A smile slowly grazed his face. “So, what do you want to do about it?”
Tiffany laughed. “If only I knew. I keep telling you, I’m damaged…” before she could get the words out he moved closer and his mouth touched hers. She slowly pulled away. “I don’t know if we…”
“Tiffany, you think too much.” He then wrapped his arms around her and pulled her closer; their mouths connected and as it deepened she felt his tongue slide across hers and she smiled. She didn’t know what their future would hold, but she knew in that moment she was right where she wanted to be.
___________________
Tiffany looked over at the man sleeping soundly next to her. She smiled to herself, just thinking about the night. It would go down in history as the first time she ever spent the night with a guy, and they only talked. His eyes opened and he grinned. “Last night was a lot of fun.” She had to laugh, she didn’t think any guy would ever be saying that when he didn’t get action. He pulled himself up and kissed her tenderly on the lips. “I could get used to this.”
She rolled out of bed and didn’t reply to his assumption. She didn’t want him to get his hopes up; she was still confused as to what would lie in their future. “I smell bacon.”
“If I know my grandma, she has a four course meal going on downstairs.”
“She didn’t have to go to the trouble.”
“In her eyes, I’m sure it was no bother.”
She closed her eyes when she caught his expression in the mirror. It was one of satisfaction and it pained her that last night could have been a fleeting moment. “Matt, about last night…” her voice was broken off when she heard a knock on the door.
“Knock knock.” His grandma opened the door and her eyes went straight to Matt who was still lying in bed, his lounge pants the only thing he was wearing. “I’m sorry; did I interrupt?” She giggled and then shook her head. “I am so happy to see you forfeited your individual rooms. I’m not a prude, I know…”
“Grandma, what were you saying?” Tiffany was relieved when she was cut off.
“Oh yeah; I made eggs, waffles, pancakes, bacon, sausage, and potatoes. That should give you plenty of choices.”
Tiffany shot a look at Matt and he smiled. “See, I told you.”
“Gee Mrs. Oswalt; you shouldn’t have gone through all the trouble.”
“Oh nonsense; it was no bother. I was glad to do it. Come downstairs before it gets too cold. The lord above and I don’t care what you look like at breakfast.” She winked as she walked out of the room.
“Your grandma is a hoot. I can’t believe she made so much.”
“I told you; she was probably just happy that we stayed and didn’t go to the hotel. Besides, what were you going to say before she got here?”
Tiffany shook her head; “It can wait.”
“If you’re sure it can wait; you heard her, let’s go.” He jumped out of bed and she led the way downstairs. She didn’t want to spoil the morning with her foul attitude.
“Hm…it smells great Mrs. Oswalt.”
“You know I was thinking; you don’t have to call me that.”
Tiffany stood back; “Okay; what should I call you?
“I was thinking you could call me grandma. It’s only a matter of time.” Tiffany nearly spit out her juice at her implication.
“Grandma; you’re making her uncomfortable.”
“I’m sorry dear; it’s just I can sense these things. Are you guys going to the dance tonight?”
“What dance?” Tiffany asked inquisitively.
“Is tonight the dance?”
“You know it’s the last Sunday in March.”
He nodded. “So, it is.”
“What dance?” Tiffany asked, trying to hold the conversation.
“Every March the town has a dance. It’s sort of a low down for the hoe down. However, I don’t think it would be the best idea if we went. After all, dad’s still not awake and I really don’t want to be too long away from his side. It’s held on the beach, pretty much in grandma’s backyard.”
“Yes it is and I don’t see any reason why you two can’t go and have fun. I mean, your dad wouldn’t want you forfeit a good time.”
“We don’t have to…” Tiffany started to argue. She didn’t think she could spend an evening dancing with him and keep her facade.
“We’ll see how dad’s doing. Then we’ll decide.”
Tiffany looked away. “Thank you for saying I could call you grandma; I would love that.”
