Sweet Hill Homecoming

by Ryan, Joya

  Tate was going to tell Mia that she was amazing. She was equally infuriating but amazing all the same. Bringing her gloves was a poor excuse to see her. He was going to try to see what she was up to with the drive. See what headway she had made and what he could expect. But watching her tonight at the game, how she lit up supporting her brother, there was an honesty there. It was obvious how much she cared and he really saw that Mia was fierce, in everything.

  “Have dinner with me,” he said. Taking a page from her book and demanding gently instead of asking.

  She frowned. “It’s after ten.”

  “No, I mean a different night.”

  “Oh…” She glanced away and he didn’t like the look of that. “I don’t think that’s a good idea.” Her eyes darted around as if searching for a reason to back up her statement. “We work together.”

  Good try, but Tate saw through that quick. “You mean you boss me around.”

  “Well, yeah.” She smiled. “And I wouldn’t want to change the dynamic we have going.”

  “Oh, trust me sweetheart, I don’t want to change the dynamic either.” He cupped her side and brought her hips against his and whispered in her ear. “It’s just dinner. Everyone has to eat.” He gently nipped her earlobe and felt her shudder against him.

  “One dinner,” she said. “Where?”

  “I’ll cook,” he said quickly.

  Despite him wanting Mia, going on a date in public wasn’t the best idea right now. Not because he was in anyway ashamed of her. Hell, she was way out of his league if anything, but perception mattered and Sweet Hill mattered to him.

  “Like at your house?”

  He smiled. “That’s typically where I cook dinner, yes.” When she didn’t smile back, he hunched over a bit, urging her eyes to meet his. “Unless you would rather not come over?”

  “I want to come over,” she whispered but her eyes were kind of heavy, like she couldn’t believe she said it out loud.

  “Okay. So tomorrow night then?”

  She nodded. He gave her a soft kiss and she instantly melted into him. But before he got lost once again, he pulled away.

  “Thanks for stopping by tonight, Tate,” she said as he walked toward the front door.

  “As always, Miss Blake, it was my pleasure.”

  The way her gaze skated over him then took in his eyes like she saw something there. Something magical. That look made him feel more like a man than he’d ever felt. Her small little smile left something warm in his chest because somewhere in that one expression was everything he wanted to be, everything he wanted to prove he was worthy of. It was all there in how she looked at him. With a sense of peace. Hope. The world shook beneath his feet. Or maybe it was his own knees.

  He said goodbye to the boys quickly, not trusting his voice, and made his way back to his car. Even the cold winter air couldn’t chill the heat that was warming him from the inside out.

  Chapter Eight

  For the first time in a long time, Tate couldn’t wait for his shift to end. Normally, Saturdays were when he stayed late because his weekend plans never consisted of more than a beer with the guys. But tonight would be different.

  Mia was coming over.

  “Hello dear,” his mother said walking into the station.

  “Hi, Mom.” Tate walked to meet her at the door and lead her back to his office. “What brings you by?”

  “Oh, you know.” Betsy shrugged and unwrapped her scarf from around her neck and sat in the chair near Tate’s desk. “Just wanted to pop in and see my favorite son.”

  “I’m your only son, Mom.”

  “Yes, and my favorite.”

  He smiled.

  “I just got an update from Mia Blake about the progress of the event. Everything seems to be going quite well.”

  Tate nodded. “Yeah, she’s been working hard.”

  A couple days ago he saw her going around with her little clipboard to the local businesses on his block, likely getting some kind of support or volunteer from them. He couldn’t see anyone turning down Mia easily.

  “I think it’s going to be quite a good turnout. You working well together?”

  Tate couldn’t help but grin. “She’s working me like a mule.”

  “Wonderful! A little hard work is good for you.”

  “I work hard, Mom.”

  “I know you do dear, but I think spending some time with Mia is good. Maybe she’ll rub off on you.”

  “What is that supposed to mean?”

  “I just mean that she is the kind to go all the way. Cutthroat even.”

