Stolen Kiss with the Single Mom Read online

  No one seemed to notice her silence when the rest of the group all cheered at this change of course the trip was taking. She wasn’t surprised. She’d decided a long time ago that the people who went on these types of hikes had to be at least partly crazy.

  “And this is Lacey,” Scott said to his cousin. “Lacey, this is Rene. He’s my father’s brother’s oldest son. You’ve probably heard me talk about him.”

  “You’re the one who hunts gators for a living,” Lacey said. Scott wasn’t the only one in his family who liked to take risks.

  “Ah, chérie. That is me. As I’m sure my cousin has told you, I’m just a poor swamper, trying to make a living off the bayou.”

  By the look of the large boat he was driving, she had her doubts about the “poor” comment.

  Rene offered her his hand and she carefully stepped into the boat, where she found herself seated next to Scott. Reaching over her, he buckled her seat belt—something that had never bothered her before, though now it felt intimate.

  Since that first kiss everything had felt more sensual and now, after the kiss they had shared last night, the attraction between them had increased to the point that every time they touched desire ignited between the two of them.

  As his hands fell back into his lap she was reminded of how she’d felt last night, when she’d found herself half lying over him. There was no explanation, no excuse for what she’d done. The memory of his lips consuming hers and his warm hand against her skin sent a hot flush through her body—something she didn’t need in the hot Louisiana sun.

  The boat started up and began skimming over the lake, its speed making her head spin.

  “You okay?” Scott asked from beside her.

  No, she wasn’t okay. She was about to have to end a relationship that meant a lot to her. Over the past four years Scott had become one of her best friends. The fact that they had bonded as a result of the grief they both felt due to losing Ben had never made a difference until now. Changing the rules of their relationship was not an option.

  She nodded her head, and then turned her attention to the scenery around them.

  * * *

  Scott helped the others disembark the boat and gather their equipment. He couldn’t help but notice that Lacey had headed toward the front of the boat, where Dennis was helping. From the way Lacey had left him the night before, he’d known that she would pull away from him this morning, but that didn’t stop it from hurting. But he told himself to be satisfied with the friendship that the two of them had enjoyed the last few years. It had been enough before. Surely they could find their way back to that comfortable relationship?

  But the truth was he wasn’t sure he could go back. He’d gotten a taste of Lacey now and he wanted more.

  It was his own fault that he found himself in this situation. He’d known he was being stupid, taking the chance of losing Lacey altogether, but he’d always been willing to take a chance when the prize was worth it—and Lacey was worth it.

  He’d lived life to the fullest since he’d been injured. Witnessing all the death and destruction of war had made him see that nothing in life was guaranteed. You couldn’t just sit and wait for things to happen. You had to make them happen. There were amazing things out in the world to experience and he didn’t have the time to waste.

  Lacey herself called him a daredevil, because he was never afraid to take a leap of faith, not knowing what there was on the other side waiting for him. He’d taken a chance the night before, by kissing Lacey again, and it had been just like jumping off a bridge with a bungee cord attached to his legs. He always had faith that the rope was going to hold him, and while he was flying through the air he never doubted that he’d be okay.

  But he and Ben had taken a chance, returning to a war zone, and he’d lost his best friend. Now there was a chance he’d lose Lacey too. He just had to keep the faith that things between him and Lacey would work out.

  Leading the group from the lake and back into the soft marshy banks that connected the lake with the deeper swamp waters, Scott made it a point to keep an eye on the terrain. He’d given Lacey a hard time about the alligators in this area, but even he didn’t want to be surprised by any of the large gators his cousin had warned him about earlier.

  He heard a scream from the back of the hikers and turned around to find both Katie and Lacey standing with their backs together while Lacey beat at the ground with her walking stick.

  “What happened?” he asked.

  “Something bit me,” Katie said.

  “It was a snake—I saw it,” Lacey said. “I think I hurt it.”

  “Did it bite you too?” Scott asked as he grabbed Lacey and held her still.

  Her wide eyes darted back and forth across the ground.

  “Lacey, answer me. Did anything bite you?”

  “No. I don’t think so,” Lacey said. “We were walking, and then Katie screamed, and I saw the snake so I screamed too.”

  “What did it look like?” Scott asked.

  “It was brown and real long,” Katie said, then looked at Lacey.

  “And it had a yellow tail,” Lacey said.

  “Stay here,” he said to the two of them.

  Picking up Lacey’s walking stick from where she’d dropped it, he began to push through the plants and logs that covered the area. If they could identify the snake, they could make the decision on the type of anti-venom Katie would need more easily.

  “Which way did it go?” Dennis asked as he caught up with Scott.

  Lacey pointed to the rear of the group, and Dennis and some of the others began to comb the area.

  Finding no sign of the snake, Scott turned around to examine Katie’s leg—only to find Lacey already rolling up Katie’s pants.

