Winter Miracle Read online

  Dane claps his hands together, his eyes falling to my cleavage before lifting, a new smile on his face. “So, what should we do given it’s so cold outside?”

  I know precisely what he has in mind, but his expression changes when Andy squeaks.

  Dane stiffens. “What was that?”

  I move around the sofa and pick Andy up. He extends his teddy towards Dane. “Ted-Ted?” he says.

  Dane looks from me to Andy, back again, his eyes ping-ponging between us. He literally backs up, hands raised. “Whoa, whoa, whoa. The motel guy didn’t say anything about a kid.”

  I step forward, feeling oddly empowered. “What, you’ve never seen a child before?”

  Dane’s looking at Andy like he might erupt, or have the plague. “Kids and I… we just… don’t.”

  I raise an eyebrow and take another step forward. I’m enjoying watching this big, bad, alpha male squirm. “Don’t what?” I query.

  Dane actually backs right into the door, hands flat against it.

  “Do you want to hold him?” I offer.

  And up go the hands again. “No,” he says. “No, no, no.”

  “He doesn’t bite… much.”

  Dane manages to push off the door and shift around a sofa into the middle of the living room, using the sofa as a kind of quasi-barrier between us.

  He steps on a squeaky toy and jumps back like it’s a landmine, looking over his shoulder, hopping on the spot.

  It’s hilarious, but the fact remains: he can’t stay here.

  He manages to stumble back into the kitchen, dodging a chair. He looks at the fridge, his face scrunching up. “Is that… puke on the fridge?”

  I can’t stifle the laughter. “Potato and pumpkin mash, actually, though I see the resemblance.”

  Dane’s shaking his head. “Jesus.”

  I stalk towards him with Andy in my arms. “But kids do puke, and poop. You have changed a diaper before, haven’t you?”

  Given the look that follows, I’m guessing that’s a hard ‘no.’

  Andy points. “Dada!” he exclaims.

  I blush with embarrassment. “No, Andy. That is not your dada.”

  Dane exhales loudly. “Thank fuck for that.”

  “Language, please.”

  The hands go up again. “Sorry. I didn’t know you had a kid.”

  I have to put my foot down. “And I didn’t know you were coming. To be honest, I’m surprised you even remembered my name.”

  “How could I forget?” He smiles.

  I roll my eyes.

  “I can’t be housed with a baby.”

  “And I don’t want to be housed with,” I cover Andy’s ears, “an asshole.”

  He laughs. “So I am the asshole now? You wanted it as much as I did. Admit it.”

  It’s practically all I’ve been thinking about, but I’m not about to admit anything to this walking ego—true or not.

  A gust of wind makes the house creak, the windows shaking.

  “I’m not good with kids,” Dane announces, and it’s nothing if not sincere.

  “Then you should find somewhere else to stay,” I reply.

  He nods to the floor. “So I’ll stay somewhere else.”

  “Good.”

  “Great.”

  “Okay then,” he mutters.

  We stand there in silence watching one another, Andy spellbound by this new stranger, looking at him like he’s one of the Wiggles come to life.

  I should point to Dane and tell Andy, ‘Take a good, long look at this man. This is not who you want to be when you grow up.’

  But is that really true? Dane’s a player, sure, but at least he’s a step up from the common Merit male.

  Is he? You know nothing about him except that he knows how to get you off.

  So he pulled Excalibur from the stone, a momentary knight in shining armor come to save me from an orgasm-less existence. So what? Eventually I’d meet a man who could do the same, maybe even better.

  You’re kidding yourself, aren’t you? my head retorts. You’ve dated half the guys in this town and has one ever had a fraction of the sex appeal of this man?

  I stand there and actually have to press my thighs together to ward off the excitement and heat gathering between them thinking back to what happened at the motel. He was just so damn forward, so dominant. He knew precisely what to do and precisely what kind of response it would illicit. How can I resist that?

  My sense gets the better of me. Because one, he hates kids, and two, he only wants to get with you for one thing, after which he’ll leave you just like Andy’s dad did.

