Midnight Kiss (20 page)

Riki glanced up and smiled. Jason felt his heart skip two beats, then it started in on double time.

“Mom,” Andrew said, “Pete was saying curses again.”

“Andrew, what have I told you about tattling?” Riki frowned at her son, then glanced at Pete. “Do you want to be punished again?”

“No, ma’am.”

“Then you better not let me hear that kind of language again.” She stood up. “Okay, gang. I want all the dirty clothes out by the washer. You can go out to play, but this time keep out of the mud. Andrew, you stay in the yard. Billy-Jo, you can help Mommy with dinner. Mr. Nesbit, would you like to join me for a cup of coffee?”

“Okay, and the name’s Jason.”

“Only if you call me Riki.”

She led the way into a huge kitchen that had just about every modern convenience. There was a dishwasher, a microwave, and an assortment of small appliances that Jason didn’t recognize. A large pine picnic table sat in the middle of the room, with benches on either side and a chair at each end. Jason sat on one of the benches. Billy-Jo climbed up next to him and stuck her thumb in her mouth.

“Here, Mom,” Travis, or was that Trevor, said as he laid muddy jeans on top of the washer. The rest of the gang filed in and deposited their dirty clothes.

“Cookies are on the counter,” Riki said, “but only take two. Dinner won’t be that much longer.”

Jason noticed that not one of the kids took more than two cookies. When Charlie entered the room with Tiny, she took two cookies as well. She put one in her mouth and fed the other to Tiny.

Riki chuckled. “He’s going to get as fat as an elephant if you keep feeding him cookies, Charlie.”

Charlie glanced up at Riki. Jason guessed that was her way of showing she had heard and understood. He watched as she turned and left with Tiny.

Riki was measuring coffee into the drip coffee brewer when Billy-Jo said, “Cook, cook.”

“In a minute, darlin’. Let Mommy finish here first.”

“Would you like me to get them for you?” Jason asked. At Billy-Jo’s nod he got two cookies for her and handed them to her.

“You just made a friend for life,” Riki said as she set a cup of milk in front of Billy-Jo.

“I wish they were all that easy,” he muttered.

“I know it must be hard on you, but I believe this is the best way.” Riki smiled, trying to ease the strain.

“Okay, you’re the boss. What now?”

She handed him his coffee, then sat down across from him. “First, dinner. You are joining us, of course. The couple who live next door went away a few days ago. They’ve gone to stay with their daughter, who is going to have a baby any day now. They’ll be gone for two weeks or so. Anyway, I usually watch their house for them whenever they’re away. I explained the situation here and they agreed to allow you to sleep in their guest room while you’re here. You can join us for breakfast, lunch, and dinner. You can virtually live here, except you have to sleep there.”

“Why?”

“Why what?”

“Why do I have to sleep over there?”

Riki didn’t like that gleam in his eyes. “Because it wouldn’t be proper for you to sleep here.”

“Why? Do you attack strange men in the middle of the night?” Jason couldn’t help himself. She was actually blushing. He hadn’t seen a girl blush since high school.

“Of course not!” Riki was more angry at herself for getting flustered than at Jason for teasing her.
He must think you’re a real country bumpkin
, she told herself, blushing and stumbling over your own tongue. “Look, Jason, I’m in the process of trying to adopt Jake and Pete, and something I don’t need is gossip.”

“Why not Charlie or the others?”

“I always knew Charlie had a father somewhere. Even though it took so long to find you, I never got my hopes up. If you were dead and there was no family, I would have applied to adopt her too. As for the others, I don’t have to adopt them.”

“Thanks for wishing me dead, and why don’t you have to adopt the others?”

“They’re mine.”

He raised his brows. “All of them?”

She stiffened her shoulders. “There are only four.”

“Whoa, Mama Bear, I have nothing against four kids. It’s just that you don’t look like you had four.”

“Right now I’m the mother of seven. Any complaints?”

“Not a one. I didn’t mean to imply that you weren’t a good mother or anything. It’s just that you don’t look like my idea of a mother of seven.” He leered comically at her and proceeded to check out her body.

Riki could feel the blush starting at her neck. She quickly put her coffee cup down and stood. “Let’s go next door, and I’ll show you around.” Grabbing Billy-Jo’s hand, she headed for the back door.

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