by Natalie Ann
“You do. You could use a bit more flossing too,” Riley said.
Taryn narrowed her eyes. “I hate to floss. My gums bleed.”
“Because you don’t floss enough,” Riley said but opened up a drawer and pulled out a sample of something. “Try these soft dental picks. They slide between your teeth and won’t cause them to bleed. Trust me. I’ve got Trevor using them too.”
She took the small box out of Riley’s hand. “Thanks.”
“So where are you going on Thursday for your date?”
“No clue. I’ll let him figure that out. He’s working for the next few days. I don’t want to bug him as he got out of work at midnight. I’m sure he’s up since he’s got to go in at noon today again.” It was nine now and she’d be going to work herself after this appointment.
“Why don’t you cook for him? Trevor loved when I cooked for him even though we went out a lot.”
“Your relationship with Trevor was different. You moved here. He lived here. Justin is temporary. I know that and he’s made it very clear.”
“Then what is this about?” Riley asked. “There is no saying that you can’t be long distance either.”
“It’s about fun,” she said. “He’s going through a hard time and he’s doing an honorable thing with his father who is ill. I get the feeling, though he’s close with his mother and sister, he might not have that relationship with his father.”
“What makes you say that?” Riley asked.
“No clue. Just a guess. Either way, we said fun. He lives five hours from here. He works all sorts of hours and I do too. Long distance wouldn’t work for either of us even if that was in the cards and it’s not.”
“You don’t know that. And you had no problem moving once and coming back. No one says you might not do it again. Or are you tied to staying here?”
She wasn’t sure what she was right now. “I don’t know. I’m here and just got back and am trying to establish a business. I’ve got a great flexible job and don’t want to make plans to leave again. I came back for family. Leaving again defeats that.”
“But it’s not like you would be states away,” Riley said. “Just hours.”
“I’m not sure why we are talking about this,” she said. “Fun. That’s it. We agreed on it. I’m not thinking or planning on anything else other than dinner on Thursday.”
“I’ve got some good recipes if you want them.”
“Now that I will take,” she said and then sat up from where she was leaning back in the chair and swung her legs on the side to get up.
“A way to a man’s heart is through his stomach,” Riley said, laughing.
“I’m not looking to get to his heart.”
“Then his shorts,” Riley said, smirking at her.
“Maybe there. You don’t think badly of me saying that, do you?”
“God no,” Riley said. “You’re a full-grown adult. I don’t think you’re a virgin.”
Taryn laughed. “No. I’m not and haven’t been since I was nineteen.”
“Then I don’t see the problem. You know what you are doing going in. It seems he does too. For whatever your reason was to come home, he has a reason too.”
“I came home because I’m going to be an aunt,” she said. How many times was she going to have to tell this to her family?
“I know,” Riley said, reaching for her hand and holding it. “I love that you did. Trevor too.”
“But you all think I’m lying about the real reason?” she asked.
“I don’t. I think there is just more than me being pregnant.”
“I left for what I thought was something better years ago and it didn’t end up being the case,” she said. “No secret there. You know the old saying—the grass isn’t always greener. There were things there I enjoyed, but I found I was in the same spot in my life there as I was when I arrived.”
“Single?” Riley asked.
“Pretty much. I just have horrible taste it seems in men. Nothing really bad, just stuff that doesn’t work out. Nothing was tying me there and the competition to sell my cakes was much greater. Logan giving me the flexibility to do both was the pushing point.”
“Whatever the reason, we are all glad you are home,” Riley said, giving her a hug.
“Thanks. I’m actually glad to be back.”
12
Not Here Long
Justin was shocked that Taryn wanted to cook him dinner, but he was thrilled at the same time. Not that he would mind going out, but home-cooked meals were great to him.
He loved them growing up at home even if he didn’t get them often. His mother was working so much that she didn’t cook a lot during the week. During the winter season, they had more family meals, but spring through fall, not much at all.
And since he’d been back in town, he’d been eating at the restaurant at the resort. Just picking up some meal off the menu or buying things to heat up in the apartment from a store.
He parked in the lot, then went to the door and rang the bell at six. There were a few cars still in the lot and lights on in the spa so he was assuming they were open for a bit longer.
“Come on up,” Taryn said over the speaker, so he pulled the door open and went up the stairs.
Yep, the smell of something wonderful hit him again. “Damn. I could totally get used to this.”
“What?” she asked.
“The smell of walking in here. What are you making?”
“I took a triple berry pie out of the oven.”
“So you don’t just do cakes and cupcakes and cookies?” he asked as he eyed the pie cooling on the counter and then leaned in to give her a kiss. He could get used to that too but kept those words to himself.
“I’d rather decorate and that is easier with cakes and cupcakes. I’m not big into sugar cookies to decorate. I can and have, but the time they take isn’t worth it for me. It’s more detailed and so many of them. I like bigger canvases.”
“Tell me you’ve got ice cream with that pie?”
