Raising Kane (9 page)
Authors: Lorelei James
Tags: #Romance, #Contemporary, #Adult, #Western, #Red Hots!, #Western Romance
“I’m here because I want to be. You know that, right?”
“I’m a little more convinced now than I was when you first showed up at the hospital.”
At his smoky gaze, and his gravelly “Is that so?” heat curled in her belly.
“While you’re restin’ today, do you mind if I take Hayden into town for the high school basketball game? We don’t have to stay for all four quarters, but he’s been lookin’ forward to it. Thought we could pick up something for supper and bring it home.”
“I don’t see why not. It’ll be good for him to get out.”
Kane was quiet as he fiddled with his coffee mug.
“I see the wheels a’turnin’, cowboy. What’s on your mind?”
“This might sound weird, but would Dash want to come to the game? There’s this scrimmage thing at halftime, and Hayden’s been practicing his sprint drills. We’d intended to ask you as a surprise, but bein’s you’re laid up… I think it’s important that Hayden has family there.”
Kane continually shocked her with his attention to detail and the genuine affection he held for her son.
“Sometimes Dad—”
“Is perfectly capable of making up his own mind,” Dash supplied as he rolled up to the table.
“Morning, Dad.”
“Ginger. How are you feeling?”
Admitting she felt fantastic might encourage him to ask why she felt so fantastic. She couldn’t admit two orgasms courtesy of Kane McKay were just what she needed. She shrugged. “Okay. How about you?”
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“I’m feeling a little stir crazy, if you want to know the truth. Since tomorrow is a holiday, the bus won’t be picking me up to take me to the senior’s center.”
“I forgot there was no school tomorrow,” Ginger said.
Dash addressed Kane. “Were you serious about letting me tag along today?”
“Yep.”
“I appreciate it. I wouldn’t want to miss the opportunity to cheer on my grandson.”
“Good. Is the mechanical handicapped platform in the van easy to run?” Kane brought Dash a cup of coffee.
“Far as I know. Ginger doesn’t have a problem with it.”
Interesting that Kane hadn’t asked
her
if the equipment was hard to handle.
“We’ll have to get an earlier start. But don’t let on you know about Hayden’s surprise,” Kane warned.
“I was an attorney for fifty years, boy. I know how to keep a secret.”
“You’ve got a damn fine poker face too,” he muttered.
Dash gave him a sly grin. “A necessity, being a judge and living in a small community.”
“Well, I want a chance to earn back my twenty-five bucks.”
Ginger looked at Kane. “You lost to my dad?”
“Yep. That’ll teach me to go all in.” Kane drained his coffee. “What do you guys want for breakfast?
Eggs? Toast? Cereal?”
“Cereal is fine with me,” Dash said.
Ginger rolled her eyes. Another thing her father and her son had in common: love of sugar-laden cereals. “I’ll have eggs.”
“Hang on. I’ve gotta wake up my egg cracker.” Kane strode off.
She felt her father staring at her. “What?”
“I can’t place it. You seem different today. More relaxed or something.”
Ginger slipped on her poker face. “I must be on the mend.”
“You slept all right?”
Why was he pushing her on this? Normally he couldn’t give a rip about her sleep patterns.
Shit. He knew. Her dad knew that Kane had snuck into her room last night.
Stay calm.
For fuck’s sake. She was a thirty-seven-year-old woman. This was her house. If she wanted to invite a man into her bed, it was none of her dad’s business. She’d buck up, and just…
Lie her ass off.
“Yeah. That pain pill really knocked me out.”
Her dad harrumphed.
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Hayden trudged into the kitchen. His sleep-tousled blond hair stuck up every direction and his glasses were on crooked. He snuggled into her, wrapping his arms around her neck. Wouldn’t be too much longer before he wouldn’t want morning snuggles and hugs. She kissed the top of his head. “Morning.”
“Hayden, it might be better if you didn’t squish your mama, and sat next to her instead of on her.”
Hayden shook his head and burrowed deeper into her neck.
Kane frowned but didn’t say a word.
Her son used to be clingy, but not so much in the past two years, so she was perplexed by his suddenly shy behavior.
Kane set out two bowls, spoons, a carton of soymilk and a box of Frosted Cheerios.
Her father helped himself to breakfast. The only sounds were the hum of the heater and the crunching cereal.
“I hear there’s a basketball game today. Grandpa is going.”
