by SJ McCoy
“You seem to make it work very well.”
She smiled and waved her arm out, taking in the apartment. “This is no palace, but we do okay. I wish we could go out more—that’s why I talked about Wyoming. Owen does well in the countryside. I’d love to take him up there and live a quiet little life.”
Reid frowned, but didn’t say anything.
She picked up on it. “You don’t think that’d be good for him?”
“It depends. I think it could be, but not if you just hid away with him.”
“I know you’re right, but it’ll never happen anyway. It’s just a nice idea. He loves dinosaurs and volcanoes. I like the idea of being up there near Yellowstone; I could show him the geysers and …” she shrugged. “Like I said, it’s just a dream.”
“I wasn’t criticizing. I think it’s a good dream. I grew up just outside Yellowstone, in Montana though, not Wyoming.”
“You did?”
He nodded. “It was good for me.”
“What was it like?”
He smiled. “I had a great childhood. I had two big brothers to look out for me—and we didn’t go to school, we were homeschooled.”
She nodded. “That’s my plan with Owen. I know the school system here. It wouldn’t work for him, and the special needs system is just too overloaded. He’s very bright. There’s no way he could get the individual attention he needs.”
Reid smiled. “You really should talk to my mom.”
“I’d love to.”
She seemed to have finished fussing with every little thing she could find in the kitchen. If he was right, she’d just been stalling because she didn’t know what to do. He decided it was time to find out. He got to his feet and went to her, taking the dish towel from her hands and hanging it on the hook.
Her eyes widened as she looked up into his.
He put his hands on her shoulders and stepped closer. He didn’t want to keep talking about her kid and his mom. He wanted to talk about just the two of them. He slid his fingers into her hair and tilted her head back. Her eyes fluttered closed as he lowered his head to hers. Her lips quivered as he brushed them with his. She stepped closer, and her arms came up around his neck, and he was lost. He slid his arm around her waist and held her to him. The feel of her warm, soft breasts against his chest spurred him on. He explored her mouth with his tongue, and she opened up to let him in. A kiss had never had this effect on him. His heart was pounding in his chest; his cock ached with a need he hadn’t felt before. He pressed his hips against hers and let out a moan as she pressed back. His scalp and spine tingled as she sank her fingers into his hair and he wanted nothing more to sink himself inside her.
“Kisses.”
They sprang away from each other at the sound of Owen’s voice.
Tara looked terrified, which surprised Reid. He could understand that having the kid see them kiss might not be ideal, but it didn’t justify the utter fear in her eyes.
“It’s okay, Owen.” She went to him and squatted down in front of him. “Reid was just—”
Owen smiled at her then looked up at Reid. “It’s okay. It’s nice. Reid’s nice. Reid kisses Mommy. Reid loves Mommy.”
Tara’s cheeks flushed bright red. She shot Reid an apologetic look, but he smiled, wanting to let her know it was okay.
Owen kissed her cheek. “Owen loves Mommy.” With that, he turned and went back to his room.
“I’m sorry.” She looked embarrassed.
“Don’t be. I’m just glad he didn’t seem to mind.”
“Didn’t seem to mind?” She let out a short laugh. “I was afraid it was going to set him off. Remember how he was when your brother touched your shoulder this afternoon? That was nothing compared to how he gets when someone comes near me.”
He hated the thought of anyone else going near her. “Does that happen much?”
She gave him a puzzled look. “No.”
“I mean, do you date much?”
She shook her head.
He felt like an asshole. “I’m sorry. I’m getting carried away here. I want to be the only one you date.”
She smiled. “You are.”
He cocked his head to one side.
“This is the only date I’ve been on in three years.”
“The only one?”
She nodded. “I know that sounds pathetic, but it’s just how it is for me.”
He shook his head. “Not anymore. We need to change that.”
She laughed.
“I’m serious. This doesn’t even count since we didn’t go anywhere.”
“It counts to me; it’s been wonderful.”
