Lone Star Burn_Undercover Heart Read online

  Danielle, Jayson, and Louis showed up at four-fifteen eager to get started. He surprised them by passing out their hats and t-shirts. The dark blue plane and red cape stood out on the light blue background. Danielle had immediately dragged her ponytail through the opening in the back of the matching hat.

  He’d explained what he wanted to get accomplished today, but after ten minutes of going over the step-by-step instructions, it went downhill. His droning voice had them bored out of their minds. They were more interested in going through their tool boxes, playing with the screwdriver, clamping it between the small vise attached to the workbench. Jayden pretended the ruler was a yo-yo and tried to walk it along the concrete floor. Danielle was the most creative, and folded the instructions into a paper airplane. The other two caught on and created their own air force. When one of the planes clipped him on the cheek, he decided to change tactics. This was not a room full of his employees or board members. These kids needed more hands-on attention.

  When he boldly announced that he was resigning as their head super flyer and they could all leave, the announcement stopped them in their tracks. He also said he was disappointed that they weren’t taking their responsibility seriously. Danielle was the first to apologize and said she was ready to work.

  By the end of the session, they’d physically inspected all the items in the tool box, organized the pieces needed to make the plane, and started on the main body. They would meet again the following Wednesday at the same time.

  Despite the session getting off to a bad start, things had turned out better than anticipated. He also felt good about the progress at the store. Yesterday, the red appliances had arrived and the kitchen was just perfect, no, the entire room had turned out perfect. He spent much of today working with the store manager making sure the displays for the Helping Hands boxes were placed in strategic areas throughout the retail areas.

  Over dinner, he reviewed the important e-mails Bradley and Tracey had sent. There was also one from Ryan, his lawyer, asking if he’d decided on the name for the charitable foundation he was establishing in his brother’s name. He’d thought long and hard and replied to the email.

  Ryan, here’s the name for my brother’s foundation: Daniel’s Angel Bells.

  Chapter 12

  “I don’t want to see sliced turkey till next Thanksgiving,” Erin groaned and propped her feet on the stool next to the long counter they’d used to set out the trays of prepared food. Runners had picked them up and placed the aluminum pans in catering frames in the main room.

  “By my count, you served two hundred people.” Caleb sat on the neighboring stool and wiped the sweat from his brow with the sleeve of his t-shirt. “Are there that many homeless people in Fort Mavis?”

  “They aren’t all homeless, just people who don’t have a lot of money to purchase the makings for Thanksgiving dinner. Those are the ones who need our Helping Hands boxes. Some are just lonely and want to share the holiday with a pretend family.”

  Erin rolled a bottle of cold water over her forehead. Despite the large exhaust fans, the overly warm commercial kitchen in the outreach center was spotless, but for a commercial coffee urn, paper cups, and sugar. They’d finished serving dinner at five-thirty but most of their workers sat at tables with a few lingering guests to enjoy coffee and pumpkin pie. Holiday music played in the background and a number of people had started to sing.

  “Do you want to go out there and join them?” Erin asked. “You told me about listening to people talk after they’d eaten their dinner.”

  “No, the only person I want to talk to is sitting right in front of me. Besides, the cook at the shelter where I volunteered wasn’t as beautiful. Dump was a sixty-year-old geezer who liked a good cigar as well as food.”

  “Dump? What kind of a name is that?”

  “When he cooked for the Navy, he claimed to dump everything together and never had any complaints. He’s quite a character.”

  She didn’t put up any resistance when he took her hand and started to play with her fingers that were slightly red from washing the oversize pans that wouldn’t fit in the commercial dishwasher.

  “Thanks for making Thanksgiving turn out better than I anticipated. You’re one of the few people who understand what this day means to me, personally.”

  “You worked damn hard and I never could have prepared and sliced eight turkeys. When Miriam called me last evening and said she had the flu and wouldn’t be able to be here today, I went into a panic until I remembered the great chef who lived across the street. You didn’t blink an eye when I told you we had to be here at six to get the turkeys in the oven. When the commercial beater broke down halfway through making the mashed potatoes, you made a phone call and an hour later an Adam’s security guard from Hughes delivered three heavy-duty baking mixers. You must have some very powerful friends in the company.”

