Road to Absolution (12 page)

“Jaxon left
early, you’re here… your mom’s probably seething right now.”

“Who wants
wine?” Shannon called from the kitchen.

“Me, please,” I
said.

“I’ll grab a
beer in a bit, Shan,” Carter returned, and then focused on me again. “You
haven’t screwed anything up, Cassidy, got it?”

I sighed. “So,
why did Jaxon leave early?”

“I have no idea.
He said it was a work thing.” He smiled. “And I’m here because I love you.
Whatever my mom’s issues are have nothing to do with us.”

I bit my lip and
studied him for a few seconds. “Okay, I’m dropping it.”

He grinned and
kissed me. “Thank you. You’re it for me, baby. Don’t ever doubt it.”

“Same, honey.”

Carter kissed me
again and then rose to get his beer.

“Grab me some
cheese when you come back, would you?” I called.

“Sure.”

The rest of the
family filed in as I grabbed a stack of movies and we went through the voting
process of which one to watch.

Once the film
had been picked, I handed the remote to my dad, and curled up next to Carter
again, promptly falling asleep. I woke the next morning in my bed with his arms
wrapped around me, and smiled realizing just how strong he was. I didn’t even
know he’d moved me.

God, I loved
this man.

T
HE FOLLOWING SATURDAY, I woke up to the
sound of Maverick and Carter laughing again. I hadn’t seen Carter Wednesday or
Thursday, our schedules were too crazy, but he’d come over last night and
stayed, and I realized pretty quickly I could seriously get used to this sound
every morning. After our incredibly domesticated breakfast, Carter cleared the
counter and I loaded the dishwasher while Maverick was washing his face and
brushing his teeth.

“Hawk’s takin’
his boat out in a couple of hours and Payton invited us, along with Booker and
Dani. Do you want to go?” Carter asked.

“Hawk has a
boat?”

Carter chuckled.
“Hawk has a yacht.”

“Shut up,
really?” I closed the dishwasher and washed my hands.

He grinned. “Got
it real cheap on a repo deal and fixed it up.”

“Wow, that
sounds fun. I’ve never been on a boat before.”

“Can’t wait to
see you in a bikini again.”

“I don’t own
one… for obvious reasons.”

“What the fu—”

“I’m all clean,”
Maverick announced as he walked toward us.

“Thanks, honey,”
I said, sending a warning look to Carter who shrugged. “Carter’s invited us out
on Lily’s dad’s boat. How does that sound?”

“Do we get to
swim?”

“Yeah, we get to
swim,” Carter answered.

“Awesome! I’ll
get my suit.”

“You want to
pack up whatever you want to take and we’ll swing by my place before we head to
the marina?”

“Sounds good.
Should we bring food?”

“We’ll stop by
the store and grab a few things.” He grinned. “Your fridge is kind of empty.”

I groaned. “I
know. I tend to procrastinate on shopping.”

“You still hate
it, huh?”

“Ohmigod, even
worse than before.”

He chuckled.
“Get your stuff, babe. Jaxon’s got the dog, but we’ll grab her before we head
to the boat.”

I nodded and
went to find Maverick. “Hey, buddy, you got your suit?”

“Yeah, Mom.”

“Good. We should
pack a change of clothes and towels as well, okay? Wanna go grab the big towels
from the hall closet and bring them to my room, please?”

“Sure.”

He scampered off
and I took his stuff to my room where I grabbed a canvas tote from my closet
and shoved extra clothes inside. I changed into my suit then pulled clothes
over the top, and we met Carter in the living room.

“Ready?” he
asked.

I nodded. “What
about life jackets and stuff?”

“Hawk has all
that stuff.”

“For Mav too?”

“Babe, he has a
daughter, I’m sure he’s got plenty of everything.”

I cocked my
head. “Will you ask him, please?”

With a sigh, he
pulled out his phone and sent off a text. “Asked him.”

“We’ll grab the booster
seat while we wait for the answer.”

