Free Only You by Bonnie Pega

I never got called from a car phone before.” Jordan made this ninety-mile-an-hour speech as he sat on Max’s chest.
    Caitlin laughingly admonished him, “Jordan, you scamp, get off him right this minute. It’s rude to go around squashing people.”
    “Can I really squash people, Mom?” Jordan asked as Max carefully sat up, brushing his shirt-sleeves clean.
    “You sure can. You’re quite a big boy now.”
    “Can I squash you, Mom?”
    “Certainly—ooph!” Caitlin gasped as Jordan’s arms wrapped around her and gave her a mighty squeeze. She went limp.
    Max scrambled to his feet in alarm, then relaxed as Caitlin opened one eye and gave him a conspiratorial wink.
    Jordan giggled. “Look, Max, I squashed her to sleep.”
    “So you did,” Max said, settling back down on the grass. “Do you know how to wake her up?”
    “Sure I do. She’s real ticklish.”
    “She is, is she? Interesting thought,” Max said suggestively, though he gave an innocent smile when Caitlin’s eyes flew open.
    “Hey, Mom! You’re supposed to be asleep,” Jordan complained.
    “Oh, sorry.” Caitlin closed her eyes again, but not before giving Max a warning look. She’d heard that satisfied purr in his voice.
    “Patrick’s here,” Jordan suddenly shouted as a car horn beeped. “We’re going to the park to ride the paddle boats,” he said to Max. “Bye, Mom.” He took off, running.
    Caitlin levered herself up on her elbows and watched Jordan to make sure he got off all right. She turned back around to find Max watching her.
    “Ticklish, huh?” he said.
    “Not at all,” she told him with a vigorous shake of her head. “Jordan was just saying that.”
    With a gleam in his eye Max said, “So you’re saying that Jordan fibbed.”
    “Of course not!” Caitlin protested indignantly.
    “I didn’t think so.” He stretched out his hands toward her ribs.
    “Don’t you dare!” she squealed. “Or I’ll retaliate.”
    “That may well be the high point of my whole week,” Max murmured and tickled her, grinning at her laughter.
    “Vengeance is mine!” she declared with glee, and made a jab or two at Max’s ribs, gratified to hear a chortle burst from his lips. Caitlin leaned forward to try again, and lost her balance, falling fully against him. The laughter died on her lips when she looked down, her face only inches from his.
    Max reached up one hand and cradled her face tenderly in his palm. “I love hearing you laugh,Caitlin,” he whispered. “You have no idea how much.”
    Caitlin held her breath, waiting for the ugly panic to strike, only it didn’t. Not even when Max’s thumb ran across her bottom lip. Not even when Max urged her head down to his and brushed his lips across hers.
    Not even when he slipped his tongue between her suddenly parted lips and ran the tip lightly over her teeth. And not even when his hand stroked lightly over the front of her T-shirt, causing her nipple to tighten and throb at his touch.
    All too aware of the tenuousness of her compliance, Max pressed one more feather-light kiss on her lips, then drew back, searching her face. Instead of the dread he had feared to see on her face, he saw only bewilderment.
    Although Caitlin felt a lot of emotions at the moment, not one of them was fear. Slowly she sat up, her eyes never leaving him. “I, ah, think I’ll go fix us both a cold drink. Would you rather have herb tea, regular tea, or club soda?”
    “Regular tea,” Max said. “Hold the lemon.” He smiled as he got to his feet, then followed her into the house. He was not at all upset with the way things had gone. Not at all.
    While Caitlin prepared their drinks, Max sat at the kitchen table—after removing a large stack of newspapers from the chair. He pushed aside puzzle pieces and G.I. Joe men from the table to clear a place for the glasses. When he saw breakfast and lunch dishes piled in the sink and another large stack of newspapers on the floor next to the stove, he