By the time he explained his find and what tools he would need to borrow, the girls
and Buck had made it back and were starting their second lap. They were still jogging
in sync and smiling like they were proud of themselves.
The chances of them being satisfied by learning to line up and run in sync were slim.
So after hanging up with Rusty, Ronnie headed back inside to play the video so he
could at least pretend he knew what he was talking about.
When they made it back from their second lap he was waiting for them with his arms
across his chest. They reformed their lines facing him. Having brought the laptop
back out with him, he played the beginning of the video and pointed at the screen.
“Learn to do this together, just like the jogging,” he said.
He sat in the other chair near the laptop and Buck lay down next to him. He watched
the girls attempt to synchronize their movements. After the third time he got up and
said, “You girls need a big mirror so you can see yourselves.”
“My parents have a big mirror in their bathroom, maybe we could practice at my house
tomorrow, after regular practice,” Kaitlyn said to the group.
The girls all agreed to go to Kaitlyn’s the following day. He shut off the laptop
and was about to take it inside when they started running and doing flips. He stopped.
“If you can’t do those flips together, at the same time and land in formation, then
don’t do them.”
They looked at each other and then back at him like he was crazy. As he headed into
the house, he smiled. They wouldn’t be asking him for
cheerleading
help anymore.
He worked on picking up the main floor and making sure Kayla wouldn’t notice they
had used her expensive living room as a jungle gym. Then he headed down to the basement
and cringed at the mess they’d made.
Weren’t girls supposed to be neat?
He headed back outside to tell them to pick up the mess in the basement before their
parents came to get them but stopped in his tracks when Kaitlyn counted off. All the
girls ran in formation and did some sort of cartwheel type flip and landed in a fairly
straight line.
Deciding against drawing attention to himself since they were actually doing what
he had
coached
them to do, he headed back downstairs to the basement and started cleaning up. A
bit later Addie came downstairs and told him that her friends’ parents had picked
up all of them. She helped him with the last of the mess and then said, “If I come
up with a cheer routine on my own, will you tell me if it’s good?”
“If it means that much to you, then yes. I’ll tell you honestly if it’s good or not,”
he said.
Why she wanted his opinion he wasn’t sure, since he knew next to nothing about cheerleading,
or dancing for that matter, but he would give her his thoughts on whatever she came
up with. Much like with his sisters, he was starting to realize there wasn’t much
he wouldn’t do for Addie if she asked. She was a cool kid, as were most of her friends.
“Our school has never placed at this competition, so yeah, it does mean that much
to me,” she said. She walked up the stairs. “I’m going to get a shower. Mom should
be home soon.”
“Well, I’m going to take off since your friends are gone. I don’t want your mom to
pass out in fear of Buck again,” he said.
Addie stopped her ascent, her whole body tensing up. “Oh, no, I forgot about that,”
she said quietly.
“I know you have a lot going on right now with school and cheerleading but so does
your mom. Don’t get so busy you forget the important things,” he said. She looked
back at him with a confused expression on her face. “Forgetting to tell me your mother
is deathly afraid of dogs—not cool.”
“I’m sorry, Ronnie. I really did forget. Mom will forgive me because I’m her daughter,
but don’t worry, she’ll forgive you, too, because she likes you.” She ran up the last
couple of stairs and disappeared from view.
If only Kayla liked him the way that he liked her. Her kiss earlier let him know she
was interested in him sexually but would she ever actually
date
a guy like him? He was a farm boy with nothing more than a high school education.
He knew about hunting and fishing and he enjoyed a beer now and then. She was college-educated,
sophisticated, a city girl with class and elegance…who just so happened to set him
on fire with her kisses.
Maybe Addie’s father had hurt Kayla. She did seem a little closed off sometimes, as
though afraid to open herself up to other people, for friendship or for something
more. Perhaps she would come to realize Ronnie was trustworthy. In the meantime, he
just needed to try to hold himself in check so he didn’t scare her off.