“Are you saying
if he doesn’t have lifejackets, you won’t go?”

I smiled
sweetly. “Yes.”

He grinned back.
“If he doesn’t have them, we’ll buy them when we go to the store.”

“Where are we
going to buy lifejackets on a Sunday?”

Carter laughed.
“I have no fu—ah… clue.”

“Nice save,” I
said.

He pulled his
phone out. “Hawk’s got enough lifejackets for sixteen adults and ten kids.”

I leaned up and
kissed his cheek. “Thank you for asking him.”

Carter smiled.
“Let’s go.”

I grabbed my
keys and followed my boys out.

* * *

Pulling up to Carter’s little bungalow
in North Portland, I wasn’t surprised by his choice of house. He loved all
things historic and was handy in pretty much every area, so I knew he would
have chosen something to fix up.

“Mom, I gotta
go,” Maverick said, grabbing his crotch.

“Let’s get you
inside, then.” Carter helped him out of his booster and we headed up to his
house. Opening the door, the dog barked and came running to us. “Hey, girl… I
guess Jax dropped you off, huh? Saves me some time.” He spent a few seconds
greeting Cassidy the dog and then guided Maverick to the bathroom while I took
in the living room that we’d walked right into. A fireplace with built-in,
glass-front cabinets on each side took up the wall to my right with a modern
sofa and two chairs facing it. I wondered if Carter’s mom had helped decorate
the room, since the painting above it looked like the one that had been in
their hallway.

Carter returned,
setting a leash and dog bowl on the coffee table. “I have a few things to grab
and then we should be set, but do you want a tour first?”

“That would be
great,” I said

“Can we go now?”
Maverick rushed toward us.

I ruffled
Maverick’s hair. “Carter’s gotta get his stuff, so we’ll explore for a bit.”

“Can I play with
the dog?”

“Sure, buddy,”
Carter said.

“No going
outside though,” I added.

“I won’t, Mom.”

Carter made his
way to the door, locking it and setting the alarm. “It’ll beep if the door’s
opened, just in case.”

I nodded toward
the fireplace. “Was that painting in your parents’ house?”

“Yeah. Anything
girly in this house is from Mom.”

I giggled. “That
doesn’t surprise me.”

Before we ended
the tour in his bedroom, he showed me the big eat-in kitchen which he’d gutted
and redid in a modern but warm and inviting way. There was also a formal dining
room, hall bathroom, two other bedrooms that were in various states of
disarray, and a full basement with bathroom which was on his to-do list next.

Carter’s bedroom
was almost a carbon copy of his childhood one, only with a king-sized bed. “You
brought your furniture with you?” I asked.

“Yeah. It’s
still good.”

I chuckled.
“Sure. We’ll go with that.”

“When we get
married, you can change whatever you like.”

I shook my head.

“What?” he
asked, all innocence and light as he threw clothes into a duffel.

“I’m not having
this argument with you again, buddy. Let’s just drop it.”

“Okay, baby.” He
kissed my cheek. “We’ll drop it. Ready?”

“Yep.”

We gathered up
Maverick and the dog and headed back to the truck. The sound of motorcyle pipes
had me turning to find Aidan parking in Carter’s driveway. He climbed off with
a grin and stowed his helmet. “Heard there was a boat party.”

Carter chuckled.
“You’ll have to follow us or ride in the back with the dog.”

“I’ll follow.”

“Maverick, come
meet uncle Aidan,” I said. “He’s Carter’s brother.”

Introductions
were made, and then we headed down to the marina.

* * *

Hawk and Payton’s boat was incredible
and I was glad I’d insisted on a bottle of wine with all the other food items
we brought. The boat was far to shi-shi to not bring a decent bottle of vino,
and since Carter grabbed a case of beer and chips, I grabbed cheese and
crackers and the like.

