Heart of Clay (The Tanner Series Book 6)

by Jo Willow

  “I don’t think I’ll ever get enough of you Marla. I want you again already. Do you feel it baby? Just one more time and we’ll leave. Just once more sweetheart. Hold on.”

  His eyes were closed when he spoke to her, and she waited until he was pulling back before she propelled herself over the back of the loveseat.

  Marla was lying with one leg on and one leg off, one hand on the coffee table as she tried to sit up. She looked up and for the first time saw him by lamplight. No wonder he’d hurt her physically. The thought of it made her tremble and he was coming around the loveseat, staring at her.

  It took Brian two minutes to figure out that they’d never finish on the loveseat. He stood in front of her and lifted her in his arms, self-preservation made her put her arms around his neck.

  He kissed her softly and she was starting to respond, then he dropped her on the sofa.

  She looked up at him, her big brown eyes growing larger as she watched him unbutton his trousers and drop them to his knees. He pulled her leg off the sofa until he could crawl on top of her and then he brought it back to his hip. She started backing up the sofa away from him. He raised up, grabbed her hips and pulled her back down. Positioning himself he moved slowly, allowing her to adjust this time.

  Marla started to relax and kept her eyes locked on his. When he was imbedded deeply, he lay down fully, knowing she could take his weight. He moved slowly and began kissing her. He noticed she was beginning to respond and he found the new approach rewarding.

  “Is this what you need Marla?”

  “God yes. Is this good for you?”

  “It is. This is nice. I’m gonna have to speed up soon though sweetheart.”

  “Will you hurt me?”

  “I don’t want to, but I can’t help it sometimes. You know that, right?”

  She pulled him down for a kiss and started moving her hips faster against his. He grunted his approval and smiled against her lips. He moved to keep pace with the rhythm she’d set and felt it when she turned to liquid fire.

  He looked at her and she was flushed, soft and beautiful. The thoughts scared him to death. He moved faster for a few seconds, then he held her tightly while she wrapped herself around him. He didn’t know what had happened, but as he shook uncontrollably, he knew he was in trouble. Big trouble.

  Marla watched something happen to him, the change came over his face first. His features softened and he was gentler with her. She didn’t know what it meant, but she was grateful for it. When he held her afterward, it was with a reverence that had been lacking in their previous encounters. He spent time kissing and cuddling her. He held her and told her how happy he was with her.

  When he stood, he adjusted himself then held out his hand to her. She took it without hesitation and he helped her to her feet. They each went to separate bathrooms and fixed their appearance, Brian made a fast phone call to Vic’s.

  When Marla joined him at the front door he smiled at her and opened the door.

  “There’s my pretty girl. Come on baby, they’re holding our table for us.”

  Marla saw the Jag for the first time and stopped abruptly.

  “Brian, who’s car is that?”

  “It’s mine. You didn’t think I drove the truck all the time did you?”

  “Actually I did.”

  “You’re wearing Armani as well if I’m not mistaken.”

  He opened the car door for her and watched as she folded her long legs into the passenger side. He closed the door and moved quickly and efficiently to the driver’s side. When he was seated next to her he kissed her on the cheek.

  “Good eye. Do you approve?”

  “You look incredible. Armani suits you Brian. I think you have some explaining to do, but I won’t push you. I’d like to just enjoy your company for a change.”

  He raised her hand to his lips and kissed her fingers.

  “What? No agenda this evening? No stirring up the past?”

  Marla hadn’t realized she’d been that transparent. She re-evaluated her companion.

  “No agenda. Just you and me. Let’s see if we have anything to talk about.”

  His laughter rang out in the stillness of the shadows and he backed the fast car onto the road and took off like a bullet causing her laughter to join his own.

  Two days and two parks later, the James’ and company were about done with Disney and craving some downtime. Even the children seemed done with the early morning ritual of breakfast and then running until the sun went down. Everyone was brown and frazzled. Even Patty had a burnished glow to her once pale skin.

