One Last Chance_A Small-Town Romance

by Nancy Stopper

  “Oh, Sawyer. We might not have planned this from the beginning, but you offered me something I would never have gotten at a shelter. A familiar face, your strength, and your caring. Who else would have held me while I slept to keep the nightmares away? I couldn’t have survived those early days without you.

  “But I started healing. I’m doing better now than I have been in a very long time, probably since before I started dating Shane. If I wanted to, I could leave anytime, because you gave me a safe place to find the strength.”

  A sharp pain shot through his heart. She couldn’t leave. Not now. What would he do if her smile wasn’t the first thing he saw when he walked in the door at the end of each day? He loved her off-key singing when she showered. And he’d be more than happy to grit his teeth through some of her less-than-edible meals to ensure she stayed. But he’d give up everything if leaving helped her retake her power, helped her find her place in the world, become whole again. Hell, he’d pack the boxes himself.

  She cupped his cheeks. “Silly man, I wish you could see the look on your face. I think you paled three shades. I hadn’t finished. If I wanted to leave, I would. I’ve been strong enough to leave for a while now. I stay because I choose to. For the first time in a long time, I’m making the decision I want to make. And I choose you.”

  His heart exploded. He had to kiss her, to show her in actions what he couldn’t say in words. His lips brushed over hers, her tongue darting out, tangling with his. Her musky flavor slid across both their tongues. That she welcomed him so openly had his cock twitching.

  She chuckled and cupped him through his boxers. “I think someone’s feeling neglected.”

  He sucked in a huge breath. A few more strokes and he’d tumble over the edge. He leaned back as her strong, confident hands caressed his body.

  She stroked him and then yanked the waistband of his boxers down. He sprang into her hand, the cool air blowing over his hot flesh. She slid her hand down, gently at first, her palm cupping him as she moved her hand. Then her fingers wrapped around him and squeezed him tighter. Heat poured off his body as he gritted his teeth so he wouldn’t come. Her movements grew more deliberate, her hand gripping each time she twisted around him. She applied pressure to the underside of his cock.

  Holy shit. He clawed at the cushion. “Oh, God,” he moaned. “Rachel, honey, that feels so good. You gotta stop or I’m gonna come.”

  She ignored his pleas. Her hand was warm and soft around his velvet skin, her muscles strong as she gripped him. She smoothed her thumb over the tip, around the crown, and slid down again.

  “Enough.” As much as he loved her hands on him, loved seeing the confidence in her eyes, he needed to be inside her. He shoved her back, donned the condom and slid home.

  Her body stretched to welcome him and wrapped around him when he was fully inside her. Joined completely. He slid out and cool air blew over his cock. He brushed himself over her clit and thrust again. Her hips rose to meet him, her motions matching his. Her chest heaved and her moans came faster.

  Each time he drove into her, his groin tightened and her channel clenched him. “That feels so good. I’m not going to last long.”

  She wrapped her legs around his hips. “Let go. I want to feel you.”

  He couldn’t stop if he tried. He plunged in and out until she gripped so tight he couldn’t move. She squeezed and pulsed around him and moaned from deep in her gut. The pressure, the pleasure of having her surrounding him, drove him the rest of the way. Two more thrusts and they tumbled over the edge together.

  Chapter Twenty-Four

  “HONEY, IT’S GOING to be fine. Sit down and relax a minute.”

  How could Rachel relax? Dinner wasn’t finished and the dog’s fur was all over the floor... and was that grease streaked on the counter? Her parents were going to be here in less than an hour. This was no time to relax. “I can’t. After everything we’ve been through, I don’t know how to act around them anymore.”

  Sawyer cupped her shoulders.

  Her muscles were tight, and her neck was stiff to the point that pain had settled right behind her eyes. Great, now she was getting a headache. If she shifted a little to the right, maybe she could wrangle a massage out of Sawyer before she had to face Mom and Dad.

  “Sure you do. You just need to relax. They’re your folks. They love you.”

  “Yeah, but what will they think about us dating?”

