Always Yours Baby Read online

  In the seat next to him, Willa blushed and shot him a sheepish smile.

  “You know me too well,” she teased.

  He turned to her. “You got an hour, then I’m going to get you fed.”

  Unsnapping her belt, she leaned over the middle console and kissed him on the cheek. “Don’t know what I’d do without you, Damon.”

  With the fading sun playing across the warm surface of her eyes and shining like liquid gold through her hair, it was impossible not to reach for her. His hand lifted and combed lightly through the silky strands, pushing them off her temple to curve behind her ear.

  “You’ll never have to find out,” he promised.

  Apprehension flickered across her face, twisting a line between her thin eyebrows before it was gone and she was smiling again.

  “Come on. I want to show you the pictures I took.”

  Giving his hand, still cradled against the side of her face, a light squeeze, she eased out of the Jeep. Damon waited a second longer before following her inside.

  Libellule was a fancy clothing shop for women on one side manned by her business savvy sister, Calla, and a chic portrait studio on the other, run by Willa and her mom. Damon knew Beth owned half the shop, but she was rarely there, if ever. Most of her time was spent playing nurse at the hospital.

  That evening, Calla Dumont was at the front with two year old Colten perched on her hip. The toddler was sucking lazily on his thumb with his blond head resting on his mother’s shoulder while she scrubbed at the glass counter with a rag. The sight was like some ad out of those parenting magazines describing working moms and multitasking. Calla, in her sleek white pencil skirt and scarlet, off the shoulder sweater looked more like she belonged on some runway, not cradling a two year old while dusting. Yet, she somehow pulled off looking ridiculously gorgeous and motherly. Her blonde hair was a halo of curls twisted into an elaborate knot over her bare shoulder. Gold hoops glinted from her ears, matching the pendent at her throat and the watch on one wrist. The only other piece of jewelry was her wedding rings, which sparked brightly with every vicious scrub of the cloth.

  “Dame!” Colten spotted him first and both arms shot up in a silent demand. “Up!”

  Heart swelling as it always did when the boy was around, Damon marched over and scooped the toddler out of his mother’s arms and tossed him once into the air before hugging him close.

  “Hey, little dude, you being good?”

  Colten beamed. “I eated cheese.”

  “Ate,” Calla corrected. “I ate cheese.”

  Damon ignored her. “No kidding.” He adjusted his grip more firmly under the boy’s bottom. “Save me any?”

  Colten shook his head, making his tight curls bounce. “I eated.”

  Poking his chubby little stomach where it had become exposed between the hem of his t-shirt and corduroy pants, Damon scowled even as Colten squealed and doubled over in giggles.

  “That wasn’t nice,” he scolded. “For that, I should toss you into the garbage.”

  Colten was still giggling, even when Damon’s hand circled his tiny ankle and he was released. With a squeak, Colten swung out of Damon’s arms, tilting sideways and then upside down as he plummeted to the ground.

  “Damon!” Calla shrieked, arms flinging out across the counter like she could somehow catch the boy. But she was too far and Colten screamed with glee as Damon swung him like an upside down pendulum. His shrieks melted into squeals of laughter that filled the whole shop.

  All innocence, Damon blinked up at his sort of stepsister. “Yeah?”

  “You crazy, stupid son of—”

  “Hey!” Damon gasped. “Children!”

  Breathing hard, ashen face slowly bleeding back with color, Calla glared at him like she would have liked nothing better than to stab him with the stapler next to her hand.

  He was still holding Colten upside down when the bells above the door jingled and Jared stalked into the shop. He took one look at Calla’s irate expression and his son’s upside down one and arched a brow.

  “Did I miss something?”

  “Your friend nearly dropped Colten.”

  Damon rolled his eyes. “I did not nearly drop him.” He peered at his best friend. “I did drop him. See?”

  He held the boy up by his ankles in display.

  Colten giggled and waved at his father. “Hi daddy!”

  Giving a snort he wisely smothered behind a cough, Jared moved forward and snatched his red faced son out of Damon’s hold. The boy grinned with all the delight in the world as he was hoisted into his father’s chest.

