Everybody's Hero

by Karen Templeton

  "No, I want to get settled." Joe turned from the window, scanning the aqua countertops, the burnt-orange floor tile. "I feel like I've been in limbo for the last several months."

  "Months?" Danielle said.

  "Okay, maybe for a little longer than that. But Seth needs a real home. As soon as possible."

  "I agree," his mother said with a nod, then gave him a strange look. "But you want to make sure it's in the best neighborhood."

  He frowned. "I thought you said you liked this neighborhood. It's stable, the schools are good…"

  "Yeah, yeah, I know. But now I'm thinking…maybe something with more of a view?"

  Joe sighed. "I'll keep looking."

  "Because you need a better view, too, Joe," his mother went on. "One that's much more…expansive, shall we say."

  He looked over at her. "We're not talking landscape, are we?"

  "No. Joe…" She grabbed his hand. "I will always be more grateful than I can say for everything you've done for Kristen and me. But I never in a million years meant for you to sacrifice your own happiness for ours. If you're not going after Taylor because of us…"

  He shook his head, blowing out a breath. "The timing's lousy for Seth. Right now, he needs to know I'm there for him."

  Danielle's eyebrows lifted. "You don't think he knows that? Joe, mijo, no offense, but that little boy needs more than you. He needs a real family. And you know exactly what I'm talking about."

  His mother squeezed his hand, then let go to call out the back door for Kristen to come on, just as the frosted blond Realtor tip-tapped into the kitchen with a smile that looked painted on.

  "So what do you think? Isn't the backyard just adorable? Great sun, you could plant rose bushes along the west wall, maybe put in a deck at some point. And you know—" she wagged a bracelet-adorned hand toward an empty corner of the kitchen "—you don't find many eat-in kitchens in houses these days. And," she added, "my hunch is the sellers are extremely motivated, since they've already left town and all. So is this perfect or what?"

  Joe and his mother exchanged glances as Danielle ushered Kristen through the kitchen. "It's not bad," Joe said diplomatically, swinging an arm around Seth's shoulders when he came in, all out of breath and sweaty. The Realtor took a tiny step backwards. "But I think we need to keep looking."

  "Oh," she said, the sparkle in her eyes dimming even though her smile didn't give an inch. "Well," she said, leading them across the beige sculpted-pile carpet in the living room—brand-new last year, she'd informed them—and out the front door, "you've pretty much seen everything that matches your criteria. Four-bedroom houses in your price range are pret-ty hard to come by," she added with a scolding finger. "But new properties get listed every day, so you never know. How about I give you a call when something else turns up?"

  "That'd be great," Joe said, and she gave a little wave and tip-tapped back to her BMW, while Joe and Seth got into the Blazer. Joe let his gaze wander down the block. It wasn't a bad neighborhood at all, neat and quiet with lots of shade trees and rose bushes. And the thought of living here gave him the willies.

  "So," Joe said, starting the car. "You like any of the houses we saw today?"

  Seth shrugged. "They were okay, I guess."

  "Seth," Joe said, sparing him a glance as he pulled away from the curb. "Be honest. You're not going to hurt my feelings. Or make me mad."

  The kid seemed to think about this for a minute, then said, "They all sucked."

  They had clearly passed the reticent hurdle. "Now see…that wasn't so bad, was it?"

  "No," the kid said with a little grin. "I guess not."

  "Okay. Now tell me why they all sucked."

  A good three or four seconds passed before his brother said, "Because they're not in Haven."

  "Yeah," Joe said. "That was pretty much my take on it, too."

  He felt Seth's eyes on the side of his face. "No kiddin'?"

  "No kidding."

  Out of the corner of his eye, he saw his brother's gaze slide back around. "C'n I say something?"

  "I told you, you can tell me anything."

  "And you swear you won't get mad?"

  "I swear."

  He heard the boy haul in a huge breath before he said, "I think you an' Taylor need to be with each other. Because you've been nothin' but a grouch ever since we left."

  "I have not!"

  "Now who's not bein' honest?"

  A half smile touched Joe's lips. Except then he said, "But I thought—"

  "You're not like Daddy was," Seth said quietly, his hands folded in his lap. "I'm thinking you can love her and me at the same time." He glanced over, then away. "'Cause, well, I love both of you."

