Chapter 15

CHAPTER FIFTEEN

Kati

This was starting to feel like deja vu. Sleepless nights full of tossing and turning as I thought about the same man. Only this time my imagination had some material to work with. One steamy kiss to be exact. And the way Easton insisted he needed to take me out before things progressed any further? Swoon-worthy. Stuff like that only happened in movies or romance novels. Not real life, not in this day and age.

I checked the time on my phone. I had lay in bed long enough. Despite it being a Saturday morning, Lucien would be awake by now. He was a bear during the week, but for some strange reason, come the weekend, his ass was up and beaching out on the couch. He said it was because he didn't want to waste any of the relaxation time he could get. It made no sense to me but what did I know?

Since I’d left a certain guest to sleep on the couch last night, I spent a few extra minutes in the bathroom making myself look presentable. Not overly done up so that it was obvious I was trying, but just enough not to look like a hag who just rolled out of bed. I brushed my teeth, fixed my hair, and opted to throw a sweatshirt over my tank. I didn't mind Easton seeing my nipples but I wasn't looking to scar my son.

One last glance and I felt confident that I pulled off the look I was going for. With a deep breath, I left the security of my room in search of coffee. I could hear Lucien and Easton talking in the kitchen, so I picked up my pace as pieces of the conversation hit my ears. The two of them didn't sound happy about something.

"What's going on?"

Lucien practically jumped off his stool when I spoke, and Easton's expression screamed that he was ready to go to war.

"Mom." Lucien cleared his throat. "I think you're going to want to read this."

Lucien slid the newspaper my way. I glanced down at the offending piece of paper, but quickly shoved it back across the island. No wonder Easton looked ready to maim someone. I could only imagine what was written about me this time.

"Nope." I met Lucien's gaze and then Easton's. "I don't care what the anonymous journalist has to say. I refuse to allow them to ruin my wonderful Saturday."

Screw them. They aren’t bursting my happy bubble.

"How the hell does a town like this have an anonymous journalist? Everyone seems to know everyone's business," Easton grumbled.

I hopped up and headed straight for the coffee maker nestled on the counter between the sink and the fridge. My favorite cup was turned upside down in the drying rack, right where I left it after I washed it yesterday morning. After pouring myself a cup of coffee, I walked back over to my stool and waited until I had the first sip of my morning necessity before I answered.

"It's Willow Creek's greatest mystery. Three years ago the original journalist who had worked for the paper for forty years retired and everyone in town thought they would close up shop. Then all of a sudden, the editor-in-chief started receiving anonymous articles to be printed. Fact-checkers verified the information written and found everything to be accurate, so he printed it. This has continued now for three years and still no one has any idea who the journalist is."

The fact that neither Ms. Daisy nor Mrs. Jacobs could determine who it was, was a testament to how well the journalist was able to hide their identity. It was normally kind of fun watching people try to figure it out, but now that I was on the receiving end, I understood why so many residents wanted the identity known.

"What about this blog that the journalist likes to promote at the end of these articles?" Easton asked.

I wrinkled my nose at the mention of the blog. "Now that's a different story. Same person, but where the newspaper articles are factual, the blog is nothing but gossip. It's why most of the people in town assume the journalist has to be a long-standing resident. There would be no way to know some of that information if they lived elsewhere."

Easton leaned both elbows on the island and came down to my level so that we were eye to eye. I didn't realize it until now but at some point he had changed his shirt. Today it was a black short-sleeve that showcased his muscles. Arm porn was a real thing and I wasn't ashamed to admit that Easton's did something to me.

"And no one can figure out who this person is that just so happens to be in all of these places that stuff is happening?"

That made me laugh so hard I nearly spit my coffee across the counter. What a damn shame that would've been, a waste of the perfect nectar.

"Do you really think the person needs to be in every place? With the way the gossip tree works in this town, it only takes mere minutes and half the residents know what’s happening. Whoever the journalist is, they only have to listen to what people say throughout town to have enough material to fill the blog to the brim. Not a single thing posted hasn't already been spoken by half the residents. The journalist just writes it in black and white."

Easton hung his head and rolled it side to side. I gave him time to come to terms with what I’d said. Willow Creek wasn't an easy place to live unless you were used to small-town living. It took time to be comfortable with everyone knowing your business and thinking they had the right to have a say in it. Fortunately, most had your best interests in mind, but not all did.

I looked over at my son and the worry on his face. This wasn't how I expected the morning to start. I woke up running off the high from my kiss with Easton. Now we were back to reality and, if I was being honest, it kind of sucked.

"Hey." I brushed my fingers down Lucien's arm. "It's fine. We've got nothing to hide and it doesn't matter what was reported. It has always been the two of us. We can get through anything together."

I would definitely read the article later, merely because it stressed my son out so much, but it would change nothing.

"Yeah. You're right."

I rubbed his arm in comfort but turned my attention back to Easton. "So! Who has the pleasure of spending the day with us?"

I didn't mean for the question to sound sarcastic, but by Easton's pinched mouth, that must've been how it came across. As much as I hated that our freedom was being restricted, I understood the necessity of it. Someone was out to use my son and it didn't pay to be stubborn about the help offered.

"You'll have Hendrix. Owen was scheduled, but the receptionist who was supposed to come in for the interview still isn't responding. Owen believes something might be wrong, so Maverick agreed to let him follow up."

"Maybe she's just no longer interested and blowing you guys off."

Easton shrugged. "That's what I said, but Owen insists she was excited for the chance to start over. We haven't had any other inquiries, and since we're just getting started in town, we don't have a lot going on yet. There was no reason he couldn't take a couple of days and see what shakes out."

