Page 18 of Caleb's Salvation
“How does he crawl on your wood floor?”
She blinked as if the question stunned her. Then she smiled and kissed the baby’s cheek, making him smile. “Eve had an old rug she brought over for me. It’s perfect. Covers most of the cabin and keeps the place a little warmer. Not that we don’t have plenty of wood. Thank you again for your latest drop-off.”
I nodded. Ty had been tied up, so I’d had to do it myself.
“You and Ty...” I said, trailing off. “Things going well?”
Her lips quirked. “Well, if you’re asking me if he’s showing me the ropes, I would say so. Actually, that’s where I’m headed now. Said he wanted to meet me at the cabin. Wants to show me how to take care of myself in case there are bears, but I wasn’t sure what he meant. You don’t think he’s going to teach me how to wrestle them?”
I knew she was teasing me. That was her thing. Any time she could, when I showed up at the bar. Always poking at me. Like a finger in my ribs. It was annoying as hell especially when she actually got me to laugh.
“Doubtful.”
“You should come over. You can check out what I’ve done with the cabin. The other day you just dropped off the wood then took off. I couldn’t even offer you a cup of coffee.”
Because just watching her come out of the cabin and wave goodbye to me as I sped off was enough to trigger a sex dream.
Maybe it was time. Maybe seven years of abstinence was my limit. Enough self-enforced punishment for failing to keep my wife and child safe. Was my sentence over?
Not that I would touch Vivienne. She was too young, too vibrant, too sweet for what I wanted. She’d only had the experience of that one asshole who’d gotten her pregnant then dumped her.
I should ask her if she knew his full name. Maybe have Zeke do a check on him…
Not your problem. You just want to get laid.
I could try Nome, although I knew most of the women there. They were either married or didn’t care about being married and none of that interested me. If I was going to do something about these newly resurrected sexual urges, I would have to go Anchorage. Some nameless bar. Some nameless woman.
I felt a twinge of guilt, but I pushed it away. I couldn’t go on like I was doing. Thinking about Vivienne. Thinking about coming all over her like some kind of savage.
Sex on the brain. Maybe the cause was just having a room next to Jackson’s. When Kate was up visiting, sometimes it sounded like they went at each other all night. Usually on those nights, I’d find myself sleeping in the chair of my office so I wouldn’t have to think about it. Wouldn’t have to wonder what it would be like having a woman in my bed again.
“Come on, it’s so nice out for walking. You can follow me back.”
I hadn’t even realized she took my hand and was tugging me along. We were walking down the street lined by snowdrifts that had accumulated over the weeks.
I’d pulled my hand back, but she kept talking as if that hadn’t mattered.
“So how did you know Sammy was crawling anyway?” she asked me.
I knew because… “Isn’t that what babies do?”
“He was a little bit of a late starter. Didn’t get his butt moving until last month, but now I can see he’s going to be walking sooner rather than later. Pulls himself up on everything and everyone he can find.”
Who was everyone?
No, I didn’t want to think about it. I followed her because I was curious about the cabin. Ty said she’d added stuff, but I wanted to make sure it was livable. Of course it belonged to Zeke, and Zeke had never been a man to do things by half measures.
When we reached it, I could see she kept the wood completely covered with the tarp as I’d instructed. The walkway leading to the cabin was snow free and there was a shovel by the front door.
“Ty came over and shoveled you out from that last storm. Good.”
“Uh, no, I shoveled myself, thank you very much. No way was I going to ask Ty to drive an hour in that weather just to get me out. I’ve got a strong back and two good hands. No reason not to do it myself. Although I did get a heck of blister.”
She held up her finger and I could see the red welt on the end of it. That. That was the reason for her not to do it herself. Because she’d hurt herself, even if it was just a blister. Nothing should mar that pale skin of hers.
DO NOT THINK ABOUT HER SKIN.
That was an order I forced myself to obey. She opened the door and immediately I could see the changes. A crib next to the bed. A heavy chair she’d placed near the potbelly stove.
