Always My Hero

by Jennifer DeCuir

  The guys had tried to tell him that Haley was cruel to Bree. That she was catty and vindictive. But he’d refused to see that side of her. And that had been in high school. They had all changed so much since then. All of them except Haley. It made him sad. Sad for her, sad for her parents that had, apparently, given up on their daughter who just couldn’t be happy with her lot in life.

  “Show the best fake-enthusiasm at finally getting to know your son or I swear to God you can spend the night on the street. I don’t give a damn if it’s below zero.” He gritted his teeth and sent her a warning glare as the bus ground to a squeaky stop in front of the duplex.

  And just as if she’d flipped a switch, Haley was suddenly beaming with happiness and excitement. Only the lipstick on her teeth gave evidence to her true feelings.

  Wesley was a good kid, the best. Though Ryan didn’t want Haley in his life any longer than necessary, his son deserved to know his mother and he hoped the boy could charm the woman into falling in love with him. But would it be enough for her to want to take an active role in raising him? Probably not.

  At least Wesley had Bree to show him what a loving, supportive mother was like. Yeah, Ryan could totally see them as a family. And if Haley ended up having a small role in it? Well, every family was a little dysfunctional, right?

  Chapter 12

  “Are you sure they’re all right together?” Bree accepted the glass of wine Ryan handed to her before he carried his own to the spot beside her on the couch.

  “Do I think it will be intensely uncomfortable for both of them? Yes. Do I think Wes is in any danger from a mother who doesn’t seem to have matured any since high school? Not at all. Don’t worry about it.” He squirmed into a corner of the sofa and gestured for her to rest her back against his chest.

  “I just don’t understand why she showed up now. And why you? Surely she could live somewhere else.” She’d put work and the calendar project on hold, and damn the consequences, in order to help Haley find her own place in town, if that’s what it took.

  “She has no money. And she doesn’t have the support of her family. Not that I blame them. But what kind of example would I be setting for Wes if I kick his own mother to the curb when she’s completely down and out? Besides, I get the feeling she’s in more trouble than she’s letting on. I was married to the woman, remember? She can’t handle her own finances on the best of days. I just want to help her get back on her feet.”

  The rumble of his voice vibrated through her back, strangely relaxing and titillating all at once. It was hard to stay focused on her nemesis. “Does she realize how lucky she is to have your help? She’d better appreciate it.”

  “I don’t want to talk about Haley any more. Drink up. Next time I swear I’m bringing a bottle of Tequila, instead of wine, if it’ll loosen you up faster.” Ryan reached around and clinked his glass against hers, waiting until she’d taken a sip before drinking from his own.

  He was right. She was obsessing. This was their makeup night and Haley was not going to ruin it for them again. Bree felt the wine slide all the way down to her stomach. She’d been too nervous to eat dinner, so the alcohol was bound to go straight to her head. Loosening up would not be an issue for long. She giggled. Oh dear.

  As though he sensed she was past loose and close to sliding off the couch, Ryan plucked the stemware from her hand and put it on the coffee table. He tucked her more comfortably against him, resting his chin on top of her head for a moment. She could smell the wine on his breath. It was bold, just like him.

  “I didn’t do this right, last time. I showed you how I felt, but I never said the words.” Ryan turned her around to face him.

  “You didn’t have to say anything. I knew.” Bree laid a palm over his heart, gasping as he gripped her chin between thumb and forefinger and tipped her face up until she was staring straight into his eyes, his very soul bared for her to see.

  “Just the same … I love you. I loved you then, but I feel like that was so childish, immature. What I feel for you now, it’s grown. I never stopped loving you.”

  “I love you too, Ryan. Now … then … always.”

  For one long moment they remained still, their eyes locked. If she were an artist, she would draw his face, his expression, as it was right now. But she was not, so she settled for committing it to memory.

  “Do you remember our first time?” he whispered. His words tickled their way past her ear, as he’d shifted his body so he could reach her neck and feast on her collarbone.

