Chapter 19 19
They fell into a strange routine. Stefan showed up in the morning early enough to have coffee with Alana, and he was there when she came home at night. He cooked something fantastic every evening, and they dined together, but after Juliana was tucked in bed, he'd leave with a casual, "See ya."
Alana found herself wishing he'd hang around a little bit longer, but she knew that would only lead to trouble. He hadn't tried kissing her again, but every time he was within a foot of her, she felt her insides clench and pull. She acted as if it didn't matter, as if she didn't feel it, but alone at night, she felt only the torment of need.
It was tough when she was learning so much about him and finding something else to admire. The veil between them was growing blurred and it didn't stop the feeling that she was being worn down. Therein lay the trouble, she thought. He was making himself indispensable. He'd be gone soon, off on some dangerous, classified mission, and that scared her. It made her realize that with one mission Juliana could lose her father. And she'd lose a friend.
Friends. Yeah, she thought. She never imagined they could come to that equitable of a relationship, but they had. Only, she was coming to expect him to be around, and his job said clearly he wouldn't be.
She was deep in those thoughts when she stepped into the house and called out. When she didn't get a response, she set down her briefcase and went looking for Stefan. In the backyard, Juliana was in her playpen under a tree, and her father was building something fantastically large in Alana's modest yard.
"Stefan," Alana said patiently, and he looked up. His gaze moved over her from head to foot and she realized he did that a lot.
"Hi, tough day?"
"Not as tough as yours, apparently." Alana gestured to the pile of lumber and bolts. "She's six months old. She doesn't need a set like that."
"Every kid does. Besides, she'll grow into it." Stefan kept working.
As she lifted the baby out of the playpen, Alana's gaze slipped over the wooden gym set rising in her backyard. It hadn't been there this morning. He was getting sneaky, she thought "You really have to stop this buying spree," she said.
"I didn't buy it. I made it." He tightened a bolt and stood, looking at her and not his work.
Alana gaped at the castlelike set. "You made it? It's incredible, Stefan.
When did you have time to do this?"
"At night, at my sister's place."
"But you're here almost every night"
He shrugged big shoulders. "It's a simple design, and Corey has a fair amount of tools in his garage. I did the cutting and sawing there. All I'm doing now is assembling it. The swing and glider were the hard stuff to find. Juliana and I just went on a search together during the day. The red swings were her choice."
Alana smiled at him, hitching the baby onto her hip. "You are such a sap, you know that?"
He flushed a little. "Yeah. Besides, it's a father's right to dote on his daughter."
"But a stuffed pony?" She gestured to the taffy-colored stuffed creation as big as a real pony, resting near the playpen.
"Prelude to the real one I'll get her someday," he said just to get Alana going.
Alana smiled, shaking her head as she walked toward him. "You're hopeless. And no pony, ever. Unless you plan to clean up the mess and teach Juliana to ride. Because I have no idea."
"Me, neither."
"Fatherhood has destroyed your brain cells," she said, deadpan.
"Maybe we could all learn to ride together." He said with a look.
"I keep walking right into your verbal traps, don't I?"
"I'm not trying to trap you."
"No, you're not," she admitted. "Just wiggle."
He shot her a very manly offended look. "I do not wiggle."
She laughed and Stefan felt knocked to his knees. She hadn't done that much while he was around. She kept her distance, emotionally and physically. And all he wanted to do was have both from her. He wondered how long he was going to last before the need to kiss her overtook him again.
He glanced at his watch. "You're home early."
"Yeah." She smiled and stared at him. And there was a lot to stare at, too. He was sweaty and tanned, and the muscles in his shoulders and arms rippled as he tightened a bolt, then lifted the plank for the next piece. His shirt did nothing more than absorb the sweat pouring off him, and Alana's insides clenched as she remembered what those damp muscles felt like beneath her palms. Beneath her mouth. Pressed against her naked flesh.
Oh, don't go there, she thought, and needed to put some distance between them. It didn't help that the memories of this man making love to her were just too vibrant to shut into a little corner of her mind.
"I'm going to change," she blurted, and he looked up, frowning as she rushed off.
Alana hurried into the house, first changing her daughter's diaper and giving her a drink, then taking her into the bedroom while she took a bath and changed into jean shorts and a light cotton T-shirt.
"Come on, sweetie, let's keep busy," she said, gathering up her daughter and heading into the kitchen. She put Juliana in her walker, then hunted in the fridge.
An hour later Stefan stepped inside, inhaling the delicious aromas and running a rag over his face and the back of his neck. "You're cooking?"
"Don't look so surprised, Maynard. I thought I'd give you a break, though I'm not quite the culinary artist you are."
He smiled, unreasonably touched. It was just a meal, but she looked adorable in the apron emblazoned with "Domestic Goddess" across the chest and with flour on her nose. He swiped at the flour.
"Mind if I use your shower?"
She went still for a second, just looking at him. "Of course not, go ahead."
She paused in setting the table to fill a glass with water and ice. "Here. You need to replace all that water you've been sweating out."
He took the glass. "Thanks." He drained it without stopping, then let out a loud satisfied sigh. Juliana copied him, beaming up at him.
Alana laughed hard. "Good Lord, she's already picking up your habits," she said.