by Annie Rains
“Thanks. Maybe I will.”
Lula turned to Tuck, who also stood and leaned in to kiss her cheek. “And you,” she said, jabbing her finger into his chest, “you need to call your mother more often.” She looked at Josie. “I bet a nice girl like you calls her mother all the time.”
Josie pulled her lower lip between her teeth and nibbled softly. She was guilty of not having called her mom since she’d come to Sweetwater Springs. Even though her mom had retired from her job since she’d remarried, she still kept very busy. It was hard for Josie to even get her on the phone sometimes. “I’ll give her a call tomorrow,” Josie promised Lula to avoid confessing that she hadn’t done so in a couple of weeks.
“See? Such a nice girl. Tuck, you would do good to find a woman like that.”
“Mom.”
Lula chuckled softly to herself and patted her hand to his chest before turning back to Josie. “Josie, the Cherokee never say goodbye. Instead, we tell each other donadagohvi, which means ‘till we meet again,’”
“That’s beautiful,” Josie murmured.
“Yes. The entire Cherokee language is.”
“But Josie doesn’t need a lesson tonight,” Tuck said, as he started to walk his mom to her car.
Lula held up her hand to stop him. “Stay, stay. You have a guest to attend to.” She winked at Josie and then headed down the steps.
After she was out of earshot, Tuck sat back down and frowned. “Couldn’t you have at least tried to be not so likable?”
Josie let out a startled laugh. “You didn’t want your mom to like me?”
“No. Now she’s going to be coming up here every day.”
Josie shrugged. “That’s fine by me. I like her.”
Tuck shook his head but the smallest of smiles was settling on his mouth. He gestured toward the pot his mom had left. “Care for some of my mom’s Three Sisters Stew?”
“Sure. I’ve never heard of that before.”
“My mom is passionate about our heritage, as you can see. Three Sisters Stew is an American Indian dish and a specialty of hers. She makes it at least once a week but I never tire of it.”
“Well, I’d love some.”
“Great.” He went inside the house and returned a moment later carrying a couple of bowls. After serving them both a generous helping from Lula’s pot, he sat down.
Josie sampled the broth. The flavor was unlike anything she’d ever tasted. She wasn’t an expert or even an amateur in the kitchen but she guessed there was a special blend of spices involved. She could pick out the cumin and maybe some turmeric. “Mmm. This is delicious. I’d visit my mom more often if she made this on a weekly basis.”
“It’s a town favorite.”
“I can see why,” Josie said, taking another taste. They ate in silence for a moment and then Josie looked up. “So how was your day?”
“Fine, I guess.” He blew into a spoonful of steaming stew. “I saw all my usual Wednesday patients. Two are on their way toward discharge but I got a new referral today for an older man who broke his hip.”
“That’s good news, I guess.” She frowned and then laughed. “I’m not sure I’d be able to do your job. People in pain make me squeamish.”
“It’s different when you know that you can help relieve that pain,” Tuck told her.
“Was your wife a physical therapist as well?” she asked, unable to resist her morbid need to know more. The only thing she needed to know about his late wife was that he still kept her things. Still missed and loved her, as he should.
“She was a recreational therapist,” he told her.
Josie looked up as she dipped her spoon into her bowl, debating whether to admit that she had no idea what that was.
The corner of his mouth twitched as he met her gaze. “I had to ask her what that was too when she first told me that’s what she was going to study. A recreational therapist works in different types of facilities: nursing homes, hospitals—places like that. They lead patients through leisure activities to help them stay in a good mind-set. Renee loved to do painting and craft projects with her patients. She said it helped distract them from their illness and injuries.”
“She sounds like a saint. You must have loved her very much.”
Tuck froze, holding his spoon in midair momentarily. “From the first moment I met her, I just knew we were supposed to be together.”
It almost sounded like that line from Sleepless in Seattle, Josie thought. When Tom Hanks was on the phone with the radio host. I knew it the very first time I touched her.