  Only like it was yesterday. Her mom and stepdad had taken a weekend trip to Cape Cod. They’d trusted her alone in the house for the first time. Any other teenager her age would have done something wild and daring, like throw a party. But Bree had planned to spend the night reading under the stars. She had been setting up her little backyard retreat when Ryan slipped through the side gate.

  “I was supposed to be at the bonfire, down at the pond. The last hurrah before all of us went off to college.” His voice was gruff, words interspersed with warm, wet kisses that had her writhing until they were both lying down, with their bodies flush on the long couch.

  He hadn’t spoken a word as he’d approached her that night, merely strode across the lawn and kissed her like it was the single most important thing in the world. The only thought her brain had been capable of forming at that moment was “finally.” Never mind that he was Haley’s boyfriend. Forget that this was wrong and that things would go back to normal in the morning. For this one moment in time, Ryan Pettridge was hers.

  “You looked so beautiful, standing there in the fading sunlight, your bare feet digging into the grass, that hideous gunny sack dress hiding the most scrumptious body underneath.”

  She would have laughed out loud, had he not chosen that moment to cup her breast in one large palm. He kneaded and squeezed, finding her stiffened nipple with his thumb and torturing it through the layers of her clothing. Unable to stand it, Bree pushed at his hands until she had a little breathing room, then she yanked her sweater off over her head.

  “I have to say, your taste in clothes has greatly improved over the years.” Ryan eyed the midnight blue satin of her bra appreciatively before dipping his head to taste her right through the fabric.

  Closing her eyes, she drifted back in time. Ryan had lowered her to the blanket under the stars, and she remembered hoping the neighbors wouldn’t hear her soft moans and come over to investigate.

  “Not just a beautiful body, a beautiful soul.” Back in the moment, Bree arched upward as he brushed the satin cup down, claiming her with his mouth, the suction she could feel all the way down to her toes.

  “Ryan ... need you.” Her hips straining to meet him, she gripped his ass with fingers like claws, pulling him against her.

  “Uh uh. I refuse to rush this. I’ve waited far too long for this moment.”

  Their eyes met and his searing gaze heated her blood, prickled her skin.

  “My Bree, my perfect Bree.”

  He’d said the same thing to her that night, so long ago now. She’d trusted him with her heart. She’d trusted him with her body. Staring into his eyes as he’d accepted her innocence, so gently. And refusing to give in to his own pleasure until he’d ensured she had hers.

  Ryan had ruined her for other men. Really, who could measure up? And so she had remained celibate all this time. Thirteen long, frustrating years. But he was here, now, and her patience was at a breaking point.

  Screw the candles waiting in the bedroom to be lit. Screw the rose petals she’d scattered across the top of the comforter. Screw the fact that he hadn’t even discovered the thong that matched the bra, now damp with his saliva. She needed him now. Here.

  “Baby, please.” Her breathy plea ended on a harsh gasp as his roaming hands had lowered her zipper, his fingers dipping inside to stroke her over-sensitized folds.

  Trying to wiggle out of her jeans, Bree yanked Ryan’s shirt off over his head and threw it. The muffled clink o
f glass against wood gave them both pause and had him sitting up quickly.

  “Fuck. I’m sorry. I’ll clean it up.”

  “Later,” she growled, using the fact that he’d sat up to her advantage, and yanking his jeans and underwear down to his knees. “Kick ’em off.”

  The look in his eyes was equal parts shock and pure lust. Clearly unwilling to mess with this woman on a mission, Ryan did as she said, scrambling through a pocket in his jeans for a condom before he kicked them over the side of the couch. He helped her discard everything on him from the waist down.

  “I didn’t intend to do this out here, on the couch, Bree.” He tried to take her hand, as though he meant to lead her into the bedroom but she slapped his away.

