Perfect Morning Read online

  Riki wanted to paint the house, but was afraid of heights. If she would hang her own undies from now on, he’d paint the house. Carrying the empty basket back inside, he stomped into the kitchen to find Riki going through the freezer. A muffled, “What do you want for dinner?” reached his ears from inside the freezer.

  “Whatever you have. I’m not a fussy eater.” With a frown marring his face, he asked, “What color do you want the house?”

  Riki, who had been hiding in the freezer because she didn’t have the guts to face a man who had hung her intimate apparel, turned around and faced Jason. “Why?” What did the color of the house have to with anything?

  “Because I’m not cut out to become domesticated.”

  “Why?”

  “Because it’s hell on a man’s nerves.” he roared. For the first time she noticed how upset Jason was. His brow was drawn into a fierce scowl, a flush stained his cheeks, a nerve in his jaw was twitching. He seemed to have been enjoying hanging the laundry, she thought. What could have possibly gone wrong? Had she done anything to upset him? Totally at a loss as to how to answer that statement, she decided to go back to the original question. “Light blue.”

  “You want the house light blue?” She nodded. “What color trim?”

  “Colonial blue and white. Why?”

  “Because I need to do something. Since you are feeding me and my daughter, I will paint your house.”

  She couldn’t argue with that, but she did have some say-so about the details. Besides, she was totally thankful she had someone to volunteer to go up a ladder. She wasn’t one to look a gift horse in the mouth. “Okay, but I pay for the paint, and I help.”

  The stubborn tilt of her chin was almost Jason’s undoing. A chuckle threatened to escape at the thought of Riki painting this monstrous house by herself. Seeing the chin thrust out, he decided it was a smart move to suppress that chuckle and to appear to take her seriously.

  “I thought you didn’t like ladders or heights.”

  He saw a flash of fear in her eyes before she averted her glance. “Okay, you go up there and bring me down the shutters. I’ll sand and paint them. I can also do the porches.” A pleased expression crossed her face at the thought of actually getting the house painted. Maybe having Jason around wouldn’t be that bad after all, if she could just learn to keep her hands off him.

  “If you aren’t going to let me pay for the paint,” he said, “the least I can do is help with the food bill. I tend to eat quite a lot when I do physical work.”

  She knew exactly what kind of physical work she would like him to do. Come to think of it, she mused, her appetite had increased since Jason showed up, and not for food. She gave him a considering look. “I don’t know,” she said. “I think you’ll be getting the short end of the stick. If you do all the work on the outside of the house, I think I should do all the domestic end and foot the bill.”

  “No, I’ll help out with the food bill. You handle the everyday things, and if you promise not to starch my shorts I’ll even repair the broken windows on the third floor.” He leaned against the counter, crossing his arms over his chest. A smile tugged at his mouth as he came to the conclusion that bickering with Riki was quite enlightening. He noticed that when she was in deep thought she chewed on her lower lip. When she felt threatened her chin went up a notch and her hands automatically went to her hips. He could definitely make a career of studying Riki.

  She smiled impishly. “If I promise not to turn your T-shirt pink, will you hang new rain gutters?” “I kind of like pink underwear,” he murmured, thinking of the pair he had just hung on the line. “The rain gutters are negotiable. Do I hear a bid?”

  “You can wipe that leer off your face, Nesbit. I am a lady. I wouldn’t dream of doing ‘that’ for gutters. Now fixing chimneys is a different story.” Jason was still chuckling when Andrew and Billy-Jo came into the kitchen wanting something to eat. He excused himself so he could go outside and see what kind of tools she had in the garage.

  He’d been there for over a week and the house was still not painted. Shutters and old rain gutters had been taken down, and window panes had been replaced. All the old paint had been stripped and a primer sealer had been applied.

  Jason was concerned for the elderly homeowners in the neighborhood after Riki explained that there wasn’t a reasonably priced contractor. McElroy’s Construction was the only contractor in town, and McElroy was of the opinion that if you can retire, you can afford his price. Most of the elderly were on pensions and social security, which didn’t leave a whole lot for luxuries such as house- painting, window replacement, and all the other jobs they were getting too old to handle by themselves.

