by Jill Sanders
He’d been hiding out in Fairplay for almost a year, with little to nothing to show for it. Sure, he’d closed on his place, fixed a few things here and there, and purchased a head of cattle, all thanks to the very large trust fund from his family’s business. He’d moved out to the middle of nowhere to discover himself and get over the pain he’d caused. But instead, he’d just been hiding out. Hiding from himself.
Soon, the room felt too stuffy. There were too many people crowding around him. His ears rang and all he could hear were screams, tires squealing, and the sound of a far-off siren. Even the strobe lights in his eyes were causing his eyes to water. He set his beer down and felt his chest tighten.
His legs moved quickly as he headed towards the back door. He pushed into the night air, hoping for a cool breeze, but instead, a quick burst of heat hit him in the chest.
He rushed away from the lights, towards the sound of running water. The full moon overhead helped him see his way. He finally stopped and leaned against a wooden railing. There was a small creek below.
He could hear the crowd going wild inside behind him and wondered how many more songs Tessa had. He knew it was rude of him to be outside while her songs were going, but there were just too many emotions built up in him. He had to get away.
Closing his eyes, he took a couple deep breaths.
He’d never had a woman make him feel… so much, before. Sure, he’d loved Lindsay, or so he’d thought, but they hadn’t had a relationship. Not really. They’d fallen hard and fast too early. Too young. Then they’d gotten caught up in the tangle of what others had expected from them.
“Hey,” her soft voice sounded behind him. “Are you okay?”
He cleared his mind and throat before turning around and nodding because he didn’t trust his voice.
“I think your songs are a hit.” He leaned back against the fence as she walked over and stopped next to him.
“From the sounds of it”—she turned to smile up at him— “I’d say so.” She rested her booted foot on the bottom rung and leaned on the fence, closer to him.
The sexy scent of her floated towards him. The look of her face in the moonlight made him wish he could paint. She’d removed her hat before going on stage, and now her hair was floating around her face. She kept pushing it away from her eyes as the warm breeze blew over them.
“I’ve always loved this time of year.” She sighed and glanced over towards the water. “I know most people hate late winter, but it’s one of my favorite times of the year.”
He turned towards her, his hand going out to brush a strand of dark hair away from her face. “You’re an amazing woman,” he said softly.
He heard her breath hitch and decided, for the first time in his life, to let his emotions out. He cupped her neck and pulled her a step towards him as he moved closer to her.
“Amazing,” he whispered before he touched his heart to hers. Their lips met, softly, slowly, as the moon made its way across the vast dark sky. He took his time, leisurely playing over her soft mouth as his hands roamed over her back, holding her closer to him.
She tasted like heaven and felt like sin. He didn’t want to let her go, but when he heard the music die down, he took a slight step back and broke the contact.
“I guess we’d better head back inside.” He reached down and took her hand in his and started walking. “I didn’t mean to miss that last song,” he said, stopping just outside the doors.
“It’s okay. Maybe you can swing by later this week and hear it privately,” she added before breezing through the door and back into the crowded bar.
Chapter 6
Tessa’s knees had gone weak when Luke kissed her last night. Okay, if she was completely honest with herself, everything of hers had gone weak when he’d kissed her. She’d dreamed of him and thought of him every minute since he’d shown up at the bar in his tight worn blue jeans.
Who could blame her? After all, he was the cowboy of every woman’s dreams. His thick dark hair was a little too long and had just the right amount of curl to it. His jaw alone could make any woman swoon. When he smiled, he had a slight dimple in his left cheek and a slight dip between his brows when he worried.
There was still so much she wanted to discover about him, but he was so reserved. She had seen pain in his eyes last night when she’d met him outside.
She’d watched him leave from the stage and had worried that he’d hated her songs and just couldn’t face her. But something had told her to find out, one way or another. And she was thankful she had.
The old her, Tracy, wouldn’t have followed Luke outside. She wouldn’t have been kissed under the full moon until she’d felt her toes tingle. But, Tessa…Tessa had.
She couldn’t stop the smile as she reached up to hug herself.
Tracy wouldn’t have allowed her songs to be published, nor would she have allowed herself to open herself up so much. Even though she knew that ridicule could have been an outcome, she had prepared herself for it. But, so far, no one had said anything negative.
Still, every time she went to the Rusty Rail, she braced and prepared for it. She only wished her mother was still alive to enjoy her music.
She had read her some of her poems the week before she’d passed away. But her mother had been on so many pain meds, she doubted she had heard or understood anything.
“Hey, Daddy,” she said, walking into the kitchen and kissing his paper-thin cheek.
Her father was standing at the stove, cooking up fresh eggs and a pan of bacon.
“Morning.” He glanced over at her. She noted the dark circles under his eyes and held back a frown. “How’d it go last night?”
“Wonderful.” She gently pushed him aside and finished cooking. “Grab me some OJ, will you?” She knew he’d pour the glass and sit down to read the paper. They had fallen into a pattern the last few weeks. “Luke showed up last night.”
“Oh? The boy that helped with the chicken coop?”
