Once Burned (18 page)

“Wanna play, Henry?”

“I’d love to, but if it’s all right, I’d like to watch your mom cook for a bit.”

“You want to watch her cook?” Noah asked skeptically.

“Yeah. It’s amazing what she’s doing with food.”

“Uh-huh.”

“I’ll be in to play in a few, all right?”

Nodding, Noah disappeared into the living room. Henry glanced around the kitchen and the rest of the house that he could see. Despite the shadows of the towering cedars, hemlocks and Douglas firs outside, the house inside was remarkably bright with a lot of white and pastel earth tones. “What’s with all the white?” he inquired. “I thought it was just my cottage, but this place is overwhelmingly white, too.”

“Keeps away the gloom,” Lindsay replied. “With all the cloudy and rainy days and the dark forest, white adds a little light. Here, try this.”

She held a spoonful of the sauce for the steamer clams to his lips, and he slurped it, groaning in pleasure.

“That is amazing! You can cook, woman.”

With Noah distracted in the living room, Henry angled his body toward hers and drew her against him, then claimed her mouth with a hunger of an entirely different kind than what rumbled in his stomach. They’d been able to steal only a handful of kisses since he’d arrived, and the frustration of that fast was evident in the way she kissed him back with uninhibited and potent demand. When they broke apart, he tucked a wayward strand of her silky red hair behind her ear, and she leaned into his hand and closed her eyes, turning her head to kiss his palm. Her lids fluttered open again, and in her eyes, he saw his desire plainly reflected and reciprocated.

“If you had the means to do whatever you wanted with your talent,” he murmured, “what would you do? Open your own restaurant?”

She shook her head. “No. I’ve never wanted to be chained to one place.”

“What would you want instead?”

“My own catering business.”

“Catering. Really.”

“Back in high school when Skye decided she wanted to run her own photography studio, we used to dream we could work together at the same events.”

“Sounds like a beautiful dream to me.”

“It was.”

The sadness that crept into her voice said a lot more than her words. He doubted she’d ever say it, but she was at least a little envious that Skye had been able to make her side of their dream come true. Not envious, he corrected, because he was damned sure she was happy for her friend. Hopeless because she hadn’t had the same opportunities to make it happen for herself. With the same powerful need he’d revealed to Nick weeks ago, he wished he could find a way to help her achieve her dreams even though he doubted she’d let him.

A thought sprang into his mind, and while it wouldn’t put her on the path to opening her own catering business, it might brighten her day and give her a well-deserved break. “When was the last time you had a couple hours to yourself?”

“Uh… I’m not sure. Probably when I was in Northstar.”

“You have the breakfast shift on Wednesday, don’t you?”

“Yeah….”

“And Noah gets out of school early for Thanksgiving, right?”

“What are you up to, Henry?”

“I’d like to take him to the mall for a couple hours after school or to a movie and give you a couple hours to read a book or do whatever you’d like to do. Call it another test—a test to prove you can trust me with your son.”

Without hesitation, she replied, “I
do
trust you.”

“But?”

“For one, he isn’t a fan of the mall. It’s always a batte to get him to go shopping.”

“Ah, that’s where I have one up on you. Boys shopping together is a totally different game than a boy shopping with his mom. What other reservation do you have?”

“Logan.”

“You’ve mentioned him before. Who was he?”

“My last boyfriend… only the second serious relationship I’ve had, not counting the current one.”

That she considered their relationship serious intrigued him, but he let the off-handed remark go without comment. “What happened? And how long ago did that end?”

“It’s been almost eight months now, I guess. It ended four months before I met you. I thought he might be the one to love and accept Noah and me as a complete package, and he did a good job of making me believe that. He seemed so good with Noah… but it was just an act to get me into bed, and it hurt Noah terribly when I found out I was nothing more than a hot piece of ass to Logan.”

“What did he say to Noah? I’m guessing he said something because you would’ve been able to make up some story to soften the blow otherwise.”

“He was honest. He told Noah that he’d only pretended to put up with him and that it was a pain in the ass to constantly be entertaining him just so he could get in my pants and that the annoyance wasn’t worth the reward anymore. He said it just like that.”

