Page 64 of Dirty Little Secret
As we passed through one room after another, I realized there was at least one more thing to add to the list of things he’d mastered. The man knew how to decorate a home. “I can’t believe you did all this, Kane.”
“All what?” he asked as we stopped in front of a painting that was clearly meant to be the focal point in the foyer.
I held my arms out then spun around. “All this decorating.”
“Oh, Dad didn’t do that. Aunt Nancy did,” Fox informed me. “Dad, can I take her upstairs and show her my bedroom now?”
“Yeah. I’ll let you show her around up there while I get the pit going. I’ve got some pecan wood I want to use, and it’ll need time to burn down and get all smoky.” Kane left us, giving me a wink. “Be good, Momma.”
I had no idea how he did it, but with just a couple of words, Kane had me going weak in the knees again.
Fox grabbed me by the hand, taking my attention away from the sight of Kane’s backside as he retreated. “Come on, Mom.”
“Your dad sure has changed his way of thinking, hasn’t he?” I asked as we went to a staircase made out of shiny oak.
“Probably ’cause Aunt Nancy and Uncle James talked to him.” He led me up the stairs, tugging my hand as we ascended to the second floor. “Those guys always help me out the most when it comes to Dad. He listens to ’em.”
“That’s good to hear. When do you think I’ll get to meet them?” I went into his bedroom with him, finding it decorated with sailboats and ships. “Pretty nice, Fox. I like the nautical theme.”
“Yeah, me too. I really like it when we go out on our boats. I like the ocean a lot. But I like lakes too. I guess I just like water.” He walked over to a large model of a ship. “You’ll probably get to meet them soon. Me and Dad worked on this for a whole month last year. Do you like it?”
“It’s great.” I ran my hand over one of the flat pieces of the ship. “Do you know what kind of a ship it is?”
“It’s an aircraft carrier.” He pointed to the name on the side of it. “It’s the U.S.S. Lexington. Me and Dad went to Corpus Christi, Texas, last summer and we saw it in person. It’s ginormous!”
“It sounds like you two had a great time.” I looked around the bright room and thought how lucky he was to get to live the way he did. Not in a million years had I pictured the baby boy I’d had to give up living such a tremendous life.
“We did. We always have a good time. Most of the time Dad and me get along pretty good, even if he is stricter than any of my friends’ parents.” He walked toward the door. “Come on, I’ll show you the rest of upstairs. There’s a media room and a room just for playing around, with all kinds of fun toys. And four rooms for guests. But the only guests we’ve ever had stay over are Grammy and Gramps. And now you.” He opened the door across the hall from his. “This is Dad’s bedroom.”
My heart sped up. “It is?” I peered in, and then Fox turned on the overhead light. “It’s nice.” Done in dark brown and teal, it also had the slightest hint of a nautical theme, but more like a ship’s captain’s quarters.
“Yeah, I think it’s pretty good too.” Fox closed the door, and we went on to the next room.
One door after another, he showed me the entire second floor. And then we went down to join his father in the backyard. We found Kane at a large stone patio, where he was building a fire in his big barbeque pit. “There they are. Did you get the grand tour, Zandra?”
“I did. Fox is an excellent tour guide. And I saw the ship model you two built. It’s impressive.” I took the glass of iced tea he handed me, our fingers touching slightly as it changed hands. Even just that little contact had my tummy getting tight.
“Glad you liked it.” The way his green eyes sparkled as he looked into mine made that tight tummy do a flip. “Did you see my bedroom?”
I looked away to see where Fox was. He was getting something out of a storage room, out of hearing distance for now. Then I looked back at Kane. “I did.”
“I’m putting you in the room right next to mine. Maybe you’ll see fit to sneak into mine later tonight.” He made a low growl. “If you can be quiet enough that Fox won’t hear us.”
Now I was wet too. “Kane Price, you’re terrible.” I hit him lightly on the shoulder as I smiled coyly at him.
“You think?” He looked to see if Fox was watching, and when he saw that he wasn’t looking at us at all, he swatted my ass. “I think you’ve been bad. Maybe you need a little spanking.”
My body flushed with heat. “Kane, you’ve got to stop. You’re killing me.” I took a long drink of the iced tea to cool myself down.
He smiled cockily, pleased with himself for the state he’d put me in. “Why don’t you take a seat right there at that table while I go grab the meat to put on the pit?” He walked away from me, and I had to fan myself.
“You hot?” Fox asked as he came up right behind me.
Startled, I asked, “What?”
“Hot? Are you hot, Mom?” he asked again. “I can turn on the sprinkler if you are. It helps cool things off.”
“Oh.” I pulled my head out of my ass. “No, that’s not necessary.”
Holding up a baseball, he asked, “Wanna throw the ball with me?”
I couldn’t help but smile. “I sure do.”
The two of them were making me feel right at home. I had never imagined being a part of any home, never mind this beautiful one with my son and his father.
It was like a dream come true, a dream I hadn’t even dared to imagine. Life was changing in ways I’d had no idea were even possible.
