by Jenny Penn
Tara nodded.
“Do you mind if I see what’s in it?” Peggy asked, even as she pulled the envelope free.
Christine slid the glass of water into Tara’s hand as she nodded. Then everybody was gathering around Peggy to peer at the pages as she pulled them free. There was a long, hushed moment of silence as both Peggy’s and Christine’s expressions darkened. Peggy flipped through the pages, her frown furling into a full-on scowl as she reached the last one. Then she slowly looked up to meet Tara’s gaze, and Tara could see that Bryant’s mother was truly outraged.
“Your uncle is claiming you are incompetent to manage your estate?” Peggy asked, her words strained by a tension that erupted as Tara nodded. “That son of a bitch. This will not stand.”
“It certainly will not!” Christine nodded as she drew herself up to her full five-foot-one height. “The gall of that man to even suggest you are incompetent. Why anybody can tell you are a bright, fully capable young lady.”
“We need a lawyer,” Peggy declared before her eyes lit up. “We should call Melissa.”
“That’s perfect.” Christine nodded. “I’ll get her on the phone right away.”
Just like that, Tara was taken under the Black and Grover family wings. She wasn’t going into this fight alone. Now she had Melissa on her side. Melissa turned out to be another one of Travis’s cousins. She specialized in family law and came over almost instantly. She was short and pregnant, with a mop of curly dark hair and an attitude of a five-star general.
Within an hour, she was talking about filing motions to dismiss and arranging to have Tara talk to a therapist. A professional opinion would add weight to their motion, Melissa insisted, and Tara reluctantly agreed. With all of that settled and Melissa on the case, the mood in the room returned to a joyous state. Everybody seemed convinced that this problem would be easily solved. Everybody but Tara.
* * * *
Bryant settled the phone back into its cradle and tried not to crush the receiver in his hand while he did. The tension that had come over him since picking up that damn phone must have been palatable because Travis was staring right at him as he turned back to stare at the report he’d been working on.
It sat there on his desk, the lines wavering before him as Bryant grew madder and madder by the second. He wanted to pound on something, or somebody, preferably the mayor. Travis, though, seemed to be volunteering to take the brunt of Bryant’s anger, as he pressed closer to the desk facing Bryant and cut into his thoughts.
“Well?” he asked with clear demand. “What the hell is going on?”
Bryant took a deep breath and tried to control the need to snarl as he managed to wrangle out an answer that sounded rough and hoarse. “The mayor had Tara served with papers…at my mother’s house.”
“That son of a bitch,” Travis whispered, even as he stilled. “I’m going to kick his fucking ass.”
“You’re going to have to get in line.” Because Bryant wanted a piece of that bastard so badly he could almost taste it.
Travis absorbed that for a moment before casting Bryant a hard look. “What about Tara? She must be devastated.”
“According to Mom, they’re keeping her busy, and Melissa has already taken up her case.”
That didn’t change the fact that Tara had to be devastated. Just the thought of her upset angered him. He wanted revenge. Bryant would have it. He just had to figure out a way to get it. Until then, he already knew how to make Tara forget all about her stupid family’s attempt to get her money.
It was going to involve oils and candles and, maybe, a blindfold. That thought put the smile back on Bryant’s face as he began planning a romantic evening just for them. He just needed a little help from his mom.
“Why are you smiling like that?” Travis narrowed his gaze on Bryant. “What are you dreaming up over there?”
Bryant let his grin do the answering for him as he picked the phone back up and called his mom. Travis listened as he asked her to keep Tara busy and buy them enough time to set up a surprise for her. His mom was in full agreement and so was Travis as Bryant settled the receiver back into the phone’s cradle.
“Hot date tonight!” Travis spoke up as he shot Bryant a wicked grin and a nod. “Got it.”
“You’re going to get it,” Bryant shot back but Travis wasn’t intimidated. He just stuck his tongue out at Bryant and swung his chair back to paddle himself over to his own desk.
