Winning Her Forever

by Harmony Evans

  “Baby, you taste delicious, and I’m just getting started.”

  “Go on,” she panted, running her fingers through his hair. “Please, Trent, don’t stop.”

  The swing squeaked every so often with his movements, heightening his excitement. He kept his pace steady as he sucked, taking his time, even though he wanted to devour her. He could tell that by the way she was squeezing her thighs together that she liked what he was doing, that she wanted more.

  He gave her nipple a final tug before coming up for air. Sonya’s eyes were closed, but she opened them as he pulled her back into her arms.

  “So what do you think? Maybe there is still some room in your heart for a simple guy like me?”

  Not to mention your bed. Although he had no problem waiting as long as it took to get there.

  “There’s no one special in my life right now. Maybe that will change. It’s too soon to tell.”

  He held up his hand as if he were about to take an oath. “No problem. Like I said, I’m a patient man.”

  “I promise I won’t make you wait too long,” she teased in a sultry tone. “Now can we get back to that kiss?”

  As he lowered his lips to hers, he realized he wasn’t going to breathe a word about Sonya’s property to anyone, least of all his brother.

  Trent wasn’t a superstitious man by any means, but he had a feeling that this woman could mean a lifetime of pleasure and happiness. He wasn’t about to screw things up just as they were beginning.

  Chapter 6

  Sonya pulled into the garage and stole a last look in the rearview mirror. She’d invited Trent over to take a look at the second floor and the attic. It was an extremely bold request, but her excuse, which was pretty lame, was that they hadn’t gotten around to it the other day.

  Too busy making out.

  It was funny how one little kiss, or a thousand of them, from a gorgeous man could change her whole outlook on life.

  She giggled as she fluffed her hair, which had been freshly washed, trimmed and curled to perfection.

  She’d spent most of her life concentrating on her appearance for the purposes of performance. After years of wearing her hair in a tight ballerina bun, it felt freeing to allow it to tumble forward around her face.

  She did now, mussing it up a bit, and checked the mirror again. She liked it better that way. Life wasn’t perfect—why should her hair be?

  “I can just be myself,” she declared to her reflection. “Messy hair and messed up feet and all!”

  Saying the words was easy, but she knew she was going through a period of adjustment, with only herself to rely upon to make it to the other side.

  Now that was a fact. She wasn’t going to leave her future, good or bad, up to a man to decide. Her mother had fallen into the trap and suffered greatly for it. She’d given up everything for a man who hadn’t appreciated her as much as she deserved.

  She’d died when Sonya was just nine years old. She’d never seen her daughter achieve her dreams, just as she’d never achieved her own.

  Sonya grabbed her leather tote bag out of the trunk and noticed the real-estate magazine inside. She’d read it in the salon, and the owner had allowed her to take it home.

  The eye-catching pictures and inspiring descriptions had captivated her. Near the beginning of the publication, there was a six-page advertisement for Waterson Builders, which had developments located in Bay Point and other nearby towns.

  According to an accompanying advertorial, Waterson homes were some of the most expensive and highly sought homes in the region. The company was rapidly expanding by acquiring more land in the area and other states.

  She pressed in her security code to close the garage door. As she made her way to the back door of the house, she saw her aunt sitting in one of the wicker chairs on the patio, reading the paper.

  “Hi. How long have you been waiting?”

  “Only about fifteen minutes,” she sighed. “It’s times like these when I wish I hadn’t given you back my keys.”

  “You could have kept on, Aunt Nelda.”

  “No, that’s all right.”

  “Have you had the locks changed?”

  “Not yet. It’s on my list.”

  “That’s the first thing you should do when you move into a new home.”

  “It’s not new, and besides, I’ve had the same keys for years.”

  “Then why didn’t you use them? Why didn’t you come home more often?”

  “We’ve been through this a million times, Auntie. When I decided to leave Bay Point and follow my dreams instead of Dad’s, that was it. I wasn’t welcome here, remember?”

  “My brother was so stubborn. Why did you even listen to him?”

  “Because he was my father, and that’s what I was taught to do.”

  “Sometimes, you can’t follow the rules,” Aunt Nelda said.

  Sonya was surprised to hear those words. Other than her love for the blues, her aunt seemed to be the most strait-laced person she’d ever known.

  She held open the screen door. “Won’t you come in and have some lunch? I made a turkey yesterday and I have tons left over.”

  Sonya had a love-hate relationship with Nelda Young, her father’s only sister. In her early sixties, she was a kind woman for the most part, but to Sonya, she was overbearing. Other than stiff joints and occasional back pain when she’d been on her feet too long, she was in good health.

  “Are you here to pick up your last box? I brought it downstairs for you, and I can put it in your car.”

  “No, those are just odds and ends that I can get anytime.”

  Sonya hid a smile. This was the third time Aunt Nelda had said she was coming over to get the box. When she arrived, she always had an excuse on why she couldn’t take it.