  “Hey, champ. Uncle Damon being mean to you?”

  “I eated cheese,” Colten declared.

  “Again?” Jared glanced at his wife. “Is he on a cheese diet that I don’t know about?”

  Calla drew in a breath, rolled her eyes heaven ward and let the air out. “He hasn’t had cheese in a week. I have no idea why he keeps saying that.”

  Jared chuckled and ruffled a hand through his son’s hair. “Ready to go home, Mister?”

  Colten nodded eagerly. “Dame coming?”

  “Sorry, little dude, I can’t. But I’ll see you tomorrow,” Damon promised, flicking Colten in the nose playfully.

  Untroubled by that fact, Colten turned blue eyes to his mother. “Home, Mommy. Come.”

  Calla’s face immediately softened. She skirted around the counter and pressed a kiss to the boy’s round, flushed cheek.

  “Mommy has to stay a little longer, but I’ll see you at home, okay?” She kissed him again. “Be good for daddy.”

  “’k,” the boy agreed, wrapping chubby arms around his father’s neck and resting his head on his father’s shoulder. “Home, Daddy.”

  Rubbing his small back, Jared leaned down and kissed Calla, long and slow.

  “I’ll see you at home, baby,” he murmured. “Don’t be long.”

  Touching his face, Calla nodded. “I won’t be.”

  With a final kiss, Jared turned to Damon, who reflexively stiffened.

  “We still on for tomorrow night?”

  Damon nodded, partially relieved. “I’ll be there.”

  “You better be,” Jared warned. “I’ll find your aaah … butt,” he corrected quickly.

  “Yeah, yeah.” Damon mumbled. He focused on the boy peering back at him with sleepy blue eyes. “Night, little dude.”

  Colten wiggled four tiny fingers while the thumb remained firmly wedged between his puckered lips. “Night.”

  With a wave, Jared left. Calla went back to her cleaning, leaving Damon with nothing to do but wander his way to the back of the shop where Willa and her mom had set up their photography studio. The space around the clutter of tables, equipment, and cables was cleared to accommodate the shelves displaying the different styles of portraits Willa and Lily had done over the years. The difference was worlds apart, because while Lily was all about the abstract with bold colors and hidden meanings, Willa’s preference was subtle, a delicate collage of the human condition. Her photos were faces and imagery in mute colors. She captured the soul of a person, their depth and meaning. There was poetry in each of her pieces and even Damon, who wasn’t into the whole art and poetry thing, couldn’t help marvel at how beautiful the world always seemed when he looked into one of her pieces.

  Willa was crouched behind the counter containing the computer and was inserting her camera chip into the tower underneath. Behind her, the fake backdrop was set on a starry night sky. The roll table they used to hold children and infants was rolled up against it. Lily was dumping stuffed toys off the table into a plastic bucket.

  “Mom, come look at these,” Willa called as she rose and opened the file.

  Images of that morning’s shots appeared in bold, vivid hues on screen. Damon edged closer to see as well. Abandoning her clean up, Lily stepped up on Willa’s other side and leaned in.

  Beautiful, with her daughter’s sheet of smooth, straight hair in vibrant gold, Lily always remi
nded Damon of a fairy. Her delicate features were always set off by how slender she was for someone who had two grown children.

  Yet it was none of these things that made Damon love the woman. Aside from Beth who raised him, Lily was a second mother to him. She and Sloan had stepped up when Beth and Cole had adopted Damon and helped mold him into the man he was nineteen years later. They never treated him like he didn’t belong, or that he was somehow less, and for that, he would always be thankful. But that didn’t stop the shards of doubt that always prickled his subconscious every time he even considered telling them how he really felt about their daughter, because while they may have taken him in as one of their own, that didn’t mean they would want their little girl tainted by the poison in his blood. At the end of the day, he would always be the son of an abusive drunk and that type of evil never washed away. There were days even he couldn’t trust himself with Willa. Every time he touched her, he had to control his grip. He had to even out his tone. He had to work against every muscle in his body to keep from hurting her. It was part of the reason he never pushed her, never made her choose him, never confessed just how deep his love really ran for her. How could he ever allow himself to smudge her innocence with the kind of blood that ran through his veins? He would just as soon rip his own heart out before breaking her.