  They all sat at or near the breakfast table, yawning and picking at their food. Even Phil couldn’t seem to get motivated. Ian turned to Scott.

  “Scotty, how would you like to pack your shit, buzz off to Gatorland, and head on up to St. Pete and lay around on the beach?”

  Scott leaned his head forward and looked up at Ian.

  “Really? We’re done with Disney? No more wet shoes, hugging mice, or chasing Phil?”

  “My sentiments exactly. We’ll do Gatorland on the way out because it’s, well, Gatorland. We’re here and it’s here...catch my drift?”

  Scott was nodding and he had his best adult face on.

  “I agree. Gatorland is a must. When are we leaving?”

  Ian was enjoying his conversation and his coffee.

  “We could clear out just as soon as everyone’s packed and ready to go. If we don’t warn your mom and dad, we can catch them while they’re still there and spend a few days with them.”

  Patty’s little head shot up and her eyes grew huge.

  “When can I see mama and daddy?”

  “We can surprise them tonight if we hustle. You ready Patty?”

  Patty was bobbing her head enthusiastically.

  “Yes please. I’m sorely ready to see my folks.”

  Phil looked at Rose and Amber and saw the dark circles of exhaustion. Everyone was ready to hit the beach and rest. He looked at Ian and cocked his head.

  “Ian do you know what I think?”

  “Nope. Enlighten me brother Phil.”

  “I’m thinking it’s not a Small World at all. It’s a big-ass crazy as all hell world and at least fifty percent of the population is at Disney on any given day.”

  Ian thought about his proclamation and raised his cup in a salute.

  “Amen brother Phil. The crowd thing is getting on my nerves. How about the rest of you?”

  The only two heads that weren’t nodding in agreement belonged to Jem and Alex, and they were deeply involved in their own conversation.

  “Alright then, the goal is two hours. Showers, packing and out the door. If we can manage it, I’m pretty sure we can do Gatorland in three or four hours easy. That puts us at the beach house in time for dinner.”

  Rose raised her hand and Ian grinned at her.

  “Yeah babe?”

  “We’re about to invade a honeymooning couple. I think we should warn them we’re coming.”

  “If we warn them, where’s the surprise?”

  “That’s exactly right. Not everybody likes surprises Ian. What about groceries and dinner?”

  “That’s easy. We’ll stop on the way in and grab everything we’ll need. We can even grab pizza or tacos for dinner if you like. We’ll walk in carrying food and their children. It’ll be fine. You’ll see.”

  Rose didn’t see the same thing he saw. Rose saw two people walking around the house naked because they could, being surprised by eight faces and several bags of food.

  “I don’t know Ian. It doesn’t sound like a good idea to me honey.”

  “Alright Rose. We’ll take one more pass of the Magic Kingdom.”

  “Whoa. I’ve about had it with cute. What I’m saying is, let me call and warn them. That’s all. They’re on their honeymoon. Let’s give them a ‘heads up’.”

  “Why?”

  “Ian, stop for a minute. What did we do almost non-stop on our honeymoon?”


  Ian looked at his wife and felt warm. Rose grinned slowly and leaned over to kiss him soundly.

  “I love you baby, but we should really warn them, don’t you think?”

  “Probably. There are some things we don’t need to know about your cousin. Give him a call and I’ll start packing.”

  Amber started loading the dishwasher and Scott started packing for both himself and Patty. Phil went into the bedroom to line out his little family.

  Rose moved closer to Patty and the little girl smiled up at her. She watched Rose touch the screen of her cell phone and then Rose made the call while staring at Patty.

  “Hey Mitch. What are y’all doin’?”

  Patty started bouncing in her seat at the mention of his name.

  “Peeling Beth. What are you doing?”

  Rose hesitated, unsure of what she’d just heard.

  “Did you just say that you were peeling Beth? Is that slang for something? Do I need to let you go?”

  Mitch chuckled at his cousin.

