by SJ McCoy
He dried his hands on the soft towel and nodded. Tara was like a soft towel. She felt good against his skin. And the way she felt calmed him and soothed him. But more than the sense of physical touch, she made him feel. Emotions. He couldn’t explain it, but he knew that he wanted more of it. Being around her made him happy.
She was strong. He admired that about her. She was positive, too. In his experience, too many people preferred to focus on the negative in their lives—and it had the effect of perpetuating the negative. He couldn’t stand to be around people like that. They drained his energy, and he had no capacity for empathy with them. He was sure that many women in Tara’s situation would focus on all the negatives—and feel justified in doing so. She’d been dealt a rough hand. She simply made the most of her situation. Dealing with Owen wasn’t easy, but she did the best she could. Being alone had to be hard for her. She had no support—not financially, not emotionally.
But his feelings for her went way beyond respect and admiration. He smiled, perhaps that was where the physical element came in. He’d felt a strong physical attraction to her from the first moment he’d laid eyes on her. A shiver ran down his spine as he remembered the physical intimacy they’d shared. It hadn’t been enough, not nearly enough. But it had been more pleasurable to him than any of his other physical encounters. He’d believed sex was about two people assisting each other in their quest for pleasure. And, damn, had he been wrong about that! He’d slept with his fair share of women, but he’d never experienced anything like he had with Tara. With other women, he’d experienced orgasms and had enjoyed himself—obviously. But with Tara, he hadn’t even entered her, hadn’t even gotten there himself, yet it had been more intensely pleasurable than anything he’d known before.
He blew out a sigh. There was no way he’d be able to hold back when he saw her again. He’d planned to arrive back in the city on Friday lunchtime but had decided he’d go to the center before he went to see her. He knew if he was there in the afternoon that they’d make the most of Owen’s naptime. He didn’t want their first time to be a quickie with them both keeping an ear out for Owen the whole time. He wanted to get there in the evening. Play with Owen and wait until he was asleep before he took Tara into her bedroom. He closed his eyes and drew in a deep breath. His cock was aching at the thought of finally being naked with her. He wanted to touch and taste every inch of her. He could hear the little moans she’d made when he’d spread her open and thrust his fingers into her. He cupped his aching balls as he imagined spreading her legs and finally thrusting his hard cock deep inside her wetness.
He jumped guiltily at the sound of his phone ringing and hurried out to answer it. He knew it’d be his mom. He chuckled at the thought that, love wasn’t the only unexplainable human instinct. He had to believe that mothers also possessed inexplicable instincts—instincts that made them check on their sons whenever they were alone with an erection! He knew a survey of teenaged boys the world over would confirm his suspicions.
“Hi, Mom.”
“Hey, poppet. I’m not disturbing you, am I?”
He tried not to laugh. “Nothing that can’t wait. How did it go today?”
“It was lovely. Owen’s a little sweetheart, isn’t he?”
“He is.”
“And Tara …”
He waited. He could tell by her tone that she liked her, but he wanted to hear all the angles she’d come up with. She saw the world so differently than he did; he knew she’d see something he hadn’t.
“I adore her, Reid. I think she’s it for you.”
He smiled. “I do, too.”
“You’re not holding back, or wanting to take it slowly and make gradual methodical progress?”
He laughed. “No. I’m not. I’m as surprised as you are, but I want to be with her. I acknowledge that there will be a learning curve. I’m sure we’ll both discover things about each other that aren’t ideal, but the big picture is, I think I’m in love with her.”
“You think you are?”
“Give me a break, Mom. Acknowledging that love exists and that I can feel it is a big enough leap. I assess and evaluate everything with my mind, so, yes, I think I’m in love with her. To me, saying that is the same as someone else declaring that they have fallen in love. The difference is just semantics.”
His mom laughed. “Very true, and I believe Tara will understand that. Her experience with Owen has taught her that just because we express ourselves differently, it doesn’t mean we’re not feeling the same thing in our own way.”
“That’s true. She has been more understanding and accepting of me and my ways than any other woman has been. But don’t worry. I have enough experience with women to know how to express it in a way that will feel good to her.”
“I know. I was only teasing you. And I have to say, I hope your experiences with women—as you so daintily put it—are behind you now. Oscar was bad enough. I never expected you to be quite the Casanova you were.”
He laughed. “Casanova? That’s pushing it, Mom. I’ve had a few girlfriends. That’s all.”
“Hmm. And you’ve had a lot more short-lived and very physical friendships. I know. Anyway, that’s not a conversation we need to be having.”
Reid silently nodded his agreement.
“My point was that I hope you and Tara are going to get together for the long-term. She’s wonderful. She’s strong and smart and soft all at the same time. She has a big heart and a lot of grit. I’d be proud to have her as a daughter-in-law.”
Reid cocked his head to one side. “A daughter-in-law?”
“Yes. Don’t go coy on me. I know you too well, poppet. You can’t have decided that you’re in love with her without having considered all the implications. You love her, you marry her, you make a little brother and sister for Owen, and you all live happily ever after.”
