I've Got You, Babe (Must Love Babies)

by Lynnette Austin

  “You’re entirely welcome. The grass out back is getting pretty high, so I’m gonna take a few minutes and mow in case Daisy wants to play out there.”

  When she went inside, he headed to the backyard, visions of sugarplums and angel kisses running through his head. And around the edges? A trace of regret at not making it to Nate’s cabin.

  * * *

  After he finished the yard, Tucker drove to the shop. Being alone in the house with Elisa seemed a bit too dangerous with his lips still tasting of her kiss.

  Despite his best efforts, he couldn’t manage to get Elisa’s Escort running, though. He called the auto store for a part he needed, and they promised it by Monday.

  Hanging up, he called home and smiled when Elisa answered. “I’m on my way. How about I stop at Fat Baby’s Barbecue and pick up a couple of pulled pork sandwiches and salads?”

  “I can put something together here.”

  “Nah. Don’t bother. This will be easier.”

  * * *

  They’d just cleared dinner dishes when Tansy pulled up and one tired little girl crawled out of her SUV.

  While Daisy chatted nonstop about her day, Elisa herded her into the shower, then stuffed her into a set of Dora the Explorer pajamas.

  “How much did you eat?” she asked playfully.

  “A lot.” Daisy flashed that incomparable smile.

  “I wasn’t sure you’d fit into these PJs.”

  “But I do.”

  “Yes, you do.” She buttoned the top button, laughing when Daisy yawned. “Want to run down and give Tuck a good night kiss?”

  She nodded and sat down on the top step, bumping her way down. Tucker waited at the bottom, where she threw her arms around him and gave him a happy kiss.

  “How about if I carry you back upstairs?”

  “Thanks, Tut. I’m tired.”

  After Daisy was tucked into bed, Elisa sank into the chair across from Tucker. “She had a wonderful time today.”

  He grinned. “Yeah, I heard. Your kid is a talker.”

  “She is that.”

  “I ran into Lucinda today at Fat Baby’s. She has an open spot at her daycare.”

  “No. We won’t be here that long.”

  He frowned. “It would be good for both of you, even if it’s only a few days. Daisy’s missing other kids her age. Today was good for her.”

  “It was, but the answer is still no.”

  Propping his feet on a leather ottoman, Tucker gave himself a second. “I understand wanting to protect what’s yours. But you’ve got me wondering. Is there something else I should know? Someone who’s coming after you? Wants you back? And Daisy?”

  “No.” She drew a ragged breath. “Nothing like that. No one wants us.”

  If he’d had a heart, Tucker swore it would have broken into a thousand pieces. But he didn’t, so it didn’t…and he’d swear to that on a stack of Bibles. Clearing his throat, he said, “I sincerely find that hard to believe.”

  She shrugged. “I already told you about Daisy’s dad. After the requisite year of no contact and no support, I divorced him on grounds of abandonment.”

  “Good for you.”

  “I happen to agree. Daisy and I have been doing okay. I made enough at the library to support us, but not enough to put away more than a few dollars a week for a rainy day. Unfortunately, we ran smack-dab into the middle of one heck of a storm when I lost my job.”

  “And that’s why you were on the road.”

  “Yes, headed to my mom’s. Evonne Eklund. Maybe you’ve heard of her.”

  He shook his head. He didn’t like Elisa’s ex or her mother very much. Neither’d offered support when she’d needed it.

  “Right now, she’s somewhere in the jungles of Mexico.” Elisa’s yawn was every bit as big as her daughter’s had been.

  “Hey,” he said quietly. “You’re bushed. Let me help you upstairs.”

  She chuckled. “I can manage. I’m tired, not sick.”

  “Understood. Sounds like you’ve been doing a lot of managing on your own, though. How about for once you turn over the reins?”

  Without another word, he swept her up in his arms, held her against his chest, and felt the tickle of her long hair brush across his arm.

  She let out a little squeak of surprise.

  “You’ll drop me.”