“It has?”
She nodded, and he stepped toward her again. Owen’s interruption had served to confirm for him that he wanted to see her again—as much and as often as he could. And right now, what he wanted more than anything was to kiss her again—as much and as often as he could.
~ ~ ~
Tara closed her eyes and looped her arms up around his neck as he held her to him again. He felt so damned good. She felt so damned good when he kissed her. The feel of his hands on her back, the feel of his tongue inside her mouth. He made her feel like a woman—a woman who wanted a man to make love to her. He pressed his hips against hers, and she pressed back eagerly. His erection pressed into her belly. For the first time, she wished that Owen would stay with Nicole sometimes. She’d give anything to be able to take Reid into her bedroom, to get naked with him, to make love to him. She moaned into his mouth as one of his hands slid down to grasp her ass, pressing her against him so she could feel how much he wanted her, too.
When he finally lifted his head, her breath was slow and shallow. He smiled down at her, his green eyes still full of lust. “I want to get to know you better, Tara.”
This time she was sure that he did mean in bed. “I do, too. But …”
He rubbed his thumb over her cheek. “It’s okay. We can take our time.”
She shook her head. “You’re only here for a week.”
“This time. I’ll come back. Soon.”
She nodded. She hoped he would, but she didn’t dare to believe it was true.
“Come play.”
They smiled at each other at the sound of Owen calling from his room.
“I’m coming,” Tara called back.
“Reid!” Came his reply.
She looked at Reid, and he smiled. “Do you mind?”
“Mind? I think it’s wonderful, just don’t feel you have to. I need to spend time with him now, but if you don’t want to …”
He reached out and touched her cheek again. “I do want to. I understand. You’re a package deal.”
She smiled and blinked rapidly, hoping to keep back the tears that were stinging.
“Did I say something wrong?”
She shook her head and sniffed. “No. You couldn’t have said anything more right.”
“Reid!”
He smiled, and she followed him to Owen’s bedroom where he was sitting on the floor working on his dinosaur puzzle. He’d completed it last night and then taken it apart again this morning. He must have done that puzzle hundreds of times, but he loved it. He held a piece up to Reid who sat down on the floor beside him.
Tara’s heart filled up as she looked at them sitting there together. Reid took the piece, and Owen nodded at him. She tensed when Reid moved the piece to a place it obviously didn’t fit. Owen started to get agitated. “No! No, no, no.”
Reid smiled at him and moved the piece again.
“No!”
Tara wanted to step in and tell Reid to stop, but she got the feeling that he knew what he was doing.
“It’s okay,” said Reid. “It’s okay to try other places.”
Owen frowned at him. He looked like he was on the verge of a tantrum.
Reid moved the piece again and laughed. “Look, Owen, it doesn’t go there, does it?” Owen looked at hi
m, and he laughed again. “That’s silly, isn’t it? But it’s okay.”
Owen nodded uncertainly.
“Does it go here?”
“No.” Owen sounded unsure of himself now.
Reid laughed again. “Of course not. That’s silly, but it’s okay!”
Owen nodded. “It’s okay?” It was more of a question than a statement.
Reid nodded rapidly. “It’s really, really okay.” He slotted the piece into place. “That’s where it goes.”
Owen looked relieved. “That’s where it goes.”
Tara breathed a sigh of relief herself. When she and Owen did the puzzle together, she made sure she slotted each piece into its correct place immediately. He got so upset when things weren’t as they should be.
Reid took the piece out again and put it in the wrong place. He laughed and nudged Owen. “It doesn’t go there, does it?”
To her amazement, Owen smiled. It seemed he was getting the hang of the game Reid was playing. “No. It doesn’t go there. Silly Reid.”
Reid nodded. “Silly Reid. It doesn’t go here either.”
Owen watched him try to fit it in a couple other places.
“Do you want to try?”