  Ha! Tate wanted to laugh because that was a perfect way to describe her. But wait, “Are you saying I don’t go all the way with things? That I need to be more cutthroat?”

  “I just think you need to let go of certain ideas you have and do what you want. What makes you happy.” She glanced at the Sheriff’s office door. “Not everyone is as they appear, son. Not everything is black and white. I’d hate for you to lose something because you’re not willing to budge.”

  He frowned. Did his mother know about Branch’s struggles lately? “I’m worried about a lot at the moment, Mom. Trying to ensure the people of Sweet Hill I can handle being Sheriff while not making the man who taught me the law feel like I’m pushing him out.”

  His mother gave him a look he was familiar with. Worry. “I think you are a good man, Tatum. The best man. Your father would be so proud. You don’t have to keep proving anything to anyone.”

  “I’m not, Mom. I just want to do what’s right.”

  “I know you do,” she said. “Just don’t forget to do what’s right for you. I worry you don’t take advantage of being a young man. Dating maybe…”

  He checked the urge to rub his temple. His mother told him on more than one occasion that her internal grandmother clock was ticking.

  “After this election is over, I will have more time to date,” he said and the moment the words came out, he thought of Mia. How he was excited to see her.

  Where would they be after the election? She didn’t seem like the wife-mother kind. She was nurturing, he saw that with the way she treated Kyle. But every man with eyes looked at her in a way that brought nothing “nurturing” to mind. He knew because he saw it everywhere she went. Saw it on the looks of everyone’s face when she walked by.

  “Hush with that. If you want to be sheriff, the people will elect you because of the man you are, not the man you appear to be. Date who you want, when you want.”

  “It’s not about electing me, it’s about—”

  “Looking at you the way they look at Branch? The way they looked at your father?”

  Tate swallowed hard. That was exactly what it was about. He couldn’t make everyone happy. But in all Branch’s years as sheriff, no one ever spoke ill about him and while everyone may not have liked him, they respected him.

  Instead of going into all of that, Tate went with a simple answer. “I just want to be a good sheriff.”

  She looked at him. “You will be. But son, I don’t think Sweet Hill is the only thing in need of a fresh start around here. Don’t miss what is in front of you.”

  She patted his hand and rose.

  “You have a good day. Love you.”

  He watched his mom walk out, not sure how to take what she just laid on him.

  “Love you too.”

  ~

  “And this is where Santa will be,” Mia said, pointing to the center of the courthouse ballroom. Santa’s Sleigh Drive was only a week away and she was putting the final details on the layout. Since they couldn’t set up until the morning of the event, she needed everyone to know where things would go to make the set up smooth.

  “You got Santa to come, huh?” Jen said.

  “Yeah, the rental place comped the suit for three hours and Big Saul is going to be Santa. Pictures are five dollars. I’m expecting this to be the biggest money maker of the night.”

  Jen nodded. “Nice work. I still can’t
believe you got all this stuff for free.”

  “Donations,” Mia corrected. It hadn’t been easy, but everything was coming together and tonight, she would see Tate and fill him in.

  She swallowed hard. All she thought about lately was him, and not in the way she used to. Like wanting to punch him. No, she’d been thinking about how he tasted. She also was thinking about their “date” later and wasn’t stupid. The lack of public appearance wasn’t lost on her. The question of, “Was Tate ashamed of her?” crossed her mind. He couldn’t be totally because he didn’t hide the fact of being seen with her in public right?

  But it was never a date.

  For the first time ever, a man had her stumped. The way he looked at her. How he picked up on Kyle’s feelings and turned the whole night around showed that there was more to the man than she thought.

  But falling for him would be stupid. Mostly because he had his goals and she had hers. They both were counting on this event to be a success which was at least one thing they could agree on.

  Shaking her head, she regrouped, told the few volunteers she had where the various booths would go and everyone seemed to be on the same page.

  “And here is a map,” she handed out the few Xeroxed sheets of the setup she had in mind. “Keep these for your reference on the day of.”