  “Not in this lifetime, honey. You don’t weigh much more than a two-month-old foal.” As he pulled her closer and she draped an arm around his neck, he told himself to ignore the fact that she looked like one of the princesses in the storybooks his sister used to read.

  He told himself to ignore that the scent of her did crazy things to his insides, that her kisses set him on fire. A few more days and she’d be gone.

  He’d have his house back, and he’d be happy.

  Neither his body nor his mind seemed to be listening to him tonight.

  * * *

  Elisa lay awake a long time after she heard Tucker come upstairs.

  What made her open up to him? Share things she didn’t mean to? No doubt he’d rub his hands in glee when he saw the last of her. She had to give the man his due, though. He’d done more for her these last few days than her family ever had.

  It would be easier if he wasn’t so darned good-looking. One sidelong glance from those dark eyes and she turned to mush. Fires long ago doused sprang to life inside her. Those shared kisses… Well, wow! And when he’d picked her up tonight? She’d almost swooned. But since she’d already done that—in the worst possible way—she’d kept her head about her. Sort of.

  Turning onto her side, she willed herself to go to sleep. It didn’t work. Since she’d finished the book she’d been reading, she’d look for another tomorrow. Not a romance, though. She already had too many visions of a dark-haired hero floating through her mind.

  A couple hours later, she heard Tucker in the hall and tensed. The front door opened, then closed, and his car roared to life.

  She moved to the window and stared out into the shadowy darkness. Where did he go at this time of night? What monsters did he battle?

  Chapter 9

  Tucker yawned. Two nights in a row, dawn’s blush had filled the sky by the time he’d returned home. He’d dropped into bed and slept like the dead for a good hour and a half. Now? Time to find himself a cup of coffee and start the day.

  With one hip leaning against the counter, he listened to the rumble of the coffee maker and breathed deeply as the aroma kick-started his brain. With that came memories of his chat with Elisa Saturday night. She’d no doubt confided way more than she’d meant to. Middle-of-the-night talks were like that. Something about the dark dropped a person’s guard.

  He admired the heck out of her. She was one brave woman. A fighter. But he couldn’t keep her here much longer. His willpower was eroding as fast as the sand dunes during a haboob.

  He wanted her.

  He couldn’t have her. Not while she lived in his house, under his protection. He’d provided a type of sanctuary for her and Daisy and couldn’t break that trust. After Saturday’s near fumble, they’d spent yesterday tiptoeing around each other.

  Now here it was, Monday morning and a new week.

  His first cup of coffee downed and a go-cup at the ready, he placed a hard-boiled egg center front on the top fridge shelf with a note that read “Eat Me!” Elisa wouldn’t be able to miss it. Left to her own devices, she didn’t think often enough about food—even after Doc Hawkins’s admonishments to pay attention to her diet.

  He slid his wallet in his back pocket, picked up his car keys, then sneaked out, hoping not to wake the girls.

  Every single morning, regardless of what was happening in his life, he smiled when he rounded the corner and spotted the Wylder Rides shop.

  Last January, when Brant had stumb
led onto it, the place had been nothing more than an abandoned gas station in the middle of an overgrown, weed-filled lot. They’d left its vintage gas pumps out front and the old Mobil sign over the door—a true throwback to the fifties. It fit Wylder Rides to a T.

  He loved restoring old cars and motorcycles and had joined his brothers in the business when he mustered out of the Marines. He’d loved being a Marine, too. Right up until he didn’t. Right up until an arrogant commander, too proud to admit a mistake, had cost his four closest friends their lives while he’d been confined to base. Hard-Ass Harry had killed his pals as surely as if he’d pulled the trigger.

  A band of stress tightened around Tucker’s forehead. He massaged it and willed it away. It would creep back, though, in the wee hours of the night.

  Well, he’d procrastinated long enough. Hood raised, Tucker studied Elisa’s sorry excuse for a car. The dipstick was covered with sludge that took top honors as the dirtiest oil he’d witnessed in an engine still able to turn over. Before he returned the car to her, they’d have a long talk about basic car maintenance, something her father should have done. Maybe he’d make her a calendar and mark the required upkeep on it.

