A Christmas for Hope (3 page)

Lucas slipped an arm around her waist as she was about to get more clarification regarding the apology. She turned to look at him and took in his appearance. She hadn’t noticed anything different until she looked down and saw that he wore knee-length shorts and his prosthetic was clearly visible. Realization dawned on her, why Donna was apologizing. Sometimes some people needed to be educated, Hope cleared her throat.

“Donna, this is Captain Lucas MacIntyre. Lucas, this is my Lamaze teacher, Donna.” Hope formed fists at her side. If Donna said one inappropriate word, she’d deck her. She had to check herself, talk about hormones raging. She smiled. Hope hadn’t realized she’d had such a violent streak.

“It’s nice to meet you. Thanks for taking care of my girl.” Lucas thrust out a scarred hand.

“It was a pleasure, she’s been wonderful. I was beginning to worry that you wouldn’t make it to the States in time.” Donna took his hand gingerly.

“I made it, but I’m afraid I left a little piece of me in Afghanistan.” He cocked a brow.

“Yes. well come on in. Everybody is waiting on you two.” Donna held the door as they passed over the threshold.

All eyes turned to them as they entered the room. Hope felt Lucas’s strong fingers weave through hers. She tightened her grip and tugged him in the direction she wanted to go. When she found a free corner, she pulled the mat from her shoulder and rolled it out.

“Ladies, in position please.” Donna called out.

“You need to sit on the mat and open your legs,” Hope directed.

“Okay.” He eased down to the floor and spread his legs wide.

Hope noticed the sly glances as she knelt between his thighs and turned to rest her back against his chest. Looking around her at the other couples, a female classmate winked at her and gave her a sly thumb up before turning to recline on her partner. Lucas wrapped his arms around her and she jumped.

“Want to tell me what you’re doing here?” she whispered.

“I understood your plight. I didn’t want you to get kicked out for a minor omission. So when’s the baby due?” His lips brushed the shell of her ear.

“Why do you care?” She rubbed up against him as she moved to glance behind her.

“Shouldn’t the daddy know when his baby is due?”

Hope gritted her teeth at his deliberate ignorance of her question. Ignoring his question, she focused on the teacher demonstrating breathing techniques at the front of the class. Lucas shifted and she felt his cock jerk, thumping the top of her ass.

“January fifteenth.” Hope spoke between the breaths she was mimicking and focused on his tennis shoes.

“So who’s been helping you?”

“Donna usually, but of course she won’t be there when I deliver.”

“Who will be there?”

“No one.” She stopped panting. “I live by myself. The only family I have is an elderly aunt who lives nine hundred miles away, give or take a mile, and this baby.” Hope resumed her breathing exercises.

“Fathers, friends, and partners. Remember your significant other will need your support so be encouraging and demonstrate this with kind words and gentle touches,” Donna reminded the group.

Lucas slid his hands up and down her bare arms; goose bumps rose in their wake and she felt his touch between her thighs on every stroke. She pressed her legs together. Her baby began to do somersaults.

“Oh.”

“What is it with you and the oh’s?” He grazed his knuckles across her belly.

“Gimme a break. Kira won’t stop moving.” Hope shifted to get comfortable.

“Kira, that’s beautiful. I like it.”

“So glad to have your approval.”

“Hope, less talking, more breathing.” Donna called her out.

“I thought you were bad, but your teacher is strict.” Luke chuckled

His breath drifted over her cheek and the fragrance of his minty breath wafted over her face. Her nose twitched, stomach roiled, and her mouth started to water. She covered her mouth with her hands and started rocking forward in an effort to get up.

“What’s wrong now?”

“Your breath stinks.”

“Huh?”

“I’m going be sick.” Hope got to her knees and struggled to rise to her feet.

Lucas was up with his arms around her girth quicker than she’d gotten to her knees. He helped her up and waved off the teacher as he assisted her in navigating around the other couples. He shouldered the heavy door and walked her to the bathroom. She pulled away from him and ran for a stall. Her hair fell forward as she gripped the cool plastic seat and her belly bumped the porcelain bottom as she heaved into the bowl. The stall door kept bumping her backside.

Then it stopped and Lucas squeezed in beside her. He lifted her hair from her face and cool air flowed across her neck. One last dry heave and she raised her head. She would not cry, she told herself, as tears started to roll down her cheeks.

“Hey, what’s wrong?” He shifted to try and squat then moved again and bent at the waist.

“Nothing.” She hastily brushed at her face.

“My breath doesn’t stink.” He smiled, exposing all his teeth, and let go of her hair.

“It doesn’t agree with me.”

“This is certainly an exciting addition to our date.” He brushed a thumb over her cheek.

“It’s not a date.”

“Whatever you’re comfortable believing.” He shrugged.

Chapter Three

Lucas lifted his face to the sun, enjoying the warmth for a moment before he bent down and picked up the sponge from the bucket. Soapy water splashed across his bare foot as he leaned over to wash the hood of his car. One of his favorite songs from his playlist blasted from his iPod and he nodded his head to the beat.

“You know you keep behaving like this and people might think you’re happy.” Giselle, his grandmother called out above the music.

