by Lauren Dane
Could she believe it? Grasp the hope that she could have a normal relationship with Matt?
Matt tapped on the door, poking his head in. Seeing the state Tate was in, he rushed to her bedside, alarmed.
“Honey? Cassie, what did you do?”
“She just helped me. It’s okay. Really.”
“You’re feeling better?”
“No. I have a horrible crying headache to go along with the concussion headache. My messed up childhood has been exposed to my boyfriend and his family without my permission and I’ve had a very emotional discussion with someone who knows where I’ve been. But I only have up to go, there’s no more down at this point.”
Cassie got up, hugging Tate carefully. “Please, give me a call or stop in at the bookstore if you want to talk. I’m trained as a victim’s advocate but more than that, I’m your friend. I like you, Tate. You have excellent taste in shoes, I’m not sure if I told you that before or not.”
Tate smiled. “Thanks. For everything.”
“That’s what friends, and family, are for.” Cassie kissed Matt’s cheek and headed for the door as Jacob and Jill burst in.
“Easy!” Matt grabbed Jacob before he jostled Tate.
Jacob winced. “Sorry. You okay? Tateness, I told you to stop going over there. Let the cops sort them out.” Jacob kissed her forehead gently and Jill moved around to the other side, taking Tate’s hand.
“If you just let them kill each other, we’d all be better off anyway,” Jill mumbled.
Tate sighed. “Don’t. Don’t let them make you bitter. You’re better than that. Now what on earth are you doing here? Jill, I know you had plans today with that new guy you’re seeing.”
“Shut up! My God, Tate, he could have killed you. You think making out and watching fireworks is more important to me than you are?” Jill looked offended but Tate saw the tremble in her bottom lip and knew she was about to lose it.
“I do think it’s more important, Jill. Yes, I do. Damn it, they’ve disrupted our lives enough. I don’t want him to do it anymore. Now get your butts back to Atlanta. Make out, watch fireworks. Use a condom!”
“I don’t need a condom to kiss for cripes’ sake! I’ve only known him a few weeks, he’s not getting any just yet.”
“Enough information, thank you very much. Tate, you’re out of your mind if you think Jill and I are leaving before you get home from the hospital.” Jacob crossed his arms over his chest and glared.
The nurse came in and frowned. “Too many guests. She needs to rest and you all need to let her.”
“I’m staying.” Matt stayed at her side.
Tate looked up at him and wondered why his voice sounded that way. Was he trying to be alone to dump her? That was probably it. Loving a woman with some family problems was one thing, now that he knew the whole story surely he’d see how impossible it was for them to be together.
“Go on, guys. I need to talk to Matt and then I need to nap. You have the key to my place. There are leftovers in my fridge and clean bedding in the guestroom.”
Jill kissed her cheek. “We’ll get it ready for you to come home to. I’ll stop by the library to grab you some books.”
Jacob followed, kissing the other cheek. “We’ll be back tonight. Rest. Love you.”
“Love you both too.”
They left and Matt settled into the chair next to the bed. Reaching out, she touched the softness of his hair for a moment and he leaned into her hand.
“They told you about my father.”
He nodded. “Yes. God, Tate I don’t know what to say it’s so awful. I’m just relieved you’re all right.”
A tear rolled down her cheek. “I’m sorry. I didn’t know how to tell you, it was embarrassing. You…you don’t have to stay here anymore. I understand.”
His eyes widened and then narrowed. “Good God, Tate, what do you take me for? Have I given you any indication that I’m that shallow a man? I love you, damn it. Not your father. You. I want to be with you and continue to build something with you. If you weren’t suffering from a head injury I’d be offended.”
“Matt,” she sighed, “I worry that you’ll regret this.”
He cocked his head. “Why would I regret loving you? You don’t seem to understand and that’s my fault I suppose. Tate, I’m old enough to know what I feel. Old enough to know this is very different than anything I’ve ever felt before. It’s you. You and me and it’s right. Surely you can feel it.”