  Everyone nodded and with a few goodbyes and a couple puzzled looks, they cleared out leaving Jen with Mia to finish up a few notes she had.

  “So…how did last night go?” Jen asked.

  “Fine. Why? What did you hear?”

  Jen frowned. “Ah, you said Kyle was having friends over.”

  Oh, right. “It went okay. Only one kid showed up. Well, and Tate.”

  Jen smiled. “Yeah, I saw him pick up your gloves. I offered to take them to you but he insisted.” Jen dramatically swayed like a teenage girl waiting for her friend to dish. “So, it went well?”

  Mia blushed, she was doing that a lot lately. “Yeah, he came in and played X-box with Kyle until his friend showed up.”

  “Oh, sweet.”

  “Yeah, then he kissed me in the kitchen.”

  “Woah, what!” Jen smiled and Mia thought she even jumped a little. “You’ve been holding out.”

  “It only happened last night. Well…and a few nights ago.”

  “Wait, he kissed you more than once?”

  Mia nodded. Deciding not to tell her about the night at the bar. For some reason she felt like she saw a very private, no pun intended, side of Tate that night that he didn’t share with people. It was something she wanted to keep for herself, that piece of him he let her see.

  “That’s awesome.”

  “No, it’s not. I can’t pursue anything with him.”

  “Why not?”

  “Because.” No one had ever valued Mia to keep her around for long. She never had a steady boyfriend, only a few dates then it was over. She told herself it was because she was busy. Because she had bigger, better things to do, but the truth was, she never gave anything a long term shot because the end would be the same. Disappointment.

  She grew up her whole life understanding she wasn’t wanted from the beginning. And men seemed to only want her for one thing. No need to add insult to injury by having another person remind her that she wasn’t wanted or only wanted for the wrong reasons.

  “Because I’m not a long term girl,” she said, leaving out the rest.

  “Well, that’s fine. There’s no reason you can’t enjoy yourself in the moment.”

  “But that’s the problem, I enjoy myself too much in the moment. I lose my mind when I’m with Tate. He is just…”

  “Super hot,” Jen said with a wink.

  Yeah that. And, “Super irritating. He’s a good guy. I know that. I saw that last night by the way he stepped up and hung out with Kyle. But things feel so…” different.

  Mia couldn’t say it out loud. Tate was a different kind of man, a better kind. The kind that did stick around. And while part of her had been looking for something like that her whole life, the other part of her wanted nothing to do with it.

  She’d never felt like she belonged in Sweet Hill, but she wanted to. But she did know the kind of woman that belonged with a guy like Tate. And she wasn’t it.

  She knew first hand that looks could be deceiving, but she wasn’t blind. At some point, if she fell hard enough, there would be no turning back. And the reason her heart ached a little was the same reason she wanted to see Tate tonight. Because she had to know:

  Was he keeping her his dirty little secret or did he actually want her?

  “I say roll with it,” Jen said. “As long as you’re upfront and so is he, what’s the harm?”

  Mia raised a brow. That was what she was afraid of. Tate being upfront and telling her something that may cut a little. She knew running for Sheriff was difficult for him and knew he wanted it. She could even understand his concerns, and admired his ambition.

  “You know how this town talks,” Mia said. It was a valid argument.

  “Why would hooking up with you or dating you or anything like that be viewed as a bad thing? You just might be the thing to light a fire in him.”

  Oh, there was a fire.

  “I didn’t say dating would be a bad thing. I don’t even know if that is what he wants. He just likes his rules and black and white, which doesn’t work well because I’m kind of gray.”

  “Gray’s a good thing!” Jen said. “Be gray, Mia. If he can’t deal with it, then it’s his loss.”

  She smiled. “That’s your advice? Be gray?”

  Jen nodded. “Yep.”

  Suddenly, Mia was feeling better and better about dinner tonight.

  “Well, looks like I need to go find something to wear.”

  ~

  “Damn it,” Mia cursed and threw another shirt on her bedroom floor.