  “No Rose, it’s fine. Beth burned the very first day and we’ve been applying aloe and peeling skin off her back ever since. I think the worst is almost done. It was dicey for a day or two. She’s been sicker than a dog.”

  “Dang Mitch, I’m sorry. Give her a hug and our love. There’s somebody here that’s dying to talk to you. Is that okay?”

  Knowing who it was, he was grinning for all of Florida.

  “It’s more than okay. Put her on.”

  Rose laughed because she was listening to him and looking at Patty. They were as bad as each other. She handed the phone to the little girl and sat back to watch.

  “Daddy? It’s me.”

  “Hi angel! How’s my precious girl?”

  “I rode rides and hugged Mickey and Minnie. My feet hurt so I laid down with the lion and fell asleep and everyone thought I was lost but I wasn’t. Then you know what happened?”

  Mitch was on the edge of his seat. He’d seen the giraffe pictures, but no one had sent him photos of Patty with a lion. They’d lost his daughter and she’d napped with a lion? What kind of people were his cousins anyway?

  “No darlin’ girl. What happened?”

  “Uncle Ian found me and carried me around cause I had sore feet. Aunt Rose bought me pretty Hello Kitty shoes and my feet didn’t hurt no more. Know what else?”

  “What honey?”

  “We’re going to Gatorland today then we’re coming to see you! Will you play on the beach with me daddy?”

  “You’d better believe it sweet thing. Let me talk to Rose now honey. You go and get ready to leave. I love you Patty.”

  “Love you too Daddy. Here’s Rose.”

  Rose took the phone with trepidation. That was the most one-sided conversation she’d ever heard and she had a feeling that it was because the other side was shocked shitless.

  “Hey Mitch.”

  “Lions?”

  “Ian bought her a stuffed Simba in the Animal Kingdom.”

  “Lost?”

  “She went into the bushes looking for a shady spot and found one. She laid down with her head on the stuffed lion and fell asleep. Ian found her.”

  “When will you get here?”

  “We’re hoping to be there by dinner time. Ian wanted to surprise you until I reminded him of what we were doing on a regular basis on OUR honeymoon. We’ll bring dinner. Pizza or tacos?”

  “Actually Rose, there’s a little seafood cafe here on the beach. It’s got an inside bar and outside seating at picnic tables with umbrellas. You can get a drink and the best fish, shrimp and lobster anywhere. The kids can get burgers if they’d rather, but the grouper nuggets with fries can’t be beat.”

  “Sold. Sounds good and we can’t wait. We’ll see you later Mitch. Tell Beth if she needs me to pick up anything, she can call and we’ll stop on the way in.”

  “Will do Rosie, bye.”

  “Bye Mitch.”

  Rose hung up feeling better for calling. Patty was helping Scott pack.

  Chapter Nineteen

  “Mom said I wasn’t allowed to do anything dangerous like bungee jumping.”

  “You’re not bungee jumping. You’re zip lining. With me. Come on Scott, nobody else will go with me. I don’t wanna do this alone.”

  “Phil, the line goes over alligator and crocodile pools. If my folks hear about this, I won’t be allowed near a kiddie pool anytime soon - much less a croc and gator pool. This is crazy.”

  Phil was strapping a kid-sized yellow plastic helmet onto Scott’s head and a harness onto his body.

  “It has to be safe. The place would close down if they consistently used the damned thing to feed the animals, think about it. Did Rose and Ian say you couldn’t do it?”

  “Rose and Ian have no clue where we are. You said we were going for cold drinks. It’s awfully high up don’t you think?”

  “That’s why we’re in harnesses on a zip line. We’re not base jumping, that would be stupid.”

  Phil put Scot on the ladder in front of him and Scott started climbing.

  “Yeah Phil. Having a parachute would be stupid. It’s much smarter to be attached to a wire with a metal clip somebody bought at Costco out of a bin, especially when you’re going over about fifty things that would kill you without batting an eye.”

  “Don’t be stupid Scott. If the line breaks, the fall will kill you. The gators will just clean up the mess. Ready?”

