The Somerset Girls

by Lori Foster

  Without waiting for Autumn, her mother pulled open the door and glided in. “Tash!” She giggled, arms opened wide. “I didn’t know you were here.”

  Right, and that’s why she wore her lipstick? No doubt she’d seen Tash’s car and after Ember had whetted her curiosity, she’d come to get the details.

  “Tracy,” Tash said, accepting her embrace. “It’s good to see you again.”

  “Would you like some coffee, Mom?” Knowing she did, Autumn moved away for another cup.

  “So.” Skepticism sharpened her mom’s voice. “You and my Autumn?”

  Eyes sinking shut, Autumn froze with a spoonful of sugar over the cup. She knew her mother would dig, but she hadn’t expected her to be quite so blatant.

  “I know.” Tash gave a gruff laugh. “Hard to believe she’d have me, right? But I got lucky.”

  Autumn smiled at that wonderful reply...

  Until she heard her mother say, “In more ways than one, I’m told.”

  Blanching, the spoon fell through Autumn’s limp fingers and clattered to the countertop, spilling sugar everywhere. “Mother!”

  “Mother?” Tracy repeated, snorting. To Tash she said, “She only calls me that when she’s shocked, but then Autumn is so uptight, I hear it more often than I should. I knew Ember had to be deflecting when she said you two got together, but I still wondered—”

  Smooth as silk, Tash interrupted, “Oh, but we did, and let me tell you, your daughter is far from uptight. In fact, I was just telling her how she excelled at everything she does.”

  OMG. Autumn stared at him, caught between mortification and hilarity. Her mother’s face!

  Mouth open. Eyes rounded. Cheeks aflame.

  Hilarity won out and she had to choke down her snicker.

  Clearly flummoxed, Tracy shifted her appalled gaze to Autumn.

  Ha, take that, Mom. Enjoying her moment, Autumn smiled.

  Clearing her throat, her mom stared. “You’re saying...”

  Refusing to blush, Autumn squared her shoulders and lifted her chin. “Tash and I are together.”

  “And I’ve never been happier,” Tash added, moving to Autumn’s side and kissing her temple. “I’ll finish your mother’s coffee while you go get dressed. A storm is moving in and I’m guessing there are things you’d prefer we get done before that.”

  “Rain?” Thrilled for a new topic, Autumn grabbed it like a lifeline. “Yes, rain can complicate things.” She hurried to the window to look out. “Wow, it’s really dark. Yes, I’ll get dressed.” Escape seemed like a very good thing. “Give me ten minutes.”

  “Take twenty,” Tracy called after her. “Do something with your hair.”

  She was only halfway down the hallway when she heard Tash, as he said, “I love her hair loose like that. It’s sexy, don’t you think?”

  The snicker escaped. Her mother had met her match. For once, Autumn was glad to let someone else speak for her.

  * * *

  It rained off and on the entire day. Mud became her new companion.

  If caring for animals during a dry spell was hard, it was nothing compared to now.

  Autumn looked down at her utilitarian knee-high rubber boots and saw that she’d still managed to get her jeans dirty. Actually, parts of her T-shirt, too. Heck, the ends of hair had somehow collected mud.

  Tash wasn’t in much better shape.

  Only Sadie seemed to be enjoying the rain, but then as a seven-year-old, she liked to slide in the mud with the pigs. Tash, being a pro, had brought Sadie multiple outfits, two pairs of boots, a rain slicker and a hat.

  Sadie needed every one of those, but Tash hadn’t minded as she’d gotten mud everywhere, even down her neck. Like Autumn, he took pleasure in seeing Sadie so carefree.

  This was Autumn’s day to do the around-the-farm chores, but since Ember couldn’t work on Sadie’s play yard in the rain, anyway, she stayed and pitched in. Before long, they had the majority of it done.

  Even with the added mess of mud and the ramped-up humidity from the rain, she’d enjoyed working with Tash. Both he and Mike had simply removed their shirts and allowed their jeans to get soaked.

  Ember elbowed her. “Think we should use our phones to take some photos? We could make a beefcake calendar, sell them to hungry ladies and make amazing profits for the farm.”