  As if reading my mind, Andy jumps up and down in my arms. “Dada!” he repeats, clapping his pincushion hands together.

  All I can do is shake my head.

  CHAPTER SIX

  DANE

  It’s official. I’m in the fucking Twilight Zone. If you had of told me this morning I’d be standing here with a one-year-old skirting around my feet I would not have believed you.

  “Oh, really?” says Haley, speaking into the phone receiver, twirling the loopy phone line around her finger. Who even has a phone on the wall anymore? “Are you sure?” she asks. “It would only be for a night or two.” A pause. “Of course, I understand, Mr. Poperitz. Okay. Yes.”

  She hangs up in a huff, turning a page in the phone book—yes, an actual phone book—to dial the next number, probably the fifth or six now.

  Standing there in the kitchen, leaning against the wall, I can’t help but notice how great her ass looks in those jeans, cheap as they are. My cock starts to come to life, but my boner soon drops when the baby grabs my leg.

  I pull it away fast, looking down at the little bastard. All he’s done is smile and try to crawl towards me. I’m tossing toys at him like they’re going out of fashion, anything to avoid actual contact with the human disease vault.

  If I didn’t know better, I’d say the kid actually likes me, but I suppose babies are too stupid to know any better. He’d be into a concrete block if I covered it in tinsel.

  The ice storm is showing no signs of abating outside. If anything, it’s getting worse, and here I am, sheltered up in the middle of the apocalypse with a miniature poop machine.

  I hear Haley striking out again, hanging up and looking over. “It’s the same story over and over. Part of the town itself is out of power. Everyone is huddling up. To be honest, I’m surprised no one else has knocked on the door yet.”

  “Keep trying,” I push.

  Haley shakes her head and picks up the phone again, dialing.

  The baby—Andy, I think its name is—hands me a drool-covered Buzz Lightyear that looks awfully well-worn.

  I shake my head at him. “Ah, no thanks, buddy. He’s all yours.”

  I survey the house. It’s big, decorated in typical country attire, though the ornaments and trinkets seem like something from an older generation, from Haley’s folks perhaps. The place could do with a good clean, but I imagine Baby Bjorn here is to blame for that. Given the estrogen-fest, I’m guessing the real ‘dada’ is nowhere to be found. He probably knocked Haley up and headed off to greener pastures. It pisses me off, really, a man neglecting his responsibilities like that.

  I put a stop to these thoughts, shifting my eyes to watch Haley again.

  She hangs up. Her shoulders slump. She takes a seat at the dining table defeated. “No dice. I hate to say it, but you might not have anywhere else to go.”

  “You mean I’m stuck here?”

  She lifts her shoulders apologetically. “Looks like it, and hey, it’s not like either of us want this, you know.”

  “We can agree on that.”

  When I turn around the baby has managed to actually crawl up my leg. He plants a sloppy, disgustingly wet kiss onto my hanging hand, laughing. I wipe it on my jeans and shift back.

  Haley sniggers. “Wow. He likes you.”

  I ward him off with a red monster truck. “And that’s unusual?”

  “It is
,” she says. “He doesn’t like anyone, won’t let a stranger come anywhere near him. You must be special.”

  Real special, alright. “Does he ever stop drooling?”

  “I told you. He’s a one-year-old. Trust me, drool’s the one thing you do want coming out of his mouth.”

  I’ve never really understood the attraction to these creatures. Some babies are simply downright ugly. People are too PC to tell it like it is, not that this guy’s so bad. Fuck, if I stare at him long enough he kind of starts to look cute.

  One girl I slept with woke up detailing our wedding, the three kids we were going to have (two twin boys and a girl, who she would call Jasmine, “you know, like Aladdin”). I shipped her out the door so fast she didn’t feel it smack her ass on the way out.

  I don’t do long term. It’s as simple as that.

  Haley’s watching me, her sapphire eyes darting between her son and me. She breathes out and heads back to the phone. “One more try.”

  Thank god for that, but the call goes down just like the others.

