Page 41 of Taming His Honeydoll
Sawyer pretended to be considering this. “Well...you have to promise not to tell Nana. She doesn’t like cats in the house.”
“I promise, I promise.” He was practically dancing now.
“Okay then.” Sawyer lifted the windowsill and Marmalade jumped from the limb onto the window ledge. “This big old oak tree has been here for generations and the limbs are near the roof across most of the backside of the house. It’s time they were trimmed back again.”
“I think she likes me,” Levi said proudly, his little hands stroking Marmalade’s fur while she headbutted his chest and purred loudly. “Can I pick her up?”
Sawyer nodded, but before Levi could get her, Marmalade jumped off the windowsill and padded to the bed where she curled up on the blanket. Levi followed her and laid down beside her in the middle of the bed, stroking her soft fur. She snuggled into him and licked his hand.
Sawyer looked at his watch. It was three in the morning. He grinned and closed the window. If Marmalade ran to her usual schedule, she would want out again around seven. Closing the window, he went to the other side of the bed and pulled the comforter down to slip Levi’s feet beneath it, then crawled in behind him. Putting his long arm across his son’s waist, he also tickled Marmalade under the chin. It wasn’t but a few minutes until Levi fell asleep with his hand on Marmalade and both he and the cat seemed secure and content.
It was a little longer before Sawyer fell asleep. Realizing all he’d missed out on in the first four years of Levi’s life filled him with more regrets. He was still angry with Emma for not telling him about his son. Even though he’d made a colossal mistake, she still should have told him.
***
SOMEWHERE AROUND FOURin the morning, Emma awoke with a start and realized Levi was not in his bed. Her mother sense was immediately on alert and she got up to check the bathroom. When she didn’t find him there, she went into the hall and down to Sawyer’s door where she pushed it slightly open. They were both in Sawyer’s big king-sized bed asleep, with the same orange cat she’d seen in the barn curled up beside Levi. Her heart melted at seeing them together and she felt a twinge of regret for all that Sawyer had missed. She sighed and made a decision. A smart mother knows never to wake a sleeping child unless you have to, so she retreated, although she wasn’t sure how she felt about the cat.
Henry had always been allergic to cats. And living in town, the house lot was small and didn’t have a fenced-in yard for a dog. Lately he’d been asking about a puppy, but taking care of a child and working a full-time job didn’t leave her much time to add a pet. Besides, she wanted to wait until he was little older so she could teach him responsibility by showing him how to care for his pet.
Stifling a yawn, she retreated to her bathroom and then back to bed. She wondered what had awoken Levi and why he hadn’t crawled into bed with her. Sawyer must have heard him wake up and came to investigate, then took him to his room so she could rest. That was very nice of him considering he’d only known his son for two days.
When the door slammed open shortly after seven and Levi bounced into the bedroom chattering with excitement, Emma opened her eyes and groaned.
“Mama, Mama, guess what? Daddy has a cat named Marmalade and I got to sleep with her and Daddy but we can’t tell Nana.” He informed her of all of this in one breath, his eyes wide and shining while he kneeled on the bed beside her.
“Marmalade huh? Sounds like you had a middle-of-the-night adventure,” she teased, reaching out to tuck his blond curls behind his ears.
“Yes, but we can’t tell Nana, it’s a secret.”
“Why the secret?”
“Daddy says Nana doesn’t like cats in the house. My Daddy Henry didn’t like cats in the house like Nana. Isn’t that right, Mama?”
“That’s right, honey.”
She heard a chuckle at the doorway and looked up to see Sawyer standing there with his arms folded across his bare chest and clad only in a pair of sweats slung low on his hips. He looked rumpled and sexy with his short curls on top slightly askew. His jawline was dark and unshaven—his white teeth gleamed at her in a sexy smile.
“Sorry about that. I was in the bathroom when he raced out the door before I could catch him. I was intending to let you sleep until you were ready to get up.”
“I’m ready to get up, I feel much better today,” she replied with a yawn. She stretched her arms above her head, then blushed when she caught his hungry stare at her breasts. “Uh, I’ll just get us ready for the day and meet you in the kitchen,” she added, feeling breathless.
Pancakes and sausages okay with both of you?” He practically growled.
“I love pancakes,” Levi replied, jumping off the bed. “Pancakes with blueberries or chocolate chips, or syrup, or butter,” he rattled off.
Sawyer laughed. “Sounds like you like pancakes any old way,” he teased. “Help your mama get you dressed and I’ll see you downstairs. After breakfast we can go to the barn and feed Marmalade and her friends.”
“Okay, Daddy.”
Emma was amazed at how quickly Levi had taken to Sawyer. But then he’d never known a stranger. He was open and trusting, something she wasn’t. When her parents had been killed so suddenly her world had been pulled out from under her and nothing was the same. She’d been angry, hurt, and eventually rebellious at life in general.
Shaking off thoughts of the past, she turned to Levi. “Into the shower with you, little man so we can get you ready for your new adventures this morning.”
“I can’t wait to feed the cats.” He started yanking off his pajama tee as he raced to the bathroom.
Emma followed, indulgently picking up his discarded trail as he went. Now if she could just teach him to clean up his toys and his room, he’d be the perfect child. Not!
***
