by Josie Kerr
She shook her head. “Greg didn’t grill, and Dad was some sort of supernatural mess-repelling Mr. Clean who managed to never get a thing on him. I think even the grease was afraid to muss him.” Tally seemed to reconsider continuing, simply smiling and taking another sip of wine.
“You were scared of your father.”
“He . . . had a strong personality.”
“Your mother has a strong personality, too. How’d that work out?”
Tally huffed a breath and chewed on her lip before continuing. “Mom is like a different person now. When I was growing up, she went to work, took care of me, took care of the house. Then when I had Chloe, she took some leave until we figured out what our new normal was. And when Dad got sick, she took care of him for three years and then just . . .” Tally’s voice trailed off, and when Rob looked at her, her eyes were wide with . . . embarrassment? Fear?
“What?”
“I’m so sorry, Rob. You were in the same, horrible position with a small child—”
He waved off her discomfort. “I know what it’s like to watch someone fade before your eyes. I don’t know how your dad was, but Becca fought, at least for a while. Toward the end, she didn’t want Lily’s memories of her to be this pitiful, broken woman—her words,” he added quickly. “She went downhill fast, after she decided it was time.”
Tally drummed her fingers on the table and then stood up. “Let’s go sit on the couch.”
Rob nodded and followed her into the living room, where he sat next to her on the couch.
“This is, uh, a slightly different mood from this afternoon,” Rob remarked. He took her hand in his, tracing the fine veins with his index finger.
She nodded and bit her lip again, her eyes questioning. “Are you going to be okay?”
He didn’t look up but just continued to stroke the back of her hand. “It’ll be okay. I’ll be honest with you—I’m pretty much broke. There’s a reason that I opened up the orchard for apple picking and berry picking and weddings and photo shoots. Right before Becca got sick, we’d decided to go all in. Take out loans for equipment, land, expand the orchard, the whole shebang. Becca was working with Saffy McNabb to do some herbal-y type bath and spa stuff. It worked, but we . . . might not have been as smart about it as we could have. Then she got pregnant, and that was . . . crazy, unplanned.”
“Miraculous?”
Rob nodded. “And then she got sick. They actually found the first tumors when she was pregnant, so that impacted her treatment.”
“Oh, Rob.”
He closed his eyes, ran his hand over his face, and then, miraculously, felt Tally wrap her hand around the inside of his thigh. “You sure you wanna get involved with a broke-ass moonshiner who’s twice your age?” he asked, cracking an eye to peer at her.
“You are not twice my age. That would be creepy,” she scoffed, with an eye-roll for good measure. “You’re just . . . aged.”
“Hey!”
“Like wine, you goofball!” She gave his thigh another squeeze. “You sure you want to get involved with a not-quite-divorced former teen mother?”
“Yeah, I am.”
“Good. Will you kiss me now?”
Rob chuckled and simply did as she asked, lowering his lips to hers in a soft, sweet kiss. Tally’s body softened against his.
“So, you wanna make out?” he murmured against her lips.
“Yes, please.”
“Good.”
He pulled her tighter against him, and Tally snaked her arms around his neck. Her fingers tangled in his hair, and she hummed against his mouth. He touched his tongue to the seam of her lips, testing, tasting, and she opened, accepting him.
Rob leaned her back on the couch, giving her most of his weight. She wriggled underneath him, arching into him. He growled deep in his throat as he pulled her harder against him.
“What time is Chloe supposed to be home?” he gasped.
“What?” Her brow wrinkled. “Around midnight?”
Rob looked around for a clock, found what he was looking for, and gave her a devilish grin. “Good. I have time to do what I didn’t get to this afternoon. That is, if you’ll let me.”
He cupped her mound, feeling her heat. Rob watched her throat bob as she swallowed hard. He rubbed his thumb over the seam in her jeans, applying just a little more pressure. She made a little noise, a mewl of pleasure. He definitely wanted her to make more of those noises, so he stroked a little faster, a little harder.
“I want to taste you,” he whispered in her ear, nipping her jaw. “Please.”
“Okay.” Tally’s chest heaved, her lips swollen from his kisses, her eyes bright with lust. “Please.”