Henry swore and balled his hands into fists. “Yeah, you really have been dating the wrong men, Lindsay. I hope you know I’d never do that to Noah because, to be as succinctly honest as I can be without it sounding scripted, I quite enjoy your son. He’s a great kid. But you have to do what you feel is best for him, and if you don’t want me to spend time with him alone, I won’t.”

“No, I do, Henry, and I think he’d appreciate it. Just… don’t get his hopes up. He’s already attached to you, and I don’t want him to get hurt again if this doesn’t work out.”

“Even if it doesn’t, I promise I won’t hurt your son. Of course… I’m rather hoping there’s a future for us. A very long future.”

He didn’t give her a chance to respond to that, vanishing into the living room with nothing more than a quick peck on the lips.

* * *

Lindsay came with Henry to pick Noah up from school at one on Wednesday, and he dropped her off at home before heading to the mall with her son. She was understandably nervous about letting them go without her but not, she assured Henry, because she didn’t trust him. It was an eight-year-old habit borne of being the sole caregiver for her son and a silly worry that Noah and Henry had known each other for only a couple weeks and would therefore find each other’s company awkward without Lindsay there to provide a common element. Henry, in turn, promised her he took no offense and fully understood her concerns. He also promised they were unfounded.

Henry let Noah pick the radio station while he drove into Silverdale, unsurprised that the boy shared his mother’s fondness for classic rock. The kid was skeptical of their destination, but he was polite about it, and Henry almost felt guilty for using Noah’s desire to please him to get him to go along with his plan. Almost.

“I want to get something for your mom,” Henry explained.

“Why? Christmas is still almost a month away.”

“Because she deserves it, and because sometimes it’s nice to surprise people when it isn’t Christmas or their birthday to let them know you’re thinking about them. That’s why I need your help. I was thinking she’d like something for her kitchen, since she loves to cook, but I don’t have a clue what she might need or want. Once we get that taken care of, we’ll have some fun.”

“A new mixer,” Noah replied immediately. “Her old one broke months ago, and she hasn’t been able to buy a new one.”

“That is a great idea. There’s a kitchen store in this mall, right?”

“Yeah,” Noah sighed.

Henry chuckled, guessing Lindsay’s son spent far more time in that particular store than he liked. Noah gave him directions to the mall entrance closest to their destination, and Henry found a parking spot relatively close to the door. They made a mad dash through the cold downpour, splashing in the puddles that littered the asphalt and laughing at their own antics once they reached the shelter of the mall.

“You’re a lot more fun than Logan ever was,” Noah remarked.

“Your mom told me a bit about him, but she made it sound like you and he got along pretty well at the beginning.”

“I guess so. I thought he liked to play catch and do things together, but he didn’t goof around much. Not like you do.”

“Lemme guess. He was ‘too cool’ for that.”

“Yeah.” Noah looked at him with wide, fretful eyes. “You’re not… spending time with me just so my mom will like you more, are you?”

“No, Noah, I’m not.” Henry met the boy’s apprehensive gaze head on. “I want to be as honest with you as your mom and I have been with each other since we met back in August. I really like your mom. She’s an amazing woman, and I can see why some men might not want to share her even with her son. But I’m not one of those men. I fully accept that you will always come first, as you should. It’s one of best things about your mom.”

“You really mean that?”

“Yes, I do.”

“So you like kids?”

“Yep. Two of my favorite people on this earth are my nephew and niece, who are six and five. Kids have a simplistic way of seeing the world that adults forget as life gets ever more complicated, and I for one appreciate the reminder that it’s the little things in life that make it worth living.”

“Things like digging for geoducks?”

“Or throwing a football on a long, sandy beach.”

“Or running as fast as you can just because.”

“All of that.”

Conversation about other simple joys in life held their attention all the way to the kitchen store, where they were promptly distracted by their hunt for a mixer for Lindsay. With the assistance of the store’s manager, they picked the best one in stock, and Henry carried it to the counter to pay only to be distracted by a set of nice holiday cookie cutters.

“Your mom have any of these?” Henry asked Noah.