  “Thank you so much, anyhow. I really appreciate you taking the time.” She’s way too polite. She’d thank someone if they were robbing her blind, I’d imagine.

  She walks over and sits on the arm of the sofa. She’s not wearing perfume, but there’s a homely, sweet scent about her that’s turning me on something savage. I twist to hide my growing erection, allow myself time to follow her leg up to the soft sweep of her ass. She could be a complete mankiller if she wanted. Slap on some heels, a tight A-line and the guys would be lining up for miles, especially around this backwater town.

  “I’m sorry, Dane,” she says, again too polite. “I’ve tried, but you’ll have to stay here, at least until this storm passes over.”

  She’s resigned herself to the fact. I don’t think there’s any changing her mind. Messy or not, though, this place is a big step up from the bed bug fuckfest that was the Merit Motor Inn. I let my eyes fall down her body. At least this place has a nice view.

  She stands and pats herself down, even though she’s not dirty. Nervous, perhaps? She’s doing her best to avoid eye contact, scared I’ll lay down my alpha voodoo again and have my wicked way with her.

  “Why are you in town?” she asks. “Were you just passing through?”

  I point upwards. “I was part of the airshow, one of the Red Devils.”

  “Was?”

  I shrug. “Let’s just say they no longer required the most skillful pilot in the country.”

  “Dada!” the baby gurgles again. He really won’t let it go.

  Haley ignores him, fixed on me. “You’re not exactly modest, are you?”

  “Modest?” I laugh. “I’ve always known I was a winner, always knew I was destined for great things. People might say that kind of thinking is immodest, and I agree. Modesty is not a word that applies to me in any way, and I hope it never will.”

  Her eyes narrow as she thinks it over. “I see.”

  “You’ve never dated a pilot?” It’s a pointed question.

  She laughs, face full of lightness and sincerity. “I can’t say I have. Should I?”

  I smile back. “We know how to push all the right buttons,” I tell her.

  “I remember,” she replies, blushing and doing her best not to show it.

  “We can go upside-down, right side up, all around… not to mention the fact we’re fully licensed to go down even the most demanding of landing strips.”

  If she was blushing before, she’s stoplight red now. “I didn’t say you weren’t attractive, but…”

  “But?”

  She licks her lips, looking left to the window. “I’m not looking for a relationship right now.”

  “Who said anything about a relationship? What, you’re allergic to a little fun?”

  I see her swallow hard. “I like… fun as much as the next person, but I can’t do this, it, whatever you’re thinking of, now.”

  “Your loss.” I shrug.

  “Anyhow,” she says, changing the subject rather breathlessly, “I’m more worried about the fact we might lose power here soon if the lines go down.”

  I consider going down on something else, tasting her sweet arousal and letting it settle on my palate, licking and lashing at her clit until she’s pleading for release.

  The baby burps behind me and once more I’m snapped back to reality.

  “I need to go get firewood,” Haley continues, “just in case. So if you’re going to be staying here you can at least be useful and watch my son for a little bit.”

  I stand up. “You want me to watch that thing?”

  “He has a name.”

  “I’m not a babysitter.”

  She remains firm. “And I’m not running a hotel here, but I guess we’re all taking on new roles while this storm’s passing through, so please,” she implores. “I really don’t want to take him out in the cold.”

  I turn to Andy the Baby, and damn it, he’s hitting me with those big baby blues, a pouty ‘you wouldn’t leave me out in the cold, would you?’ expression on his chubby, cherub face.

  I sigh. “I told you. I’m not a kid person.”

  “You don’t say,” Haley laughs sarcastically.

  An idea strikes me. “Look, why don’t I go out to get the firewood? You can stay here with… Andy.”

  She doesn’t put up a fight. “Okay. Sure.”

  Clearly, she didn’t want to go outside but was too polite to ask otherwise. She didn’t want to put me out simply because I’m a guest. I consider what kind of person she must be, this kind of self-sacrifice is unknown to me. My folks weren’t big on that at all. It was fend for yourself and fuck the rest, the entire world out to get you.

