A Place to Call Home (13 page)

Mac blinked, his thoughts scrambled. “You just baited me, didn’t you?” Damn, he should’ve been more on guard with his prying sister. “You didn’t cut off her hair. You said that because you know I love long hair on a woman.”

“Why, Mac, darling. I don’t know where you get these ideas from.”

“KelliAnn, you are such a manipulative wench sometimes.”

“Now that hurts me, Mac.” She smacked the back of his head.

 “I’m sorry. But you shouldn’t have baited me.”

“But you got to admit she’s beautiful.”

“Never said she wasn’t.”

“I did cut her hair. Just a trim, so relax. She looks even sexier now.”

“Great,” he mumbled. He sure the hell didn’t need her to be any more glamorous. He could hardly keep his hands off of her now. The last thing he needed was any more visions of her beauty.

“So what are you going to do about her?”

“There’s nothing to do. I’m fixing up her place. It’s a great deal for me, I’ll make decent money, and then she’ll move on to another state and restaurant.”

“Now you can lie all you want, Mac, but this is me you’re talking to, and you can’t sit there and tell me you’re not attracted to Hannah.”

“Save it, sis.”

“She’s had a hard life, that’s for sure.”

Now that piqued his interest. “What did she tell you? Hell, she remained tight-lipped with me.”

“She didn’t have to say anything. It’s in her eyes. Poor thing is lonely. Almost scared.”

“Scared?” Mac snorted. “Hannah is anything but scared. She’s scary, maybe, especially when that damn temper gets going. But not scared.”

“She’s frightened, Mac. She has many ghosts in her past. But I didn’t want to pry.”

Now Mac howled. “Since when don’t you pry?”

“Hush. Just don’t let this one go, sweetie. She’d be real good for you. Keep you on your toes. Add some spice to your dull ways.”

“Dull ways, my ass. Are you done yet?” he asked, refusing to discuss his love life with his sister.

She finished shaving his neck. “Yeah,” she sighed.

“Thanks,” he stood, shaking hair off his neck. He bent to kiss her cheek. “I need to hit the shower and make dinner.”

“Oh, Mac,” KelliAnn said, putting away her styling tools. “Just so you know, I’m having Mom throw a barbeque and I’m inviting Hannah.” She smiled sweetly, but he knew better than to trust that look.

“No, don’t do that, KelliAnn.” Having Hannah anywhere near his nosy family would be a recipe for disaster. They’d all try their hand at fixing them up as a couple before the end of the day. He just wanted to do things his own way, on his own terms.

“Sorry, but you should’ve given me the dirt when I asked for it. Now you pay the price with an entire family event.”

“You’re pure evil sometimes, KelliAnn. You know that?” he growled.

She laughed. “My husband tells me that every now and then.”

Chapter Fourteen

Mac sat at the dining room table working on his bills—his regular Wednesday night ritual. But he couldn’t concentrate. He dropped his pen and rubbed his palms into his eyes. The bills could wait another day. Hell, he always paid everything ahead of their due date. There was plenty of time.

His problems had Hannah O’Leary written all over them. Why was she stuck in his head? Yeah, he wanted to take her to bed, but shit, he wasn’t in high school anymore, so he shouldn’t be so pre-occupied with her—especially since he would end up in bed with Hannah anyway. Adrenaline shot through his veins when images of thrusting inside that sweet body of hers raced through his mind. Oh, hell yeah. As sure as the sun would rise tomorrow, he would fuck Hannah O’Leary before she blew out of town. His cock hardened, and his balls ached just thinking about it. He wanted her like he’d never wanted any other woman.

So what the hell was he waiting for? She was hot for him. The way she kissed him back indicated that it would take no effort at all to lay her on her back and pump his seed between her legs. So why not just do it?

Hell, he knew why. Because she was trouble.

But God help him, he wanted a taste of her. She’d be potent and he’d need to have her more than once to get her out of his system. What he should do is go over there right now and take her hard and fast in every room of that dilapidated house.

