Page 98 of The Sandbar saga

Chapter 38

Race walked to thefront door of Katie's house, pushing a bicycle with training wheels. The stroll brought back memories that seemed like a lifetime ago when he would come over and spend an hour with Katie as a child. During one of those visits, he'd also purchased a bike and brought it to the house in hopes of enticing a neglected child out of the physical and mental place that kept her prisoner.

His reasons for bringing a bike today were much different than the first time. Callie deserved a gift from her dad, and he hoped to distract his daughter with a shiny new bicycle while he took Katie out alone.

He rang the doorbell.

The door opened. An unfamiliar woman answered.

"Hi. Come on in." The woman stepped back, glancing down at the bicycle before meeting his eyes again. "I'm Darla, the babysitter. Katie will be down in a minute."

"Thanks." He left his gift outside and straightened before going into the entry.

Darla whispered, "If that is for the little one, she's going to be stoked."

"I hope so," he whispered back.

Above him, out of sight, Callie urged her mom to hurry. His whole body flashed warm, overhearing the conversation, and he slipped his hands into the front pockets of his trousers. His family was upstairs.

"Daddy, we're coming. Mommy's nervous," shouted Callie. Then she said, "What's nervous?"

He gazed at the upstairs landing, wishing for sight of Katie in her dress. He'd called himself all kinds of a fool all week, thinking he could soften her with flowers and a dress. But he'd do it all again, a thousand times over if it made her feel half as excited as he was at the moment.

"I go first, remember," said Callie.

Several minutes went by. Race continued to watch the upstairs landing. Finally, a vision in purple appeared. Callie looked through the banister, spotted him, and waved. There was no hesitation, she ran down the stairs as fast as she could, Race stepped forward to halt her downward momentum.

"Wow, look at you." He squatted down, taking in the way she stood on the heels of her black patent shoes and twisted her body. "You're beautiful, Princess Callie."

"Darla brought over a new movie, and we're going to make cookies." Callie played with his tie. "What's this?"

"A necktie."

"Can I wear it?"

He picked her small hand up in his and kissed her palm. "I need to wear this one, but next time you come over; I'll find you an old one to play with."

Motion on the stairs caught his attention. He straightened, his body hardening.

Katie floated down the steps in the black dress he'd purchased for her. It was better on her than on the hanger. The material showed all her curves, landing mid-thigh.

He swallowed hard, meeting her gorgeous blue eyes. Stepping forward, he held out his hand and helped her down the last few steps. She trembled, and he felt each little shudder throughout him.

She stopped at the bottom of the stairs and turned toward him. Within inches of her, he caught the faint aroma of her perfume. A perfume he recognized as one he'd bought her years ago. Inhaling deeply, it took him back, then pitched him forward.

"You look beautiful," he said, his voice rough to his ears.

"Thank you." She caught her lower lip between her teeth, her gaze softening. "You look..." She inhaled swiftly. "So good, Race."

"We should probably get going." He put his hand at her lower back, momentarily forgetting the perks of the backless dress until he touched bare skin.

Aroused, he kept his hand there while she bent over to give Callie a kiss and whisper last-minute instructions to their daughter.

Callie stepped over and grabbed his free hand. "Can I go, too?"

Katie answered, explaining it was only for grownups before he had to break his daughter's heart. Tonight was for him and Katie. Just a few hours. He selfishly wanted her to himself.

"I bought her something," he whispered to Katie.