll just be … up here cooking.”

He gave her a warm smile and followed her son

down the stairs.

Emily leaned against the counter to catch her

breath. A lot of people kissed but weren’t dating,
right? Hot shame licked at her. She wasn’t one of

those people, and she was still concerned that if
Jeff found out how much she liked Caleb, he would
do something to hurt her, or more importantly to
her, Krew.

She opened the fridge and started pulling out

groceries and the breadstick dough she’d made
earlier. At some point, she’d have to call Jeff and
figure this all out. Dating Caleb needed to happen,
and soon.

Caleb focused on working with Krew, but his mind
kept straying back to that kitchen and Emily. He
wanted her in his life. He wanted her in his arms.
Being patient stank. And if she pressed against him
and kissed him again, he was going to forget every
ounce of self-control he’d ever claimed to possess.

“Nice shot,” he told Krew. “You’re going to be

the best lacrosse player ever.”

Krew looked up at him. “Do you mean that?”
“Yeah, I do. You’re naturally talented, you’re a

hard worker, you love the game, and you’ve got the
best coach ever.” He winked.

“Thanks, Coach.”
They started into a defensive drill, and Caleb

showed Krew how to use his body to move the
offensive player where he wanted him to go.

Footsteps descended the stairs, and Caleb

whirled  to  face  Emily.  She  looked  incredible  in  a
white  sweater  and  dark  gray  pants.  He  had  to
constantly  remind  himself  why  he  couldn’t  be
kissing  her  nonstop,  besides  their  six-year-old
audience. “How’s it going down here?” she asked.

“Coach Caleb says I’m going to be the best

lacrosse player ever!” Krew yelled, running and
jumping into his mom’s arms.

Emily laughed and hugged her boy. “I’m sure

he’s right, because he’s the best lacrosse player
now.”

“Yep. And I’m going to pass him up.”
Caleb wanted to go wrap his arms around the

two of them. They were meant to be his family. He
felt it.

Eve had called him this afternoon and quizzed

him  down  about  the  beautiful  woman  he’d  chased
after,  then  brought  back  to  meet  her  and  Paisley.
Eve  had  been  stunned  when  she  found  out  Emily
had a six-year-old son. Caleb understood why; he’d
never  been  one  to  be  responsible,  patient,  or  let
himself take anything in life too seriously. But he’d
been  patient,  he  was  ready  to  be  responsible,  and
he was serious about these two … very serious.

“Dinner’s ready when you are,” Emily said.
“Yes! My mama is the best cook,” Krew

bragged.

“I can hardly wait to eat, then.” Caleb headed

over  as  Emily  set  Krew  down,  and  they  all
ascended  the  stairs  together.  It  smelled  like
something  warm  and  tantalizing.  “It  smells  like
something the best cook would make.”

“It’s just chicken marinara and veggies.”
Caleb looked around. “With salad and

homemade breadsticks.”

She ducked her head. “I hope you like it.”
“Oh, I will.” How could he not like something

she made?

They all sat, and Caleb offered a prayer; then it

was  quiet  for  a  few  minutes  as  they  passed  dishes
and  started  eating.  Caleb  may  have  moaned  when
he  tried  the  chicken,  and  he  may  have  moaned
again  when  he  ate  a  bite  of  the  crusty,  cheesy,
garlicky, buttery breadstick.

Emily gave him a grateful, sweet smile, but

Krew gave him a concerned glance. “You okay?”

Caleb grinned. “Your mama is the best cook in

the world.”

Krew shrugged. “Told you. Was your mama the

best cook too?”

Caleb sputtered on the drink of water he’d just

taken. “No. She was a horrible cook. She hated it.
She’s the best mom in every other sense, but it was
rough, as the only homemade meals I got were
what the chef made for us.”

“Ooh, poor spoiled rich kid had to survive on

what the chef made,” Emily teased.

Caleb smiled. “Does your grandma cook?” he

asked Krew. His grandmothers had both passed, but
he had good memories of Grandma Jewel cooking
for them.

“Does Meemaw cook?” Krew gave him an

incredulous look. “Meemaw is the best cook in the
South. It’s worth riding on that boring airplane just
to eat Meemaw’s hushpuppies and her sausage
gravy with biscuits and her pecan pie.” For the first
time, Krew sounded Southern. “Mama, can we go
visit Meemaw again?”

Emily smiled tenderly at her son and pushed his

hair off his forehead. “Not soon, sweet honey child.
We were just there.”

Krew slumped and focused on his food.
“Tell me about the rest of your family,” Emily

requested of Caleb.

Caleb happily complied, starting with Joshua

and  Jade  and  working  his  way  down.  Emily  asked
lots  of  questions,  and  Krew  became  interested  in
the  conversation,  hearing  about  how  crazy  he  and
Seth used to be together. Then Krew got distracted
with videos of Seth’s motocross and snocross races
and stunts that were recorded on Caleb’s phone.

Caleb leaned back, finished with all the

delicious food, and stared at Emily while Krew
screamed out that Seth had done a double backflip
before he scrolled to the next video.

“What?” she asked, self-consciously tucking a

curl behind her ear.

“You are so beautiful,” he said.
“Thank you kindly, sir,” she said in a slightly

mocking, very Southern voice, but he knew it was
just because she didn’t want to act cocky about his
compliment.

Yet he wasn’t ready to tease. “Having you here,

cooking for me, being part of my life …” He
cleared his throat. “It means the world to me.”

Her dark eyes brightened. “I wish we could be

like this every night.”

“Me too.” He waited, then dared to ask, “What

are we going to do?”

She pursed her lips and her eyes got serious.

“I’m going to talk to Jeff tonight. I’m going to fight
to be free of him.”

It was all Caleb could do to keep his seat. He

wanted to run to her, pluck her off her chair, swing
her in the air, and kiss her. He settled for an
approving smile. “Thank you.”

“Pray for me,” she said quietly.
His gaze went from her beautiful face to her

adorable  son,  who  was  still  engrossed  in  Seth’s
videos. He knew exactly what she feared. “I will.”
He’d never prayed so earnestly as he would tonight
for  Krew  to  be  safe  and  for  Emily  to  be  free.  He
loved  her.  The  three  of  them  were  meant  to  be  a
family. He’d never wanted anything like he wanted
them in his life. It would work out. It had to.

CHAPTER NINE

t was only eight o’clock when Emily forced
Krew to leave Caleb’s house. Caleb insisted on

walking  them  back  home.  She  worried  that  one  of
the  neighbors  would  see  them  and  report  back  to
Jeff, but it was worth the risk to spend a few more
minutes with Caleb. She had to content herself with
savoring  the  hug  Krew  gave  Caleb,  wishing  she
dared  claim  at  least  a  hug.  Caleb  gave  her  a
secretive  smile  and  a  meaningful  look  as  he  said
goodbye  and  she  forced  herself  to  close  the  door.
Soon, she told herself. Soon she could hug him, kiss
him,  date  him,  and  see  where  all  these  wonderful
feelings could go with the superstar of her day and
night dreams.

She read stories and scriptures with Krew, said

prayers, and tucked him into bed. As she kissed
him, she realized that her decision to talk to Jeff

wasn’t  only  due  to  her  selfish  desire  to  be  with
Caleb;  she  was  also  doing  it  to  protect  Krew  from
an  unstable  influence,  one  who  obviously  scared
him.  It  was  awful  to  recognize  that  Krew’s  father
had changed so much over the course of the boy’s
life  that  he  was  an  unfit  parent,  but  Emily  knew  it
was true. She’d do anything to protect him.

Brushing her lips across Krew’s forehead, she

murmured, “Love you.”

“Love you too, Mama-llama-red-pajama.” He

giggled, all silly and adorable.

Emily laughed with him, then turned out his

lamp  and  left  the  room.  She  went  to  her  own
bedroom  and  paced  for  a  few  minutes,  debating
how  to  present  her  idea  to  Jeff  so  she  would  have
the best chance of success. She couldn’t fail. If this
backfired  and  Jeff  actually  used  his  custody  time
with  Krew  …  No.  She  couldn’t  go  there,  or  she’d
never make the call. Jeff didn’t have any interest in
Krew, only in controlling Emily.

She knelt down and said a prayer. Peace and

strength infused her. She could do this, for Krew,
for herself, and for Caleb.

Standing, she pulled out her phone and pressed

on Jeff’s number. It only rang once.

“’lo,” Jeff grunted out.
“Hey, it’s me,” she said quietly.
“I have caller ID.”
“Oh yeah.” She paced as she talked, clinging to

the phone. “Hey, what do you think about
restructuring our agreement?”

“What do you mean?”
She took a deep breath and pushed it all out

there. “When we went through the divorce, I
wasn’t working and your contract was impressive,
so my lawyer got a lot of money for child support.”

“Thanks for the reminder.”
Great, he was already grumpy. “But now I’m

working and it’s going well.” There was no way to
beat around the bush, so she just said it. “If I give
up  all  further  child  support,  would  you  sign  off  on
custody?  I’m  not  asking  you  to  give  up  parental
rights; you could still come visit when I’m here, but
we  wouldn’t  have  to  …  worry  about  weekends  or
summer  visits.”  Not  that  he  ever  used  either,  but
there was always the worry. Especially since she’d
made  the  promise  not  to  date  so  he  wouldn’t  take
Krew on the weekends and summer visits. She was
ready  to  date  Caleb,  and  she  didn’t  want  Jeff  to
have any excuse to hurt Krew.

The silence scratched across the line,

unnervingly  quiet  yet  loud  enough  to  make  her
head  hurt.  Her  heart  was  racing,  and  her  palms
were  clammy.  She  prayed  inside.  Please  Lord,
please  let  him  agree.  If  only  he  would  agree.  It
would  mean  no  more  worrying  if  he  might  take
Krew  and  hurt  or  belittle  him.  No  more  worrying
about dating Caleb. She and Krew would be free.

“Are you dating Caleb Jewel?” he asked coldly.
Her heart squeezed. Oh no. Why had he gone

there? “I’m not dating anyone.”

“Don’t lie to me.” His voice rose. “I should

have some say in which men associate with my
son.”

That ticked her off, and she said before could

stop herself, “You don’t even associate with your
son. We’ve seen you once all winter. You didn’t
even bring him a Christmas present.”

“You want me to associate with him? Great. I’ll

come over every night. Why don’t I take him this
weekend? I know you’d love the break so you can
go on dates with Caleb Jewel.”

“Jeff, please. Don’t …” Fear coated her throat,

making it scratchy. “Why can’t you just let me go?”

“Because you owe me, woman. I gave you the

best years of my life, and what do you do? You
ditch me and divorce me. You tried to make me
look like an unstable loser.”

She wanted to tell him that he’d done that to

himself, but he was so unreasonable she didn’t even
know how to fight with him.

“Vivian saw you kissing Caleb Jewel in the

middle of the street this morning,” Jeff said gruffly,
“and George saw him walking you home tonight.
You can stop lying to me.”

Emily’s stomach churned. She should’ve

realized one of the neighbors might see their kiss

and report it back to Jeff. He’d lived in the
neighborhood too, and some of the neighbors
actually liked him—or more likely they wanted free
tickets to Broncos games.

“The media could easily get wind of this and

make me look like an idiot. You choosing a lacrosse
player  over  me.”  He  pushed  out  a  disgusted  grunt.
“I’m  coming  to  get  Krew  Friday.  You  broke  your
promise and you’re dating Jewel. It’s the least I can
do  to  return  the  favor  and  teach  your  spoiled  boy
some respect.”

“No!” Fear rushed through her. “He won’t go

with you.” It had been ten months since Krew had
last gone with Jeff, and he’d never told her what
had happened besides that Daddy was scary. Would
he remember? Would he fight to stay with Emily?

“The court says I have the right to take him.

Try and stop me.” And he hung up.

Tears coursed down her face as she stared at

the phone. The entire idea had backfired. No! Why
had she felt peace when she’d prayed? Why had
she been so selfish and stupid to put her desires to
date Caleb over protecting her boy?

She sank into her armchair and let the tears

come. Finally, she knew she had no choice. She
texted Caleb. Everything with Jeff backfired. He’s
coming for Krew this weekend unless I stop dating
you. Please give me some time to figure this all
out.

She stared at the phone after she’d pushed

send. Was she lying to Caleb to try to appease him?
Would  she  ever  figure  this  out?  Would  Jeff  ever
stop  being  a  nightmare?  Anger  and  hatred  coursed
through her veins as she thought of him threatening
his  own  son  to  get  back  at  her.  Why?  Jeff  didn’t
love her. Why couldn’t he just let her go? She was
so confused and frustrated and scared that her head
pounded.

