“I want you. You’re on my mind every minute of the day. I even dream about you.”
She curled into him with relief. “That’s how I’ve been ever since we met. I swear, if the kids weren’t around, we’d be in trouble ‘cause we’d never get out of bed to eat.”
“Other than the kids, there’s nothing keeping us apart,” Harry said, a note of wonder in his voice.
“You’re forgetting something. You have to break it off with your twelve women. Would a mass-mailing be too insensitive? I’ll pay the postage.”
“Break it off? I can’t do that.”
“Yes, you can. You said I’m on your mind every minute of the day. You even dream about me.”
“That’s true, but I can’t give up my Lucky Twelve. They’ve been loyal to me, some of them for years.”
“You actually call them your Lucky Twelve?”
“No, of course not. I think you turned the phrase, and it sounded appropriate. Maybe we could let them graduate out naturally.”
“Graduate out,” she snorted, “like you offer them an education on relationships?”
“I hadn’t thought about that, but it fits.”
“I don’t think so. The only education they get on relationships from you is how to survive a bad one.”
“How can you say that after the wonderful lovemaking we shared?”
“Harry! We couldn’t even complete our pseudo-lovemaking because we didn’t have birth control—or should I say disease control? That would be more like it, with all the women you sleep with. To me that’s not lovemaking. That’s pure and simple sex.”
His chin went up. “What’s wrong with good old fashioned sex?”
“You mean like pirates on the open seas, marauding and ransacking?”
“Damn, you have an answer for everything. I can never win.”
She patted his face. “That’s because you’re wrong.”
He pouted for a minute. “Does that mean you don’t love me anymore?”
“No, of course not. I can’t help loving you, but I don’t like your lifestyle very much.” She laughed without mirth. “Very much? I don’t like it at all.”
“I may as well go to bed.”
“Yes, you may as well. That way you can get up early and shovel your way out. And then you can be gone, back to your woman of the week. She missed a day already for the quarter. Do you stay through Saturday in that case?”
“Stop teasing.”
“I’m not teasing. I can’t love someone I can’t respect, and your lifestyle turns me off … It makes me sick because you’re such a nice man. You could make someone a wonderful husband and father.”
“That’s never going to happen so I’ll just leave right now.”
“Good. The sooner the better.”
“I agree.”
He grabbed his clothes and shoes and left the room.
As annoyed as she was with him, she watched his nicely curving butt exit the dining room door, muscles rippling with indignation. She scurried out to the wide hallway, hoping for a last glimpse of his front when he started up the stairway.
Tara suddenly realized she still wore only a bra. He could at least have found her panties for her.
She gathered her clothes and dressed, then carried the dishes and leftovers into the kitchen, remembering the erotic sensations Harry had introduced her to … scattering kisses on her toes, blowing his warm breath on the back of her knees, kissing his way up her thigh … all the while she craved fulfillment. She wanted more.
Harry hurried through the kitchen, glared at her on his way to the garage. He was dressed for cold weather. It seemed he meant it when he said he couldn’t wait to get away from her.
She put away the leftover food, filled the dishwasher and wiped all the counters. Still agitated with restless energy, she swept the tile floor, checked the kids and dog upstairs and the rabbit in the laundry room. He gave her the creeps tonight the way he watched her, as if he knew what was going on with her and Harry. Would a rabbit disdain sex?
Hardly!
Well, hell, she wouldn’t be able to sleep anytime soon. She may as well go out and help him shovel. Her boots and ski jacket were in the laundry room, along with gloves and hat and she was soon dressed and opening the outside door.
Freezing rain greeted her. Over the top of the snow, the icy glaze turned everything into a crystal wonderland. “How beautiful!” she said.
Her comment must have surprised Harry because his feet went out from under him and he landed on his back with a thud. His curse reverberated through half the neighborhood, disturbing the peace.
“Did you hurt yourself?”
“I think I broke my pelvis.”
