His Temptation, Her Secret

by Barbara Dunlop

  “She’s a second housekeeper,” he said. “With three of us, the workload is going to increase. I can’t ask Verena to do twice the work.”

  “I’ll help. And I’ll look after Eli and myself.”

  “You’re going to want to be away sometimes.”

  Sage wanted to protest. She hadn’t left Eli with babysitters in Seattle. Any errands she ran, she took him with her. And she hadn’t had a social life. She didn’t want to admit that to TJ, but it was the truth. Being a single mother on a budget didn’t allow for socializing in the evenings.

  “The Seaside Festival, for example,” TJ continued. “Not all the meetings for that will be during the day. And I can’t always be around in the evenings.”

  “I can work around Eli’s schedule. I’ve been doing it for years.”

  “The point is you don’t have to anymore. Freedom, Sage. Flexibility. If there’s something important you want to do, you just go. And everybody’s happy. Kristy starts tomorrow.”

  Sage didn’t feel very happy. “Just like that?” She snapped her fingers for emphasis. “You found a new housekeeper in the blink of an eye?”

  TJ looked puzzled. “I have a really good service.”

  This was too much. “I thought you said we were a partnership, that I had an equal say in decisions?”

  “You do.”

  “But it isn’t a partnership if you only consult me at your convenience. You don’t get to pick and choose. Is that what you did with Lauren?” Her tone was tart. But as soon as the words were out of her mouth, she regretted them.

  His eyes cooled, and his mouth turned into a frown.

  “I’m sorry.” She quickly backpedaled. “That was out of line. What I meant was...” She couldn’t seem to put it into words.

  “What you meant was would I behave differently in a real marriage.”

  She wanted to dispute the statement. But it was true.

  He headed for the kitchen and she rose to follow. Opening the fridge, he extracted a beer. “Real or not, our marriage is our marriage, and I’m trying to make it work. You can have veto power over this, as you have with anything to do with Eli. But then I want the same thing. I want veto power over your decisions about our son too.”

  Sage didn’t like the sound of that. It wasn’t a very workable solution. They needed to collaborate, not reverse each other at every turn.

  He twisted the cap off the bottle.

  She hated to capitulate. But she knew it was the right thing to do. She hated it when the right thing was at odds with what she wanted.

  “We can give it a try,” she said, without a whole lot of enthusiasm.

  He gave a short nod.

  “This is going to take a while, for us to make this work,” she said.

  “I know it will.” He slid the beer across the counter to her. “Thirsty?”

  It wasn’t her favorite, but she recognized a peace offering when she saw one.

  She took it. “Thanks.”

  He got another one for himself. “What time are you leaving for Seattle?”

  She took a sip. It was a light beer, and it actually tasted pretty good on a warm evening. “I was going to play it by ear. See how Eli was feeling in the morning.”

  TJ nodded and seemed to consider her answer. He gave his bottle a turn on the countertop. “Mind if I come along?”

  She did. She wanted Eli to herself. She wanted things to feel normal again, if only for an afternoon. But they’d just agreed to be partners. And TJ obviously wanted to be with Eli as well. And she was going to have to get used to a new normal.

  “Sure,” she said.

  “Thank you. I appreciate that.”

  He moved past her, back into the family room, where he flipped a switch on the outside wall. The fieldstone gas fireplace came to life outside.

  He turned back to her. “Care to sit outside?”

  She nodded. Outside was a good place to clear her head. It was peaceful with the stars, the breeze and the sound of the waves.

  He pulled the glass doors all the way open, connecting the family room to the deck, turning it into one giant indoor-outdoor space.

  As she followed him out, she realized she was coming to love the smell of the ocean. Maple leaves rattled gently around them, and the heat from the fire swirled out to caress her legs.

  She went to the rail, leaning on it, taking in the panorama of the sky, the black water, the white foam of the waves flashing under the lights from the Crab Shack and Matt’s marina. Caleb’s Neo restaurant was brighter in the distance. It was still open, cars in the parking lot, low lights on the patio.