Her phone rang. Caleb. She pushed decline on

the call. If she talked to him, she might cave, and
that wasn’t what was best for Krew.

Her heart raced as she pulled up Jeff’s info

again. She quickly typed out a text, and each word
was  painful  to  complete.  I  won’t  see  Caleb  Jewel
again. I promise we never dated, but I did kiss him.
I’m  sorry.  Please  believe  I  will  break  off  all  ties
with him. Let’s meet to stop the child support, and
you can sign off on only supervised visits. It will be
quick  and  easy  and  save  you  a  lot  of  money.  I
promise you won’t get any bad publicity.

She waited for Jeff’s response.
Caleb called again, and she declined it. She

stared at her phone, tears running down her face.
Caleb. Oh, how she loved him, and she hated how
unfair this all was to him.

Seconds later, a text from him popped up. Em,

please. Don’t shut me out. Let’s figure this out
together.

She replied, I’m so sorry. I can’t.
The phone started ringing again. Caleb. She

silenced it. It broke her heart to shut him out like
this. He’d done nothing wrong but be amazing to
her and Krew.

She texted him. I am so terribly sorry. None of

this is your fault, but I can’t risk Krew. I just can’t.

He didn’t respond.
She stood and started pacing, gnawing at a

fingernail.  Storming  out  of  her  room,  she  paused
outside Krew’s room, then opened the door, staring
at  her  precious  boy  in  the  darkened  room.  She
loved  him  so  much  it  hurt.  She  was  doing  this  for
him.  Would  it  ever  get  easier?  Would  Jeff  ever
respond?

The doorbell rang, and her head jerked up. She

quietly shut Krew’s door and rushed to the stairs. It
had to be Caleb. Unless it was Jeff, but he couldn’t
have gotten here so quickly. Or maybe it was Mylee
coming over to hear about her night.

As she pumped down the stairs and into the

entryway,  her  phone  dinged.  She  glanced  at  the
screen.  Jeff.  Your  little  apology  is  too  late  and  I
couldn’t  care  less  about  bad  publicity.  See  you
Friday.

“No!” She leaned heavily against the wall in the

foyer. If he didn’t care about bad publicity what did
he care about? Why had she married such a
lunatic? How were she and Krew ever going to get

free?

“Em!” Caleb called through the door. “Em,

please let me in.”

Emily flung the door open. Caleb’s handsome

face  was  scrunched  with  worry,  and  when  he  saw
her,  he  rushed  in,  shut  the  door  behind  him,  and
gathered  her  in  his  arms.  Emily  was  too  weak  to
stand on her own, to pull away from him, to tell him
she had to stay away. She simply clung to him and
let the tears flow.

Caleb swept her off her feet and carried her

into the living room. Emily was tall and fit and she
knew she wasn’t light, but Caleb didn’t so much as
grunt as she clung to his neck and let him carry her.
He sank down onto the couch, cradling her against
his chest and tenderly stroking her back.

“Em … I’m so sorry,” he finally murmured.
She lifted her head, staring at him with bleary

eyes. “Caleb, this is not your fault. All you’ve done
is  be  wonderful.  I’m  the  one  who’s  sorry.”  She
shook her head and said, “I won’t blame you at all
if  you  don’t  want  to  wait  for  me.  I  have  no  clue
when  Jeff  is  going  to  listen  to  reason  or  when  a
judge is going to rule in my favor, but I’m going to
get  with  my  lawyer  in  the  morning  and  go
aggressive  on  this.  He’s  not  taking  my  boy  away
from  me,  and  I’m  going  to  fight  him.  I  promise  I
am.”

“I’m proud of you for being so brave and

fighting him.” Caleb’s expression grew fierce. “And
I will never give up on you, Em. Never.” He
swallowed and said quietly, “I love you, Em.”

Her heart swelled, and she couldn’t resist

kissing  him.  It  was  a  tender  kiss,  full  of  love  and
devotion.  She  pulled  back  and  said,  “I  love  you,
Caleb.  I’m  so  sorry  I  have  to  push  you  away,  but
right now, it’s the only way to keep Jeff from taking
Krew.”

Was it, though? She could in good conscience

tell  Jeff  that  she  wasn’t  dating  Caleb,  if  she  broke
things off with him until they resolved this. Yet Jeff
had  just  told  her  he  was  coming  on  Friday
regardless. She was talking to her lawyer first thing
in  the  morning.  She’d  appeal  to  the  judges,  have
them  do  a  mental  evaluation  on  Jeff,  promise  to
give  up  all  child  support,  whatever  it  took  to  get
him out of their lives so Krew could have a happy
childhood and Emily could be with Caleb.

Caleb nodded, though his eyes showed that he

wanted to fight, not with her but for her. Oh, how
she loved him. “Do I need to go?” he asked.

Emily pushed out a sad breath. “I think that

would be smart.” Though she hated it with every
fiber of her being.

She pushed to her feet, and he stood next to

her. It was cold without his arms around her. She
felt lifeless and depressed. Without Caleb, all the
sunshine would be gone from her life. No. She had

Krew, and her child was all that mattered right now.
No matter how horribly she’d miss Caleb until this
was settled.

What if it never settled? Krew was six. Twelve

years  from  now,  Jeff  would  have  no  rights  in  his
life,  nothing  to  hold  over  her  head.  She  glanced
askance  at  Caleb  as  they  walked  quietly  to  the
foyer. She’d never ask him to wait twelve years. It
was  ludicrous.  He  was  young,  healthy,  talented,
handsome, successful, amazing.

They reached the door, and Emily was struck

with  terror.  What  if  this  was  it?  What  if  she  never
got  things  settled  with  Jeff,  and  this  was  the  last
time  she’d  be  close  to  Caleb?  A  whimper  ripped
from  her  throat,  and  she  threw  herself  against  his
chest.

He caught her and held her tight, and for that

moment, everything was all right. Peace was there,
intermingled with the desire to kiss and hold him all
night long.

“It’ll be okay,” Caleb murmured. “I’ll stay

away to protect you and Krew, but I won’t be far.
I’ll be watching over you. Soon we’ll be together.”

“Thank you for caring so much. I am going to

fight him. I’ve got a great lawyer, and this time
around I won’t feel the guilt of keeping Jeff from
his son. He’s made that choice.”

Caleb nodded.
Emily pulled back and framed his face with her

hands. “I adore you, Caleb Jewel.”

He grinned. “I’m easy to adore.”
She shook her head and laughed. He bent down

close, and she could feel the heat of his breath
against her mouth. Her stomach hopped and her
legs got weak.

“I worship the ground you walk on, Emily

Housley.”

“You’re such a tease.”
“I’m not teasing.” With that, he kissed her.
Emily sighed with joy and happiness as she

leaned against him to support her weakened limbs.
She  slid  her  hands  across  his  jaw  and  around  his
neck.  Caleb  groaned,  whipped  her  around,  and
pinned her against the door. Emily whimpered, but
this  time  it  was  from  sheer  pleasure.  He  deepened
the  kiss,  and  the  nerve  endings  in  her  mouth  went
nuts.  She  clung  to  him,  kissing,  savoring,  feeling
every  joy  that  was  created  from  being  kissed  so
desperately and thoroughly by the man she not only
idolized but also loved.

From the way he kissed her, she knew he didn’t

want to let her go any more than she wanted to let
him go. She couldn’t dismiss the awful thought that
she might never see him again. She tried to shove it
away, but it crept back, tainting their beautiful
connection, their incredible kisses.

Caleb drew back and gently ran his hands up to

her face and along her jaw. “I need to go, or I’ll

never be able to walk away from you.”

She stared into his beautiful eyes. “I know all

about your self-control. You taught Krew well.”

“Yeah, but mine’s never been tested like this.”

He looked over her face, more somber than she’d
ever seen him. “I love you.”

“I love you,” she repeated.
He gave her a pure, sweet kiss; then he gently

lifted her away from the door, yanked it open, and
hurried through it. He looked back once, his eyes
tortured. Emily watched until he was swallowed up
by the night.

She shut the door, dead-bolted it, slid to the

floor, pulled her knees into her chest, and sobbed.

CHAPTER TEN

mily went through the next few days in a
miserable fog. Her lawyer was cautious about

rushing  headlong  through  the  process;  he  didn’t
believe it would be easy to have Jeff’s rights taken
away based solely on her accusations and concerns.
He  explained  that  many  divorces  turned  ugly  and
parents often claimed the other parent was “unfit,”
which  could  be  impossible  to  prove.  His
cautiousness  worried  her.  She  had  to  try,  though.
Jeff was spiraling more out of control.

She missed Caleb horribly. Sometimes caught

sight  of  him  when  she  was  out  running,  and
sometimes  she  caught  glimpses  of  him  out  of  her
front windows when he was walking or running by
her  house.  Could  he  truly  love  her?  It  gave  her
hope  and  peace  despite  the  worries  over  Jeff.  Jeff
wasn’t  answering  her  phone  calls  or  texts,  and  as

Friday night approached, she prayed that she was
stressing over nothing. She had no clue if he would
show up or not. He’d rarely shown up, unless it was
for a photo op or to give her a hard time. She was
committed to fighting him now, yet if she lost …
She couldn’t let herself go down that black hole.

Krew was missing Caleb as badly as Emily was.

On  Friday,  she  decided  she  couldn’t  risk  her  son
being  home  if  Jeff  did  indeed  show  up.  If  Jeff  got
physical  with  her,  she’d  deal  with  it.  She  couldn’t
deal with him taking Krew away or Krew getting in
the middle of a fight.

She walked Krew over to Mylee’s about three

that afternoon. Her friend hugged her and reassured
her that Krew would be safe and Mylee and Vance
would  be  right  here  if  she  needed  help  with  Jeff.
Emily  bravely  told  her  she’d  be  fine.  No  matter
how irritable or ornery Jeff had gotten, he’d never
physically hurt her. Yet in the back of her mind, she
was  petrified.  Jeff  had  changed  so  much  from  the
man she’d married.

She went back home and busied herself to pass

the  time.  She  finished  up  some  work  projects,
straightened  up  the  house,  dusted,  vacuumed,  and
scrubbed the kitchen and the bathrooms. She read a
book for a while but couldn’t sit still, so she started
working  on  artisan  bread  dough  that  could  sit
overnight,  and  then  she  started  assembling  freezer
meals.

The doorbell rang, and she froze. Jeff had

come. Washing her hands, she pulled off her apron
and put on some lip gloss. She didn’t care what she
looked like for Jeff, but she wanted to be confident.
Rubbing  some  lotion  into  her  hands  to  keep  them
from  trembling,  she  walked  on  unsteady  legs  into
the  foyer.  It  would  all  be  okay.  She’d  explain  that
Krew wasn’t here and that she’d started the process
to  take  away  Jeff’s  custody  visits.  If  he  wanted  to
be  reasonable,  they  could  do  it  in  mediation  and
save lawyer fees and exposure to the media; either
way, she would stop taking his child support, so he
should like that.

Taking a deep breath, she pulled the door open.

Jeff stood there, glowering at her. Caleb was a big,
strong guy, but he wasn’t as big as Jeff. Jeff’s
broadness and height suddenly made him more
intimidating than he’d ever been before.

“Where’s Krew?” he demanded.
“Not here.” She folded her arms across her

chest and kept her gaze steady on him. She prayed
that  the  gesture  made  her  look  strong,  and  that  he
couldn’t  tell  how  she  was  clutching  her  arms  to
herself  to  keep  from  shaking.  “I’m  working  with
my lawyer to take away your unsupervised custody,
Jeff,  and  I’m  going  to  stop  taking  your  child
support.  We  can  do  it  easily  with  mediation  and
keep the media out and expenses low. If you want
to  fight  me,  I’ll  smear  your  name  to  any  reporter

who’ll  listen.”  She’d  just  thought  of  the  last
sentence,  but  considering  how  obsessed  he’d
always  been  with  his  career  and  his  image,  she
thought it might work. Yet on Monday he’d said he
didn’t  care  about  bad  publicity.  He  was  such  a
roller  coaster  she  had  no  clue  what  might  work  to
keep him from hurting Krew.

His eyes narrowed. Instead of talking things

out, he pushed into the foyer and stormed past her.
“You’d better get my son here. I’ve still got custody
rights, and I’m going to exercise them.”

Emily stayed by the open door, not caring about

the cold air pouring in. He could storm around the
house and tear it apart. She wasn’t going to chase
after him, and she wasn’t going to let him see how
he intimidated her. She did pull her phone out and
clicked on the phone app. If she had to, she’d dial
911, though she’d prefer dialing Caleb’s number.