  When she looked at that calendar, she’d be gone, living somewhere else. Why did that bother him so much?

  Standing in the middle of the bay, he admitted that it had been a long time since he’d gone to bed wanting a woman. Not just any woman. Elisa. A woman who came with a lot of baggage.

  He turned toward the office, then stopped. She came with baggage? What a joke. His own was enough to sink the Titanic without the help of an iceberg.

  The two of them? A bad combination. Bonnie and Clyde bad. Romeo and Juliet bad. Anthony and Cleopatra bad.

  Tucker and Elisa bad.

  Time he got to work.

  Since he had the shop to himself, he flipped on the radio and brought up his favorite Southern rock station.

  Brant, who’d returned Sunday morning, had driven back to Savannah to pick up a few shop supplies. Gaven, who’d decided he might want to buy instead of rent, was spending the morning with Quinlyn. Tucker felt sorry for the Realtor—she’d have her hands full with his baby brother. If he could actually make a decision, Tucker would be very, very surprised.

  He’d known exactly what he’d wanted from the moment he saw the old blacksmith shop. It was home.

  Gaven? He’d be all over the map. The kid could never stick with anything. Well, except cars. Even his marriage had been a bust. He’d never said much about his breakup and divorce, but the ink had barely dried on the marriage certificate before he and his bride hung up their rings. They’d made it twenty-one days. Three short weeks. Whatever had happened stayed between him and Rita, and, as far as Tucker knew, Gav had never spoken a bad word about her.

  What had his baby brother done to make Rita walk?

  * * *

  Twilight deepened as Tucker sat in his backyard and watched the flames rise into the sky from his new fire pit. At the edge of his property, the stream gurgled and a few brave fireflies flitted through the gathering darkness. A gentle breeze rustled the trees.

  Soft candlelight from Daisy’s jack-o’-lanterns spilled over the concrete patio. He’d already snuffed the two out front. The imp had somehow wheedled him into buying a second one for her mommy. When she’d insisted he needed his own, it was simply easier to cave. The cherry on top? They’d actually bought a fourth for the darned dog.

  A dog that had gone back to Brant’s. They’d had a few tears over that, but after he’d promised Daisy they’d visit Lug Nut, she’d finally settled down.

  He shook his head. Life with Daisy Elizabeth was…interesting. And exhausting.

  Tonight, though? As close to perfect as it came. He’d come home to find Elisa had fixed shrimp and grits for dinner. Now she was upstairs tucking Daisy in for the night.

  He’d finished mowing the grass earlier and could still smell the fresh cut. The scent always took him back to summer days roughhousing with his brothers, of his mom and dad and picnics. Nothing smelled better. Well, except for a woman beneath him. The smell of that spot on her neck, right above her shoulder blade. Elisa’s scent, subtle and feminine, innocent yet sexy as hell, drifted through his olfactory memory.

  He blew out a big breath. Somehow, she’d crawled under his skin without even trying.

  And those kisses? He couldn’t risk any more.

  He smelled her before he heard her, and his resolution wobbled when she dropped into an Adirondack chair across from him.

  “Your car is a piece of crap.”

  “Why, thank you.” She shot him a look that didn’t match her words.

  “I’m not kidding, Elisa. You shouldn’t have been on the road with it.”

  “It’s easy on gas, and it’s paid for.”

  “That doesn’t make it safe.”

  “I suppose not, but…” She spread her hands. “It’s what I have. How much will it cost to fix it?”

  “I thought we’d already discussed that.” In the firelight’s glow, he read the uneasy expression on her face. “I know money’s a snag…”

  “I’m not a charity case.”

  His jaw tightened. “Understood. I can get the parts at discount, and my time is free since we’re between jobs right now.”

  “Tuck, you’ve already done so much for us.”

  “Do I look like I care?”

  A bubble of laughter escaped. “Yes.”

  “I do not.” He turned to her.