Josie swallowed, wishing she hadn’t brought up the subject. It was too sad, and somehow it made her feel jealous, which only worked to make her feel like a terrible person. Being jealous of a dead woman was ridiculous. Lusting after said dead woman’s husband was even worse.
“Finished?” he asked, as she pushed back from the table a little while later.
“Yeah. If I eat another bite, I might explode.”
“Mom’s food has that effect,” he said.
She turned and looked out at his yard for a moment. “It’s so pretty here. I’m a little envious of your view. If I were you, I might never leave this back deck.”
From the corner of her eye, she saw him look out as well. “The sunset out here is nothing short of spectacular. If you want to stay, we can watch it together.”
Together. That was a loaded word. And the proper response was to regretfully excuse herself. Then again, she hadn’t listened to the little voice in her head since she’d met Tuck.
“I’d love to.”
They moved to a wooden swing in Tuck’s backyard, and over the next half hour, they watched the sun marking time as it disappeared behind the tree line. Josie couldn’t take her eyes off it. It was living art, available only for a short time to those who made a point of noticing.
“I’m so glad I didn’t miss this,” she whispered in awe. “Thank you.”
Darkness settled in around them as the sun relinquished its spot in the sky. Then Josie turned to Tuck, finding him closer than she expected. She also found him watching her instead of the horizon.
“Thank you,” he said in a low voice. “I must say, Mom isn’t easy to win over. I suspect she came to make sure she approved of you before we got married.”
Josie’s mouth fell open. “Married? We’re not even dating.”
“That’s just a technicality to my mom,” he said on a soft chuckle. “And since she likes you, she’ll start planning the wedding tomorrow. It’ll be a traditional Cherokee ceremony, of course.”
Josie laughed quietly too. “I’m sure she’s well-meaning.”
“She is. And for the record, Mom always finds fault with the women I’ve dated, ever since high school. Even Renee at first.”
“Really?”
“You’re the first one she genuinely seemed to like from the get-go. She’ll be disappointed when she realizes that there’s nothing going on between us.”
Josie swallowed. “Aside from those two kisses.” And a whole fleet of butterflies in her belly.
“I have a confession to make,” he said, his voice dipping even lower.
She ran her tongue over her lips, wetting them just in case of an accidental collision of their mouths. “Oh?”
“That first kiss didn’t get anything out of my system. The more I try to resist you, the more I want you, Josie.” His gaze dropped to her mouth, and everything inside her seemed to buzz with intense awareness.
“I know the feeling,” she said without thinking. That happened a lot when he was mere inches away.
He slid even closer, keeping his heated gaze locked with hers. There was something hungry in his eyes. She felt it too. Three Sisters Stew couldn’t quench this hunger. The only thing that could was his mouth, his hands, his body.
He reached behind her head and pulled her hair tie out. “I’ve been dying to do that since the day we met.”
She laughed, surprised to find his quick movements oddly ero
tic. Then, midlaugh, his mouth covered hers and they were kissing. His hands threaded through her hair as he tugged her to him. He was such a good kisser that she could only imagine how great he’d be at other things. Things she shouldn’t be fantasizing about. Tuck was right. The harder they resisted, the more tension crackled between them, driving a need within her for more, more, more.
If they stayed on this swing though, there was no risk of going too far.
Shadow pressed her wet nose into Josie’s thigh. She started to pull away but Tuck held her to him.
“Oh no you don’t. You’re mine right now,” he whispered against her mouth.
And she was. All his, if only for this moment.
CHAPTER ELEVEN
The next evening, Tuck sat on the bottom step of the garage apartment’s stairs. He’d been waiting for ten minutes beyond the time when he and Josie had agreed to meet outside for the Sweetwater Dance. They still had to pick up Maddie, and he didn’t want his patient to think he was going AWOL on his promise.
