She made a soft, eager sound and opened for him. But then she laughed and pushed at his chest. “Go.”
Reluctantly, he released her and headed for the door.
* * *
Riley watched him go. “Not my fault,” she muttered under her breath as the door clicked quietly shut behind him. She turned the dead bolt. It slipped into place.
Then she put her back against the door and slid down it until she was sitting on the floor. Drawing her legs up, she wrapped her arms around them and rested her head on her knees.
“Next time,” she said aloud.
And then she groaned. Because she’d managed once again to avoid telling Josh about the baby. At this rate, he was going to figure it out himself before she worked up the courage to get the words out of her mouth.
“Next time,” she said again. “Next time, I promise.”
Chapter Two
“Thank God you’re here,” Lenore announced with dramatic desperation when she opened the door. “Come in, come in!” She swept out a hand toward the kitchen and family room in back just as Shane came running.
“Dad!” His son flew at him like a bullet.
“Hey, buddy!” Laughing, Josh lifted Shane high in the air.
Shane beamed his biggest, happiest smile, his straight brown hair flopping over his forehead as he laughed in delight. “It’s getting dark, and we got candles and a tent!”
Lenore rolled her eyes. “Stop shouting, you two—come on, now. Let’s go in the other room.”
Josh lowered his son to the floor, and Shane grabbed his hand. “Come on, come see…” Josh followed where his son led, into the family room where the furniture had been pushed to the outer walls, leaving lots of room on the big area rug where Lenore had set up a blue tent. “Isn’t it the best, Dad?”
“It’s terrific,” Josh agreed.
Lenore had pillar candles burning on the peninsula that separated the kitchen from the family room. She’d also lit a fire in the family-room fireplace. By the tent opening, a battery-powered lantern gave off a large pool of light.
“Come in with me.” Shane tugged his hand again.
“All right. But first I need to check the breaker box for your mom…”
“You’re here now.” Lenore flipped a lock of long blond hair back over shoulder. “No worries. Take your time. Let Shaney show you his fort.”
Josh considered reminding her that on the phone twenty minutes ago, she’d been desperate to get the electricity on immediately.
His ex, as usual, was oblivious to his flinty stare. She smiled sweetly and asked, “What can I get you? A drink? A little snack?”
“Dad!” Shane tugged on his hand.
“Yes?”
Shane stepped back and threw his arms wide. “This tent is my fort!” he announced. “You can come in my fort, and you will be safe. Wild animals can’t get you, and the bad guys can’t get in.”
“Well, now. This sounds like a really good fort.”
“Yes, it is! Now come on. Let’s go in.”
He thought about Riley and felt a tug of disappointment that his evening with her had been cut short. But then he looked down into his son’s big brown eyes and couldn’t help smiling. “Lead the way.”
Shane crawled through the tent flaps first, and Josh followed. They sat cross-legged facing each other.
As soon as they were settled, Shane warned in a whisper, “The wild animals will hear us if we talk too loud. They will hear us and come in our fort and try to eat us!”
