Free Road to Absolution by Piper Davenport Page B

happen.”
    “You get lonely,
wake me.”
    “No.”
    “No?”
    I bit my lip.
“I’m used to being lonely, Carter. But if I wake you and take you to bed, I
will never let you out of it, and I need to make sure we do this right.”
    “Okay, baby.” He
leaned down and kissed me. “Love you.”
    “Love you too.”
    I headed off to
bed, leaving my door open, which I rarely did. I liked knowing Carter was close
and I don’t remember ever sleeping so soundly.

 
    T HE SOUND OF rain pounding on my window,
along with the unending laughter of my child, woke me with a start. I threw the
covers off my body and sat up, my heart racing until I remembered that Carter
was here.
    I took a few
seconds to listen through the closed door, wondering when that had happened. I
could only assume Carter had closed it so I could sleep. I climbed out of bed
and sneaked down the hall to the bathroom where I brushed my teeth and hair
before following the sound of voices.
    Arriving at the
kitchen, I laid my hand over my chest, the scene so unbelievably adorable, it
was almost as cute as a kitten hugging a puppy. Maverick was standing on a
chair at the counter, whisking batter in a bowl while Carter stood at the
stove, cracking eggs over a pan.
    “Mom,” Maverick
exclaimed. “I’m helping Carter with breakfast.”
    “I see that,
baby.” I closed the distance between us and he lifted his head for a kiss. I
hoped he always wanted to kiss me in the morning. “You’re doing such a good
job.”
    “Hey, what about
me?” Carter challenged.
    “What about
you?” I said.
    He tugged me to
him and covered my mouth with his. I mumbled against his lips in an effort to
break our connection, but he slid his hand to the back of my head to hold me to
him.
    “Good morning,”
he whispered once he released me.
    I narrowed my
eyes at him and his response was a smug grin, so I wagged my finger and shook
my head. “Behave.”
    “So if you kiss
Mommy, does that mean I can still kiss Katie?” Maverick asked.
    “Busted,” I
mouthed.
    Carter flipped
the eggs and then faced Maverick. “Here’s the deal, buddy. Mommy and me are
gonna get married, so it’s a little different.”
    “You’re gonna
get married?” he asked.
    “Carter,” I
warned.
    “Yeah, buddy, we
are.”
    “Mav, will you
please go to your room for a minute?” I said. “ Uncle Carter and I need a
second.”
    “Okay, Mama,” he
said, and jumped off the chair. He left the bowl on the counter and headed to
his room.
    “Are you kidding
me with this?” I snapped.
    “What?” Carter
slid the eggs from the pan onto a plate.
    He’d made
himself comfortable in my kitchen and he looked good there. Damn it!
    “You didn’t
think this might be something we’d discuss first and then decide how to
tell Maverick together ?” I crossed my arms. “You had no right to
blindside me like that.”
    Carter flipped
off the burner and leaned against the counter, thus beginning the first of many
epic stare-off battles. His slow, sexy smile ultimately solidified my loss. Unable
to continue to look at him in all his glory, so I picked up the bowl Maverick
had left and began to whisk the hell out the pancake batter.
    “Babe.”
    Whisk, whisk.
    “Cassidy.”
    “What?” I swiped
the whisk around the side of the bowl and then began to beat it again, but
found them gently removed from my hands and set next to the stove.
    “The batter’s
done.”
    “Okay.” I
stepped to the sink and washed my hands.
    “Cass, you need
to look at me, baby.”
    I grabbed a
towel and faced him, glancing up at him as I dried my hands.
    “I’m sorry,” he
said. “You’re right. We should have talked about it.”
    “Thank you.”
    “How would you
like to proceed?”
    “I think we
should just move past it,” I said.
    Carter frowned.
“We’re not movin’ past it, baby, so let’s figure out what we want to say to
Mav.”
    I set the towel
on the counter. “Excuse me?”
    Carter lit the
stove again and started