“That’ll put a crimp in your love life.” She couldn’t help laughing. She walked over to where he still lay and looked down on him. “Poor boy. Do you need a hand up?”
As she leaned down to help, he slapped his arm against her foot and that quick she was on her back next to him.
Apparently his mood had improved because he laughed until he held his sides.
“Very funny,” she said. She grabbed a handful of slush and rubbed his face. “Now who’s laughing?”
He was on top of her before she could protest, his hands pulling at the zipper of her coat, under her sweater, inside her pants. His gloves were ice cold and tickled her and she laughed until tears came to her eyes. “Stop, stop,” she pleaded.
He sobered. “I take it you don’t like my technique.”
“You need to work on it a little.” She carefully stood up. “Don’t forget the gross of rubbers in your car. Tomorrow’s Valentine’s Day. Maybe you’ll get lucky.”
He waggled her eyebrows at her. Incredible how they fought, loved, swore not to have anything to do to each other ever again, and two minutes later they not only made up, but were in each other’s arms again. It was like they were caught in the middle of a magical spell.
Valentine’s Day dawned clear and bitter cold. “Colder than a witch’s tit,” Harry pronounced.
All four kids giggled and repeated Harry’s phrase, “Colder than a witch’s tit!”
“That’s enough,” Tara warned and turned her back to hide her smile.
“You got that from Bunny,” Erica accused him.
“How in the world could he get a saying from a bunny?” Tara asked.
“Whoops, sorry,” Harry said in earnest. “I’m not used to being around kids that often.”
“None of your women of the week have children?”
“No way. I don’t get involved with anyone with children. It’s not my scene.”
“You seem to be holding your own the past few days.”
“They’re good kids, like little adults.”
“Be careful with the compliments. They’ll get big heads. By the way, kiddlings … is it time to water your plants yet? Are they still alive?”
“Of course,” Kevin said. “We check them daily. The sun hasn’t cooperated since we brought them home. Go figure. Just when we need sunshine, it disappears.”
“That’s the way of the world,” Harry agreed. “Life sucks.”
“Harry, mind your mouth! You can’t talk like that in front of kids. You’re demonstrating a negative attitude.”
“What did I say?”
“Life sucks!” the older kids chimed in, breaking into giggles. Tiffany and Erica glared at them since they didn’t understand the joke.
“See?” Tara glared at him. “What were we talking about? Oh yeah, the plants.”
“We should have bought heat lamps when we were at the florist,” Erica said. “We need fertilizer, too, and bug spray and … what was other stuff Lindsey recommended?”
“We’ll ask her when we stop back, maybe tomorrow. The florist shop will be mobbed today. I’m sure the plants will survive another day.”
“They better,” Kimmy said, “You paid a fortune for those plants. Dad’s going to be hoppin’ mad.”
“Hey, silly girl, your dad
would spend his last penny if he knew you wanted something, ‘cause that’s how much he loves you. As it is, I paid for those plants by myself, ‘cause I love you and your sister, and your cousins, so your dad has no business worrying about the cost. And you can tell him I said that.”
Harry looked confused.
“I will if the subject comes up,” Kimmy said. “Maybe even if the subject doesn’t come up.”
“Ooh,” Tara cooed.
“We need to get ready for school,” Kevin reminded her.
“Ah, gee. Bad news. School is closed again today due to inclement weather. No school today!”
Everyone cheered, whether they were due at school or not—everyone but Kevin.
“You’re kidding!” Kevin said with alarm. “They can’t do this to me. I’ve been stuck here at home for three days, and they deny me my God-given education?”
“I’m sure you’ll catch up an hour after you return to school, most likely tomorrow.” Tara said. “Deal with it.”
“It’s not fair.”
“Life isn’t always fair. Like I said, deal with it.”
“Now who’s being negative?” Harry asked.
The six-year-old sighed heavily.
Harry poked her with his elbow. “Is he for real?”
