Free A Mom for Callie by Laura Bradford

time with her met only by his desire to be as close to Betsy as possible. Jogging over to the net, he took his place behind his next-door neighbor as she waited for the ball, his attention stolen from the game by the way her shorts framed her—
    Whump.
    Kyle staggered backward, his hand holding his head.
    In an instant Betsy was at his side, her long slender hand pulling his backward. “Are you okay?”
    He inhaled her scent, an alluring mixture of violets and soap that got his heart thumping and his body reacting.
    â€œThat’s what you get for not keeping your eye on the ball where it belongs, dude.” Tom didn’t even bother hiding his smile as he flashed a knowing look at Kyle. “Your eyes need to be focused on game-level not—”
    â€œYeah, I got it, Tom,” he said, cutting his partner off midsentence but not before catching a note of curiosity on Betsy’s face. To her, he said, “Shall we take them down?”
    Her mouth tugged upward in a conspiratorial smile that nearly rocked his world. “Oh, yeah.”
    For the next ten minutes the two of them dashed around in pursuit of the ball, high-fiving one another as spike after spike left their opponents speechless. More than a few times Betsy bumped into him while moving back for a volley—a contact he could have avoided but opted not to. Every time it happened he felt his body react, hoped and prayed she didn’t notice. Her laughter was intoxicating, making his head spin with a level of desire that was foreign yet undeniably exciting.
    There was no doubt about it. Betsy Anderson stirred things inside him. Things that would be best explored in private…with candles burning…soft music playing…and no one around for miles…
    Whump.
    Again, her hands were on him, the feel even more heady than it had been the first time thanks to the images that had been playing in his mind since the game started. “You’re going to be black and blue by the time this game is over.”
    â€œNah, I’ll be—”
    â€œGotta keep your eyes on the ball and your head in the game, dude.”
    â€œMy head is in the game,” he countered as he shook off the latest ball strike.
    â€œNot in this game it ain’t.” Tom looked at his watch and then his wife, his teasing grin turning to one of affection. “It’s getting kind of late. What say we wrap this up and head home?”
    Angela looked as if she was about to protest until she followed the direction Tom’s not so subtle eyebrows were indicating. Kyle grinned. There were times Tom was a bit thick, slow to get a hint even when it was fairlyobvious to everyone else around him. But this time he was getting it before Kyle even gave it.
    After the Murphys left, Betsy stayed behind to help shuttle dishes and leftovers into his kitchen, chattering with Callie the whole time. Once everything was inside and put away, she took a step toward the door, a move he stopped with a gentle hand on her arm. “Let me put Callie to bed and then walk you home.”
    She gazed up at him through thickly lashed eyes, a sweet yet smoldering look that made him wish, for that moment, that he had a nanny. “It’s just next door. I won’t get lost.”
    â€œI know, but I want to walk you home.” Turning to his daughter, he felt an entirely different pull on his heart—the kind of pull that made him feel like a superman and a ball of mush all at the same time. “Hey, pumpkin, I think it’s time you went off to dreamland, okay?”
    â€œOkay, Daddy.” And as easy as that, Callie slipped her hand inside his and led the way down the hall, waving good-night at Betsy before disappearing into her room. After changing into her pajamas and brushing her teeth, she climbed into bed and settled her head on her pillow. Looking up at him, she flashed a sleepy smile. “She’s really pretty, isn’t she?”
    He