  Jason spent one afternoon fixing Mrs. Wilson’s porch steps. She in turn baked his favorite dessert, chocolate chip cookies. The more time Riki spent with Jason, the more she admired and respected him. He was courteous, kind and patient with everyone he met, and especially with the children. He had a chest that could stop traffic.

  The first time she saw him working outside without a shirt, she practically went into cardiac arrest. Bronze skin shone with perspiration in the morning sunlight. Faded jeans clung tightly to muscular thighs and buttocks. A few dark hairs dusted an irresistible chest that cried out for a woman’s touch.

  He never made mention of that night on the porch, always acting the gentleman. On several occasions, though, she caught the hungry look of desire in his eyes. If she had had a mirror, she would have seen the same look in her own.

  By Sunday night Jason had resigned himself to the idea of a long wait both for Charlie and for Riki. His arms ached to hold Charlie, to somehow make up for the lost six years. His body ached to feel Riki, to hold onto the warmth and passion that flowed through her.

  Every night they followed the same ritual. She and he tucked the boys in and wished them good night. Then they tucked Billy-Jo in with tickles and kisses. She was such a loveable scamp, Jason never felt awkward hugging her and noisily kissing her.

  Riki always backed up after kissing Charlie, to leave Jason some privacy. For eight nights he gently brushed her hair back and kissed her freshly scrubbed cheek. This was perhaps the hardest moment of the day for him. The need to hold her was so intense, his knuckles would turn white from the fist he made.

  On the ninth night, something happened that neither Jason nor Riki could explain. After Jason’s good-night kiss, Charlie reached up and placed a small kiss on Jason’s cheek. It was such a spontaneous action, Jason acted instinctively and wrapped her in a hug. Riki couldn’t say who was more surprised, herself or Jason, when Charlie cuddled into the embrace. Jason’s arms contracted around the slight figure as he silently gave thanks.

  Riki leaned against the doorjamb with tears in her eyes. She didn’t know who she was happier for – Charlie for finally reaching out to another human being, or Jason for finally getting to hold his daughter. She had no idea what had prompted Charlie’s sudden behavior, but she knew it was the first step in the long road ahead.

  Minutes later Jason released Charlie and carefully lowered her back onto her pillow. After tucking the blankets under her chin, he gently traced her cheek and whispered, “Good night, sweetheart.” And Charlie smiled. Not the ghost of a smile, but a full-blown grin.

  Riki waited for Jason in the kitchen, giving him time to control his emotions and giving herself time to control hers. With her back toward the door, she was measuring out coffee. Suddenly she was grabbed from behind and swung up into the air. Coffee grounds went flying in 360 different directions. Her protest died on her lips when she saw Jason’s face. Pleasure radiated in the flush on his cheeks, and his little-boy grin was firmly in place. But his eyes told the story. Happiness shone in their depths, not just an outward happiness but an inner joy that could not be suppressed.

  She was on her second spin in the air when it hit her. I love him. I love Jason. I love a Texan. What in the world was she going to do? But was it really love, or was it lust? True,
Jason hadn’t kissed her or touched her since that night on the porch, but she couldn’t forget the delectable sight of him without his shirt on.

  Being spun around in circles was making her dizzy and even more confused. Jason gently lowered her to the floor, a look of tenderness in his eyes. She knew he was waiting for her to make the next move, and for the life of her she couldn’t decide what to do. The woman in her wanted to make love to Jason, while the mother in her was screaming to be cautious. Could she possibly become lovers with Jason without it affecting the children? What if they became too attached to him? Would having a lover jeopardize adopting Jake and Pete? Would it have a negative effect on how Charlie viewed Jason as her father? There were just too many unanswered questions. She would simply have to play Scarlett O’Hara and think about it tomorrow.

  Jason could read the torment in Riki’s eyes and knew tonight wasn’t going to be the night. Even if she asked, he’d have to say no, as long as he sensed a second’s doubt or hesitation. Over the past week he had read numerous emotions in her eyes – amusement, laughter, sadness, intelligence, and love. The last emotion was always directed toward the children ... until tonight. If he wasn’t mistaken, Riki was finally realizing what he figured out a few days ago. They were falling in love.