Owen took the piece from him and studied the puzzle, then looked at Reid and smiled. “It doesn’t go here.” He pushed it into the wrong place and watched Reid’s face.
Reid laughed hard. “You’re so right. It doesn’t go there! That’s silly!”
Owen laughed uncertainly. “Silly.” He looked up at her and smiled. “Reid’s silly.”
She nodded. “Reid is silly.”
He looked up at her, and she smiled. He was silly enough to try to teach her son something that she’d never dared to try. She sat down with them and picked up a piece. “Do you think Mommy can be silly?”
Owen nodded happily.
She set the piece in the wrong place, and they all laughed.
“Silly, Mommy!” Owen picked up a piece and giggled as he put it in the wrong place. “Silly, Owen.”
They spent the next half hour playing the new game of deliberately getting it wrong. They all laughed hard as they played. Reid would occasionally put a piece in its correct place and look at Owen when he did. “Oh, look, it goes there.”
Owen nodded but carried on playing the silly game, which amazed Tara. Normally he couldn’t stand it when things weren’t right. Now he was more interested in having fun. She hadn’t seen him laugh like this in as long as she could remember. Soon, his little eyes were starting to droop. It was past his bedtime, but she didn’t want to spoil the fun—or end his new game on a sour note by making him stop and go to bed.
Reid let out a big yawn, making them both look at him in surprise. “I’m sleepy.” He told Owen. “Are you?”
Owen nodded.
“Time for bed?”
Owen pushed another puzzle piece into the wrong place and giggled. “Silly!”
“Yes. Silly, but it’ll still be silly tomorrow. I think it’s time for bed now.”
Owen nodded sadly. “Night night.”
Reid shot a look at Tara, and she nodded.
“Why don’t you let Mommy get you ready for bed, and I’ll come and say goodnight when you’re tucked in?”
He nodded again. “Night night.”
Tara got him ready for bed as quickly as she could and tucked him in. “Did you have a good time tonight?” she asked.
“Yes. Reid’s silly.”
She dropped a kiss on his forehead. “He is. He’s very nice.”
“Very nice. Kisses. Reid loves Mommy.”
Tara shook her head. That would be very nice, but it was hardly realistic. He was a wonderful guy, who was wonderful with her son—and who seemed rather attracted to her, but unlike Owen, she knew better than to think that a couple of kisses meant he loved her.
“Can Reid say night night?”
“I’ll go and get him.”
He was sitting on the sofa. For the first time, she realized how out of place he was here. Everything about him said he was wealthy; everything about her apartment said she wasn’t. She pushed that thought aside as he turned and smiled at her. “Is he okay?”
“Yeah, he’d like you to say goodnight.”
It was a weird feeling watching Reid sit on Owen’s bed.
“Are you coming tomorrow?”
Reid looked at her. She didn’t know what to say.
Owen looked at her, too.
“I’d like to,” said Reid.
That was all she needed to know. “Yes, then. We’ll see Reid tomorrow.”
Owen smiled. “Night night, Reid.”
“Night night, Owen.”
Reid made to get up.
“Kisses?”
Tara blinked back tears as Owen reached up to Reid, and he planted a kiss on the little guy’s forehead.
Owen placed his hands over Reid’s ears and held them so he could look straight into his eyes. “You’re silly,” he said, then lay back down and turned on his side, pulling his sheet up over his shoulder.
They went back out into the living room, and Tara closed the bedroom door. “Thank you.”
“It was my pleasure.”
“You taught me as much as you taught him. I usually do everything I can to make sure I get the pieces in the right place as quickly as possible, so he doesn’t get upset.”
He smiled. “And that’s what you’d think would be best. Except it just reinforces his need for everything to be in the right place. I wish the world worked that way, but since it doesn’t, it’s better to learn that it’s okay when things don’t go in the right place.” He made a face. “For people like Owen—and me—it’s never really okay, but if we can learn to accept it as silly and laugh when things aren’t right, then life gets a lot easier for us.”