  TJ came up beside her. “It’s so good to see him out of the hospital.”

  Sage relaxed. “He seemed to settle in quickly.”

  “You were right,” TJ said. “Waiting until after he got to know me, until after he was out of the hospital, until he was stronger, that was the right thing to do.”

  She didn’t answer. She’d gone with her instincts, because they were all she had. She was grateful it had worked out.

  “I was impatient,” TJ continued. “I didn’t want to waste a second.”

  She took in his profile and saw the sadness that still lingered there. She felt a renewed shot of guilt over having kept the secret all these years. “I can understand that.”

  “I’m trying to hold myself back, but I want to see him run and jump and play.”

  She took another sip of the beer, liking the taste better and better. “You will. He will. A month from now, you’ll be racing to keep up with him.”

  “I’ll like that.” TJ turned, bracing his hip on the rail. “I was going to check out the local Little League.”

  She knew Eli would be anxious to play baseball again. “I don’t know if he’ll be strong enough this year.”

  “He can watch. He can meet the other kids.”

  “I suppose he can.”

  “So, you’re okay with me looking into it?”

  Sage realized how far they had to go in getting used to parenting together. “I’m completely okay. He’s your son, and you should sign him up for baseball.”

  TJ grinned. Then he sobered. Then his eyes darkened as his gaze moved to her lips.

  The wave of desire was becoming familiar. There was no denying her physical attraction to TJ. Just like there was no denying the danger of that attraction. They were barely comfortable around each other. Anything more than a friendship would severely complicate their situation.

  “Sage.” He said her name on a sigh.

  She put her finger across his lips. “Don’t.”

  He wrapped his own hand around hers, moving it from his lips as he eased forward. “You’re an incredible woman.”

  Her chest went tight. She told herself to back away, but she felt desperate for his kiss.

  “I’m incredibly ordinary,” she whispered.

  “Oh, no, you’re not.” With his free hand, he smoothed back her hair.

  “This is complicated,” she warned.

  “I know.”

  He drew her into his arms, cradling her head against his shoulder. He felt so strong, so sure and confident. Years of anxiety she didn’t even know she’d been fighting melted away. Eli had a father, and for the first time ever the two of them had security.

  “We’ll figure it out,” TJ said.

  She was glad he hadn’t kissed her.

  She was sad he hadn’t kissed her.

  Security was one thing, and it was vitally important to a mother. But Sage was also a woman, and TJ was a very, very sexy man.

  * * *

  TJ’s house felt full of life. Walking in after a day at his office in Whiskey Bay, he could hear Eli chatting in the basement with a couple of other young boys. By the clacks and clatters, he guessed they were playing air hockey. Music c
ame from upstairs, and he found himself following it.

  “It’s way too crowded,” Sage was saying as he came to the top of the stairs. “I shouldn’t have bought the second chair.”

  “They’re so perfect as a set.” It was Melissa’s voice answering.

  “Maybe if we put the sofa against the other wall,” Sage said.

  “Then you can’t fit the coffee table.”

  TJ came to the open doorway to find the two women standing among a clutter of new furniture. “What’s going on?”

  “I measured,” Sage said to him, her voice defensive.

  “It’s a tight squeeze,” Melissa said.

  He looked around, taking in the elements of the apparent chaos. “Please tell me you’re not moving furniture yourselves.”

  “We’re just trying something out,” Sage said.

  “The room’s too small.” He pointed out the obvious.

  “The furniture’s too big,” she said.

  “We can fix it,” he said, walking inside to look at things from various angles.

  “I don’t want to take it all back,” she moaned. “Do you know how long it took to pick this stuff out?”

  “You should have let me hire a decorator.” TJ reminded her of his offer, which still stood.

  “I’m not ready to give up,” Melissa said, giving an armchair a shove.