  “I feel fine,” Katie said, but Scott could see that she was paler than she had been a few minutes before. “I’ve got thick boots. It couldn’t have bitten through the shoe.”

  Lacey pointed to the red area right above where Katie’s pants met her boots.

  Giving up on being able to find and identify the snake, Scott pulled out his phone and punched in the emergency number. Katie would need multiple vials of the anti-venom that the hospital kept frozen in their pharmacy for an emergency like this. Speaking to the dispatcher, he explained their situation and they discussed the closest spot to meet the chopper. Closing the phone, he was glad to see that Lacey and Dennis had spread out one of the sleeping bags on the ground and laid Katie down.

  “How you doing?” Scott asked Katie.

  Lacey had cut Katie’s pants up the side and he could see that her leg had begun to swell.

  “It hurts bad, but I’ve felt worse,” Katie said.

  “You’re going to be okay, Katie. I promise,” Lacey said, then looked over at him with eyes that searched his for reassurance.

  “We both promise,” he said as he looked down at this young woman that had already lost so much. He wouldn’t let her down. He’d get Katie to the hospital, where they were waiting with the anti-venom she needed.

  “Okay, I need a couple of your walking sticks. The longer the better,” he said, beginning to come up with a plan.

  Dennis carried over two sticks that measured at least five feet. They would work. Discussing what other items they had among them, it was decided that leaving Katie on the sleeping bag and inserting the sticks into the sides would work—if the stitching on the sleeping bag held up. One of the younger veterans handed over some rope and explained that if they tied the ropes onto the sticks it would help to support Katie’s weight.

  As the rest of the group worked on the makeshift stretcher, Dennis and Scott studied the map and spoke with the helicopter pilot. A clear piece of land lay two miles to the west of them. They’d hike to that point, carrying Katie, and she’d be flown to the hospital all within the hour.

  “I cleaned th
e site, but it’s still swelling,” Lacey said as they began the long walk to their point of contact. “She will be okay, won’t she?”

  “The hospital has anti-venom waiting for her. We just need to keep her calm and get her there.” Scott said, knowing that he hadn’t really answered her question.

  They’d both made promises to Katie and they were both worrying that it might be a promise they wouldn’t be able to keep.

  The people carrying the stretcher would switch out every fifteen minutes, so that they didn’t tire out and slow down progress. And as soon as the stretcher was declared safe by Dennis, they set out.

  No one spoke in the group. Everyone understood that getting Katie to the anti-venom as quickly as possible could mean the difference between life and death.

  As the group walked Scott was surprised to see that Lacey was keeping up with the stretcher that carried Katie. She’d gone into nurse mode now, and she probably wasn’t even aware that she had increased her earlier speed and was now as fast as with the most experienced of the group.

  They heard the helicopter before they got to the clearing. As Lacey took a moment to check Katie’s pulse, Scott gave report to the crew as they unloaded the stretcher.

  “You need to go with her. If the poison affects her respiratory system you might have to intubate her,” Lacey said as Katie was strapped into the stretcher.

  “I know. Are you going to be okay?” he asked.

  “I’ll be fine—just take care of Katie. Her pulse is up into the one-twenties and the swelling is up to her knee now. If she loses that leg...”

  “She’ll be fine,” Scott said, then called the group together.

  * * *

  Lacey watched as the helicopter flew toward the city. Turning around, she was surprised to see that everyone was staring at her. Scott had been joking when he’d told them she and Dennis were in charge now, right? What did she know about leading a group like this?

  “So, Dennis, which way do we go from here?” she asked.

  Walking over to her, Dennis showed her the map and explained Scott’s plan to take a detour along a path that would lead them back to the lake. He would call his cousin when he reached the hospital and make arrangements for them to be picked up there. Dennis estimated that they would make it back to the original trail in a couple of hours, and with the shortcut Scott had mapped out they’d soon be back at the river.

  The walk back was somber, with none of the joking that had carried them through the trail earlier in the day. The group had lost its leader now. With all of them worried about their fellow veteran they had become disheartened and there wasn’t any way for her to fix that.

  Or was there?

  Moving to the back of the group, she pulled out her phone and checked for service. Except for a couple texts to check on Alston, she’d not used her phone in the last two days. She typed a text to Scott and waited to see if it would get through to him. He soon texted back that Katie was responding well to the anti-venom. After getting that bit of good news, she texted him her plan and told him what she would need to make it work. Having put everything into place, she moved back up next to Dennis and let him know of the changes.

  The whole lot of them were dragging by the time they made it to the bank, but in only minutes she spotted Scott’s cousin’s boat, headed toward them.

  As they loaded onto the boat she received a text from Scott letting her know that everything was ready. It wouldn’t be the same without Scott and Katie, of course, but that didn’t mean that the rest of the group couldn’t enjoy their last night together.

  As they pulled onto the shore from where they’d started their trip across the lake, only hours earlier, Dennis explained the change of plan and they all started back to the camp ground. She wasn’t surprised when a cheer went up.

