“What is she doing here?”
“She’s decorating. I’ll fix shit, but color palettes and throw pillows…not my thing. Since you’ve ruined the getting busy I had in mind, why don’t you three go unload the truck. We’ve already been by the store and picked up most of the stuff we need to get started.”
He tossed Deke the keys to his truck, and the big man caught them in one fist, then grinned. Tyler headed for the door with a chuckle.
His son-in-law slapped Hunter on the back. “Look on the bright side, man. Happy mother-in-law can equal some serious peace in your house. She won’t be trying to run your show.”
“She doesn’t anyway.”
Deke shrugged. “If Carlotta is happy, Kata will be happy. That can only be good for you, dude.”
Hunter hesitated. “True. It’s just a little weird. My dad and my mother-in-law…”
“Get used to it,” Caleb growled.
Rearing back, Hunter blinked at him. “Are you f**king serious?”
“Back down, man.” Deke tried to soothe Hunter.
“What? We don’t get to be as happy as you and Kata?”
Hunter smiled wide. “It’s not that. I just never thought you or Carlotta would get serious about anyone ever again. I’m just shocked. But it’s a good shock.”
Caleb let out the breath he hadn’t realized he’d been holding. “Good. But if you didn’t like it, that was going to be tough shit for you.”
Tyler laughed out loud from the door. “This is every bit as entertaining as watching a toddler put his toy trucks down the toilet.”
Deke marched over to Tyler and punched him in the shoulder. “Damn it. Last time Seth came for a playdate with my boy, he taught little Cal to shove his toys down the john, too.”
That only made Tyler laugh more. “Just spreading the love one crapper at a time.”
“Lord, what am I getting myself into with this whole parenthood idea?” Hunter asked.
“Your children will have lots of stellar influences.” Caleb gestured to Deke and Tyler.
Suddenly, he sensed someone behind him and turned to find Carlotta in a soft pair of jeans and a red V-neck shirt that revealed enough hint of cle**age to fire his blood again.
“Hello, everyone.”
Deke looked down, repressing a smile. “Hi, ma’am.”
Tyler wasn’t much more graceful, just more brazen as he waved. “Good day so far?”
Caleb wanted to elbow the troublemaker.
Hunter drew in a deep breath, then approached Carlotta with a gentle hug. “Thanks for your help with the house. I want to surprise Kata for Christmas.” Then his son gestured toward him. “Don’t let the big guy give you a hard time.”
Carlotta just flushed. “What is first on our agenda?”
Two evenings later, Carlotta sighed with a smile. The entire house was looking largely transformed. With Tyler’s and Deke’s help, they had torn out the half wall in the foyer, removed all the old carpet, and peeled back the linoleum. Hunter had lent a hand until he had been forced to return to active duty, and Carlotta had seen the worry on her daughter’s face as she’d watched her husband walk out the door, not knowing if he would return again. But Kata was strong—and she’d buried herself in work since Hunter’s departure.
Carlotta looked around the kids’ new house with a keen eye. Drywall had been repaired and the cracked window replaced. She had scrubbed the fireplace until the brick looked fresh. New paint had gone on every wall of the house under her watchful eye. The new carpet had gone in with the help of installers. The guys had laid the new hardwood floors and they gleamed in the space, adding new life and vibrancy. The cabinets were stacked in the kitchen and waiting for Deke and Tyler to return tomorrow to help. The fabricators would come measure for the countertops as soon as the cabinets were in place and had promised a quick turnaround. She had shopped earlier for new hardware for the kitchen cabinets, as well as the bathroom fixtures. Time had not been kind to the plastic faucets, and she had replaced them with something sturdier. Somewhere in the middle of everything, Caleb had found the time to mow the lawn, front and back.
He was an amazing man, and she could not deny that she liked him more with every moment they spent together. They had not, however, had another moment alone since that breath-stealing moment he had nearly seduced her on the living room floor.
Carlotta wished very much that Hunter and his friends had come just a bit later.
Across the kitchen, Caleb had removed his shirt and opened the windows. The dusk was surprisingly warm. Sweat sheened across his body as he lifted the cabinets across the new floor and set them in their place, rearranging them until they fit in the space.