  Joe felt like somebody'd cracked his skull open, letting in a blindingly bright light, which in turn illuminated the one serious flaw in his approach to life over the past fifteen years:

  Sacrificing himself hadn't made him a better man than his father.

  Taking responsibility had never been a problem for Joe. Taking a chance was something else again. Because while taking responsibility had meant being in control, taking a chance meant letting go of that control, leaving yourself wide-open to being hurt again, of giving someone the power to break your heart. If you didn't let yourself want things, you couldn't be disappointed when you didn't get them.

  Or when they were yanked away from you.

  Joe'd always thought of his father as half a man, a wimp who didn't have the cojones to face up to his responsibilities. But now he realized it took a helluva lot more courage to face up to your fears. What a kick in the head to discover that taking the opposite path didn't necessarily mean you wouldn't end up in the same place…or still half a man. Jose Salazar had refused to take responsibility for others' happiness, but Joe had refused to take responsibility for his own.

  Just like he'd refused to trust anyone but himself. Which might have been safe, but whole men learned to trust other people, too.

  Well. Here was something Joe could fix.

  But he sure as hell couldn't fix it in Tulsa.

  Or all by himself.

  Emotion clogging his throat, Joe reached over and cupped his brother's head. "I'm thinking you're absolutely right," he said, and Seth's whole face lit up.

  "Hey," Seth said, sitting up straighter in his seat as Joe steered onto the entrance ramp to I-44, "Where're we going?"

  "Where do you think?" he said, and his brother let out a "Yes!" loud enough to be heard clear to Kansas.

  * * *

  Taylor was sitting out on her porch steps, contemplating getting on with her life—or at least figuring out what to have for dinner—when, over a nearby cicada's brain-numbing whine, she heard the approaching growl of a car engine. She stood on the step, squinting through the viscous, late-day light, only to let out a quiet, "Oh my God" when Joe's Blazer lurched into view. Oakley went nuts, rushing the car and baying his head off, his frantically wagging tail practically knocking him off balance.

  She combed trembling fingers through her loose hair—for what that was worth in this humidity—then dusted off the back of her full-skirted white sundress, which she was only wearing because everything else was in the wash. The car shuddered to a stop in the driveway; Seth tumbled out of it and over to her, throwing his arms around her waist and saying over and over, "We're back, we're back, we're back," until he got tired of that and added, "And we're never leaving!" At which point it was everything she could do to hold back the tears. So she hugged the boy back, hard, if for no other reason than hugging helped defuse the tear crisis. And also because hugging Seth gave her an excuse not to look at Joe right away.

  Except eventually Seth got bored with the hugging, so he pulled away and he and Oakley bounded off somewhere, leaving Taylor with no choice but to face Joe.

  Whose eyes were devouring her as if she were the first water he'd seen after a week on the desert.

  Things were definitely looking up.

  For whatever reason, he was kee
ping his distance, standing with one hand in his front pocket of his jeans, the other propped on the roof of his truck. "You know if Hank's offer still stands?" he asked.

  Deciding to take her cue from him, Taylor stayed where she was, too. But oh, was it ever killing her. "Far as I know," she said, and the tension in his shoulders seemed to ease a bit.

  "And yours?"

  Somehow, she doubted her sudden lightheadedness was due to the heat. "You see a line forming?"

  "Just wanted to be sure. You can never tell with women."

  She crossed her arms. "You are so gonna get it for that."

  He grinned. "That's what I was hoping," he said, and she rolled her eyes, which made him laugh.

  "But…the job in Tulsa…?"

  "Might be doing some heavy-duty commuting for a while, until Mitch can find a replacement. But I decided that wasn't what I wanted to do." He paused. "Or where I wanted to be."

  Her stomach felt like a waterbed with Oakley jumping on top of it. "Gee. I'm hearing a lot of 'I wants' in there."

  "Oh, honey, I'm just getting started." Then the grin dimmed a little. "I'm gonna be responsible for a lot of people for a long time. I mean, Mom and Kristen are probably gonna move back here, too."

  She shrugged. "Makes sense to me."

  "And you're absolutely sure—"

  "I am. Absolutely."

