Second Chance Hero

by Shelley Calloway

  “Not at all. I haven’t enjoyed a story so much in months. I think I’d be a fool to pass up hearing another one.”

  “Maybe another time.” As Tyler glanced at his watch, Remy noticed he looked almost sad. “But gosh, it’s eight o’clock. We better go claim our table.”

  “But wait a minute.” Cindy grabbed her purse and looked ready to stand up. “We have a babysitter for another three hours. Keith and I could join you now.”

  Tyler didn’t even try to look as if he was interested in that idea. “I don’t think so.”

  Keith chuckled. “I had a feeling you’d say that.”

  “Well, I sure didn’t.” Cindy frowned.

  Before Remy could think of something to say to settle the light argument, Tyler spoke again. “This has been fun, but I asked Remy out for dinner. With just me. I’m sure you understand.”

  Once again, her insides turned to jelly. She knew the right thing to do would be to invite Keith and Cindy to join them.

  But…she didn’t want to. The tension and attraction and mixed-up, crazy nerves that had been festering between them for so long were rolling to a boil, and frankly, she had no desire to have anyone witness it.

  Cindy wasn’t happy. “Honestly, Ty—”

  Keith took one look at the two of them and obviously saw something his wife overlooked. “We’ve got other plans, anyway.”

  “We do? What?”

  “It’s a surprise.” Cupping Cindy’s elbow, Keith smiled at Remy. “It was nice to meet you.”

  “It was nice to meet you both,” Remy replied.

  Tyler waggled three fingers. “Bye, now.”

  Cindy’s farewell was barely heard as Keith shuffled her out of the bar.

  Chuckling, Remy turned to Tyler. “Do you think they really did have somewhere else to go?”

  “Nope.” He leaned closer. Reached out and gently hooked a stray strand of hair behind an ear. “But I hope for Keith’s sake they find something open soon. My sister did not look happy.”

  “I think that had more to do with you.”

  “I know it did.” Looking boyishly pleased, Tyler said, “But I’m not sorry. You look beautiful. I don’t want to look at anyone else.”

  Oh, what a line. It should have sounded cheesy. Trite. Ridiculous. So why was she so pleased to hear it?

  Why were her insides turning to mush?

  Again?

  Chapter Sixteen

  They’d had lobster. Oysters. Macadamia coconut ice cream. A crisp pinot grigio. Every course had been excellent, and the servers had been great—somehow knowing when to approach them and when to give them privacy.

  The ambience in the restaurant had been warm and romantic. The candles on the tables had flickered against the fine linen tablecloths, and the view from each window had been spectacular.

  Together they’d watched the sun fade into the Gulf, bleeding into the water. For an instant the difference between sky and sea had been blurred. Remy had held Tyler’s hand and sighed, as if it was the most magical thing she’d ever seen.

  For a moment Tyler had been ready to take all the credit for the service, the food, the sunset—anything to impress Remy. Anything to keep that shining look of promise in her eyes.

  Two hours later, when they returned to his Corvette, she smiled. “Thank you for dinner.”

  “It was my pleasure.” He paused at the street, unsure where they were going. Somehow none of their conversation had centered around the rest of the night. “Where to? There’s a bar on the pier that’s kind of fun.” He couldn’t really care less about it, but he sure wasn’t ready to say good-night.

  “I’m not really up for another bar.”

  “Oh.” He thought quickly. “The beach? We could go for a walk.”

  “Not in these shoes. Maybe you could just take me home?”

  “Sure.” Disappointment coursed through him, though he fought it back. There was no need to rush things. She’d been a good sport about Cindy and Keith. And their meal had been excellent. She’d looked relaxed and amused. As if she could be in his company for hours. He’d loved that.

  In addition, it was very likely they’d be going out again, soon. So taking her home was no problem. He’d kiss her good-night and call her in the morning. That was enough.

  But then he looked at her.

  Promise shone in her eyes. His pulse beat a little faster. It was no trouble at all to push on the accelerator.

