Dream On (Stories of Serendipity #2) (21 page)

Surprised, Dalton eyed her.
 “Why?”

She shrugged.
 “In the dreams, you seemed so at home there.  I don’t know how to explain it, but you like the barn, so I do too.”

He pulled her inside, and leaned her up against the wall next to the barn door.
 Putting his hands on either side of her, he trapped her there.  “I’m so glad you came today.  I needed you to come.”  He was standing close to her on purpose, wanting to smell her, to see her eyes up close.  But it was making him want to do other things to her, too.  Things he had promised himself he wouldn’t do, yet.  Gently, he lowered his face to hers for a kiss.

Eagerly, her arms went around his neck, pulling him closer, kissing him back.
 He managed to satisfy himself with kissing her, denying himself the yearnings that arose inside.  Fisting his hands on the wall next to her head, he didn’t allow himself to touch her.  Finally, he pulled his mouth away, and gave his hands permission to hold her body close, dipping his nose into her hair.

“I love the way you smell.”
Dalton could feel her smile against his neck, “I love the way you smell, too, Dalton.”

Releasing her, he grabbed her hand and pulled her over to a bale of hay to sit on.
 He wrapped his arms around her as she sat in his lap.  He nuzzled his face in her bosom, as she wrapped her arms around him, like they had done Sunday morning.

“My dad and I restored that motorcycle when I was in high school.”
 He was looking in the corner of the barn where the Triumph sat, awaiting its next ride.  “The whole time I was gone, Dad kept it maintained and running.”  His voice choked, and Alyssa held him tighter.

“It’s okay, Dalton.
 I won’t think any less of you if you cry.”

As if that was the only encouragement he needed, he broke down in deep wracking sobs that shook his entire body.
 He was a little embarrassed, but he knew Alyssa was right.  He couldn’t cry in front of his mom.  She needed his strength right now, and Renae had to deal with not only their mother’s tears, but Kelly’s too.

He didn’t cry long, just a minute or two.  When he was finished, he felt infinitely better.
 He looked up at Alyssa.  “Thanks.”

“We’re all human, Dalton.
 Everybody cries now and then.  It’s cathartic.  That’s why women do it so much.  We’re smarter than men.”  She tapped a finger to her temple as she smiled down at him.  Her smile was like a ray of sunshine in his heart, telling him he could get through this.

Dalton grabbed her finger and brought it to his lips, kissing it gently.
 “I’ve never known a girl like you before, Alyssa.”

She blushed and smiled at him.
 “Me neither, Dalton.  Well, not the girl part...you know what I mean.”

He pulled her close and kissed her again, tenderly.
 A kiss that promised much more.  “I’ve got to get back and check on my mother.”

“Yeah, I’ve got to go pick the kids up from school.
 I’ll call you this evening.”  They kissed one more time before walking back up to the house together.  

Since Sunday, her normal shopping day, had been filled with vomit, Alyssa had to stop at the grocery store on the way home from picking up the kids.  She hated shopping with her kids.  She always ended up with junk food in her shopping cart, whether she liked it or not.  And the trip took twice as long.  Harried and completely frazzled, she finally made it home, three hours after leaving Dalton’s house.

Dalton was sitting on her front porch, looking gorgeous, with two grocery bags.

“What are you doing here?”  Alyssa figured he probably still had a house full of company.

“Escaping the well-wishers.
 Mom took a xanax and went to bed an hour ago, and it doesn’t look like anybody’s leaving anytime soon.”  He held up the bags.  “I brought dinner.”  Looking at the kids, “Do you guys like chicken strips?”

“Yeah!”

Alyssa led the way into the house, with Dalton bringing up the rear.  After a couple of more trips out to the car, Alyssa put away the groceries while Dalton laid the table with a veritable feast of chicken, gravy, mashed potatoes, macaroni and cheese, salad, and a cheesecake.