  Autumn grinned. “The guys might not like that idea.”

  “Ha. Look at them, flexing for our benefit.”

  All Autumn saw was two wonderful men working hard and looking good doing it. They’d told Autumn and Ember that they’d finish up, so the sisters stood just under the barn roof, out of the still drizzling rain. Behind them, Sadie talked with Tracy the cow, who now greeted her as soon as she heard her voice.

  Luckily the cow was doing well, and in between downpours she’d gotten some time in the field. Autumn had made open spaces and fresh air a priority for the sweet thing after her awful abandonment. The goat and sheep had joined her and they seemed to be pals.

  The goat, being a supersocial animal, got along with all the animals. Sheep, however, didn’t typically graze in the same area as cows. Unfortunately, with only one cow for now, her options were limited. She’d been talking with her vet, Ivey, about options, though so far it hadn’t been a problem. The animals all got along as if they were pals.

  Tracy had been resting in the grass, chewing her cud, when Sadie laughed...and just like that, Tracy had lumbered to her feet and approached the fence to greet her biggest fan. It was even Sadie who’d led the cow into the barn when the rain returned. Girl and cow had become largely inseparable.

  Even the sweet little kittens, now with open eyes, fuzzy soft fur and adorable little mewls, didn’t lure Sadie away from the cow for long. She loved all the animals, but had a very special bond with that cow.

  “I’ve been thinking,” Ember said.

  “About beefcake calendars, I know.” That earned Autumn another elbow.

  “Actually—” Ember glanced back to ensure Sadie was occupied “—about babies.”

  Coming to attention, Autumn asked, “About your and Mike’s baby?”

  “For so long now, ever since the miscarriage, I’ve had this terrible yearning.” Laying a hand to her flat abdomen, Ember said, “There were days, sometimes weeks, when I didn’t think I’d ever have a baby to hold.”

  Autumn leaned into her, sharing love and comfort. Had Ember written off children the same way Autumn had written off men? It seemed so. “Now you’ll have it all.”

  “That’s just it, though. Since Mike agreed, I feel like...well, the urgency is gone.” Sighing, she looked toward Mike, where he and Tash were repairing a fence post that had loosened on the pigs’ pen. “I love him, Autumn. He loves me. I know it’ll happen, but now I think I might like a year to just enjoy him.” She bit her lip in an uncharacteristic show of uncertainty. “That makes me sounds really fickle, doesn’t it?”

  “Oh, Em.” Autumn hugged her. “It makes you sound like a woman with a secure and happy future.”

  Ember stared at her for a few seconds, then squeezed her tight. “Do you realize you never criticize me? I realize I’m not prefect—”

  “No!” Levering Ember back, Autumn feigned shock. “You’re not?”

  Undaunted, Ember continued. “So thank you. For always being there, supporting me no matter what. You’re a very easy person to love.”

  Another amazing compliment? Wow, her day—regardless of the rain—was off to a stellar start. “Despite our occasional conflict, you’re pretty darned easy to love, too.”

  They heard a snuffle and both turned.

  The cow slept on her side inside her large stall. Exhausted from her earlier activities, Sadie slumped on her butt against the stall door, legs out, body lax, lightly snoring.

  The cow’s nose poked forward on the ground..
.with Sadie’s small hand resting on it.

  “Now that,” Autumn whispered, taking her phone from her pocket, “is photo-worthy.”

  * * *

  With rain off and on for two weeks, Tash worried about Autumn. It seemed she worked nonstop. Long after he left the farm, she had appointments to keep...and her mother to deal with.

  For him, no problem. Tracy amused him more than anything else. But for Autumn, a lifetime of subtle insults and uncomplimentary expectations stole her edge. More often than not, she seemed bogged down by her mother, without her witty comebacks or even her temper.

  He had a feeling mother-daughter relationships might pose unique problems that he’d never understand.

  Not that Tracy was a bad person. She clearly wasn’t.

  Or a bad parent. She obviously loved her family.

  She was simply flawed, like everyone else, and it made him hyperaware of his own interactions with Sadie.

