Kisses to Remember (17 page)

“Maybe your mom will buy you some stilts for your birthday.” Ted roared with laughter. “What do you think, Holden? Think he’ll ever grow?”

“I was a short kid,” Holden said. “Now I’m over six feet tall.”

Kam studied Holden for a silent moment. “Do you really remember being a short kid?”

Holden dropped his gaze. “No.”

“Thanks anyway.” Kam glared at Ted. “You, however...” With super-speed, he grabbed the kitchen sink hose and fired a spray of water directly at Ted.

His aim was off a bit, and though Ted did get the brunt of the assault, Holden’s neck took a hit as well. Water dribbled down his skin and soaked the shoulder of his T-shirt. He held up the empty French toast platter and used it like a shield. Kam’s laughter mixed with Ted’s and before he knew it, Holden was laughing too. Really laughing. Laughing like he belonged among these people.

****

Johanna couldn’t concentrate on her work with all that male laughter going on out in the kitchen.
What are they doing in there?
She wanted to be bothered by it, but in truth, it was music to her ears. Kam’s high giggles blended so well with Ted’s low guffaws and Holden’s raspy chuckles. She closed her eyes and committed the sounds to memory.

When Alex and Kallie were here, they used to laugh all the time. They couldn’t get through an entire meal without someone doing something that made the rest of them erupt in laughter. Watching Kam and Kallie interact with each other had been akin to watching cartoon character antics.

Holden’s voice rose above the laughter. “Truce! Truce!”

She smiled and wondered if Holden had slept okay in the basement. It was comfortable down there, but so…remote. She had liked walking past the guestroom knowing he was just beyond that closed door. Downstairs was a galaxy away.

Just as well
. She didn’t need temptation a door down from her bedroom. And Holden Lancaster was temptation in a handsome package. Simply running her fingers along his palms last night on the couch had caused a heat to grow deep inside her. A fire only Holden could both start and extinguish.

“I’m telling Mom what you said, Pep!” Kam screeched.

Johanna finished up the estimate she had been working on and hit send on her email. She’d managed to tie up a few loose ends so she could spend the majority of the day with Holden.

With Kam
, she corrected.

Yes, Holden would be tagging along to get started on Ted’s cabin and buy some clothes as he’d asked, but the day was about Kam and preparing for his birthday. As long as she remembered that, she’d be okay.

After pushing away from her desk, she left her office and entered the kitchen. The floor by the sink was covered with soapsuds, and the table was streaked with lines of water as were Holden and Ted. Miles was lapping at a puddle on the floor.

“Exactly what is going on out here?”

The three males froze at the sound of her voice. Johanna wished she had a camera to capture the guilty expressions on their faces. Priceless.

“Mom, Pep said I was short.” Kam let another stream of water loose on Ted.

Ted held up his hands to block the spray. “He
is
short.”

Johanna looked at Holden who shook his head. “I am not involved in this.”

“Your shirt is wet,” Johanna pointed out.

“I’m merely a casualty caught in the crossfire.” Holden’s neck was dotted with water droplets, and Johanna had the urge to lick them off his skin.

She focused her gaze on the bubble-covered floor. “Well, Kam, these two men are on the injured list, so I’m afraid clean-up is on you, sweetie.”

Kam shifted the hose nozzle to aim at Johanna, a devilish grin on his normally sweet little face.

“Don’t even think about it.” She wagged a finger at him.

“Do it,” Ted urged.

And just like that, a whip of water lashed out at her. Hitting her square between the breasts, her shirt was instantly soaked. “Kam!” Her hands did little to block the torrent.

“I’ll save you, my lady!” Holden jumped to his feet with the French toast platter. He stood in front of Johanna, catching a gush of water in the stomach before he put the makeshift shield into position. Water slapped the plastic platter and sprayed out in six different directions.

Johanna huddled behind Holden, her hands clamped onto his waist as she ducked for cover. This war was making a mess of her kitchen, but she hadn’t played like this in so long. So long.

