Free A Fair of the Heart, Welcome To Redemption, Book1 by Donna Marie Rogers Page A

you
ask me that?”
    Her lips twitched. “Just checking.”
    “Relax, he hasn’t told me a single limerick.
It’s just when he’s telling me something, he’s so dry and witty.
Kinda reminds me of Hutch a little.”
    “Not surprising. Max idolizes Hutch. I need
to take the kids to see him soon. Tell him how sorry we are about
Rosalee...your mother. Wow, that still boggles my mind.”
    “You’ll never know how much it means to me
that you all knew and liked my mom.”
    Lauren’s heart melted a tiny bit more. “We
more than liked her. We absolutely adored her. You come from good
stock, Mr. Hunter.”
    Lauren checked the lasagna—light golden brown
and bubbly. She carefully pulled it from the oven and set it on the
counter to cool for a few minutes, cranked the oven up to 425° and
slid in her garlic bread.
    Caleb stood and came around to look at the
lasagna, his expression priceless. “Man, if there was an award for
the most perfect supper, this would win, hands down.”
    Lauren nearly twittered, but caught herself.
Sheesh, what was it about this man that turned her brain to mush?
Turned her from a strong, independent woman into a simpering fool?
“Thanks. Hope it tastes as good as it looks.”
    “No doubt in my mind.”
    Max came skipping down the stairs, guitar in
hand. When he saw that supper was about ready, his face fell.
“Guess there’s no time to play.”
    “We must have time for one song.” Caleb
directed a questioning look her way.
    “Just one.”
    “Awesome.” Max sat down and got comfortable.
He strummed the guitar, tuned a string, then started playing.

Chapter Eight
     
    Caleb watched in amazement as Max’s fingers
expertly moved over the strings and out came an old Rolling Stones
classic, “Paint It Black”. Man, the kid played like a pro!
    “I told you he’s good,” Lauren excitedly
whispered, pride in her son making her even more beautiful.
    “You certainly didn’t exaggerate. So, the
Rolling Stones, hey? Isn’t he a bit young to know their music?”
    “His instructor is a hippie, straight out of
Woodstock. All the songs he’s taught Max are from the sixties and
seventies.”
    “Then I look forward to hearing every song he
knows.”
    As soon as Max strummed the last note, Caleb
and Lauren clapped like crazy.
    “Crap, I forgot about the garlic bread!”
Lauren exclaimed. She ran over and blew out a sigh of relief as she
pulled the pan from the oven. “Perfect.”
    “Smells awesome,” Caleb said. “Man, am I
starving.”
    “Me, too!” Max chimed in. “My mom makes the
best lasagna in the world. She can cook anything, right, Mom?”
    Lauren gazed at Max with a bemused smile.
“Well, I draw the line at octopus and insects, but besides that,
I’ll give anything a try.”
    “Two things I can guarantee I’ll never ask
you to cook.” Caleb promised with a wink. “What can I do to
help?”
    “You can carry the lasagna to the table.” She
handed him two oven mitts. “Max, please go get your sister. And be
careful of her hand.”
    Caleb looked up in time to see a wave of
guilt pass over Max’s face. Poor kid still felt responsible for
what happened to Emma.
    Ten minutes later, they all sat down to their
first meal as a family. Caleb nearly choked on the thought. Beads
of cold sweat broke out on his forehead. Family? He eyed each one
of them and, disconcertingly, found them all smiling back at him.
Clearing his throat and pushing his reservations aside, Caleb
dropped his gaze to his plate and forked in a bite of lasagna. His
taste buds did a happy dance. Damn, the woman could cook. He looked
up again to find Emma grinning from ear to ear.
    “Yummy, Ca’yib?”
    He met Lauren’s gaze for a brief second and a
strange undercurrent passed between them. He wanted to kiss her so
bad he could taste her. Get a grip, Hunter. “Delicious,
punkin.”
    By the time Lauren served the apple pie a la
mode, Caleb thought he would burst. “You guys don’t honestly eat
this good all the