  “Now!” Boldly, she held out a hand for the condom, praying she looked like a wanton temptress and not a fumbling idiot as she sheathed him as quickly as possible

  Spreading her legs wide, she offered him a saucy grin as she wrapped a hand around his swollen cock and guided it to her entrance. His eyes darkened. She felt him expand in her palm. They’d take it slow the next time. Or the time after that.

  The intense look on his face was the only warning she had before he’d grabbed her wrists in one hand, raised them above her head and drove straight to the hilt. He knew she needed no time to adjust to his presence, his hips already grinding hard.

  This wasn’t sweet, tentative teenage sex. This was adult sex. And Bree decided very quickly that she enjoyed adult sex more. A lot more. Lifting herself off the couch, she strained to draw him in as far as she could. A knowing smirk on his face and barely a pause in his momentum, Ryan swept a large palm behind her thigh and draped her leg over his shoulder. What was this?

  “Holy hell on a popsicle stick!” The hoarse scream was ripped out of her throat as this new angle took her to heights she’d never dreamed possible. She knew her eyeballs were now rolling back in their sockets. So deep! So blissfully, deliciously deep.

  Ryan’s chuckle was low, his smug grin stretching his mouth wide. “Honey, we need to work on your dirty talk.”

  The man could tease her as much as he liked as long as he kept this up. Right there. Yes. That spot. That was the spot.

  They were slick with sweat, something Bree didn’t remember from their first time, and that had been in the sticky heat of late August. Then again, she did not remember working quite so hard for an orgasm back then, either. She hadn’t known any better. But now she did. And the new Bree went after what she wanted, with gusto!

  With a throaty cry, she came in shuddering waves, hanging on to Ryan for dear life. He was right behind her on this ride, neck muscles suddenly going rigid as he let loose a rumbling groan that magnified her own orgasm vibrating through her own body.

  Tangled on the couch, they panted and sighed, sweated and laughed. She felt wicked and she couldn’t wait until they did it all over again.

  “That was not like I remembered it.” Ryan sounded exhausted but just as happy as she felt. “I don’t know what you did with sweet, little Bree, but this new you ... Hell, you’re gonna kill me.”

  “Ah, but what a way to go, huh?” Devilishly, she licked his salty nipple, reveling in the strangled moan that caught in his throat.

  “I think my shirt got soaked in wine.”

  “Good thing you live right next door.”

  They were quiet for a moment and Bree thought Ryan had drifted off. His voice tickled her ear when he spoke, as she had her head pressed to his chest.

  “Let’s not wait so long before the next time we make love, okay?”

  Well, if he really meant it. Bree decided to show him she was ready for the next time right now.

  • • •

  Word got around fast in a small town. Ryan’s mom had come in, presumably to help him set up the displays of seed packets and the various supplies. But he knew she’d heard about Haley staying with him and Wesley. She wouldn’t come out and ask. She’d wait for him to offer up the information on his own.

  “Your father wants to come in for a bit soon. Not to run things, of course. He just wants to see his store again, know that everything is being taken care of.” Anne kept her eyes focused on the seed packets she was sorting by variety.

  “Dad? Wow. Do you think he can handle that? I don’t want him to have any kind of setback.”

  It had been a couple of weeks and Ryan had yet to hear back from the real estate agent with any offers for the store. He’d hoped to use this time to try and put some distance between his parents and the store, just in case. Except that his mother had started dropping by more and more often. And now his dad wanted to visit? They were going to make things a lot harder when the time finally came.

  “So, ignoring the Prada-wearing elephant in the room, how are things with you and Bree?”

  Better than he could have ever imagined. Ryan felt his cheeks heat as he thought back to the night before. He’d wished like hell that he didn’t have to leave, that he could have stayed with her wrapped in his arms all night long. Oh, to be able to wake up next to her each morning. To have Bree’s face be the last thing he saw before drifting off to sleep each night. But that would mean staying in Scallop Shores. A weighty life decision that had been knocking around in his brain for the last week or so.

