Chapter Nine

Lily clunked the solidly frozen turkey into the kitchen sink, breathing deeply with the effort to lug the heavy bird in from the garage freezer. “Now, where are the instructions that tell me how to cook this thing?” she muttered to herself, twirling it around until she spied a white plastic label.

“Why go to the trouble to bake a whole turkey?” Cale asked from his seat at the table while he and Dillon finished their lunch. “That’s too much work. Besides, we’ll be gone soon anyway.”

Her heart sank—hearing those words reminded her that only too soon her roommates would be running off, back to the line of fire, not knowing if they would live one day to the next. The wonderful plans for Thanksgiving she’d concocted now looked frivolous and foolish. She could’ve kicked herself for not mentioning her idea sooner. Perhaps they might have been more receptive then. Too late now. She turned to face them, her gaze focusing on the table instead of their faces. “I’m sorry. I didn’t even think to ask. I just thought… Well, Thanksgiving is two days away, and… I thought we might celebrate it together.” The final words were blurted out. Glancing up, she noted the scowl that Dillon aimed at Cale.

Cale shook his head, but finally released a deep sigh, seeming to give in to the silent pressure. He stood. He gently raised her chin with one long index finger until she met his eyes. “If you’re sure, we’d like to share the holiday with you.”

She breathed out a sigh of happiness and relief then grinned.

Cale’s finger turned into a small caress across her jaw until he lightly tapped her nose. “But you have to let us help.”

“Deal.” With a heavy weight lifted off her shoulders, she mouthed a quick ‘thanks’ to Dillon, before regarding Cale again.

He stroked across her cheek once more, cradling it for a split second before letting his hand fall back to his side. Light blue eyes smiled back. “Dillon is great at washing dishes.”

“Hey!” Dillon hollered from the table, reaching for his crutches to hold at a threatening angle, as if to smack Cale over the head.

“You don’t know how much this means to me,” Lily confessed, her voice wobbling with emotion.

“I think we do.” Dillon’s voice carried across the room, solid and reassuring.

Her confidant in battle. The battle for Cale’s humanity.

She looked at Dillon, belatedly noticing the drastic improvement food, rest, and basic medical care had made in him, both mentally and physically.

After an early morning phone call for a status update, Carson had her stop the IV fluids since he didn’t think Dillon needed them as his appetite had picked up right where it left off. He would be able to care for his own hydration needs without assistance. The IV itself remained, giving her access to the antibiotics he still required. But the extra freedom proved beneficiary to Dillon’s mobility and mood. While still slow, he maneuvered much better with the crutches, more confident and secure. Cale didn’t have to step in at all since that first time. Give Dillon another day or so and he might outrun them both.

Tears sprang up in her eyes, but she dashed them away. Never would she have dreamed how much she wanted and needed them to be with her. This was the first major holiday since her mother passed, and as much as she told herself it was just another day, it simply wasn’t. If they hadn’t been there, she would have buried herself in work, anything to avoid thinking and remembering for fear of spending hours crying once more for her loss. Her closets might shine from cleaning and organizing along with freshly waxed floors, but she would’ve been hard-pressed to not recall happier times and feel the heart-wrenching pain all over again. “Thank you. Really.” With a sniff, she beamed at Cale.

Although she’d known them less than forty-eight hours and they hadn’t uttered a single deep dark secret about who they really were and why one of them had shown up with a bullet to the leg, she went with her gut. They’d had more than enough time to rob her, kill her, and dash off with her hand-me-down couch full of lumps. They had been good company. Although Cale had started out surly, he’d thawed enough to make her see him in a brand new light, one full of sexual promise and desire. She shoved the thought from her mind, unwilling to linger too long on the risqué thoughts for fear she might open her mouth and the words slip out unheeded.

His eyes shadowed for a second before rubbing her upper arm. “Don’t thank us yet.”

“Yeah, well. Don’t thank me yet either. I’ve never cooked a full turkey before, and I hear the first time is painful and unfulfilling. Too dry or some such matter.”

Cale snorted. Dillon coughed.

It took her a moment to realize where their minds had ventured with her phrasing—straight down to the gutter. Heat blasted across her face.

Bright white teeth flashed as Cale smiled at her. “It’s all in the preparation.” The low husky tone left her certain he wasn’t talking about the turkey.

