Rodeo King (Dustin Lovers Book 1) by Cheryl Yeko, Char Chaffin

as he waited for his
son’s answer, not knowing what he’d do if Carson hated the idea. And it’d be
Caleb’s own damn fault for not being there for his boy.
    A huge smile split Carson’s cute cherub
face. “That’s great. Can I call you Daddy? Will you play baseball with me and
Uncle Mason? Can we go get pizza? I like pizza!”
    Caleb sighed in relief. Taking note of
Rosemary’s emotional state, giving her a moment to collect herself, he stroked
his son’s silky head. “You bet you can call me Daddy. And pizza’s my favorite,
too.”
    Rosemary laughed. “I’m sure Uncle Mason
will love having your daddy play baseball with you.”
    The teasing tone in her voice was
directed at him, and Caleb grinned at her as he felt the shift in their
relationship. Although he didn’t figure he was completely forgiven, at least
Rosie seemed willing to give him a chance with their son. That was a good
starting point and a much better place than when he’d first stepped off the
bus, days ago.
    Now Mason was a different story, and he
really wasn’t looking forward to that conversation. The few times he’d run into
him at the hospital while visiting Carson hadn’t been pretty. Caleb knew his
old buddy would rather kick his ass than share Carson in a game of baseball.
But for the boy’s sake, Mason would have to come to grips with the fact that
Caleb was here and wasn’t leaving any time soon.
    If
ever.
    ***
    Rosemary watched Carson and Caleb
playing with matchbox cars on the floor of her living room. Seeing the two of
them together, looking so much alike warmed her heart even as worry and hope
warred inside her.
    The past week had been a whirlwind of
happenings, and she was emotionally exhausted. After another couple days of
bedrest, Carson was almost back to normal. Caleb had brought over the pizza
he’d promised, and she had the table all set.
    Carson giggled as he ran his car across
Caleb’s broad chest. “Vroom. Vroom.”
    The deep rumble of Caleb’s answering
chuckle, as he rolled onto his back and lifted Carson above his head, slid
across her body like a caress. Her center quivered as memories of their
passionate embrace in DeeDee’s alley filled her mind. If not for her brother
showing up the other night, she would have let Caleb take her right there, up
against the brick wall.
    She shoved the memory aside. “Okay, you
two. Come eat.”
    When she’d informed her brother that
Carson knew about, and accepted Caleb as his father, he hadn’t been pleased.
For his nephew’s sake, though, he’d deal. But Mason was a long way from
forgiving Caleb for deserting her. As was Susan, who’d told her she’d be a fool
to let that ‘dirty, rotten cowboy’ back into her life. Not that she could blame
them, since she hadn’t fully forgiven him herself.
    Which made the way her body cried out
for his touch—every time he was near, damn it—totally pathetic.
    Caleb glanced at her from under thick
lashes as Carson bounced on his eight-pack abs. His sexy grin and sinfully dark
green eyes took her breath away as butterflies swarmed in her belly. She
pressed her lips together, ignoring the tingling sensation between her legs,
and silently told herself to knock it the hell off. That road would only lead
to more heartache. She’d had little choice but to let Caleb into Carson’s life,
but no way was he getting back into her panties.
    “You heard your mama, champ. Let’s eat.”
He tossed Carson into the air one last time, before rolling to his feet and
bringing Carson with him.
    Her son clung to Caleb’s hand, a look of
hero-worship on his adorable face. “Pizza!” he yelled, rocking on his feet in
excitement.
    Rosemary could only stare, with her
heart in her throat. Except for the bright red hair, Carson was the spitting
image of his father. A tickle of unease rolled through her, worry that her
baby’s heart would be crushed when Caleb went back on the circuit. That thought
hit like a bucket of cold water, bringing her