The Marine's Red Hot Homecoming Read Free Page B

Yet another reminder that she’d made the right decision to reject his ridiculous offer of marriage.
    “The only thing Jason needs is you,” she said. The only thing she had ever wished for was for Caleb to return her love. But school girl crushes and memories of one incredible night of passion were no longer motivating her. She wasn’t about to ask him to give up a career that clearly defined him as a man. Not again. “I’ll text Lori to tell her we’re heading to the park.” Only her son’s welfare mattered now.
    His Adam’s apple bobbed. “Sounds good.” He took one step back, turning to walk to the door.
    She withdrew her iPhone from her back pocket to quickly contact her babysitter, then sent a message to her assistant to come in before her regularly scheduled time so she could leave the shop with Caleb and finally introduce Jason to his father. “We’ll go as soon as my assistant manager gets here.”
    Hannah moved around him, briefly brushing against his powerful backside. A shiver of longing tripped along her spine. Oh, how she wanted him, then and now. She shook her head to scoot the ridiculous thought out of her sex-starved mind. No way that was ever going to happen again.
    “How long will that take?”
    Impatience, maybe something more, made his voice sound gravelly. “About fifteen minutes.” She folded her step stool, walked to the backroom door and pointed to a metal carafe on a table next to the store’s front window display. “Help yourself to some herbal tea while you wait.”
    As she opened the door and stepped inside the sanctuary of her office area, Hannah promised herself she’d focus all her energy on figuring out how to get this stubborn man to realize how much his leaving again would impact their little boy. Not on how incredible it would be to surrender to Caleb’s fierce possession, or to possess in return.
    She longed for Jason to have what she had counted on while growing up, a father’s unconditional love even when she had made monumental mistakes. A father who was there through thick and thin even when the worst happened. A husband who didn’t abandon his family whenever the going got emotionally tricky. Acting on all the internal hormonal high-fives pinging along her nerve endings would only lead to another colossal mess up.

Chapter Two
    Fifteen minutes seemed like an eternity for Caleb. But finally, after chugging back some of Hannah’s weird tasting green tea—stuff tasted more like twigs and rivaled his worst meal replacement kit in the sucktastic flavor department—her assistant manager arrived to take over the shop’s duties for the rest of the day.
    Now he walked beside Hannah toward the crosswalk at the corner of Main and First Street, scanning the red brick courthouse to take in the sight of people wandering along the paths that circled the building. Adrenaline pinpricking in his fingers, he increased his pace, eager for the first sign of his son to come into view.
    “How much does he know about me?” he asked when they stopped at the light.
    She glanced his way. “I’ve kept it simple,” she said, stepping off the curb when the light switched to green. “That his daddy is a brave Marine who will come home one day. Now here you are—until you leave again.”
    The breeze kicked up, and the American flag snapped at the top of the courthouse’s pole. He squared his shoulders, then moved ahead with greater purpose. “There’s no chance of that happening until my father’s back in charge,” he said before they reached the other side. He had time to connect with his son—precious little time, but he planned to make the most of every minute.
    One hundred year old oaks, newly budding maples, and green tufted crepe myrtles still waiting to bloom filled Sweetbriar Springs’ town square. Bright tulips created quilts of color that surrounded the stands of trees. The sun, now rising higher in the mid-morning sky, warmed his face while he moved beside Hannah