She saw the pleased look on Matt’s face as he grabbed his breakfast. “Grandma; this looks great. I am so thankful you felt the need to feed an army today.”
She laughed; “I suppose I did go a bit overboard, but I’m happy to not have to eat alone.”
Tiffany felt sorry for the elderly lady as she grabbed some bacon. She knew what it was like to feel like you didn’t have any family around. Even when Matt’s dad wasn’t in the hospital, he didn’t live there. So, she was not used to having someone to cook for. Exactly the way Tiffany felt she was leading her life. The only difference was she didn’t know she was missing out; until now.
___________________
Matt watched Tiffany intently as they chattered at the breakfast table. He could imagine his life with her beside him, and a child across from them. It was a dream, but one that he could hope and pray for. When they finished their food they put the dishes in the sink; his grandma said she would do the dishes after they returned from church. Matt’s hand brushed over Tiffany’s and she pulled it away, dropping the dish in the sink. “Sorry.” She mumbled as their eyes met. “I…I…I have to go.”
She ran away from him and he turned to his grandma, who was staring at him. He shrugged and her smile turned into a frown. “Matt Oswalt, run after her.”
“She obviously doesn’t want to talk to me.” He gazed back in the direction she had taken off.
“You know, you can be pretty dumb sometimes.”
“Gee thanks.”
“You think you’re fooling me, but you’re not.”
“What? I don’t know what you’re babbling about.”
“Matt, I know that she’s not your girlfriend. I wasn’t born yesterday, but I know that you love her; there’s no denying that.”
“How did you know?”
“Call it intuition, but that’s not the point. The point is that you both are two people in love.”
“That’s where you’re wrong. She doesn’t love me; she may have had one moment of lapse, but it’s not love.”
“You are a foolish man. I see the way she looks at you. She may need a push, but once she gets a push she’ll fall. The main fact is that you are in love with her and you just let her leave, when she’s clearly upset. I’m leaving for church and I want you both there, in the pew beside me.”
He knew that she was right and he hated that. “Fine; I’ll go talk to her. Are you happy now?”
“I suppose so.” He shook his head as he left the kitchen. When he got upstairs, her door was closed.
He took a deep breath before knocking. “Tiffany, can I come in?” He thought he heard a faint sniffle, but he hoped that he was mistaken. “I’m not going anywhere, so you might want to just let me in. It will be easier on both of us.”
He let out a sigh of relief when she opened the door. “What do you want?” He saw the red eyes and he pulled her to him. “Leave me be!”
She tried to pull away, but he continued to hold onto her. “Why did you leave back there? I thought we were having a good time?”
“We were and that’s the problem.” She pushed him away and sat down on the bed. “It feels nice to have a family, some people that love you and want nothing in return. I never had that and being downstairs with you and your grandma, it made me miss something that I never had. How is that possible?”
“It’s love Tiffany. Everyone needs that. You’re no exception.”
“I didn’t use to.”
He nodded; �
��I know and that scares you, but it shouldn’t. Look at me.” When she didn’t face him, he lifted her chin so that she stared into his eyes. “I love you Tiffany and I don’t want you to run from that.” He leaned down and kissed her. Her body softened against him as her hands ran through his hair. She sighed slightly as the kiss slowly came to an end. “Can we just relish in this fact?” She smiled and he grabbed her hand. “Now, we have a church service to attend and I don’t want to disappoint my grandma. Do you?”
“I wouldn’t want to do that.” He kissed her briefly and they left the room. He was glad he finally said the words to her; he could wait until she felt the same.
Chapter 13
“How did you like the service?” Matt asked Tiffany as they left the small church.
“I loved it. I’ve never been to a church that only has about 50 people.”
He laughed. “I’m sure you haven’t, seeing that you have lived in New York City your whole life. Shoshoni only has about 700 people in the whole town, I’m sure you have more than that in the church you go to.”
“You would be correct.”
“I’m so happy you two decided to join us for service.”
“Grandma, we wouldn’t have missed it.”