He grinned and went to work ridding her of her jeans and panties.
“Oh, yeah. So pretty.” Then he lowered his tongue to her heat and tasted her.
“Oh my God, Rob.” Tally’s hands fisted in his hair, tugging hard as he thrust his tongue into her core, wrapped his lips around her nub, and sucked hard. She lifted her hips to him, grinding against his greedy mouth. Rob’s hands made their way under her T-shirt. He thumbed her nipples in time with the strokes of his tongue, pinching them gently while Tally stiffened and gasped and came apart under his mouth. He held her to him until she grew limp and sated. Then he moved up her body, planting sweet, tiny kisses on her mound and across her belly, until he could rest his head on her chest and hear the thumping of her heart.
“We’re running backward,” she murmured.
“What?”
She stroked his head, playing with his hair. “Home run this afternoon. Third base tonight.”
Rob chuckled against her breast. “Yeah, it seems that way.”
“I don’t have any condoms.” Tally nudged his erection with her calf. “What can I do for you?”
The side of Rob’s mouth hitched up in a lopsided grin. “What do you like?” A flush crept across her cheeks. “Oh, ho, ho, do I sense that my sweet Tallulah might like something a little bit naughty?”
“I . . . like to watch.” Her cheeks grew redder.
“Like to watch?”
“Jacking off. I like to watch it.”
Rob kneeled on the couch, undid his jeans, and shoved them over his hips. He grasped his erection through his boxer briefs and squeezed, then he took his cock and balls out of the tight black material. Tally licked her lips, watching him as he stroked himself. He had to stop for a moment and pull himself together, or he was going to blow right there.
Then he began again. Tally squirmed, watching him, and started to stroke herself.
“Take your shirt off,” Rob growled. “Bra, too.”
She immediately complied, whipping the shirt over her head and dropping it to the floor, then ridding herself of her bra so she was sprawled out, naked, in front of him. He took his cock in his hand, stroking, while he watched her touch herself. Soon he felt the familiar heaviness in his balls, the orgasm coiling in his back.
“Babe, I’m gonna go. Are you ready?” he ground out.
She nodded, chest heaving, and he went, spending over her breasts, belly, and mound. Seeing her spread out, marked by him and glowing, with a look of satisfaction on her face, brought a lump to his throat. He leaned down and kissed her mouth, her cheeks, and she kissed him back.
“Where are your washcloths?”
“There’s a linen closet in the hall.”
He kissed her again. “Be right back.”
Rob located the linen closet, grabbed a washcloth and a towel, and soon returned to Tally to clean her up. He ran the dampened washcloth over her body, then dried her off. He set the washcloth on top of the towel and put them on the coffee table, then took Tally’s hands and helped her sit up.
“Kiss me again, Rob,” Tally whispered, and he did.
“Lord, you’re beautiful.” He smoothed her hair back from her face. “So beautiful, sitting there in the altogether.” He glanced at the clock. “Chloe will be home soon, I reckon.”
T
ally swung her feet to the floor and retrieved her clothes from where they’d fallen, then she dressed. She’d just finished smoothing her shirt back down, grinning at Rob the whole time as he set himself to rights, when they heard the doorknob rattle. Rob grinned, but the pile of towels caught his eye, and Rob scooped them off the table and took them to the bathroom. He looked at himself in the mirror, schooling his features to resemble someone who looked like he’d not been jacking off all over someone’s mom.
“Oh, Robbie boy, I don’t know if you can pull this off,” he told his reflection. He made sure his own clothes were in order, flushed the toilet and washed his hands, then went into the living room.
“Hey, Chloe.”
Tally’s daughter darted her eyes between her mother and Rob but didn’t hesitate to say, “Hi, Robbie Mac.”
The three stood awkwardly in the living room for a moment until Rob turned to Tally. “I’m off. Thanks for dinner and the company.” He darted his eyes to Chloe but then kissed Tally on the cheek. “Night, Tally. Night, Chloe.”
“Good night, Rob. Be safe driving home.”
“Always am.”
“Night, Robbie Mac,” Chloe said, her eyes still narrowed at him.