Jeff thumped around the house, calling Krew’s

name; then he stomped back to the foyer, getting
right in her face. “Get me my son!” he yelled.

“No.” Emily tried to remain calm as she tilted

her chin up imperiously.

Jeff knocked the phone from her hands. It went

skittering  across  the  foyer  and  out  of  reach.  He
grabbed  her  arms  and  squeezed,  shaking  her  until
her  teeth  rattled.  “I  want  my  son  right  now,
woman!”

“You let me go,” she demanded.

Jeff’s face went red, and he shoved her to the

floor. She banged her knee, and it instantly
throbbed. “Stay down!” he yelled as if she were an
opposing player and he’d tackled her during a play.

Emily sprang up, wincing slightly as her knee

took the impact, and backed away from him toward
her phone. “Get out of my house.”

He lunged at her. Emily dodged out of the way,

but he caught her hand and yanked her so hard she
fell  to  her  knees  again.  She  cried  out  in  pain  and
fear.  Grabbing  her  around  the  neck,  he  jerked  her
face  up  to  look  at  him,  bent  down,  and  growled,
“You’ll  stay  down  there  if  you  don’t  want  me  to
beat you like I should’ve done long ago.”

Emily’s stomach rolled with horror, and her

neck hurt from the pressure of his large palms
squeezing tight.

“I’ve tried to be nice to you, but I’m through.”

His eyes grew calculating. He could snap her neck
easily. “You’re going to play dead like a possum
and stay right here.” His lip curled. “Or maybe I’ll
make sure you don’t move again.”

She tried to squirm free, but he was gripping her

so tightly that her neck seemed to stretch as she
pulled away.

“Don’t move when I let go,” he said quietly.

“I’m going to walk over to Mylee’s and get my
boy.”

“No!” Emily cried out.

“Let go of her,” a cold voice barked from the

doorway.

Emily’s eyes darted over, though she couldn’t

move  her  head  because  of  Jeff’s  vice  grip.  Caleb
stormed into the entryway and filled her vision, and
she  sighed.  She  hadn’t  wanted  to  involve  him  in
more  of  this  battle,  but  he’d  chosen  to  come  for
her.  She  was  done  cowering  to  Jeff.  Caleb  would
fight  to  protect  her,  and  now,  because  of  Jeff’s
assault, she could press charges and keep him away
from Krew.

Jeff released her, and she caught a full breath.

He straightened to glower at Caleb. She scrambled
to her feet and dodged away from Jeff and closer to
Caleb.

“You’ve been cheating with my wife,” Jeff

snarled, “and now I’m going to tear you apart.”

“I knew you were slow, but the fact remains

that Emily is not your wife.” Caleb chuckled easily.
“And I’d love to have you try to tear me apart.”

“You want to cross me, Jewel?”
“Yes, please, crossing you would make me very

happy.” Caleb got into his space and said, “But
after I thump you, you are going to promise to
never come near Emily or Krew again.”

Emily felt her gut churn. She loved Caleb

coming for her, but Jeff was insane and violent. She
also knew her ex-husband’s stats: six-six and three
hundred and ten pounds. Caleb was probably more

like six-four and two-twenty. Caleb was more
defined, but they were both strong and professional
athletes, and Jeff was known for fighting dirty. Jeff
would probably barrel into Caleb and just sit on him
and hurt him. She edged toward her phone again.

Jeff gave a dark, ugly laugh. “In your dreams,

preppy boy. You have no chance against me. I play
a real sport for a living.”

Caleb smiled, but his blue eyes were cold. “You

know, I was going to let you have the first hit, just
so you could get one in, but for that comment—”
He slugged Jeff hard in the gut.

Jeff doubled over, gasping for air. Caleb

brought  his  fist  up  under  Jeff’s  chin,  and  Jeff  was
thrown  back  straight  and  crashed  against  the
nearby  wall.  The  house  shook,  and  a  decorative
candle  tipped  off  the  nearby  table  and  dinged  into
the floor.

Caleb looked at her and grinned. “I’ll pay for

all the damage.”

Emily’s jaw went slack. She forgot all about

dialing the police. Caleb was easily thumping Jeff.

Jeff slouched away from the wall and gestured

to Caleb. “Come on, loser lacrosse player.”

Caleb shook his head in disgust but winked at

Emily. “Excuse me for a minute, love.”

Jeff growled and dove at him. Caleb dodged

and used Jeff’s momentum to throw him against the
wall, creating a small hole. Jeff spun to face him,

swinging wildly. He managed to get in a few vicious
hits.

Caleb just smiled. “Did that feel good? Get your

frustrations out, man. I can take it.”

Emily would’ve laughed at his taunting if she

wasn’t so terrified.

Jeff slammed his fist into Caleb’s rib cage, and

Emily could’ve sworn she heard a bone crack. She
cried out, “Caleb!”

“Don’t worry, love,” Caleb told her. “I’m just

trying to make him feel good about himself.”

Her jaw dropped. Caleb was acting as crazy as

Jeff.

Jeff roared and hit him in the cheek.
Caleb’s head snapped back, but he came back

grinning. “Okay, enough playing around.” And then
Caleb  dove  at  him,  shoving  Jeff  against  the  wall
and slamming his fists into Jeff’s cheeks, chin, and
abdomen, then rotating back through as if he were
doing  a  boxing  workout.  A  few  more  decorations
were  knocked  to  the  floor.  Emily  grabbed  her
grandma’s  vase  off  a  shelf  and  held  it  to  her  chest
to  keep  it  safe.  She  watched  Caleb  in  awe.
Apparently,  she’d  been  wrong  to  worry  about  him
going up against her bigger ex. Caleb had plenty of
size and an overabundance of muscle and talent.

Jeff finally put his hands to his face after one

particularly hard hit to the head. “Stop!” he cried
out.

Caleb did stop, but he glared up at Jeff. “Touch

Emily or Krew again and I won’t stop until the cops
come and drag me off of you.”

Jeff looked like he wanted to argue, but when

Caleb raised a fist, Jeff grunted, “Okay, I’ll leave
them alone.”

“If you go back on your word, I’ll find you.”
Jeff cast Emily one more ugly glare and

snapped, “You’re both going to regret this.”

“I doubt it.” Caleb grinned as if this was the

most fun he’d had in a long while.

Jeff slunk from the house like the loser he was.

Caleb watched him go, and Emily was relieved to
see Jeff heading in the opposite direction of
Mylee’s house.

Caleb shut the door behind him and then turned

to Emily. “Let me just watch my hands of this filth
so I can hug you properly.”

Emily shook her head and ran at him. He

caught her in his arms and held her close. She
couldn’t stop trembling.

Caleb rocked her gently and whispered, “It’s

okay, love. I kicked his trash. He won’t be back.
It’s all over.”

Emily could hardly believe it. It was over. He’d

beaten  Jeff.  Would  Jeff  really  leave  them  alone?
Could  she  really  be  with  Caleb?  She’d  still  report
Jeff’s  assault  and  go  through  the  legal  proceedings
to  make  sure  Krew  was  fully  protected,  but  it  felt

like they’d just won their freedom from the
oppressive bully.

Similar to Monday night when they’d thought

they were saying their goodbyes, Caleb swept her
off her feet and carried her into the living room. He
sank down on the couch and held her close.

“How’d you know to come? How’d you beat

him? He’s bigger than you, but oh, Caleb, you were
amazing!” She kissed him long and hard, then broke
away and demanded, “Please answer my
questions.”

Caleb chuckled. “If you’ll kiss me like that

again.”

“You’ve got yourself a deal, mister.”
He grinned. “First, Mylee told me you were

worried he would come tonight, so she let me camp
on her porch and watch for him.”

“Oh, Caleb.” She kissed him again, letting all of

her gratitude and longing for him pour out. “Sorry,”
she said as she pulled back. “I was going to let you
answer both questions.”

“Don’t ever be sorry for a kiss like that.

Besides,  the  second  question  shouldn’t  require  an
answer,  but  I  guess  I’ll  be  magnanimous  and  give
you  one.  I  beat  him  because  I’m  much  stronger
than him, I’ve been fighting my brothers my whole
life who are twice as tough as that loser, and I play
a real sport.” He winked.

She laughed, but then she was kissing him

again. The kissing session grew in intensity, and the
only  reason  Emily  thought  she’d  ever  stop  kissing
him  was  to  go  get  Krew  so  they  could  all  spend
time together before Krew had to go to bed. Krew
wouldn’t  care  that  his  time  with  Harley  was  cut
short if he could be with Caleb.

Sirens sounded in the distance, then drew

closer,  reminding  her  that  she  needed  to  call  the
police  and  report  Jeff  attacking  her  in  her  home.
Emily wondered what was going on in their usually
quiet  neighborhood,  but  unless  it  concerned  Krew,
she  didn’t  care,  and  if  it  did  concern  Krew,  Mylee
would come find her.

She looked up into Caleb’s handsome face.

“Thank you for camping on the porch, for fighting
for me, for loving me.”

“The only hard part was camping on the porch.

It’s cold out there.” He gave a pretend shudder.

Emily laughed.
The front door of her house burst open and a

loud voice barked, “Police! Get your hands in the
air.”

Emily took in the surreal scene of policemen

rushing  into  her  house  and  surrounding  her  and
Caleb  with  their  guns  out.  She  scrambled  off  of
Caleb’s  lap  and  to  her  feet.  Her  heart  raced,  and
her stomach churned. What was going on?

Caleb stood slowly, putting his hands up. “Hey,

guys,” he said calmly. “I think there’s been a

mistake, but since you’re here, we did need to
report an assault—”

“Caleb Jewel?” The guy who seemed to be in

charge cut him off.

“Yes, sir.”
“There’s no mistake. You’re under arrest for the

murder of Jeff Gehring.”

“Murder?” Caleb shook his head. “He just left

here. I thumped him pretty good for assaulting Em,
which is what we need to fill out a report for, but I
definitely didn’t kill him.”

Emily felt her vision going in and out of focus.

“He  didn’t  murder  Jeff!”  she  cried  out  in  Caleb’s
defense.  “Jeff  was  here,  alive,  maybe  twenty
minutes ago.” Jeff was dead? How in the world had
he died after leaving her house? This was a mistake,
probably  a  ploy  from  Jeff  to  hurt  them  because
Caleb  had  humiliated  him.  Would  Jeff  ever  leave
them alone?

“Cuff him,” the head guy ordered. “We’ll sort it

out at the station.”

“No!” Emily screamed as the police displaced

her from Caleb’s side and wrenched his arms
behind his back, cuffing him. “No, please, he didn’t
do anything! Jeff’s alive!”

“Emily.” Caleb’s voice was still calm but also

stern.  “Calm  down,  love.  You  need  to  call  one  of
my  brothers,  preferably  Joshua  or  Luke,  and  get
their  best  lawyer  here.  Don’t  call  my  parents;  my

mom would have a coronary.”

“I don’t have their numbers.” Her heart raced,

and  she  was  seeing  the  entire  scene  through  a
tunnel. How was she supposed to find his brothers?
Could  she  find  a  decent  lawyer  who  could  help?
Her  lawyer  was  only  for  family  law.  Oh,  Caleb  …
Help him! she begged the good Lord.

The police started to haul him away. “Can she

take my cell phone?” Caleb asked the main guy as
Emily followed them through her house. How could
this be happening?

The guy nodded, and Caleb said, “Wait,

please.”

Amazingly, the police obeyed. Emily hurried

around in front of him.

“My phone’s in my pocket,” Caleb said.
She reached in with trembling fingers, and her

hand closed around his cell phone. Pulling it out,
she looked to him for instruction.

“0858 is the passcode. Get ahold of my

brothers. They’ll know what to do. I love you.”

“L-love you,” she managed.
The police chief guy nodded again, and they

rushed  Caleb  out  of  her  house.  Emily  followed
along,  watching  them  walk  Caleb  down  the  porch
steps  and  then  help  him  into  a  waiting  police  car.
He  caught  her  eye  before  he  disappeared,  giving
her an encouraging smile.

Emily watched them leave and then sank onto

the  porch  steps.  Her  legs  wouldn’t  support  her
anymore.  She  pushed  in  0858  and  then  hit  his
contacts button. Her fingers were shaking, and she
couldn’t  compute  what  was  happening.  Could  Jeff
really be dead? Why would anyone blame Caleb if
he  was?  Yes,  the  fight  had  been  pretty  much  one-
sided, but it shouldn’t have killed him.

She had to get ahold of one of Caleb’s brothers.

What was the name? Luke? She scrolled down to
the Ls and pushed on Luke Jewel’s number with
trembling fingers. She only had to wait two rings.