  “Don’t hurt yourself,” TJ quickly told her. He could see moving it a few inches wasn’t going to help the overall problem. “We should take down this wall.”

  Sage drew back in surprise, but Melissa smiled.

  “And that one,” he said, pointing to the wall that separated the bedroom from the hallway. “We can open up the two middle bedrooms and incorporate the hallway. That’ll give plenty of room.”

  There was astonishment in Sage’s voice. “Your solution is to tear down a wall?”

  “I’ll call Noah,” Melissa said.

  “Wait a minute.” Sage held up her hand.

  “What’s the problem?” TJ could picture it already.

  “It’s a nearly new house.”

  “We’ll still have plenty of rooms left up here. Eli’s bedroom at one end, yours at the other, and the main bath and the extra bedroom on the street side.”

  “A sitting room in the middle will tie it together,” Melissa said, putting her phone to her ear. “Noah’s great at this.”

  “You can’t just...” Sage’s voice trailed off.

  “Hey, honey,” Melissa chirped into the phone. “Can you come by TJ’s this afternoon? He’s looking to renovate the second floor.”

  She paused for a moment.

  Then she laughed. “Like you’re ever really going to be finished at our house.”

  “Who’s downstairs with Eli?” TJ asked Sage.

  She looked puzzled. “You can’t make a big decision this fast.”

  “Why not? I should have thought of it earlier. I want you to be comfortable up here, to have your own space. You want a kitchenette?”

  “No, I don’t want a kitchenette.”

  “Noah’s coming over,” Melissa said, enthusiasm clear in her tone. “He’s working on our house today, but that’s a perennial project. He can take some time to do this instead.”

  TJ was glad to hear it. There was nobody he’d rather hire as a carpenter than Noah. “Who are the kids downstairs?” he asked Sage again.

  “They’re from the Little League team. How is this happening?” She looked helplessly around the room.

  Melissa gave her shoulders a squeeze. “This is going to be great.”

  TJ felt a tiny spurt of jealousy. He wished he was free to touch Sage. He could still remember last week, out on the deck, the incredible feel of her wrapped in his arms. It had been so long since he’d held a woman, so long since Lauren.

  He was a healthy, normal man, and he missed lovemaking. But what he truly missed was making love to Lauren, and it wasn’t fair to project those feelings onto Sage just because she was here, and just because she was so beautiful.

  He gave his head a little shake to clear the wayward thoughts.

  Sage’s cell phone rang.

  “We should really get a decorator,” he said. “We’ll need to paint and change the carpets and the light fixtures. This is a bigger job than we’d planned.”

  “No kidding,” Sage said as she put the phone to her ear.

  TJ couldn’t help but grin at her mock indignation.

  “Hello?” she said into the phone, pausing. “Yes, it is.”

  Her expression sobered, and her posture slumped. “Oh, no.”

  “Eli?” TJ quickly asked.

  His son had been back for a checkup and blood tests two days ago.

  Sage swiftly shook her head.

  “Yes, of course,” she said. “I’ll be there as soon as I can. Poor thing.”

  Melissa put a gentle hand on Sage’s arm. Once again, TJ was dying to do the same thing, to touch her, to comfort her over whatever she was hearing on the phone.

  “Thank you,” she said, a quaver in her voice.

  “What is it?” he asked as she ended the call.

  “It’s Heidi. Her mom just died.” Sage’s tone was filled with disbelief. “They’d taken her out of ICU over a week ago. I thought she was getting better. They even let Heidi see her a couple of times.”

  “That’s terrible,” Melissa said. “Were you friends with her mom?”

  “I never met her,” Sage said. “Heidi was already in the hospital, her mom in ICU after a car accident, when Eli was diagnosed. She’s the sweetest little girl. She’s asking for me.” Sage looked to TJ. “I have to go to Seattle.”

  “Yes,” he said. “Of course. I’ll get us a plane.”