That was true. We didn't need seven guys all the time, even though I had yet to meet their final teammate. Which made me wonder …

"When is your other teammate coming to town? I think you said his name was Lex."

Easton lifted his shoulders again. "Who knows? You'll understand once you meet him. He moves to his own beat. Last I heard he was taking the scenic route on his way. Knowing Lex, he's probably crossing a million things off his bucket list before starting to work again. It took Mav a lot of convincing to get Lex to agree to the team."

"So then why did he agree?"

"That's anyone's guess. I don't try to understand what goes on in Lex's head."

That made me laugh. Lyla was the same. It was the artist in her. She did what she wanted and didn't care what others thought about it. I always admired that part of her. More people in the world needed to be like Lyla and Lex. Minding their own business and just enjoying life.

"Well, I look forward to meeting him when he gets here. He should get along fantastic with Lyla."

Lucien snickered. "Aunt Lyla gets along with everyone until you make her mad. Then she makes you public enemy number one. She's not a woman I would ever want to upset."

"That lesson doesn't just apply to your aunt Lyla." Easton was quick to speak up. "You don't ever want to make any woman mad."

Lucien gave Easton his full attention and it was at that moment I realized I wanted that in our lives. I wanted a man that my son could look up to and get advice from. Someone who was a good man and could teach Lucien to be the man I knew he was. I wanted my son to have all the things he missed out on. The father-son moments that, despite giving him everything, I could never play to the fullest.

I let the two of them interact and just watched on. The conversation switched from women to school. Easton was asking Lucien what he liked to do. It wasn't until things transitioned to sports that I really paid more attention.

"I tried track and field last year in junior high. I was decent but not sure it's my thing." Lucien shrugged and kept his eyes cast down at the island.

I was interested to see where this conversation went because Lucien was more than decent, but as the season went on, he began to show less and less interest despite practically begging to do it at the start.

"Which events did you participate in?"

Easton looked genuinely interested in the answer. It was the type of relationship I was starting to realize I secretly hoped my son could have with Easton. Not that I was rushing things, but after last night I was looking to the future for the first time, rather than just living in the now.

"I was part of the four-hundred-meter relay and the four-hundred-meter hurdle."

"Wow, that's awesome. Which was your favorite?"

"The hurdles." I could see my son's eyes light up like they had done at the start of the season.

"How about the relays? Did you do them because you liked them, or just because you were good at it?"

And that was when the excitement disappeared and the guarded look I always received any time I tried to speak to my son about quitting emerged. How was it that in a matter of minutes, Easton had ferreted out the problem when I tried unsuccessfully for months?

"Wait." I turned on the stool and forced Lucien to do the same. "Was it the other relay team members that forced you to quit?"

"Mom …" The word was dragged out and expressed how much he wanted me to drop the subject. I refused to do that.

"Don't mom me. Is that what happened?" Mama Bear was out in full mode. I didn't like the look of one of the kids. He was the nephew of Principal Hawkins and I had expressed my concerns at the time, but Lucien assured me it was fine. How the hell had I missed it?

"It was nothing. I preferred the hurdle event anyway but that wasn't enough reason to stay on the team."

"Why didn't you tell me? I could've done something." I was going through all the ways I could make this right but Lucien was pushing off the stool.

"I didn't want you to do anything. That would've only made it worse. He's not the first kid who had something nasty to say and he won't be the last. I can handle it."

I glanced at Easton. The tightness of his jaw. The way his nostrils flared. And the crease between his eyebrows. He was just as pissed as I was. This man who barely knew my son, but in a matter of days wanted to protect him nearly as much as I did.

"I know you can, but you shouldn't have to."

Lucien came closer and grabbed my hand. His lips tipped up into a sad smile. "Mom, for every mean kid, there are dozens who treat me kindly. It was easier for me to leave the team than do something I would regret and be the person he claimed I was. I didn't mind. I swear. Track and field was something I enjoyed but didn't love. Eventually, I'll find a sport I love and I promise to fight for it. In the meantime, I'm happy without it."

Damn, I was one lucky mother.

"You're too smart for your own good, you know that?"

"I do," Lucien laughed. "And speaking of which, I believe a certain mother of mine is supposed to be going out on a date tonight. You planning on getting around to talk to me about that?"

Oh God. I dropped my head against my son's chest. There was only one way he could know about that.

"How much did you hear?"

I couldn't even find the nerve to look Lucien in the eyes and forget Easton. It was a good thing he stopped things when he did. This morning I’d thrown on a sweatshirt so I didn't scar my son when, in reality, I had almost done it the night before when I had been too consumed by lust to care that we were right outside Lucien's bedroom.

"Enough to know I respect Easton, and if he still wanted to take you out on a date tonight, I would be okay with that."

I worked up the courage to look over at Easton. He was watching my son with a healthy dose of respect. It made me feel better considering the humiliation that was creeping over me.

"I need to talk to Aunt Lyla about hanging out with you tonight."

Easton cleared his throat. "If she's not available, I know one of the guys wouldn't mind. They would be here anyway. They could just stay inside rather than out in their vehicle."

Was I ready to let some stranger stay overnight with my baby boy? Surprisingly, my first instinct was to say yes. I trusted Easton's team. Every one of them had proven that they had our best interests at heart.

"Okay."

And just like that, it was happening. Tonight I would be going out on a date with a man for the first time since college. No pressure or anything.

Yeah, right. Suddenly it felt like I had a car sitting on my chest.