  Kyle was staying at Will’s tonight and left over an hour ago. In that time, Mia was no closer to figuring out what to wear. She was already twenty-minutes late for a “date” at Tate’s house and standing in a bra, skirt and messy hair that had dried on its own from the shower and now frizzing. She wasn’t going to get out of there anytime soon.

  Why was she so nervous? Everything she tried on was either too city looking or too simple. She was insecure and had no idea what to expect. This whole thing was shaping up to be a big mess and she couldn’t get her head wrapped around it.

  She was nervous to see Tate. Odd for a woman never nervous around men before. Everything she called on to be tough, wasn’t really helping her right now. Because for the same reason she was nervous, she was excited.

  That kiss, hell, both kisses, and sexy bar time, left her breathless and wanting more.

  But she couldn’t even show up right. The reality hit of just how out of her depth she was. Tate was something she’d never encountered. He was everything in a man she didn’t know how to handle.

  She grabbed her cell off her bed and sent him a text:

  RUNNING LATE. WHY DON’T WE JUST RESCHEDULE?

  She took a deep breath. She didn’t want to cancel, but she felt so off. Like any minute she’d burst into a wheezing fit.

  Her phone pinged with a text from Tate:

  I’LL WAIT. TAKE YOUR TIME.

  She smiled a little. There was no way she could explain what she was going through and not sound like a moron. So she went with half-truth and hoped the worst she’d sound like is a girl.

  I DON’T THINK TIME WILL HELP MY SITUATION.

  She glanced in the mirror. Man she looked pathetic. She didn’t stress this much about prom, much less a date-that-wasn’t-a-real-date with the town’s Deputy.

  CAN I HELP?

  She looked at her reflection and sighed.

  UNLIKELY.

  Her phone pinged again:

  SO IT’S AN OUTFIT ISSUE THEN?

  She actually laughed out loud at that. How the hell could he know that?

  ARE YOU LOOKING INTO MY WINDOWS?

 
NO MA’AM, JUST FIGURED IT MUST BE A FASHION PROBLEM SINCE I CAN HELP WITH MOST THINGS…INCUDING BREAKING AND ENTERING LOCKED VEHICALS. ;-)

  Damn it! Even his text messages were charming. She could almost picture his grin and she checked the urge to giggle like a tween with a crush as she typed back.

  ARE YOU HUNGRY?

  He texted before she had a chance to reply to the earlier one.

  YES.

  OK THEN.

  She frowned. What does that mean? Were they on? Off? Dinner was canceled?

  Her thumbs flew over the keypad. She felt bad canceling, and honestly she wanted to kick her own ass because she wanted to be there. She just felt so unprepared. She’d been looking forward to this all day and for some reason was having a wicked attack of the insecurities. Maybe because she didn’t want to know the answer to her earlier question about being a dirty secret. Or maybe because if she found out the latter, she may not care and be with him anyway.

  I HOPE I DIDN’T PUT YOU OUT COOKING AND ALL…

  A few minutes went by and he didn’t text back.

  Shit. Was he pissed? Expecting her? She had no idea what to do. When a knock at the door came, she huffed and standing in a skirt, sparkly heels and a bra, she didn’t really have time to deal with whoever was at the door.

  She threw on her oversized “Party Naked” tee-shirt she fished from the sea of clothes now on her floor and yanked it on. Throwing her hair up on the top of her head and securing it with a band and she walked to the front door and opened it.

  “Oh god, no!” she said, staring down at Tate looking freaking perfect as usual.

  “Well, hello to you too,” he smiled and held a dish in his hand. “I figured I’d bring you dinner since you’re hungry.”

  Mia stared at him, mortified and a little happy. But mostly mortified. He was in dark jeans, black shirt and leather jacket. His hair was perfectly combed and face freshly shaven. He smelled like he just stepped from showering in a rainforest and everything about him called to her.

  “By the way,” he leaned in a little, “You look beautiful.”

  Mia would have laughed but the way he said that, with such seriousness, made her chest do a weird flipping thing. He handed her the dish and took a step back on her stoop. As if he was leaving. She frowned.