Caroline Cross - Operation Mommy

Nick’s lip trembled. “We were only trying to help.”

Brady slung a protective arm around his younger brother. “Yeah! How’re we supposed to know? It’s not like we’ve got a—a mom to show us, you know!”

The boy’s logic—plus the wrenching reminder of their lack of a mother—punched a giant hole in Alex’s temper.

As swiftly as it had come, the anger drained out of him, replaced by guilt as he registered the mixture of anxiety, misery and defiance on all three young faces. Way to go, Morrison. You go weeks without seeing your kids, then come home and yell at them.

Before he could think of what to say, Mikey took a look around at the tableau of angry faces and burst into tears.

Like dominoes falling, the two older boys promptly covered their eyes and also began to sob.

Well, hell. What was he going to do now?

More than slightly out of breath, Shay jogged along one of the wooded paths that crisscrossed the estate. After dropping her things at the cottage, she’d decided to go for a run, hoping the exercise would dispel the jumble of emotions her meeting with Alex Morrison had inspired.

Fat chance. No matter how hard she tried, how fast she ran, or how often she told herself the man was walking proof of the old adage that beauty was only skin-deep, she couldn’t get him out of her mind.

Of course, it really had nothing to do with him, she told herself firmly, as she darted around a protruding branch. Her concern was solely for the boys. They were bright, sweet, and funny. In the space of a few weeks they’d managed not just to get under her skin, but also to worm their way into her heart. Mostly because they were three of the most engaging little kids she’d ever met. But also because they were desperate for some adult attention. If there was one thing Shay could identify with, it was that.

Parental indifference had been a fixture of her own childhood, a by-product of being raised by two busy professionals so caught up in their own careers they had no time for their own child. In Shay’s case, the experience had ultimately made her independent, self-sufficient and motivated. But it had still been a lonely way to grow up, and it was not the kind of bond she wanted to share with Brady, Mikey and Nick.

They deserved better.

Which brought her back to the problem—all six blond-and-glorious feet of him—and also helped to explain why, she supposed, she couldn’t put Alex from her mind.

The situation would sure be easier, she thought crossly, if the man were a tad more approachable. Then she could simply talk to him—diplomatically, of course. Unfortunately it appeared the boys had inherited all of their charm, not to mention their senses of humor, from their mother.

Still, she promised, as she emerged into the clearing in front of the cottage, if the opportunity presented itself, she would try to do something to improve the boys’ situation. It was the least she could do, after the way they’d opened their home and their hearts to her these past few weeks.

Slowing to a walk, she wiped her damp face on the tail of her T-shirt, crossed the small patch of lawn and stepped onto the stoop. At first glance the cottage appeared nondescript, a simple, shingled structure with a small stoop and modest carport. Yet its initial appearance was deceiving, since the roof sloped up to meet a back wall made almost entirely of glass that commanded a breathtaking view of Puget Sound.

Inside, the floor plan was open and airy. The kitchen, living and bedroom areas flowed into each other and were filled with creature comforts. The appliances were ultra-modern. The plushly padded chairs and sofas, grouped around the massive stone fireplace, were covered in velvety corduroys and buttery leathers in restful shades of white, turquoise and navy. There was a state-of-the-art stereo CD system and a big-screen TV and VCR. The platform bed that dominated one corner was big but cozy and boasted a feather tick.

However, it was the view that always gave Shay the greatest pleasure. Tonight, evening sunshine glittered like gold dust on the vast expanse of slate blue water that filled the horizon. A large catamaran tacked in the wind, its spanking white sails billowing in a playful breeze. Farther away, purple-gray islands rose out of the haze, their shapes indistinct in the soft golden light.

Sighing with pleasure, she kicked off her shoes and began to strip off her clothes as she made her way toward the bathroom, leaving socks, shorts, shirt and underwear in her wake. She was naked by the time she stepped around the curving glass-block wall onto the tile floor of the oversize shower.

She washed her hair, then turned the shower head to pulse and gave herself up to the sheer bliss of the pounding hot water, the rhythm in perfect sync with the surf outside on the beach.

Except this stretch of Puget Sound didn’t have pounding surf, for heaven’s sake.

Her head shot up as she realized the steady thumping she heard was actually someone hammering on the front door. She twisted the spigots and scrambled out of the shower. Grabbing a towel, she mopped at her hair, her sense of urgency increasing as the knocking continued. “Hold your horses! I’m coming!” She tossed the towel to the floor, yanked on a clean tank top and a pair of sweat shorts, raked a hand through her hair and dashed for the door.

“What!” she demanded, throwing it open.

“Hey, Shay!” Faces freshly washed and their shirts miraculously tucked into their pants, Brady, Nick and Mikey beamed at her as they stood crowded onto the tiny front porch.

“I bet you’re surprised to see us!” Brady cried.

Given the way she and Alex had parted, surprise didn’t begin to cover it. “What are you guys doing here?”

“We came to see if you want to drive us to town for some pizza.”

“Well, I—”

“Daddy was gonna, but he left his car open and it died,” Mikey explained sadly.

“Yeah. And then he said he’d make dinner, but the lady called from the nanny place and the cheese burned and he yelled and we cried and he said a bad word,” Nick reported. “He said, ‘oh, sh—’”

“That’s enough, Nicholas.” Alex’s cool voice snapped Shay’s head around. “You wouldn’t happen to have some jumper cables, would you?”

She shook her head, her eyes widening as he stepped out of the deep shadows to her right, where the stoop met the angled support post of the carport. He’d taken a shower, too, she saw. Freshly shaved, he looked like dynamite in a loose black shirt and casually pleated off-black pants. She shivered in reaction, then flushed as she felt goose bumps rise in several strategic locations.

Darn. He was doing it again. Making her mind feel dazed, her heart race and her skin feel shivery by simply standing there.

It wasn’t until a few seconds later that she realized part of the problem was the breeze. She glanced down, appalled to discover it was molding the soft cotton of her shorts and top to her damp skin—and to those darned goose bumps.

Alex followed her gaze, only to find he’d made a serious mistake at the undeniable evidence that her complexion wasn’t her only outstanding attribute. The rest of her was pretty damn...outstanding, also. Lord knew he was getting a firsthand view, because, unless he was badly mistaken, she wasn’t wearing a stitch of underclothing.

His whole body went tight at the realization, and a persistent little drumbeat of need kicked to life deep inside him.

Its advent irritated the hell out of him. He didn’t need this, not after everything else he’d had to put up with today. What was her problem? Didn’t she have sense enough not to come to the door practically naked? Didn’t she realize it could be anyone standing there gawking at her?