What would she be sleeping in tonight? Those silly old pjs that made her look like an innocent maid or that red lace nightie she claimed to have that no doubt would make her look more like the vixen she was. He rubbed his temples. God, pajamas or lace, she still was the sexiest woman he’d ever laid eyes on. The vision of her continued to float through his mind when he sensed someone watching him. Probably Porkchop hoping to get a snack.

When he heard the child’s snicker, he knew he’d been busted by one of his boys. He dared to look up and found three sets of his own eyes stared back from behind the couch.

“You all right, Dad?” Aidan asked cautiously.

“Yeah,” Mac said quietly. “Why?”

“You’ve been sitting like that for ten minutes.”

“So you’ve been watching me for ten minutes and are just now checking to see if I’m all right?”

He shrugged. “Didn’t want to bother you.”

Mac huffed a breath. “I’ve just got a headache. Ryan, get me the aspirin and some water, please.”

The boys gathered around him. Aidan put a foot on a kitchen chair, rested his arms on his knee, and watched Mac. Ryan hustled to the counter, doing what Mac said.

Luke, his most clingy son, stood beside him, leaning on the table, and staring at him. “Want us to call Hannah?”

Mac looked at him. “Now why would I want you to call Hannah?”

“So she can cook you something to make you feel better.”

Mac scooted Luke onto his lap. “You know what would make me feel better? If you guys got along and helped out around here like I ask you to. I need you guys to follow my rules because I hate to have to punish you. We missed out on a great fishing trip because you didn’t follow the rules. And all three of you hurt my feelings last night when you said I was mean for sending you to bed after dinner. I gave you fair warning what would happen if I came home to a mess and fighting, did I not?”

All three boys nodded, their gazes cast downward.

Mac swallowed the aspirin and water. “I don’t want us to fight. Okay, guys? You’re all old enough to know better.”

“Even me, Daddy?” Luke asked.

Mac bounced him on his leg and smiled. “Yeah, son. Even you.”

“Well, tell them that since they call me baby all the time,” he said thumbing toward his brothers.

Aidan and Ryan both looked at Mac, shock lacing their eyes.

Mac shook his head. “Don’t even bother to deny it, boys. I’ve heard you call him baby. And from this point on I don’t want to hear anymore name-calling. You’re brothers. You need to have each other’s backs. Hear me?”

“Yes, sir,” they all said.

“Ryan, what’s in your hand?” Mac asked.

“Oh, almost forgot. Dad, could you give these to Hannah tomorrow?” Ryan held up a bouquet of wild flowers.

“Where did you get those?” Mac asked.

“From the yard before you got home from work,” Ryan said. “They’re from all of us. A thank you for the muffins.”

“Do you think she can make us more?” Luke asked.

Mac laughed, took the flowers, and scooted Luke off his lap so he could put the flowers in a glass of water. “Well, I’ll let her know how much you enjoyed them. Maybe she’ll bake some more again when she can. She’s going to love these flowers. That was very thoughtful of you guys. Just when I think there’s no hope for y’all to have manners you go and do something like this.” Mac leaned his back against the counter and crossed his arms.

“Do you like Hannah, Daddy?” Luke pried.

Put on the spot by his youngest son Mac avoided eye contact with all of them. Instead, he stared at his bare feet. “Of course I like Hannah. She’s a nice person.”

“No, Dad,” Ryan said. “What Luke means is do you
like
her? You know. The way Aidan likes Catherine and Cheryl.”

“Who’s Cheryl?” Mac asked, looking at Aidan who turned red.

“Shut up, Ry. No one, Dad. Just a friend.”

“Uh huh.” Mac eyed him suspiciously, wondering what game his son played with the ladies. He made a mental note to talk with Aidan privately.

“Well, Dad. Do you like Hannah?” Ryan asked.

“Ooohh, Daddy, do you have a crush?” Luke giggled.

Mac had never lied to his boys. How could he now? Then again, how could he be honest about his feelings for Hannah when he couldn’t even admit them to himself? Maybe the neutral route was the only way to go.