He left the house, jogged down the porch stairs, and got into his car. He could see Tally’s figure in the front door, backlit by the living room light. She waved at him, and he raised his hand in farewell, then backed out of the driveway.
“Robbie Mac, you’re falling for her,” he murmured to himself and was surprised that he didn’t have any misgivings at all about that fact.
“Come on, Chloe. We need to get a move on!”
“Mom, how are you so chipper this morning?” Chloe yawned so wide it seemed as if her head had hinges.
Truthfully, Tally didn’t know why she was so spritely this morning. It sure wasn’t because she’d gotten a ton of sleep, because she hadn’t. She’d lain in bed most of the night, replaying the evening, the way she felt when she was lying under Rob, completely naked, his big body looming over her, mostly clothed but with his pants around his muscular thighs, thick cock in his hand, the look on his face as he climaxed. And though she was tender, she’d even touched herself again, remembering.
“Mom!”
“What?”
Chloe snorted. “Okay, you’re not as awake as you’d seemed at first.”
“No, I’m not.” Tally blinked. “I think I need more coffee.”
“I think we need the Scuppernong Café,” Chloe suggested, her eyes bright and hopeful.
“Oh, you’re already thinking about pecan pancakes, aren’t you?” Tally laughed. “Okay, come on. Let’s go.”
A quick drive to downtown Hemlock Creek and soon Tally and Chloe were seated in one of the Scuppernong Café’s cozy booths. Penny, their favorite waitress, placed a glass of orange juice in front of Chloe and a large mug of coffee in front of Tally. Penny took their orders but hesitated a moment.
“Is there something wrong, Penny?” Tally arched an eyebrow in question, but she had a feeling the next topic of conversation was going to be about her handsome moonshiner.
Wait—her handsome moonshiner? Where did that come from?
“I saw you at Robbie Mac’s place yesterday afternoon—I’d forgotten that Lily was going with her grandparents—and I wanted to make sure he’s okay. Barrett Hayes was in right after he got off duty, told me about all that mess. That’s the last thing that boy needs.”
Tally smiled at Penny’s calling Rob a boy, because, whew, that was a man if she’d ever seen one.
Penny giggled. “Oh, Robbie’s okay, then. I’ll go put these orders in.”
“Thanks, Penny.” Tally chuckled. “What?”
“Are you being safe, Mom?”
Tally laughed again, but her mirth quickly dissipated at Chloe’s stern, concerned countenance.
“Well, are you? I mean, I know we’ve had the talk, but . . . well, I’m here because you weren’t careful in the first place.”
“You’re the best thing that ever happened to me, Chloe Elizabeth. There is not one thing I would change.”
Chloe frowned. “You wouldn’t?”
“No, I wouldn’t. Honey, if I hadn’t had you when I did, if your father wasn’t who he is, and we hadn’t had the relationship we had, you wouldn’t be the strong, beautiful young woman that you are.” Tally clasped her daughter’s hand. “I wouldn’t change a thing.”
Chloe pressed her lips together and nodded her head. “But you are being safe, right?”
“Oh my God, Chloe—yes! Yes, we’re being safe!” Tally threw up her hands.
“Mother! God! Not so loud!” Chloe hissed. “I can’t take you anywhere.”
“Oh, honey, my job for the next few years is to embarrass you as much as possible.”
More good-natured grumbling from Chloe ensued, continuing until Penny brought their orders to the table. They tucked into their breakfasts, and Tally thought that maybe, just maybe, this was her new normal. And if it was, that was all right with her.
´*•.¸(*•.¸ *¸.•*´)¸.•*´
Okay, this was definitely not all right and definitely not normal.
The woman from the grocery store stood in front of the largest display cabinet in The Backward Glance, a piece of barnwood gripped her hands. She’d already smashed the pieces on one of the open shelves, costing the shop who knew how much money.
Tally had been frightened when the woman had first burst into the shop, ranting. Then Tawney had broken the merchandise, and now Tally was pissed.
