Tempting Love Read online

  “Uncle Mitchell, can I spend the night at your house?” Chloe asked out of the blue.

  “Of course you can, squirt.”

  Her sweet little face lit up. “Yay! We can have a Frozen party.”

  I smiled. “That sounds good.”

  “Well, Corina and I are going to head out,” Waylynn said.

  “Where are you girls headed?” my mother asked.

  “Cord’s Place. We both need a night out on the town.”

  My eyes drifted over Corina. She looked hot as hell and for a brief second I wished I hadn’t said Chloe could spend the night. I wanted to go and make sure no asshole put his hands on Corina.

  “Well, be careful girls,” Mom said. “Don’t drink and drive!”

  Waylynn said, “Trust me, Mom. I would never do that. Besides, I don’t want my own brother arresting me!”

  “That might be kind of fun!” I said with a laugh.

  “Yeah, you would think that. Good thing you’re off tonight.”

  “It was so wonderful seeing you again, John and Melanie,” Corina said with a beautiful smile. “Chloe, I’ll see you later?”

  Chloe smiled. “Okay! Bye, Aunt Corina.” She had no idea Corina was living at my place. I couldn’t help but notice how Corina’s eyes lit up when she talked to Chloe. I wondered if she’d want to have kids right away or wait.

  I choked when I realized where my thoughts had taken me.

  “You okay, Mitchell?” my father asked.

  With what must have been a look of horror, I nodded. “Yep. Sorry.”

  Steed stared as if he knew where my thoughts had been.

  “What are you staring at?” I asked sharply.

  A slow smile built as he said, “Nothin’ at all.”

  I shot him a dirty look. “Good!”

  “Night, y’all,” Waylynn said.

  Jumping up, I reached for Corina’s arm. “You’ll call me if y’all need a ride home, right?”

  She stared blankly. I couldn’t read her at all. What in the hell? My job was all about being able to read people, and this woman had me all kinds of messed up.

  “I’m sure we’ll be fine.”

  Letting out a frustrated sigh, I sat back down before she spoke. “If we need you, I’ll call, Mitchell. Always.”

  Giving her my best smile, I replied, “Thank you. Y’all have fun and be safe.”

  Waylynn walked past me. “Now where would the fun be in that?”

  I watched as my sister, and the woman who was slowly driving me insane, walked out of Marco’s.

  “They’ll be fine, Mitchell,” Dad said. “Cord will keep an eye on them.”

  Nodding, I focused on my father. “I know. Trevor’s working tonight. I know he’ll call me if he thinks I need to come get them.” I turned to Chloe. “Hey, how about I follow y’all home and you pack an overnight bag?”

  She fist-pumped. “Come on, Daddy! Let’s go so I can have my princess party with Uncle Mitchell.”

  My smile dropped. “Princess party? I thought we were watching Frozen?”

  Chloe turned to me and shook her head. “Oh, Uncle Mitchell. You’re so funny.”

  Snapping my head to my parents, I asked, “What did I say that was funny?”

  They both attempted to hide their smiles and failed miserably.

  “You sure you don’t mind her spending the night, Mitchell?” Paxton asked as she handed me Chloe’s bag.

  “No, not at all. I never get tired of spending time with her. It’ll be fun.”

  Chloe came walking into the kitchen. “Let’s go get Patches!”

  “Patches?” I asked as I looked back at Steed and Paxton.

  “Pumpkin, Patches can’t spend the night with you. Uncle Mitchell lives in the city, remember?”

  “But he has a yard. It’s big enough for Patches.”

  I laughed. “Patches needs more space than my yard, squirt.”

  “Ah, dang. That’s okay, we’ll still have fun without Patches.”

  “Gee, I hope so! I’d hate to think the goat was more fun than me!”

  Chloe giggled and took my hand. My heart dropped and something strange hit me right in the middle of my chest. I ignored it.

  I glanced at our hands then back up to Steed. He was wearing the same damn smile that he’d had at Marco’s earlier.

  “What?” I asked.

  He shrugged. “I think you’re starting to want it.”

  I pinched my brows.

  “Want what?” Paxton asked.

  “Yeah, what do you want, Uncle Mitchell? A goat? A horse? Oh, I know, a giraffe? Cuz I really wanted one of those too.”

