Salsa Heat (12 page)

“How do you know my son?” he asked politely.

His tone continued to be warm and friendly. She heard that same warmth in his son’s voice. Linden had his father’s height, muscular build and sparkling violet eyes.

For a man who is at least sixty years old, he’s still handsome… charming—which he passed onto his son.

“We met a month ago when he was in St. Lucia on business,” Shay said, having the feeling he already knew that.

Natalie returned to the living room with three glasses of iced tea on a sparkling silver serving tray. She handed each of them a glass. After taking her first sip, Shay agreed that the tea
was
delicious.

Shay hadn’t eaten anything that morning, so her stomach chose that
exact
moment to churn. She was embarrassed by the sound of her stomach growling—telling on her. Both of them heard it.

“Would you like something to go with that tea, Shay? We’ve just had lunch, and there’s
still
some leftover shrimp salad,” Mr. Stewart offered.

“Please, if you don’t mind.”

The shrimp salad, along with a garden salad, was
just
what she needed to soothe her empty stomach. Mr. Stewart and Natalie sat quietly while Shay ate her lunch—watching, and communicating with their eyes, again. If she didn’t know better, she’d say
something
was going on between those two.

Did Mrs. Stewart know about them?
Shay wondered.

“That was delicious. Thank you for the meal, Natalie.”

“Would you like some more shrimp salad? I hate to see a hungry child.”

“No, I’m fine, now. I left home early this morning, without eating anything.”

“You were telling us how you met Linden,” Natalie pressed her.

“How’s Linden doing with his recovery?” Shay asked, purposely changing the subject.

“He’s paralyzed from the waist down. After the accident, the doctors believed the swelling around the spinal cord was causing the paralysis. But since then, the swelling has reduced. Linden needs to start exercising his leg muscles, but he refuses to work out with the therapist,” Mr. Stewart stated.

“No, that’s
not
true, our son is feeling sorry for himself, and this pity party has to
stop
. He’s wasting valuable time—time that he may not be able to get back after he comes to his senses,” Natalie added, anger evident in her voice.

“
Excuse
me?”

“That’s right; you heard me correctly. I’m Linden’s
mother!
”

“
Ahh
—” Shay was momentarily speechless.

“Natalie, I believed you’ve shocked, Shay,” Mr. Stewart said, smiling lovingly at his wife.

Shay’s eyes slid over Natalie Stewart’s body for a second time. She was about five-foot-one, had toffee colored skin, doe brown eyes, and dark brown hair with streaks of silver—which she wore in a short, sassy style. Her hair feathered her round shaped face. She was a very attractive woman when she smiled as she was now doing. There was nothing of Linden in her.

Hell yeah, this is a surprise!

“Linden never told me his mother was African-American,” Shay added.

“Well, I guess you don’t
know
my son as
well
as you thought,” she countered, her tone dripping with sarcasm.

“I
know
he’s the father of my unborn child,” Shay volleyed, not thinking before she revealed that bit of information. Hell, she wasn’t afraid of his mama.

“You
expect
us to
believe
you’re carrying my son’s child,” Natalie quipped.

“I don’t
care
if you believe me! Time will tell.”

“We…no, I demand a paternity test on that child!”

“Natalie, stop this! Linden’s health is more important, right now.”

“She’s
just
a
fling
, David—an island fling—and nothing more!”

“That’s
not
for you to decide, sweetheart! Let Linden handle his own business. The young man is thirty-five years old, now. He’s
no
longer your baby.”

“He’d always be my baby!” she countered, glowering at her husband.

“I’m sorry; please…I shouldn’t have said anything about the baby. I just want to see Linden.”

“This is a
good
thing. Linden needs to refocus. You’re just what we need to shake up our son,” Mr. Stewart added.

Natalie and Shay looked at one another, giving him a “what do you mean” stare.

“What do you mean by
that
, David?”

“We’ve both heard Linden cry out Shay’s name in his fretful sleep. Evidently, she’s
important
to our son. He’s afraid he’ll no longer be able to share intimacy with a woman. Shay can prove to him that he’s not dead below the waist. She should seduce him. The news of their child will motivate him to start rehabilitation.”

“David? Hmm, I
do
see your point. This
could
work.”

She turned toward Shay. “Will you help save our son?” Natalie surprisingly inquired.

“I love Linden. Whatever he needs, I’ll give him.”

“He’s going to fight you every step of the way,” Mr. Stewart said, sharpness in his tone.