He laughed. “So you’ve mapped out the rest of my life?”
“Haven’t you?”
“I haven’t given it a timeline yet.”
“I’m only teasing. You should take it as slowly as you like—or go as fast as you want. There are no rules.”
“I know. I’d love to go fast. But for Owen’s sake, I think we should take it slowly.”
“I was going to say that for Owen’s sake, you should speed it up.”
“Why?”
“He doesn’t think much of his father, does he? And he’s not very happy that he’s going to visit them again tomorrow.”
“I know. I’m not thrilled about it either. But he’s Owen’s dad. I can’t stand in the way of that.”
“Then maybe you should consider what I suggested to Tara.”
“Which is …?”
“I’m not an interfering old bat, you do know that, don’t you?”
He laughed. “If you are, you’re a very well-intentioned one.”
She laughed with him. “That’s not nice. In fact, I might not even tell you now.”
“You know I’m only teasing. What did you suggest? I’d love to hear it because Mark is the one cloud I see on our horizon.”
“Me too, that’s why I suggested that Tara might want to move her horizon … to somewhere like Montana.”
Reid cocked his head to one side. “To get away from Mark?”
“For many reasons. I think it would do Owen and her good to get away from the city. I think life in the valley would be good for both of them. She’s too good a person to stop Mark from seeing Owen if he’s just around the corner. But I get the impression that Mark isn’t that good of a person that he’d make the effort to see his son if it involves doing more than dropping in on a whim when it suits him.”
Reid smiled. “I think you’re right about that.”
“People split up and move away all the time. It happens. It wouldn’t be anything out of the ordinary. I feel bad saying it, but I think he’s a manipulator, and with people like that you have to be smart. If he really is interested
in Owen, then Tara can agree to make as much of an effort as he does. But I think we’ll find that he won’t go to any trouble at all.”
“You’re sneaky, Mom.”
“No. I just want to see her happy, and by the sounds of it, I think Mark could make her and Owen very unhappy. Sometimes you just need to remove yourself from people like that, so they can’t make you miserable.”
“What did she say?”
“She didn’t say much, but I think she liked the idea.”
Reid liked it, too. “I’ll ask her about it when I call her tonight.”
“You do that. I need to go, but I’ll call you when I get back to Montana. Maybe we’ll see you up there soon.”
He smiled. “Maybe you will.”
Chapter Fourteen
“Hey, Reid.” Terry wheeled into TJ’s makeshift office in the storeroom at the center. “What are you doing here? I thought you were coming to see that sweet girl of yours.”
“He is.” TJ smirked. “I think he’s just come to check in with us, so he doesn’t feel bad about ignoring us for the rest of the weekend.”
“Not true. I won’t feel bad about it.” Reid made a face at his brother. “If it weren’t for Tara, I wouldn’t be back in the city at all. And besides, I’m not just here for the weekend. I’m going to stay a while.”
“How long?” asked Terry.
Reid shrugged.
TJ eyed him suspiciously. “Don’t expect me to believe that you’re going to play it by ear. That you don’t have a plan. I know you.”
Reid chuckled. “Obviously, I have a plan, but I’m not in charge of the timeline. There are other factors that will dictate how long.”
Terry grinned at him. “Are those factors named Tara and Owen?”
Reid nodded. “Yes, they are.”
“But I don’t see you staying here,” said TJ. “It doesn’t suit you. You need to get out of the city after a couple of days.”
“I do, but I don’t plan to spend the whole time in the city. I’d like to take them up to Montana.”
TJ grinned. “Are you going to catch up with Shane? Show him that his lessons have served you well and that you’ve landed yourself a good one?”
“I will try to catch up with him, but mostly it’s about seeing how Owen and Tara might like it there.”
“You have a house there, same as him and Oscar, right?” asked Terry.
“I do. I haven’t spent any time there for years, but …”
TJ gave him a puzzled look. “I thought you’d be more interested in taking her up to see San Juan island—and the house you live in, rather than the one you don’t.”
Reid shrugged. “It wouldn’t work for them there, but I think Paradise Valley might. Owen could have the same kind of childhood we did.”
Terry grinned at him. “So, you’re planning a future with ‘em, are you?”
“I hope so.”
Reid smiled as Oscar tiptoed in and surprised TJ when he put a hand on his shoulder.
“For fuck’s sake!” TJ spun around, but Oscar just laughed. He’d been sneaking up on TJ like that ever since Reid could remember—and it pissed TJ off that despite all his military training, Oscar could still surprise him.
“What’s going on, guys?” Oscar asked.
“Reid’s just honoring us with his presence before he goes off with Tara,” said TJ.
“Goes off with …?” Oscar raised an eyebrow at Reid.
“He’s taking her to Montana,” said Terry with a grin.
“Wow! That’s awesome. Do you want to use the plane? Grace and I are staying home this weekend. Woody can take you if you want. He just called; he’s got nothing going on. I’ll bet he’d take you tonight if you want to go.”