“We come from very different worlds.”
“So you keep saying. And I keep saying—so? Seriously. Yes, you had a fucked up childhood. One I can’t even begin to imagine. But that doesn’t mean we don’t have a future together. Sometimes I’m going to do something stupid and thoughtless because I don’t know any better. I’m a guy, it’s what we do. And sometimes you’re going to react in ways I don’t understand and it’s going to piss me off or confuse me. We’ll get through it.”
Tate put her head against the pillow and closed her eyes. He was fooling himself to ignore the real fact of the situation. People in town were going to talk. They already were talking. He’d always been on the inside, how was he going to take it when he risked that to be with her? Still, she was too damned tired to deal with it right then. And she didn’t want to.
“Rest now, Venus. I’ll be right here. If you wake up and I’m gone, I’ve just nipped out to get something to drink or to make a call to fill in your family or mine.”
He kissed her forehead gently and she let herself fall into sleep.
By the time they were ready to release her the next morning, his normally good-natured Tate was a very grumpy woman. He didn’t blame her, they’d woken her up every hour on the hour and she looked dead tired.
He’d slept in her room all night, which meant he woke up every hour on the hour as well. And every three hours a new one of her siblings showed up and stayed in the room with them.
Shane had gone to Matt’s apartment and packed him a bag, bringing it by the hospital. They’d found Tate’s father and arrested him sometime overnight. Her mother had gone off to Dallas after trying to borrow some money from Tim, who’d refused.
Once the release papers had been signed, Matt and Tate got into a heated argument. He’d wanted to carry her to his truck and she’d looked at him like he’d lost his mind.
“I’ll do the wheelchair thing like I’m supposed to but you’re not carrying me.” She slapped his hands away as he’d tried to pick her up.
“Why not? Tate, honey, let me help you.”
“You’re insane. You can push the wheelchair.”
He growled at her and she raised a regal, white-blonde brow at him. Sighing, Nathan pushed his way into the discussion.
“As fascinating as it is to watch you two argue over stupid shit like this, let’s motor. Matt, push the damned wheelchair, she doesn’t want you to pick her up because she thinks she’s too heavy. You, Tate, sit your ass down and shut up.”
Tate did that cute little hmpfing thing and Matt thought about arguing over how stupid it was that she thought he couldn’t pick up a bitty scrap of a woman like her. He could carry two hundred pounds on his back up a ladder during a fire for God’s sake, but she really was cute when she made that sound.
They got her settled in at her house. He tucked her into bed with some magazines while one of her sisters made tea. His mother had wanted to come over but already Tate’s little house was bursting at the seams with Murphys so Polly agreed to bring over some food later that day.
Tate had fallen asleep by the time the tea had steeped so he left her to rest in the cool, darkened room and snuck quietly out to the living room where her family waited.
“Is she all right?” Beth asked, putting the tray with the tea on it down.
“She’s asleep.” Matt fell onto the couch.
“You need the sleep too. Do you need to go home? To work?” Tim asked from across the room.
“I’m good. I took the next three days
off. I planned to stay here. Are you all okay with that?”
“More than okay with it. But one of us will stay here too.” Anne drank some iced tea, rocking slowly. The house was shaded by several large willow and oak trees and the air conditioning kept it cool as well. Still, it was July in Petal and the heat rose from the pavement out front in dizzying waves.
“Mostly me, Anne and Nathan,” Beth spoke up. “Jill and Jacob have summer classes so they need to go home and William and Tim have kids and wives.”
“Hey, doesn’t mean I won’t do my duty here!” William grumbled. “She’s mine too, damn it.”
“William, we know that. She knows that. But you know how she is. She’d worry about Cindy being alone with the kids and you being here. She’d worry about you not being at work. She’ll worry about Susan at the shop and Tim’s business if he’s not there. You can come by in the evenings. Back me up when I insist she take the rest of the week off.”
“She can’t mean to go back to work just yet anyway!” Matt looked at them all.