  When they entered her home, he pulled her into his arms and touched his lips to hers. When she pressed closer, he slid his hands from her waist to her hips. She felt just how he’d imagined. Feminine. Soft.

  Carefully he tilted his head, nibbled her bottom lip, then, as she pressed closer, Tyler finally opened his lips and tasted her. Then did it again. Remy moaned and responded in kind. She pressed one hand against his back, and with the other combed fingers through the hair on the nape of his neck.

  It was only natural to cup a breast then. He pressed his lips to her cheek, her jaw. She twisted to let him have greater access. Never one to pass up a good opportunity, he complied, feeling her curves, enjoying how easily she responded to his touch.

  There was no artifice in her responses, no hesitancy in her touch. It was so sweet.

  Eager for more, he pulled her blouse away from the waistband of her pants. Enjoyed how soft and smooth her midriff was. She moved closer, teetered on her heels, then gasped.

  Their connection ended. With another gasp, she pulled away. “Wow.”

  “Yeah.” He was breathing deeply. If he’d been home, if he’d been with someone else, he’d have begun the long walk to his bed. But she was special.

  And she was a widow and had been with no one since her husband. So he waited. Come on, Remy, he silently urged. Tell me what you want.

  Stepping closer, she looked about to speak, but then her ankle wobbled. To steady herself, she placed a hand on his shoulder. “You okay?” he asked.

  “Yes, but I almost sprained my ankle.” Lifting one foot out in front of her, she grimaced. “I knew I shouldn’t have worn these shoes. They’re new and they’re nothing but trouble. I think they’ve already given me two blisters.” As she pointed her toe experimentally, her lips curved. “I just couldn’t help myself, though. They’re so pretty.”

  In truth, he hadn’t noticed them much, only how her legs had looked in the higher heel. “Why don’t you take them off?”

  A moment passed. Looking vulnerable, she met his gaze again. “They’ve got straps. I need to sit down to remove them. Do you want to come to the living room?”

  “Sure.” There it was. He fought back a wave of disappointment. She was definitely not inviting him to her bed. Not tonight.

  But she wasn’t kicking him out just yet, either.

  Recalling how many hours he’d sat in his cubicle his first day of work, wondering how he was going to even manage another five-minute conversation with her, he figured things weren’t bad after all.

  To celebrate the feeling, he scooped her up in his arms, feeling only mildly silly. “Tyler, what are you doing?”

  “Carrying you.”

  “You don’t need to. My ankle’s fine!”

  “Maybe I like feeling you in my arms.”

  Her cheeks stained red. “I don’t believe you—”

  “Believe it. I promise, it gets better.” Just to hear her laugh, he twirled her around once, then unceremoniously plopped her down on the couch. “Here you go.”

  She laughed as she landed with a thud. “Remind me never to let you carry me again. Your landings need some improvement.”

  “I’ll work on them if you let me pick you up again.”

  A spark of promise, of awareness, lit her eyes. “So, want to sit down?” Remy patted the cushion next to her.

  He sat. When she bent to unbuckle the thin leather strap of her shoe, he waved her hands away. “Let me help you.” To his delight, she didn’t hesitate. Slowly she placed her foot on his thigh.

  Th
e leather was supple and unbuckled easily. After he tossed down the shoe, he did the same with the other one. When she tried to remove her feet from his lap, he held firm. “No way. I’m keeping you here for a moment.” Expertly he rubbed the arches of her feet, calming the bunched muscles.

  When she relaxed, he laid them on the couch and then slid on top of her.

  Remy’s hands curved around his shoulders. “What are you doing?”

  “I’m going to kiss you for a little bit. Do you have a problem with that?”

  “No. I mean…do you mind if we don’t go to bed? Tonight?”

  “Tonight” meant she wanted to in the future. And any future with her was worth waiting for. “I don’t mind at all. As long as you stop talking. Just let me kiss you. Just let me kiss you the way I’ve been dying to.”

  She answered by arching her back and meeting his mouth. Tenderly stroking his lips with her tongue, she nibbled a bit, then darted her tongue inside. With a groan, he let her set the pace, letting her deepen their kisses, pausing for a breath, smiling when she tilted her head so he could trace her jaw with his tongue.