“We’ll go into a carb coma after eating all of this!
 Dalton, you shouldn’t have.  This food was meant for your family.”  Alyssa exclaimed after eyeballing all of the food.

Dalton looked at her squarely, “We have gobs of food leftover from the luncheon, and Mom’s Sunday school class has signed up for rotations on food for the rest of the week.
 I could spare a little for you guys.  Come on, let’s eat.”  He sat down at the table, and grabbed a plate to spoon food on, putting it in front of Cayden’s chair.  Getting another for Sierra, he started scooping food on it, before looking at Alyssa. “Well, come on!  Sit!”

Alyssa complied
, grabbing a plate for herself and calling the kids to come out of their room and eat.

“Mommy!
 Can I say the pledge?”  Cayden asked.

Sierra corrected, “He means the prayer.”

Dalton grinned as Alyssa said, “I think that would be lovely, Cayden.”

They all dutifully bowed their heads while Cayden, in all seriousness, said “We pledge allegiance to God, bless us, bless our food, bless our families, bless our teachers, bless our cars, one nation invisible, under God.
 Amen.”

“Amen,” chorused everybody at the table.

The kids dug into their food, while Alyssa hid the smile on her face with her napkin.  “I guess we need to pray at the table a little more.”

“I thought it was a great prayer.
 He hit all the high points.”  

The meal passed comfortably, the kids each competing for Dalton’s attention, while Alyssa had to cajole them into actually e
ating their food.  After dinner Dalton cleared the table off while Alyssa got the kids to finish up their homework at the bar dividing the kitchen.  She could keep an eye on them, while she did the dishes.  She drew a sink of hot soapy water, and Dalton sidled up next to her.  

“You wash, I’ll dry?”

“Um...Sure.” They worked in amicable silence.  Alyssa got little shivers from the hairs on Dalton’s arm brushing against hers periodically.  Occasionally, he would lean over to grab something, and she could feel the side of his body next to hers.  She could smell the woodsy, citrus scent of his aftershave.  The dishes were finished all too quickly.

“Bath time, guys.”
 She said to the kids who had finished their homework and were giggling behind the couple.  “What?”

“Sierra says y’all are gonna kiss.”
 Cayden announced.

“Did not!”
 Sierra shrilled.

“Yes, you did!”
 Cayden’s bottom lip stuck out.  He didn’t like it when people called him a liar.

“Well, you weren’t supposed to say it to them.
 Now they won’t do it!”  She looked dejected.  She looked at Dalton with incredibly round eyes and asked seriously, “Are you Mommy’s boyfriend?”

“Yes, Ma’am.”
 He drawled at her, eliciting a giggle.

“So, have you kissed her?” Sierra asked.

Dalton looked at Alyssa, who nodded slightly.  “Yes, Ma’am.  You wanna see?”

Sierra squealed with delight at the same time Alyssa started backing away, panicky.
 If her kids saw the way Dalton kissed her, she would have to have “The Talk” much sooner than she anticipated.

Scooping Alyssa into his arms, he dipped her backwards, giving her a loud smooching
smack that would have put Pepe Le Pew to shame. Riotous laughter ensued from the kids.

“I’m drawing your baths, kids.
 Cayden, it’s your turn to pick out a movie.”  She left the kitchen, fanning herself slightly.  That man had a pair of lips on him.  Even joking, his kisses were something else.

When she walked back to the kitchen to retrieve Cayden for his bath, she stopped short.
 Somebody had turned on the radio, and Dalton and Sierra were jitterbugging to a country and western song.  He was a great dancer and twirled Sierra to her endless delight.  She stood in the doorway, watching Cayden clap and hoot along, while Dalton spun her daughter, dizzying her, effortlessly.  When the song ended, Dalton swooped her down in a dip that made her head almost reach the floor.

Alyssa broke out into cheers and clapping, hooting along with Cayden as Dalton and Sierra bowed.
 He grinned at Alyssa, then looked at the children, “bath time?”  They scrambled to be the first in and out of the tub so they could have more Dalton time.  Alyssa couldn’t blame them.