  “You think they don’t at least suspect?”

  True. Mom and Dad weren’t clueless. They’d seen him at dinner stroking her leg and holding her hand. He was the only person who’d stayed to talk about her birth certificate. If that didn’t give her parents a big hint of what Sawyer meant to her, nothing would.

  What if they didn’t like her jumping into another relationship so soon after Shane? Although her parents might be concerned, Shane was a lifetime ago. Besides, Sawyer wasn’t someone new. Not really. Her parents knew him, had invited him into their home dozens of times. They’d grown up together, and she’d crushed on him long before Shane was even in the picture. Instead of something new, their relationship was more like something that started a long time ago and only recently resumed. But none of that would matter if she had a nervous breakdown before Mom and Dad showed up. “I don’t know. I guess I want everything to be perfect.”

  “And it will. The grill’s heating up, the potatoes are in the oven, and so is the casserole. I’ll throw the steaks on when they pull in the driveway. That’ll give us a few minutes to visit before we eat.”

  He was always taking care of her, talking her down when her mind raced. She kissed him gratefully. They didn’t have time for anything else. If she had her way, though, they’d lock the door, burn the dinner, and spend the afternoon in bed.

  But the old Rachel hid from real life. This Rachel was going to confront the situation head on… as long as she didn’t have a heart attack first. “Thank you so much for doing this. I’m sorry I’m being so neurotic.”

  “You’re not.” He tapped her nose. “Well, maybe a little.”

  She swatted at him. “Very funny. Keep that up and someone will be sleeping alone tonight.”

  It was an idle threat, and he knew it. They shared a bed every night now. She hadn’t had another nightmare, but each night, he climbed in beside her anyway. She could talk to Sawyer in a way she never could with Shane. An excellent listener, he didn’t say much himself, when he did, he’d add a thoughtful perception that made her really think.

  He was still pretty tight lipped about his time in Afghanistan. Each time she asked, he’d kiss her or deflect her toward another topic. There was something bothering him and he wouldn’t share it with her. How could they have a truly honest relationship if he wouldn’t talk to her? If he didn’t trust her enough with his troubles?

  The words I love you had been stuck in her throat for a while now and she couldn’t force them out. She’d said those words to Shane, and look what it got her. Sawyer would never hit her, she knew that. But Sawyer hadn’t said them, either. Still, love was in his touch, strokes, and when they made love. His body shared what his words didn’t. Maybe the words weren’t required.

  “I find that hard to believe… I’m not the only one enjoying being in the same bed.” He’d lowered his voice to the sexy, raspy sound he reserved for between the sheets, the one that scraped over her nerves and drove her out of her mind.

  “Just wait and see,” she said over her shoulder as she headed into the living room.

  Car doors slammed outside. “They’re here, Sawyer. They’re here.” She spun toward the kitchen, only to find Sawyer right behind her.

  “It’ll be fine. They love you. Remember that.”

  “I don’t know why I’m so nervous. We’ve had dinner together tons of times.”

  The doorbell rang a moment later, and she opened the door to her parents.

  Dad hugged her. Sawyer was right. Nothing had changed. She was still Daddy’s little girl and he was st
ill Daddy, even though she was a grown woman. “You look great, honey,” Dad said.

  “Thanks, Daddy.”

  He gestured to Mom. “Your mother brought her famous lemon pie.”

  Mom thrust the dessert at Dad. “Can you take this so I can hug her properly?”

  Rachel had lost so much time with her parents. If only she’d asked about the birth certificate when she’d first found the damn thing, she could’ve avoided the mess she’d made. As Dr. James said, however, Rachel couldn’t do anything about the past, but she could make big changes in her future, starting right now.

  Mom swiped at her tears, crying at the drop of a hat as she always did. Rachel inherited this pesky trait from Mom, as evidenced by the tears prickling behind her eyes.

  “Something smells delicious.”

  Rachel may have inherited Mom’s tendency to cry, but not her knack in the kitchen. Perhaps Rachel could ask for some tips or spend some time learning how to make some of her favorite dishes, and even some of Sawyer’s. “I think Sawyer just threw the steaks on the grill.”