“We’re moving in,” Holden called over his shoulder. He inched forward with Johanna hiding behind him. Soon they were directly in front of Kam, water making a loud smack against the platter.

Holden reached his arm over the platter and grabbed the hose. Kam let out a squeal as Holden turned the nozzle on the boy.

“I didn’t want to have to do this, Kam,” Holden said, “but you’ve left me no choice.” He hosed Kam down completely.

Trapped in a corner to the left of the sink, Kam sank to the floor, his arms over his head while he laughed until he gasped for air.

“Do you surrender?” Johanna asked, still gripping Holden’s waist though she had no need to.

“Yes, yes! I do!” Kam let out a cough and slicked his soaked hair back with his hand.

Holden released the nozzle and the water shut off. “Wise move.” He made as if to put the hose back in its place at the sink, but he did a quick about-face and hit Kam with one more blast. He high-fived Johanna and threw Ted the dish towel.

“You started this.” Holden pointed to Ted.

“Guilty, but it sure livened things up, didn’t it?” He grinned as he wiped his face.

“We don’t normally behave this way in front of company,” Johanna said as Holden wrung his T-shirt into the sink. When he turned around, he raked a hand through his dark, wet hair as Kam had, but the effect was totally different. Time stood still as she gazed at him. Holden’s eyes were a brilliant blue with his hair all pushed back from his face. She’d never seen anything quite so piercing, so sensual. She wanted him naked. The desire was burning hot, demanding.

“Holden’s not company.” Kam’s voice snapped her out of her fantasy.

“What, honey?” She shook her head and folded her arms across her chest once she realized her T-shirt was wet and plastered to her breasts. Her taut-nippled breasts.

“Holden. He’s not company. Not really.”

Holden stood very still by the sink looking at Johanna.
What is he thinking?

“Nah,” Ted added. “Anyone that comes to the rescue during a tornado, and defends your honor,” he pointed to Johanna, “when under an aquatic attack from your dwarf son is more than company. He’s at a deeper level now.”

“Well, thanks, Ted.” Holden nodded at the older man, looking genuinely touched. “I appreciate that.”

Ted saluted him. “Kam, run along and get some towels.”

Kam scrambled to his feet and down the hall. When he returned, Ted was getting up from his chair and grabbing the crutches.

“All this fun made me sleepy,” he announced. “Think I’ll get a little more shut-eye.” He whistled for Miles who had watched the battle from the edge of the living room. “What do you say, pup? Keep me company?”

Miles let out a single bark and trotted after Ted as he lumbered into the living room.

“Do you need anything?” Johanna asked.

“Just some quiet. You folks are a rowdy bunch.” He eased down onto the couch after wiping himself with the towel Kam handed him and flicked on the TV. “Wake me when you guys get back.”

Turning back to the kitchen, Johanna watched as Holden and Kam mopped up the floor. There was still some playful spritzing of each other as they worked, and her heart warmed at the sight of it. She hadn’t seen Kam that happy in a while. He wasn’t a depressed kid, but she knew he took life way more seriously than most kids his age. Losing a sibling, especially a twin, took a toll even on the most resilient souls.

After extracting a mop from the hall closet, Johanna joined the cleaning effort. Within fifteen minutes, the kitchen was back to its usual orderly state.

“Sorry for the mess, Mom.” Kam looked up at her with those big, dark eyes, water still rolling down from his hair.

“That’s okay, sweetie. We need to cut loose every once in a while.” She kissed his wet forehead. “Now go dry off and change up so we can go shopping for…for…gosh, what were we going shopping for?”

“Mom, it would be so easy to grab that hose again.” Kam disappeared down the hallway.

Johanna picked up the French toast platter and held it up to Holden. “Quite the white knight, aren’t you?”

“I had to improvise. I left my armor and sword in Texas.” He shrugged and wiped his face with a towel. He ran his hand through this hair again, wincing a little when his fingers reached the stitches on the crown of his head.  

