Raising Kane

She started to come. Her muscles clamped down on his dick and he was done. He came so hard and fast he was damn glad they were sitting because he doubted his shaky legs could hold them up.



Kane placed a kiss on the teeth marks on her shoulder before he slumped back into the chair.



Ginger emitted a soft sigh. Then she rested against him, wrapping her arm around the back of his neck. “You were right.”



“About?” He nuzzled her head above her ear.



“That position does have a certain charm.”



He chuckled. “You hold all the charm for me. Doesn’t matter what position we’re in or where we are.”



“Were you upset that you didn’t hear from me since last week?”



“Maybe a little.”



“I sort of figured. I just…don’t know what we’re supposed to do now, Kane. I’m not ready to…”



“I understand why you’re wary and want to keep ‘this’—whatever it is—on the down low.”



“You do? And you don’t mind?”



Hell yes, I mind. Kane wasn’t keen pretending he was cool with it, but he wasn’t willing to sacrifice time with Ginger to save the sting to his pride. “I like bein’ with you. You already know that. You’ve got enough pressure in your life and I won’t demand more than you’re willin’ to give me.” Because he wanted it all. He kissed her neck. “We’ll figure it out as we go along, okay?”



“Okay.”



As Ginger donned her winter clothes, Kane shook his head.



“What?”



“You really don’t have any snow boots?”



“No. Every pair I’ve ever seen are butt-ugly.”



“So are frostbitten toes. They turn black and fall off. Then how would you wear them sexy-assed heels you’re so fond of?”



She waved him off. “I’ll be fine.”



Kane counted to ten. “Give me your keys.”



“Why?”



“Because it’s twenty degrees below zero out there and I want to warm up your car so your damn legs don’t freeze. Plus I need to check your battery.”



“Oh.” She offered him that smile that would’ve gotten her anything. “Thank you. What would I do without you?”



“Maybe the question oughta be—what would you do with me if you had me all the time?”



Before he acted even more like a lovesick fool, asking foolish questions, he stomped outside.



Chapter Eleven



The basement of the community center was absolute chaos.



Over the past two years Ginger had attended plenty of Little Buddies events, so her bout of nerves baffled her.



You know exactly why you’re nervous. Two words: Kane McKay.



She and Kane hadn’t been together in a crowd and she wondered if people who knew them both would notice a difference in their dealings with one another.



Maybe Ginger had been a bit disappointed last night when Kane admitted he was fine sneaking around with her. Part of her wanted that public acknowledgment.



Her gaze was drawn to him like a magnet. His dark head was a contrast to Hayden’s blond one as they bent over the model on the table. Their concentration was absolute. She hung back, content to watch them together.



It’d been a sticky subject when her father had suggested Hayden needed more hiking, hunting, fishing—Wyoming type of outdoor activities to supplement the boy’s tendency to bury his nose in a book.



And it’d pained her dad to be handicapped because he couldn’t share his love of the great outdoors with this only grandson.



Ginger had been skeptical of signing on for the Big Buddies/Little Buddies program. She suspected half the single or divorced ladies in the tri-county area had signed up hoping to snag a husband. It’d given her a sense of relief that many of the volunteers were married men. Fathers whose children had grown up.



Men who wanted to give back to the community by providing a positive example to boys who didn’t have a consistent male influence in their young lives.



She hung back, content to watch them together. But Ginger wasn’t the only one watching Kane. Four mothers hung on the periphery as their sons’ Big Buddies helped with the model cars. None of the other male volunteers garnered the type of interest Kane did. Because he was sexy as sin and single? Partially.



But she suspected the other reason Kane held appeal was because he didn’t appear to be paying attention to any of those hungry-eyed women. An aloof man was a trickier target, and therefore, more prized if obtained.



She supposed it wasn’t really Kane’s fault women flocked to him. He was a striking man, with his dark good looks and easy grin. His Built Ford Tough body was definitely sigh-worthy, as were those stunning blue eyes.



The next thing she knew, that intense blue gaze was directed at her.



A delicious warmth unfurled as Kane studied her from beneath lowered lashes. No one else could tell he was watching her. But Ginger knew. When that secret smile played around the corners of his sinful mouth, the smile indicating he’d been conjuring raunchy sexual images, her mind flashed to last night’s sexcapades.