  How many times had he screwed up without meaning to? How often did he misspeak, misstep, or err with good intentions? Probably more than he cared to know.

  All he could do was his best, and hope it was good enough.

  For sure he would be aware of criticism, just as he’d be aware of encouragement.

  Speaking of Sadie, he heard her squealing in her bedroom as Autumn put the finishing touches on everything.

  Squeals of pure joy. It was a familiar sound now, and he loved it.

  Autumn, most definitely, was good for Sadie...and for him, in so many ways.

  He smiled without realizing it, stared toward the hall as if he could see them and impatiently waited until he was invited to view the final results.

  Each day he and Sadie had helped at the farm, and many evenings Autumn had worked on some detail of Sadie’s bedroom. Though he didn’t get to see it, he knew what had transpired. Painted walls. A canopy over the bed. Gauzy curtains. He saw materials carried in, heard Sadie’s whispers, smelled paint fumes or the sound of hammering when Ember joined in.

  Most nights they shared dinner together.

  Just like a family. What he’d always thought family should be, how it should feel. What it should mean.

  Who knew one heart could hold so much love? Or that every single day that love would expand until he almost couldn’t contain it?

  Unfortunately, they’d only had two more opportunities to be alone, and he suffered nonstop need for her. Juggling everything was starting to wear on him.

  He wanted his daughter secure and happy. Mission accomplished, or so it seemed.

  He wanted Autumn with him always. That one was tougher, but he’d be patient for as long as it took.

  What did Autumn want?

  He couldn’t rush her, had promised her he wouldn’t. Hell, she’d only recently decided that he—or sex in general?—was better than ice cream.

  He hoped that it was him specifically that had helped change her mind on that, but a woman as sensual, as alive and loving, as Autumn would never have sustained herself long with a frozen substitute. Eventually she’d have reached out for human contact again.

  Thank God he was the one who’d been around when she did.

  Now he had to do things right. Autumn deserved that. She needed to feel cherished, loved, appreciated—for herself, not for any other reason, not even for his beautiful daughter.

  Sadie poked her head out the door. “Ready?”

  Tash’s smile widened at the excited glimmer in her eyes. “I think so.” Pretending to creep, he asked, “Will I faint from shock?”

  “No, Dad!” She giggled happily. “You’ll love it.”

  “I will if you do.”

  Too eager to suffer his slow pace, Sadie darted out and grabbed his hand in both her tiny ones, hauling him along. “Come on, hurry.”

  He only got one step into the room before awe leveled him. Wow. His daughter’s room looked like something out of a magazine, while also feeling cozy and... Well, it felt like Sadie.

  Autumn had somehow captured his daughter’s bubbly personality and quirky style, her sweetness and adventurous nature, and combined it all in a picture-perfect setting.

  Looking around, he took in the pale blue walls that resembled the sky on a mild day. A curtain rod high near the ceiling sent delicate, colorful panels of fabric flowing down like a rainbow to meet a unicorn bookcase filled with Sadie’s favorite books.

  The bed...the bed was incredible with the flexible canopy overhead. Cute, but not too fussy. He ducked to look beneath and sure enough, glow-in-the-dark stars would shine over Sadie while she slept.

  A fluffy comforter and pillow sham in a print of spring flowers, a fuzzy rug under the bed, wall shelves—

  “Well?” Autumn asked, her hands clasped together, her feet shifting.

  “It’s perfect.” Organized, coordinated and fun.

  “Really?” She dropped her hands, her smile flashing. “You like it?”

  “Of course I do. I love it. I’m...stunned, actually.”

  “Did you see my dollhouse?” Sadie dragged him to the other side of the bed. “Isn’t it the best?”

  The dollhouse was huge, holding Sadie’s hodgepodge collection of dolls, big enough that she could crawl into it. “Wow.” The really impressive part? It looked like the barn rather than a house, which clearly thrilled Sadie.

  Autumn launched into speech. “I hope it’s okay. Normally for something like that I’d have gotten your permission, but then I got the barn idea and decided to make it a surprise, something from me to Sadie. As a gift, I mean, so I didn’t say anything—”

  Tash pressed a finger to her lips. “It’s incredible.”