  Then it was only natural to push down the spaghetti straps of her coral blouse and help her unfasten the row of tiny buttons.

  Just underneath was a matching coral bra. He’d just shifted a bit so he could admire the play of coral against her skin, enjoying the faint outline of her nipples underneath the almost sheer fabric, when she surprised him and unhooked the front clasp.

  She smiled when he looked at her in surprise. “I may want to take things a little slow, Tyler, but I still want you.”

  “You take off as much as you want, as slowly as you want,” he murmured as he got to know her breasts. “Believe me, I like our pace just fine.”

  As he tenderly licked at a nipple, she moaned a bit and pulled his head closer, inviting him to do all kinds of good things.

  Luckily, no further discussion was necessary.

  Chapter Seventeen

  “We like her,” Cindy proclaimed when Tyler came over for dinner on Tuesday night. “Just wanted you to know.”

  Tyler pressed a kiss to his twin’s forehead on the way to their spare refrigerator in the garage. After pulling out a pair of sodas, he handed one to his sister before sitting in front of April’s high chair.

  His tiny niece kicked her heels in greeting, her pudgy hands occupied with a graham cracker mess in her hands.

  “I think your mommy sounds surprised, Miss April,” Tyler cooed. “I think she thought I was dating some dirty old woman.”

  April squealed and thrust a corner of the mushy graham back into her mouth.

  After checking on the French fries baking in the oven, Cindy joined them. “I didn’t think that.”

  “But you almost did.”

  “Okay. I’ll admit I was a little skeptical.”

  “A little? Cindy, don’t you remember your ‘young love’ lecture? You were a lot skeptical.”

  “That’s because on paper she seemed all wrong for you.”

  Since he’d first become intrigued with Remy because of an article written on paper, he felt differently. However, he wanted—and needed—Cindy’s good wishes for his new relationship. He moved to Destin to become closer with his sister. He sure didn’t want Remy to pull them apart. “But what about in person? How did you feel about Remy then?”

  “In person…she was great. And, darn it, she’s beautiful, too. I hope I look that good at forty-two.”

  Tyler couldn’t help but smile at his sister’s comment. The way she was talking, someone would think that Remy was on social security. “Since you’re only eight years younger, I’m going to predict that you’ll be beautiful, too.”

  Cindy rolled her eyes as she sipped from her orange soda. “Remy’s got an amazing figure, too.” Looking at her stomach, she frowned. “Of course, I think things are easier to keep in place if you’ve never had children.”

  Tyler wasn’t going to touch that one. “I’ll take your word for it.”

  “But…do you think Remy wants kids?”

  “I’m sure she does. You should have seen her with April at Movies and More. She could hardly stop looking at her.”

  April kicked her feet and spat out a chunk of graham for emphasis. Cindy laughed as she strode to the kitchen and grabbed a paper towel, dampening it quickly before wiping down her daughter. “What a mess this little stinker is. Remy might think differently about having a houseful of babies if she saw what they were like, all covered in goo.”

  “I doubt soggy grahams would faze her in the slightest. I think she’ll be a great mom.” He held out his hands as Cindy pulled a wiped-down April out of the high chair, unfastened her bib and handed her to him.

  Right away April smiled and started playing with the buttons on his shirt. “Cin, did you notice how much April likes me now? I think we bonded when she spent the night with me.”

  “I bet she did. I still can’t believe you volunteered to watch her. Oh, Ty, I would’ve been a nutcase if you hadn’t been here. I sure hope you won’t have to move to find another job.”

  “That’s nothing you need to worry about. I’ve got plenty of money in the bank. Plenty of time to look for something new.”

  “Something better than Carnegie.”

  “Something a lot better.” As he cuddled April, enjoying the feel of the contented baby in his arms, he said, “Things are working out, don’t you think? I’m dating a gal who’s wonderful, and she’s never going to leave here.” Already he could imagine one day in the future, with Remy heavy with child, and all of them gathering for a barbecue or a holiday.