It’d been easy to let go with Kane. To be the sexual woman she’d forgotten she could be. To hand the reins to him, knowing he wouldn’t abuse her trust. Knowing he was as helpless as she to ignore the passion that exploded between them. Anytime, anyplace.



And this is definitely not the time nor the place to be thinking about sex with Kane McKay.



She forced herself to look away.



“Ginger?”



She spun around and faced Stacy, the director of the program. “Hi! Looks like you’ve got a great turnout.”



“Better than last year, which hopefully means more fundraising profits.” Stacy smiled. “I’m surprised to see you here.”



“Really?”



“You tend to…let Hayden and Kane do their own thing.”



“Is that bad? Is there more I should be doing?”



Stacy patted Ginger’s arm. “No, not at all. In fact, I wish some of the other mothers would follow your lead. Some women have to tag along at every event, and quite frankly, that defeats the purpose of the organization.”



Ginger’s gaze returned to Hayden and Kane. “Can’t you point out the obvious to them?”



“No. We’ve always maintained an ‘open door’ policy for our members. Anyone can come to any event that involves their child.”



“This program has been good for Hayden.”



“Glad to hear it. And between us, consider yourself lucky you ended up with Kane McKay. There are lots of mothers requesting him as their son’s Big Buddy.”



There was that flare of unexpected feeling of jealousy. “Do you take that into consideration when pairing boys with mentors?”



Stacy shook her head. “Mostly we have to work around how many boys each Big Buddy can handle.



Some guys do well with three or four boys. Others only have time for one. Since we’re short on volunteers, our priority is not to overload the volunteers we have. The only solution is to put prospective Little Buddies on a waiting list.”



The question How many boys does Kane oversee? danced on the tip of Ginger’s tongue, but she knew Stacy couldn’t give her that information.



She squinted at the table. Another boy, younger than Hayden, sat next to Kane. Her gaze moved to the woman with her hands on the back of boy’s chair. She appeared to be chattering away to Kane.



“Excuse me,” Stacy said and drifted off.



Ginger headed toward her son and his mentor, deciding at the last second to cut behind the bank of tables behind Kane and Hayden. That way she could eavesdrop and neither would be the wiser.



“That’s great, son,” the stacked blonde cooed. “But maybe you oughta let Kane show you how to paint that stripe a little straighter.”



“You’re doin’ a fine job, Lock.”



“But—”



“Leave him be, Daphne,” Kane warned softly. “Maybe you oughta go get a glass of punch and let us finish up.”



“I’ll stay. I’m not really very thirsty.”



“Mom! I didn’t see you standing there,” Hayden said.



There went her great eavesdropping plan. Ginger smiled. “I didn’t want to interrupt you guys.”



“Come and look at this. Kane helped with the design, but isn’t it cool?”



Ginger angled over Hayden’s shoulder. “Very cool, very creative. I love the silver flames. What happens when you’re finished with it?”



“There’s a contest. First place gets a big blue ribbon.”



She was acutely aware of Kane’s gaze on the back of her head and of Daphne’s air of hostility. She glanced up and met the woman’s eyes.



Daphne sent her a tight smile. “You must be Hayden’s mom.”



“Yes, I’m Ginger Paulson. And you are?”



“Daphne Martin. My son Lock is also Buck’s Little Buddy.” She draped herself over her son’s chair, closer to Kane. “Maybe now that Hayden is almost finished, Buck can finally help you?”



Kane’s eyes never strayed to Daphne’s cleavage, which seemed to have its own gravitational pull toward Kane’s face. “Sure. What’s left to do?”



“That whole side is messy,” Lock said glumly. “Maybe I oughta just paint over it.”



“Only this section. The rest is good,” Kane offered.



Hayden rose up on his knees to watch. Kane glanced up and smiled at him. “Hang tight, sport. We’ll get that last stripe on in a second.”



“So Buck, are you gonna stick around for the after party?” Daphne asked.



“I usually do. Why?”



“I wondered if I could talk to you about a couple of things.” In private wasn’t said, but it was heavily implied.



Ginger curled her hands around the back of Hayden’s chair, instead of into fists. Unhappy with the urge to publicly remind Kane what they’d done in private last night.