A Matter of Honesty (14 page)

to crawl under the table and hide. Everyone‘s eyes were on her. She didn‘t have to

look at them to know it.

It took some time, and a few more sips of juice, but she was finally able to

regain control of herself. When she looked up everyone‘s eyes were on her, but the one

gaze that mattered was Steve‘s. He was looking at her with open concern.

“Are you okay?”

She nodded. “I‘m fine. Just went down the wrong pipe.”

He nodded then resumed eating. She lowered her eyes back to her plate, hoping

to get on with breakfast without any more indecent thoughts. She jumped when

Steve leaned closer to her.

“I know what you were thinking, Lauryn.”

Her head snapped up and she looked at him. “What?”

He gave her a knowing look. “I know what you were thinking about that made

you choke.”

Her eyes widened. She was glad she hadn‘t eaten anything else or she would

have started choking again.

She continued to stare at him unsure of what to say. He leaned closer to her,

brought his free hand up, and tilted her chin upward. He lowered his head until his

lips met hers. She leaned into the kiss, increasing the pressure. He pulled her tongue

into his mouth, teasing hers with his own, sucking on it, gently making her moan at

the sweet flavor of the blueberry muffin he had eaten. She heard someone clear their

throat and even though it registered she couldn‘t force herself to pull back, but Steve

had the self-restraint to do it for her. When she opened her eyes everyone‘s gaze was

on her and Steve. They were wearing identical smiles. Hannah chose that moment to

giggle.

“Lauryn and Daddy are kissing just like cousin Dean and Gail do.”

Lauryn felt her face grow even hotter. The instant Steve touched her she forgot

all about keeping things platonic in front of Hannah. This man was dangerous. She

buried her face in her hands as a few people around the table chuckled. Steve drove

her to distraction sometimes. If no one had bothered to clear their throat, they could

possibly have ended up naked at the table in front of his family. Lifting her head she

realized that most everyone had returned to their own conversations or plates. Steve

reached out and touched her hand. She looked over at him.

“I didn‘t mean to embarrass you. I just got a little carried away.”

She shook her head. “It isn‘t entirely your fault.”

She was just as much at fault because she could have pulled away. She looked

away from Steve when Kathleen began to speak.

“Okay everyone, the festivities will begin in one hour. Don‘t be late or you

might miss out.”

“I‘m going to miss out anyway,” Steve grumbled.

His mother smiled. “No, you won‘t. I‘ve come up with something for you to do.”

Lauryn looked back and forth between mother and son, trying to figure out

what was going on. With all of the unexpected events so far she wasn‘t sure she

wanted to know.

Steve chuckled. “Oh, I‘m sorry. Did that sound like a complaint? I didn‘t mean

for it to. I‘m more than happy to sit and observe from the sidelines.”

Kathleen stood, placing her hands on her hips. “Did you dislocate your shoulder

on purpose?”

Steve hung his head in mock shame. “Aw, shucks, you caught me, Mom.”

Lauryn laughed. If she had a family like this she would love it. The Mitchells

had a close bond she envied. Lauryn picked up her plate and Steve‘s, but Sabrina came

over and took them both out of her hands.

“You help bonehead here back up the stairs. I‘ll take care of these for you.”

She didn‘t bother to argue with Sabrina. Steve needed her help, but how much

was the question. She walked toward the stairs with him, Hannah bouncing along

happily in front of them. They made it upstairs and to his room in one piece.

“I‘m going to start with a shower first because I feel nasty. I think I might have

dirt in places that it shouldn‘t be,” he complained

She laughed as she helped him into the bathroom.

“Do you need any help?”

He shook his head. “If I do I‘ll call you.”

“Okay.”

He looked at her in surprise. “Will you really come to help me?”

She smiled wickedly. “Nope. I‘m going to send your dad in.”

“And what if you can‘t find him?”

“Then I have several other men to choose from.”

He chuckled. “In that case I can definitely handle this by myself.”

She left the bathroom as he began to strip. The last thing she needed was more

temptation. She was already on the verge of tumbling to the floor with him to have

her wicked way with him. Her hormones were definitely out of whack. Regardless,

she had to get herself under control. Anything physical with Steve right now was out

of the question.

Now, once his shoulder healed…

What was wrong with her? Why was she lusting over the man as though she

had no common sense? Closing her eyes, she took a deep breath and willed her mind

to focus on the task at hand. She needed to finish helping Hannah get ready. Besides,

if she were busy, she was less likely to think about Steve in the shower with water

sluicing over his rock-solid body. She bit back a groan. Wicked thoughts like this

weren‘t going to help the situation.

She was almost finished when a knock sounding on the connecting door. Steve.

Lauryn couldn‘t stop the fluttering of her heart. The only thing that saved her was

Hannah‘s laugh of excitement.

“Hi, Daddy. Did you have a good bath?”

He walked over to Hannah and leaned down to give her a hug and kiss. “Yes, I

did. Thank you for asking. Did you?”

She nodded. “But I took mine last night.”

“That‘s good.”

He surprised Lauryn by walking behind her and hugging her with his good arm.

“How about you? Did you have a good shower?”

She looked at him blankly, having a hard time focusing on his question. If she

weren‘t careful, he was likely to think her dimwitted. Yet how was she supposed to

concentrate when this man was inquiring about her being naked in the shower? If he

wanted to act like he hadn‘t just asked her an abnormal question, she could play

along. She gave a brief nod.

“Yes, I did. I took mine last night as well. Thank you for asking,” she replied,

hating the trembling in her voice.

Her gaze narrowed when she heard what she thought was a chuckle, but his

facial expression hadn‘t changed. Maybe she was delirious. Lord, if she became this

distracted with a simple look, it was definitely going to be interesting when they

came together. She turned her attention back to Hannah‘s hair, feeling his gaze roam

over her, making it difficult not to squirm. Somehow she managed to hold it together.