“Caleb!” An exuberant voice greeted her. The

happy sound of his brother’s voice was so out of
place that she felt mute. “What’s up, bro? Eve told
me you’ve fallen in love. It’s about time. When do I
get to meet the certifiably insane lady who would
fall for the likes of you?”

Emily’s stomach pitched happily when he said

Caleb had fallen in love, but then it took a nosedive
as  the  situation  pressed  around  her.  Would  his
family  hate  her  for  the  nightmare  she’d  put  Caleb
in?  Once  again,  he’d  done  nothing  wrong  but  be
there for her.

She cleared her throat and said, “Um, Luke …”
“Who is this?” It was asked in a nice tone, but

she didn’t quite know how to answer him.

“This is Emily Housley, Caleb’s … girlfriend.”

It seemed weird to give herself that title, but she
didn’t know how else to explain. The cold steps

chilled  her  legs  and  rear  as  she  sat,  but  the  crisp
weather  helped  clear  her  brain.  Her  heart  was
beating  a  little  slower,  though  it  was  still  far  too
elevated.

“Oh!” Luke chuckled. “Well, my intro’s a little

awkward,  then.  Nice  to  meet  you,  Emily.  I  didn’t
mean  you  were  certifiably  insane.”  He  cleared  his
throat.  “But  Caleb  …”  He  gave  another  uneasy
laugh. “Where is that crazy brother of mine?”

“Um, that’s why I’m calling you. You see …

Caleb’s been arrested.”

To her shock, Luke laughed, this time louder

and  more  genuine.  “Finally,”  he  hooted  out.  “Oh,
he so deserves to be arrested. What did he blow up
now?  That  dang  kid,  he  thinks  he’s  the  king  of
bombs  and  fireworks.  I  swear  he’s  never  going  to
grow  up  and  settle  down.  Do  you  need  my  lawyer
to  come  sort  it  out?  You’re  just  south  of  Denver,
right?  My  lawyer’s  right  in  Denver.  Great  guy.
You’ll  like  him.”  He  paused  and  then  said,  “So
what did he do this time? Was it one of his pranks?”

Emily’s gut was rolling. Did Caleb have a

record  with  the  police  for  bombs  and  fireworks?
This  was  worse  than  she’d  imagined.  She  also
wanted to tell his brother that though Caleb liked to
joke and tease, he was the most mature and settled
man  she’d  ever  known.  He  was  so  patient,  kind,
and  devoted  to  her  and  Krew  it  made  her  heart
melt. He was her hero.

“Mama, Mama.”
Her gaze darted up. Krew was standing on the

sidewalk with Mylee right behind him.

Emily opened her arms, and Krew scurried up

the walk and snuggled against her.

“Where’s Caleb, Mama? Why did the cops

come?”

“Emily?” She heard Luke’s voice through the

phone line. He sounded a little less jovial now. “It
was for a bomb or fireworks. No big deal, right?”

“No.” She cleared her throat and said, “I’m

sorry. Just one second, please.” She pulled the
phone away and beseeched Mylee with her gaze.
“Can Krew have a sleepover tonight? Caleb needs
some help.”

Mylee nodded and mouthed, “Call me.”
Emily nodded back. She kissed Krew’s cheek.

“You’ll have so much fun with Harley.”

Krew stared at her. “I want Caleb.”
You and me both. “I know.” She forced a smile.

“You’ll see him soon.” Hopefully not in prison
orange. “Go with Mylee, and I’ll see you tomorrow
morning.”

“C’mon, buddy.” Mylee put her arm around

Krew  and  drew  him  against  her  side.  “You  and
Harley  can  have  a  campout  in  the  theater  and
watch  Clone  Wars  and  eat  popcorn  and  treats.
Then  in  the  morning  we’ll  make  Vance  take  us  to
Denny’s.”

“Denny’s?” Krew’s eyes got wide. “Can I get

bacon?”

“Yes, sir.” Mylee led Krew away.
He turned back once to wave and yell, “Love

you, Mama! Tell Caleb I love him!”

“I will. I love you.”
Emily stood and pressed the phone to her ear,

hurrying back into her house to get her coat, shoes,
and her purse. She was going to that police station
and fighting for Caleb. This was wrong, and she
wasn’t going to sit by and let it happen.

“Caleb has been wrongly accused of murdering

my ex-husband,” she informed his brother. “I need
your lawyer to meet me at the Cherry Hills Village
Police Department as soon as possible.”

“M-murder?”
“Yes.”
Luke sucked in a breath. “He’ll meet you there.

And I’ll be right behind him.”

Emily blinked back tears. She appreciated

Caleb’s brother’s kindness and support, but right
now she needed to be strong, for Caleb. He wasn’t
getting arrested for the false murder of her lousy
ex-husband. Not on her watch.

CHAPTER ELEVEN

aleb’s gut was churning and he hated leaving
Emily like that, but he set his jaw and acted

confident  and  unaffected  as  he  interacted  with  the
police  officers.  They  were  all  respectful,  and  a
couple  of  them  told  him  they’d  been  to  his  games
and  enjoyed  watching  him  play.  One  of  them  said
his  son  had  been  at  several  of  Caleb’s  guest
practices last fall and the kid worshipped him. None
of them treated him like he was a murderer, but did
they believe it? Did they believe he could viciously
kill  a  man  with  his  bare  hands?  Caleb  had  been  in
many a fight, quite often with his brothers, but he’d
never intended on maiming or killing anyone.

They didn’t take him to a jail cell; instead, they

led him to a holding room. They uncuffed his
hands, which reassured him a little bit, and they
gave him a water bottle, telling him they’d proceed

once his lawyer arrived. He had a lawyer that he’d
worked with and liked, but he’d wait and hope that
Emily  had  been  able  to  get  ahold  of  one  of  his
brothers.  He  should’ve  insisted  on  Luke—he  was
as wealthy as Joshua, so they would both have the
best  lawyers—but  Luke  was  only  half  an  hour
north  of  him  in  Boulder,  where  Joshua  was  mostly
based  out  of  Florida.  Luke’s  lawyer  would  be
closer.  Caleb  hoped  none  of  his  siblings  called  his
parents. It would break his mom’s heart. He smiled
wryly. Well, maybe. She’d planned on him and Seth
being  arrested  many  times  throughout  their  lives,
but not for murder.

Murder. It was a horrific word. Caleb had

broken the law plenty throughout his life, mostly
with bombs and fireworks. He’d never been caught,
though. Maybe this was karma.

Was Jeff really dead? He supposed he had to

be.  He  didn’t  feel  any  compassion  for  the  man  or
remorse for beating him up. Jeff had been attacking
Emily in her home. Nobody could blame Caleb for
stepping in. Yet could one of the hits to Jeff’s face
somehow  have  caused  internal  bleeding  and  killed
him? He’d heard of crazy stories like that and with
Jeff’s track record of head injuries and concussions
he’d  be  more  susceptible  to  such  a  death.  Why
would  they  blame  Caleb  so  quickly?  Could  Jeff
possibly have been smart enough to kill himself and
somehow blame Caleb? Why would anyone be nuts

enough to do that? Yet Caleb had known athletes
with repeat head injuries like Emily said Jeff had
experienced. It messed them up.

Caleb had drained the water bottle, toyed with

it for a while, and then resorted to pacing the room
when Chief Garner walked in with a tall, thin guy
with a military cut and a tailored suit.

The man stuck out his hand. “Doug Turner.

Luke called me.”

“Thanks for coming so quick,” Caleb said,

shaking the man’s hand.

“Of course.” He gestured, and they all sat.

Doug nodded to the police chief, and the guy
started in on basic questions about Caleb.

After a while, Caleb held up his hand and said,

“Can you please tell me exactly what happened?”

“I would hope you would tell us that,” Garner

said.

Caleb splayed his hands. “I fought with Jeff

Gehring  because  he  was  physically  assaulting  his
ex-wife,  Emily  Housley,  in  her  home.  He  had  her
on the floor in a choke hold when I interrupted him.
I  beat  him  up,  I’ll  admit  to  that,  but  he  walked
away and looked fine, besides some cuts and future
bruises. How did I supposedly kill him?”

He looked to Doug, who was grimacing. Caleb

had nothing to hide, though, and he wanted to get
to the bottom of this.

Chief Garner lifted his eyebrows. “A neighbor,

Vivian  Nelson,  heard  the  fight.  She  saw  Jeff
staggering  as  he  left  Emily’s  home.  She  knew  Jeff
from  when  he’d  lived  in  the  neighborhood.  She
took him to her house to clean him up. He claimed
you were trying to kill him, and then he collapsed.
She  called  us.  He  died  before  we  got  there.  We
assume  a  brain  hemorrhage,  but  we  won’t  know
until the autopsy.”

The chief kept asking questions, and Caleb tried

to  answer  them  truthfully  while  Doug  shifted  next
to  him.  Caleb’s  gut  churned.  Maybe  he  had  killed
Jeff. He’d hated the guy and would do anything to
keep  Emily  and  Krew  safe,  but  murder?  It  was
horrific.  He’d  never  in  a  million  years  thought  he
was capable of murder.

The  policemen  who  greeted  Emily  at  the  station
were very nice, but they told her she’d probably be
more  comfortable  waiting  at  home.  She  explained
that she was going to wait until Caleb was released.
They  gave  her  sympathetic  smiles,  their  quick
glances  to  each  other  revealing  how  long  they
thought that might be. One of the men showed her
into  a  waiting  room  with  some  couches,  chairs,  a
water cooler, and a pop machine. She thanked him
and  paced.  Her  mind  scrambled  for  how  to  help,

but she didn’t even know if Jeff was really dead or
how they could accuse Caleb of killing him so
quickly. Didn’t they need probable cause and all of
that?

She heard some voices and movement in the

main  area  and  stole  toward  the  door,  overhearing
the man introduce himself as Caleb’s lawyer. Thank
heavens. He was taken down a hallway and out of
sight. It was probably only fifteen minutes later that
she  heard  voices  again.  She  looked  out  and  saw
Eve,  accompanied  by  a  man  who  could  only  be
Caleb’s  brother,  Luke,  he  was  a  little  shorter  than
Caleb  but  the  blue  eyes  and  the  handsome  face
were  distinctive.  A  petite,  dark-haired  woman  was
holding  Luke’s  hand.  They  talked  to  the  police,
then were shown into her waiting room.

Emily pressed her hands down her sweater,

self-conscious about meeting Caleb’s brother and
sister-in-law and seeing Eve again. Would they
blame Emily for Caleb’s situation?

“Emily!” Eve greeted her warmly, crossing the

small room and hugging her briefly. “Oh my
goodness, are you okay? What a mess!”

“I’m okay. Caleb came and …” She had to

swallow  hard  at  the  rush  of  emotion.  Caleb  had
protected  her,  but  now  she  couldn’t  help  him.
“Protected me, fought Jeff.” She splayed her hands.
“Now  they’re  claiming  Jeff  is  dead.”  She  still
couldn’t wrap her mind around that. It had to be a

ploy from Jeff to hurt her and Caleb. She turned to
Luke. “I’m sorry. I’m a mess. Emily Housley,” she
introduced herself.

Luke shook her hand. “It’s nice to meet you,

Emily. It’s going to be all right.” His confident self-
assurance, blue eyes, and striking facial features
reminded her so much of Caleb that she had to
swallow again to keep from crying.

His wife gave Emily an even longer hug than

Eve  had.  She  smelled  like  the  most  incredible
perfume,  a  sassy  mix  of  fruity  and  musk.  She  was
small  and  should’ve  made  Emily  feel  like  an
Amazon  woman,  but  this  lady  was  too  kind  and
welcoming.  “I’m  Mar.”  She  leaned  back  and
smiled. “Oh, you are just gorgeous, and I love your
accent. I’m so happy Caleb’s found you.”

“Are you sure?” She sniffled. “It’s my fault he’s

in here.”

“Oh goodness, it’s about time Caleb got

arrested for something, and you’d better not be
thinking it’s your fault. If I know Caleb, he’s in
there joking with the cops.”

Emily’s jaw dropped. “You understand he’s

been arrested for murder?”

Mar nodded, and her eyes darkened. “It’ll all

work out. I’m sorry about your ex.”

Emily shrugged. She had no love lost for Jeff,

yet she had loved him years ago, and he was
Krew’s father. It was horrifying to try to wrap her

mind around him really being dead.

Mar seemed to understand that she was

conflicted  and  changed  the  subject.  “Now  the
family’s  all  on  their  way,  so  you’re  about  to  be
inundated.”  She  shared  a  secretive  smile  with  her
husband.  “Not  to  worry.  They’ll  all  love  you.  Tell
me about your little boy.”