She nodded reluctantly. “Unfortunately. I know it’s not normal, but then that’s Kevin. You know how families are, you take what you get. Sometimes they turn out to be geniuses.”
Harry nodded, satisfied with the answer.
Ten
Unfortunately, Harry didn’t have the luxury of skipping work another day. He commandeered the den as his office for the morning since Tara was in the office finishing her illustrations. He set up his laptop and cell phone and started calling the accounts which were scheduled for him to call on for Monday and Tuesday. Even if he left for Springfield now, which was impossible, he’d never catch up this week. In addition to the phone calls, he’d stop in at his biggest accounts later in the week. They were his bread and butter.
His approach was always similar: ask about the kids by name or the golfing or whatever was most important in the contact’s life and tell a joke. He named all his jokes and always kept track of which one he told where. Then it was down to business, what problems were they having, how the equipment was working, what their needs were for the future. And he listened, that was his biggest asset, listening to what the clients told him.
Funny how that technique didn’t work with Tara. An image popped into his mind at the thought of her, naked on the dining room floor, his mouth sucking her sweet nectar from within her. He shifted in his chair to accommodate his sudden erection. He pushed her image away as his call went through.
“Yeah, I heard you got a little snow in Chicago,” everyone teased when they heard where he was stranded.
Early afternoon, before he quit for the day, Harry called Sybil, his Lucky Lady for the week. “Harry, I’ve been so worried about you! Why didn’t you call me sooner?
“I’ve been snowbound, and you know how weather can interfere with cell phones.” It wasn’t a lie, necessarily, except he could have called earlier if he’d remembered.
“I miss you. When will you get here?”
“I’m not sure I’ll make it this time around.”
“But you still have to service your accounts.” Her emphasis on ‘service’ showed him where her mind was. “Won’t you be here next week?”
“I don’t think I’ll make it this quarter at all, but I’ll keep in touch, and of course, if you need anything, call me.”
“Oh, I need something, all right.”
“What’s that?”
“Harry, is something wrong? I meant sex. You’re not acting like yourself.”
“That sounds … interesting.”
“Too bad you’re not here. I’m in my office with the door closed and I’m wearing those red string bikini panties today. Remember you wanted to rip them off me last time you were here?”
Harry cleared his throat. “I remember. Isn’t that the pair that matches the bra, the one with the nipples cut out?”
“One and the same.”
He should buy Tara a set like that. That quick, he had to adjust his crotch again. Not that either of them needed extra stimulus when they were together.
“Harry, are you still listening? Are you still there? Harry?”
“I’m still here.” He glanced toward the door to find Kevin standing there. How much of the conversation had he heard? “I have to go. I’ll be in touch.”
Thank goodness he didn’t engage in phone sex in earnest on his side of the call or Kevin would have probably reported the behavior to Tara.
“Do you need something?” Harry asked the boy.
“We have a problem. We’re out of fresh fruit and vegetables. We need to go to the store.”
“Where did it all go? The refrigerator was stuffed full on Saturday when I came here. There’s only six of us in the house. No way could we have devoured all that produce in three days,”
“That was before the rabbit arrived.”
“How much can a rabbit eat in three days?”
“You’d be surprised.”
“No way.” Harry envisioned the compact furry bunny that lived in the laundry room. “There must have been twenty times his weight in the fridge in fresh vegetables alone.”
“Probably, in bunny form, but when he morphs into human form, he has an appetite that doesn’t quit.”
“Whoa, wait a minute. What are you talking about, changing into human form?”
Kevin nodded, convincing Harry that the child believed the incredible story he told. “He’s a changeling,” Kevin said. “Sometimes rabbit, sometimes human, or like a cartoon character, apparently at will.”
“I don’t believe you.”
“I’ve seen him change, He’s the Easter Bunny! He can do whatever he pleases, take whatever form he wishes. He’s magical!”
“There is no such thing as magic. You’ve read too many Harry Potter books, or whatever Tara calls her fairy tales.”