After record-breaking baths, the kids were ready for bed.
 Alyssa looked at Dalton and asked him, “Can you stick around a little while after I get them into bed?”

He looked at her shyly.
 “I was kind of hoping I could do it with you.”

“What?”
 Alyssa couldn’t imagine what he would enjoy something like that for.

“I miss your stories...”
 He looked at his feet.  “Never mind.  Forget it.”

“No, that’s okay.
 You can come in if you want to.”  She couldn’t imagine why he would enjoy those silly stories, but if he wanted to be a part of it, she wasn’t going to deny him.

The four of them piled up in the bed, Alyssa in between the kids, with her feet resting on Dalton’s stomach, who was stretched out across the foot of the full-sized bed with his legs dangling off of the edge.

After an extra-long version of the dragon who helped the princess find her long-lost brother, the kids were fast asleep, and Dalton was rubbing Alyssa’s feet.

“T
hank you, Alyssa.” He whispered so as not to wake the children.  He rolled off the foot of the bed, and she gently scooted down before they left the room.  At the door, they both stopped and gazed inside at the sleeping cherubs.

“I know why you like to look at them like this.” His whispered breath in her ear made goose bumps pop up on her shoulders. She shut the door and leaned her head against the doorframe, inhaling deeply.
 She couldn’t imagine why Dalton was still here with her.  His enormous hands rested on her shoulders gently kneading them.  She wasn’t going to have sex with him, not with the kids here, so why did he stay?

“What’s wrong, Alyssa?”

“Let’s go into the living room.”  Her bedroom was right across the hallway.  She didn’t trust herself this close to her bed.

They sat down on the couch, and Dalton turned Alyssa so he could continue rubbing her shoulders.
 His fingers stroked her shoulders, massaging tension away, leaving behind tingles that spread down her back.  She sighed at his ministrations.

“So, what’s wrong, Alyssa?”
 He asked quietly.

“I don’t want a physical relationship with the kids in the house.”
 She said simply.

“I understand.”
 His fingers hadn’t stopped their caresses.

“So, why are you still here?”
 She was confused.

“Do you want me to leave?”  She might have detected a tone of hurt in his voice.
 He stopped rubbing her shoulders, but his hands remained.

“No, I don’t.
 I’ve really enjoyed the evening with you here.  More than I thought I would.”

His hands started massaging again, he had found a knot he was working on, and he seemed to be focusing his attention there.
 She leaned back into his hands and groaned.  “You can’t make noises like that, if we can’t get physical with the kids in the house.”

She giggled.
 “Then you better stop rubbing, because it feels too good.”  His hands stilled again, and he pulled her back against his chest.

Dalton
took a deep breath and squeezed her tightly to his chest.  “Me too, Alyssa.”  He said quietly.

“You too, what?”
 She had forgotten what they were talking about, too intent on the stony chest she was leaning on and his breath in her hair.

“I’m surprised at how much I enjoyed this evening.”
 Sensing he had more to say, she pulled away and turned to face him, so she could concentrate easier.  “Since we’ve started...”  He looked at his lap and ran his hands through his hair.  “Since all this started, with you, I’ve known you’re sexy.” She quirked an eyebrow at him.  “You don’t realize it, but you are sexy as hell, Alyssa.  I wish you could see what I see in you.”  He grabbed her hand, and kissed the top of it.  “And the way you interact with your kids is amazing.  But actually being here to see it, and interact with them, too, I can’t describe it.  It’s a really good feeling.”  

“Yeah, it’s
good to have someone else here to interact with them, too.”

He looked at his watch.
 “I don’t really want to go, but I know you have stuff to do before bed.”  He smirked at her.  “Although, if you bend your rule a little bit, I could help...”

“I don’t think that’s a good idea, Dalton.
 Really.  I do appreciate the offer, though.”  And she desperately looked forward to it in the future.