“I wanted
you
to come to the basketball game, Mommy.”
“I know, baby. And I’m sorry that I’ll be stuck here while you’re having a good time with Grandpa and Kane.”
“His name is Buck,” Hayden said snottily.
“Actually, my name is Kane. Buck was a nickname I tried out for a while, hopin’ it’d distinguish me from my twin brother and my McKay cousins, whose names, for some reason, all seem to start with the letter C or K.”
“I wasn’t talking to you,” Hayden retorted.
Shocked, Ginger leaned back and looked at her son sternly. “Hayden Michael Paulson. What is wrong with you? That was just plain rude. Apologize to Kane right now.”
Silence. Surly, stubborn silence.
Ginger waited about another fifteen seconds. Then she instructed, “Back to your room. You can come out only when you’re ready to be civilized and apologize to Kane.”
“But Mom—”
“No buts. Go on.”
He climbed off her lap and ran to his room, slamming the door behind him.
She closed her eyes. Kids and drama went hand in hand. Chances were high Hayden’s snit would only last a few minutes. But she’d learned early on if she let him exhibit bratty behavior, he’d use it whenever possible to get his way.
“Ginger?” Kane said.
Please. Don’t offer me parenting advice right now.
“What?”
“Would you like a reheat?”
“Yes. Thank you.”
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He’d filled her cup and cleared her father’s bowl.
Sure enough, less than five minutes later, the bedroom door opened and Hayden appeared. He started to climb onto her lap, but she shook her head and pointed to Kane.
Hayden stood behind his grandfather’s wheelchair, his fingers curled around the handgrips. “Umm.
I’m sorry for being rude to you, Buck.”
“Thanks for the apology, sport.”
“So you’re not mad?”
“Nope. Takes courage to admit you were wrong.”
Hayden slid into the chair next to her. “What am I supposed to call you? I’ve always called you Buck, but everyone else calls you Kane.”
“My nieces Eliza, Peyton, Shannie and Liesl call me Buck. So do Kyler, Gib, Thane, Anton, Parker, Braxton, Spencer, Westin… Shoot, I know I’m forgetting a couple that can talk now.”
“You consider all your McKay cousins’ offspring your nieces and nephews?” Ginger asked.
“Pretty much. Me’n Kade were with them all the time growin’ up. And we’re ranching together, so the kids think of me the same as their other McKay uncles.” He winked. “I’ve gotta admit to havin’ a real soft spot for Kade’s girls.”
“Anton and Ky are cool,” Hayden offered. “They’re always talking about all their cousins.” He dumped cereal in his bowl and poured soymilk over it.
“Seems my cousins’ wives are in a race to see who can have the most kids in the shortest amount of time.”
“Who’s winning?”
“Colby and Channing were, but with Cam and Domini adopting Liesl and the twins a few months back…they’re tied. Four and four.”
Ginger looked at Kane. “Lots of twins in the McKay family tree.”
He nodded. “Mostly fraternal. Kade and I are the only identical twins in our McKay generation, but it seems genetics—and adoption—is makin’ up for it in this next generation.”
Kane’s phone buzzed and he plucked it out of his front shirt pocket. “Mornin’ Ma.” Pause. “No.”
Another pause. “Because it ain’t a story Ginger wants spread all over town.” He held the phone away from his ear as his mother railed on him.
Ginger detected humor in his tone, not anger as he said, “Sorry. No, I
am
sincerely sorry, Ma. Yes ma’am.” Then he hung up.
He gave Hayden a conspiratorial wink. “See? My mama still makes me apologize too.”
“Wow. What did you do?”
“Forgot to tell her I’m helpin’ out over here.”
“Oh.” Hayden tucked into his cereal, hiding behind the box.
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Raising Kane
“What time do we have to leave for the basketball game?” Dash asked Kane.
“’Bout two hours.”
“I’ll be ready. I have a few things to finish up in my room.” Dash left the table and his door closed behind him.
“As soon as you’re done with breakfast, you need to hop in the shower, Hayden.”
“Aw, Mom. I’m probably just gonna get sweaty at the game. I’ll shower when I get home.”
“No dice.”
“Why do you make me shower every day? It’s a waste of water,” Hayden grumbled. He shoved the cereal box aside and challenged Kane. “Do you shower once a day?”
“Nope.”
A triumphant expression crossed Hayden’s face. “See?”
Kane mock-whispered, “Sometimes I shower twice a day.”
