There's Only Been You (15 page)

She took a deep breath, trying to get her emotions back under control. “I have plans for Friday, but Saturday would work. Or even one night this week. Ethan is on summer break, and my work schedule is flexible."

"Great. I'll let you know tomorrow which night I've reserved. Or maybe I could swing by after supper and take the two of you out for some ice cream?” he suggested with a hopeful lift of his brows.

"Yay, we can go to Dairy Queen!” Ethan started bouncing up and down on his chair again.

Sara shook her head in mock annoyance. “You two had better not start ganging up on me every time you want your way."

They glanced at each other, then grinned at her. Although Sara had never seen any of Mike's childhood pictures, she knew it was impossible for Ethan to look any more like his father than he did.

"Well, what do you think, ‘Mom'?” Mike persisted with that sexy grin of his. “Can I take the two of you out for ice cream tomorrow?"

"Come on, Mom!” Ethan implored with his puppy-dog eyes.

Sara sighed. “Fine."

"All right! Mom, you're the best!” Ethan hopped off the chair and went to set his fork and plate on the counter.

"Thanks, Sara. I really appreciate you letting me spend time with him again so soon. Now that I'm a part of his life, I'd like to see him as often as I can."

She glanced over at Ethan who was now digging around in the refrigerator. “Summer break just started, so Ethan's going to have a lot of free time on his hands over the next few months. I suppose it would be all right if he spent a few hours a day with you."

"I don't know what to say. You're being so great about this."

She shrugged. “I love my son more than anything in this world.” She crinkled her brow. “Our son. This really is going to be an adjustment."

"I'll make it as easy on you as possible, I swear it."

Sara could see the love shining in his eyes. For his son, of course, she knew. But had he meant it when he'd sworn to have always loved her?
Who cares? Mike Andrews is your past. No way in hell will you be falling back into his arms—or his bed.

"Well, I can honestly say this has been the best night of my life. Ethan?” Mike rose to his feet and gestured for Ethan to come stand before him. He placed his hand on his head and said, “I want you to know how sorry I am that I missed out on so much of your life. If I had known about you, nothing, and I mean
nothing,
could have kept me away. But I swear to you, from this day forward, you can count on me to be the kind of father you deserve. Understand?"

Ethan gazed up at him with something akin to hero worship. “Are we gonna live together? You can move in with us, if you want. You can have my bed and I'll sleep on the floor in my sleeping bag."

Mike smiled. “That's incredibly generous of you, Ethan. But remember what we talked about earlier? I bought a place of my own, and it's just a few houses down, so we'll be neighbors. You can think of it as your home away from home. Hey, maybe one day this week we'll take a ride and see if we can find the perfect bedroom set for your new room."

"Can I get bunk beds? I really, really, really want bunk beds."

Mike glanced over at Sara. “Three ‘reallys', huh?"

"His friend, Billy, has bunk beds."

"'Cept my bunk beds will be way better than Billy's. Right, Dad?"

Mike scooped Ethan up in his arms and squeezed him tight. “If bunk beds are what you want, bunk beds are what you'll get."

Ethan started laughing and wrapped his arms around Mike's neck. “I want one with a slide."

"They make bunk beds with slides?"

"Uh-huh.” He leaned back and met his father's gaze. “They even have one that looks like a castle fort."

"No kidding? Well, when the time comes, you can pick out whichever one you want. How does that sound?"

"It sounds awesome!” He threw his arms back around Mike's neck for another quick hug and then wriggled to be free.

Mike laughed and released him. “Don't forget, we have a date for Dairy Queen tomorrow."

"I'd never forget about Dairy Queen,” Ethan informed him. Then he spun on his heel and took off down the hall.

"Well, I'd better get going.” Mike took a step forward, then hesitated. “Sara, I know this is going to sound incredibly lame, but ... thank you. Thank you for my son."

She cleared her throat. “I have no idea what to say. I guess I should be thanking you as well. I certainly didn't make him by myself."

"He's such a great kid, though, and we both know I didn't have a damn thing to do with it."

"You'll have the rest of your life to be his father,” she pointed out. “If you want to have a good relationship with him, you will. He's already crazy about you, I can tell you that much."

