DO KISS THE SUPERSTAR

Jewel Family Romance

CAMI CHECKETTS

Do Kiss the Superstar: Jewel Family Romance

No part of this book may be reproduced in any form or by any
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author, except for the use of brief quotations in a book review.

CONTENTS

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Chapter 1
Chapter 2
Chapter 3
Chapter 4
Chapter 5
Chapter 6
Chapter 7
Chapter 8
Chapter 9
Chapter 10
Chapter 11
Chapter 12
Chapter 13
Epilogue

Do Rely on Your Protector
Do Tease the Charming Billionaire
About the Author
Also by Cami Checketts

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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

be alone with him or let him touch her or kiss her
cheek again, or there was no way she could lie to
herself and claim they weren’t “dating.”

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.

“Okay. We’ll see you next Monday.”
He nodded and held the front door as they

carried the pizza and salad containers out into the
cold January evening. An entire week. Watching
them go, he caught Emily looking back at him. He
raised a hand and tried not to show how bad it hurt
to watch her walk away.

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

boys?”

Caleb threw back his head and laughed. “Only

our beautiful mother, every other minute.”

Keep reading

here

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.

Find Do Tease the Charming Billionaire

here

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.

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