Emily appreciated the distraction. She, Mar,

and Eve got chatting about Krew and Paisley while
Luke  pulled  out  a  laptop  and  clicked  away.  Emily
prayed  he  was  researching  how  to  free  Caleb,  and
she prayed his high-dollar lawyer was throwing the
book  at  the  police  department.  Mar  shared  with
both  of  them  that  she  was  fourteen  weeks  along,
getting  a  teasing  grin  from  her  husband  and  a
murmur  about  not  being  able  to  keep  secrets.  She
simply pushed a hand at him and laughed. Eve and
Emily  both  hugged  her  again  and  answered  her
questions about pregnancy and newborns.

A couple of hours passed, somewhat pleasantly

as  she  enjoyed  chatting  with  the  women,  but  she
was  going  insane  with  worry  over  Caleb  and  the
charges. Was he okay? Were they yelling at him or
treating him nicely? Was Jeff really dead? She was
so  confused  and  stirred  up  that  her  head  was
pounding.

More voices in the main part of the police

station announced more family members. Emily
stood to greet them, and her eyes widened. She had

a large family, but these people were beautiful and
impressive  and  honestly  a  bit  intimidating.  She  got
hugs  of  greeting  from  all  the  women  and
handshakes  from  all  the  men.  They  were  sensitive
around her, as if they knew this was horrific for her
no matter what her relationship with Jeff had been.
Yet  only  Caleb’s  mom  shared  Emily’s  level  of
stress. The rest of the group seemed to think Caleb
would be let off soon.

Emily tried to put the endless questions in her

mind  to  rest.  Her  mama  was  fond  of  saying,  “No
need  to  borrow  trouble.”  She  tried  to  focus  on
meeting Caleb’s family and not the worries rotating
through  her  brain.  It  was  tough,  but  they  were  a
lively,  happy  crew.  It  made  her  miss  Caleb  even
more.

Luke made them all settle down and then

introduced everyone in order of age, starting with
their parents, Peter and Madeline. They were classy
and kind and didn’t look old enough to have all of
these adult children. Emily’s own mama looked like
she could top Madeline by twenty years and at least
a hundred pounds.

Next she met Joshua and Jade, a beautiful dark-

haired  couple.  Her  jade-green  eyes  were  almost  as
beguiling  as  the  Jewel  blue  ones.  It  was  obvious
that  Joshua  was  the  other  billionaire  in  the  group,
judging  by  his  custom-fit,  expensive-looking  suit,
his  laptop  bag,  and  the  way  he  just  seemed  to

command respect.

Cosette was next. Her husband Isaac was in the

Air  Force  and  was  out  on  assignment,  so  she’d
come with Jade and Joshua. Cosette was a beautiful
blond  lady  with  a  smile  that  looked  like  she  had  a
secret.  When  she  hugged  Emily,  she  said,  “Yum.
Artisan  bread  dough.  Do  you  bake?”  She  clasped
Emily’s  hands  between  both  of  hers  as  if  they
would be bosom buddies if the answer was true.

“Yes, I love to bake.”
“Oh my goodness. Finally!” Cosette held her

and Emily’s joined hands up. “Emily and I will
cook for the entire family!”

Emily remembered Caleb telling them how his

mom was an awful cook while he’d moaned about
how good her food was. She ached for him.

“Yes!” Several of the men cheered.
She already knew Luke and Mar, so next was

Caleb’s  twin,  Seth,  and  his  gorgeous  blond-haired,
dark-eyed  wife,  Breeze.  Breeze  had  a  humble,
down-to-earth air about her that made Emily relax.
Seth  made  tears  prick  her  eyelids.  She  hadn’t
hugged any of the other men, but she found herself
hugging Seth.

“Don’t get any ideas,” he teased. “I’m not

Caleb.”

She pulled back and wiped her eyes. “Don’t

worry. I won’t attack you. You just look so much
like him.”

“Now that’s offensive. I’m much more

handsome.”

Breeze pushed a hand at her. “They love to

tease each other. You should see the pranks they
pull. Are you okay?”

“Not really, but thank you kindly for asking.

I’m a mess.”

Breeze gave her a soft hug and said, “These

Jewel boys are the best men I’ve ever known.
Caleb will come out of this just fine. I’m really
sorry about your ex-husband.”

Emily nodded, appreciating the reassurance and

the condolences.

“You know the beautiful Eve, and this is

Rachel, her beautiful, much-older sister,” Luke said
to wrap up the introductions.

Rachel looked a lot like Eve. Almost as tall as

Emily, she had long dark hair and bright blue eyes.
The only difference from her sister was that Rachel
had some obvious scar tissue on the left side of her
face; it was mostly covered by her long hair, which
swept  severely  across  her  left  forehead  and  was
pulled  forward  in  front  of  her  neck  on  that  side.
When Emily had read up on the family, she’d seen
articles  about  Rachel  being  burned  by  a  bomb.  So
sad.  Rather  than  take  away  from  her  beauty,
though,  the  scars  gave  her  an  almost  exotic  and
mysterious look.

Emily got another welcoming hug from Rachel,

and  then  the  family  bombarded  Emily  and  Luke
with  question  after  question.  Sadly,  they  had  no
answers.  It  had  been  over  five  hours  now,  and  she
kept praying that the police would come give them
some kind of news.

A young officer walked in the door a few

minutes  later  and  cleared  his  throat.  Everyone
turned  to  face  him;  as  one,  they  held  their  breath.
“I  know  you’re  all  kind  of  famous  and  stuff,”  he
began.

Joshua looked to Luke and rolled his eyes.
“There’s, um, media people gathering out front.

It musta leaked about an NFL player being killed
by a pro lacrosse guy who’s also from a rich family.
Do you want to all sneak out the back? We’ll keep
you informed of what’s going on, but you’d be a lot
more comfortable waiting in a hotel.”

Luke straightened, and Emily was pretty certain

he was going to put the kid in his place, but it was
Rachel who strode forward. The officer’s eyes
widened, obviously taken in by her beauty and
impressive presence.

“Officer …?”
“Peterson,” he supplied, tugging at his shirt to

straighten it and giving her a broad smile.

“Officer Peterson. We are not afraid of the

media,  and  the  only  way  you  are  going  to  get  our
family  to  leave  these  premises  without  our  brother
Caleb  is  if  you  arrest  us  all  and  haul  us  to  a

different jail. Do you understand?”

The guy swallowed, licked his lips, and said,

“Okay, I’ll tell the chief … Okay. Um …” He
looked down, then raised his chin in a show of
bravado. “Can I get your phone number?”

The brothers all let out disgusted or angry

growls. “Back off, dude,” Seth said.

Rachel held up a hand. She smoothed the man’s

shirt, and he visibly quivered. She leaned in close.
“I think you and I might have more to talk about
later.” She gave him a coy smile.

He grinned and backed away, almost stumbling

but not falling. He turned and hurried from the
room.

“What a newb,” Seth said.
“He might be useful. Don’t alienate people like

that, Seth,” Rachel said.

“He hit on you, on the job, while your brother is

being detained for murder. Idiot.”

Rachel paced the room and then said to Luke,

“Give me your computer.” She settled in and
started typing while the rest of the family got
involved in different conversations.

Rachel was singularly impressive. Obviously,

her facial scars hadn’t hurt her confidence.

Emily noticed Eve still by her side and said,

“She’s amazing.”

Eve smiled. “It seems like she’s recovering. I

hope so. She hasn’t left the house much since the

accident.”

“I was so sorry to hear she got burned last

year.”

Eve nodded. “It’s been rough. She was a model

in  college.  She’s  never  put  much  stock  in  her
beauty,  but  it’s  still  rough  to  feel  like  you’re
deformed. She always wanted to go into family law
and  we  thought  she  was  going  to  start  at  Harvard
last fall but … something happened.” Eve gave her
a chagrined smile. “Sorry I’m saying too much, but
I worry about her.”

“No worries. Thank you for trusting me.” Emily

could  understand  Eve  worrying  about  her  sister.
Rachel seemed so capable and confident but Emily
could imagine it would take a very strong will to get
back  to  ordinary  life  after  an  accident  like  Rachel
had  experienced.  The  hair  in  front  of  her  scarring
was  a  pretty  telling  sign  that  she  might  not  be
dealing with it as well as she appeared to be.

Emily excused herself to go to a corner of the

noisy room and call Mylee and check on Krew.
Before she could push the number, she felt
someone close and turned.

Rachel was staring at her. “Could Caleb have

hit your ex hard enough to kill him?”

Emily shrugged. “He hit him hard, and quite a

few times, but it would’ve had to be a fluke for it to
kill him. Jeff wasn’t unconscious or anything and
walked away on his own. He’s had many, many

worse hits to the head.”

Rachel’s lips pursed. “I need to find people who

might know what Jeff was up to, what he stood to
gain from accusing Caleb.”

“Well … me,” Emily admitted. “Who knew his

reasons because he didn’t seem to love or even like
me anymore but he also didn’t want to let me date
anyone else. We were fighting about custody of my
son. He knew I had …” She lowered her voice and
admitted, “Kissed Caleb, and he was bitter about
it.”

“That’s all pretty natural, but not a reason to

kill himself and frame Caleb.”

“You think …” Her stomach churned.
“What else? Who are his friends?”
“He’s gotten so angry lately, I don’t know that

he has any friends.”

Rachel lifted an eyebrow. “Everybody has

friends.”

Emily tried to think. “When we got married our

senior  year  of  college,  he  was  this  big,  friendly
athlete,  but  he  has  had  so  many  concussions  with
football  that  it  changed  his  personality.  He  started
lying  back  in  college  about  the  symptoms  or  pain
when  he  got  hit,  so  they  only  diagnosed  the  ones
that were really obvious with him puking or passing
out. Anyway, I think he hangs out with some of the
other  football  players.  Let  me  look  through  my
contacts and send you who I can find info on.”

“Okay, or even just any names you think of. I

can  find  their  info,”  Rachel  said  confidently.  She
didn’t walk back to her computer, even when Emily
pulled out her phone and started typing a list in her
notes  and  scrolling  through  her  contacts.  She
included  some  of  the  neighborhood  people,  like
Vivian  across  the  street,  who  always  treated  Jeff
like he walked on water.

“Emily.” Rachel’s voice was low, beseeching.
“Yes?” She glanced back up.
“Do you know who Jeff’s doctor is?”
“Well, we had a family doctor we both liked,

Dr. Gussman, that he might still be going to, and
then there’s the team doctors.”

Rachel’s eyes lit up with excitement but also

cunning. “Gussman will know who Jeff changed to
if the records are moved, and I have a contact with
the Broncos.” She smiled. “Text me that list. I think
it might be time to talk to my new friend, though.”

Emily watched her go back to her computer, tap

away, make some phone calls, and then leave the
room, apparently in search of the young officer.
The poor kid wouldn’t know what had hit him with
the likes of Rachel Jewel using him for help.

CHAPTER TWELVE

aleb wasn’t sure he’d ever been so
uncomfortable or so concerned. People often

said he had a secretive smile and joked his way
through life. He wasn’t smiling or joking now.

The police chief asked him enough questions to

make  his  head  spin,  and  then  he  left  without  any
indication  that  he  believed  Caleb  never  meant  to
end  Jeff  Gehring’s  miserable  life.  Luke’s  lawyer
asked  Caleb  even  more  questions,  and  then  he
asked  whoever  came  to  the  door  to  please  show
him  to  a  room  where  he  could  do  some  research.
Since  then,  Caleb  had  paced  this  tiny,  miserable,
cold,  undecorated  room,  drank  a  lot  more  water
bottles,  been  taken  to  the  restroom  once,  and  then
paced some more.

Hours must’ve passed. He was worried about

Emily and Krew. If only he could check on them.

His  family  members  were  surely  on  their  way,  if
they  weren’t  already  here.  They’d  be  good  to  Em
and  Krew.  If  only  Caleb  could  be  with  them  too.
Since Luke’s lawyer was here, Emily had obviously
gotten  ahold  of  Luke.  Was  Emily  with  his  family?
He  would  love  to  know  that  she  was  close  by,
waiting  for  him,  hoping  and  praying  he’d  be  free
soon, but he preferred the thought that she was safe
at  home  with  Krew.  He  didn’t  want  her  to  be
uncomfortable or miserable.

He stopped in his pacing and realized how

deeply he loved Emily. He’d already known that he
loved  her  because  of  her  spunky  personality,  her
grit,  her  beauty,  the  way  she  kissed,  and  her
motherly  nature,  but  he  was  struck  by  how  highly
he  placed  her  comfort  and  happiness  above  his
own. He’d never felt that way about anyone but his
siblings, his parents, and Paisley.