He blew out a breath. Josie had been great with his mom last night, and that was no easy feat. Josie had sat and talked to his mom like they were two old friends. Even when his mom had interrogated her, she’d kept her cool.
Tuck smiled to himself. Josie had won his mom over, and him too. That kissing session on the swing had kept him restless in bed all night. Good thing they’d ended things early. She’d claimed to be tired, and he’d said the same. In reality, his body had been alive with need. He’d wanted her. Still wanted her. And if he went upstairs right now, they might not make it to this dance.
Good thing he’d installed a signal booster device earlier in the week so she had better cell reception and Wi-Fi access up there. He tapped his finger on his cell phone’s screen. Coming?
He imagined her phone meowing upstairs. That ringtone had annoyed him when he first met her. Now he found it endearing in the same way she talked too much and too fast when she was nervous. How she used her hands to smooth the wrinkles in her clothes when the subject turned to her. How she held her index finger to her chin when she was thinking—no doubt about future article ideas.
Yep. Just one more minute, she responded.
What was it about the female population that they took every available second and then some to get ready?
True to her word, the door opened behind him a minute later, and he stood to face her. His heart slammed to a painful stop. He no longer cared how long it’d taken her to get ready. It was worth every second.
To some degree, Josie still stood out in Sweetwater Springs. At first it had been those expensive shoes she’d worn. People here just didn’t wear shoes like that on a regular basis. But after she’d sprained her knee, she’d stuck to flats and sneakers. Then it was still that polished ponytail and those black movie star sunglasses she wore. Just something about her screamed city girl.
But now…Tuck swallowed past the grapefruit-size lump in his throat. Dressed in a pale blue sundress with a pair of gold-colored sandals, she looked as fresh as a spring morning. Her hair was down around her shoulders, making gentle waves that his fingers longed to run through. Her locks had been silky soft last night, he remembered. So had her skin. He could touch it all day.
“You’re supposed to tell me I look pretty or something equally as charming,” she said with a smile as she came down the steps. She wore just a faint glimmer of lip gloss that had him staring at her mouth.
“You look…well.” He swallowed. If he thought last night was restless, tonight might be even worse. “That’s a great dress,” he finally said, letting his gaze roam down her body.
She stepped off the bottom step and stood right in front of him. “That’ll do, I guess. You don’t look half-bad yourself.”
He glanced down at what he’d pulled together. Just a pair of jeans and a favorite T-shirt.
“Men have it so easy,” she said on a grin. “I bet you didn’t even have to make a special trip to Sophie’s Boutique for that.” Her eyes danced in the scattered sunlight below the trees.
“Not this time.” Truthfully, he’d avoided thinking about the dance tonight. It wasn’t his cup of tea, even if he was considering it a form of physical therapy for Maddie.
Josie’s lips curved, and they stared at each other for a breathless moment. Today was also a chance to get to know the woman in front of him better, and that excited him more than it probably should. Why get to know someone who wasn’t sticking around?
“Well, we better go.” He led her to his Jeep and opened the passenger door for her, noticing the way her dress rose on her thigh as she stepped in. His fingers curled at his side, longing to touch her. Instead, he closed the door and walked around the front of the vehicle. Then he drove to pick up Maddie, who was on the porch waiting for them when they pulled up.
“Tell her she looks pretty,” Josie said as he parked. “Girls like that.”
Apparently, Josie and his sister thought he needed coaching in how he related to the female population. He’d have them know that, once upon a time, he’d done quite well.
He got out and headed toward the porch as Maddie struggled to stand with her cane.
“I was beginning to think you weren’t coming,” she said, grimacing in what looked like pain.
“Why would you think that?”
“I don’t know. I have an absentee dad, my mom is dead, and my grandma is always hiding out in her bedroom lately. I wouldn’t be surprised if you disappeared too.”
Tuck moved quickly to her side as she wobbled. “Where’s your wheelchair?”
“I’m not taking it.”
“Yes, you are. The deal was you sit most of the night. The cane is just for a few minutes.”