“Well, I thank you. And for more than defending me.”

Holden gave her a small bow and stepped closer. Her breath got caught in her lungs when he rested his hands on her upper arms.

“Any time, my damsel.” His gaze combed over her. “And now I must insist you dry off and change as well, because I can’t be held responsible for the actions that wet T-shirt is about to cause.” He coiled a damp tendril of her hair around his finger, then released it. “Meet you in this exact spot in ten minutes?”

She nodded, not able to find her voice. Holden let his hands slide down her arms, and she was sure she would melt to yet another puddle on this kitchen floor. He hesitated at her wrists, a contemplative crease in his brows, then let go of her.

“It’s getting to the point where I don’t care about my past,” he said as he paused at the kitchen doorway. “Which is crazy, but I’m liking right now and am curious about what comes next.”

He left her with a smile, one that promised things. One that made that fire inside her burn a little brighter.

****

Sitting next to Johanna in the Bronco, Holden watched the scenery go by. Farms, barns, cows, horses, tractors, green fields, blue sky, golden sun. Nebraska sure was pretty.

He slid a glance toward Johanna in her green Hasard’s Farm Equipment T-shirt. The people in Nebraska were something to look at too. At least this one beside him was. The wet T-shirt from this morning’s water fight—one proclaiming Settier’s Apple Orchard to be The Promised Land of Homemade Pies—had revealed a few things about Johanna Ware. Things Holden wanted to inspect more closely.

The scary thing was he’d meant what he’d said to her in the kitchen, that he was thinking more about right now and the future instead of his past. Perhaps he had forgotten his past because it wasn’t worth remembering. What if being here with Johanna and Kam was what really mattered?

Before they’d left to go shopping, he’d done a walk-through of the property, checking the house, barn, and tractor shed for any signs of major damage from the tornado. Other than a few missing shingles which he could easily fix, nothing seemed worse for the wear. He caught himself a few times imagining the property was his. Foolish, but he felt comfortable there.

“Should I go with the superheroes theme or the monster trucks theme?” Kam asked from the backseat.

Holden angled to look back at him. Kam had a pair of sunglasses on and a handheld video game in his lap. His brown T-shirt had a big yellow leaf in the center with the words Cabaston’s Landscaping, Leaf It to Us around the leaf. Another one of Johanna’s creations.   

“Which one do you like more? Superheroes or monster trucks?” Johanna asked.

“That’s just it. I can’t decide.” Kam flopped his hands out to his sides.

“Holden, looks like it’s up to you to break the tie.” Johanna shot him a quick glance then put her focus back on the road.

“Monster trucks are like racecars so I’m going to vote for them.”

Kam nodded. “Maybe we can make a model monster truck out of—”

“Legos,” Johanna and Holden said together.

“Do you have any paper, Mom?” Kam searched in the pocket on the back of the driver’s seat.

“In here.” Johanna hoisted her purse back to Kam and the boy dove into it. After a few moments of rummaging around and stealing a stick of gum, he held up a pad and a pen. He pushed the purse to the seat beside him and, with his jaw chomping on the gum, he sketched a monster truck design.

“That’ll keep him busy for a few,” Johanna whispered, a grin dimpling her right cheek.

Holden faced front again to avoid examining that dimple with his fingertip. “Exactly how busy?”

She glanced his way again, an arch to her eyebrow. “Busy like we don’t exist up here in the front seats.”

Tempting. Very tempting. Especially the way her lips curled up in a sly little grin.

Get control, man. Focus on the road.
And he did. He nearly burned a hole in the windshield concentrating on the highway onto which Johanna had merged. He only looked away when her slender fingers reached forward and turned on the radio. A guitar-heavy rhythm and blues piece filtered from the speakers and Holden relaxed. A little. He drummed his fingers on his knee as he listened.

“You like this music?” Johanna asked.

“Yeah. I always wished I could play the guitar.” The words slipped from his mouth, then he whipped his head toward Johanna. “You did it again!”