  “It wasn’t that big a deal. You were unbelievable. After spending most of the morning in the kitchen, you worked the line serving dinner. Danielle was something else. For the brief time I was out there, she got seconds for some of the guests and served coffee and dessert to the elderly. One man came in a wheelchair and she shoved chairs out of the way so he could sit to the table. A woman came in with a baby and two young children. Danielle took the little kids in the corner and read them a story after dinner so the mom could enjoy dessert. You must be very proud of her.”

  “She’s quite the humanitarian, and enjoys helping others. She never once complained that she had to miss the traditional football games. I’m glad she saw most of the parade and her favorite balloons, thanks to you bringing your tablet. When I checked on her a little while ago, she and a couple of her friends were taking turns playing Lep World 3. It was very nice of you to let her download the program.”

  “She deserves to have some fun time, too.”

  “Was it like this at the other shelter you worked?”

  “If you mean did I help Dump in the kitchen, absolutely not. I just helped serve the food.”

  “You should be proud of your personal accomplishment.”

  Caleb shook his head. “I don’t follow.”

  “Mr.-I-don’t-want-anyone-to-know-I-can-cook made his debut in school the other night. The volunteers who helped today already knew who you were when they came into the kitchen and saw you slicing turkeys. Your secret is out and you no longer have to feel uncomfortable sharing your love of cooking.”

  “I never thought of it that way. Thank you. It’s all because of your hot tamales,” he said, wiggling his eyebrows.

  “Behave!” she admonished with a gentle laugh. “Blame it on the sangria. We’re supposed to be having a platonic relationship, remember?”

  “That was your idea, not mine.”

  “Is everything a go for Saturday?” she asked, quickly changing the subject. “I’m scheduled to be there the entire day just to make sure everything runs smoothly. Danielle will help the younger children. I promised her we’ll decorate the house Sunday if she stays out of trouble.”

  Caleb felt hurt when she referred to her need to make love with him a result of the sangria. As far as he was concerned, she was cold sober when she asked him to make love. “Everything is done and all the supplies on your list are in the cabinets. What about the cookie dough?”

  “I’m making it tomorrow and will bring it Saturday morning. What time should we be there?”

  “The door will be open at ten, but I’m sure the kids will be there a little early so we can sign them in. Security knows that no one can come in after the session starts. It’s on a first-come, first-serve basis. I’d like you to see the room before anyone else. Can you meet me there at nine to make sure everything is done to your satisfaction? If anything is missing we’ll have a little time before the kids arrive.”

  “I’d like that.”

  Caleb couldn’t take his eyes off her. Curly russet strands escaped the neat braid she’d started out with this morning and brushed her temples. Sweat
from the bottle of water she’d rolled on her forehead left a shimmery luster.

  “Here, you look like you can use this,” he said and held out his glass of ice water. “I need to talk to you about something.”

  “Thanks,” she said, and finished the rest in the glass. “Should I be worried?”

  She retrieved an ice cube and ran it around her neck and slowly traced the edge of the V-neck of her shirt. The melting ice followed the natural path between her breasts. “Ah,” she gasped when the last of the ice cube slipped from her fingers and snuggled between the soft mounds.

  Caleb’s eyes followed her every move; he had never seen anything so sexy. She’d closed her eyes in cooling ecstasy and wasn’t aware the chill made her nipples pebble against the soft material of her shirt. All of his blood rushed to his balls and he folded his hands to cover the bulge in his jeans.

  “Platonic relationship, hell. I’d give anything to be that ice cube right now. You did that on purpose to drive me crazy.”

  “I did not! I’m hot.”

  “You certainly are.” Her green eyes reflected a teasing gleam and he decided to turn the tables on his sexy maverick. This time she wouldn’t be able to blame the sangria. He moved his stool closer and bellowed their knees together.