  Sage looked like she was going to protest. But she didn’t. She obviously wanted to get there as quickly as she could and recognized that a plane was the way to do that.

  “I’ll come with you,” he said.

  “You don’t need to.”

  He kept his tone gentle. “Eli should see her too, and I’ll make sure you get there quickly.”

  “Let him help you,” Melissa said.

  TJ appreciated Melissa’s support.

  “I’m sure Heidi would like to see Eli,” Sage agreed.

  “Coastal West Air Charter,” came a pleasant woman’s voice on the phone.

  “Hi. This is TJ Bauer.”

  “Hello, Mr. Bauer.”

  “I need to get from Whiskey Bay to Seattle right away. There’ll be three passengers.”

  “Yes, sir. We have a single-engine Cessna or a twin-engine King Air.”

  “We’ll take the King Air.” TJ knew it would be faster.

  “What is your ETA to the airport?”

  “Thirty minutes.” He raised his brow to Sage to confirm.

  She gave him a nod.

  “I’ll get the other boys home for you,” Melissa offered.

  Arrangements made, TJ explained the situation to Eli and made sure he was ready for the trip.

  Sage packed her son a sandwich and a drink for the flight. Despite the situation, TJ couldn’t help but smile at her maternal instincts. Eli wouldn’t realize it for years to come, but he had the most caring mother in the world.

  The flight was smooth, and TJ had arranged for a car to pick them up in Seattle. In less than two hours, they were at Heidi’s hospital room.

  TJ hung back outside the door, letting Sage and Eli go in to comfort the little girl.

  He could hear Heidi crying, and he watched Sage take the girl in her arms. Sage spoke to Heidi in soft tones. He couldn’t hear the words. But he saw Eli take Heidi’s hand and hold it. Eli smoothed her hair and spoke to her.

  TJ’s heart swelled with pride.

  He crossed the hallway to sit down in a chair, c
ontent to wait and give the trio space.

  “Mr. Bauer?” A nurse said his name.

  TJ recognized her, and she was wearing a name tag. He came to his feet. “Hi, Claire. Please, call me TJ.”

  The nurse’s gaze flicked to Heidi’s room. “It was nice of Sage to come so quickly.”

  “I don’t think anything would have stopped her. How’s Heidi doing?”

  “She’s upset, of course. And she’s frightened.”

  Sadly, that seemed par for the course.

  “And physically?” he asked.

  The question brought a small smile to Claire’s face. “She’s doing really well. She’s ready to go home.” Claire drew a breath. “We were just waiting for her mom to get stronger.”

  Sage appeared, and Claire turned her attention, giving Sage a quick hug. “How’s Eli?”

  “Amazing,” Sage said.

  “That’s good. This is such a tragedy.”

  “Yes. It is.”

  “I have some patients,” Claire said. “Can we talk later?”

  “I’ll be here for a while,” Sage answered.

  Then Claire headed silently down the hall.

  Sage’s gaze met TJ’s, and she crossed the hall to him.

  He so desperately wanted to pull her into his arms. He clenched his fists to fight the impulse.

  “She’s all alone,” Sage said.

  He nodded. “It’s tragic.”

  “She needs help.”

  “Whatever she needs,” TJ said. “Her medical bills, specialized care.”

  “Money can’t fix this one.” There was a shade of exasperation to Sage’s tone.

  He was puzzled. “Sage?”

  Her hand went to her forehead. “Money’s good. Money’s great. And yes, paying her bills is a help.”

  “But...?”

  Sage looked levelly into his eye. “She needs a family, TJ.”

  It took him a moment to get her meaning. Then it took him another moment to wrap his head around it. “You’re saying...”

  “She needs me. She’s a little girl all alone in the world.”

  “Grandmother?” TJ asked. “Aunts, uncles?”

  “There’s nobody.”

  TJ looked past Sage to Heidi and Eli together on her bed. “You want her to stay with us?”