She nodded and flipped the bacon over. “He says he plays the guitar and can sing. I was hoping to spend some time with him later this week, working on a few other songs.”
“That would be nice, dear.” He flipped open his paper.
“What are your plans for the week?”
“Oh, nothing too exciting. I’ve got to run into town for some more chicken feed and some grain for the animals. I was thinking of mowing the yard later this week.”
She set the spatula down and turned towards him, her hands on her hips. “We talked about this.”
He glanced up at her. “Now, Theresa…” He only used her full name when he was trying to assert his authority.
“Don’t Theresa me, Dad. You’re too fragile to be pulling around that old mower. Besides, I could use the exercise.” She turned back towards the pan of bacon. “Especially since you keep feeding me bacon.”
“I don’t want to become a burden. You know, I’ve been thinking of selling this ol’ place.”
She dropped the spatula into the eggs and spun around. “What?”
“Sure. I mean, I’m not as young as I was when we bought this place.” He sighed and glanced out the window. “I built that chicken coop, myself. Reroofed the house and the barn myself, too.” He turned to her and she could see tears in his eyes.
“What’s brought this on?” She flipped off the burners and walked over to sit next to him and took his hand in hers.
“Your mother’s funeral took a lot of out me, and our savings.” He glanced down at their joined hands. “We hadn’t planned. You know, you watch those commercials that tell you to plan ahead. Well, we kept denying that either one of us was going to die. Then, well, Leslie got sick and… then we were paying medical bills and then funeral bills.”
“Dad, I’m here. Let me help.”
“Why? What for? This ol’ place?” He shook his head. “No, I’ve sunk enough money into this place over the years. Truth was, I only fixed the chicken coop roof so the place could sell better.”<
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“Oh, Dad.” She felt her heart slip a little, thinking about some other family living in her house, the only family home she’d ever known. “We’ll figure something out.” She patted his hand. “First, let’s eat.”
Three mornings later, she stood outside of Mama’s and sighed. “This is only temporary,” she told herself. A few shifts here and there. Just until she made a few more checks on her songs.
“You ready?” Mama asked when she walked through the door.
“I suppose so.” She wiped her sweaty hands on her skirt. “Show me the ropes.”
Two hours later, she had the swing of things. Why had she figured it would be so hard? Maybe because every time she was in the place, it was packed. Glancing around now, there were only four people sitting at tables.
She supposed during rush hour things would get a little more complicated, but for now, she was happy to start the early shift. She’d arrived shortly after the breakfast rush, which had helped. When she glanced down at her watch, she figured she had another half an hour before the lunch rush would hit.
She glanced over the menu once more, even though she knew the darn thing frontwards and backward, since she’d eaten there all of her life and the menu hadn’t changed once. Well, they were now printed on fancier stock paper coated in plastic, as opposed to the old paper placemats Mama used to have.
She also took the time to make sure she knew how to ring up everything in the computer system.
“It’s a lot easier now dat I got dis”—Mama patted the computer screen— “after dat twister took out my ol’ one.” A thick rich chuckle vibrated from her ample chest. “I fig’rd I was due an upgrade.”
“It does seem to help.” She had rung in the last four orders with ease.
“Why don’t you grab somethin’ to eat before da rush comes.” She patted her arm. “Just tell ol’ Willard what you want.”
Willard, one of the longtime cooks at Mama’s, was one of the nicest men in town. Tessa could remember coming into the diner, feeling down after having problems at school, and Willard would be there with a large chocolate shake.
“Thanks.” She walked towards the back kitchen area.
Willard was at his usual place behind the grill. When he noticed her, he turned towards her with a smile.
“So? What’d I tell you?”
“Thanks.” She walked over to him and wrapped her arms around him. “For the job and for the advice.”
He chuckled and patted her arm. “Ol’ Willard would never steer you wrong.”
She’d run into the man two days ago at the Grocery Stop. They had talked about her father’s financial problems and Willard had suggested she work part time at Mama’s since they were shorthanded. All three of the West sisters had once waitressed at Mama’s when they had been desperately trying to keep their family farm. She figured, if it was good enough for them, then it was good enough for her.
“I made your favorite.” He nodded to a plate sitting on the countertop. “The milkshake is in the freezer.” He winked, then turned back to his work.
“You make this job totally worth it,” she said after biting into her burger.
By the time she walked out front again, the place was starting to pack out. Near the end of her shift, she wondered if she’d made the right choice. Her feet were throbbing, her lower back hurt, and she was pretty sure she was going to have nightmares of numbers and the computer screen freezing again, all night long.
As she walked back to her car, rubbing her lower back, she wondered how much she was willing to do to keep her father in the large place.
He’d tried to convince her that he’d be much happier in a smaller place in town. A place where he didn’t have to do all the yard work.
Still, she was determined to keep her childhood home. But she’d figured out exactly what it was going to take to keep it, and it wouldn’t be easy. Her folks had taken out a second mortgage to help pay for some of the medical bills, which meant almost double the payments. There were other loans as well, two of them, totaling several thousand dollars.