After cleaning up Buck’s food and water dishes in the kitchen, Ronnie left to drop
off the dog at Rusty’s and pick up the things he needed to refinish the table in Kayla’s
garage as well as a few things for the apartment. When he finally made it back to
his place, he caught Ian and Seth on their way out the door.
“We’re going to hit up a bar and see what kind of fun we can find,” Ian explained.
“Want to go with?”
Ronnie’s cell phone rang and he noticed the caller ID said it was Kayla. “Maybe next
time. I’m kind of wiped, man,” he said to them.
The two guys piled out and he shut and locked the door behind them. Then he hit the
button to accept the call.
“Yes, Kayla,” he said with a smile.
“I’m sorry to bother you, but I have to go out of town this coming week and meet with
a client on a new ad campaign. Addie is of course completely mad at me, but it can’t
be helped. She will be staying with a girlfriend of mine so I shouldn’t need you to
clean the house or pick her up this week. I just wanted to let you know in case your
boss wanted to book an extra job for you next week,” Kayla said.
He was surprised at the level of disappointment he felt at hearing her words. Housekeeping
was just a job and she was a working
mother
he shouldn’t be flirting with anyway. Her daughter was nothing more than an extension
of his employment, not a kid sister or his responsibility in any way. Kayla’s business-like
explanation made his role abundantly clear. Whatever had possessed her to wrap her
arms around him that morning and press that mouth of hers against his was gone now.
She had effectively packed him back into the employee box.
“Thanks for letting me know,” he said.
“I’ll call you next weekend when I get back in town. I should be back in time for
the football game,” she said. Then after a long pause she added, “Bye, Ronnie.”
“Wait,” he said, not wanting to hang up yet. “There is a table in your garage, with
four chairs. I fixed the table but wasn’t sure if that was something you wanted to
get rid of.”
“You fixed my mother’s table?” she said quietly. “Thank you, Ronnie. I
love
that table and even though it was broken, along with the chairs, and in need of refinishing,
none of which I know how to do, I just couldn’t get rid of it.”
“You’re welcome. See you when you get back,” he said and hung up the phone reluctantly.
His gut told him it would be a long week without Kayla and Addie’s constant calls—a
long week he wasn’t really looking forward to.
Chapter Five
Kayla called Addie on Monday and Tuesday, in the evening, but had no way to contact
her mother and see if she was doing okay. Her mother couldn’t focus well enough to
talk on the phone, but the doctor called and confirmed that none of the bones in her
mother’s cheek were broken and that the swelling had already decreased. Kayla knew
she would feel better, though, if she had an objective opinion on her mother’s well-being.
But from her hotel room there was nothing she could do.
At least Addie had calmed down about having to stay with one of Kayla’s college friends,
Tori Stewart. Tori had a little boy that Addie babysat from time to time. Addie had
somehow managed to talk Ronnie into continuing to pick her up from cheer practices
throughout the week. Once she’d settled that, Addie had relaxed and her attitude toward
Kayla’s whole out-of-town business trip improved significantly.
Kayla was a little upset that Addie had taken it upon herself to call Ronnie about
picking her up after practice instead of just allowing Tori to pick her up. Kayla
had been trying to give Ronnie a break from their constant demands. And give herself
a little distance from the passion in that kiss. She couldn’t seem to get it out of
her mind.
Her cell phone rang and the display noted it was Ronnie calling. She quickly admonished
herself for the shot of joy and excitement that went through her. He was her employee,
and maybe even a friend. But
definitely
not a boyfriend. Her focus should be on her mother and Addie…not on a handsome blue-eyed
man with a southern drawl.
“Hi, Ronnie,” she answered.
“Hey, I’ve got that nanny cam thing for you whenever you get back in town.”
Maybe he would stop by and check on her mom. Should she ask him? If she did, it would
alleviate her concerns over her mother. But the purpose of hiring him had been to
help her get her life back under control,
not
to become reliant on him, as Addie was quickly becoming.