Tim snorted. “She’d have gone back today if we’d have let her. Tate views any kind of illness or injury as a weakness. She’s the hardest worker I know. We’ll have to wrestle her to keep her from going to the shop this week, crutches and all.”
“She’s going to do no such thing. She’s got four stitches on the back of her head, she had a concussion, she doesn’t need to cut hair just yet.”
Beth waved it away. He recognized the gesture from Tate. “If you put it that way she’ll go back just to spite you. Anne and I have worked the schedule out. We’ve got it covered until Monday. That gives us four days. Let us handle that part. Although I like that you put her first. I like that a lot.”
Pride swelled through him that her family approved.
He excused himself, going into her room and closing the door. Quickly stripping to his boxers, he carefully slid into her bed, pressing himself against her before dropping into sleep.
Chapter Nine
Tate chafed at the way her sisters watched her so closely. Every five minutes someone shoved a glass of water or some fruit at her.
“I’m not made of glass!” she growled through clenched teeth but Anne clucked and continued to hold out the glass of iced tea.
“It’s that mango green tea crap you like so much. Shut up and drink it or I’ll tell Tim you’re not taking care of yourself. You weren’t even supposed to come back to work until Monday. We agreed to let you work today because you said you’d take it easy.”
“Oh for heaven’s sake!” She took it and sipped. “Thank you. Now go see to your client please, mine is coming in two minutes and I need to take a pit stop.”
Tate hurried off but when she got back she recognized the lacquered blonde head sitting in her chair. Her eyes met Polly Chase’s in the mirror and there was no escape.
“Hello, honey. How are you?” Polly turned to look at Tate better as she approached.
“I’m fine, Mrs. Chase. How are you?”
“Well, just worried sick about you. But your color is back. You do have such pretty skin. I always wished mine was that creamy smooth.”
Tate looked at the woman perched in the chair. Polly Chase was a total stunner for her age. Even with a hairstyle that pre-dated computers. She was tiny but all around tiny. Petite little hands and feet, always wore perfect clothes. Tailored suits, pretty dresses, spiky stilettos. Her makeup was always flawless and her eyes, big and green, reminded Tate of late spring grass, vibrant. Tate would have bet her entire year’s salary that Polly Chase never envied anyone’s skin, much less hers.
“Mrs. Chase, I’m beginning to see where Matthew gets his gift with stretching the truth.”
Astonishment showed on Polly’s face a moment and then she laughed, delighted. “I sure do like you, Tate Murphy. Now come on over here and do my hair and we’ll talk about my son. And you’ll call me Polly.”
Anne met Tate’s eyes as she passed and they both had to hold back a laugh. The woman was totally incorrigible.
Beth gave Polly a shampoo and brought her back to Tate’s station. “I’m going to go ahead and pretend I don’t know Anne normally does this so you can grill me on my intentions with your son. Would you like some tea?”
“Yes please. And I do so love it when people let me boss them around. Makes a small woman feel mighty, know what I mean? Of course you do, you’ve pretty much raised your brothers and sisters. I see the way they are with you. A gift, having people love you so much, being part of something that means everything.”
Tate felt something click inside her at that moment. Polly Chase understood her better than anyone had, more than Matt, more than her own siblings. She met Polly’s eyes in the mirror briefly before beginning to towel and blow her hair dry. As she got the extensive backcombing and spraying process started, she had to wrestle back her emotions. Other than her siblings, when had an adult actually cared about her? Reached out the way Polly was doing? That broken little girl inside Tate’s soul wanted to grab it, take the hand Polly held out because damn it, she needed it.
“It’s all right, honey. What are your intentions with my Matthew then?” She knew. The amazing thing about Polly Chase was that she saw that little girl inside Tate and didn’t run. She wanted to comfort her and know her.
Polly sat back and Tate began to talk about Matt.
As Tate worked on her hair, Polly absolutely fell in love with Tate Murphy. She loved all her daughters-in-law but none of them had ever really sat down and talked about her sons with her the way Tate did.