Mike reached out and cupped her cheek, his thumb stroking lovingly against her soft skin.

Sara's pulse picked up speed. Her gaze moved slowly down to his lips.

He started to lean forward, and Sara watched as if in a trance, her eyes closing in natural response. He was going to kiss her, and she wanted him to. Oh, how she wanted him to...

The back door flew open and Nicky stepped in, empty dessert plates stacked in his hand.

Mike and Sara sprang apart.

Nicky came to a halt just inside the door. A broad grin spread across his face. “Did I interrupt something? Sorry about that."

Sara cleared her throat. “No, you didn't interrupt anything. Mike was just leaving, right, Mike?"

"Yeah, I was just on my way out the door. See you tomorrow night. Around ... six?"

Biting her bottom lip, Sara cast a quick look in Nicky's direction. “Six is fine."

Mike grinned down at her. “'Night, Sara. Sweet dreams.” Then he winked at his friend and headed for the front door.

When the door clicked shut behind him, Sara reached out to take the dirty dishes from Nicky. Glancing up, she saw the smug look on his face and muttered, “Oh, go soak your head."

Mike watched as Officer Scumbag made his way to the back of the bar and sat on the stool next to Jimmy. When the bartender approached, Mike ordered a beer. He didn't have a taste for one, but in a place like this he'd draw attention if he ordered soda.

He folded his arms down on the bar, keeping an eye on Jimmy and Officer Scumbag through his peripheral vision. Their exchange seemed tame compared to last time, and Mike wondered if something might be happening tonight. After five minutes, they both stood up, polished off their drinks and slipped out the back door.

Mike cursed under his breath. Christ, now he had no idea whether something was going down out back, or if they'd exited that way because it was closer to their vehicles.

He'd be foolish to follow them out since he had no way of knowing what he'd be walking into. They could be standing right outside the door for all he knew. He'd have to leave through the front and hope to catch them pulling out of the parking lot so he could tail them. He wasn't sure what kind of vehicle Jimmy drove, but if Thomas’ Big Bird mobile was still in the lot, Mike would know for certain something was going on behind the tavern.

When he pushed open the door, his gaze immediately landed on Thomas’ truck. Empty.

Taking a deep breath, Mike pulled his pistol from its holster and stealthily made his way around to the back of the building. He heard voices. Jimmy's he recognized, others he didn't, and Mike became concerned with his odds. As badly as he wanted to bust the SOB, he couldn't make any rash decisions that might jeopardize the case.

Or his own neck. Up until a couple days ago, Mike wouldn't have given a rat's ass about his own safety. He'd have gone back there, gun drawn, and worried about the repercussions later.

But he had a family to think about now, and he certainly wanted to live long enough to enjoy them. And make up for all the time they'd lost thanks to his own stupidity.

Blowing out a frustrated breath, Mike stuck his pistol back in its holster and quietly made his way back toward the side of the building where his truck was parked. He scanned the other vehicles in the lot; all seemed to be empty.

He'd barely climbed inside when Jason and Jimmy appeared from around the back of the building. Mike rolled his eyes when Jimmy opened the door of an old, piece of shit sky-blue Chevy Cavalier. Guess his parents don't piss money away on him the way they used to, he thought with a smirk.

Jason made a left out of the parking lot, and Jimmy made a right. Mike chose to follow Thomas, who drove straight to his apartment. After nearly forty-five minutes of waiting, Mike figured it doubtful anything would be happening tonight and headed back to his parents’ house.

He'd had Jimmy's file downloaded Sunday morning and found nothing more than a handful of petty crimes, most of which had occurred eight to ten years ago. After that, he hadn't had a single arrest until last year, when he'd been picked up for a drunk and disorderly outside a tavern over in Sobieski Corners.

Mike had also done a little digging on Rachel. She'd gotten married several years back to a podiatrist. She had three kids, a house, a Lexus, a picket freakin’ fence. Everything she'd deprived Mike and Sara of all these years. The injustice of it made Mike want to smash his fist through the windshield.

He could only hope that one day the witch got exactly what she deserved.

