Barbara Dunlop - Overheated

Then a figure appeared in her peripheral vision.

Steve Grosso.

She saw that he’d spotted her, hesitated, then made up his mind and marched toward her.

Her heart sank. She really wasn’t up for an argument.

His feet came to a halt next to the bench. “Hello, Crystal.”

She pretended to notice him for the first time. “Steve.”

He gestured to the bench. “Do you mind?”

Yes. “Of course not.”

He took a seat, and they were silent for a few minutes.

“I was sorry to hear about your sister.”

She nodded, keeping her vision straight ahead.

“I remember how painful it was to lose my mother.” He took a breath, watching the children play. “I promise, it gets better. Slowly. But day by day, week by week. The raw pain subsides, and you eventually find a new normal.”

“That’s what I need,” she told him in a strained voice. “A new normal.” For her and for the kids.

Silence took over again.

Then Steve cleared his throat. “I realize you weren’t after my father’s money.”

The words surprised Crystal, and she turned to look at him. There was pain and regret in his expression. “Heidi, my fiancée, told me about your animal trust. She said you told her all about it when you dropped your dog off.” He paused again. “I owe you a very big apology.”

“Thank you,” she managed.

“I don’t know what I can-”

“It’s over,” Crystal put in. “Your dad’s made up his mind.”

“But-”

“It wasn’t you, or your opinion. He wants me to find a man my own age, to have children.” She gave a cold laugh at the absurdity of Larry’s fantasy.

“I accused him of having a midlife crisis.”

“Maybe he was,” Crystal allowed. Larry had claimed he was breaking up for her own good. But who could guess the real reason? Maybe he’d fulfilled whatever twenty-something-year-itch had hit him, and he was done with her. She’d never know for sure.

“That’s absurd,” said Steve.

“How do you know?”

“Because I know my father. I’m going to-”

“Don’t,” she told him sharply. “Please. Walk away from it.” Her gaze went back to the kids. “I have enough to deal with at the moment.”

“Right,” he agreed, rising to his feet. “Once again, I’m very sorry. I made a very big mistake.”

“Thank you.”

“WELL, THAT WAS PROBABLY the stupidest thing you’ve ever done,” said Milo. The family’s racing patriarch was holding court outside Dean’s motor home while race cars qualified on the track in front of them.

Larry didn’t bother disagreeing with his grandfather’s assessment of his actions with Crystal.

“Juliana’s fifteen years younger than me,” Milo continued. “That ever cause us any problems?”

Larry looked to his brother Dean, who had also been raised by Milo and Juliana. “Not that I could see,” Larry allowed, and Dean nodded.

Just then, Juliana came out of the motor home.

“My age a problem for you?” Milo demanded.

“Only that you won’t grow up,” Juliana put in smoothly. “Am I to understand we’re talking about the Larry and Crystal situation?”

Larry wasn’t wild about being described as a “situation,” but he wouldn’t be rude to the woman who’d been both mother and grandmother to him. “What about children of her own?” he had to ask, knowing Juliana had never had her own children.

“You’ll have to ask her that question,” Juliana answered softly. “When we finally met her this morning, she seemed like a lovely girl. Smart enough, maybe, to know that life doesn’t come in a neat little package. A person is lucky to find love at all, never mind find love in the perfect circumstance.

“I never gave birth, but that doesn’t mean I didn’t have children. It seems to me the young lady we’re talking about has children. Maybe she wants more, maybe she doesn’t. But she could probably use a hand with the two she’s got.”

Understanding suddenly slammed into Larry.

Crystal needed him here and now. She was living her real life, not some fantasy he’d conjured up for her. He loved her. He had to support her, make her happy and help her with whatever burdens life threw her way.

What he should do and what he wanted to do, were exactly the same thing. For a genius, he sure was slow on the uptake sometimes.

“Dad,” came Steve’s breathless voice, as he raced to the circle of lawn chairs. “I was wrong.”

“About what?” asked Kent.

“About Crystal,” said Steve.

“No kidding,” said Larry.

“You need to make up with her. You need to…marry her and help her with those kids. If you don’t march over there right now and offer to share her life, you’re not the father I thought you were.”

“You want me to propose to her?”

“Yes!” came a chorus from those assembled.

“In the infield?” Larry was up for the proposal part, but he didn’t think it needed to happen in the next five minutes. Or maybe it did. Suddenly, he couldn’t wait.

“She’s over by the play area,” Steve offered, his breathing back to normal.

Larry hesitated.

But then Juliana came forward, pressing something into the palm of his hand.

He looked down to see her gold, solitaire engagement ring.

“No,” he protested, vehemently shaking his head.

But she closed his hand around the ring. “What, are they going to bury me with it?”

“Nobody’s burying you anytime soon,” said Larry.

Juliana just smiled, with perfect contentment. “I’ll keep the wedding band. But there’s something about this young woman that reminds me of me.” She winked at Larry, while Milo pulled her back into his lap.

“Do as my young wife tells you,” groused Milo.