  I chuckled. “No, kiddo. I don’t want any of those things.”

  “What about a kid?” Steed asked as I shot him a dirty look.

  Chloe gasped. “You want a baby goat?”

  Meeting the big blue eyes looking up at me, I shook my head. “Don’t listen to your father, Chloe. He’s delusional.”

  We started toward the door. “What does that mean?”

  “It means your dad thinks he knows the truth, and he is far from it.”

  “I thought Daddy was always right?”

  “I am,” Steed said.

  “He isn’t,” Paxton and I both said at the same time. Laughing, I kissed her goodbye on the cheek. “I always knew you were secretly on my side.”

  She bent down to face Chloe. “You have fun and listen to Uncle Mitchell, okay?”

  Chloe nodded. “I will, Mommy. Kiss Gage for me, okay?”

  “Of course I will. I love you, Chloe Cat.”

  “I love you too! Love you, Daddy.”

  Steed squatted down and pulled Chloe in for a hug. “I know Uncle Mitchell looks like me, but remember, Daddy is smarter, more handsome, and a better singer.”

  Covering her mouth, Chloe chuckled. “Oh, Daddy. You are not a good singer!”

  Everyone laughed as I guided Chloe out of the house and to my truck.

  “Let me know what time you want her home!” I called out. I lifted Chloe into the backseat and buckled her in. Steed had already put Chloe’s booster seat into the truck for me along with a checklist of other Chloe-related things. I rolled my eyes and set it in the seat next to Chloe. It wasn’t like it was my first time having my niece over.

  “You ready to get our Frozen on?” I asked.

  She nodded her head. “Let’s do this!”

  When I walked around my truck, I glanced over at my brother. He smiled and called out, “I’m right and you know it!”

  “Delusional. That’s all you are.”

  As I slipped into the truck, I turned back to see my precious niece, and I knew in that moment who the delusional one was.

  Me.

  Chloe and I spun around the room as we belted out the lyrics to the songs from Frozen.

  “Sing it louder, Uncle Mitchell!”

  I jumped onto the ottoman, spread my arms, and sang like I never had before. The Elsa braid I had clipped in my hair swung around and hit me square in the face. Chloe had a huge smile as she sang with me. She handed me my “magic wand” and we both made pretend ice everywhere we pointed.

  “This is the best night ever!” Chloe cried out. I had to admit, it had my heart soaring to know she was having fun.

  Hopping to the ground, I sang the lyrics while I spun around and came to a stop.

  “Why did you stop singing, Uncle Mitchell?” Chloe asked.

  Corina stood with her hand over her mouth, trying not to completely lose it laughing.

  When I pointed, Chloe screamed so loud I was sure my eardrums would burst.

  “Aunt Corina! What are you doing here?”

  Corina bent down and caught Chloe as she jumped into her arms. “I live here.”

  “Whaaat?” Chloe asked dramatically.

  “She is indeed a Parker woman,” I said as I rolled my eyes, and Corina laughed.

  “My house caught on fire, and your Uncle Mitchell was nice enough to let me stay here for a bit.”
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  Setting Chloe down, Corina grinned. We watched Chloe make her way over to the TV. Picking up the remote, Chloe hit pause. Spinning around, she glanced between the two of us.

  “So, are y’all boyfriend and girlfriend?”

  I don’t know what surprised me more—hearing my little niece say y’all for the first time, or the fact that she totally called us out.

  “No, but I like Corina. A lot.”

  I could feel Corina’s eyes pinning me.

  “Oh!” Chloe squealed. “Aunt Corina, do you like Uncle Mitchell?”

  Facing her, I waited for her answer. I cocked my head to the side and gave her a shit-eating grin. If looks could kill, I’d have been flat on the ground.

  “Well, it’s complicated,” Corina said.

  “Why?” Chloe asked.

  Corina glanced between the two of us. “It’s hard to explain, Chloe.”

  My sweet little niece shrugged and gave Corina a confused look. “I don’t see why. You either like him or you don’t. Like how I like Timmy. I know I like him. So, do you like Uncle Mitchell?”

  Kicking her shoes off, Corina sighed. “He’s okay.”