Finishing Hannah‘s hair, Lauryn sighed with relief when she placed the last rubber

band on.

As far as she was concerned, it wasn‘t a moment too soon. She headed

downstairs with Steve and Hannah. When they walked outside onto the porch she

noticed they were the last ones out.

“Okay, is everyone ready to get started?”

There were a few excited agreements, as well as a few dejected ones, but they

headed out to the barn where a table had been set up. Lauryn took one look at the

table, instantly knowing they had a long day ahead of them, but she was game. This

outing in a family environment was a first for her and she planned to enjoy it.

“How‘s the shoulder?”

Steve looked up from the television screen to see Nathan and Daniel entering

the living room. He was lying on the couch resting. The women had gone shopping,

while his dad, Will and Dean were out in the fields. He still wasn‘t allowed to do

anything strenuous, so he was catching the early evening game between Oklahoma

State University and Oklahoma University. Having been raised in Stillwater but

attending Oklahoma University, he was always torn between who he wanted to win.

“It‘s fine right now.”

Nathan walked over and sat in the recliner. “Who‘s winning?”

“The Sooners, up by two touchdowns, four minutes before halftime.”

They sat there in silence for a moment before Daniel spoke. “I like Lauryn. She‘s

nice.”

The mention of her name brought a smile to Steve‘s face. He nodded his

agreement with Daniel‘s statement.

“Yes, she is.”

Nathan reclined back in the chair. “So, have you told her you‘re loaded?”

Steve shook his head, biting back a groan. This seemed to be the question of the

hour. When had everyone become so damned nosy? He tried not to let his frustration

show. “No, not yet.”

Daniel looked over at him in surprise. “You‘re kidding, right?”

“No.”

Nathan sat up straight. “When do you plan on telling her?”

“I‘m just waiting for a good time.”

Daniel chuckled. “Well, they say no time like the present.”

“I know. I just want to be sure it‘s me she wants.”

Nathan chuckled this time. “Well, if you aren‘t sure now you probably won‘t

ever be.”

Daniel laughed. “It probably won‘t matter. When Lauryn finds out you‘ve been

keeping this from her she‘s gonna dump your sorry butt.”

Steve hoped Daniel was wrong. Still, deep down he knew Lauryn would be

angry, yet every time he went to tell her, something stopped him.

“She probably will, but I‘ll tell her when the time‘s right. After what I went

through with Tina, I have to do it my way this time.”

Nathan finally changed the subject, to Steve‘s relief. Over the past forty-eight

hours Steve had learned Lauryn had earned her place in his family. Everyone was

looking out for her. His family members had made their point clear. If he hurt her, his

family was going to kill him.

“Hannah has definitely grown.”

Daniel nodded his agreement. “She makes me look forward to Valerie giving

birth to our baby.”

Steve smiled. “I‘ll never forget when Hannah was first placed in my arms.”

Hannah had been placed in his arms because Tina hadn‘t wanted to touch her.

He had fallen in love with Hannah from the first sonogram and feeling the weight of

her little body in his arms sealed the deal. She’d been deep in his heart ever since. He

knew he wanted more children at some point. He wondered if Lauryn wanted

children. Yes, she took care of Hannah, but she wasn‘t Lauryn‘s. It would definitely be

something for the two of them to discuss as their relationship progressed—if it

progressed.

Steve cleared his throat and looked over at Daniel. “Have you and Valerie

discussed any names?”

“We‘ve discussed a few, but no decision has been made.”

Steve had named Hannah when she came into the world. Hannah Marie had

been the name that first came to him when he found out she was a girl and the one

that had stuck with him. He looked over at Nathan when he let out a cheer only to

realize that his attention was glued to the television. Steve turned his attention back

to the television; OSU had just scored a touchdown. There was a little less than two

minutes in the game. Enough time for OU to go back down the field the other way if

they really wanted to.

Not really caring about the game anymore, Steve drifted back into his own

thoughts. Closing his eyes, he began to try to imagine what Lauryn would look like

pregnant with his child. Would she welcome the changes pregnancy brought to her

body, or despise and try to prevent them, like Tina had?

He actually wondered what Tina was doing now. The last time he‘d heard

anything about her had been via the private investigator he‘d hired to keep an eye on

her. Periodically he would track her down and send word of Hannah‘s progress to her.

Did she deserve it? No, absolutely not. Still, when Hannah came to him and asked, he

would be able to explain to his daughter that it was her mother who‘d decided not to

participate in her life.

Tina was in California right now. She didn‘t try to make any contact with

Hannah. First, because she didn‘t want to and secondly because she had voluntarily

signed over all her parental rights. He also did it to keep an eye on Tina to make sure

there wasn‘t anything going on in her life that could come back and affect his or

Hannah‘s. He didn‘t like the fact that Tina had abandoned Hannah with what seemed

to be no remorse. His daughter craved a mother figure. Even though there were plenty

of women around to nurture her, it still wasn‘t the same.

Still, he had to admit Hannah seemed to be getting that from Lauryn.

Steve noticed Lauryn was very careful in how she handled the situation with

Hannah. Lauryn had mentioned to him her concern about Hannah getting too

attached, but he hadn‘t seen any danger signs. He also had to admit he was selfishly

hoping Hannah would be another reason to keep Lauryn interested in being around

them.

He looked up and groaned playfully as the front door opened, pulling him from

his internal musings. The women filed in with Hannah leading the pack. She was

holding two shopping bags of her own, looking every bit the professional shopper.

Hannah‘s face lit up when she saw him. His heart melted every time his daughter

looked at him with such adoration.

“Daddy, Daddy, look at what I bought.”

Steve gently eased himself into a sitting position so he could see what Hannah