A Love Story Read online

  Mac bundled his son into warm clothes and fastened him in the car seat. The sun was shining on the cold November day, mirroring Mac’s mood. He drove the short distance to Callie’s house letting happy anticipation wash over him as he pulled up. Callie was standing by the front door. She hopped into the front seat of the waiting vehicle. Mac leaned over and kissed her before putting the car in gear and heading for the grocery store in town.

  At the grocery store, Mac pushed the cart, Callie selected the groceries and Jason munched on pretzels while riding shotgun.

  At home after all the food was put away, it was time for Jason’s nap. Mac put him down and Callie pulled out her books and computer to get started on her work. Mac came up behind her, kissing her neck while slipping his hands under her shirt.

  “Hey! You said I could get my work done here, Dean Caldwell?”

  “Okay. Okay. You’re right. Can’t blame me for trying,” he said, holding her close.

  Slowly, Callie pulled herself away. She took her school gear into the bedroom and Mac turned a football game on the TV. They were easy with each other, content to be together but separate.

  * * * *

  She made the bed, remembering the night before with every tuck. She got goose bumps thinking about Mac’s touch and his powerful body. What a night! Now she faced the hard part, pulling herself together and remembering getting this degree was important to her. She couldn’t fall apart in some silly, childish way, dreaming of Mac, sex and romance.

  She cleared her mind and focused on her work. It was not as hard to concentrate as it used to be. Sadness was fading for Callie and the heavy feeling around her heart lifted. She knew Kyle would want her to be happy, even if she was with someone else. Callie, who had been stalled for so long, tackled her work with energy and conviction.

  Friday night, Mac and Callie took Jason to the video store. Back at home, the guys were building skyscrapers with his big blocks and knocking them down, laughing hysterically while Callie worked on dinner in the kitchen.

  Classical music played softly in the background, but Callie picked up on the laughter coming from Jason’s room, making her smile. Inside, her heart sang as she so easily fell into being part of this small family. As she turned to announce dinner, two rascals in masks, one very tall and one very short leaped into the kitchen shouting “boo”! Callie jumped out of her shoes. The guys fell on the floor laughing.

  Jason went to bed early and Callie and Mac made popcorn and settled down to watch a thriller. Callie cuddled up to Mac. She liked thrillers, but they sometimes scared her. She hid her eyes in his shoulder at the scary parts.

  “Scared of a silly movie?” he scoffed.

  “A little…well…uncomfortable,” she said.

  Mac put his arm around her and drew her closer.

  After the movie, Mac put some food on top of the outside garbage can and turned out the kitchen light. They sipped wine quietly and watched through the window.

  Before long, two yellow eyes peered in the window. Callie jumped and gasped.

  “Shhh. You’ll scare him,” Mac said.

  “Who?”

  “Wilbur.”

  “Who’s Wilbur?”

  “He’s the neighborhood raccoon. He comes by in the winter for the food I leave him on top of the garbage can. You may have given him a heart attack.”

  They went to the back door and turned on the outside light which caught Wilbur right in the eyes. He froze. Callie laughed in spite of herself.

  “A little skittish, aren’t you?”

  “I’ll have to get used to things around here.”

  “Meaning you plan to stick around?” he asked, his sharp eyes holding her gaze.

  Callie blushed deeply. She revealed too much about her feelings for him. She wasn’t ready for him to know so much, she said nothing, as she turned away from him.

  “I hope so,” he said, kissing her neck.

  He pulled her around to face him and hugged her tightly. Callie melted into his chest, smiling secretly. She looked up at him and he brought his mouth down on hers for a deep, hungry kiss.

  “Let’s go to bed,” he whispered.

  Callie innocently followed him into the bedroom, wondering if her new love would continue to grow or disappear before she could grab on to it, and keep it forever. She followed Mac into the bedroom, not sure if she was walking into nirvana or a hornet’s nest.