  His life was going to be everything he’d imagined when he’d decided to move away from Houston. Everything he wanted—family, babies, a future—was worth any sacrifice.

  He couldn’t wait until he was sure Remy was ready, too.

  BLAMING A HEADACHE, Remy left Carnegie early on Tuesday, something she usually never did. But, things were out of sorts at the call center. Fire inspectors and insurance agents had visited twice since the fire. Now work crews were busy in the kitchen, pulling down old cabinets and laminate and bringing in new materials. The noise echoed through the building.

  But work wasn’t all that occupied her thoughts. Far more on her mind were the latest developments with Tyler. So much had happened between them over the past few days, she knew she was going to explode if she didn’t take some time for herself to recap and regroup.

  She decided to go home and enjoy the day. Outside, the air was a balmy eighty-five. Perfect for a swim and then a little lying about. She always enjoyed taking some time to stretch muscles and just enjoy the day.

  As soon as she got home she said hello to Carmen, pulled on her favorite black one-piece, grabbed sun-screen and a pair of white fluffy towels, then strode out to the pool.

  Moments later all the past week’s tension seemed to evaporate as she did a shallow dive into the end of the pool, surfaced a few yards beyond, then began a slow, methodical freestyle. Over the next three or four laps she’d increase the speed, but for now, she wearily allowed her mind to quiet as she merely concentrated on putting one arm over the other.

  Thirty-five minutes later, her body relaxed and her mind less confused, she lay down on one of the deck chairs and finally allowed her mind to drift to Tyler. Again.

  And last night.

  No, they hadn’t quite made love. But things had gotten heated. No, she hadn’t proclaimed her everlasting love to him, or even talked about a future, but their relationship had definitely taken a big step forward.

  The truth was evident. She liked him. She liked him a lot, enough to stop worrying so much about what others would think, or what people at work would think.

  Or what Mark would think…though she already had a good idea what he would say. No doubt about it, he’d smile and say something like Good for you. It’s about time.

  And he would be right.

  Mark had always been about living for now, and for taking c
hances. He’d been so glad he’d built their extravagant house. That they’d gone to St. Thomas for their honeymoon. That he’d played golf as much as he did, and that he’d played at the exclusive country club nearby.

  He’d loved learning to scuba dive, and he’d never regretted having dinner with his parents every Wednesday night. “I don’t have regrets,” he’d told her the day they’d moved him back home from the hospital. The day everyone involved had finally come to terms with the fact that he was never going to get better. The day she’d let him come home to die. “I wouldn’t be able to find peace if I did.”

  She’d held on to those words for weeks after his death. Now they echoed in her heart, reverberated again and again, reminding her how life was fragile and shouldn’t be taken for granted.

  Funny how she’d forgotten all that. Until Tyler had appeared in her life, she had been doing the very thing she’d vowed not to do. She’d been on autopilot. Forgetting how to live.

  Forty-five minutes later Carmen appeared, a glass of iced tea in her hand. “I thought you might like something cold to drink,” she said, walking along the pool deck in her white tennis shoes.

  “Thanks. It’s warmer out here than it looks.”

  “Especially in that black bathing suit.” Looking her over, Carmen frowned. “Señora Greer, I thought you were going to buy something sexy.”

  “I did. But a bikini is not the thing to wear when swimming laps.”

  Still looking at her suit as if it covered Remy from neck to ankle, Carmen clucked. “I suppose not.”

  Sitting up a bit, Remy looked over at her friend. There was something new in Carmen’s voice. Something that sounded a little defeated. “Hey, are you okay? You sound a little blue.”

  Carmen shrugged as she sat in the chair next to Remy’s, the one that was thankfully under the shade of a lapis blue umbrella. “I am a bit blue, I admit. Marisol is unhappy with her accounting job.”

  “When did she tell you that?” This was a big deal, Remy knew. It was a point of pride that Carmen had worked fifty and sixty hours a week while her daughter Marisol got her accounting degree from the nearby community college.