  Probably the same kind of girl that lets a relative stranger finger her, my head fills.

  Come to think of it, perhaps this might not be the worst place to be. After all, the kid has to sleep at some point, right?

  Haley gestures behind her towards the rear of the house. “Head out through the back door. The wood’s stacked against the shed out there. There’s an axe against the big tree.”

  I take in more of her scent as I pass, flash back to our first meeting at the motel and the incredible warmth and wetness of her body. I want more, there’s no doubting that. Question is, how do I get it before I get out of here?

  I grab my jacket and sling it on, opening the door and walking out into the cold.

  The wind has died down, and it has stopped snowing, but it’s still cold enough to freeze your balls off.

  The door closes and I breathe out in a foggy cloud.

  I look back at the house.

  Oh, who the hell am I kidding? This is going to suck.

  CHAPTER SEVEN

  HALEY

  Two days in and life with Dane the Pilot is proving difficult. The guy’s completely full of himself, walks around shirtless twenty-four seven, and seems to have precisely zero consideration for the fact he is a guest in my house.

  He’s nice to look at, yes, maybe the nicest man candy to be candied, but that is beside the point. He has no respect, no manners, and for that alone we could never, ever be a thing, whatever that ‘thing’ might be.

  Every time I try to get him to help out with Andy, he insists he’s a bad choice of babysitter, that he’s ill-equipped for the job. I want to remind him he flies a crazy expensive jet with more controls and buttons than a Radioshack store, a complex machine that probably took years of training to use, and yet he can’t look after a one-year-old boy who’s probably going to do nothing but sit on the rug and play with his toys? I mean, come on.

  But I don’t.

  I simply shake my head, to myself, and go on with my day, struggle through it as always while Dane takes over the house. The food consumption alone is costing me a fortune, and has he offered to help out, to pay? Not once. I’ve never met anyone so self-centered in my entire life. Even my ex wasn’t this bad, and that’s saying a lot.

  So, when Dane turn
s down babysitting while I go into town to speak to the bank, it’s expected. I plead, but I’m not going to beg, so I rug Andy up and struggle out the door.

  I don’t bother asking Mrs. Ainsworth. I don’t have the money to pay her or Nancy.

  I hold Andy against my hip while I walk towards town, doing my best not to slip and end up on my ass, as blissful as the time off in the hospital would be.

  You’ve got problems, Haley. Real problems thinking like that.

  Is it so wrong I want a break, a bit of me time? I feel guilty even considering it. And I really don’t need more bills.

  If it wasn’t for Mr. Pilot Penis Man back at the house, maybe I could have grabbed a quick, one-dollar coffee from the gas station before my meeting with the bank manager—maybe something stiffer given how the meeting’s likely to go.

  But Mr. Big Head isn’t ‘a kid guy,’ whatever that means, so now I have to drag Andy with me wrapped up like an oversized burrito in charity-bin clothes. I mean, what kind of mother can’t even afford new clothes for her child?

  The wind is gone. It’s still cool, the ice continuing to build as the cold snap settles in for good, everything turned crystalline outside.

  The days are ticking down until the foreclosure. This is my only chance to get the bank to forestall. It was a miracle I even got this meeting at such late notice.

  The middle of Merit is quiet for this time of day, but most businesses of importance are open again, the power outage leaving the town center alone for the time being.

  The First Bank of Merit is a grandiose building right next to the town hall. It looms large over the park, everything about it stating ‘authority.’

  The lady at the desk scrunches her face up when she sees I’ve brought Andy, but shows me into the manager’s office regardless. I shake his hand and sit. We’ve never met, but I know he was good friends with my parents. I’m hoping that alone will allow some measure of mercy here.

  At first, he does seem sympathetic as I lay out my working conditions, the issues I’ve had holding down a job.

  He nods, hands tented in front of himself behind his grand walnut desk. “I get it, Haley. I do. The economy… It’s put a lot of folks out, especially country folk. Most move to the city. More opportunity there.”