  He wanted forever. He wanted Riki for his wife. He wanted seven children, and possibly another one of their own. He wanted the mountains of Virginia and he wanted this enormous house.

  Caution seemed to be Riki’s middle name, how- ever. He had been on his best behavior so as not to scare her into thinking he was only after a quick roll on her brass bed. Endless nights of cold showers weren’t helping his disposition, but what was one more night?

  The need to put some distance between himself and Riki tonight was the major consideration now. The thrill and heartfelt relief he’d experienced when Charlie reached out to him would have to be celebrated in solitude. Having his emotions in such a turmoil was a new and frightening sensation, and he couldn’t trust himself to call an end to anything physical tonight if Riki indicated she wanted more than friendship.

  Two Scotches and a cold shower later Jason cursed himself for being so self-righteous. Staring at the ceiling while lying in a lonely bed was a terrible way to end an evening.

  A few hundred yards away that very same thought was filtering through Riki’s mind. Why did Jason have to be such a gentleman? Why didn’t he make that first move? She wouldn’t have resisted. For that matter, she would have welcomed him with open arms. He’d given his word, though, that she had to make the first move. Well, how in the hell did a woman go about seducing a gentleman? Say “please”? Did she say, “Come here, big boy. I want to feel your chest. How about after the kids are in bed and the coffee is perking, I slip into something more comfortable, like that creamy yellow teddy?” How was that for obvious?

  Riki closed her eyes and told herself to relax. As she snuggled deeper under the quilt, she took a closer look at the situation. She was in love with Jason. He was only here for a short time, then he’d go back to Texas with his daughter. Nothing permanent could ever come from their love. He lived and worked in Texas while she raised her family in Virginia. If she was smart she’d send Jason and Charlie packing in the morning.

  If Riki believed one thing in life, it was to live with no regrets. She couldn’t picture herself at eighty rocking on a front porch and wishing her life had been different. A person should go out and do what she wanted to and live with the results.

  Given the choice of either loving Jason and never knowing the ecstasy of his physical love, or sharing the greatest union a man and woman could know, she’d pick the greatest union, as long as it didn’t affect Charlie, the adoptions, or her own natural children.

  Two hours and a multitude of mumbling later, she decided that tomorrow, come hell or high water, she was going to seduce Jason. She was going to be the most seductive, captivating female he had ever laid eyes on. Now that would be some trick with seven children around. A satisfied smile lingered on her lips as she drifted off to sleep dreaming of ways to seduce Jason.

  Jason had a difficult time breathing the next morning. Every morning, except the first one when he’d caught her in the old football jersey, Riki had been dressed by the time he arrived for breakfast. This time when he walked in the back door and spotted her cooking, he went into respiratory distress. She was wearing a mint green satin robe that barely reached midthigh. Her feet were bare and her hair was slightly mussed, as if she had just gotten out of bed. She glanced up from the frying pan and flashed a warm smile at him, and he felt his stomach nose dive down to somewhere around his left ankle. He’d always thought women were supposed to look their worst in the morning. If this was her worst, he was a dead man. How could she possibly look so kissable while making breakfast for him and seven children?

  He looked around the kitchen. Travis and Trevor were arguing about whose shirt was whose. Andrew and Pete were fighting about whose turn it was to get the toy in the bottom of the cereal box. Jake was feeling the cereal boxes as if he could tell what kind was in which box, while Billy-Jo was sticking Fruit Loops in her hair. He noticed Charlie’s hand disappear under the table for the third time and concluded that Tiny liked Cheerios.

  How could all this be going on while he wanted to make love to their mother was beyond him. After seeing Riki in that robe, he was incapable of a coherent thought. He fixed himself a cup of coffee and carefully walked over to the table.

  Riki placed a plate filled with pancakes in front of him. “Sleep well?” she asked huskily.

  As she sat directly across from him, he couldn’t help but notice the gaping lapels at her throat. Good lord, he thought. Did she have anything on under that? If she did, it surely wasn’t much.

  He managed a choked lie. “Like a baby.”