  “What are you doing?”

  “Just watch.” He waved his pointer finger in front of her face to capture her attention. His voice took on a husky drawl. “This is a magic finger. It’s like a metal detector and the tip is highly sensitive. When it’s used to slowly explore a woman’s body, it senses erogenous zones. Like the tip of a flame, it ignites dormant sensations. Desire spreads like an out of control wildfire.”

  She appeared mesmerized by his swaying finger and sank her teeth into her bottom lip. He suckled his own finger and homed the wet tip to within a quarter of an inch from her breast. Ever so slowly he drew an invisible circle, never touching her.

  “You get the picture; now close your eyes and think about my finger circling around and around your naked skin. Inside, your breasts are throbbing and you’re begging me to sear your burning flesh. You’re taking deep breaths, trying to control the urge to lean into my magic finger.”

  He shifted a little closer so she could feel his hot breath on her cheek. “It’s even more powerful when I dip, slow and easy, between your thighs. Its magic increases when it meets the honey spot between your lips and makes you weep.”

  Caleb deliberately backed away and dismissed the husky tone in his voice. “Unfortunately, this isn’t the place to demonstrate my finger’s powerful magic.”

  “Stop!” Her eyes flew open and she tried to squeeze her legs together. “I’m so damned turned on and you never even touched me! You’d better be prepared to ease the ache you fired up.”

  Erin jumped off the stool on unsteady legs and grabbed his hand. “Come with me… we’d better make this quick.”

  “Where are we going?” This was only supposed to be a hot-blooded tease, but the hard evidence between his legs proved he’d become a victim of his own teasing.

  “The storage room down the hall.”

  Caleb followed blindly and kept up with her quick pace. “I hate to disappoint you, sweetheart, but I’m not one to carry around a foil packet.”

  “You are a grown-up boy scout, so you’d better be prepared to use that magic finger and your very slick tongue.”

  Erin opened a door to a small storage area lined with shelves stocked with dry goods and paper products for the center. The single lightbulb was controlled by an old-fashioned pull chain. He’d barely closed the door when he found a live wire in the form of a hot female body wrapped around him. Her legs locked around his waist and her arms owned his neck. Her devouring mouth against his lips rendered him speechless.

  His hands slipped under the back of her shirt and fumbled with the catch to her bra. Her breasts were pressed against his chest but he managed to cup their fullness. He used the pads of his thumbs to slowly massage the puckered flesh before tugging lightly on the stiffened nubs with his two fingers. Her moan of pleasure filled his ear and the pressure against his mouth deepened.

  They were like two crazy people out of control…pulling, tasting, devouring. There seemed no way to bring them both satisfaction, but he could ease the ache between her legs. He pulled his mouth away and settled his lips on her neck.

  “You have no idea how much I want to make love to you,” he rasped.

  “I ache so much,” she cried and yanked off her bra and shirt. “Help take the hurt away.”

  He bathed the deep-rose areola with the moistness from his tongue before latching onto the swollen nubbin. He suckled, pulling gently, not wanting to hurt her, but he couldn’t get enough. He appeased the hurt in one and switched to its sister.

  Out the corner of his eye he spotted a wooden chair. Keeping his arms around her and a firm hold on her breast, he slowly backed up to the chair and sat down.

  “Have you ever ridden a horse?” he rasped.

  “No, so don’t even mention that word,” she said in a breathless rush.

  “You’re about to. Come on, sweetheart, ride my leg, hard and fast.”

  “That’s crazy! I don’t know what to do,” she moaned.

  “I’ll guide you.”

  “What about you?” she asked, spreading her legs to cradle his thigh.

  “I’m fine,” he lied. “Come on, baby, ride me.”

  Caleb put his hands to her jean-clad cheeks and closed his eyes when she began to rub her clit against his leg muscles with a slow, easy gait. When her knee accidentally smashed against his swollen member, he flinched and gritted his teeth. He wasn’t prepared for her to open his jeans and free him from the tight confines of his briefs.