He sank into a chair and said a prayer for Krew

and  Emily,  adding  that  if  it  was  the  Lord’s  will,
Caleb could be with them again soon. He’d give up
his  lacrosse  career  and  his  fireworks  company  and
never  make  another  bomb  or  pull  another  prank
again if he could simply hold Emily close and play
lacrosse with Krew.

The door sprang open, and Chief Garner and

Lawyer Doug strode in. They were both grinning.
Caleb sprang to his feet, taking their smiles as a
good sign.

“Sit down, son. We’ve got a little explaining to

do.”

“Okay?” Reluctantly, Caleb sat. He wanted to

be moving; at best, he would run out of here and
sweep Emily into his arms, then find Krew and
snuggle them until Em agreed to marry him.

“Your sister is one smart lady,” the chief began.
“Rachel,” Caleb said by way of correction. Eve

was smart too, but Rachel was crafty and probably
should’ve gotten a law degree instead of an MBA.
They’d all tried to gently push her that direction
since the accident but she seemed reluctant to get
back into life and the public eye.

The chief nodded. “She was able to get ahold of

Gehring’s  family  doc,  who  had  referred  him  to  a
neurologist,  Dr.  Ballard,  because  of  the  serious
brain  injuries  he’d  accumulated  from  numerous
diagnosed and undiagnosed concussions throughout
his career.”

“Emily

said

the

injuries

changed

his

personality.”

“I bet. Made him mean as snot. That’s what

they  said  about  him  on  the  field.  Just  mean.
Anyway,  Dr.  Ballard  wouldn’t  talk  to  Rachel  or
Doug about his patient, but he was willing to talk to
me.”  Garner  smiled.  “He  confirmed  with  Jeff
earlier this week that he had swelling and bleeding
on the brain that was inoperable and would kill him
within the next few weeks, or at the most, months.

He told him that he needed to immediately stop
attending practice, as any hit to the head could end
his life even sooner, and he prescribed morphine for
the pain.”

Caleb leaned back in his chair, trying to

comprehend it all. “So you think he goaded me into
fighting,  knowing  I  would  kill  him  by  hitting  him
hard?”  His  stomach  rolled  with  disgust,  anger,  and
guilt  as  he  found  himself  actually  feeling  bad  for
Jeff.  The  concussions  had  altered  his  personality
and made him into the monster who would hurt and
neglect  his  own  family.  Caleb  would  never  have
intentionally killed him.

“I don’t think; I know. The neighbor, Ms.

Vivian Lockwood? Apparently, she and Jeff were
more than just friends, and he told her the plan. She
tried to talk him out of it, but he was completely
irrational by that point.”

Caleb had met Vivian last fall when he’d moved

in.  She’d  brought  him  cinnamon  rolls  and  flirted
hard  with  him,  stopping  by  his  house  on  multiple
occasions.  When  he  hadn’t  returned  her  attention,
she’d finally seemed to give up.

“After some time spent in a holding room,

Vivian  admitted  it  all:  Jeff  returned  to  her  house
after  the  fight.  He  told  her  he  was  sick  of  being
your punching bag and it hadn’t finished him off so
they  had  to  change  the  plan  a  little.  He  took  a
bunch of morphine to ensure it was over, and made

her hide the pill bottle then promise to call the
police and claim you killed him.”

Caleb’s gut churned. He’d had friends and

teammates  who  had  suffered  from  multiple  head
injuries,  and  it  had  affected  them,  especially  their
ability  to  think  rationally.  He  still  hated  Jeff  for
hurting  Emily  and  Krew,  but  he  could  recognize
that the guy was a victim in all of this too.

“So now the only charge would be a domestic

dispute, but the homeowner would have to press
charges, and I don’t think Ms. Emily Housley is
going to press charges, do you?” Chief Garner had
a twinkle in his hazel eyes.

“So I’m free to go?” Caleb asked hopefully.
“Yes, sir, you are.”
Caleb felt lighter, relieved as the charges were

lifted  off  of  his  shoulders.  He  stood  and  shook
hands with the police chief and the lawyer. “Thank
you,”  he  told  them  both.  He  still  felt  a  sense  of
heaviness knowing that he’d contributed to a man’s
death,  but  holding  Emily  would  dispel  that
darkness. He started toward the door, then stopped.
“Can somebody give me a ride to Emily’s?”

The men looked at each other and smiled. “I

don’t think you’ll need us to give you a ride.” Chief
Garner walked past Caleb and swung open the
door. “They’re down the hall, to the right of the
main area.”

His family. Of course they’d be here. He

wondered how many of them had made it, and his
love  of  family  swelled  inside  of  him.  He  hadn’t
taken  much  of  life  seriously,  but  he  had  always
known  how  blessed  he  was  with  family  and
thanked the good Lord for that. He’d been blessed
with  so  much  love,  and  it  was  time  to  share  that
love with Emily and Krew.

Caleb started off at a fast walk, but soon he was

racing down the hall. He turned in to the room and
saw his parents and siblings and in-laws and …
“Emily!”

Everyone hurried toward him. “Caleb!” He

heard the call over and over as his siblings ushered
his mom forward first.

“Oh, my boy.” She squeezed him, then scolded

him. “I knew you’d get arrested one of these days.”

He grinned. “Karma, right, Mom?” he tried to

joke. “Love you.”

“Love you.” She hugged him tighter.
His siblings hugged him, but they parted for him

to get to Emily.

“Em,” he breathed as he reached her. He lifted

her into his arms and savored her feel and her
smell. “I can’t believe you’re here. I didn’t want
you waiting for me, worrying about me.”

“Well, what did you expect me to do?” she

asked with that Southern sass in her voice that he
loved.

“I pictured you home in bed, having a nice rest,

or maybe sipping on some cocoa while you waited
for the news.” He smirked at her.

“Oh my goodness.” She shook her head at him.

“As if I could rest for worrying about you.” There
was something in her eyes that terrified him.
Though she was relieved he was out and wanted to
be with him, she was hurting and confused.

“Excuse us for a moment,” he murmured to his

family.

They all nodded and stepped back.
Caleb took her arm and walked with her out of

the room and down the hall. Thankfully, it was
quiet. “Are you okay?” he asked.

Emily blinked and then put a hand to her

mouth.  “No.  I  mean,  yes.”  She  shook  her  head,
blinking  back  tears.  “I’m  so  relieved  you’re  not
being  prosecuted,  as  his  death  was  not  your  fault,
but  it’s  crazy,  because  I’m  sad  for  him  and  really
torn  up  for  his  parents.  He  changed  so  much  from
the man I married, but he’s still Krew’s father, and
knowing  he’s  dead  because  football  was  all  that
mattered  to  him  and  he  just  kept  getting  the
concussions and lying … I know it was his choice,
but it’s still awful and it still hurts.”

Caleb nodded. He did know. She was confused

and hurting, and he completely understood. He
opened his arms, and she fell against him. He held
her while she cried.

Eventually, she pulled back and said, “I am so

grateful for you, Caleb, being there for me, coming
for me, being so patient.”

Caleb looked her over, somber and scared. “But

…” he prompted.

“Can you be more patient? I just need some

time to process all of this.”

“Can I … be there?”
Emily smiled sadly at him. “I promise I’m not

shutting you out. I love you, Caleb. I just need
some time to work things through with Krew and in
my mind, get through the graveside service. I’m
sorry I’m such a mess.”

Caleb wanted to stay by her side, hold her hand

through the process, but this was Emily. He pulled
her close and tenderly kissed her forehead. “Ah,
Em. You know I’ll do anything you ask.”

“Thank you.” She glanced up at him with a

mixture of gratitude and love in her eyes. Caleb
would hate any minute she wasn’t with him, but she
was going through something hard. If she needed
space and not him, he’d deal with that somehow.

CHAPTER THIRTEEN

he next week passed in a fog. Krew took the
news of his dad’s death quietly. He spent a lot

of time shooting at his lacrosse net in the still snow-
covered backyard and asked her almost hourly
when they would see Caleb again. He didn’t seem
overwrought about losing his dad. She was sad that
they hadn’t had enough of a relationship for him to
feel anything.

Emily talked to Jeff’s parents for the first time

in  years.  They  planned  a  small  graveside  service.
The day was cold but clear, and the priest did a nice
job  and  when  he  asked  for  some  memories  Emily
was  happy  to  hear  Jeff’s  brother  and  some  old
friends  share  happy,  fun  memories  of  Jeff.  She
thought  of  some  good  memories  of  her  own.
Glancing  down  at  Krew,  she  saw  him  listening
intently  and  was  glad  he  could  hear  good  things

about his father. She’d always be grateful for the
miracle of her son and Jeff was part of that as well.

After the service, his parents came straight to

her and Krew. His mom was tall and had perfectly
styled blond hair. His dad was almost as big as Jeff
had been, but there was a warm look in his pale
blue eyes. They both were focused on Krew.

“He’s a beautiful child,” Jeff’s mom said,

clinging to her husband’s hand.

“Thank you.” Emily looked down at Krew.

“Honey, this is your grandma and grandpa.”

“Hi.” Krew waved. He called Emily’s parents

Meemaw and Papa and had honestly never asked
about his dad’s parents.

“Hi,” they both whispered faintly, looking like

they wanted to hug him but were uncertain how to
proceed.

“I’m sorry we haven’t seen you in so long,”

Emily tried. “Jeff …” How did she explain that Jeff
had forbidden her from contacting them?

His mom put a hand on her arm. “We know.”

She pulled her hand back and met Emily’s gaze.
“We tried too.”

His dad wrapped his arm around his mom, who

had tears tracing down her pretty face now. “Could
we …” he asked. “Come by and see him
sometime?”

“Of course.” Emily didn’t hesitate. “Of

course.”

They both gave her watery smiles. Once they’d

exchanged numbers, they walked away.

Emily glanced down at her son, who was

squinting up at her. “Sorry, love. I know this has
been hard.”

“So they’re kind of like Meemaw and Papa, just

not as friendly?” he asked.

Emily shook her head. “I think they’ll be

friendly once you get to know them. They want you
to feel comfortable with them.”

Krew nodded, though he seemed a little

confused. He looked back at the people still milling
around his dad’s grave. “Can we see Caleb now?”
he asked.

Emily’s brows lifted. She’d wanted to give

Krew  and  her  a  chance  to  heal  from  everything
from  Jeff,  but  she  wanted  Caleb  as  well.  As  she
glanced  at  the  grave,  she  felt  a  sense  of  closure.
The  head  injuries  and  the  changes  in  Jeff  weren’t
her  fault.  She  was  sad  that  he  was  gone,  but  there
was  relief  as  well.  She  was  free  to  move  on.  She
was free to find Caleb.

She took Krew’s hand. “Let’s go.”

Caleb had a huge bucket of balls as he stood about
thirty feet from the goal. He’d been coming to the

field where it had all started with Emily and Krew
every  afternoon.  The  ground  was  still  snow-
covered  and  icy  in  spots,  but  he  somehow  felt
better  being  here  where  they’d  spent  so  many
happy hours together.

Every afternoon he shot balls until he ran out,

then  scooped  all  of  them  into  the  bucket  and  shot
them  again.  He’d  shoot  for  hours,  but  it  wasn’t
helping  him  with  missing  Emily  and  Krew.  It  had
been a week since they’d seen each other. He was
still  trying  for  that  patience  he’d  promised  her
originally, but it was rough.

He drilled the lacrosse ball at the net, moved a

couple steps, then sent the next ball flying.

“Caleb!” The yell came from behind him, from

the entrance to the neighborhood, and it was a yell
he’d know anywhere.

He whirled, and there they were—Emily and

Krew. They were both smiling at him and walking
his direction. Emily wore a black dress and heels.
She looked exquisitely beautiful. Krew was wearing
a suit that was adorable on the little man.

“Krew! Emily!” Caleb dropped his stick and

ball,  threw  down  his  gloves,  and  started  jogging
toward them. Krew broke from his mama’s grip and
sprinted  at  him.  Emily  upped  her  pace,  but  it  was
obviously  hard  to  run  in  heels  through  the  snow.
Caleb wanted them in his arms, now.

He upped his pace, reaching Krew first and

sweeping him off the ground.

“Caleb!” Krew shouted happily, wrapping his

arms around his neck and holding on as Caleb kept
running toward the boy’s beautiful mother.

“Krew!” Caleb held him tight. “I’ve missed

you, my man.”

“I know.” Krew bounced as they ran and

laughed happily. “I missed you more!”