“No. It’s been a while since she baked cookies, and she just used a cup or something to cut them out.”

“And these, too, please,” Henry said to the manager, tossing the cookie cutters onto the counter. He pulled out his wallet. “We can all bake and decorate cookies tomorrow after dinner with your mom and grandparents.”

“That’s kinda dumb.”

“Why?”

“Well… baking cookies is for girls.”

“Where on earth did you hear
that
?”

“My dad.”

“Uh-huh. I used to love baking cookies with my mom. Still do, but I don’t get to do it much anymore. I’m also glad she and my dad browbeat me into learning how to dance properly. Wanna know why?”

“Sure. Why?”

“Because it’s something we did together as a family. Something I’ve come to realize pretty clearly lately is just how important family is. You don’t want to lose it over something as silly and useless as pride.”

“Wait. You
dance
? That’s like… major girly stuff.”

“Remind me tomorrow after dinner, and I’ll show you exactly why it’s not girly at all.”

“Uh-huh,” Noah remarked, unconvinced.

“Just go with me on this, all right?”

“Okay.”

“I promise we’ll all have fun with the cookies tomorrow. It’s one of those simple pleasures we talked about earlier. You’ll see.”

Noah picked up the cookie cutters, eyeing them thoughtfully. “I guess it might be fun. Do we get to use the fancy sprinkles and colored icing?”

Henry tucked his wallet into his back pocket and carried their purchase out of the store, smiling to himself as cracks formed and widened in Noah’s cool-guy façade, letting his innocent excitement shine through. “Absolutely.”

They took their purchases out to the truck so they wouldn’t have to carry them all through the mall, then headed back in to explore all the stores Noah didn’t usually get to—sportswear shops, the toy store, even the arcade. They had a grand time indulging in some good old fashioned male bonding with no shortage of things to talk about. Noah grilled Henry about his family and the ranch and the work he’d done in Denver, and Henry discovered the boy’s aspirations—like many boys his age, he wanted to be a professional athlete, and if that failed, he wanted to work with animals. By the time they had to leave, Noah admitted that he’d never thought the mall could be so much fun.

Lindsay’s car wasn’t parked in the driveway of the Millers’ house when he and Noah arrived, so Henry figured she was still out shopping for last minute necessities for tomorrow’s turkey dinner. Of all the things she could have done with a few hours to herself, she was being practical, Henry mused. He was beginning to miss her adventurous side and wished she could be as free to indulge in it here as she had been in Northstar. His heart hurt for her.

Henry located the hidden key, but when he inserted it into the lock and turned, he found the door already unlocked. Motioning for Noah to follow behind him, he called, “Hello? Lindsay?”

A woman in her mid-sixties with medium brown hair that was now mostly silver popped her head around the corner hiding the kitchen from the front door. Noah raced into the house and gave the woman a big hug, and Henry realized who she was. A moment later, a man of the same age with graying red hair joined his wife in embracing the boy. The relation to Lindsay was obvious.

“Mr. and Mrs. Miller, a pleasure to meet you,” he greeted.

“You must be Henry,” Lindsay’s mother said. She stepped around the counter and embraced him. “And please, call me Debbie. No need for formality.”

She reminded him immediately of his own mother, and he smiled. “Yes, ma’am.” He shook Steve Miller’s extended hand. “We weren’t expecting you home so early, or Noah and I would’ve cut our excursion short.”

“We ended up driving through last night,” Steve explained. “We wanted to get home to see our daughter and grandson… and to meet you. Lindsay has told us a lot about you, and I must say that so far her glowing praise is well deserved.”

“Thank you, sir.”

“No sirs, either,” the older man said.

Turning to Noah, Debbie asked, “Did you boys have fun at the mall?”

“Yeah, we did! Henry, can we show her what we bought for Mom?”

“Sure, bud. Can you give me a hand?”

They fetched the mixer and cookie cutters out of the truck and brought them into the kitchen. With an enthusiasm that completely belied his earlier skepticism, Noah told his grandmother their plans for the cookie cutters and the decorations they’d purchased on the way home. Debbie was impressed by the idea, and when they revealed the other gift, she sighed with pleasure.