  They’d reached the platform and Scott felt woozy. Phil saw him start to sway and noticed he’d gone pale. He made a decision based on these observations.

  “You’re goin’ first. I don’t want you throwin’ up on the platform. You’ll be down there in no time. Look! There’s everyone else! They’re lookin’ at us, wave!”

  Amber noticed them first. They were almost to the platform and she wouldn’t of noticed them at all, except Scott was dressed in a bright red shirt that matched Phil’s. She had her hand shading her eyes, watching in morbid fascination. When they were standing safely on the platform, she tugged on the back of Ian’s shirt. He turned with raised eyebrows and followed her stare to the platform.

  “Please tell me I’m fucking hallucinating. I got that boy through four theme parks and a phony jousting match without a scratch on him. Now my bonehead friend is going to suspend him over a pool of carnivorous predators? Really?”

  Everyone’s eyes were on the platform at this point and with Patty squealing and clapping, all thoughts of keeping it from Mitch and Beth went out the window. Rose started moving quickly with Patty’s stroller. Ian snapped out of his trance and moved to keep up with Amber at his side.

  “Where are we goin’ Rosie?”

  “We’re gonna meet them when they land. I want a picture of you picking up Phil and throwing him into the pool they zipped over. What the hell is he thinking?”

  “He’s thinking he wants to do something fun with his friend. He never thinks past that, you know him.”

  “Ian, he’s only eight years old.”

  “He’s almost thirty six.”

  Rose rolled her eyes and ground her teeth.

  “Scott, not Phil.”

  They’d arrived at the landing point and turned in time to see Scott sailing down the line. An automatic camera went off at a strategic point highlighting Scott with a group of alligators on the ground not twenty feet below him. Scott looked terrified.

  When he landed, he was quickly unharnessed and the helmet was removed from his head. Rose held out her arms and he flew to her and wrapped his arms around her waist. She leaned down and kissed the top of his head when she cuddled him close.

  “Aunt Rose, he ain’t right.”

  “We know son. We just can’t believe he dragged you into this.”

  Just then they heard a high-pitched scream and Phil came flying towards them. The camera went off and he landed breathless, eyes wide in amazement.

  “That was freakin’ awesome! Scott, wanna go again?”

  Sc
ott looked up at Rose and looked very much like an eight year old child.

  “I want my mother.”

  Rose held him close and glared at Phil.

  “You’re goin’ to hell on a bullet train. Do you know that?”

  Phil seemed genuinely confused by her remark.

  “Why? It’s not like I took him to a porn theater for a matinee, we went zip lining. People do it everyday! Hell, people go to foreign countries and do it through jungles! We just zipped over a little gator pool, no biggy. I’m gonna go get our photos, be right back.”

  Phil went to the booth to buy the souvenir photos and Patty looked up at Ian.

  “Uncle Ian? What’s porn?”

  Ian was shocked as much by the word as he was by who was asking the question. He felt Rose’s eyes drilling holes through him and he heard Amber clear her throat. No help there then.

  “I’m sure I don’t know honey. You know your uncle Phil. He doesn’t know what he’s talking about half the time. Just forget about it okay?”

  “Think daddy would know?”

  “No baby, I don’t. Let’s not bother daddy with this or mommy either. Please? For me?”

  Patty considered the request and a realization came to her.

  “Do you think it’s like that bad word?”

  “Yes! I’m sure it’s some kind of bad word that Phil came up with. It’s best we just forget about it.”

  “You should get a swear jar.”

  “You’re right sweetheart. I’ll get one when we get home.”

  Rose leaned over and poked him in the side. When he looked at her, he wished he hadn’t.

  “Get a hammer and a shovel when you buy that jar. I’m gonna beat the hell out of him while you’re diggin’ a hole.”

  “We won’t need a hole. If she says the words ‘porn’ and ‘Phil’ in the same sentence, her father is going to knock him out with a piece of pottery and use him to stoke a kiln.”