new season, anyway.”
“Smells good in here,” I said, peering over her shoulder “What are you making?”
“Tacos. They’ll be ready soon.”
I looked around the kitchen, listening for the sounds of my rambunctious girl getting into something, but except for the sizzle of the meat, all was quiet. “Where’s Ivy? And why’s Micah’s truck in the driveway?”
At my question, Sylvia peeked back at me, her eyes dancing excitedly. “Take a look in the backyard.”
I turned my head to catch a glimpse out the back window, and what I saw made my feet started moving instantly.
Hugging my cardigan tighter to me, I exited through the back door and started down the garden path to the big stretch of yard behind it.
Ivy was out there, skipping and spinning around a massive pile of lumber like a little forest sprite. From the corner of my eye, I caught movement and turned to see Micah coming through the side gate carrying a stack of two-by-fours on his wide shoulder. My lungs nearly deflated at the sight of his thick biceps and roped forearms straining under the weight of the lumber.
“What--what’s going on?” I asked once I was finally able to breathe properly.
“Mommy!” Ivy stopped dancing and came running up to me, plowing into my legs. “Look at all of dis!” she practically yelled with excitement as she faced the pile and threw her arms wide.
“I see it, love bug. But what is it?”
Micah tossed the boards onto the pile and shifted direction, heading straight for me as he pulled a pair of worn work gloves from his hands and stuffed them into the back pocket of his jeans. It was the simplest of actions, but for some reason, I found the whole thing so rugged and manly a flood of arousal dampened my panties.
“Hey, Red,” he said casually as he reached out and hooked me around my waist. He pulled me into him, chest to chest, and planted a hard, quick kiss on my lips with such ease it was like he’d made this move every day for years. “You have a good day?”
“Y-yeah,” I answered dazedly. “Um, what’s going on?”
“Mike’s buildin’ me a treehouse!”
My head whipped back around to Micah—who was still holding me against him. “You’re building—that’s not—huh?”
“A treehouse,” he repeated. “She asked me last weekend, but I didn’t have a chance to get to the home improvement store until today.”
“Did she use The Look again?” I asked, ready to turn and lecture my daughter when Micah spoke again. And what he said left me speechless.
“No, she didn’t con me this time. She just asked. I remembered that my little sister and I had a treehouse growin’ up, and we loved that thing. Used to spend hours in there. I wanted to give Monster a little bit of that.”
“You—” I gaped at him, blinking slowly. “She just asked?”
“Yeah.”
“And you said yes? Just like that.”
“Well, not just like that.” He tilted his head down and gave my girl a very serious, very stern look. “And she had to make me a promise. Right, kid?”
She nodded enthusiastically. “Yuh-huh. I had to promise to never, ever kiss another boy for my whole life!”
I let out a giggle before getting serious. “Wow, Micah. This is just . . . This is really incredible.
His arm squeezed, giving me a little shake as those leafy green eyes began to smile. “It’s not a big deal.”
On that, he was very wrong. This was a big deal. Maybe not to him, but to Ivy and me it was everything. This and how he acted last weekend when he turned all Papa Bear. That he didn’t seem to notice, that he wasn’t just doing something for my girl in order to win brownie points, was a massive blow to any defense mechanisms I’d put in place.
The warmth overtaking me melted the rigidity in my muscles, and I slowly sank deeper into him. I lifted my hands and placed them on his chest, lowering my voice to a whisper as I said, “Thank you, honey. This is incredible.”
His expression changed, his features growing tender as his gaze heated. “I see you like that,” he rumbled softly.
“Very much.”
“Good. Then gimme a kiss so I can get back to work.”
Lifting up on my toes, I did just that. Mindful that my daughter was still standing right there, I didn’t take it too far, but I wasn’t exactly in a hurry to end it either.
Finally, I pulled away, giving him a smile I hoped reflected my appreciation.
He