Honestly, she didn’t know how she was going to be able to afford paying those off and keep making the mortgage payments. Not to mention, feeding her father and paying off her own school bills.
As she drove out of town, she noticed the ‘For Rent’ sign on Savannah and Billy’s old place and remembered Savannah offering up the place to her, if she wanted.
Swinging her car around, she headed to where she knew Savannah would be— Holly’s Coffee & Wine Bar. It was just down the street from Mama’s. Savannah ran the kids’ corner after-school program.
When she walked in, April, the longtime employee, greeted her.
“There’s our famous writer now.” She smiled. Tessa noted the woman’s standard streak of pink in her hair.
“How’s it going? Have those kids of yours broken any hearts lately?”
April chuckled. “You know it.”
“Is Savannah around?” She glanced towards the back area.
“She should be done with reading hour soon.” April glanced down at her watch. “How about a drink to tide you over?”
She was about to turn the woman down, but then thought about her swollen feet and decided she would really enjoy getting off them for a while. Walking over, she sat down at the bar.
“What’ll you have?”
“Something sweet and strong.”
“Sounds like you had a hard first day at Mamas.”
“No, I suppose it’s just a normal day. I don’t know how people do it. Standing on their feet for so long.”
“Shift.”
“Hmm?” She waited until April set a light pink drink with floating berries in front of her.
“Shift from one leg to another. The key is movement.” She showed her by swaying from one leg to another slightly. “It helps your feet and your back.”
Just then, a very loud group of kids came rushing past them, followed slowly by their parents.
Tessa waited until all of them were gone before walking towards the back. Savannah was kneeling down, picking up several books from the floor.
“Hey.” She walked over and helped.
“Oh.” She glanced over, then frowned. “So, it’s true. You are working at Mama’s?”
“Yup, started today.”
She stood up and set the books on the table. “So, you are staying?”
“I… I still haven’t decided.”
“Augh!” Savannah growled out, then glanced over to where her two kids were still playing quietly. “Why can’t you just make up your mind and stick around? I mean, aren’t you happy here?”
“For now.” She wasn’t technically happy, but she didn’t want to go into it with Savannah just now.
“Well, then commit.” She tossed the books into her bag. “Besides, what would you do without your friends around?” She turned back towards her and smiled. “What would we do without you here? For the few years, you were gone, we all suffered?”
Tessa couldn’t hold in the laughter. “You really are a drama queen.”
“No, I used to be a drama queen. Now, I’m a drama goddess.” She crossed her arms over her chest and laughed.
“Okay, I’ll commit to staying around until we sell our house.”
“What?” Savannah stood back up and moved towards her. “So, you and your father are really moving out of Fairplay?”
“No, actually, I was hoping you might be able to help us out. Dad needs a place to stay. A place that is hopefully cheaper than paying two mortgages.”
“What about you?”
She bit her lip. “That place of yours was pretty small.”
“One of the reasons we moved out when I was pregnant with Audrey. Maggie’s room was only big enough for one toddler.”
She sighed. “But, the place would be perfect for dad.”
“What about upstairs?” Savannah added.
“I didn’t know there was an upstairs to that place.”
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nbsp; “No, not that place. This one.” She pointed upwards with her fingers.
“I’m not following you.” She glanced up with a frown.
“Holly’s old apartment upstairs. It has its own private entrance and I’m sure Holly and Travis will rent it out to you really cheap since it’s been empty for the last year. Besides, you’re practically family.” She wrapped her arm around her. “If you want, April has the keys. You can go on up and take a look at it.”
“I… I’m not sure. I hadn’t planned on replacing two mortgage payments with rent on two places.”
“Well, we were charging six hundred for our place, but I think we can go as low as four-fifty.”
Tessa almost choked on thin air. “What? That low? How can you afford—”
“Honey, the place is paid off. We just charge for upkeep. Another thing your dad won’t have to worry about. We have a guy that does all the yard work and fixes anything that needs to be done.”
“Wow.” She did some calculations in her head. “How much does Holly’s place go for?”
“You’ll have to talk to her. But it’s only a one-room place, so I would think right around the same as we charge. Call her and ask.” She walked over and took her bag. “Kids, we have to go make dinner for daddy.”
The kids jumped up and rushed towards her. After briefly saying hi and answering some of the standard kid questions that flew from Savannah’s kids at a rapid pace, she walked towards the front with them.
“Your dad can move in anytime. Just let me know and I’ll get the keys to you.”
“Thanks.” She almost walked out with her, but Savannah stopped her. “April, give Tessa the keys to upstairs. She wants to look the place over.”
“Will do. By sweeties.” She waved to the kids. “See you tomorrow.”
“Night.” Savannah turned back towards her. “Think about it.” She moved to go but stopped. “And stay in town.” She winked and left.
“Here they are,” April said after a moment. “The entrance is out back. Just up the stairs.”
“Thanks.” She took the key ring and walked towards the door. It was funny, her car was parked right by the stairs, and she’d never known the apartment was up there. Glancing up, she thought of how nice it would be to live in town.