Tate loved Matt. Not his name, not his looks or his money, she loved his laugh, the way he pitched in when anyone needed anything, the way he took care of her after the hospital. So many people looked at Matt and saw a pretty boy who had it easy, they didn’t see the rest of him, the compassion and love, the way he threw himself into everything he truly cared about. Tate saw that and Tate loved him for it. And Polly loved Tate for it.
The girl was fragile in many ways but she’d always be a good partner to her son. Polly would never tell anyone, but she’d always worried about Matt the most. He seemed so carefree and easygoing but he wandered around looking for something to challenge him. Women were easy, too easy. Which is why he never kept one very long. She’d had hopes for Liv, thought Matt was a damned fool for letting that one go at the time but now she knew Liv was for Marc. But Matt had started drifting again after Liv. He needed something to work for.
He did have it easy in other ways too. He’d been tested at school early on and scored off the charts, got that from his daddy. He’d never gotten less than an A in a class all the way through school, scored outrageously high on his SATs and then rejected college. Broke Edward’s heart that none of his boys wanted to go into the law.
But underneath it all, Matt wanted to make his own way. When he’d started the fire academy, Polly had known it was the right choice. Yes, he’d been at the top of his class but he’d had to work for it. And when he was out on the job, he worked, he had to focus and give it his all and that made it perfect for him.
He’d been fulfilled by his career and it made her and Edward proud to see Matt come into himself as a man through his job. But still, no challenges in his personal life.
Until Tate.
Polly watched Tate as she worked on her hair and laughed, talking about Matt. Who’d have thought it would be this girl who stole her son’s heart? Matt had squired some of the most stunning women in the area around. None of them had been right for him and Tate was beautiful in a different way but it wasn’t apparent at first glance.
“So, tell me, has Melanie been keeping up with her nasty little campaign?”
“Blunt. What if I said I didn’t want to talk about it?”
Polly thought about it for long moments. “Well, surely it’s your business and all. But you should know right up front that no one messes with me and mine. Certainly no twitterpated piece of fluff like Melanie. And make no mistake, Tate, you’re one
of mine. All your brothers and sisters and their children are too. I don’t take kindly to anyone threatening Matthew’s sweetie. And I really don’t like her attitude about you and your background.” She met Tate’s eyes straight on in the mirror. “Because money doesn’t give you class or pride and your address or your parents don’t make you better than anyone else.”
“That’s not true, Polly. You and Edward made your sons better men.”
Oh. That tore at Polly because the girl meant it and that was a shot straight to her heart. Reaching up, she took Tate’s hand and squeezed it. “I do believe that’s the best compliment I’ve ever received.”
“Melanie hasn’t been back but several cancellations called up and rescheduled. Thank you.”
“Don’t thank me. I don’t like that sort of play on class differences. It puts my back up. I wasn’t raised that way, my boys weren’t, it offends me. Girls like Melanie after my boy offend me. You are coming to dinner tomorrow night, right?”
“No, Mrs.…Polly, it’s family dinner at my house this week. Last week at your house was pretty disastrous, I wasn’t sure you’d want me back. I’m sorry. I didn’t get a chance to apologize for making a scene.”
Polly saw the girl go pink. “Tate, I understand there are reasons that made you react the way you did. Matt, like his brothers and his father, is a very protective man. He wanted to help you when he knew you’d been harmed. You know that I expect, as well as you know he wouldn’t ever hurt you or try to control you. We all have buttons, honey. Yours got pushed. It makes you human. Why don’t you all come to my house tomorrow? I’ll put an extra leaf in the table and we’ll eat in the formal dining room. We’ve got room for an extra dozen. Your brothers and sisters and those children are always welcome.”
Beth strolled past and waved hello. “Afternoon, Mrs. Chase. No offense or anything, but you’re going to find it a hard proposition to talk a Murphy out of a dinner where Tate cooks. It’s the highlight of the month, those Sunday dinners at her table.”