  “What are you doing?” he groaned, welcoming momentary cool relief before she clamped her hand around his throbbing heat.

  “Shush, be quiet, you’re messing up my momentum.”

  He wasn’t surprised when she synchronized her newly acquired equestrian skills with the back and forth momentum of her hand. The faster she moved against his leg, the faster her hand pumped to bring him unbelievable pleasure. He kept a tight rein on her ass cheeks and it didn’t take long for them to achieve mutual satisfaction.

  Erin clamped a hand around the back of his neck and shot her scream of climax into his mouth. He should have been embarrassed when he shot his release onto her hand, but wasn’t.

  “Oh, wow. Yee-haw!” Erin buried her head on his shoulder, trying to catch her breath. “That was fantastic.”

  Caleb spied a package of napkins on the shelf next to the chair and grabbed a handful.

  “Here,” he said when she finally relinquished him from her grip. “Sorry, couldn’t help it. And, yes, it was. You have incredible hands.”

  “No apologies necessary. You are quite inventive. My panties are soaking wet. Now if anyone ever asks me if I’ve ever ridden a horse, I can honestly say I have. A stallion,” she laughed, and stood up to re-hook her bra.

  They shared one more explosive kiss before they moved to the closed door, but paused when they heard voices in the hallway.

  “I don’t know what happened to my mom,” Danielle said. “I’ll check the ladies room.”

  “Hurry, let’s get out of here,” she said in a voice filled with embarrassment.

  They had just returned to the kitchen when Danielle came running in and looked at her mother and then Mr. Thompson.

  “Where did you go? I couldn’t find you. Your face is red. Are you okay?”

  “I’m fine. It’s hot in here and Mr. Thompson helped me get some supplies from the storage closet,” Erin replied with a quick lie. “Do you need me for something? We’re almost finished cleaning up.”

  “I wanted to know what time we were leaving. We finished stacking the chairs and took down the tables. Now we’re going to sweep the floor with these cool brooms. Oh, can we give Jayden’s grandfather a ride home?”

  “Tell him no problem. Let us know when y
ou’re finished.”

  Erin couldn’t look at Daniel sitting on the stool, nursing a bottle of cold water. Her body was slowly coming down from the best sexual haze she’d ever enjoyed. They’d made love the other day, but this was spontaneous and she had lost control over herself. She’d literally attacked Daniel the moment the door was closed. She didn’t know herself anymore. She’d let her passion take control of her body and never gave her daughter any thought.

  She needed to step away from the other women, and busied herself by emptying the rest of the coffee from the commercial coffee pot down the sink and used unneeded elbow grease to get it clean and sparkling. She restacked the packages of unused paper cups and stored the sugars in their respective boxes.

  “Why do I get the impression you’re annoyed with me?”

  She slammed the cabinet door and forced herself to face him. “I’m angry with myself! I ran off into a closet like an oversexed teenager, rode your leg like a mare in heat, and screamed my pleasure into your mouth. I never gave any thought to my daughter who didn’t know where I was. You make me do irresponsible things!”

  “Excuse me? I wasn’t the one who dragged you by the hand and shoved you in a storage room. How soon we forget it was your very clever hand that got me off. You insist we show everyone we have a platonic relationship, but that steamy make-out session was a perfect example of how we feel about each other. I felt like a randy teenager and totally lost control.” Caleb paused and asked in a calmer voice. “Are you ashamed of us as a couple?”

  Erin leaned against the counter by the sink and wrapped her arms around her waist. “No, and I’m sorry if I gave you that impression. I care for you very deeply and those feelings happened very quickly. They’re kind of scary because that’s never happened to me before. To be perfectly honest, I don’t know myself anymore. With you, I’m a different person.”

  Caleb got up off the stool and moved to her side of the room.

  Panic set in when he approached her and she held out her hand to ward him off. “Keep that magic finger away from me! It’s caused enough trouble for one day.”