“I believe she can handle him. Shay didn’t back down from
me,
” Natalie added.

“No, she most certainly did not.” Mr. Stewart chuckled at his wife. “It will be interesting to watch the two of you together. I see now why my son was attracted to you. Shay—you’re beautiful, and not afraid to fight for what you want. Those are the same qualities, I see in my wife—who can be over-protective of her
only
son. Natalie doesn’t realize that she
won’t
always be first in
our
son’s heart. That is something she will have to face—sooner than she anticipated.”

“We will see, David,” Natalie countered. She would have to prove herself worthy of their son.

Shay gave them a tentative smile.

“When do we start?”

“No time like the present. In fact, sweetheart, we should leave them alone. Let’s get a room at the Marriott. That way Linden won’t be able to involve us when he doesn’t get his way, if we’re not here,” David added.

“
Wait!
You’re really going to leave me alone with him?”

“You can handle him,
sugar,
” Natalie’s voice now dripped like honey. “After all, you claimed you conceived a child together.” She trailed her husband, leaving Shay alone in their living room.

“But—I…Okay girl, you can
do
this. Show the man how much you love him,” Shay said to the empty room convincing herself she could.

Chapter Ten

Shay eased into Linden’s bedroom and found the curtains were drawn. Barely any light seeped through the window. She could make out his body under the blanket while she quietly stripped out of her clothes. She eased into the bed without waking him, and she watched him sleep.

Hmm, his scent is just as I remember,
she thought.

His body’s warmth eventually lulled her to sleep.

§

When Shay’s eyes fluttered open, she found her head resting on Linden’s chest. Her fingers were caressing his left arm, and their legs were intertwined.

“What are you doing here?” His voice was thick and unsteady.

She eased off his chest, and found he had turned on the bedroom light. A remote control switch lay on the nightstand. She was also shocked to see the after-effects from the accident. Although it had been a month since the car accident, he
still
had bruises and discoloration on his face.

“
Ahh
, babe, look at you.
Why didn’t you
call
me?” She whispered, gently touching the bruises so close to his now dull eyes. Thank God, he could still see.

“I don’t want your
pity
, Shay!”

“I love you!”

“Why are you in my bed, undressed like this?” Linden bellowed, as he tried to shove her off his body.

“I want to
hold
you.”

“I can’t satisfy you in
that
way! Didn’t my parents tell you I’m paralyzed?”

“How do you know you
can’t
make love to me? Let’s try.”

“Get out of my bed
and
this house, Shay! I can’t
believe
my mother allowed you into my bedroom.”

“Why didn’t you tell me your mother was African-American?”

“I thought I’d surprise you. But that doesn’t matter, anymore. What we had is
over
.”

“So, I was
just
an island fling to you?”

“Yes!” he raged, balling his hand in a fist. She couldn’t miss the anger in his voice.

“And this has nothing to do your being paralyzed, now?”

“No!” he barked.

Shay couldn’t help but see his vulnerability. A lone tear slid down his cheek when he turned his head away from her.

“Don’t be afraid. God won’t put too much on
our
shoulders that we can’t handle. Lean on me, and let my love strengthen you. Can I hold you?” she whispered, with much love in her tone.

Shay laid her head back on his chest. His heartbeat throbbed against her ears.

“Do you remember that day we climbed the Petit Piton Mountain, and I made a big fuss?”

“Yes,” he mumbled fighting the scent of her, as well as how much he loved and missed her.

“Well, I was really afraid, Linden. You see, I had a fear of heights, but I couldn’t reveal that to you. Even then, I knew that I loved you. My love for you pushed me up that mountain.”

“I never noticed your fear, Shay.”

“You cured me that day.”

“This is different, Shay…”

“No, it isn’t,” she cooed. Lovingly, her eyes caressed his face. “You remember afterwards, when we made love in the Piton waterfall and you didn’t use a condom? We made a baby.”

Linden stared into her eyes, surprised by what she revealed—but not really since they had unprotected sex, many times that week.
I was reckless—something I had never done with a woman,
he thought.

Shay took his left hand and placed it across her stomach. “Our baby is growing inside of me,
we
need you.”

“I’ll have my father write you a check. How much do you want—one, two thousand a month, Shay?”

“I don’t want your
damn
money!”

“Isn’t that why you’re here? You claim that baby is mine!”

Shay balled up her fist. That was the only thing preventing her from smacking Linden in the face.

“Tell me, you don’t love me, Linden, and I’ll walk right out of that door!”