“Really, Justin? Of course I do.”
“Perfect. I don’t even care about what is for dinner.”
She put her hands on her hips and almost scowled at him. “I spent the past hour cooking dinner or getting it ready and you just want the pie?”
He laughed and pulled her into his arms for a hug. The urge to hold her was just too great for him to pass up. “I’m only picking on you. What did you make?”
“I’ve got kabobs ready to go on the grill. That is covering the veggies and meat and I made a cheesy potato bacon casserole. I know it’s not ideal with kabobs, but it’s a comfort dish and something tells me you might appreciate that.”
“Yeah, I would. It’s been a long trying couple of weeks, but it’s getting better. Coming here and spending time with you helps a lot. Thank you for that. I feel bad that I keep saying or reminding you I’m not here long.”
“You don’t need to,” she said. “I understand. We go through things in life and if I can help you through this, then let me. I’m not looking for anything serious or long term when so much of my own life is in flux too.”
As glad as he was to hear her say that, part of him was kind of annoyed too. He didn’t want her clingy and fawning all over him so why was he upset to hear she didn’t want anything serious either?
He had to get his head out of his ass and just enjoy the present like they’d agreed to do.
“Good. Is there anything I can help you with?”
“Nope. There is beer in the fridge and now that you are here I’m going to put the meat and veggies on the grill.” She turned to pull the plate out of the fridge and he started to laugh at her.
“What is so funny?”
“I’ve never seen anyone make kabobs like that.”
“It’s a better or more even cook like this.”
She had all the chicken on two sticks. All the beef on two more. Then there were two more sticks each of peppers, yellow squash, and tomatoes.
<
br /> “I never thought of it like that before.”
“My mother always made it this way. Then when they are cooked, you just take everything off the sticks and put them in a bowl to help yourself.”
He grabbed a beer and then went to the deck with her, saw two chairs and a small table and took a seat. Once she had the meat and peppers on the grill, she placed the rest on the table and took a seat.
“Did you want a beer too?” he asked, going to stand.
“No. I’m good now. I don’t drink often, but I enjoy a glass of wine now and again and I think I might have one. We can eat out here if you want when it’s done. It’s a nice night.”
“That works. You’ve got a nice view of the lake from up here.” She wasn’t on the water, but several houses away. Being high up though you could still see the water.
“Kennedy has a good location here. Right off of Main Street, so easy to get to and people can walk here if they want. The rest of the places on this street are rentals or house a few businesses. There is a law office across the street and an apartment above it. That’s been there for years.”
“Some things never change here and others always will.”
“What is troubling you?” she asked. “Your father? How is he doing or don’t you want to talk about it?”
“I’m not sure troubling is the word. He’s doing good. Ornery as ever. At least to me.”
“I get the feeling you don’t have the best relationship with your dad,” she said.
“No,” he said. “I’m close with my mother and Ashley and keep the peace for them. I’m the only one willing to do it, it seems.”
“Would you rather not talk about it?” she said. “I mean that takes the fun out of what we are supposed to have.”
He realized that maybe he wouldn’t mind talking about it though. When she stood up to check on the meat and turn it, he said, “I’m not what my father wanted me to be.”
She turned, a shocked expression on her face. “A successful doctor isn’t what he wanted of you? Or not good enough?”
“He doesn’t see anything other than his own dream. The resort has been in our family for years.”
“Ah, he wanted you to take it over. Ashley works there, isn’t having one kid there enough?”
“Nope,” he said. “His own siblings wanted no part of the resort either. I wonder if it was pushed on my father and he feels he got stuck and wanted to do it to us, but no one has ever said otherwise.”
“I’m not sure many would feel being stuck owning such a great establishment is a bad thing.”
He laughed. “It is to your family life. We lived and breathed golf for more than half the year. When we couldn’t golf, then it was all about the resort and events. Sure, it’s successful but at the risk of our family too.”
He’d never said that to anyone. Not even his own parents or sister. “Did your sister want to work there?”
“I’m not sure. She’s more laid back than me. I think she would have been fine either way. As you know, there aren’t a lot of jobs around here and it was a steady one right in her lap. She went to school to help run it with my mother. Or maybe she didn’t want my mother doing it all and I’d left town at that point and said I was never coming back.”
“Yet you did,” she said.
“I did. I’ve tried to make peace with my father for years. Once you wrong him there is no going back. He’s all but said I should leave and let my mother care for him and it wasn’t until I put the guilt on him for laying it all on the woman he loved that he cut the shit.”
“That does put you between a rock and a hard place.”
“And I get squished daily,” he said, picking up the beer to take a sip. Taryn put the rest of the veggies on the grill and turned the ones that were cooking. “It’s a no win for me and though some said I had a choice to not take a leave and come here, I really didn’t. He’s my father and though we don’t get along, I can’t turn my back when I’m the one that understands the most of what is going on.”