  Sonya figured the real reason was because leaving it gave her an excuse to drop in anytime unannounced. She was Nelda’s only niece and only living family member as far as she knew.

  “The real reason I stopped by is that I have something important to discuss with you.

  “As you know, when your father became older, he gave me power of attorney over all his affairs. And it was a good thing he did because quite frankly, you were too busy with your career to be bothered, and he knew that.”

  “Yes, and I agree, that was the right decision, at the time.”

  She’d hidden how hurt she had been that he hadn’t considered his own daughter for the responsibility. He’d completely left her out of everything.

  “And it worked for a while. He got stronger, but the pressure of everything he’d done right and, in his mind, wrong in his life weighed too heavily on his shoulders.”

  “What do you mean by wrong?” she asked.

  “In his last days, he told me he was sorry he’d treated you the way he had in the months before you left for college. But more than that, he was sorry for all the time he’d missed with you growing up, because he was so busy working and—”

  “Throwing all he worked for away by betting on sports?”

  Aunt Nelda nodded sadly. “He died a peaceful death, but it was one full of regrets.”

  Sonya had her own barrelful of regrets that she was trying to deal with on a daily basis. She should have been stronger and insisted on a relationship with her father.

  When she’d walked out the door ten years ago, he had been angry, but he’d been alive and well. Ten years later, he was dead, and there was nothing she could say or do to let him know that, despite everything that had happened between them, she loved him.

  “I appreciate you telling me, Auntie. But what was it that you needed to tell me today?”

  “We agreed that I would retain ownership of the house for six months after I moved into my apartment. Legalities aside, I want you think of this place as your own home, at least for now.”
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  “What do you mean, for now?”

  “I never told you this, because I didn’t want to upset you, but I used most of my savings to try and pay off your father’s gambling debts, and we still lost the jewelry store. I’m afraid we’re about to lose this place, too.”

  Sonya felt her face go slack with shock. “Lose our home. Are you sure?”

  “Yes, your father took out second and third mortgages, both of which have been in default for months. Both banks have called the loans, which means...”

  “They can foreclose.”

  “Exactly. There’s no way I can pay them off.”

  “No, I don’t expect you to. And if I’d known you were trying to save Daddy’s store, I don’t know if I would have let you.”

  “Don’t worry. I didn’t give it all away. I was able to purchase my apartment, and my investments are sound.”

  “What about you? You’re not really working right now.”

  “I put nearly all of my savings into the studio. I wish I would have known about the state of this place.”

  “You had to have known you couldn’t dance forever. The studio is important. It’s your nest egg for the future.”

  “Yes, but what good is it if I don’t have a nest to reside in?”

  “What can we do?”

  “I don’t want the bank to foreclose on the house, but our only choice to avoid it is to pay off the loan immediately.”

  Sonya felt torn. If this had happened ten years ago, she wouldn’t have fought it. But now, even though the house required a lot of repair, she was looking forward to the possibilities of doing something with it, of making the house her own.

  Being with Trent the other day had made the emotional pall that she always felt just being in the house nearly go away.

  “They can’t do that right away, can they?”

  “It depends on the bank. I’ve read some horror stories on the internet. By law, they have to keep us updated on the proceedings. But an auction can happen quicker than you might think.”

  “I think you and I just have to face facts. This home doesn’t belong to the Young family anymore. It belongs to the bank.”

  “It belongs to our family, even if it is just us two. And we can’t stop fighting for it.”

  Her aunt parted the curtains at the bay window in the kitchen. “It’s a shame that the only people who will ever enjoy this view is you. If we sold this home, and the land with it, the money would be more than enough to pay everything off, and I’d recoup my losses from the jewelry store.”

  “No, Aunt Nelda.”

  “Why not?” She pointed at the repair list on the refrigerator door. “How much money and how many years do you think it’s going to take to do all that on a dance teacher’s salary? Too long. Your mother knew that all too well.”

  “My mother didn’t care about the money she made. All she wanted to do was dance. That’s what made her happy. At least until Daddy convinced her that she was wrong.”

  “Regardless, what are you going to do with eight-hundred acres of land? Why, someone else might be interested in it and could do a lot more with it than you or I ever could.”

  She was already committed to Bay Point, because of her business, but not necessarily committed to her family’s homestead. Still, she couldn’t let it go yet.

  “We can’t sell. Don’t do anything yet, Aunt Nelda. Let me get some advice and talk to an attorney.”

  “I realize you grew up here, but I have power of attorney over your father’s affairs and I’m too old to deal with this anymore. If you want the house, this is going to have to be your fight, not mine.”

  * * *

  Trent pressed the button at Sonya’s front door and huffed out a deep breath at the church-bell chime.

  He tried to ignore a gnaw of disappointment that she wasn’t there to greet him. He hoped nothing was wrong.

  He shifted his feet from side to side while he waited. His mother had always claimed he was a fidgety child and that he could never sit still. As he got older, he realized she was right. He never wanted to stay in one place, or with one woman. The fact that he was here with a small rose plant cradled in his arms was a revelation.