They reached Emily, and maybe Caleb

should’ve exercised some self-control, but he
shifted Krew to his left arm and wrapped her up
tightly with his right. She wrapped her arms around
his waist and laid her head in the crook of his neck.

“Caleb,” she breathed out. “No more patience,”

she whispered, glancing up at him as if she could
read his thoughts.

Caleb grinned. “Now that’s what I’ve been

waiting to hear. And do you know what I need
now?” He leaned in closer.

“A good smack on the bottom?” She lifted her

eyebrows and leaned back slightly.

“A big kiss on the lips.”
“If I must.” She sighed dramatically, her dark

eyes twinkling.

“You must.” He leaned down, she rose up, and

their  lips  met—and  just  like  that,  everything  was
right  in  his  world.  He  forgot  about  the  stress  and
misery  of  missing  her  and  Krew,  of  being  accused
of  murder,  of  having  to  be  without  her.  Nothing

mattered but Emily. She was here for him. The
months he’d waited seemed like nothing. For her,
he’d wait ten times longer.

“Come on, Mama,” Krew protested. “Too much

kissing!”

Emily laughed and pulled back. “Sorry, little

love, but you’re going to see me kissing Caleb
sometimes.”

“Only sometimes?” Caleb teased.
“Later,” she promised.
Caleb chuckled. He could wait. He hefted Krew

and said, “What do you think we should be doing,
my man?”

“Laxing it up. What else?” The little guy’s

brown eyes sparkled.

Caleb grinned. This kid was meant to be his.

“What else?” He held Krew in one arm and
wrapped the other around Emily’s shoulder. “Well,
let’s go, then.”

“Where?” Krew asked.
“To change your clothes. Your mama can’t lax

it up in heels.”

Emily leaned into him, and he squeezed her

tighter.  He  wanted  to  talk  so  many  things  through
with  her  and  then  kiss  her  and  hold  her  until  she
needed  a  break,  but  right  now  they  were  together,
and that was enough.

EPILOGUE

here were still large patches of snow on the
ground, but some open brown grass spots as

well.  It  was  warm  for  a  late  February  day  in
Colorado,  probably  almost  fifty.  Emily,  Caleb,  and
Krew  were  at  the  park  by  their  neighborhood,  on
the  field  that  had  started  it  all,  as  Caleb  and  Krew
ran drills and Emily shouted out encouragement.

Krew came running over to her with a ball in

his stick. He tossed it gently to her, and she
instinctively caught it in her palms. “Nice catch,
Mama,” he said. “See? You are an ath-a-lete.”

Emily smiled. No matter how Caleb tried to

convince Krew that Emily was an amazing athlete
as a runner, Krew thought that if you couldn’t catch
a ball, it didn’t count. “Thanks, love.”

“Mama, look at that ball. Somebody wrote all

over it. What a disgrace to a fine lacrosse ball.” He

was grinning as if he knew a secret.

Emily looked over his head to see Caleb

watching her closely from across the field and
grinning too. She felt a little lurch in her abdomen.
Glancing down, she read the words written in
permanent marker on the ball. Emily … Marry Me?

She gasped, and her gaze lifted to Caleb. He

was watching her hopefully.

“Now you run to him, Mama,” Krew

encouraged.

“I can do that.” She took off at a sprint,

dodging icy spots and clutching the ball as Caleb
ran to meet her.

He swept her off the ground and into his arms,

kissing her soundly.

“Yes,” she said breathlessly when he set her

down.

“It’s not that easy, Mama,” Krew said. He

must’ve run after her.

“Oh, really?” She grinned at her boy.
“You have to make a shot with that ball, or you

can’t get married.”

She laughed. “Good thing you two have been

working with me, then.”

Caleb released her, and Krew handed over his

stick. Caleb came behind her and grasped her hips,
directing her up close to the goal. Hanging from the
goal was the poster of him that she’d often blown
kisses at. When had they hung that?

“What? I’m supposed to hit your poster?”
“Yes, ma’am. You said you told my poster to

kiss your behind, but Krew revealed the truth, that
you blow kisses at my poster all the time. Now you
have to shoot at it.”

She laughed. “I can’t miss from this spot,” she

said, looking over her shoulder at him.

He kissed her quickly. “Good, because I’m not

risking losing you again.”

“Ah, that’s so sweet.” Emily dropped the stick

and ball, whirled around, and kissed him.

“Mama!” Krew said in exasperation. “Stop the

kissing for one blasted minute and shoot the goal.”

Emily laughed and released Caleb. He swept up

the stick and scooped the ball into it, handing it to
her. “More kissing to follow,” he promised, “after
you drill a hole through my face.”

“You’ll have to bring Krew a new poster if I do

that.”

“Don’t worry, I’ve got lots of them. I like to

look at myself.”

“Oh, cocky man that I love.”
He chuckled.
Turning, she aimed and slung the ball at the

poster. Luckily, it slid down into the side of the goal
and  didn’t  damage  their  beloved  poster.  Krew
cheered. Emily dropped the stick and wrapped her
arms  around  Caleb’s  neck,  preferring  to  kiss  the
real  thing.  He  kissed  her  intensely,  and  the  world

disappeared.

A roar of hoots and cheers interrupted the kiss.

Emily pulled back and looked around. Caleb’s
parents and most of his siblings, some of her
siblings and their spouses and children, her parents,
Mylee, Vance, and Harley were all running onto the
field, clapping and cheering.

Emily clung to Caleb and scolded, “You didn’t

tell me they were all coming.”

“Mama,” Krew huffed. “You can’t ruin

surprises.”

Caleb bent down and scooped up Krew. “We

knew you’d want the family here to celebrate this
important day.”

“Thank you.”
“Seth teased me that I should’ve done

something crazier, but I don’t care about crazy. I
only care about being with you and Krew.”

Her eyes misted over, and she kissed him hard.

“I love you.”

He grinned and lifted her off the ground with

his other arm.

“Caleb,” she laughed.
He turned her to greet family and friends. “May

I present to you the future Emily and Krew Jewel.”

“Yes!” Krew cheered. “I want to be a Jewel so

bad!”

Everyone laughed and cheered.
Glancing around, Emily asked, “Where are Seth

and Breeze?”

Caleb straightened and his eyes flashed with

disappointment as he looked around to confirm that
his twin and Breeze were missing. “I don’t know. I
know  he  gets  jealous  because  I’m  better-looking,
smarter,  more  talented,”  he  winked  at  her  but  she
could  see  in  his  eyes  that  he  wanted  Seth  to  be
here. “But he and Breeze can’t miss this.”

She heard the beat of helicopter blades and

looked up. Explosions suddenly went off in the
trees nearby. She jumped, and Caleb laughed.
“Firecrackers,” he told her.

“Oh my!” She put a hand to her heart.
Everyone was looking to the trees or holding

their hands over their ears to block out the
explosions.

As the helicopter passed right over their heads,

the whir of its blades grew more deafening than the
firecrackers. Seth and Breeze were only about
twenty feet above them, and they were grinning
broadly as they tipped a bucket.

Water gushed out and drenched the three of

them  as  other  family  members  dodged  out  of  the
way. Emily gasped at the cold water running down
her face and neck. Caleb wrapped Emily and Krew
up  tight  in  a  futile  attempt  to  shelter  them.
Everyone  else  was  screaming  and  laughing.  She
thought she heard Seth yell, “Payback!”

Emily lifted her head up just in time to see them

let loose a cloud of a white powder. It was sweet on
her lips. Powdered sugar.

The helicopter swept away and landed close by.

Finally, the noise of the rotors shut down.

Caleb’s body was shaking with laughter as he

held her and Krew. Emily couldn’t help but laugh
herself, even though the three of them were wet,
cold, and covered in white powder.

Seth and Breeze came jogging up, big grins on

their faces.

“Hug me, bro,” Caleb said, but he didn’t release

Krew or Emily, so the four of them got in a messy
hug.

“Sorry,” Seth said unrepentantly, “but if you’re

marrying this guy, you have to take blame for some
of his pranks.”

Breeze laughed. “Yeah, I get pranked right

along with Seth.”

Emily grinned up at her white-faced future

husband. “The two of us working together?” She
looked slyly back at Seth and Breeze. “You’d better
be scared of what we’ll come up with next.”

Everyone roared with laughter while Caleb bent

down and whispered against her lips. “Have I told
you lately that you’re perfect for me?”

“Yes, sir, but tell me again.”
He grinned. “You, Emily Housley, are perfect,

and I love you.” Then he was kissing her, and the
family was pressing in on them. She didn’t mind

that  they  were  sticky  and  wet;  she  was  just  glad
that  Caleb,  Krew,  and  their  loved  ones  were  all
there to celebrate their happy day. Even better, she
knew  that  Caleb  and  Krew  would  always  be  hers,
and  she  looked  forward  to  kissing  Caleb  tonight
when  they  were  alone.  She  was  covered  in
powdered sugar and in need of a warm shower, but
she  was  surrounded  by  love,  and  that  was  all  that
mattered.

Thank you for reading Seth and Breeze’s story! If
you enjoyed this clean romance keep reading for
excerpts of more Jewel Family Romance.

Hugs,
Cami

Jewel Family Romance

Do Marry Your Billionaire Boss

Do Trust Your Special Ops Bodyguard

Do Date Your Handsome Rival

Do Rely on Your Protector

Do Kiss the Superstar

Do Tease the Charming Billionaire

Do Claim the Tempting Athlete

DO RELY ON YOUR PROTECTOR

Breeze felt movement far too close and one of the
men said, “Are you okay?”

Breeze screamed and jumped at the same time.

She  would’ve  turned  tail  and  run  but  they  were
quickly  both  in  front  of  her.  She  backed  into  the
scratchy  pine  tree,  fighting  for  oxygen  as  her
stomach  plummeted,  somersaulted,  and  threatened
to launch itself up her throat.

She stared at the men. They were a matching

set: tall, lean, and muscular both with extremely
handsome faces and startlingly blue eyes. Twins.
The good Lord must’ve decided when he’d created
perfection like this he should double it.

The one on her right held up his hands as if

soothing a small child. “Hey, it’s okay,” he said in a
deep, sonorous voice that instantly relaxed her.
“We won’t hurt you.”

Breeze’s gaze darted back and forth between

them.  She  had  no  reassurances  besides  his  deep
voice  and  the  kind  look  on  his  appealing  face,  but
somehow, she believed him. Her shoulders relaxed,
her  heart  slowed,  and  she  didn’t  feel  like  she  was
going to spew.

“I’m Seth,” he said slowly. “This is my brother,

Caleb. Are you in trouble? Are you hurt?”

The brother rolled his eyes. “Stop talking to her

as if she’s slow.”

Seth glared at him. “I’ll give you slow.” He

punched him in the shoulder. He focused back on
Breeze. “Sorry, my twin’s an obtuse idiot.”

Caleb laughed as if the insult meant nothing to

him. Breeze and her brother were very nice to each
other. Their parents had belittled them plenty so
they’d both taken an opposite track.

Seth held out his hand. “Seth Jewel,” he said, as

if they were meeting at the local grocery store. His
name and face were somehow familiar. Was he a
movie star? He was handsome enough to be one,
that was for darn sure.

Breeze somehow knew touching this man

would  complicate  her  already  messy  life  further,
but  she  bravely  put  her  hand  in  his.  The  warmth
and  safety  conveyed  by  his  large  hand  closing
around  hers  made  her  feel  grounded  yet
invigorated.  She  tried  to  recall  feeling  something
like  this  before  but  couldn’t.  As  if  he  could  and

would protect her from all the evil she’d seen
throughout her life. She’d never let anyone protect
her; always pretending she was tough and in
control.

She pulled in a slow breath and focused on his

eyes. She’d never studied eyes that blue and
beautiful. “Breeze Cain,” she managed.

Seth smiled, probably relieved that she wasn’t

mute,  but  his  smile  made  her  knees  tremble.  She
recognized  she  was  behind  the  dating  curve  as  the
only  time  she  left  her  small  town  of  two  hundred
was  to  go  to  the  big  town  of  Preston  and  wait
tables,  but  she  knew  for  certain  they  didn’t  make
men like this back home.

“Cain?” the brother asked. “Like Cain and

Abel or cane sugar?”

“You are such an idiot,” Seth said, releasing her

hand to push his brother into the closest tree.

Breeze shuffled away, hoping they weren’t

going to start rolling around on the ground again,
but luckily the brother just laughed and said,
“Testy, testy.”

Seth turned back to her, ruffling his hand

through his golden-brown hair. “Sorry. I can’t take
him anywhere.”