They had their reports to finish filling out and file before they could leave for the day. Paperwork always dragged, but it felt especially tedious right then. It seemed as if the clock overhead ticked slowly and loudly, driving Bryant’s impatience to a new level of tension with each click of the second hand.
Eventually, though, he was done, and it was only five o’clock. That left Travis and Bryant with more than enough time to order up a good dinner to go from the Bread Box and swing by the drug store to buy up almost all their candles. Travis rushed home to collect all their pillows while Bryant headed up to Tara’s apartment to begin staging the place.
It took him less than a half-hour, and by then, Travis had returned. He helped Bryant finish the staging. Only once everything was perfect did Bryant call his mother to tell her to send Tara home. Then they waited…and waited. When over a half-hour had passed and Tara still hadn’t shown up, Bryant began to get concerned.
* * * *
Tara stood before the counter at the Dairy Land ice cream truck and stared at the long list of milkshake flavors. While she’d been able to forget a little of her worries while hanging out with Bryant’s and Travis’s families, it had all been waiting for her once she’d walked out their door and back into the reality of her situation. It was all so overwhelming, and that was when she’d driven past the park to spy the ice cream truck parked by the playground.
That was when it hit her. She needed ice cream. A milkshake in particular sounded the best. The only question was, what flavor? Chocolate? Strawberry? Peanut butter? Peanut butter? Tara’s gaze jerked back to that one as her nose wrinkled. That didn’t sound good.
Chocolate, on the other hand, sounded perfect.
Better yet, they made it with real chocolate ice cream and added chocolate milk. They made it fast. Within minutes, she was being comforted by the cool, sweet glide of liquid comfort flowing down her throat. Tara locked her lips around the straw and didn’t release it even as she wandered over toward the small benches set alongside the playground.
It was late, but the sun was still out and the weather still warm enough to have sweat beading along her lip. By comparison the milkshake was like a cold, heavenly delight. It should have been a happy moment, but as Tara settled down onto one of the benches, she felt the weight of her problems fill her.
She couldn’t believe her family was suing her, claiming that she was so mentally incompetent to even be allowed control over her own body, much less the trust they all seemed to want. That was what this was really about. The money.
If she didn’t have it, they wouldn’t care what the hell she did. That thought depressed Tara to a point where she could feel her heart aching. She chastised herself for feeling the pain. It wasn’t like she hadn’t known what her family was like or how they felt when her grandmother had left her nearly the entire bulk of her estate.
Tara hadn’t been even important enough for either of her parents to bother showing much attention, let alone affection. That was probably why she hadn’t expected much of Richard, but things were different now. She was different. Bryant and Travis had shown her what it felt like to feel loved, and that only made the pain of her family’s rejection all the more pointed.
She couldn’t go back to that world. Tara just couldn’t go back to that loneliness. Fate, though, seemed to have other plans for her. As she sat there staring out at the kids laughing and playing, a shadow fell across her. Along with it came a breeze that brought an all-too-distinctive scent to her nose.
“Hello, Richard.” Tara didn
’t bother to show him the respect of turning around and matching her greeting with any kind of true welcome. She had none. Not for him. All Tara had to offer him was the coldness in her heart and the frost in her tone. “What do you want?”
Richard came around the edge of the bench, looking perfectly as pressed and dressed as usual. He held himself a little stiffly, offering her a curt nod. “Tara.”
“What do you want?” Tara repeated, finally daring to glance up and meet his gaze.
“Just to talk,” he assured her, taking the seat beside her without waiting to be invited. He bent forward, clasping his hands over his knees, and began with an almost sincere hint of regret sounding in his tone. “I’m sorry things have gotten so out of hand, and I’d really like to see them go better.”
“Uh-huh.” Tara wasn’t buying his act for a moment.
“You were mad about the other women. I get that.” Richard tilted his head to meet her eyes once again. “But how do you think I feel about what you’re doing with those two deputies?”