  “These are beautiful!” Lily’s delighted exclamation jarred him back to the present and the images Willa was studiously flipping through. Her arm slipped around Willa’s shoulders and she stamped a hard kiss to the side of her daughter’s head. “You should consider switching to landscapes.”

  Willa’s little nose wrinkled. “I have to be in the mood for landscapes,” she admitted. “I saw pictures of this location online and had to see it for myself. Damon came along with me this morning.”

  Lily smiled at her and smoothed back a strand of hair. “Well, you’re a natural.” She peeked at her watch. “It’s almost closing time for us. Are you guys going home?” She asked Willa, but looked to Damon.

  “We’ll probably stop by Ma’s first,” he answered. “Get a bite.”

  Lily nodded. “All right.” She focused her attention back on Willa. “Don’t forget you work tomorrow.”

  “I won’t.”

  With a kiss to Willa’s nose, Lily turned and hurriedly finished her cleaning. Willa emptied her flash drive to the backup server on the computer, replaced the drive back into her camera and stood.

  “Night, Mom.”

  Lily waved. “Night, you two.”

  “Night, Aunt Lily,” Damon murmured before pivoting on his heel and leading the way to the front.

  Willa paused at the front counter and peered over.

  “Where’d Colten go?” she asked her sister.

  “Jared took him home,” Calla stated with a deep sigh, her blue eyes darting to the door with a longing Damon understood all too well; it was one he felt every time Willa left the room.

  Willa’s bottom lip puckered. “Aw, I didn’t get to say goodnight.”

  “You’ll probably see him tomorrow,” Calla assured her sister. “Jared is still finishing up that job in Newburry so Colt will come in with me for a few hours if Tiffany’s busy.”

  “Great!” Willa beamed. “There’s this new lens flare trick I want to try out and—”

  Calla laughed. “Don’t you have enough pictures of that kid?”

  Willa jerked back with a gasp of outrage. “Never! You’ll thank me one day when he’s married and out of the house.”

  Calla, still chuckling, shook her head. “Between you and Mom, I can probably make a flipbook of his entire life.”

  “You’re welcome!” Willa said, laughing. “I’ll see you tomorrow.”

  She leaned over the glass case and kissed her sister on the cheek before hurrying to join Damon by the door. Damon waved at the other blonde, before pushing the door open and ushering Willa out first. Together, they slipped out into the setting dusk. Damon walked her to the Jeep and opened her door before easing himself in behind the wheel.

  “How do you feel about takeout and a movie at home?” Damon suggested as he pulled out of the parking spot.

  In the process of twisting the strap on her camera bag around in a neat bunch and setting the bag gently down by her feet, Willa nodded. “Sounds good. But I want gravy with my fries.”

  Damon snorted. “Don’t you always?”

  Ma’s diner was already brimming by the time they wedged themselves into the fray. The hum of chatter drowned out the shriek of chair legs being shoved away from the tables and the music wafting from the speakers. Utensils shrieked against ceramic and children cried. It was all enough to make him glad they weren’t staying. Plus, there was nowhere to sit.

  Taking Willa’s hand, he maneuvered them to the counter. The stools were occupied, but he stopped in front of the register and waited for Bambi Dawson to finish rattling off an order to the cooks in the back.

  “You know what we should do?” Willa twisted her body towards him, more to avoid getting bumped from behind than intimacy. His arms automatically encircled her anyway and drew her into his side. “Open our own pizza shop.”

  The idea had crossed his mind a few times, albeit not exactly a pizza joint, but something other than greasy burgers and stale fries. Only, no one was stupid enough to open another food type place in Willow Creek. At least not until Ma kicked the bucket, which it didn’t seem like she planned on doing for several more hundred years.