Larry tightened his hand around the ring, butterflies forming in his stomach. What if she wasn’t ready to forgive him? What if she said no? Worse, what if she’d decided he was right and she should hold out for somebody younger?

He hesitated, but Steve pointed him in the direction of the play area and gave him a gentle shove.

STILL WATCHING THE KIDS PLAY, Crystal caught another figure in her peripheral vision.

Larry, this time.

She steeled her emotions for his arrival, something she’d practiced a lot, but pretty much sucked at.

Her heart rate increased as he sat down on the bench beside her.

“How’re they doing?” he asked, with a nod toward the children.

As always, his deep voice sent a shiver down her spine.

“Better,” she told him.

He stretched his arm along the length of the back, brushing against her hair, nearly making her jump out of her skin.

“I never meant to make things hard for you,” he said.

She nodded. “I know. It was nice of you to invite the kids. I think it’s been good for them.”

“Crystal?”

“Yes?”

“Look at me.”

She gathered her defenses and turned her head.

His eyes were clear and honest in the sunlight. “That’s not what I meant.”

She waited.

“Tell me something,” he said.

“What?”

“If it was up to you, where would our relationship go?”

Her stomach hollowed out. What was his game?

“Seriously,” he prompted.

“Don’t do this,” she hissed.

His eyes darkened further, and he inched a little closer. “I need to know,” he intoned.

“I haven’t changed my mind,” she said.

“And that means?”

“That means-” she glared at him defiantly “-if it was up to me, if nobody else got a vote, you, me, Jennifer and David would live happily ever after.”

“I was kind of hoping you’d say that.”

“Why?” she spat out, seriously considering getting up to leave.

“Because, I love you.”

She waved a dismissive hand. “Fat lot of good that’s ever done me.”

“And,” Larry drew a deep breath, apparently choosing to ignore her mood. “I want you to marry me.”

She opened her mouth to retaliate, but then the words registered, and her jaw dropped.

He opened his hand, and she saw a small ring nestled in his palm.

Her eyes flew to his, her mouth forming into an O.

“Marry me, Crystal. I love you, and I don’t care what anyone thinks or says. If you’ll take me without babies, I’m yours for the rest of my life.”

“Auntie Crystal,” David called in a happy voice, and she could see the two children running toward her.

“What do you say?” asked Larry.

Her heart sang, and tears of joy formed in her eyes. “I say yes. I say you’re stuck with me. And I say we’ve already got two beautiful children.”

“Auntie Crystal?” David repeated, and she turned to look at him.

He took in her face. “What’s wrong?”

“Nothing’s wrong,” said Larry. “I just asked Auntie Crystal to marry me.” He paused. “And she said yes.”

“You’re getting married?” asked Jennifer, coming to a halt, her expression wary.

Larry nodded, but Crystal paused, watching the girl closely.

“So,” said David, his lips pursing as he moved toward Larry. His little chest expanded with a slow breath. “It’ll be like you’re my dad, but with a plane?”

“Yes,” said Larry soberly. “It’ll be exactly like that.”

David whooped and threw himself into Larry’s arms.

Larry’s eyes closed, and he held David’s little body tight against his chest, his arms wrapped protectively around him.

Jennifer had stayed silent, and Crystal glanced her way again.

The young girl’s shoulders were shaking.

“Sweetheart,” Crystal asked, leaning toward her, frightened.

Jennifer stared at David in Larry’s arms. Relief flooded her expression, and she choked on a sob.

Suddenly Crystal got it.

Jennifer had been holding it together for her little brother. She’d been protecting him for so long, she didn’t know how to stop. She couldn’t grieve herself, because she didn’t know if David was going to need her.

Crystal pulled the shaking girl into her arms, holding her tight while Jennifer buried her face in Crystal’s neck.

“Larry’s going to be there for David,” she whispered. “And I’m going to be there. And Grandma and Grandpa, and Larry’s entire family. We’re all going to make sure David’s okay.”

Jennifer nodded against her shoulder, the tears and sobs flowing freely.

For long minutes, Crystal simply held her.

Larry’s and David’s voices were low murmurs next to them on the bench.

Finally, the girl’s grief seemed to ebb.

“Is Mommy in Heaven?” Jennifer’s small, watery voice asked against Crystal’s damp shoulder.

“Mommy,” Crystal managed, “is most certainly in Heaven.”

“And my dad is going to stay in jail?”

“Yes.”

Jennifer reached a small, shaking hand inside the pocket of her shorts and retrieved the little black cell phone. “Then I don’t need this anymore?”

Crystal’s hand closed around the phone, her chest squeezing with pain. “No, honey. You don’t need it anymore.”

Crystal’s gaze caught Larry’s as a deep, shuddering breath of relief whooshed out of Jennifer’s lungs.

The little girl still had some crying to do. And they would grieve together for a long while to come. But there was a bright new future waiting for all four of them.

Crystal reached for Larry’s hand, and it joined solidly with her own.

is a bestselling, award-winning author of numerous novels for Harlequin and Silhouette Books. Her books regularly hit bestseller lists for series romance, and she has twice been short-listed for the Romance Writers of America’s RITA^® Award.