She shifted her eyes back to him and blew a big bubble, then sucked it back into her crimson lips. “Is this a case of little boy growing up and his daddy being overprotective, or did you have a reason to worry?” Kristie was a single mom with a twenty-year-old daughter, and the way she tossed her red hair over her shoulder and then narrowed her eyes and set her stare on Caden told him that she’d been there and done that.
“They acted a little nervous around me earlier today, but it must have been the uniform. And the superintendent of the high school said there were some troublemakers around, so I was just checking.” He shook his head. “I’m glad they’re not troublemakers.”
“Wilma Ritter?” She waved her hand in the air. “Wilma thinks any kid who’s not a robot is trouble. What does your gut tell you?”
“I only met them briefly a couple of times, but they seemed like normal kids.”
“Cops usually have good instincts.” She leaned across the desk and stopped chewing long enough to lower her voice. “Spend time with them. Let them know you’re a cop and you’re watching them.” She pointed her index finger and her second finger at her eyes, then pointed them at Caden. “You’d be surprised how a little fear can instill good behavior in kids.” She walked away with a curt nod.
Caden knew too well what fear could do. It could backfire as easily as it could instill good behavior. He’d have to find a middle ground and hope those kids weren’t trouble in the first place, because he also knew that if a kid was set on getting into trouble, sometimes there was no deterring him.
He read over the reports one last time before heading home for the evening. There were three vehicles broken into, each within a few miles of Bella’s cottage, and in the late afternoon another cottage had been hit. Luckily, no one was home at the time. His muscles tensed with the thought of anything happening to Bella.
Caden drove home thinking about how important Bella had become to him. He wanted to protect her as much as he wanted to protect Evan, and even though she wasn’t quite as forthright with her emotions, he knew in his heart that her feelings were just as strong for him.
His cell phone rang on the way into his house. Evan. “Hey, buddy.”
“Hi, Dad. Do you mind if I hang with Bobby and Mike tonight? We’re gonna play video games at Bobby’s house.” Evan sounded excited.
Two thoughts fought for Caden’s attention—his son’s safety and a few hours alone with Bella. He had an instant reaction of jumping at that time with Bella, but the father in him made him slow down and ask the right questions.
“Are his parents going to be home?”
Evan sighed. “Yes.”
“You’re not going out anywhere? You’ll be there all night?” In Boston Caden had known most of Evan’s friends’ parents. Not knowing the adults who would be in charge of the boys was new to him, and refraining from being overprotective was a struggle.
“Yes, Dad.” Evan’s annoyance came through loud and clear.
Caden’s gut told him to stop by and meet the parents, but he trusted Evan, and he didn’t want to make his son appear to be a daddy’s boy. Kristie had already given him both of the boys’ parents’ names, addresses, and phone numbers. He decided to give Evan a little rope and hope he didn’t hang himself.
“Okay, but be home by ten. Do you want me to pick you up?” He felt like he was sending him off to preschool for the first time. At least with preschool he could sit in his car and watch Evan playing safely under the guidance of the teachers. This was much scarier.
“Nah. I’ve got my bike, but can we say eleven instead?”
“Evan.”
“What? I had a curfew of eleven back in Boston. And it’s summer, Dad.”
The frustration in Evan’s voice shot straight to the center of Caden’s chest. He was right. It wasn’t an unreasonable request, and it would give Caden an extra hour with Bella.
“Okay, but not a minute later.”
Caden showered and changed, excited to spend a few hours alone with Bella. On his way out the door, he grabbed his leather tool belt. He loved this little ruse they were playing, and he intended to make the most of it.
He pulled over to the side of the road before driving into the Seaside complex. He removed his shirt and wrapped the leather tool belt around his waist, feeling the thrum of anticipation. He caught a glimpse of himself in the rearview mirror and shook his head. He had no chance of quashing the smile from his lips. He tilted the mirror so he could see his abs. He worked out often and he was in great shape. As he confirmed that fact, he felt incredibly silly. He hadn’t done anything even remotely similar to this since his college days, when he and a group of his buddies went to an Anything But Clothes party wearing nothing but plastic beach inner tubes to cover their private parts.
He pushed the mirror back into place and leaned his head back. What am I doing?
He pulled out his cell and brought up the picture of Bella in her lingerie and leather boots. The mischievous glint in her beautiful eyes gave him confidence.
Oh yeah, he was so going to do this. He threw the truck into drive. After he parked at Bella’s cottage, a quick scan of the immediate area told him that no one was outside, which was good, because while he loved the idea of surprising Bella in his shirtless, boot-clad getup, he knew perfectly well that there would be no hiding the thought behind the outfit.
With a deep breath, and his stomach doing all sorts of funny things, he climbed from the car.
“She’s at Leanna’s.” Tony came around the side of the cottage and assessed Caden’s outfit with a knowing smirk.
Caden closed his eyes for a beat and shook his head.
“Dude, let me get her. Trust me. You don’t want those girls seeing you like that. Bella yes, but Jenna? Man, she’ll eat you alive.”
Caden couldn’t even thank him, he was so embarrassed. He banged his forehead against the door, then reached for the buckle on the tool belt to take the stupid thing off.
He heard their giggles before he could get the tool belt off. For crying out loud.
“Oh, come to mama,” Jenna teased.
“You are one hot handyman,” Bella said as she came up behind him and patted his butt.
“Wowza,” Amy said. “I told you that lingerie, leather boots outfit would put a spark in your relationship.”
We needed a spark? What else could he do but roll with it? Caden turned, threw his hands up in the air, and spun around slowly. “There you go, ladies. Get an eyeful, because it’s the only one you’re gonna get.”
“Dude, you’re upping the ante here big-time. How are we supposed to keep up?” Kurt and Leanna followed Jenna onto the deck.
“Well, you know. You’ve already got Leanna, so you probably don’t need to do this stuff anymore. I’m still wooing Bella.” Bella trailed her fingers lightly along his abs, with such a lustful look that he was thankful the tool belt was hanging in front of his junk.
Kurt shook his head. “If you think it ends after you’re together, boy, you’ve been out of the dating scene for too long. I know I was.” He pulled Leanna close, and she wrapped her arms around his waist.
Bella hooked her finger into the belt and smiled up at him. “I love that you came over ready to work.” She lifted her brows and nibbled on her lower lip.
He shot a look at the others.
Tony held his hands up in the air. “I tried, dude.”