“That’s very commendable of you,” she said, leaning over to kiss him and then sit on his lap. “You’re a good person, Justin. Not many would do what you did.”
“No. They probably wouldn’t.”
“I have a feeling you are just briefly touching on how bad things are between you two too.”
“Yep. No need to go into details. The fact that I’m his son and can help him through this and put my life on hold for it and he told me to get lost and let his wife run the business and care for him—which he insists he doesn’t need but does—is pretty telling.”
“And yet on Monday you will be at the house ready to take him for his treatment, then stay with him all day, right?”
“Until my mother gets home. I’ll go back on Tuesday and do the same. I spend most of the time on the deck reading or watching TV in another room. It’s hard to sit in the room with him when he scowling at me or telling me to get off his back.”
She frowned. “Why are you on his back?”
“Because he’s sick. He doesn’t have to suffer and he’s stubborn. I’m caring for him because he won’t care for himself. It’s stupid. He wouldn’t be as sick as he is if he’d just take the meds given. Sleeping through the first few days isn’t a sign of weakness that he seems to think it is.”
“Maybe you need to tell him if he sleeps those days he’ll be stronger faster to get back to what he wants to do,” she said.
“I’ve tried that too. He won’t listen. Come Thursday after treatment he’s back to the course for a few hours. By the second week he’s trying to do full days, but he won’t listen to me when I say it’s going to compound and build.”
“I think maybe he’s trying to live as normal of a life as he can right now.”
He knew she was right. “But he’s going to hurt himself, which is going to hurt my mother. I can handle it, but can she?”
“It seems to me your mother can handle your father pretty well and has done so for years. Do you think maybe if something happens to your father you’ll feel like you’ve got to come home permanently and you are doing everything you can to make sure that doesn’t happen?”
He thought for a second. “That makes me sound selfish.”
She went back to the grill, then grabbed the plate and pulled everything off. He took the plate out of her hand. “No,” she said. “You aren’t selfish in the least. But I think there is a part of you that doesn’t want to admit you are pushing so hard because you don’t want to see your father sick either.”
“Of course not,” he said.
“Because he was this big strong man that seemed like nothing slowed him down. But this is. And if it can happen to him, it can happen to anyone. I felt that way when I saw my father when he moved to Florida. I didn’t see him daily anymore for years and then all of a sudden I could see the age on him. It was hard to see.”
He snorted. “I guess you’re the kick in the ass that I needed and it gives me something else to think about.”
“And now we can think of dinner,” she said.
She got everything into bowls, he carried them out to the table on the deck and she brought out the casserole dish of her cheesy bacon potatoes while he got her a glass of wine.
The two of them sat there talking about Lake Placid and all that changed and things that hadn’t and somehow by the end of the night he started to wonder how hard it might be to leave her.
13
Holding A Grudge
“Taryn Miles, is that really you?”
She turned to look at Bryan Reynolds standing in front of her as she was setting up the cake for the party she’d been hired for. It was a last minute gig. A combo bachelorette/bachelor party at a house on the lake. She didn’t recognize the bride’s name when she called three weeks ago and asked for a separate cake for the groom. Guess he was put out he wasn’t getting his own thing...per the bride.
She’d sat there and listened. All she cared about was the job and the cake s
he had to make for the hundred people in attendance. One thing she could say was her cake put the bride’s to shame and she couldn’t wait for Stacy Wilson to come see it.
“It’s me, Bryan.”
“Let me see what you did with my cake.”
She moved back, not realizing it was one of her exes from high school she was making the cake for. A young love that ended kind of sour, but since it was a small town they just were cordial to each other.
“Does it meet with your expectations?”
“Actually it does. It’s pretty great. I had no idea you did this. If Stacy told me you were the one making it, I’d tell her not to bother, figuring you’d find a way to slip something negative in there if you knew it was me.”
Taryn rolled her eyes. “Really, Bryan. It was tenth grade and we dated for three months. Are you still holding a grudge?”
He scowled at her like she figured he would. They’d barely made it to second base as the guy was terrified of her father who intimidated him when he picked her up on their first date. Looking back, she knew her father hovered more over her than Kennedy and though she hated it then, it seemed kind of funny now.
It just went to prove who had the balls to stand up for her and who didn’t. Bryan didn’t.
“I guess you’re right. Never did expect to see you back here though. You were all about wanting to leave because your father wouldn’t let you do a damn thing without watching over it all.”
“He wasn’t that bad and you know it,” she said with a smile on her face. “I was a kid and he was the chief of police. He did the same with my sister.”
Bryan shrugged. “Doesn’t matter. You were kind of stuck-up and thought you were better than everyone anyway.”
“What?” she asked. She had to hold her temper back because this was a paying client and she didn’t want to get any negative feedback on a job, but she sure the hell wanted to know what he was talking about.
“Come on, Taryn. You’d said for years you hated it here and there was nothing for anyone. You went away to college and then took off.”