  “Sounds wonderful, honey. Why don’t we sit and chat while the men tend to dinner?”

  Great. Sawyer could get her Dad out of the way, and Rachel could talk about a few things with Mom. Issues Rachel couldn’t bring up in front of Dad because her questions would reopen old wounds Dad had clearly sealed after Mom’s affair. It wasn’t fair to him to keep subjecting him to Rachel’s incessant prodding.

  “Mr. Bennett, can I offer you a beer?” Sawyer asked.

  “Sounds great.”

  Her father headed to the deck after sliding Mom’s pie onto the counter, Sawyer on his heels, leaving Rachel and Mom alone in the kitchen. Rachel grabbed a hot pad and peeked in the oven. Everything looked fine, just like five minutes earlier. She closed the oven door and shifted the canisters on the counter, brushing a few grains of sugar into her hands. She stroked her finger down the familiar Lenox village canister that had been Sawyer’s grandmother’s.

  She placed her hand over her heart. That man. His grandmother had probably baked him cookies after school, checked his homework every night, tucked him into bed as lovingly as any mother or father would. Then his grandmother had died while he was away. He’d stood stoic at her funeral, but his knitted brows and tight jaw had hinted at his insides ready to burst. If only they’d been together then, Rachel could have been by his side and held his hand.

  “Honey, sit for a while.”

  How did Mom stay so calm all the time? Rachel rubbed her hands on her arms but moved to the table. She slid into the chair and picked at some dried soup on the tablecloth. Mom’s hand stretched across the table and covered Rachel’s. The familiar gesture had irked her as a teen, when she was too cool to actually talk to her parents.

  “Talk to me. Tell me what you’re thinking.”

  She bit her lip. Maybe she could try and take this small step. “Will you tell me about him?”

  “Who?”

  “My biological father.”

  “Oh, honey, why? Your father and I worked through this a long time ago. Bringing it up now will be too painful for him. I’d hate to see him go through that.”

  “That’s why we’re not having this conversation in front of him. I know it’s not easy, but I have to know.”

  Mom sighed and wrung her hands. “All right. But please don’t bring this up in front of your dad… Your biological father was a lovely man. A little older than me. He was tall and had soft brown hair and deep eyes. His voice was quiet, deep but gentle. During that time, your father and I had stopped talking to each other. He was working so many hours and we were both stressed about finances and raising you kids right. Typical things most parents go through. But I couldn’t discuss my concerns with him because he was never there. Your Dad was so worried about money that he worked all the time. I couldn’t take it anymore. I figured he came around so little that we shouldn’t bother with the marriage anymore. Dad moved to an apartment here in town.”

  Rachel rested her head on her hands. To listen to Mom, who always appeared to master any task in front of her, open up about her struggles gave Rachel hope.

  “This man took me away from all of that. Instead of working on my marriage, I looked toward this other man. I will regret turning away from your father for the rest of my life. But I have never and will never regret you. I hope you know that.”

  “I do… now. For a long time, I didn’t. Finding that birth certificate changed everything. I wasn’t a Bennett. I convinced myself I had no true family and didn’t belong. I… wanted to hurt you, make everyone feel the same pain that was tearing me apart. It didn’t seem fair to me that I was the only one suffering.”

  Mom flinched.

  “I don’t feel that way anymore, remember? I was wrong. Others were suffering, and I was too caught up in my own business to notice. Like Lucas…” Rachel hung her head. “My big brother needed me to help him through his grief over Shawn and I wasn’t there. And Joey…I didn’t realize until he met Brittany how lonely he was.”

  Mom covered Rachel’s hand. “You had your own struggles to deal with. Your brothers know that, even if they didn’t understand the why.”

  “When I look in the mirror, I wonder what parts of him I’m looking at. Do I have his eyes? His mouth? His temperament?”

  “Your biological father?”

  “Yeah.”