Oh, who was she kidding? She was becoming as dependent on him as Addie was.
“I have a favor to ask,” she finally said, sighing at her own weakness.
“Whatever you need. I’m at your
service,
Kayla,” he replied.
Why did he have to say it like
that,
especially her name, which somehow sounded more sexually explicit than any four-letter
word he could have chosen. It was like a caress against naked skin, sensual and tempting.
His kindness and the way he took care of them was hard enough to resist, but once
he threw in the flirting, it was nearly impossible. She kept trying to remind herself
that guys like Ronnie didn’t get serious about women like her. And that she had a
responsibility to Addie and to her mom that left no time for dating.
But the sound of Ronnie’s voice made it easy to forget everything else.
“I, um, was wondering if you could go by the nursing home and find a place for the
camera in my mother’s room and maybe just casually check on her and make sure she
is okay.”
“You’re really worried, aren’t you?” he asked after a brief pause.
Knowing it was useless to deny it, she said, “Yeah, actually I am really worried about
her.”
“You could have called me earlier this week,” he said. When she didn’t respond he
asked, “Why didn’t you call me earlier if you were so worried?”
“You’re supposed to be off work this week. I thought you might have other things to
do…other jobs I mean,” she said.
“I have been busy, but it won’t take even an hour to run by and check on her. Next
time just call me instead of getting all worried,” he said.
“Thanks, Ronnie. I owe you for this. If there is ever anything you need, just let
me know,” she said.
She could swear she heard his smile right before he said, “Anything? How about a date
then…when you get back?”
“I don’t know.” She hesitated.
Was he serious?
“I’m not sure I really have time for—”
“I’m not asking you to
marry
me. Just let me take you out for a little fun and maybe get another one of them scorching-hot
kisses of yours. Like the one that has been on repeat in my head since Saturday,”
he said.
Her one moment of weakness was being used against her. She wasn’t sure what had possessed
her to kiss him like she had. Bringing up that very kiss in conversation only increased
the power of her memories of the hunger and passion between them, of Ronnie with his
shirt off in her front yard, of his closeness the other night in her laundry room,
of his fingers on her mouth.
“You did say
anything
.”
“Okay, fine. One date, just as friends,” she replied. Oh, God, was she really going
to do this? His flirting was wearing her down, out-cheering her mantra about not being
his type and not having time to get involved with him.
“I will pick you up at seven o’clock on Saturday night,” he said. “I’ll call you when
I get back from visiting your mama.” Then he disconnected the call.
She could not force away the grin she now wore, so she pulled out some of the designs
she had presented to the client during yesterday’s meeting and began working on revisions.
It was next to impossible to really concentrate while waiting for Ronnie to call her
back. As much as she was concerned about her mother she also just wanted to listen
to him talk. His low tone with that slight southern drawl had been visiting her dreams.
She needed to get a grip. Guys built like Ronnie didn’t have relationships with chubby
girls like her.
They just slept with them.
He was probably thinking he would get lucky after her display of desperation on Saturday.
Shame was what she should have felt after basically throwing herself at him, but she
only wanted to do it again. If she went into this whole date thing with her eyes wide
open, knowing it was two consenting adults with no expectations, maybe she would be
the one to get lucky.
The idea of being with Ronnie… She doubted the experience would be anything but amazing.
Was it so depraved to admit she’d been alone for a good while and that she wanted
a man? That she wanted
Ronnie…
Sometime later she jumped when her cell phone rang. Glancing at the alarm clock next
to the bed, she realized almost three hours had passed since she’d talked to Ronnie.
She waited for it to ring a second time before answering it with a monotonous sounding
“Hello.”
“Were you sleeping?” he asked.
“No, I was just working,” she replied.
“You sounded all sleepy and sexy when you answered, but I’m glad I didn’t wake you
up. Can you get on the internet and go to a website real quick?” he asked.