  Callie put on the light blue gown, which matched so perfectly with her eyes, then added some light makeup. Nothing worse than a ton of mascara and eyeliner on the pillow in the morning. She unknotted her practical ponytail and let her shoulder-length hair flow free. When she finally came out of the bathroom, Mac was already undressed and under the covers.

  “Wow!” he exclaimed, looking at her with a hungry gaze.

  The look in Mac’s eyes softened as his gaze perused her, up and down. While her gown wasn’t see-through, it wasn’t totally opaque either. He saw the outline of her lovely form. Passion lit up in his eyes as she climbed into bed next to him.

  “Where’s the little gold heart you always wear?”

  “I..uh..I..left it home,” she said, unnerved he noticed she wasn’t wearing it.

  “You’ve already got my heart,” he said, nibbling on her shoulder.

  “Do I?” she asked, staring into his eyes.

  “And the rest of me too,” he muttered, pulling her body up against him.

  This time with the hunger of first experience behind them, they took their time. They tossed Callie’s beautiful nightgown aside so Mac could feast his eyes on her naked beauty. His kissing and caressing her body started a fire in Callie, who moaned and sighed with every touch.

  As her emotions heated up she wished she could scream out “I love you” but she was afraid. While his lovemaking was expert and fiery, Callie didn’t know how he felt about her in his heart. She worried he was only lonely, not in love with her.

  * * * *

  Mac focused on every caress, every kiss, smiling at her moans and sighs when he found her most sensitive areas. He tried to give her pleasure, to bring out her passion, to satisfy her, he wanted to be able to make love to her now and forever.

  Most of all, he wanted her to love him as much as he loved her, to commit to him, to want to spend her life with him. While they began lovemaking slowly continuing their exploration of each other’s bodies, they soon got carried away. Mac pushed her gently onto her back and nudged her knees apart with his. After covering himself quickly, he slid inside her slowly, relishing the exquisite sensation. She sighed and closed her eyes as he moved in her, sensing her growing excitement, holding back as long as he could, then increasing the pace. She cried out his name as her hips moved in tandem with his. Their overwhelming yearning for each other brought joyous release as their desire mirrored their love.

  Afterward, Callie cuddled up to him putting her head on his chest and they lay silently touching each other, holding each other. Mac moved a wisp of hair from Callie’s cheek and planted a kiss on her head before he curled himself around her and fell into a deep, satisfying sleep.

  Chapter Nine

  Willow Falls was so quiet at night, at first, Callie had trouble adjusting and sleeping without the sounds of traffic she was used to in New York. But by now, she found the silence peaceful, enabling her to sleep deeply. So at four a.m., when coughing came through the child monitor, it broke the stillness and woke Callie up.

  Jason woke up and needed attention. Callie decided not to wake Mac. Maybe Jason only needed a drink of water. She crept quietly into his room. Jason sat up in his crib, coughing. His eyes were red, he was listless and his forehead was hot. At once Callie saw he was sick, and woke up Mac.

  “Call the doctor. Jason is sick. He’s coughing and hot. I think he has a fever.”

  Mac was up instantly and rubbing the sleep from his eyes, pulling on his boxers.

  “I think he might have whooping cough. I’m going to take him into the bathroom and turn on the
shower. Where is the thermometer?” Callie asked.

  “Medicine cabinet in his bathroom,” Mac said as he went into Jason’s room.

  “What’s up buddy? Don’t you feel well?”

  Jason coughed in response. Callie came in with the thermometer and put it in his ear where she got an instant reading.

  “His temperature is 103 degrees. Call the doctor, Mac. Give him to me, I’ll take him to steam in the bathroom.”

  Mac handed him over to Callie and went for the phone. The doctor gave them instructions and called in a prescription before Mac drove to the all night drug store. Callie bathed Jason in warm water to bring the fever down until Mac could get back.

  But Jason’s fever was up to 104 by the time Mac returned. Callie worried, Mac worried. At first Jason didn’t want to take the liquid medicine, but Mac coaxed him into it. Callie bathed him down again and the fever went down to 102.

