Changed by His Son's Smile

She couldn’t let him see the pathetic weakness for him that obviously still lurked inside her. She had to stay strong for Andrew.

The thought gave her the will to pull away completely and shake the thick haze from her brain, ignoring the hot tingle of her lips. “This is not a good idea,” she said again, more firmly this time. “Our … relationship … needs to be based on logic, just like you said. None of this to muddy things up.”

“You used to like things muddied up.”

The teasing half-smile and glint in his eyes made her want to kiss him and wallop him all at the same time. “I need to rescue Trent. You can meet Andrew, but I don’t want to tell him about … you … tonight. Let him spend a little time with you first.”

“So long as you understand this conversation isn’t over.”

Conversation? Was that what they’d been having? “I’d forgotten what a prince complex you have, bossing everyone around.”

She headed in the direction Trent and Andrew had disappeared, relieved to be back on stable ground without the confusion of his touch, his kiss. Then realized she hadn’t a clue where they’d gone. “Where is the kitchen anyway?”

Chase strode forward with the loose, athletic stride she’d always enjoyed. As though he was in no hurry to get where he was going but still covered the ground with remarkable speed.

“This way.”

His warm palm pressed her lower back again as he pulled a penlight from his pocket, shining it on the ground in front of her. “Watch your step. Rocks sometimes appear as though they rolled there themselves.”

As they walked in the starlight, the whole thing felt surreal. The heat of his hand on her back, the timbre of his voice, the same small, worn penlight illuminating the dusty path. As though the years hadn’t passed and they were back in Honduras again, feeling close and connected. She stared fixedly at the uneven path, determined to resist the gravitational pull that was Chase Bowen.

Chase shoved open a door and slipped his arm around her waist, tucking her close to his side as he led her down a short hallway. Quickly, she shook off his touch.

“Stop,” she hissed. “Drew needs to get to know you without your hands all over me.”

“Sorry. It’s so nice to touch you again, I keep forgetting.” He raised his palms to the sky, the picture of innocent surrender, and she again had the urge to punch the man who obviously knew all too well how easily he could mess with her equilibrium.

Several camp lights dully lit the room, showing Drew sitting at a high metal table, his legs dangling from a tall stool. The low light didn’t hide the melted ice cream covering the child’s face from the tip of his nose down, dripping from his chin.

“Hi, Mommy!” He flashed her a wide grin and raised the soggy cone as if in a toast, chocolate oozing between his fingers. “Dis ice cream is good!”

“I can see that.” She nearly laughed at the guilty look on Trent’s face as Drew began to lap all around the cone, sending rivulets down his arm to his elbow.

“I’ll clean him up.” Trent waved his hand towards Drew, looking a little helpless. “Didn’t see the point of it until he was done.”

“Don’t worry, making messes is what Drew does best,” she said, giving Trent a reassuring smile. “Right, honey?”

“Wight!” Drew shoved his mouth into the cone, and the softened ice cream globbed onto the table. He promptly dropped his face to slurp it straight from the flat metal surface then swirled his tongue, making circles in the melty chocolate.

“Okay, no licking the table.” Chase probably thought she’d never taught the boy manners. Hastily, she walked over to lift his wet, sticky chin with her palm. “Finish your cone, then we’ll find out where we’re sleeping. And you’d better do it quick, ‘coz it’s about to become all cream without the ice part.”

“You know, Drew,” Chase said in a jocular tone that sounded a little forced, “when you stick your tongue out like that, you look like a lizard. We have big ones around here. Maybe tomorrow we’ll look for one.”

Drew’s eyes lit and he paused his licking to look up at Chase. “Lizards?”

“Yep. Maybe we’ll catch one to keep for a day or two. Find bugs to feed it.” Chase moved from the sink with two wet cloths in his hands. His thick shoulder pressed against Dani’s as he efficiently wiped the chocolaty table with one cloth then handed it to Trent, whose expression was a comical combination of amusement and disgust.