“Just what the hell do you think you’re doing, coming in here, breaking things, acting like some sort of crazy woman? What have I ever done to you?” Tally was tempted to go around the counter, but she held herself back. Not because she was scared, necessarily, but because she was afraid that this crazy-ass Tawney would destroy the business her great-uncles had worked their whole lives to build. Still, her temper flared. She slammed her hand on the wooden counter. “Tell me!”
“I was supposed to be with Robbie Mac! He was just about to let me in, really let me in, and then you showed up!” Tawney raged. “Can’t you take a friggin’ hint?”
“It’s you who can’t take a hint, Tawney!” At the woman’s look of wide-eyed surprise, Tally cackled. “Yes, I know your name. Robbie told me about you.” She shook her head, her gaze softening with sympathy. “You had your chance, Tawney. Now leave, please, before I have time to think about that whole shelf of smalls you broke.”
Tawney stuck her chin out and seemed like she was going to argue, when the screech of the screen door’s rusty hinges sounded throughout the small shop, followed by the heavy tread of footsteps and rumble of men’s voices.
“So, I say, ‘How about we get a drink sometime?’ and she’s all, ‘I’m old enough to be your mother,’ like that’s a problem or something.” Barrett Hayes was walking backward down the hall, complaining to Liddie and Tobias. “And then she had the audacity to call me pushy!”
Tobias was scowling at the man, his face screwed up in a frown, while Liddie grasped her new husband’s hand and grinned, her eyes twinkling.
“Well, honey, you do come on a little strong sometimes,” Liddie began, only to be interrupted by Tobias’s snort.
“He’s about as subtle as a flashing neon sign.” Tobias, who towered over everyone in the room, frowned at Tally and Tawney, who had frozen stock-still. “Is there a problem here?” He tipped his head toward the shattered glass scattered on the shelf.
“No, Tawney was just leaving, weren’t you?” Tally beamed brightly at Tawney, showing all her teeth.
“Um, yes. Yes, I was.” The two women stared at each other, and then Tawney’s shoulders slumped and she nodded. Then she left without another word.
“What was that about?” Liddie peered at her daughter.
Tally shrugged and shook her head. “It was just something we needed to get sorted.” She came out from behind the counter and wrapped her arms around her mother. “
I’m so glad to see you, Mom. Did you have a good time?”
Liddie cocked her head to the side. “I did. We had a wonderful time, but something tells me we might need some quality mother-daughter bonding time sooner rather than later.”
Bunny had stuck his head into the already crowded room. “I’m looking for flying pigs now, because I swore I saw Tawney McMichaels just storm out of here—holy hell, did she do that?” He pointed to the destroyed shelf.
Tally cringed but knew she needed to step up. “Take it out of my check. I’m the reason she came in here and did that.” She pointed at the broken vintage glassware. “So I need to pay—”
“Oh, no, baby girl. We’ll have none of that. That crazy woman came in here and smashed stuff of her own accord. We’ll talk about this later, but now, we need to get some wrought iron fencing loaded up while we have some young, strong backs helping. That includes you, Tobias.”
“I’m not young—” Tobias began to protest, but Bunny grabbed him by the shoulders and spun him around.
“You’re three months younger than I am, Harper. Let’s go. Liddie, you’ve had exclusive use of him for a few weeks now. I promise I’ll return him intact.” Bunny pushed a still-protesting Tobias toward the door, and Barrett gave the women a grin and lumbered off behind the men.
Liddie turned to her daughter. “Now that we’re alone—I hear you’ve been spending some time with a certain handsome moonshiner?”
“You’ve been home, what, twelve hours, Mom?” Tally laughed. “Oh, Uncle Bunny, huh?”
It was Liddie’s turn to laugh then. “No, actually, it was Ace who spilled the beans.” She took a long look at her daughter. “You can tell me all about it while we clean this up.”
The two women worked side by side in silence for a bit, wiping down the shelves, ensuring that no small slivers of glass remained, while Tally gathered her thoughts.
“Rob’s a lot more thoughtful than he gets credit for. He’s a nice guy.”
“That’s it?”
“I mean, I guess. We’ve not been seeing each other that long, right? We’ve only had a few dates, and half of those were with the girls.” Tally shrugged a shoulder.