  Barely as tall as a pubescent child and as gangly as a troll, Judith Sinoski, or better known as Ma, was practically the Godfather of Willow Creek. No one was brave, or stupid, enough to cross her, especially when it came to her business. She was the sole proprietor of the only restaurant in town and had been since the dawn of time.

  “What are you thinking?” Damon asked instead. “Burgers or turkey sandwiches?”

  “I think I want the pork chops with baked potato,” Willa replied.

  “What about the fries and gravy?”

  “Oh shoot! That’s right.” She sighed. “I guess no fries and gravy this time. I really want baked potatoes.”

  Chuckling, he drew her in closer, fitting her compact frame into the front of his. His lips brushed her hairline and he was rewarded by her quiet exhale that whispered over his throat and the slip of her arms around his middle. The bulk of his jacket zipped around her made it hard to really crush her to him as he longed to, but he was content just to hold her and breathe in her subtle scent of soap and floral deodorant. Against his jaw, her hair tickled his skin. The strands caught the faint stubble darkening his jaw and he had to smooth it back. His fingers found their familiar rhythm over the shiny locks and she sighed again.

  “Love when you do that,” she murmured languidly, resting her head on his shoulder. “It feels so nice.”

  Damon chuckled and turned his head so his lips brushed the spot between her eyebrows. “Don’t fall asleep,” he warned. “I’m not carrying you to the car.”

  She grumbled, but lifted her head. It tipped back and he found himself falling head first into her eyes. There was exhaustion in them and silent laughter.

  “That only happened once,” she reminded him. “And it was your fault for keeping me up half the night watching Star Wars.”

  “You’re the one who wouldn’t stop watching!” he protested without heat. “As I recall, you begged me to put on the next one.”

  She sniffed, wrinkling her pert little nose. “I don’t recall any such thing.”

  Scowling playfully, he tugged on a strand of hair. “Brat.”

  Her haughty expression melted into a smile that cinched around his heart. She giggled and dropped her head back down onto his shoulder. But just as quickly, it jerked up again and she squinted across the crowded diner.

  “Jody Lockwood’s here.”

  Damon followed her gaze to one of the booths by the window.

  “So?” Damon wondered.

  She nibbled on her bottom lip. “You know Jody’s daugh
ter, Lisa?” At his nod, she continued. “She had Jessie’s portrait taken at the studio a few weeks back. Mom and I have been calling her the last few days to pick them up, but she’s not answering.” She tipped her face up to his, her dainty eyebrows furrowed in deliberation. “Do you think I should mention it to Jody? I’d hate if Lisa didn’t pick them up and we had to toss them. Jessie was so adorable and such a good sport about sitting still.”

  He glanced in the direction of the family in question. He pursed his lips.

  “I would,” he decided at last. “If for no other reason than to put aside any doubt that you tried everything possible to contact her about her son’s photos.”

  Tiny ridges appeared across the bridge of her wrinkled nose. “You’re right.” Her eyes lifted to his face once more. “Order for me?”

  She dug into her pocket and removed several folded bills and passed them to him. Damon took them to ward off an argument and watched as she left his side and made her way to the Lockwood’s table. The money went into his pocket. He would return it to her purse, or coat pocket the next time she wasn’t looking.

  “Damon! Hi!” Bambi smiled at him with every tooth in her mouth. Her tawny eyes shimmered beneath the fluorescent bulb overhead. They jumped over him, around him before settling on his face. “Table for one?”

  Damon shook his head. “Two to go.” He rattled off his and Willa’s orders and dragged out his wallet as it was punched into the register. “Can you add a box of fries and a side of gravy to that?”

  Bambi nodded and tapped it in. “Anything else?”

  Assuring her there wasn’t, he paid the bill and stepped aside. His gaze went to where Willa stood, talking to Jody Lockwood. The older woman looked puzzled and slightly distraught as Willa explained the situation. She glanced to her husband, who shook his head in irritation before returning to his meatloaf. Jody reached for her purse and passed Willa a handful of bills that Willa waved away. The two talked a bit longer, which consisted mainly of nodding and hand waving. Then Willa was walking back to him.