  “I understand, I really do, but will knowing more about him make a difference? You’re still my daughter. Your father’s daughter. Your brothers’ sister. You’re a member of the family and that will never change.”

  Rachel picked at her broken nail. How would Mom react if Michael found Rachel’s biological father? Maybe she’d keep this between herself and Michael for now. Finding this man could cause more trouble, and she’d worked hard to reconnect with her family. But, those unanswered questions gnawed at her. “Do you know anything about his family?”

  “No, I don’t, honey. He was married but he and his wife were having troubles, too. He knew I was separated. When I met him, he was living near Philly. That’s all I know.

  Hmm, at least Rachel had a location to give Michael now. A place to start.

  “How many, um… how long…”

  “How long were we together, you mean?”

  Mom always talked about everything so easily. Maybe this mystery man had croaked out every word the way Rachel did. “Yeah.”

  “A very short time. We drank wine and we talked about art… music… politics. We forgot about our troubles at home and remembered what it was like to be young again. For a little while, I wasn’t a wife, mother, or homemaker, I was a sexy, intriguing woman. And he was a handsome, mysterious man.”

  That sounded familiar. Sawyer was a handsome, mysterious man carefully guarding his secrets. They had a passionate relationship like Mom described.

  Mom raised her eyebrows and the corners of her mouth quirked into a smile. “Speaking of which, how about you tell me about your handsome man?”

  Rachel squirmed. Why couldn’t she be as comfortable as Mom dealing with tough subjects? This was her mother. If she couldn’t confide in her, then who? They should be able to have a conversation like adults.

  “He’s great. I mean, he really listens to me when I talk and we take Chloe for long walks together.” And he was a sensitive, caring, giving lover, but she refused to share that with Mom.

  Mom covered Rachel’s hand. “I can tell by the blush on your cheeks he’s that and more. I’m so happy for you. You deserve it. Especially after everything you’ve been through. I want to know… are you truly happy here? Because I don’t want you to feel trapped, thinking you don’t have anywhere else to go. You are always welcome at home, but if you aren’t comfortable there, we’ll help you find your own apartment. I want you to be happy and feel secure.”

  “Oh, Mom, that’s exactly what I feel… here. This relationship is completely different. I know I have options, but this is what I choose. At first, Sawyer offe
red me a safe place to stay, but it’s grown into something more. I’m here because I want to be here. I, uh, I think I love him.”

  “Of course you do, honey. It’s written all over your face. Sawyer is already like a member of our family. He’ll be a good friend and partner for you. I have no doubt. I’m so happy for you.”

  Chapter Twenty-Five

  SAWYER PINCHED THE tongs and flipped the steaks on the grill. Other than the usual small talk, Rachel’s father hadn’t said much. He kept his back to Sawyer while staring at the lawn. Twice, he’d looked back in Sawyer’s direction but then spun away. Maybe he had something to say but wasn’t sure how to put into words what was on his mind. Oh boy, could Sawyer ever relate.

  “Has she talked about, um, you know, since y’all came to dinner?”

  Damn, Mr. Bennett might not talk much, but when he did, he went for the jugular. No matter what, Sawyer wasn’t going to step into the middle of family issues. “Some. She’s doing really well, though.”

  “It seems so. I can’t say I know how she feels, but I do understand betrayal. When Evelyn confessed what happened, I about lost my mind. But she was my wife, and I loved her, and we already had the boys. In the end, Rachel was our daughter and part of our family. I didn’t care that I wasn’t her biological father. My wife, the love of my life, was her mother, and that was good enough for me. I hate that Rachel felt like an outsider for all of those years, but I confess, after three boys, I didn’t know what to do with a girl.”

  Was Sawyer supposed to respond? Maybe he should flip the steaks again, or season them, anything to avoid this conversation. He couldn’t relate to Matthew’s struggles. Sawyer didn’t have kids. He had a dog, and she listened when he needed to talk. A pat on the head, cuddles in bed, playing in the backyard, long walks, snoring together on the sofa, and some beefy treats kept Chloe happy. That was nothing like dealing with a daughter.