Linda Hudson-Smith - Kissed by a Carrington

Ashleigh laughed heartily. “Yeah, we do, Daddy. Sheer pandemonium!”

Everyone laughed.

“Has anyone talked to Mom and Dad this morning?” Ashleigh inquired.

Houston raised his hand. “They were fine last night around nine.”

Ashleigh glanced at the clock. “I’ll call them after we eat. Everybody’s coming for family dinner tonight, right?” Ashleigh chuckled. “Like I really had to ask. Of course you strapping Texas boys will be anywhere food is involved.” She laughed. “Just kidding. You guys are so loyal to the family. I love that about each of you.”

“Family is all we’ve got. No one knows that better than you, Ash, because of how you were raised. Speaking of family, Mom can’t wait for the new addition to arrive and to become a grandmother,” Houston remarked. “That’s all she talks about these days.”

Busy at the stove, Austin grinned. “Tell me about it! Mom and Dad are already goners over their first grandchild. You bringing Lanier, Dallas? What about inviting Kelly, Houston?”

Dallas rolled his eyes back. “I try to get together with my girlfriend every possible chance. With you no longer working full-time at Haven House, Ash, she has her hands full. If only she’d trust the employees more, but she has to do it her way.”

“That’s Lanier Watson for you. Her way or the highway,” Ashleigh commented. “Since she lives in the house, everything falls on her. It’s actually a twenty-four-hour gig.”

“Lanier thrives on doing it all,” Dallas remarked. “The woman’s a workaholic.”

Houston wanted to avoid the question about Kelly so he was glad Austin hadn’t come back to him. He hadn’t called her to confirm a date for a family dinner night, but he still planned to. Only a couple of days had passed since the meeting and reception at the training facility. He was still too busy running away from commitment to act upon his feelings. Kelly wouldn’t travel with the team, but he already knew how hard it’d be to resist her indelible charms right here at home.

Houston didn’t know why he felt this way, but he was afraid he’d met his match in Kelly. He couldn’t say his days as a liberated man were numbered, but she had him wanting her and running scared at the same time. He had no clue how to conquer his fears. Whether to invite her to dinner or not had him frustrated. Houston was glad when Austin set out the food. A meal placed in front of the brothers was a surefire distraction.

Scrambled eggs, hash browns, turkey sausage and bacon were stacked high on colorful platters. The pan-fried steak smelled delicious. A loaf of oven-toasted bread was piled on a small plate. Butter and jelly filled small, round serving bowls. Apple butter, a family favorite, was on every Carrington table.

Austin gave a humble prayer of thanksgiving. “Okay, dig in. Don’t forget the tip jar.” Austin always reminded his brothers and their teammates to leave a gratuity. At restaurants, the small monetary token was in addition to a bill. No check had to be paid at Austin’s home.

The tip jar kept on the granite counter was half-filled with cash. No change was allowed. Austin had started the tipping jar long before he’d married. Since his brothers and teammates ate a lot of meals at his home, he thought his cook/housekeeper, Stella Hanson, should be rewarded. Once Austin married Ashleigh, Ms. Stella only prepared meals on special occasions, yet her paycheck wasn’t affected. The tip jar remained and the guys continued to fill it with cash to invest in a money-market account for the triplets’ future kids.

As the Carrington family ate their breakfast, the room was as quiet as falling snow.

Houston looked from one brother to the other, his eyes flickering with amusement. He could see Ashleigh was still fascinated by how much the guys ate. The vast amount of food gobbled down was outright astonishing. If daily exercise wasn’t a part of their lives, Houston feared they’d all blow up like the Goodyear blimp.

A wry smile playing at the corners of his mouth, Austin captured Houston in his gaze. “Say, bro, aren’t your feet tired yet?”

Houston looked puzzled. “What’re you talking about?”

Austin laughed at Houston’s frowning expression. “You never responded to me about inviting Kelly to dinner. I guess it means you’re still busy running hard and fast. Thought you were ready to be caught. That’s the impression I got during recent conversations.”

Sighing heavily, Houston scowled. He should’ve known his family hadn’t let him off the hook. They never did. “Man, my feet are just plain cold. One minute, I think about getting up close and personal with Kelly. Then I start using the same excuses to avoid getting involved.”

“Little brother,” Dallas said to Houston, “you keep this up, you could lose out. What if Kelly Charleston is the one? She’s hardly a member of the little groupies out there in force in every city our teams visit. You’d better go for it before some other man snatches her up.”

Houston shot Dallas a dagger-thrust look. “You haven’t made the ultimate commitment to Lanier, yet you’ve been with her awhile. Kelly and I aren’t even dating.”

“Everybody here knows Lanier’s the holdout, including you,” Dallas countered. “She’s just like you, man, scared to death of commitment, terrified of forever after. I’ve been ready for the next level. I’m a patient man but it gets hard. You don’t want any woman you care about to feel any doubt. If I didn’t believe Lanier truly loved me, I would’ve been long gone.”

“She does love you,” Ashleigh assured Dallas, “with all her heart. In her defense, we know she grew up amidst a bad marriage and a volatile household. The verbal and physical fighting between her parents was how she landed in foster care. Lanier wants forever with you, too, Dallas, but she just doesn’t have a good grip on her fears. Please remain patient with her.”

Dallas gave Ashleigh the thumbs-up. “I plan to. Love is patient.”

Uncomfortable with the direction the conversation had taken, Houston excused himself from the table, promising to return in a few minutes.

On the back patio, seated at the round glass table, surrounded by the unbelievably serene atmosphere Austin had created for himself and Ashleigh, Houston pulled out his cell phone. After three indecisive starts and stops, he finally punched the code for Kelly’s home number, hoping she was in. Houston hadn’t talked to her in a couple of days.

The Cyclones team had made it into the playoffs but had been ousted in the second round, right after their unstoppable center was badly injured. The official season had ended at the end of May, but the preseason wouldn’t get under way until late summer. Houston wasn’t fond of the lengthy downtime, though he welcomed the break.

Houston’s heart skipped a beat upon hearing Kelly’s sweet, sultry voice. “Hey, lady, how’s it going this morning?”

Savoring the delicious sound of the sexy bass voice on the other end, Kelly closed her sable-brown eyes. Had her constant thoughts of Houston somehow gotten through to him? “Morning, Houston. I’m fine. What about you?”

As though Kelly could see him through the phone, Houston moved his hand in a so-so gesture. “I’m good. I miss the game, of course. Once the finals are over, sometime in June, I’ll play in a summer league. Have to keep the skills honed. What’re you up to?”

Up to my elbows in missing you like crazy. “Staying busy. Office hours at my private practice, Houston Sports Medicine Center, make my days crazy, especially with so many new patients. I’m not complaining, though, ‘cause I’m blessed. I could use a nice long break, but my schedule is packed right now. Just calling to say hello or did you have something specific in mind?” She hoped for the latter.