“I don’t really care how you feel about it.”
That had Richard’s jaw tensing slightly as his tone took on a sharper edge. “It hurts, okay? If that’s what you wanted to accomplish here, you’ve succeeded.”
“What I wanted is you out of my life,” Tara shot back, unimpressed by his confession.
“Tara⎯“
“No,” she cut him off. “If we’re going to do this, let’s be honest, and I’ll start. I did want to hurt you, but let’s not pretend that those deputies are the reason you’re distressed. It’s because your reputation is ruined.”
Tara smiled, even as she said that word, enjoying this moment in a way she had always been too afraid to. “Once it got around that I was divorcing you because you were skimming money out of the trust, your clients started pulling back, didn’t they?”
She knew they had and knew, too, that was really why Richard was here. It was there in the darkening of his gaze and the narrowing of his eyes. It took him a moment to answer, though. When he did, the word was strangled out.
“Yes.”
“And now you’re trying to save your reputation. You need me to give you control back of the trust to prove to the world that it was just a marital spat, a false accusation. You think having my family sue me is the way go.”
“No.” Richard perked up at that, shaking his head instantly. “That’s all your uncle. I would prefer we have a better understanding than that.”
Tara smirked. “Really? I think we understand each other perfectly.”
“Then you should understand how marrying me would help both of us.” Richard stressed his point as he leaned forward slightly. “Think about it, Tara. I can hold your family at bay…and you don’t have to come back to Atlanta. We can have a marriage in name only. You stay here enjoying your men, and I’ll enjoy my women in Atlanta, and we’ll both get richer. It’s a perfect deal.”
It was, at least in her world, but Tara was trying to leave that world. It just didn’t seem willing to let her go. As much as she hated Richard, he did have a point. He could be her shield.
“Just think about it,” Richard pressed. “That’s all I’m asking.”
Before Tara could respond to that, Bryant answered for her. “She isn’t interest in jack or shit that you’ve got to say.”
That bold interruption had both Tara and Richard jumping off the bench as they turned almost together to find that Bryant and Travis had come up behind them. Tara’s milkshake hit the ground as she stared up at their matching scowls, and she felt her stomach tighten with unease.
“Bryant,” Tara breathed out, feeling the air around her lighten instantly.
His expression didn’t, though. It remained dark, tense, his gaze narrowed on Richard as he moved around the bench to confront the man directly.
“You need to get lost. Now.”
Richard hesitated for a second, causing Travis to call out in a much more cheery, but no less threatening, tone. “Before our patience ends, my friend.”
“We were just talking,” Richard finally said, even as he started to ease back and away from Bryant. His gaze cut around Bryant’s broad shoulders to pin Tara with a chilling look. “You’ll think about what I said.”
“Tara hasn’t got any interest in anything you have to say,” Bryant shot back, shifting to block Richard’s view of her. “Now go.”
Richard paused only long enough to give Bryant a onceover and shake his head. “You are so far out of your class you don’t understand anything.”
With that, Richard turned on his heel and stormed off. Both men watched him leave before turning matching scowls on her. She could feel the weight of their disapproval coming down on her. It sounded in Bryant’s tone as he shot a sharp question at her.
“What did he want?”
“Don’t take that tone with me,” Tara snapped back, bristling with both exhaustion and annoyance.
“Tara⎯“
“No,” Tara cut Bryant off, not wanting to have this argument now. “It’s been a long day, and I’m tired of people telling me what to do, what to feel, what to think. I just…need a break.”
“Oh, sunshine,” Travis murmured softly as he stepped up to pull Tara into his arms. “We don’t want to add to your troubles. We want to help you carry them.”
The tension and annoyance that gripped her melted away as Travis’s warm scent filled her every breath. Tara found herself leaning into him, allowing Travis to take the weight of her problems and her body. He felt safe, secure, like home. Best of all, he was willing to simply hold her for the moment.