  While everyone else headed for the coolers that had been dropped off for them, Lacey called the hospital to check on Katie. The charge nurse on duty assured her that Katie was doing better and that the anti-venom was starting to do its job. If everything continued as it was going now there would be no danger of Katie having any permanent damage to her leg.

  Lacey ended the call and shared the good news with the rest of the group.

  Someone had unpacked the food and they all made sandwiches. A few complained that this was not true camping, but most were thrilled that they wouldn’t be relaying on the dried food they’d brought with them.

  Unlike the first night when the group had camped together, tonight they gathered as a group. Soon a fire was built, and as they watched the moon rise in the sky they became more subdued. This bunch of people had been through so much to get where they were today.

  She watched as Zach, one of the new members of Scott’s program, who’d hardly spoken for the first day of the hike, pulled up the leg of his pants and showed the guy next to him his below-the-knee prosthesis. Somehow, in just a short amount of time, this man who had been a stranger to them had been taken in by the others and now felt safe enough to share the most vulnerable part of his life.

  Scott had made that possible. Their leader and her friend Scott could do miraculous things for other people. He’d been there for her when she’d been at her lowest and had never asked for anything from her until now. But now she was afraid that Scott wanted more than friendship between them, and she didn’t know what to do about it.

  As Lacey watched the last couple of hikers head into the cabin she realized she was sitting in the same spot where she and Scott had sat the night before. Had it only been one day since she’d shared that second life-changing kiss with him? Looking down, she saw some of the scribbling in the dirt she had done the night before, surprised to see that she could still make out her late husband’s name.

  She’d been so angry after Ben had been killed. She’d been angry at the people who had caused his death and angry at Ben for not sharing with her just how much of a dangerous situation he’d be in at the hospital where he’d served.

  Then Scott had come home and he’d been there to listen to her, letting her work through her feelings and never judging her. The anger was gone now, and she was learning to live as a single mom. Her life was calm and safe. Until now.

  It was as if with one kiss Scott had awakened something deep inside her that she’d thought had died with Ben, and then with the second kiss Scott had changed all the plans she had for her life. And she had no idea what she was going to do about it.

  CHAPTER SIX

  LACEY WATCHED AS her son ran off to join the crowd of kids gathered around a table stacked with birthday presents. She had done her best to avoid Scott for the last week, but standing in his mother’s backyard at his nephew’s birthday party she knew she wouldn’t be able to avoid him today.

  She’d tried her best to come up with a good excuse for not being able to take Alston to Jason’s party, but then decided it wasn’t fair to Alston to keep him from enjoying a day with his friends. While Lacey sometimes found Scott’s large family overwhelming, Alston loved to attend their big family gatherings.

  Scott’s parents’ yard was filled with activity this afternoon, with a group of teenagers playing football in one corner while the younger kids played in the large blow-up bouncy house that had been rented for the occasion.

  Turning toward the group of adults, she had no trouble picking out Scott among the guests, and as if he had sensed her presence he turned at that moment and waved.

  “Oh, Lacey,” said a voice from behind her, “we are all so glad you could make it today.”

  Lacey turned to find Scott’s mother coming across the yard, carrying a tray in each hand filled with glasses of various sizes.

  “Let me help you, Mrs. Boudreaux,” Lacey said as she took one of the trays.

  “Lacey, I appreciate your momma teaching you such good manners, but you know we don’t stand on formality here. And with you and Scott... Well, he did
n’t want me to say anything, but it would make me so happy if you could call me Mary,” Scott’s mother said. “Now, if you could just take those drinks over there, by Scott, I’ll carry these over to the kids’ table. Make sure everybody knows that I’ve added a little something to the adult drinks. We don’t want to get the two mixed up.”

  Lacey watched as the woman stopped at the first group of kids she came to and started handing out glasses. She seemed extremely flustered today, which was not like her normal composed demeanor. Was Scott’s mom okay? Maybe she should mention it to him.

  Of course it could be that she’d just had a few too many sips of the “adult” drinks she had specially prepared!

  Scott met her as she crossed the lawn and took the tray from her. “I didn’t know if you were going to make it or not,” he said.

  “You know Alston would never miss Jason’s party,” Lacey said.

  “I left a message asking if you wanted to ride here with me, but you never returned my call. You barely talked to me Tuesday at work. And you’ve ignored my calls. Any other man would think that you were trying to avoid him,” Scott said.

  “Any other man?” she asked.

  “My self-esteem is higher than most,” he said, then winked at her.

  And there it was. That little bit of mischief that pulled her in every time. No one could stay mad at this man for very long—not when he turned on that Southern charm of his.

  By the time they arrived at the group of adults Lacey had relaxed. Things would be fine between the two of them. Scott was back to his normal self. They could be friends—just friends—and forget about the complicated attraction between the two of them They were adults. They both knew that a little bit of sexual desire was not enough to risk the end of a great friendship.