  She licked her lips—accidentally licked his finger, too—then said, “Good, because I have a few more gifts.”

  Sadie thrust her fists into the air and cheered.

  Indulgent, Tash said, “You’re full of surprises today.”

  Pivoting, Autumn hurried to the closet and reached to the back to pull out a bag.

  Sadie bounced on the balls of her feet, her hands clasped under her chin in anticipation.

  “Here you go. I hope you like them.”

  Taking the bag, Sadie sat down on the side of the bed and pulled out...a stuffed cow.

  Her eyes rounded and her lips parted. Next she pulled out a stuffed pig and a goat, and even a turkey. After a heavy swallow, Sadie’s eyes went liquid, her bottom lip trembling.

  “Sadie?” Horrified, Autumn dropped to her knees in front of her. “Honey, I’m sorry. I thought you’d like—”

  Launching at her, Sadie sobbed, “I love them.” Sniffling, her arms in a stranglehold around Autumn’s neck, she added, “And I love you, too.”

  “Ohhh.” Tears filled Autumn’s eyes, as well. Avoiding his gaze, she dashed at her cheeks with one hand and hugged Sadie with the other. “I love you more.”

  Sadie pressed back, her nose red and her cheeks already blotchy. “It’s the bestest ever.”

  “Which part?” Tash asked gently.

  “All of it.” Then she hugged the cow.

  Brushing a tear from Sadie’s cheek, then from her own, Autumn said, “If Ember was here, we’d all be crying. She swears if she even sees a tear, it wells her up.” She drew Sadie in for another hug. “I’m glad that you like it, honey. I’ll finish up your dad’s room soon and then we’ll be all done.”

  That pronouncement caused Sadie to freeze. “I don’t want you to be done.”

  Joining them on the floor, Tash drew Sadie into his lap. “Done working on projects, goose, but not done with us. We love Autumn, right?”

  Autumn’s eyes flared.

  Yup, I slipped that in there, he silently told her, liking her reaction.

  Nodding, Sadie said, “We do. And she loves us, right?”

  Tash looked to Autumn for verification, so she h
astily nodded...and this time the tears overflowed.

  “Oh, darn,” she complained, laughing shakily and wiping at her cheeks. “Ember is right. Tears are contagious.” It took her a second to collect herself, and then her face was as blotchy as Sadie’s. “I do love you. Very much.”

  Huh. Here he’d thought himself clever by sliding his proclamation into the middle of things, but Autumn just outdid him. She stated her love while looking at Sadie, which left him wondering.

  Did she love him, too?

  But, hey, she’d said it, and he was sitting right there, holding his daughter. Not using her as a lure, never that. But he’d happily bask in the glow of their combined happiness.

  “Tissues are in order,” Tash said. “Then maybe ice cream?”

  Giving him an impish smile, Autumn said, “It’s a poor substitute, but I’ll take it.” She stood and held out a hand.

  Tash took it before Sadie could. With his petite daughter held close to his chest, he came to his feet. Together they went into the kitchen for a now-familiar routine.

  One he never wanted to give up.

  Chapter Sixteen

  Tonight she’d complete the additions to Tash’s office, and it left Autumn with a bittersweet sense of accomplishment.

  It had taken thirteen more days to get it all done, mostly because she’d dragged her feet. Summer break would end soon and Sadie would start school. It was unfair that she hadn’t wrapped up sooner, but... The time she’d spent with Tash and Sadie was the happiest of her life.

  She loved their routine, all the time they spent together...and yet, they lived separate lives.

  Oh, she knew it wouldn’t all come crashing to an end just because summer break ended. In fact, it should afford her and Tash more time to be intimate—a definite bonus.

  And yet, it would also be different. She wouldn’t have a good excuse to schedule time at his house. She’d be dependent on his invitations, and with Sadie’s schoolwork, how often would that work out?

  She liked having dinner with them. She enjoyed helping Tash cook and putting the dishes away with Sadie. Darn it, she missed the fun of orchestrating Sadie’s bedroom changes with her.