  Riki couldn’t help but be a trifle disappointed by his answer, even if his voice did sound funny. “That’s good,” she said. “All I did was toss and turn.” She admitted that stretched the truth a mite. After she had made up her mind to seduce Jason, she’d slept – like a baby.

  She forgave herself the truth-stretching, though, when she saw Jason’s reaction. He was staring at her, his fork midway to his mouth, desire flaring in his eyes. Her spirit lightened with the knowledge he wasn’t as unaffected as he was trying to pretend.

  With the five older children running around the kitchen trying to jam their books and lunch pails into their book bags, Riki made one last move. She leaned across the table to hand Jason a pottery pitcher and purred, “Maple syrup?”

  The mouthful of pancake Jason had just eaten lodged in his throat and he started to choke. Taking a mouthful of coffee to wash it down, he wondered how those two words could sound so provocative. Images of Riki purring into his ear raced through his poor demented mind. He had to get out of there, immediately, before he made mad passionate love to her. All because she offered him maple syrup.

  He abruptly stood up and summoned the kids. “Let’s go, guys. We’re going to be late.”

  Amidst all the confusion of kids racing for the door and Andrew and Billy-Jo begging to come along, Riki sat there calmly drinking her second cup of coffee. Jason ran his hand through his hair while hustling all seven kids and Tiny out the door.

  A smile curved Riki’s mouth. She had him on the run. Now for phase two. Tonight after dinner she was going to pull out the main artillery. After all, all was fair in love and war. As she climbed the stairs trying to decide which pair of shorts showed off her legs the best, she began singing Patsy Cline’s “Sweet Dreams.”

  Jason knew it was safer to put some distance between him and Riki, and he decided to start painting the peak of the house that morning. It proved to be an almost fatal mistake. He nearly lost his footing on the ladder when he caught sight of her bending over the laundry basket. She had on a pair of dark blue shorts that left little to his imagination. As she straightened up, she turned toward him and waved. The motion drew his eyes to her breasts,
clearly outlined in a white T-shirt that proclaimed Virginia is for lovers. Clamping his jaw shut, he waved the brush in response and turned back to the painting.

  He angrily swiped the brush across the clapboard siding, splashing more paint on himself than on the house. For cripesake, he thought, he was only human. How much more was he supposed to take. If she was trying to give him a message, it was coming in loud and clear. Maybe all of this was innocent. After all, she’d only asked how he slept and offered him maple syrup. How could that be conceived as a come-on? For that matter, Riki didn’t seem to know how to make a come-on. Maybe that was the problem. Maybe, just maybe, she wanted to take the relationship another step and didn’t know how. He had told her the next move was hers. What if she was too shy to make it?

  Taking another look down, he watched Riki finish hanging the laundry. It wasn’t her fault the line was filled with pastel panties, bras, and two teddies – one in mint green that matched the robe she wore this morning and one in ice blue. How could a woman who wore those tiny scraps of lace be shy?

  He had practically finished painting the side of the house before Riki called him for lunch. She, Billy-Jo, and Andrew were sitting at the picnic table on the back porch, and he joined them after he managed to clean most of the paint from his body. He nearly choked on his ham and cheese sandwich when Riki passed him the potato chips and batted her eyelashes. An idea was beginning to form when he felt her bare foot brush across his ankle. He glanced up in time to catch her whisper. “Excuse me.”

  Riki wasn’t sure who was more surprised, she or the kids, when Jason threw back his head and roared with laughter. A flush started to creep up her cheeks at the thought that Jason felt her attempts at flirting were so funny.

  Jason noticed the embarrassment she was suffering and winked. Her smile lit up her whole face. He couldn’t tell what relieved him more – that Riki had decided to take the relationship further, or that his hormones weren’t going crazy after all. They were just responding to her flirting. What endearing flirting it was too. He’d never had a woman actually flutter her eyelashes at him before. Her lack of experience was showing, but that only made her more enchanting, more desirable. If she wanted to try her wiles on him, he’d more than gladly sacrifice himself. And he knew that when the sun went down and the children all fell asleep, he had a few wiles he would like to try out on her.