  "It's just…" He rubbed the back of his neck, peering out at her from underneath those gorgeous thick eyelashes. "I've been thinking I could use a little sanctuary from time to time."

  Her heart swelled, knowing what that admission had cost him.

  "I'm right here," she said, taking a step down, but he held up one hand to stop her.

  "Not so fast," he said. "There are conditions."

  "Conditions?"

  "Yeah. Like, for one thing, you gotta promise to let me see you in that blue dress."

  She laughed. "I suppose that can be arranged. But where did you have in mind?" she said, figuring on a smart-ass reply like "Anywhere I can take it off of you," or something equally man-like and predictable, so when he said, "Oh, I don't know. How about on our honeymoon?" her knees gave way and she sank back onto the porch steps.

  "Ohmigod," she said.

  Something like panic raced over his features. "Am I moving too fast?"

  "No!" She shook her head, waving her hands in front of her. "Fast is good."

  "So I take it that 'no' is a 'yes'?"

  "Yes," she said, her heart racing. "You bet your butt that's a yes." She started to get up, but he put out his hand again.

  "What now?"

  "There's one more condition." His smile softened. "I'd really like to add to those responsibilities."

  Took her a second. Then she flushed up to her roots. "Um, how many additional responsibilities are we talking? In round numbers?"

  "Hadn't gotten that far. Thought we'd try out one or two, see how it went, then go from there."

  "But your brother and sister…"

  "Are my brother and sister. I want a family of my own." His gaze never left hers. "With you."

  "Like I said." She grinned. "I'm here."

  A smile slid across Joe's face and right on up into his eyes. "Actually," he said, opening his arms, "I'd rather have you right here—"

  The last word came out on a whoomph as Oakley flew past her and mowed Joe down.

  "Oakley, drop it!" Taylor cried, running to Joe and dropping onto her knees in the dirt beside him, her dress whooshing up in a cloud of cotton as she shoved the dog away, yelling, "So help me Hannah, if you've killed him, you're dead meat!" Only Joe—who was very much still alive—slung one arm around her waist and dragged her down beside him, laughing and kissing her over and over until she thought she'd explode with happiness. Even with dust in her mouth.

  Then he stilled, brushing her hair out of her face and smiling into her eyes. "You got any idea how much I love you?"

  Her heart singing, she looped her hands around his neck. "You got any idea how much I look forward to you showing me?"

  "Hey," Seth yelled from the porch, his hands on his hips. "What the heck are you two doing?"

  "Just waitin' on you," Joe hollered, and the kid tore down the steps and across the yard, flopping between them in a torrent of giggles. And over the boy's curly head, Joe looked over and winked at her, and the love held captive inside her for so long spilled out of her soul, and her heart, free at last.

  Now she was home.

  ISBN: 978-1-4268-7363-8

  EVERYBODY'S HERO

  Copyright © 2004 by Karen Templeton-Berger

  All rights reserved. Except for use in any review, the reproduction or utilization of this work in whole or in part in any form by any electronic, mechanical or other means, now known or hereafter invented, including xerography, photocopying and recording, or in any information storage or retrieval system, is forbidden without the written permission of the editorial office, Silhouette Books, 233 Broadway, New York, NY 10279 U.S.A.

  All characters in this book have no existence outside the imagination of the author and have no relation whatsoever to anyone bearing the same name or names. They are not even distantly inspired by any individual known or unknown to the author, and all incidents are pure invention.

  This edition published by arrangement with Harlequin Books S.A.

  ® and TM are trademarks of Harlequin Books S.A., used under license. Trademarks indicated with ® are registered in the United States Patent and Trademark Office, the Canadian Trade Marks Office and in other countries.

  Visit Silhouette Books at www.eHarlequin.com

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  Table of Contents

  KAREN TEMPLETON,

  Author's Note

  Chapter 1

  Chapter 2

  Chapter 3

  Chapter 4

  Chapter 5

  Chapter 6

  Chapter 7

  Chapter 8

  Chapter 9

  Chapter 10

  Chapter 11

  Chapter 12

  Chapter 13

  Chapter 14

  Chapter 15

  Chapter 16

  Chapter 17

  Chapter 18