Breeze found herself smiling. She’d had so little

to smile about, especially the last few days. It felt
awkward, and really, really nice. “Has anyone ever
told you two you act like you’re twelve-year-old

DO TEASE THE CHARMING BILLIONAIRE

The man’s gaze swept the main building, pool area,
and then rotated to the beach where she stood fifty
yards  away.  Their  eyes  locked  and  held  and  she
sucked  in  a  breath,  shocked  by  the  impact  those
deep brown eyes had on her, even from a distance.
She  could  see  his  face  clearly,  and  it  was  as
impressive  and  intriguing  as  his  fit  body  had  been.
He  was  definitely  a  handsome  man  with  a  straight
nose,  high  brow,  strong  jaw,  and  a  cleft  in  his  chin
that she really liked, but it was the power and allure
of  his  dark-brown  eyes  framed  with  thick  lashes
and dark eyebrows that really pulled her in.

She found herself giving him a challenging smile

in  return  and  throwing  her  hair  back  over  her
shoulder,  tossing  her  head  in  a  flirtatious  gesture
that  she’d  mastered  in  college.  She  realized  her
mistake  quickly  and  sucked  in  a  breath  as  if

someone  had  punched  her.  It  was  too  late,  he’d
seen  her,  all  of  her.  His  gaze  changed  from
welcoming to surprised or maybe shocked would be
a  better  word,  but  it  wasn’t  the  shock  that
reverberated  through  her,  it  was  the  compassion.
His  eyes  quickly  swept  over  the  mottled,  patched,
bumpy,  disgusting  skin  of  her  left  cheek,  chin,  and
neck then refocused on her eyes and he gave her a
welcoming, appealing smile.

Horrified, Rachel pulled her hair forward,

pivoted,  and  strode  away  through  the  thick  sand.
The  luxurious  feel  of  the  sand  earlier  had  now
morphed  into  a  trap  that  was  dragging  her  down
and  halting  her  progress.  She  wanted  to  run  from
that handsome man and the fact that he’d seen her
scars.  Would  he  have  nightmares  like  the  female
law  professor  had  said?  Could  she  avoid  him  over
the  next  week  and  still  do  the  job  Luke  had  asked
of  her?  She  doubted  it,  and  her  stomach  squirmed
with anxiety.

The feisty, funny, confident Rachel would be

telling  the  new  Rachel  that  she  was  acting  like  a
complete wuss and she should be heading the other
direction  and  introducing  herself  to  the  man.  Yes
he’d  looked  at  the  scars,  who  wouldn’t,  but  he’d
moved past them and still smiled so becomingly at
her. Maybe not everyone would be repulsed by her
like she feared.

She shoved former Rachel face-first into the

sand  and  angled  up  the  beach  to  the  walking  path
that  would  lead  her  to  her  secluded  bungalow  and
safety, for the moment. Why had she let Luke trick
her into this and not begged Eve to come with her?
Why  had  she  thought  she  was  ready  to  reenter
society?  Not  that  a  secluded  island  retreat  was
anything like her old social life, but it was still too
much for the social wart she had become.

Pounding footsteps rang from the palm-tree

lined path to the south, vibrating through her like a
gong banging repeatedly. She stopped short. She
glanced that direction and saw the very man she’d
strode away from running her direction.

Rachel froze. She didn’t know how to skirt

around  him  and  get  to  her  bungalow  without
encountering  him  and  she  refused  to  spin  and  go
the  other  direction  and  make  it  obvious  she  was
avoiding him. The way his gaze was trained on her
as  he  ran  told  her  his  very  intent  was  to  run  into
her.

He slowed his steps as he approached, leaving

the  firmer  path  through  the  trees  and  making  his
way  down  the  beach  toward  her.  He  had  a
welcoming  smile  on  his  handsome  face  but
something kind and understanding in his dark eyes
revealed  that  he  knew  …  she’d  run  because  he’d
seen her scars.

Rachel may have become an expert at avoiding

people, and especially confident, impressive men,

the  past  eight  months,  but  she  wasn’t  as  far-
removed from her former self as she’d feared. She
stood  straight  and  tilted  her  chin  imperiously,
tucking  her  hair  into  place  so  he  didn’t  get
assaulted  with  another  view  of  her  grisly  skin.  She
wished she didn’t care. She kept telling herself she
didn’t.  She’d  gone  to  numerous  therapists  and
claimed she’d come to terms with the scarring and
she’d never been defined by the beauty of her face
anyway. The fact that she kept pulling her long hair
in  front  of  her  face  to  try  and  hide  the  scars  said
she  definitely  did  care.  She’d  never  told  anyone
about  that  woman’s  voice  echoing  in  her  head,
“Children who are struggling shouldn’t have to also
have  nightmares  about  their  lawyer’s  disfigured
face.”

“Rachel Jewel?” He kept coming toward her

with that large smile and now his hand was
extended.

Rachel didn’t advance toward him but she held

her ground, at least she could be proud of herself
for that. She smiled and extended her own hand.
“Yes. How’d you know?”

Their hands met and suddenly Rachel didn’t

care how he knew her name, didn’t care if he’d
Googled her and read every lame post someone had
made about the former “perfect” model being
disfigured.

His large palm pressed against her smaller one

and  then  his  fingers  wrapped  around  the  back  of
her  hand  and  he  held  on.  His  touch  was  magnetic
and  somehow  lifted  her  spirits.  She  felt  like  she
could  handle  anything  if  their  hands  were  joined
together.

“Um …” His confident smile slipped and he

looked  down  at  their  hands  then  back  up  at  her.
Had  he  felt  the  connection  as  well?  “Preston  told
me  who  you  are.  We  both  knew  Caleb  in  college,
well  we  played  lacrosse  against  him.  He  was  at
Duke  ….  As  you  know,”  he  gave  her  a  chagrined
smile,  “and  Preston  and  I  played  for  Syracuse.
Caleb  was  amazing,  his  footwork  and  stick  skills
were  better  than  any  I’d  played  against.  He
destroyed  us  almost  single-handedly  …”  He  faded
off,  shook  his  head,  pulled  his  hand  back,  and
pushed  it  through  his  dark  hair.  “Sorry,  I’m
rambling.”

She smiled, liking that this obviously successful,

handsome  man  was  rambling.  Was  he  affected  by
touching  her  hand  like  she  had  been  with  him  or
was  he  rambling  to  cover  his  embarrassment
because  he’d  seen  her  scars?  That  tampered  with
her smile.

“The Jewel family shows no mercy when it

comes to sports,” she said.

He chuckled and nodded. “I saw that

firsthand.”

She smiled. So he’d gone to college with

Preston  and  they’d  both  played  against  Caleb.
Were he and Preston still close? Could this provide
the  insight  she  needed  into  whether  Preston  was
running  the  island  to  the  best  of  his  ability  or
skimming  employee  paycheck  funds  like  Luke
suspected?  She  realized  the  ultra-appealing,  dark-
eyed  man  standing  in  front  of  her  hadn’t  told  her
his  name  in  all  his  rambling.  “And  you  are?”  she
asked.

“Oh, sorry.” He shook his head. “Abe, Abe

Bradford.”

He put out his hand as if to shake again. Rachel

glanced  down  at  his  hand  and  couldn’t  help
laughing.  She’d  forgotten  how  fun  it  was  to  not
only banter with handsome men but know because
of her brilliance, beauty, and funny personality she
made  them  stumble  over  their  feet  or  their  words.
That  surprised  her.  She  hadn’t  felt  that  since  the
explosion and had feared the old Rachel was buried
too deep.

He also looked down at his hand then back up

at her and let it fall to his side. “I guess we already
did that.” He laughed along with her. “I’m a little
off my game today.”

Rachel liked that he would admit that. She tilted

her head back toward his yacht, at least she
assumed it was his yacht. “Traveling will do that to
you. Where did you sail from?”

“I keep my yacht in Cancun.” His eyes widened

as if he hadn’t been ready to admit to her it was his
yacht.

She nodded. Pivoting slightly, she walked to the

path that led through the thick trees and to the
bungalows, ready to be out of the sun. He fell into
step beside her, thankfully on her right side.

“And you flew there from …?” She snuck a

glance at him, not sure why she was being so nosy
but  he  was  intriguing,  and  even  though  he’d  seen
her  scars  his  eyes  weren’t  flickering  to  the  spot
where  they  hid,  and  he  wasn’t  acting  like  they
bothered him. Impressive man, or a good actor? She
wasn’t sure yet.

“Buffalo. My company is based out of Buffalo,

New York.”

“What company do you own?”
“Bradford International.”
She laughed. “Oh, of course. Did you oh so

humbly name it after yourself or was that your dad
or granddad?”

He smiled, not seeming the least bit offended by

her  slight  jab  to  his  pride.  “It  was  me.  I  started  it
myself.  Figured  nobody  would  know  what  it  is  we
do  with  just  my  name  on  the  business  license,  and
the  international  makes  it  seem  like  we’re  more
impressive than we actually are.” He winked.

She liked that he was trying for humility, but

they must do something very impressive if he
owned his own yacht and could bring a group on a

vacation here. “So you probably can’t tell me what
you  do,  or  you  might  have  to  silence  me?”  She
stopped  as  they  reached  the  pool  deck  outside  her
bungalow and she turned to face him again. Here in
the  shade  it  was  even  nicer  to  stare  into  his
handsome face.

“I would hate to have to silence you,” he

murmured,  his  eyes  tracing  over  her  face  as  if  he
thought  she  was  exquisitely  beautiful.  She  used  to
get those looks many times a day. Had they stopped
because  of  her  scars  or  because  she’d  shut  herself
away?  She  pushed  all  of  the  worries  away.  Flirting
with  a  handsome  man  was  no  time  to  be  self-
analyzing.

“I’m not easily silenced.” She raised a

challenging eyebrow.

He chuckled. “I’ll bet. My company sells home

security systems.”

She liked that he hadn’t made her pull it out of

him. “Wait. You aren’t those annoying college
students who knock on the door all the time,
ignoring no soliciting signs to try to pander security
systems?”

He grinned. “Yes, ma’am, we are. Selling those

systems got me through college then after some …
detours, I was able to start my own company and it
took off.”

Though she couldn’t see it anymore, her eyes

darted through the trees to where his yacht rested.

“It looks like it took off.” She studied him for a few
seconds then said, “So, young entrepreneur, quick
success story, eh?”

He gave her a definite smirk and said, “I’ve

been out of college for ten years, not sure how
quick of a success story that is.”

“Whoa. I wouldn’t have guessed. So you’re

about … thirty-two?”

He nodded.
She stared at his handsome face. “You look

pretty good for an old man.”

He chuckled. “And how old are you, Miss

Jewel, if you don’t mind me asking?”

“Twenty-four.” Twenty-five in a month but she

didn’t need to shorten the age gap between them. It
might be a buffer that she could use.

His eyes swept over her face and he grinned.

“You look pretty good for a young lady.”

She smiled but backed toward her door. “It was

nice to meet you.”

He stepped forward, his dark eyes suddenly

intense, giving her an indicator of one of the factors
that had helped him achieved success—he didn’t
take no for an answer. “Have dinner with me ...
please.”

The please was an afterthought to soften the

demand of his request. She shouldn’t have liked his
presumptuous tone and the intensity of that gaze
but she’d always admired confident men, wanted a

man who could stand by her side not pander to her
or her family’s success. Before her accident she’d
known she would take the world by storm. Now she
wasn’t so sure.

She surprised herself by wanting to spend more

time with him. She wanted it badly. She swallowed
and admitted, “I agreed to dine with Preston
tonight.”

He paused for a beat, his eyes and mouth

tightened, and then he nodded. “Smart move by my
friend.”

“Nice to have met you,” she repeated then

hurried  across  the  deck,  typed  in  the  code  for  the
door,  and  slid  in,  only  letting  herself  look  back
once.  He  was  focused  on  her  and  when  he  caught
her eye, gave her one more slow, sexy grin.

Rachel hesitantly returned the smile then let the

door  close  behind  her.  She  rested  back  against  it
and sighed dreamily. He was … incredible and she
was  definitely,  definitely  not  in  the  market  for  a
wealthy,  fabulous  man  to  date.  Yet  the  entire
interaction  had  left  her  elated  and  wondering  if
she’d  misjudged  how  men  would  respond  to  her
scars  or  if  Abe  Bradford  was  impressive  in  more
areas than success and good looks.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Cami is a part-time author, part-time exercise consultant, part-
time housekeeper, full-time wife, and overtime mother of four
adorable boys. Sleep and relaxation are fond memories. She’s
never been happier.

Join Cami’s VIP list to find out about special deals,

giveaways and new releases and receive a free copy of
Rescued by Love: Park City Firefighter Romance by clicking

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cami@camichecketts.com

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