  “Will you stay?” His mother continued her line of questioning and Ryan tried not to snap at her for climbing inside his head. It was downright spooky.

  “If we end up selling the store, what would I do for work? I’d need a job.”

  “Do we need to sell the store? I know it isn’t your dream job, sweetheart. But could you see yourself running it ... for your dad?” Ah, the classic guilt trip. There wasn’t a mother alive who couldn’t pull it off flawlessly.

  Well, two could play at that game.

  “So, you’d see your only son settle for a job he was only doing to keep his father’s dream alive in order to keep your family close by?” He batted his lashes, the picture of innocence.

  “You learned from the best.” She pursed her lips, like she was trying hard not to smile, but Ryan could see the crinkles deepen in the corners of her eyes.

  “It’s not like I couldn’t picture it, Mom. If it meant being around you and Dad ... and Bree. The past is the past and I was an idiot for staying away so long. If the folks in town want to remember me as some kind of hero, that’s their prerogative. I don’t have to agree with it, but I don’t have to hide from it either.”

  “There is another option.” His mother’s voice was barely above a mumble and she spoke slowly, deliberately.

  “Why do I get the feeling this isn’t a position that would utilize my accounting skills?”

  Ryan finished putting together the cardboard display he was working on and turned to study his mother. What was she plotting now?

  “Coach Danvers is retiring this June. They are looking for someone to replace him as the high school gym teacher ... and football coach. I was talking to him over at Dade’s the other day and he said if you were to apply, he’d see what he could do to help you get the job.”

  Ryan started to scoff it off. He didn’t have the required classes. Except that he kind of did. When he had been planning his course load for the first couple of years of college, his advisor had insisted he figure out a practical backup course of study. At the time he’d thought it a hoot to consider being a gym teacher. If he wasn’t drafted, then he could still immerse himself in all things sports. Sure, he’d have to get his teaching credentials, but that didn’t mean he couldn’t at least ask about the position.

  After his injury, when he’d turned his back on his love of football and sports, he had switched majors and gone into business, with a focus on accounting. Surprised at how satisfying balancing numbers was to him, he’d never looked back.

  A high school gym teacher. And the chance to coach his old team. For the first time since his career-ending, stupid-ass fall in the dorm showers, Ryan was able to contemplate a future that incorporated his first
love. The familiar burn of shame and embarrassment was noticeably absent.

  “And what happens if we can’t sell the hardware store?” He plucked the box of seed packets from his mother’s arms and began to stuff the pockets of the cardboard display.

  “Then we hire someone to run it.”

  Not the most practical solution, from a cost standpoint, but doable. If they could find a college kid, someone looking for minimum wage to apply toward their tuition and rent on a crappy apartment. It wouldn’t be cost effective to hire on anyone with a family to support. Would they have to offer medical and dental? He’d look into it. And the sooner he found someone, the sooner he could work on his own qualifications for the teaching position.

  “Will she try to mess things up for the two of you, do you think?”

  Ryan stuffed the last package of pumpkin seeds into the display, trying to catch up on this new thread. They had been discussing hiring someone to run the hardware store. Then she’d thrown in a question about Haley, out of the blue.

  Haley!

  “That’s perfect! Mom, you’re a genius. She needs a job. We need her out of our hair. If we give her the store to run, she can get her own place that much sooner and I can have my life back. I’m not sure how long she plans to stay in town, but this will do for the time being.”

  “Now Ryan, I have never trusted that woman. What makes you think she won’t skim off the till?”

  “I’ll be doing the books. I’ll catch on quick. And she knows better than to steal from me. She’s desperate, but she’s not that desperate.” He frowned, hoping like hell that his last statement wasn’t going to come back to bite him in the ass.

  “I just never understood—” His mother let her words trail off.

  “Go ahead, lay it on me. You never understood why I married her? You never understood what I saw in her?”

  “No, I was going to say that I never understood why you didn’t end up with Bree in the first place.”

  Whoa. “Why would you say that?”