Page 4 of Hot Times in Heart Falls, Vignettes Vol 3

It was just a holiday snack, for heaven’s sake. Surely he could manage this for his family.

By the time the mudroom door opened and the cold rushed in, he had successfully poured the hot chocolate into everyone’s favourite mugs and lined them up on the counter.

Tamara peered at him over the top of her glasses that had gone foggy after coming in from the cold. “Something smells delicious.”

Twelve-year-old Emma kicked off her boots then flung her coat toward a hook. Sasha knelt to help her little brother out of his coat, the fourteen-year-old calling out a protest when Tyler escaped and stomped across the kitchen floor still wearing his boots. “Tyler. No boots in the house.”

His news was too big to wait. Tyler threw his arms around Caleb’s leg. “Daddy. We saw puppies.”

Caleb scooped up the three and a half-year-old, carefully holding him so his dirty boots aimed toward the mudroom and away from the treats. “Puppies. Really?”

“Patchwork Annie is having her babies. Two, so far,” Sasha informed him. “Uncle Dustin’s taking care of them.”

“Well, then, she’s in good hands.” Caleb passed Tyler to Tamara as the timer went off on the oven. “Everybody with freshly washed hands can have a treat in the living room in two minutes.”

Tyler squirmed to be put down, catching hold of Emma’s hand and tugging her toward the bathroom. “Emma help,” Tyler ordered.

“Of course, Your Majesty.” Emma gave Caleb a wink, her blonde curls bouncing as she accompanied Tyler down the hall. Meanwhile, Sasha used the sink in the mudroom, whistling a tune softly as she stared out the window, lost in thought.

At the kitchen sink, Tamara finish washing her hands as Caleb used a spatula to move fresh and gooey chocolate chip cookies to a cooling rack. “This is a nice surprise.”

Caleb lifted his shoulders in an easy shrug before leaving his task to come cup her face with both hands. Between the heat of the kitchen and the cold outside, it was a sharp contrast to have her skin against his palms.

He leaned in close. “Sometimes I need to make the world a little sweeter for the most important people I know.”

Then he kissed her, warm lips to cool, the heat between them steady and sure. And after the kiss, they spent the next hour together as a family enjoying the treats he’d made. Talking about everything and nothing. Plans for the coming year, puppies and kittens, and baby goats—dear God.

As the children before him laughed and Tamara’s eyes sparkled at him, Caleb counted his blessings.

He truly was a lucky man.

* * *

The wind increased in volume as it carried a lingering warmth across the lake, snowflakes whirling in circles, swooping left and right. The lights of the newer home on the far side of Big Sky Lake shone off the clear icy surface while freezing temperatures crept frosty fingers around the edges of the bathroom window.

A steam-covered window that suddenly had a hand pressed to the middle. Palm sliding down the foggy surface as a low moan rattled the glass…

* * *

“Holy hell, that was amazing.” Kelli twisted, separating their bodies for long enough to spear her fingers into Luke’s hair and pull him to his feet. He went reluctantly, still tasting her pleasure on his lips.

He crowded her against the door, her naked skin pressed to his fully clothed body like a wicked daydream come to life. He’d caught her in the middle of taking a shower, and watching hadn’t been enough. Thankfully, she’d laughed as he’d hauled her from the shower stall and into his arms.

Going down on her in the bathtub area had been a spectacular natural progression.

Kelli stroked her fingers through his hair. “Thanks for that lovely interlude.”

“My line.” He kissed her gently. “Damn, I can’t get enough of you.”

“You’re like a wild man tonight.”

“Construction is officially finished. You said we should celebrate,” he reminded her, his gaze drifting over her body as he let every bit of his fiery need for her show. “Which means sex. Against every wall, every door, on every fucking floor.”

And then he wasn’t talking because his mouth was on hers, the hand behind her head capturing her in place so he could consume her.

Even as she kissed him back, wild and wet and sweet, Kelli dug her fingernails into his shoulders. The sharp bite sent a lightning zap along his nerve endings and upped the urgency to move. He needed her as much now as he had in the beginning.

A second later he had her swung up into his arms.