Booker and Dani
joined us as well, along with Dani’s best friend Kim and Mack. I had instantly
liked Mack when I first met him and it seemed to irritate Carter, which in turn
made it all the more worth it to flirt a little. Booker and Dani had also
brought beer and wine, but Dani had the forethought to bring fruit and veggies,
while Payton had everything for a sandwich making bonanza. The men took the
kids on deck while us ladies sorted out the food. Cassidy the dog tried to stay
where the food source was, but one command from Carter and she followed him
outside.

“I always feel
like I have to have fancy food when I go out on the boat,” Payton admitted.
“It’s just so… I don’t know…”

“Shi-shi?” I
offered.

Payton giggled.
“Yes, it’s totally shi-shi.”

“Is Macey going
to make it?” Dani asked Payton.

“No. Both she
and Dallas have to work.” Payton handed me a glass of wine. “Macey’s my
bestie.”

“Ah.”

“Okay, I’m ready
to get my flirt on,” Kim declared.

Dani laughed.
“With Mack.”

“Or that Knight
guy. Holy shit, he’s hot.”

“And Ace’s
brother,” Dani said.

“Yeah, I kind of
figured that,” she said.

“So, you and
Mack aren’t together?” I asked.

Kim giggled.
“No. Not my type.”

“What do you
mean?” Dani argued. “Anything with a penis is your type.”

“Oh, you’re
funny,” Kim droned. “The thing with Mack is weird… we just kind of figured out
pretty quickly we were going to be friends and neither of us wanted to screw it
up by sleeping together. Call it evolving as adults or a premonition or
something, but we would not be good together. But man, he’s gorgeous and super
fun to flirt with.”

I grinned. “Yes,
he is. But don’t tell Carter.”

Kim locked her
lips. “Sealed, babe.”

We filed onto
the deck, one hand carrying a drink, the other carrying a tray of food that we
set on the table by the railing. A strong arm wrapped around my waist as soft
lips kissed my neck. “Mack,” I whispered. “Stop.”

Carter hissed
and gave my bottom a gentle smack.

I giggled and
turned in his arms once I’d set my wine down. I sighed with visual pleasure.
He’d stripped down to nothing but a pair of swim trunks and he was delicious.
“Wow. I didn’t think you could get better looking.”

His body had
always been muscular in a lanky kind of way, but now it was ripped. Channing
Tatum kind of ripped, only bigger.

His expression
of irritation changed to a smile and he kissed me. “Why are you still wearing
your clothes?”

“Because I’m not
ready to swim.”

“So?”

“So, I’m good.”
I ran my finger over his side. He’d added several more tattoos since I’d seen
him without a shirt. He had the
Dogs of Fire
logo on his inner left
forearm and an eagle across his ribs. On his left bicep, he had a bolt and a
nut with my name woven into the threads. “When did you get this?”

He smiled. “The
day after you left.”

I gasped. “You
did?”

“I didn’t want
to forget.”

“I thought you
hated me,” I whispered.

He cupped my
face. “Oh, baby, I could never hate you. I was hurt and wrecked, and a little
willing to run into gunfire, but I didn’t hate you.”

“Ohmigod, did
you really run into gunfire?”

Carter chuckled.
“I’m not telling you.”

“Can we swim
now, Carter? Uncle Aidan’s in the water already.” Maverick asked, appearing out
of nowhere and effectively diverting the subject.

True to his
word, Hawk did in fact have enough life jackets for everyone and the kids were
strolling the boat, decked out in their safety finery.

“
Please
,”
I urged.

“Please,”
Maverick added.

Carter studied
me for a few seconds before laying his hand on Maverick’s head and smiling down
at him. “You bet, buddy.”

“I’ll get Lily.”
He turned and started to run, but quickly corrected and slowed to a walk. The
rule was no running and I was proud he remembered.

“If you don’t
have a suit, babe, I’m sure Payton has something you can borrow.”

“I’m wearing a
suit,” I countered.

“Then why are
you bein’ all weird?”

“I’m not.”

“Cass,” he said
with a sigh. “You’re beautiful, baby, you know that right?”

“Thank you.” I
smiled. “It’s not about that, at least, it’s not
all
about that.”