“Tara⎯“
“Oh, shut up, Bryant,” Travis snapped as he tilted his head to rest his cheek against the top of her hair. “Tara’s done for the day.”
Tara rolled her head to the side to stare out of Travis’s arms at Bryant, who looked to be fighting an internal battle. He gave it up with a sigh that led him to stepping up and pulling Tara out of Travis’s arms so he could offer her his own quick hug.
“I’m sorry, sunshine, that man just….”
“Rubs you the wrong way?” Tara offered up, tipping her head back to cast a small smile up at Bryant. “Yeah, I know the feeling.”
Bryant snorted at that before stepping back and allowing one hand to slide down her arm so his fingers could lace through hers. Then he began pulling her back toward the parking lot.
“Come on. Let’s get out of here.”
Chapter 17
Travis drove Tara’s car, and she went with Bryant in his truck. The drive back to her apartment was short, silent, but there was no tension. Bryant had reached across the long bench seat to take her hand. He held it the whole way home. There were simply no words needed, or, if there were, he was waiting for her to find them.
Tara did eventually as he pulled into the parking lot that serviced the businesses along Main Street. It also served as her parking for the loft she’d rented, but Tara didn’t make a move to open the door. She just sat there for a moment, building up the strength to explain things to him without allowing her emotions to show.
It didn’t work. Her voice still trembled as she spoke. “My uncle served me with papers today.”
Bryant turned to offer her a small smile and nodded. “I know. My mom called me, and you’re in good hands with Mellissa.”
Tara nodded, but her heart wasn’t relieved. She felt compelled to tell him the whole tale. “Richard thinks they’ll back off if I marry him.”
Bryant didn’t say anything to that but simply stared at her, waiting for Tara to tell the rest.
“He says we could have a marriage in name only and he’d go back to Atlanta and I could stay here…with you.” Tara paused, uncertain of whether or not he wanted her to stay there with him, but she shouldn’t have doubted him because Bryant wasn’t going to let her off that easily.
“Do you want to stay?” he asked after a moment.
“I want…” Tara hesitated for a second before simply
letting go and allowing the truth to spill out. “I want a family, children, and happy holidays, a job to wake up to, and life that is full in every way.”
Bryant didn’t agree or disagree with her. He simply nodded and issued a stern warning. “Then don’t marry Richard.”
Before Tara could answer that, Travis was opening up the passenger door and looking in expectantly. “What the hell are you two doing in here? Exchanging vows?”
Tara couldn’t help but smile at that. Travis’s strange sense of humor was just the kind of lightness she needed in that moment.
“Come on.” Travis reached a hand up to help her down. “Let’s get moving. I’m hungry.”
“We headed to the Bread Box?” That was their normal routine, given that none of them cooked, but not tonight.
“Nope.” Travis shook his head. “We’ve got dinner up at the loft going cold, so move it!”
Tara laughed as he swatted her on the butt and started toward the back alley and the stairs that fed up to the apartment she had rented. Bryant fell in step beside her, taking her hand once again as all three of them made their way up the old, metal steps to the old, beat-up door that led into a candlelit wonderland.
Tara came to a stop in the doorway, her eyes widening as she took in the perfectly staged main room of her apartment. Travis and Bryant had obviously been busy. They’d moved back all the furniture to create a bed of pillows surrounded by candles that burned in glass canisters, giving off a romantic glow.
“Come, sunshine.” Travis stepped around to hold a hand out to her. “It’s time to forget all your worries.”
Tara smiled, knowing it could be that easy. She placed her hand once again into his and allowed him to lead her over to the mismatched pile of pillows. There were regular pillows, small decorative ones, and even some that had been stolen from the couch. That didn’t matter.
It was still a soft nest Tara discovered as Travis helped her settle down in the middle of the pile. Then they dined on a cooling meal of fried chicken, coleslaw, and chocolate cake. The talk turned away from the heavy subjects that lingered outside of the warm pool of the candlelight.