  “Every time Daisy jumps on your sofa, you look apoplectic.”

  “That’s not true.”

  “There are those pants on fire again.”

  “Elisa—”

  “It’s time for us to leave, Tuck.”

  His smile evaporated. “What?”

  “I’ve had the tests and my blood sugar’s under control. I’m all better. You’ve been wonderful, but our time here came with an expiration date. We’ve reached it.”

  Caught off-guard, he stared at her, rubbing his chest. It hurt and he couldn’t breathe. Was he having a heart attack? It sure as heck wasn’t because Elisa was leaving him.

  No. She wasn’t leaving him. It had never been about him.

  And this pain sure as heck wasn’t because he, well, felt anything for her. He didn’t do feelings. Not anymore. He’d gone that route when he’d been twenty and dumb.

  When his girlfriend told him she was pregnant, he’d seen his whole life, all his dreams, sink out of sight. But he’d loved Rachel and promised she wouldn’t have to go it alone, that they’d get married that weekend.

  Her father caught wind of their plans and insisted she visit their doctor to make sure everything was okay. She refused. The evening before their quickie wedding at the justice of the peace’s office, Rachel came to him in tears. She’d lied. There was no baby.

  It turned out she’d wanted a Mrs. degree from college more than a bachelor’s.

  They’d canceled the wedding, and he’d dropped out of college and enlisted in the Marines.

  Rachel had played him like a Stradivarius, and he wasn’t up for that a second time. Once burned, twice learned. To this day, he had nothing to do with anyone who lied to him or betrayed him.

  “Tuck? Are you okay?”

  “Yeah, sure.” He answered too quickly. “I, ah… Want some coffee?”

  “No.” She sent him a searching look.

  “It’s none of my business, but why are you so dead-set on Charleston?”

  Surprise reflected on her face. “I told you. My mom’s house is there.”

  “That’s it?” His fingers ran down the side of her arm of their own volition.

  “Look, I’m not proud of this, but I’m basically homeless.” Nervously, she played with her hair, scooping it into a tail, then letting it drop around her shoulders. “
My grandmother left her house to me, and I lost it.”

  “How?”

  “Do you really care?”

  “Yeah, I do. Humor me.”

  “Okay. Here’s the abridged version of my sad, sad tale.” Rather than meet his eyes, she stared into the darkness beyond the tree line. “When the divorce was final, Daisy and I were no longer covered under Luke’s insurance. Her medical bills piled up, and no matter how hard I tried, I couldn’t stay on top of them.”

  “But you were working. Didn’t you have insurance?”

  “Yes, but it only covered a small part of her care.” She shook her head. “On top of that, Luke… Fudge berries!”

  “Fudge berries? That’s the best you’ve got?”

  She blushed.

  “Where do you get these—” He circled his finger. “These substitutes for swear words.”

  “When you have a little one around, you learn to be creative. You saw how fast she picked up on your ‘damned good thing’ at the doctor’s.”

  “Yeah, well, fudge berries works, I guess.” He squinted at her. “What is it you don’t want to tell me?”

  “Like I said, Grandma Nita left her house to me, free and clear, so that no matter what happened, Daisy and I would always have a home.”

  “Where was home?”

  “Bowden, Alabama. It’s a tiny little town near Enterprise, dubbed Southeast Alabama’s most beautiful little city and the home of the Boll Weevil Monument.” A sliver of a smile crossed her lips.

  “Ah, the almighty boll weevil.”

  She nodded. “I screwed up. When Luke took off, I was dealing with so much. It never crossed my mind to cancel our joint credit cards. He ran up some hefty charges, in addition to opening a couple of personal loans, forging my signature. Then he dropped off the map, leaving me to deal with everything. Because the interest charges were killing me, I took out a pretty large equity line mortgage on my grandmother’s house to pay them off—before the board cut the library funds.”

  Tucker made an innately male sound of disapproval. “You lost your job, then the house.”

  She worried a cuticle on her thumb. “Yes. The house went into foreclosure.”