  Chloe looked at me. “That’s girl talk for she likes you.”

  “Chloe!” Corina said with a laugh.

  “Come on, Aunt Corina. Dance with us!”

  Hitting the play button, Chloe started to sing. Corina peeked at me and waited to see what I would do.

  What the hell. She’s already seen me, so I might as well have fun with my niece.

  I started to sing again. It didn’t take Corina long to join in. I don’t think I’ve ever had as much fun as I did dancing and singing with Chloe and Corina. Thank you, Disney.

  At one point, I picked up Chloe and spun her around. Her foot hit a picture frame, causing it to hit the ground and shatter everywhere.

  “Oh no!” Chloe cried out.

  “Not a big deal. We can clean that up fast,” I said, setting Chloe on the sofa. “Here, squirt. Stay up on the sofa while I get it cleaned. Corina, don’t move.”

  She jumped up next to Chloe. Both girls snuggled on the sofa as I cleaned the broken glass. Every now and then they would whisper and giggle. Each time I looked at them, they stopped.

  “Something funny, ladies?”

  “Nope. Just girl talk,” Corina said with a beautiful smile. I loved seeing her with Chloe. It was clear she loved kids.

  She’s going to make an amazing mother to our kids.

  My eyes widened as I took a few steps back.

  Where in the hell did that thought come from? Kids? Our kids? Me with kids? Corina having my kids?

  What’s wrong?” Corina asked.

  My heart pounded, and I felt myself sweating.

  Corina stood, a concerned look on her face. “Mitchell, are you okay?”

  “I…um…”

  “Spit it out, Uncle Mitchell.”

  My eyes jerked to Chloe. I wanted kids. Holy shit. I wanted kids, and I wanted them with Corina. Holy fuck.

  Swallowing hard, I turned fast, causing the broom to hit a lamp and knock it to the ground. Both girls screamed out.

  “Shit!” I said.

  “Hell, shit, fuck!” Chloe cried out.

  “Chloe!” Corina and I both said.

  I took one step and felt the pain. “Fuck! Fuck! Fuck!”

  Chloe decided to put a spin on my outburst by singing everything I said, Frozen-style. “Fuck! Fuck! Fuuuuck!”

  “Chloe Parker, stop that this second. You know better,” Corina said in a firm voice.

  “I stepped on glass!” I cried out.

  “Come sit down,” Corina said. “Give me the broom and let me clean this up.”

  “Tweezers, I need tweezers! They’re in my bathroom! Stat!”

  Corina stared at me like I had grown two heads. “Chloe, sweetheart, just stay on the couch. Don’t move.”

  With a nod, my sweet, bad-mouthed niece sank down and reached for her iPad and was soon lost in a story, like nothing had happened.

  My foot throbbed as I waited for Corina.

  “Here’s the tweezers. Let me clean this up before someone else steps on glass.”

  I worked at getting the glass out of my foot while Corina cleaned. When I glanced up, Chloe was passed out on the sofa.

  “I’ll vacuum in the morning, but I’m pretty sure I got it all,” Corina said. She sat on the ottoman and watched me.

  “Shit! I can’t reach it with these damn tweezers. They suck! Do you have any better ones?”

  Looking at me like I was stupid, she shook her head. “Mine burned up in a house fire.”

  I held onto my ankle. “Jesus, why is it throbbing?”

  “Because you have glass in it?”

  Letting out a frustrated groan, I dropped against the chair. “I need better tweezers.”

  With a quick glance at her watch, Corina said, “Everything is closed. It’s after ten.”

  “Why are you home so early?” I asked.

  She half shrugged and looked down at my foot. “I don’t know. I wasn’t much in the mood for going out, and Waylynn was having enough fun without me pulling her down.”

  I didn’t say anything, even though I wanted to tell her I was glad she came home early.

  “What should we do?” I asked.

  “I don’t know. Do you have any of that black tar stuff your mom puts on everything?”

  Shaking my head, I replied, “No. Christ, it’s throbbing.”

  “The glass splinter doesn’t look that big. Maybe soak your foot in Epsom salt?”

  “I don’t have any of that.”

  Corina sighed.

  “There is the ER at the Oak Springs hospital,” I said.