Chase lifted the other cloth to Drew’s mouth, his gaze suddenly riveted on the little boy’s face. Their baby’s face. Still cupping Drew’s chin in her hand, Dani stared at Chase. Every emotion crossed his face that she’d long imagined might be there if he knew about his son. Within the shadowy light she imagined that through all those mixed emotions it wasn’t horror that shone through but joy. Or was that just wishful thinking?

Her breath caught, remembering how many times in the past two and a half years she’d thought about what this moment might be like. After the miracle of Drew as a newborn and when he’d cried through the night. When he’d first smiled. Crawled. Run.

Her throat closed and she fought back silly tears that stung the backs of her eyes as Chase lifted his gaze to hers, wonder filling his.

The sound of Trent clearing his throat broke the strange spell that seemed to have frozen the moment in time.

“I’m going to head to my room, you three. See you in the a.m.,” Trent said, smiling at Drew.

Heat filled Dani’s face. “I appreciate you getting him the ice cream. I don’t think there’s much doubt he enjoyed it.”

“Yeah, thanks, Trent.” Chase and he exchanged a look and a nod before Trent took off, and Dani could see the two of them were good friends. Something that often happened when working in the GPC community, but not always. Occasionally personalities just didn’t mesh and a strictly professional relationship became the best outcome.

Then there were those rare times that an intimate relationship took over your whole world.

“I think this one’s done, Lizard-Boy,” Chase said, taking what remained of the soggy cone and tossing it in the trash. He took over the clean-up with an efficiency that implied he’d had dozens of children in his life, wiping Drew’s hands then pulling Dani’s hand from her son’s chin, about to take care of his gooey face, too.

The frown on Drew’s face as he stared at the stranger washing his face while his mother stood motionless snapped her out of her stupor.

She tugged the cloth from Chase’s hand and took over. “I’m not sure if you ate the cone, or the cone ate you,” she said lightly. She rinsed it again, along with her own sticky hand, before dabbing at the last spots on Drew’s face.

“Dat’s enough, Mommy.” Drew yanked his head away as she tried for one last swipe of his chin.

Spud poked his head into the kitchen. “Everything’s ready, if you are, Dani. Tomorrow Ruth is coming to meet both of you and take care of Drew while we give you the low-down around here.”

“Great. Thanks.” She lifted Drew onto her hip and turned to Chase, inhaling a fortifying breath. “We’ll see you tomorrow.”

“Yes.” His gaze lingered on Drew. When he finally looked at Dani, his eyes were hooded and his expression serious. “Tomorrow will be a big day.”

Dani awoke to a cool draft, and she realized Drew was in the process of yanking off her bed sheet.

“Hey, you, that’s not nice. I’m sleeping.”

No way could it be morning already. She pulled the covers back to her chin but Drew tugged harder.

“Get up. I hungry.”

She peeled open one eye. From the crack visible between the curtains, it looked like the sun had barely risen above the horizon. “It’s too early to be hungry.”

“Uh-uh. My tummy monsters are growling.”

Even through her sleep-dulled senses Dani had to smile. Drew loved the idea of feeding the “monsters” that growled in his stomach. “What color monster’s in there today?”

“Blue. And green. Wif big teeth.”

He tugged again. Dani sighed and gave up on the idea of more sleep. Doubtless both their body clocks were off, and no wonder. Sleeping on a plane was something she never managed to do well, but Drew had conked out both on the plane and in the car, and she’d been amazed he’d slept at all once he’d got into bed.

“All right. Let’s see what there is to eat.”

She threw on some clothes but left Drew in his Spiderman pajamas. It took a minute to remember which door led to the kitchen, and she hesitated in the hallway. Getting it wrong and ending up in someone’s bedroom was an embarrassment she didn’t need. Cautiously, she cracked open the door, relieved to see a refrigerator instead of a sexy, sleeping Chase Bowen.