  Though Jason stopped coughing his little head was all sweaty and he was too tired to cry.

  “Why don’t you have a rocking chair here in his room,” Callie snapped.

  “What?”

  “A rocking chair. All kids’ rooms need a rocking chair. Then when the child is sick, you can rock him back to sleep.”

  “This is my first time down this road, Callie,” Mac replied.

  “I’m sorry, Mac. Yes, it is,” she apologized.

  First Mac walked with Jason, rocking him and talking softly to him, and then Callie did. But still he couldn’t sleep. Callie washed him down gently with warm water again. He cried because the water felt cold on his feverish skin.

  Mac walked with him again while Callie made coffee. It was now six a.m. and the second washing and the medicine took effect, reducing Jason’s fever to 100 degrees so he finally slept.

  Mac put him in his crib, covering him with a lightweight blanket.

  “Coffee’s ready,” Callie said.

  “Brandy would be more like it. But coffee will do.”

  They sat at the kitchen table drinking coffee in silence. Then Mac put his hand over Callie’s.

  “I’m glad you were here,” he said.

  “Is this the first time Jason got sick at your house?” she asked.

  “I’m not much good with sick people. I’m not a natural at it, like you are.”

  “I’ve had some experience working with kids and babysitting. And my mother taught me some stuff, like the shower thing,” she said.

  “If you hadn’t been here, we’d probably be in the emergency room right now,” Mac said.

  Jason slept off his virus, allowing the lovers to collapse into bed and fall asleep too. Everyone awoke around noon. Jason, while not fever free, cooled down from the night before. The boy didn’t want to eat much but Callie coaxed him into taking some fruit and cereal, while Mac fixed scrambled eggs. When Jason saw them eating, he wanted some, too. Mac spooned eggs onto Jason’s highchair tray and he stuffed some into his mouth.

  Saturday was spent quietly. While Jason took long naps, Callie and Mac did a jigsaw puzzle, watched movies and played games. Callie discovered she was better at word games than Mac, but he was an ace at jigsaw puzzles.

  While far from what anyone could call a romantic weekend, she found herself getting more and more comfortable with Mac. They enjoyed the same quiet pleasures and Mac spun interesting stories about traveling to exotic places with his family.

  The weekend did have romantic moments, making love with Mac was heart-stopping for Callie. He was sensitive to her, gentle and caring in bed and so expert at arousing her she melted almost instantly under his touch. Underneath his cool manner lived a sizzling lover who couldn’t wait to take her to bed, often beginning his seduction in the living room or kitchen. Touching her, kissing her even undressing her happened wherever the desire struck him. She fell into his arms, getting carried away on a tide of passion building for months.

  * * * *

  Mac figured the bloom was off the rose. Saddling a beautiful woman with a sick kid didn’t help build a romantic relationship.

  “I’m sorry things got messed up for us this weekend,” Mac said, “before we go on, you should know, for me, a child is responsibility and love, now and forever. I’ll never be free of Jason, and I don’t want to be.”

  “I know you two are a package deal. It’s fine with me,” she said.

  Glad to hear her words, he wondered what if Jason took up more of his time? Mac planned to fight for sole custody of Jason, plans not revealed to Callie. If he won, they would never have uninterrupted time together. How would she feel then? What young woman wants to sacrifice the “honeymoon period” with her man? He doubted Callie’d be happy with an instant, full-time family, but he would let things play out.

  They monitored Jason’s temperature carefully all afternoon. When they finally put him to bed, it was a much cooler ninety-nine degrees.

  Mac made popcorn and found a chick flick on TV. Callie, curious about his reaction to such a movie, snuggled into his shoulder while he draped his arm around her as they watched the romantic movie. Mac found himself getting caught up in the plot and characters.

  “Maybe all chick flicks aren’t so bad,” he observed.