“I’m going to head to the hospital. Are you going to join me?”
“After bit; I have a promise to keep Tiffany.”
She shrugged and walked away. Tiffany just stared at him. “What promise is that?”
“I thought we could go to Charlie’s Chicken Grill. That is if you would want to?”
“That sounds good.” He leaned in and kissed her; Tiffany allowed the kiss to linger; she was finding it more difficult to deny that she wanted a relationship with him.
“Let’s go; you won’t regret it.”
They got in his car and went the short distance to the restaurant. It was the one good thing about living in a small town; it didn’t take long to get to any one place. He was being the gentleman that Tiffany always knew he was. As they ordered their food and ate, she felt like she was really on a date. The conversation flowed smoothly and they never seemed to run out of things to say. She didn’t remember laughing so much and it made her feel good about them having a relationship. “You make me laugh.” She spoke quietly as the food came to the table.
“I’m glad, then why the weird expression?”
“I don’t know; I guess I expected a relationship to be more difficult.”
“So, are you saying…we are?”
She laughed at his hopeful expression. “I’m saying that I think things are going in the right direction, but for this to work…”
She was interrupted by Matt’s phone ringing. “Sorry!” He whispered. “Hello?” She looked away as he continued his conversation. “What? We’ll be right there.” He disconnected the call and threw down some money.
“What’s going on?” Tiffany was startled, by his change of mood.
“It’s my dad; he woke up.”
___________________
Matt’s heart was beating heavy in his chest as he held Tiffany’s hand and they raced through the hospital. “This is it.” Tiffany spoke quietly as they rushed into the room.
His dad was sitting on the bed, laughing with the nurse and grandma and besides the bruises and scars, you could barely tell anything was wrong. When he looked at Matt he smiled and motioned for him to come near the bed. “Hello son.” Matt leaned down and hugged him. Thankful he was talking and didn’t seem to have any residual effects. “It’s good to see you.” They then parted and he turned to Tiffany. “You must be Tiffany.” He held out his hand and Tiffany shook it. “I’m so happy to finally meet you.”
“I’m glad to meet you Mr. Oswalt.”
“Please; call me Sam.” She nodded. “I’m sorry you both had to come to Wyoming because of me being stupid.”
Matt looked at Tiffany; “It wasn’t a wasted trip.” She smiled and he saw the tint of red on her cheeks. “I do have to say…you were being pretty stupid. There are guards outside because after you leave the hospital you’ll be going to jail. Why did you have to do that?” He sensed his anger welling up, but Tiffany grabbed his hand and he slowly calmed down. “I’m sorry…I just…”
“You’re right. It was stupid, careless, and the 2nd worse mistake I made.” Matt looked away, knowing he was referring to him as the 1st. “I will never be able to save that woman’s family of the loss of losing a loved one. I think that jail time is the best choice for me. I will have to sober up and when I get out, if I get out, I will do everything I can to make it up to my family.”
“Dad, you’ll get out, you have to. I just hate that it’s going to come to this.”
“I know; so do I, but we’ll get through it.”
Matt nodded; they had no other choice. They would have to manage somehow. “You look good dad. Without the bruises, you wouldn’t be able to tell that you were in a wreck.”
“I don’t feel too bad, all things considered. I’m just tired.”
Matt took that cue and nodded to Tiffany. “We can leave you be. We’ll come back later this evening. I’m just so happy you’re awake.”
“Me too, but isn’t tonight the dance?”
“It is, but we’re not going to go party while you’re finally up and recuperating. There will be lots of parties when we get back to New York.” Not that he would ever go to a New York party, but it sounded good. “We can come back next March. I’m sure they’ll still be going strong.”
“That’s crazy. I’ll be here sleeping. What good will that do you? You guys go and have some fun. You can visit tomorrow if you want.”