Reid cocked his head to one side. He hadn’t been planning on going to Montana this weekend. He’d just arrived. He planned to stick around for a while and then when they had a good routine going, he thought he’d take them up there. But … why not? It made sense. Why get settled into a routine and then disturb it to take a trip? Why not take the trip first? That way both he and Tara would have a better idea if Montana was going to be a possibility for them. “Thanks. Do you mind if I let you know tonight? I need to talk to Tara first. We wouldn’t leave until tomorrow.”
“Sure, whenever.”
“Thanks.”
Reid smiled to himself. He hoped Tara would like the idea—and that Owen would be okay with it. But he couldn’t think about going anywhere tonight. It’d be too much—for all of them. And besides, he already had a plan for this evening, and it involved Owen being tucked safely in his own bed—while he got Tara into hers.
“Are you sticking around here for a while?” asked Oscar. “I thought you’d be going straight to her place.”
“I will get going soon. I just wanted to check in with you guys first.”
“Well, I’m here to try and drag Grace away from her desk. So, I’ll see you soon, I hope, and call me if you want the plane? In fact, let me know either way?”
“Okay. I’ll call you later.”
TJ looked at him once Oscar had gone. “Why do I get the impression that you’re just biding your time until you can go to her place?”
Reid didn’t want to tell him the truth. He straightened his collar and shrugged. “Maybe because I feel like a spare part here? There’s nothing I can usefully do, and I’m not good at just standing around chit-chatting.”
Terry chuckled. “You’ve done your bit, shown us your face. Go see your girl.”
Reid smiled. He could always rely on Terry to be supportive. “Thanks. I think I will. How’s your girl?”
Terry gave him a mysterious grin, and TJ laughed.
“I’ll tell you about it when I see you again.” Terry made a face at TJ.
“And if he does, be warned that Oscar and I will hold you down till you spill what you know, just like when we were kids. Whatever’s going on between Terry and Barbara, he’s playing it close to his chest.” TJ turned a hard stare on Terry. “And we all want to know.”
Reid laughed. “Don’t worry, Terry, you can tell me, and I won’t tell a soul.”
TJ nodded. “It’s true. He could survive all kinds of torture and never tell a word. We used to hold him down, tickle him, all kinds of things.”
Terry laughed. “In that case, I’ll look forward to catching up with you.”
~
Reid looked around when he got out of the cab outside Tara’s building. It wasn’t a terrible part of town, but he’d be happy when he could move her and Owen away from here. He wondered what she’d think of his house in Montana. He wondered how he’d feel about living there. He nodded to himself. He liked the idea.
“Reid?”
He stopped and looked back over his shoulder, surprised that someone was calling him. He didn’t see anyone he recognized until she called again. It was Tara’s neighbor, Deb. He straightened his collar and plastered a smile onto his face. Hopefully, he’d be able to keep this brief—very brief. “Deb, isn’t it?” He smiled politely.
She grinned as she caught up to him. “It is. I’m surprised you remembered. I’m Tara’s neighbor.”
He nodded and waited to see what she had to say.
“Are you here to see her?”
He nodded again. He would have thought that much was obvious.
“How are you two doing?”
He cocked his head to one side. He wasn’t used to being asked about his personal relationships by strangers. To be fair, she wasn’t a complete stranger. She was Tara’s friend. They might be close, though he doubted it. “Great, thanks.” He started walking again, hoping that might be the end of the interaction, but she fell in step beside him as they made their way into the building.
“I’m glad. She’s a good person. She deserves to meet someone like you.” She pursed her lips. She wanted to say something else. He could tell.
He waited, and after a few moments,
she nodded, as if she’d made her decision. “I probably shouldn’t say this …”
Reid shook his head. Why did people do that?
“You know Mark’s been around again?”
Now she had his full attention. “I do.”
She smiled. “I know. I wasn’t trying to tell tales on her anything. She told me that you knew.”
Reid smiled back; he was warming to her a little.
“It’s just … He’s bad news, that one.”
“In what way?”
She shook her head. “He’s been running with a bad crowd. Dealing. I don’t know if he’s using, but I’d put money on it. I’m worried about Tara and little Owen. I don’t think they should be around that.”
Reid nodded his agreement. “Thanks for telling me. Have you told Tara?”
She blew out a sigh and shook her head. “I wanted to make sure it wasn’t just rumors, first.” She gave him a sheepish grin. “Honestly, I’ve been snooping on him. The guy’s bad news. After he and Tara broke up, he lived with a girl I know for a while, and he was a bastard to her kids. I don’t trust him as far as I could throw him. When I saw him back in the building the other night, I asked Tara what was going on.” She chuckled. “I have to tell you, I was pissed at her—I’ve already dreamed up a fairy tale ending for her with you.”
Reid smiled. This woman wasn’t his kind of person, but she had a kind heart, and she cared about Tara, and that was good enough for him. “To tell you the truth, I have, too.”
Deb’s hand flew up to cover her mouth, and her eyes grew wide. “You have? Oh, my God! That’s awesome! Oh, you just made me so happy. She deserves someone like you. She really does.”