“I think Hannah is a very nice lady who is beautiful, smart, and cooks great. But we’re only friends.”

“What’s wrong with you, Dad?” Aidan asked sounding disgusted.

“Excuse me?” Mac sat stunned by the unusually blunt tone, even for his sixteen-year-old.

“Hannah’s awesome. So how come you’re not, well, you know?”

Mac hadn’t thought it possible to be any more embarrassed in talking about his dating habits with his sons. Seems he was wrong. “No. I don’t know. How come I’m not what?”

“Dating her,” Aidan said, his cheeks turning redder, his gaze avoiding Mac’s.

There lay the question of the century. His own kids knew what he should be doing before he did. “Because I work for her.”

“So what?” Ryan said.

“Yeah, so what?” Luke echoed.

“So that means we have a business relationship and, well, Hannah, isn’t staying here long so there’s no need to date.”

“Maybe she’ll stay if you date her,” Luke said.

The philosophy of a nine-year-old boy would be hard to argue with and Mac quite honestly didn’t have the energy.

“You know what, guys? It’s bedtime. Now. I’m not dating anyone. I’m too busy and right now I’m going to bed myself. Brush your teeth and hit the bed.”

The three of them walked away and up the stairs. Mac overheard Aidan speak to his younger brothers. “Told you guys talking to him is useless. He’s never going to get together with Hannah because he’s chicken.”

“Daddy’s not a chicken,” Luke said defensively.

“He is if he doesn’t make a move on Hannah,” Ryan confirmed.

“You guys make no sense,” Luke complained.

“Just go to bed,” Aidan said.

Mac sighed. How could he explain to his boys that getting together with Hannah was complicated? When he heard the three bedroom doors close, relief flooded him. The conversation had ended—at least for now. But sooner or later, he’d be forced to figure out just what the hell to do about Hannah O’Leary.

Chapter Fifteen

The late afternoon sun beat down on Mac’s back while he dragged sheetrock into Hannah’s house. Impressed with how much Hannah had managed to clear out the day before, he noticed all of the old and broken appliances had been tossed out. No more piles of old newspaper and other crap lined the floor. Some of the broken furniture that had been left behind by the previous owner had also been dragged outside for the dumpster.

Surveying the area, Mac glanced around for Hannah, expecting her to crawl out of a room and be covered in dust.

With her cleaning efforts, he now had space in the parlor to store some of the supplies. At least the majority of supplies would be delivered directly here. That’d save him some backbreaking work.

Where could Hannah be? He glanced toward the ceiling. Upstairs?

God, he didn’t want to think about it. A moment later, Hannah appeared in the parlor, her shoes clacking on the hardwood floor.

“Hey, Mac,” she said, sweetly.

Placing the next to last batch of sheetrock against the wall, he turned and faced her. His breath lodged in his throat at the sight of her all dressed up, wearing baby pink Capri pants, a sexy white tank top, and two-inch pink sandals. Thank God she’d busied herself fastening a bracelet on her wrist and hadn’t seen him drool as his gaze roamed her body from head to toe. With her hair swept up in an amazing ponytail, it showcased her long, slender neck and the gold loops swinging from her earlobes. The urge to kiss her became intense. The urge to fuck her overwhelming.

When she finished her gaze met his, a smile quickly forming on her lips. She walked to him, angling her head up.

“This is a nice surprise, Mac. But I’m afraid I was just leaving.”

“I figured that the way you’re dressed. Got a hot date or something?”

She grinned wickedly, and his cock strained in his pants.

“As a matter of fact I do with a nice young gentleman.”

His heart pounded, his muscles tensed. Oh did she now? “Didn’t know you liked them young, Hannah.” There was that damn perfume of hers again. He inhaled deeply without being obvious.

She glared. “You’ll have to let yourself out. I have to pick up something special he requested.”

“Like condoms?” Jealousy did the talking, but damn it, he didn’t want to let her go. How could he stop her? He had no claim to her.