“No fair.” Hayden picked up his bowl and drank the last of the soymilk as he walked to the sink.
Before he made it to his room, Ginger yelled, “A shower means getting your hair wet and scrubbing it with shampoo.”
“Aw man” echoed back to her and she and Kane smiled at each other.
“You busted him on a technicality, Mom, nice goin’.”
“Were you determined to do your part to save the environment when you were a boy by not showering? Because this is a foreign concept to me.”
“Once Kade and I had a contest to see who could go the longest.” He grinned. “We tied at three weeks until Ma couldn’t stand the smell of us and hosed us both down in the front yard.”
“I knew an iron-fisted disciplinarian lurked beneath Kimi’s sweeter-than-honey demeanor.”
“She puts the ‘mean’ in demeanor. She’s small, but she’s mighty.”
Then playful Kane vanished and he stared at her with the inscrutable gaze that caused her nerve endings to twitch.
“What are you thinking about?”
He practically growled, “How badly I want to throw you over my shoulder and drag you to bed.”
The rush of lust unfurled her flirty side. “What would you do with me, once you had me where you wanted me?”
“Fuck you. After I fucked you on the bed, I’d fuck you against the wall. Then I’d bend you over the chair and fuck you from behind as we’re watching ourselves in your mirror. Then I’d fuck you in the shower.”
Ginger’s heart galloped. For a man of few words, he used them well. She could almost feel the soft mattress against her spine and his muscular body covering hers from chest to feet. She could almost feel the hot, hard thickness of his cock filling her as he braced his hands by her head. He’d look into her eyes,
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alternating his sexy penetrating stare with bone-melting kisses. Wordlessly urging her to new sexual heights as he rammed his flesh into hers, until they both exploded with satisfaction.
“Ah sugar, you’re playin’ with fire, eyeballin’ me like that.”
“Same goes,” she shot back.
“It’s gonna be a long goddamn day,” he muttered and exited the kitchen.
Kane’s mother, being the snoopy sort, showed up just as they were getting ready to leave. “Ma.
What’re you doin’ here?”
Kimi McKay had to stand on tiptoe to kiss her son’s cheek. “Just being neighborly. I brought over a casserole and a few of the cookies Eliza and I made.”
Hayden peeked in the bag. “Cool. Sprinkles.”
“You like sprinkles?” Kimi asked.
He nodded.
“Maybe sometime your mama will let you come over and bake cookies with me. Been years since I had a little boy in my kitchen helpin’ me out.”
“That’d be fun. Me’n Buck had a cooking class with Domini.”
“I heard. What did you learn?”
Hayden scowled. “That I can still taste broccoli even if it’s hidden in food.”
Kimi laughed. “No broccoli in the casserole, I promise. Now you guys better get goin’. I’ll stick around. Keep Ginger company. You know, in case she needs something.”
Kane froze. Dammit. How could he force his mother to leave without it seeming like he was trying to get rid of her?
He couldn’t. Kimi West McKay knew that. She’d counted on Kane being polite in mixed company because that’s how she’d raised him.
A well-played move by the blonde tornado.
His mother lovingly patted his arm—and then heaved him out the door. “Have fun, boys!”
Dash wore a funny smirk as he rolled down the wheelchair ramp. “I see Kimi still rules the roost.”
“Yep. Always has. I suspect she always will.”
“Makes sense.”
He bristled. “What makes sense?”
“Why you aren’t put off by strong women.”
That comment came completely out of left field. And it made him bristle even more. Like Dash thought that he didn’t have the smarts to know when to stand up for himself?
Hayden said, “I know what we need to do first.”
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Raising Kane
Kane was grateful for a chance to focus on something besides what Ginger’s dad thought of him—which apparently wasn’t much.
After the van door opened and the mechanical platform was on the ground, Dash could roll himself onto it. Then Kane just hit a switch to load man and chair inside the van. Impressive, how slick the whole set up worked. Must’ve cost a pretty penny, but it was worth it since it kept Dash from being totally housebound.
At the community center, they unloaded in the handicapped zone. Kane hadn’t realized how tight the fit was between parking places for a mechanized wheelchair platform. Despite Dash’s insistence he could maneuver himself into the gymnasium, Kane wheeled Dash inside, Hayden loping alongside them. When people called out to Dash, Kane wondered if Dash’s insistence about handling himself was a smokescreen: maybe Dash was embarrassed to be seen with him.
