CHAPTER 3
HOLT
I’d spent all night second guessing my decision to hire Calla. Yeah, she had experience. Yeah, she sounded like she knew what she was talking about. But having her in our home, in my space, meant opening myself up. It meant letting someone see a side of me I hadn’t shared in a damn long time. I wasn’t sure I was ready for that, especially not with a woman with pink hair who looked way too young for me and tempted me in ways I wasn’t sure I could resist.
I grabbed a pile of books from the floor and shoved them onto a bookshelf. Lane had another bad dream last night that kept both of us up until after four. I’d counted on having time this morning to straighten things up before she arrived, but I’d hit the snooze button a few too many times.
Five minutes before seven, someone knocked on the front door. Lane was sitting at the kitchen table eating his favorite dino egg cereal. It was full of sugar and all kinds of shit that was bad for him, but it was one of the few things he liked so I’d stopped fighting that battle.
“Is that her, Dad?” He sat up a little taller at the table and stared at the front door.
“Yeah.” I gave up trying to make things look presentable and crossed the room to let her in. She stood on the porch in another pair of cutoff jean shorts and a t-shirt. At least this one covered her belly, though the V-neck was low enough to make my dick take notice. Usually I didn’t have the energy to even look at a woman much less waste brainpower thinking about her, but there was something about Calla that demanded attention.
“Good morning.” She radiated sunshine, from her smile to the warm scent of her flowery perfume, to her bright orange fingernail polish.
“Morning.” I stepped out of the doorway, and she came inside, her eyes scanning the small interior until they caught on Lane who was still sitting at the table.
“You must be Lane.” Calla walked toward him, stopping at the edge of the table. “I’m Calla.”
He glanced over at me like he wasn’t sure what to do next. Before I could prompt him to say something, Calla pulled a tissue-wrapped package out of her tote bag.
“Nellie told me you like dinosaurs. I brought you something we can play with today if you want.” She set it down on the table and Lane looked at me for permission to open it.
“Go ahead, bud. See what she brought you.” I crossed my arms over my chest and moved closer.
“I wasn’t sure if you had this already, but you can never have too many dinosaurs, right?”
Lane ripped the paper away, his eyes lighting up when he saw the dino playset inside. “Look at this, Dad. It’s got fifty dinosaurs.”
“Wow. That was nice of you to bring him something,” I said to Calla.
She shot me a wide grin. “I felt like it was appropriate since we both love dinosaurs so much.”
“You like dinosaurs too?” Lane slid his cereal bowl to the side so he could open up the bin.
“Of course. What’s not to like about them?”
“Did you know a T-Rex could lift four hundred pounds with each arm? Or that they could crunch over six tons per square inch in their teeth?”
“I didn’t know that.” Calla smiled. “But I know that a T-Rex could only run about fifteen miles per hour. They weren’t going to win any races like that.”
I couldn’t help but smile as Lane spouted off facts he’d memorized since he was a toddler. He was a walking encyclopedia when it came to anything and everything about dinosaurs.
“Can I borrow Calla for a minute so I can show her around?” I asked.
Lane nodded, already immersed in his new toys.
“You didn’t have to do that,” I mumbled as she came up next to me.
“I know. But hopefully that will get us off on the right foot and make the transition a little easier for you.” She hung her bag over the back of a chair and looked up at me with expectation. “What do I need to know?”
There were so many things, I wasn’t sure where to start. Usually, if I needed someone to watch Lane, I took him to Nellie’s or had the teacher’s aide who’d been his camp counselor for the past two summers come over. Except for Trail Supper Fridays, my once-a-week tradition with the guys, I took him everywhere with me, so it had been a long time since I’d needed to go over his routines with someone new.
“I made a list.” I walked toward the kitchen counter where I’d left it, and Calla followed.
She picked up the piece of paper and skimmed over it. “Seems simple enough. Any restrictions on food? Where we can go? Things he can or can’t do?”
“Like what?”