“Go to hell,” she snapped. “If you must know, he asked that I bring whipped cream. Seems he’s a big fan of the kind that comes in a can and lucky for him, I am too. You know, it’s more versatile that way.”

Mac had always considered himself a reasonable man, but standing there, listening to her all but admit she would use the whipped cream for sex, dismantled his control.
Date
, his ass! Talk like that persuaded him to tie her up and lock her in her room. Forever.

“My, my. It’s not every day I see you rendered speechless,” she said, her pretty mouth set in a smirk, her eyebrows raised. “I’m running late and don’t want to keep him waiting so I’m sorry I have to pass on listening to any more of your attitude. See you soon.” She turned and waltzed from the room with a seductive sway of her hips

Mac ground his teeth, counted to ten, and then stomped out the front door after her. He arrived just in time to see her car disappearing around the corner. Cursing, he grabbed the last load of sheetrock, dropped it inside her house, locked up, and followed after her.
How the hell did she get away that fast?

Of course, he wouldn’t catch up to her. She’d be long gone the way she sped in that fancy luxury sedan of hers. And what would he do if he caught up to her? Beg her to ditch her date and go back to her house with him? Hardly. He’d never beg. But then again she was one hot lady and his balls ached like hell. He shook his head to clear the image of her in that pretty little outfit. Shit, he didn’t need to be wound like an eight-day clock over one lone female. He could have any woman he wanted. It just happened the only woman he desired presently had gone out on a fucking hot date.

Mac pulled into his driveway and slammed the truck into park. When he looked up, he noticed the BMW parked in his yard and smiled. He got out of the truck, and the weight of the world lifted from his shoulders. So Hannah had pegged him for her hot date after all, had she? Well, hell, she didn’t need to be so secretive about it.

He walked into his kitchen to find dinner being prepared. Hannah smirked, and those green eyes danced with amusement. She had gotten him good. She’d probably concocted her little white lie to punish him for something he’d done. And he didn’t give one damn. She was here with him.

Luke lit up, all smiles too. “Dad, I’ve got a date,” he said, slipping his hand into Hannah’s.

“Oh, really?” Mac said. He looked from Luke to Hannah. “How come I didn’t know about this date?” He remembered his rudeness minutes earlier and cringed inwardly. He’d acted like an ass.

“Because I wanted it to be a surprise. It’s movie night, Dad. Did you forget? I said I wanted to invite Hannah someday and you said sure. So here she is.”

“Yeah,” Mac said slowly, keeping his gaze locked with hers. “Here she is.”

“Yes, here I am,” she said huskily.

“Did you make dinner, too, Hannah?” Mac asked.

“No. I just supervised.”

“Look, Dad. They’re pigs in a blanket, but not really.” He giggled. “They’re hot dogs.”

Mac leaned down to be eye-level with Luke. “Hey, buddy. Since when did you stop calling me Daddy? What’s with this Dad stuff?”

“Dad,” Luke said low. “I’m a big boy now. I can call you Dad like Ry and Aidan.”

“Sure you can, buddy, but I just happen to really like the daddy name. The others never called me Daddy as long as you have, so I guess I’m just used to it is all.”

Mac straightened and looked back to Hannah. “I reek. I need a shower then I can help with the rest of dinner.”

“I got it, Dad,” Luke said. “Hannah’s helping me, right?”

“Right,” she confirmed, shaking her hand in his hair.

Mac turned to walk away when Luke called out. “Oh, Dad?”

He paused, looked back. “Yeah, son?”

“If you eat all your dinner, you’ll get a big hot fudge sundae with lots of whipped cream. I told Hannah you loved whipped cream, so she picked up extra just for you.”

“She did, huh?” Mac grinned wide and looked at her, not missing the mischief in those beautiful eyes. A hot thrill shot through him, straight to his cock. Whipped cream on Hannah? Definitely yummy.

“She did,” Hannah confirmed.

Mac’s cheeks flamed like they hadn’t since high school and left them to finish dinner. Two minutes later he stepped into the shower and beneath an icy stream of water. He shivered and groaned. The freezing cascade still didn’t do enough to cool him down.