  She stared at me, her mouth open. “For a tiny piece of glass?”

  “It hurts! And I can’t get it out. I think it’s in there deep. What if it moves into my bloodstream?”

  Her lips pressed together, and I knew she was holding back a laugh. “Your bloodstream?”

  I rolled my eyes. “It could! I mean…it’s possible…ish.”

  The corner of her mouth twitched as she fought to keep from smiling. “Do you think we need to go to the ER?”

  “Well, unless you can figure out a way to get it, I don’t know what to do.”

  “We could go over to Tripp’s place. I’m sure he has decent tweezers. Maybe a needle so I can try to get it out.”

  “You want to poke around for a piece of glass with a needle?! You’ll push it in farther.”

  Corina walked over to me, dropping to her knees. She looked into my eyes. “Mitchell, how in the world did you become a cop if you can’t take a piece of glass in your foot?”

  Shooting her daggers, I pushed her away. She fell onto her ass and rolled over laughing. “Oh. My. Gosh. I’m sorry! It’s just so funny!”

  “I’m going to the ER, and I need you to drive because it’s in my right foot.”

  She sat up. “Wait, you’re serious. You want to go to the ER?”

  “Just get your ass up and get the kid.”

  Corina looked back at Chloe. “You want me to wake up your niece so that I can take you to the ER for a piece of glass that can honestly wait until morning.”

  “It’s getting deeper!”

  She covered her mouth and tried not to laugh. Once she was composed, she held up her hands. “Okay, doesn’t Lilly live right around the corner?”

  I nodded.

  “I can call her, and see if she has tweezers.”

  Rolling my eyes, I sighed. “Fine. Call her.”

  “Hey, Mitch?”

  I lifted my brows. “Yes?”

  A smile covered her face. “You might want to take off Elsa’s braid before Lilly comes over.”

  With a sigh, I pulled the damn thing off my head and tossed it to the floor.

  “I can’t believe you pushed it farther in.”

  “You wouldn’t stay still, Mitch! Even Lilly said you were acting like a baby.”

 
Turning to face her, I replied, “She did not say that.”

  With a smirk, Corina replied, “Oh, sorry. She said that to me when you weren’t listening.”

  My eyes widened. “You bitch!”

  Corina lost it laughing as she put on the turn signal and pulled into our small town hospital.

  “Looks like parking won’t be a problem,” she said while pulling into the first spot by the ER entrance.

  “Ha ha.”

  I pushed open the car door and got out. I walked on my heel, being careful not to put pressure on the glass.

  Corina walked next to me in silence until we got closer to the door. “You need to lean on me.” She peeked over. “You know, make it look worse than it really is.”

  “Shut up! It hurts!”

  Her hands covered her mouth for the hundredth time tonight.

  As we walked in, Bobby Jo, the nurse who worked the night shift in the ER on the weekends, jumped up.

  “Mitchell! What happened? Did you get shot?”

  That’s when Corina lost it. I don’t think I’d ever heard her laugh so much.

  “Bobby Jo, this is going to sound crazy, but I’ve got a piece glass stuck in my foot and I can’t get it out.”

  The nurse stopped walking and stared at me. Then she grinned. “You’re kiddin’, right?”

  Cue Corina’s laughter again.

  With a long, frustrated groan, I shook my head. “I can’t get it with tweezers, and Corina here pushed it in even more.”

  Bobby Jo’s eyes bounced between me and Corina. There was no doubt in my mind she was waiting for one of us to say we were kidding. Finally, she walked back around the desk. “Well, let’s get you to fill out some paperwork.”

  I leaned in closer. “Bobby Jo, is that necessary?”

  She gave me a hard look. “It is, Mitchell Parker. If you want to be seen, you’ve got to fill out the paperwork.”

  Corina bumped my arm. “You need me to do it? You know, with the pain and all?”

  I shot her a go-to-hell look. “I’ve got it. Thanks.”

  Ten minutes later I was sitting in the small nurse’s station getting my blood pressure and temperature taken. When Bobby Jo held up the name bracelet and asked me if I was Mitchell Parker, I thought for sure Corina was going to pass out from lack of oxygen while she was doubled over laughing.