Kevin shook his head, just like his mother, as stubborn in his beliefs as Tara.
“Where is the rabbit? I’ll straighten him out. He won’t dare attempt to change in my presence or I’ll wring his neck.”
The bunny must have heard them or sensed danger, because he made a break for the street the minute the door opened. He was in cartoon human form, and Harry realized Kevin spoke the truth. People, characters, whatever, really could appear in alternate forms, even one Harry was unfamiliar with. He yelled out, “Bunny, come back!”
The skittish rabbit ignored him, running into the street at exactly the same time a county salt truck went by. Rabbit never had a chance. The salt truck flattened him. Literally.
Harry and the kids rushed to the scene and observed the carnage. The bunny—which had switched to animal form—lay in the snow-covered street.
No sign of hope.
“He’s dead,” Kevin pronounced, his eyes round with disbelief.
“He can’t be dead,” Erica sobbed. “He’s the Easter Bunny!”
“You killed him,” Kimmy accused Harry.
“I didn’t do it on purpose.”
Tiffany spoke up, “Does this mean we don’t get any chocolate for Valentine’s Day?”
“Ah duh,” Erica confirmed.
“It wasn’t our fault,” Erica said, sniffling.
“No, it was Harry’s,” Kevin confirmed. “Harry killed the Easter Bunny. Should I go get Tara? Maybe she can help.”
“Wait,” Harry said. “I have a machine in my trunk. I might be able to save him yet.”
Thank goodness he had keys in his pocket. His hands shaking with the emergency, he pulled the defibrillator from the trunk. He looked around for an outlet, and Kevin yelled, “There’s an outlet on the light post.” He pointed to the corner of the drive.
Harry knew the human’s charge would kill the little rabbit, so he switched the machine to the lowest
possible setting. He rubbed the paddles together, touched the paddles to the white fur and said, “Clear,” just like on ER. The rabbit jumped involuntarily, then lay still. “Once more,” Harry warned. “Clear!”
Renewed life ripped into the rabbit, and he sat up. Looking around him as if disoriented, he shook his head, making his ears flop, hopped once, twice, then headed toward the driveway.
“You saved him,” one of the girls said. “You saved the Easter Bunny!”
“Not hardly,” Harry protested. “It was my fault he ran out into traffic.”
“Yeah, but you brought him back.”
They all cheered, and if they’d been older and stronger, they would have carried their hero through the streets of downtown Chicago on their shoulders. They settled with swinging linked-hands up the driveway.
“Do you think we can get one of the cars out so we can offer fresh fruit and vegetables for Rabbit’s dinner?” Tara asked later. “I don’t think he’d like frozen veggies.”
“Absolutely,” Harry agreed. “Anything for the Easter Bunny.”
The roses began arriving mid-afternoon while Harry and the kids were at the grocery store. The florist truck stopped with a dozen-dozen roses, each dozen in separate boxes. Tara ran out of vases immediately. There were only six in the house. She called the florist for emergency vases.
“When did you order these?” she demanded at Harry on his return.
“The same day I met you. Remember I went back inside to complete my order? I asked them to change all twelve orders to your address.”
“You knew we’d be together for Valentine’s Day even them?”
“You bet’cha.”
“One dozen would have been adequate. Two dozen would have blown me away. Instead, you sent twelve. I don’t know what to do with them all.”
“We’ll find something,” he promised, wiggling his brow. If they didn’t have thorns, she would have expected to find them between her sheets tonight. Maybe Harry would take the time to pluck all the petals off their stems. It sounded kind of kinky, warm bodies on soft, fragrant petals. She distributed the six vases of long stemmed roses to different rooms in the house, family room, her bedroom, Erica and Kim’s room, the nursery for Tiffany, Kevin’s bedroom and the guest room so Harry could benefit from his largess—if he stayed. When the florist delivered the extra vases later, she’d cover the rest of the downstairs rooms.
Stupid Cupid Page 27