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Mike hoisted Ethan up onto his shoulders and ran to his truck with Ethan laughing the entire way. Sara followed behind, nervously shaking her head.

"Please be careful!” she called out. “That's precious cargo you've got riding on your shoulders!"

No doubt just to be a smart-ass, Mike spun around and ran backwards. Ethan laughed even harder. Sara started chewing on her thumbnail. If he doesn't slow down, she thought, he's going to be wearing the huge ice cream cone Ethan just consumed.

But they managed to make it to the truck without incident, and Mike even had Ethan buckled in by the time Sara caught up to them. He held the door open for her and grinned.

"If you're jealous, I can give you a ride on my shoulders too. Except I'd like you facing the opposite way."

As understanding dawned, her cheeks flamed. She motioned toward Ethan and whispered, “Mike, you have to watch what you say."

"Come on, he's seven. What could he know?” He shut her door and headed around to the driver's side.

"More than you could imagine,” she replied as he slid behind the wheel.

Both turned to look at the little person seated between them.

"I know if she's facing the other way, you won't be able to see where you're going."

Mike's face turned beet-red, and Sara bit the inside of her cheek to hold back a laugh.

He stuck the key in the ignition and said, “I was thinking, since it's still so early, how would you two like to go check out some bunk beds?"

"Yeah! Can we, Mom?"

"I suppose. We can check out some different bedroom and living room sets while we're there. That's a big house you bought. You'll be amazed by how much furniture it's going to take to fill it. If I remember correctly, it's four bedrooms, right?"

Mike turned the key and the truck roared to life. “Yep. With a dining room, rec room and full basement."

He looks happy and sounds eager, she thought. Like he can't wait to get started with his new life. She wondered about his life back in Chicago. She already knew he didn't have anyone special waiting for him; he'd made that clear the other night. But had he been seeing someone recently? Had he broken some woman's heart before heading back to Green Bay?

A twinge of jealousy tightened her chest and she realized she didn't like the thought of Mike with anyone else. If life had worked out the way it was supposed to, they'd have gotten married right after she'd found out she was pregnant, and they'd be celebrating their eighth wedding anniversary this year. They'd feel comfortable and completely at ease with each other instead of awkward and unsure.

But that undeniable ...
something
that had drawn them together in the first place was still there. Chemistry, she supposed. She felt it every time Mike looked at her—like he wanted to devour her. And she couldn't deny, at least to herself, that she felt the same, though she hated being so susceptible to him.

As he maneuvered the truck through traffic, she took the opportunity to study his profile. He'd shaved that morning, but already had a five-o'clock shadow. She remembered as a teenager he could go days without shaving. Now, his skin was tanned and work-roughened. There was nothing boyish looking about Mike these days. He was one-hundred percent man.

She crossed and uncrossed her legs. Lord, just looking at him made her ... hot. Maybe she was coming down with a fever. With a sigh of self-disgust, she redirected her gaze out the passenger-side window. She wondered what kind of thoughts were running through his mind.

Consumed with thoughts of Sara's legs, Mike could barely contain himself. When he and Sara had made love for the first time, it'd been awkward and embarrassing. Now they both had several years of experience under their belts. So why had she turned red as an apple when he'd made that joke in the parking lot of Dairy Queen?

"Hey, Dad, are we gonna be able to swim in your pool this summer? Uncle Luke said it'll probably take a miracle to get it working again."

"I had someone take a look at it today. We think alike, kid.” He ruffled Ethan's hair. “And yeah, it's gonna take a lot of work, but I was told it would be ready by the Fourth of July."

Sara glanced over at him. “Planning on throwing a party?"

"I'd like to. Nothing big, obviously, since my guest list would be pretty short. But I was hoping you, Ethan, and the rest of your clan would join me. And Nancy, her husband, and their little girl."

Sara's brows lifted. “You've already met Nancy and Dwayne?"

"Just Nancy. She came by earlier and introduced herself while I was waiting for the pool guy.” He cleared his throat. “She said she'd have me gelded if I hurt you. I take it she's a friend of yours?"

Sara laughed softly. “Sorry about that. I, uh, explained the situation to her yesterday and she's worried about me. And yes, she's a wonderful friend."