A Fair of the Heart by Donna Marie Rogers

Author:Donna Marie Rogers [Donna Marie Rogers]
Language: eng
Format: epub, mobi
Published: 2011-06-28T14:00:00+00:00

Chapter Eight

Caleb watched in amazement as Max’s fingers expertly moved over the strings and out came an old Rolling Stones classic, “Paint It Black”. Man, the kid played like a pro!

“I told you he’s good,” Lauren excitedly whispered, pride in her son making her even more beautiful.

“You certainly didn’t exaggerate. So, the Rolling Stones, hey? Isn’t he a bit young to know their music?”

“His instructor is a hippie, straight out of Woodstock. All the songs he’s taught Max are from the sixties and seventies.”

“Then I look forward to hearing every song he knows.”

As soon as Max strummed the last note, Caleb and Lauren clapped like crazy.

“Crap, I forgot about the garlic bread!” Lauren exclaimed. She ran over and blew out a sigh of relief as she pulled the pan from the oven. “Perfect.”

“Smells awesome,” Caleb said. “Man, am I starving.”

“Me, too!” Max chimed in. “My mom makes the best lasagna in the world. She can cook anything, right, Mom?”

Lauren gazed at Max with a bemused smile. “Well, I draw the line at octopus and insects, but besides that, I’ll give anything a try.”

“Two things I can guarantee I’ll never ask you to cook.” Caleb promised with a wink. “What can I do to help?”

“You can carry the lasagna to the table.” She handed him two oven mitts. “Max, please go get your sister. And be careful of her hand.”

Caleb looked up in time to see a wave of guilt pass over Max’s face. Poor kid still felt responsible for what happened to Emma.

Ten minutes later, they all sat down to their first meal as a family. Caleb nearly choked on the thought. Beads of cold sweat broke out on his forehead. Family? He eyed each one of them and, disconcertingly, found them all smiling back at him. Clearing his throat and pushing his reservations aside, Caleb dropped his gaze to his plate and forked in a bite of lasagna. His taste buds did a happy dance. Damn, the woman could cook. He looked up again to find Emma grinning from ear to ear.

“Yummy, Ca’yib?”

He met Lauren’s gaze for a brief second and a strange undercurrent passed between them. He wanted to kiss her so bad he could taste her. Get a grip, Hunter. “Delicious, punkin.”

By the time Lauren served the apple pie a la mode, Caleb thought he would burst. “You guys don’t honestly eat this good all the time, do you?”

“No, but we can. I mean, if you want to. Right, Mom?” Max looked so earnest and hopeful, Caleb wanted to assure the boy he wasn’t going anywhere. But how could he make such a promise when Caleb had no idea where any of this would lead? Realistically, he was a virtual stranger to them.

And he hadn’t even kissed the woman yet. That was the problem. So much depended upon something as simple as a kiss. If the kiss had no magic, if they broke apart without so much as a tingle, that was the end of it.

Though, somehow, Caleb doubted that would be the case.

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