Good grief. Kicking her hamster wheel of a brain into gear, Lily valiantly tried to find a new topic, anything besides the not so subtle reference to her virginity. Granted, the guys didn’t know such intimate details about her and she preferred to keep it that way. But the direction of this conversation landed way too close for her comfort.

It wasn’t that she didn’t want a boyfriend or was one of those that swore to abstain from sex until marriage. Instead, it was something more practical. Life happened, sex didn’t. The few dates she’d been on had been okay, but she’d never felt at ease enough with the guy to do more than a few kisses and touches. None of them had inspired her to get naked and do the horizontal mambo.

Not the way Cale did.

She immediately threw the idea away. As he’d said before, they would leave soon. Even if he took her to his bed…well, make that her bed…it would last for an impossibly short duration before he rode off into the sunset, leaving her lonely and brokenhearted.

But he called to her. His moodiness, the troubled past she read in his eyes, his dangerous career and potentially shortened life. Everything about him pulled her closer, like a hungry and stressed woman to a chocolate store as reckless and destined for failure as it might be. She wanted to soothe him, care for him, and share laughs and each day’s small miracles with him. Here stood a man she could love, if only she let herself.

I’ve only known him for a day! The chastisement meant nothing to her heart. Normally, she mocked the idea of love at first sight. Now, she couldn’t be so sure. But so much rested on his shoulders. Why would he be interested in me? Even want to sleep with me? Pity? Or as a basic show of appreciation for what I did?

His rough hand rested against her cheek, distracting her from such sobering thoughts. “Where did you go?” Cale asked, tilting his head

Lily peeked over to find that Dillon had quietly left the kitchen under his own power, heading easily to the family room, leaving them in a semblance of privacy.

“Oh, nowhere. It’s…nothing,” she stammered, refusing to lie, but determined to not voice her innermost feelings to him.

He stared at her a bit longer, gaze roaming her face before he slowly leaned in. Reflexively, she closed her eyes, waited with anticipation, then felt his soft lips gently settle over hers. No aggressiveness or demands existed, simply a sharing of affection between two people. He flicked his tongue along the seam, then sucked on her upper lip in a tender display. Her heart sang as shivers of excitement shot through her veins. A mere meeting of lips and she wanted more. Needed more.

He stepped back, adjusted his stance to wrap his arms around her waist, and tugged her closer as his lips once more settled over hers. Eagerly, she offered up her mouth to his.

“Ow!” Cale yanked back to growl. Charity—claws extended, perched halfway up his pant legs on her way to higher ground—was climbing him like she would a tree.

Lily blinked at the sudden interruption, reaching out to grab the kitten before she could draw more blood. “Bad Charity.”

Cale shook his head, rubbing his thigh before peering down at the small white and orange spotted fur ball in her arms. “Give a guy a warning next time.” He spoiled the chastisement with a tender rubbing of Charity’s head. Glancing up, he met Lily’s gaze.

She smiled shyly, holding and stroking the smaller of the two kittens. His kiss had been exceptional and way too short. She knew the memory would last throughout the day and then some. Who knew such a hard man could possess such tenderness?

The expression on his face sent her belly to flip-flopping with longing. He moved forward once more, brushing his mouth over hers for a mere fleeting second before speaking. “I think she’s hungry.” He scanned the area before drawing back to Charity. “You’re the messenger, huh?”

The kitten meowed demandingly, then stared up at him intently with her big blue eyes.

Cale chuckled at her, petting her head, before setting her down with the rest of the small family. “Yeah, yeah. We get it.”

Lily glimpsed down to see Hope and Faith sitting at the empty food platters, looking up at them pitifully. She couldn’t help but grin. A few seconds later, she popped the top off a couple of cans of food, filled the bowls, and returned to Cale’s side.

They stood in silence, watching and listening to the cats gulp down their favorite meal with relish and enjoyment. She leaned her smaller frame against his side, thrilled when he wrapped an arm around her, holding her close.

Her heart lifted as she enjoyed another day’s small miracle. Mother and babies that shouldn’t have survived, all scarfing down food despite their already plump bellies. And a man who had lost the ability to feel happiness smiling openly at the scene before him.