She nodded. “I can see that now. I can’t thank you enough. Even if you leave here tonight and we never see you again, you’ve given us both a huge gift that will help him so much.”
He smiled and put his hands on her shoulders. “I do have to leave here tonight—even though I think you know I wish I could stay.”
Her tummy flipped over when he said that. She wished he could stay, too. The warmth from his hands on her shoulders was washing through her and seemed to be settling between her legs. The heat that was building there had her aching for him to stay, but he was right, he couldn’t.
“But I hate the thought of never seeing you again. Did you mean what you told Owen? Can I see you again tomorrow?”
“I’d love to.”
“So would I. Shall I come here? What time?”
“Whenever you like.” She didn’t know if he meant for dinner—or what.
“He chuckled. How early is too early?”
She shrugged.
“How about I come at nine? We can go out somewhere?”
“That sounds perfect.” She didn’t have any plans. She’d be more than happy to spend the day with him—and she knew Owen would too.
“Okay then. I’m going to leave while I can make myself go.” He rubbed his thumb over her cheek. “I want to kiss you, but I’ll never go if I do.”
She reached up and planted a peck on his lips. “That’s all I dare to do.”
“I’ll see you in the morning.”
She stood at the front door and watched him wait for the elevator.
“Goodnight, Tara,” he said before he stepped inside it.
“Goodnight, Reid.” She stood and watched the numbers above the elevator doors work their way down to the ground floor then went back in and locked her front door behind her. “Best night ever,” she murmured to herself.
Chapter Eight
“Do you want to go out for lunch?” They’d spent the morning at Tara’s apartment, playing with Owen and talking. It amazed Reid how easy she was to talk to. He’d learned a lot about her in the last few hours—she’d learned a lot about him, too.
Normally, he was content to let other people talk. With Tara, it was different. She asked him what he thought, how he saw the world. He was happy to tell her. He was comfortable with her, and that was unusual for him—especially with a woman he found so attractive.
“I could make us a sandwich,” she suggested.
“If you like—if that’s easier?”
She shook her head. “We could go out, too. If I’m honest, I just don’t know where to take you that would be up to your standards.”
He cocked his head to one side.
“We’ve both been avoiding mentioning it, but we obviously live very different lives.”
He knew what she meant. She meant financially. “Maybe so, but that doesn’t mean we’re different people. I’m happy to go wherever you’d usually go—wherever Owen feels comfortable.”
She shrugged. “We don’t often go anywhere. We’ll risk the coffee shop sometimes, but that’s about it.”
“Let’s go to the coffee shop then.”
Owen clung to Reid’s hand as they walked the few blocks. It made him happy. He and Owen had made an immediate connection in the same way he and Tara had. Reid knew it surprised her, but it didn’t surprise him. He and Owen were much more similar than she realized.
He smiled when they turned the corner and he spotted the coffee shop. “That’s Spider’s place.”
“You know it?”
He nodded. “I’ve only been here once, but I know Spider. He helps run the center. He and Grace have been friends for years.”
She smiled. “I like that our worlds have at least some common ground.”
“I think we have a lot more common ground than you realize, and we’ll keep discovering more all the time.”
She nodded, but she didn’t look happy.
“Did I say something wrong?”
“No. You’re probably right. I just don’t see …” She shrugged. “It doesn’t matter.”
“It does. Something’s bothering you, and I’d like to know what.”
“I just … I like you. Owen likes you. This is great. But I have to be realistic. You’re here for a week. You say you’ll be coming back, but I have to think about Owen. The more time we spend with you, the more upset he’s going to be when you leave.”
“I know.” He’d already given some thought to that. He knew that he shouldn’t get involved with the little guy if he didn’t plan to stay involved. The way he felt right now, he’d love to stay involved in their lives forever. But he knew that if he told her that it’d freak her out, and realistically, he’d need to spend more time with her before he knew for certain. He held the door open for her and Owen to enter the coffee shop ahead of him.