style="font-size:15px;"> “I’ll see you tomorrow.” Turning to open the door, he didn’t think twice about leaning down to place a kiss on Kaylee’s tear-stained cheek. “We’ll get all of this worked out, honey. I promise.”
The next day Kaylee nervously sat at the kitchen table awaiting Colt’s return. She dreaded the upcoming confrontation, but at the same time, a small part of her looked forward to seeing him again. And that was a huge problem.
She’d fallen in love with Colt Wakefield almost the moment she’d met him. Her mother had called it a schoolgirl crush and told her that she’d grow out of it in time. But Kaylee had always known better. Over the years her feelings for him hadn’t diminished, they’d only grown stronger.
But after that fateful morning when she’d awakened to find him gone, she’d forced herself to forget about him and to move on. She’d had to. She wouldn’t have survived the past few years if she hadn’t.
Unfortunately she’d discovered yesterday afternoon that he still affected her in ways she thought she’d put behind her. When Colt touched her, she’d felt the familiar racing of her heart, the jolt of excitement that being near him had always caused. But the most disturbing discovery of all had been the fact that he still had the power to cause her emotional pain.
“Mommy, see!”
Kaylee looked up to watch Amber laugh and point to the animated vegetables dancing and singing their way across the television screen.
Smiling, she walked into the living room to join her daughter. “You like that don’t you, sweetie?”
“No,” Amber said, her soft shoulder-length curls bouncing as she nodded her little head affirmatively.
Kaylee grinned. One of these days Amber would get the words and the body language synchronized. As she gazed at her daughter, Kaylee was once again struck by how much Amber looked like Colt. The resemblance was amazing, and she had known the minute he saw Amber that he’d realize she was his child. She had the same dark hair and vivid blue eyes that all the Wakefields shared.
Lost in thought, the ringing doorbell caused her to jump and sent Amber scurrying to wrap her arms around Kaylee’s legs. Amber wasn’t used to strangers and tended to be extremely shy.
Picking her daughter up, Kaylee didn’t bother turning on the snarling dog tape as she moved to answer the door. There was no need. She knew who would be waiting on the other side.
“Hi,” Colt said when she opened the door. He picked up a shopping bag sitting at his booted feet. “Sorry I’m a little late, but I stopped by a toy store to get something for Amber.”
Amber’s face was already buried in Kaylee’s neck and the sound of Colt’s deep baritone saying her name caused her to tighten her little arms around Kaylee’s neck.
Stepping away for him to enter, Kaylee patted Amber’s back in an effort to soothe her. “I see you didn’t bother listening to me yesterday when I asked you to leave us alone.”
His smile sent a shiver up her spine. “Did you really expect me to?”
“No.” She sighed heavily. Why did he have to be so darned good-looking? So charming?
“Amber, I brought you something,” he said softly.
“She’s not used to strangers,” Kaylee said when Amber continued to keep her face hidden. “And especially men.”
Colt’s piercing blue eyes met hers and she could tell that he was speculating about her social life— specifically her social life with men. “She hasn’t been around a lot of men?” he finally asked.
“Not really,” Kaylee answered evasively.
If circumstances had been different, she might have laughed out loud. She hadn’t been out on a date in the past three years. But Colt didn’t need to know that.
The cad had the audacity to look relieved. “That’s going to change,” he said, sounding quite confident. “She’ll get used to me being around all the time.”
All the time?
Kaylee’s heart skipped a beat. She definitely didn’t like the sound of that. She’d done a lot of thinking since yesterday afternoon and she’d conceded that she couldn’t deny Amber the chance to get to know the man who was responsible for her existence. But there were going to be limits set.
“Colt, I don’t think that would be a good idea.”
“Why not?” he asked, wincing as he adjusted the sling holding his left arm immobile.
“Do you still have a lot of pain from the broken collarbone?” She hoped to divert the conversation into safer territory.
“Not really.” He removed his Resistol and placed it on the shelf with her tape player. “But I anticipate that will change when I start physical therapy.”
“If the therapy is done right, and you don’t overwork your shoulder too soon, you shouldn’t have anything more than a little minor soreness.” When she felt Amber begin to loosen her hold, signaling that she was becoming accustomed to Colt’s presence, Kaylee walked over to sit her daughter down in front of the television. “When do you start therapy?”
“In another week or two,” he answered. “I’ve been doing some simple range-of-motion stuff, but that’s about it.”
She heard him rummage through the shopping bag and, when she turned around, watched him struggle to pull out a large rag doll. Unable to use both of his hands, he’d gotten the doll tangled in the bag handles.
“Let me,” she said, walking over to help him. Reaching to work the doll’s leg free, his hand touched hers. Kaylee jerked back from the scorching contact and handed the doll to him. “A-Amber will like this.”
He stared at her for several long seconds before he cleared his throat and asked, “Do you think it would frighten her if I gave it to her now?”
The look on his handsome face took Kaylee by surprise. It was the first time she ever remembered seeing Colt look uncertain.
“Maybe in a few minutes. She’s just getting adjusted to you being here.” Kaylee’s heart went out to him even if she wasn’t particularly comfortable with the feeling. It was clear Colt wanted to get to know Amber, but didn’t want to do anything that would upset her. “Let’s sit in the living room. You’ll be close to her, but not so much that she’ll feel threatened.”
“Okay. We can talk while Amber gets used to me.” He followed her over to sit on the couch, and she could feel his gaze on her backside just as surely as if he touched her.
When they were settled on the sagging blue cushions, Kaylee found it hard to breathe. Glancing at her daughter to keep from looking at Colt, she noticed Amber looking at them curiously.
“It’s all right, sweetie. Colt is a friend.”
“I’m your daddy,” he said, his voice gentle. Turning to Kaylee, he firmly added, “I don’t want her to ever doubt that.”
Amber didn’t seem to pick up on the sudden tension between