§
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Jealous. Mac grit his teeth. How could he sit there and be jealous of a nine-year-old boy?

Christ, help him.

Luke snuggled against Hannah on the couch, her arm around him, her shoeless feet tucked up under her legs. God, her slender feet were sexy. He could picture nibbling those painted little toes.
No. Stop. I can’t think like that. Especially with my kids in the room.

Luke’s head rested on Hannah’s shoulder, his eyes drooping then opening wide only to droop again. His youngest son fought exhaustion, but it was a losing battle since his bedtime had passed an hour ago.

Mac sat in one of the armchairs alone, not caring what the movie was about. Taking care not to get caught staring, Mac peeked at Hannah every chance he got. After all these years, having a female in his house made for an odd evening. Awkwardness consumed him while Hannah sat comfortably on his couch, blending in with him and his boys. Mac struggled to just enjoy the night, but thoughts of the cozy scene caused him to question just how involved he should become with Hannah.

On the other side of Hannah sat Ryan who slowly inched closer to Hannah, absolutely pissing Aidan off. His oldest son sent vicious looks to Ryan, who slouched, too engrossed in the movie and Hannah to notice—or if he had noticed he didn’t care.

Every few minutes, Hannah bent her head to check on Luke and adjusted him in her arms before returning her attention to the movie. That simple motherly gesture warmed Mac’s heart down to his toes. Even if she hadn’t had a good role model, Hannah would make a great mother some day.

“Ryan, why don’t you give Hannah breathing room?” Aidan said between gritted teeth.

Ryan turned bright red and glared. “Why? You want to sit on her lap?”

“Hey,” Mac warned sternly. “Enough.”

“You scared, Ry?” Aidan teased, ignoring Mac’s warning.

Ryan’s leg lashed out and kicked Aidan. “Shut up, butthead.”

Aidan flew at Ryan, both boys toppling to the floor.

“Yeah. Now who’s the butthead, you chicken shit,” Aidan said, his taller frame twisted around his brother, both rolling around the tight space between the couch and coffee table.

Ryan’s elbow landed in Aidan’s ribs forcing a whoosh of air. “That’s what you think, dickweed. You fight like a girl.”

“Like hell,” Aidan said, punching Ryan’s chin.

Hannah stayed in her seat and cradled Luke, who continued to doze, too sleepy to care what his brothers did. She watched the boys grapple for the upper hand, her eyes wide with horror.

Mac bolted to his feet and hauled the boys up by the backs of their shirts, each only getting in minimal punches to the other.

“Knock it off.” He gave them a little shake, keeping a grip on them. “You’re acting like fools. You two owe Hannah an apology, and if you want to be able to sit down in the near future, it better sound sincere.”

They both mumbled sorry.

“Not good enough,” Mac growled and, still clutching the boys’ shirts, headed for the stairs, dragging them with him. “Excuse us, Hannah. We need to have a refreshment course on manners.”

Hannah’s eyes grew larger. “Oh, Mac. Please don’t punish them,” Hannah said, her voice filled with worry. “I’m sure they’re both just tired and meant no harm.”

Mac stopped and looked at her. Did he just hear her right? “Yeah. I’m sure that’s what it was. I know how to handle my boys, Hannah, and it’s about time they realize they’ve finally gone too far.”

Mac pushed the boys ahead of him and walked them quickly to Aidan’s room, his heart banging hard against his chest. Christ, his blood pressure must be sky-high right now. How dare they embarrass him like this? Acting like animals when he had a guest over. And not just any guest…Hannah. Hell, right now she had to be ready to run far away from his house. He couldn’t blame her one bit if that’s what she decided to do after watching these two knuckleheads act like five-year-olds.

But as mad as he was at the two teenagers standing in front of him, looking scared to death, he worried more about Hannah’s reaction to a simple act of parental discipline. Shutting the door to deal with his delinquent sons, Mac couldn’t shake Hannah’s terrified expression from his head.