Matt tried to object, but his dad wouldn’t hear anything else about it. “Fine; we’ll go.” He looked at Tiffany, wanting a sign that she was okay with it. When she nodded he was relieved. “We’ll see you tomorrow. Grandma, we’ll see you tonight. Do you want to go to the dance with us?”
“No; that’s quite alright. You just have fun for me.”
“Okay, bye!”
“Goodbye Matt! I love you.” When he said the words he couldn’t contain the tears.
“I…love you too dad.” He then hurried out of the room. Tiffany was waiting with her arms opened and he hugged her. “It’s been awhile. I feel like such a baby.”
“You’re not. It would only make sense that it would mean a lot to you. Are you sure you want to go to this dance. We could just hang around the house; maybe go to your mom’s house.”
“No, I’m fine. Plus, chances are everyone that is important to me will be there. I can introduce you to my friend Mike and his wife. My mom and Josh will most definitely be there. So, this only makes sense.”
“Okay; if you say so.”
“I do, it will be nice to just let loose and have some fun. Don’t you think?” When she leaned up and kissed him, he was taken aback, but in a good way. “What was that for?”
“I don’t know; I felt like it, is that okay?”
He laughed. “Honey, anytime you feel the need to kiss me…I’ll be waiting.” He grabbed her hand and they left the hospital. Everything was looking up.
___________________
Tiffany walked out of her borrowed room and nearly smack dab into Matt. “Whoa.” He replied right before a collision could happen. “You look amazing.”
“I didn’t know what to wear; are you sure I look okay?” She looked down at the floral spaghetti strap dress she had thrown in at the last minute. “I didn’t know if I would be going somewhere that required a little more dress up.”
“You look amazing. May I?” He moved and grabbed the black shawl that she was holding and placed it on her shoulders. “I’ll have to pry the guys off of you. Just make sure I get the most dances.”
She laughed. “No need to worry Mr. Oswalt. I will promise not to stay away from your side for too long.” They kissed and a moan escaped her lips. “We better be going.” She quickly replied as they parted.
He grabbed her hand, forcing her to look at
him. “We don’t have to go. We have plenty to keep us occupied for the rest of the night.”
“Yeah; that’s not going to happen.” He groaned with dissatisfaction and she laughed. “Come on!” They went down the stairs and headed to the back of the house, where the party had already started. “Does the whole town come?”
“Yeah, pretty much.” He laughed. “Hey, I see my friend Mike; I would like to introduce you. When he felt her hesitation he stopped. “Don’t you want to meet him?”
“I do; I just thought we were through with the awkward introductions.”
“Not by a long shot,” he teased. “Come on; you’ve gotten past my grandma, my dad…the rest are pieces of cake. Trust me.” They headed over to them, even though he felt her dragging her feet. “Hey buddy!” They shook hands and he turned to Tiffany. “Mike, I would like you to meet Tiffany. Tiffany, this is Mike; my closest friend.”
“It’s a pleasure to meet you Tiffany.”
“It’s good to meet you too.”
“Matt, it appears you haven’t been truthful with your best friend. I thought you said…” Matt quickly shook his head, begging for Mike not to complete the sentence. He must have figured out the gesture, because he stopped talking. “I’m sorry to hear about your dad.” He changed the subject, which relieved Matt.
“Thanks; he woke up this afternoon.”
“That is great news Matt. I’m glad to hear that.” If anyone knew the pain Matt went through with his dad, it was Mike.
“Where’s your wife?”
“She’s around here…oh; there she is.” His wife headed over to them and Matt gave her a hug.
“It’s true what they say about pregnant woman; they glow.”
“Thanks Matt.”
“You’re welcome. Have you been feeling okay with this pregnancy?” He knew that it had to be tough. Eve had miscarried twice before and they were concerned about this pregnancy.
“I am doing well.” She turned to Tiffany and then back to Matt. “You haven’t introduced me to…”
“You’re right; sorry about that. Eve, this is Tiffany. Tiffany, this is Eve.”
Mixing Business With Pleasure (Love Conquers All Book 2) Page 10