  Callie cried at the sad parts so Mac hugged her and gave her his handkerchief.

  “Women must look pretty silly to men, sometimes,” Callie said, drying her eyes.

  “You might say that.”

  “Men look pretty silly when they start screaming at the TV during sports,” she countered.

  “Oh yeah?”

  Mac tossed a throw pillow at her. She threw it back. Things escalated into a full-fledged pillow fight. Mac retreated to the bedroom. Callie walked into a pillow ambush. She went down, laughing, but jumped up again. Callie dove for the bed. Mac followed her. She pummeled him with pillows. He laughed and grabbed her wrists, subduing her.

  “Give up, Dean?” Callie sneered.

  “Never! Never give up, never give in!” He hollered.

  She struggled to pull away and was surprisingly strong, but he overpowered her easily. Mac pulled her closer to him, winding his arms around her and falling back on the bed. She fell on top of him, pretending to be ferocious, but didn’t fool him as she melted into his arms.

  He kissed her hard on the mouth, his tongue teasing her and she responded, winding her arms around his neck. His hands pulled her hips closer, melding their loins. One kiss led to two. Mac rolled them over on their sides. He pulled up her shirt, she unzipped his pants. It wasn’t long before their naked bodies were wound up together in a heated embrace. Mac remembered Callie’s most sensitive zones, kissing and caressing them repeatedly until she cried out for him. He gratified her desire, trying to control his own fierce need as he moved inside her. She climaxed almost immediately. He followed soon after.

  Breathless, the lovers lay on the bed, listening to the sound of their hearts beating as one and Jason’s even breathing coming from the baby monitor. Stillness fell on the room. She rested her head on his shoulder while her hand slowly stroked his chest. Mac ran his long fingers through her soft, silky hair, ignoring the stray strands tickling his arm and moved her hair back from her face. They found perfect peace curled up in each other’s arms, their closeness satisfying their longing for each other growing so strong over the past few months. Both dreamed of making love and being together, but the wonderful reality dwarfed their dreams.

  After an hour, Callie got up. She returned with a container of chocolate chip ice cream and two spoons.

  “Eating ice cream in bed is the most decadent thing,” she said, spooning ice cream into his mouth.

  “This is my favorite flavor, how did you know?” he teased, placing his hand on her waist.

  “Mine, too,” she said, putting a small spoonful in her mouth.

  “Same taste in ice cream…we were meant to be together,” he joked, licking a speck of ice cream from her lower lip, trying to sound flip, but underneath meaning what he said.

  She smiled warmly a
t him. When they finished the ice cream, they brought favorite books to bed. Mac put on his reading glasses.

  “You wear glasses?”

  “For reading only.”

  “They look great…very intellectual-looking.”

  “Think so?” he asked, raising an eyebrow.

  “Sexy, too,” she said, giving him a kiss.

  “If you think so, I dare you to take off your robe and prove it,” he replied, removing his glasses. Callie slipped the robe off her bare shoulders and turned out the light.

  Chapter Ten

  They all slept in on Sunday morning. At eight a.m. the doorbell rang and a sleepy Mac put on a robe and went to the door. Audrey marched into the house.

  “Where’s Jason?” she asked.

  “Sleeping until you rang the doorbell.”

  They could hear Jason start to cry in his room. He always cried when he awoke in the morning, until he got his bearings.

  “Is he all right?” Audrey asked.

  “Of course,” Mac said.

  “Dr. Davidson called me last night to ask how Jason was doing. I didn’t know a thing about it. What happened and why didn’t you call me?”

  “Jason is fine. He got sick and ran a fever on Friday night. So I called the doctor, Callie took him in the bathroom to get some steam while I picked up a prescription for him. He’s doing much better…we handled it,” Mac explained.

  “Callie? What’s she doing here? You still have the babysitter, even over the holiday?”

  “She not here as a babysitter…” Mac began.

  Then Callie walked out, wearing nothing but her robe.

  “So you’ve been here all night?”