Lucas looked over his shoulder and smiled. Straightening, he dropped the sponge into the pail and reached into the driver side window to turn the music down. When he swung around to face the elderly woman, she’d taken a seat in a lawn chair.

“Don’t say things like that too loud. Shit happens.” He walked across the driveway and took a seat on the low steps next to her, straightening out his prosthetic leg in front of him to ease the light ache that had begun in his knee.

“Pshaw, shit happens anyway. The strength of a person is determined by how they handle the crap that comes their way. You’re mighty chipper lately.” She leaned forward to brace herself on her cane.

“It’s the holidays.” He shrugged.

“Tell that to your momma and daddy. What’s her name? I’m old, not stupid, and my eyes have never deceived me yet.”

“We’re friends. Believe me, I don’t want another repeat of the Michelle fiasco.”

“Michelle was a shallow bitch, plain and simple. Hell, I’d take your other leg if you brought something like her home again.”

“Hope is nothing like Michelle.” Lucas chuckled.

“So, her name is Hope; that’s a pretty name. Is she spending Thanksgiving with her family?”

“She doesn’t have any family. I was thinking about dropping by her place to invite her to our dinner tomorrow but I’m not sure. I took her home the other night but I don’t want to intrude.”

“Dammit, boy, intrude! You only live once. Sometimes you have to put yourself out there and pray for the best. I’d love to meet the woman that can make you smile like that.”

“Like what?”

“Like the carefree boy you were before you were deployed.” His grandmother tapped her cane a couple times before she pushed herself up from her seat and shuffled into the house.

Lucas stared out into the street, enjoying the light breeze. The day was warm and unlike the rest of the country trying to get out from the blanket of snow that came out of nowhere. Florida didn’t get snowstorms. He wondered where Hope was from. No one should be alone on Thanksgiving. An idea formed that he could start wearing her down today to get her to come to his home tomorrow. He rose, walked to the car, and grabbing the bucket, threw the water down the drive. Tossing the soap and other items in the pail, he set them in a corner in the garage, and headed for his car.

The Mustang’s engine roared to life, he flexed his foot, and the tires peeled creating black smoke. He threw his head back and laughed. The sound never got old. Lucas slid his arm across the back of the passenger seat and checked to make sure no other cars were coming. He jerked as the car leapt backwards, its wheels squeaking on the asphalt. A quick stop and he threw the car in drive, intent on his destination.

The road was empty, most people were probably already at their Thanksgiving destination with their families. He pulled into a spot in front of Hope’s complex and glanced around him. The tan two-story building was a little weathered, showing some discoloration on the doors and a few cracks up the side. Weeds had taken over the open area under the steps and the flowers that hadn’t died added a hint of color to otherwise barren landscape. He pulled the door lever and stepped out of the car. It was nothing a little plaster and paint along with a good gardener couldn’t fix but he found he didn’t like the idea of her living there.

An uncomfortable feeling like he was being watched made the hair on his neck stand up. He twisted his torso to check his back before climbing the stairs. Before the ambush, he could have taken the steps in an instant; now he was more cautious with how he did things. He blew out a breath in frustration at the time it was taking to reach her front door. Lucas tightened his fingers around the handrail and pulled himself up the last step.

He walked toward the last apartment on the landing. At Hope’s door, he raised his hand to knock but lowered it to his side. Instead, he backed up and leaned against the balustrade above the courtyard and crossed his arms. There was still time for him to leave. Hope would never know he’d been there. Save him the embarrassment of her possible rejection. Lucas pushed off the brick half wall and turned to retrace the way he’d come when her door opened.

Their eyes locked and her jaw dropped before she snapped it shut. She hefted an empty laundry basket higher on her hip.

“What are you doing here?” Hope stepped over the threshold and pulled the door closed behind her.

“I was in the neighborhood and thought I’d stop by.”

“Really? And why would you want to pop in on me?” She walked past him.

“I wanted to know if another date was an option?” He followed her down the stairs without a thought.

“Well there would have to be a first date to have a second.” She glanced over her shoulder at him as she rounded the corner.

“That’s already been established. Remember, Lamaze class?” Lucas stopped in the middle of the courtyard they were walking across. He hadn’t noticed before but she had a delicious ass so he hung back to watch the way her hips swiveled with each step

She turned around to face him. “That doesn’t count. Seriously why are you here?” Hope shook her head before she spun on her heel and stalked off to disappear into the shadows of a dark passageway.

He jogged to catch up with her, his footsteps making heavy thuds on the concrete pad. Lucas rounded the corner and saw a light at the end of the hall. By the time he reached the source of the illumination, he found Hope bent over retrieving clothes from a dryer. Without hesitation, he strolled over, tugged the basket toward him, and reached into the large metal cylinder when she straightened with a small bundle of clothes in her arms. She lightly tapped her foot in irritation as he grabbed the remaining clothes and dropped them in the bin. When he lifted the basket and looked at her, she narrowed her eyes.

“What will it take to get you to stop?” She tilted her head and stared at him.

“Have dinner with me.”

“Fine. When?”

“Tomorrow.”

“Tomorrow’s Thanksgiving.”

“I know.” He turned on his heel and left the room with her sputtering behind him.