  Besides the fact that she was a sensual kisser, Sonya already meant a great deal to him, for reasons he was excited to discover.

  The door opened a crack, and then wider; although there was a smile upon her face, her complexion was ashen. Something was wrong. She appeared downright ill.

  “Hello, Trent. It’s nice to see you again.”

  Her words seemed forced and stilted, the opposite of the teasing banter they’d shared just a few days earlier.

  He held up the rose plant. “I bought you this. I thought we could admire its beauty and yours over takeout from Lucy’s restaurant.”

  She took a step back, as if she were shocked by his gesture. “Do you have a sixth sense?”

  “No, I don’t think so. Why?”

  She pointed at the bag of food that he brought over. “Because I said I was going to cook you a meal, and I didn’t. I meant to, but I’ve been sitting in one spot since my aunt Nelda left, and that’s it. That’s all I’ve been doing.”

  She wrung her hands together as he led her over to the living room couch. He set the bag of food and the plant down on one of the end tables. Facing her, he saw that her eyes were red-rimmed from crying.

  “What’s wrong, Sonya? Please tell me so I can help you.”

  Her chin dropped to her chest. “Thanks, but I don’t think anyone can help me at this point.” She lifted her head. “And you know what’s the worst part? I told my aunt that I would take care of things, and I don’t have the slightest clue how I’m going to do it.”

  Trent saw her hands were trembling, and he folded them into his. “Why don’t you start at the beginning?”

  He listened patiently as Sonya told him about the state of her family’s financial affairs. He’d never met her aunt Nelda, and while she sounded like a pleasant woman, he wondered why she hadn’t insisted her brother give Sonya power of attorney.

  After hearing all the sordid details about her father’s gambling problems, he wasn’t surprised when she uttered the nightmare of all words for a homeowner, besides flood, fire and earthquake.

  “Foreclosure.”

  Sonya began to cry, and Trent sat back against the sofa cushions.

  “Aunt Nelda told me about the jewelry store. She told me she tried to save it, because she and my father had worked side by side to run the place for all those years. She thought she’d be able to take it over and run it herself. But my father was in too deep.”

  She nestled against his chest while he stroked her curls. He couldn’t remember a time when he’d held a woman in his arms when she was upset. He never got involved deeply enough to allow a situation like that to happen, nor did he care to involve himself in their problems.

  Sonya, on the other hand, was a woman he already respected. She was ambitious and independent, but not so much that she didn’t need a shoulder to cry on every once in a while.

  He gave her a kiss on the top of her head. “Why do you think your aunt didn’t tell you about the house? It seems like she would have had ample opportunity.”

  She dabbed at her eyes with her fingertips. “I didn’t really let either of them know about my plans.”

  “Why was that? Were you having second thoughts about coming home?”

  “I was confused about everything. I knew I wasn’t happy dancing anymore, but for a long time, I thought it was because I was overly tired from my demanding performance schedule.”

  She sat up and grabbed a tissue from the end table, then proceeded to wipe her eyes. “By the time I’d decided, it was too late. My father had passed away.”

  “Oh, honey, I’m so sorry.”

  “It makes me wonder wh
y am I even taking your class? Why should I bother, if we’re going to lose the house anyway?”

  He grinned. “So you can watch me put on a tool belt?”

  She poked him in the side of his ribs with her elbow, and seemed to be a little more cheerful. “Would you be upset if I dropped your class?”

  “Only if I couldn’t see you again.” His stomach growled loudly and Sonya giggled. “Why don’t we continue this conversation in the kitchen? I have jerk chicken sandwiches and sweet potato fries in that sack.”

  He brought the plant with him and set it in the middle of the table. “Welcome to your new home, little fella.”

  She took a couple of blue plates from the cupboard and handed them to him. “In case you haven’t noticed, my thumb is not green. Does it require much care?”

  “If you take care of it throughout the winter, you can plant it outside in the spring.”

  “I might not be here by then.”

  “You can come and live with me.”

  She gave him a deadpan look. “I’m serious, Trent.”

  “So am I, or I could build you the house of your dreams, if you’d let me.”

  “Thank you for the kind offer, Trent. But I’m going to stay right here as long as I can.”

  “Ever think about selling?”

  “I grew up in this house. My relationship with my mother was good, but she passed away when I was very young. My father tried to pick up the slack, but he was very busy with the jewelry store. He didn’t have much time for me, or for anyone else. My aunt did what she could, but I guess I grew up quickly, because I had no other choice. My father wanted me to be something I’m not. He wanted me to take over the jewelry store.”

  “My father wanted me to be like my brother, but I prefer to be outside slinging a hammer, no matter what the weather, than inside brokering land deals.

  “Besides, selling this house is not my decision to make, but even if it was, I don’t think I could do it.”

  “Why not?”

  The low hum of the refrigerator was the only sound in the room, and it seemed as though his whole life was swinging on the hinge of her answer.