“And I will sit. In a regular chair,” Maddie told him, jutting out her chin.
Josie was out of the Jeep now too, standing on the other side of the girl. “You look very pretty tonight, Maddie,” Josie said, casting Tuck a pointed look.
“Right. Yeah, you do. But you won’t look pretty if you’re sprawled out on the floor.”
Maddie and Josie groaned in unison as they headed toward the vehicle.
“I’m going inside to grab the wheelchair,” he said, once Maddie was in the back seat of his Jeep.
“I’m not using it at the dance!” Maddie called after him.
“We’ll see about that!” He headed to the door, knocked, and turned the knob when no one answered. The house was dark. “Beverly?” he called. No answer. “Bev?” He glanced around the disheveled mess in the living room, concern for Maddie’s welfare growing. He understood that Beverly was sick but Maddie still needed to be cared for.
“Bev?” He turned down a hall that led to what appeared to be the bedrooms. Opening one, he peeked inside and saw a human-size lump burrowed under the covers. Maddie just told him Beverly was always in here. Was she too sick to even get up and see her granddaughter to the door for her first dance?
Tuck stepped inside the room, wondering momentarily if she was dead. Beverly’s body shifted slightly though, and he saw the steady rise and fall of her chest. Still breathing. Good. He closed the bedroom door behind him and located the wheelchair in the living room. Grabbing it, he headed back out to his Jeep, where Josie and Maddie were giggling about something.
“Were your ears burning again?” Josie asked on a laugh after he loaded the wheelchair and then climbed behind the wheel.
He glanced at her and then over his shoulder at Maddie, who wasn’t scowling anymore, thanks to Josie. He was so glad Josie was with them, even if it would be torture to keep his hands to himself tonight. “You were talking about me again, huh?”
“Can’t help it. It’s so much fun.” Josie shifted in the seat to face forward as he pulled onto the road and headed to Sweetwater Springs High School for the town’s dance.
“Glad to be your entertainment.” After a few minutes of driving, Tuck glanced at Maddie in the rearview mirror. “Beverly was sleeping when I went in for the chair.”
“She’s not feeling well today,” Maddie explained. “As always.”
Tuck felt for Beverly’s situation but he was also starting to wonder if she was fit to be Maddie’s guardian. It appeared to be taking all the energy she had to take care of herself, much less a young girl. An uneasiness wrapped around him as he pulled into the parking lot of the school and cut the engine. He got out and grabbed the wheelchair from the back and set it up beside Maddie’s door.
The girl sneered from the back seat, making her look like a full-blown teenager instead of an eleven-year-old. “I’ll sit in that thing just until we’re at the gym’s entrance. Then I’m using the cane. I want to be normal tonight.” There was a vulnerability in her voice, a sharp contrast from her usual snarkiness.
Normal. Isn’t that what every kid wanted? He’d desperately wanted it when he was her age. Now the big difference between himself and others was that he was the only widower among his friends.
“Fine. But I’ll walk you to an area to sit down inside where you’ll stay seated for the entire night unless I’m right beside you.”
He and Maddie stared at each other, having a battle of wills with their eyes. “Fine,” she finally huffed, scooting to the end of the back seat and transferring herself to the wheelchair he’d just set up.
Then he, Josie, and Maddie approached the school in silence. What he’d learned from all his teenaged angst and desire to be “normal” was that this was normal. Angst and heartache, struggle and disappointment, feeling out of place and like an outcast sometimes. All of it was part of life. Everyone felt that way. Some were just better at hiding it.
* * *
Josie watched Tuck escort Maddie to her group of friends on the opposite side of the gym. Even though Maddie made a show of not wanting him crowding her, Josie thought the little girl also enjoyed having someone who cared enough to do so. Josie had heard somewhere that kids thrived with rules and boundaries. They thought they wanted freedom but in reality, they felt more loved and supported when they had structure.
