Yours, Mine and Ours (Second Chances)

by Daley, Margaret

  "Get the leash from my pocket and put it on him. I don't dare let go," Tess said to Zachariah who cautiously approached dog and mistress, both sprawled on the lawn.

  When Zachariah's hand slipped into the front pocket of her jeans to pull the leash free, her body reacted as though he had caressed her. Her heart rate that had been slowing after her mad dash accelerated. His male scent overpowered the wet odor of her dog. The touch of his fingers that brushed across her arm as he tried to hook the leather strap onto the collar chased away any chill she felt at the water soaking her back now as well as her front.

  "Got him," Zachariah announced triumphantly and stepped away with the leash in his hand.

  Tess released her hold on Bruce and scooted back, not sure she should try and attempt to stand just yet. Her legs felt weak like pieces of cooked spaghetti.

  She looked up at Zachariah, who was keeping a wary eye on her dog, and saw that his shirt was wet where Bruce had put his paws. Then her gaze traveled lower, taking in the black T-shirt that was stretched over a chest full of muscles, the trim, flat stomach that denoted a man who did a lot of sit ups, the white runner shorts that emphasized the length and strength of his legs. Zachariah Smith was in great shape, she thought and wondered what that body would feel like meshed against hers. For a brief moment she could picture them in her mind and heat suffused her. Gasping, she dropped her gaze to her dog where hopefully her thoughts could conjured up something safe to think about. This man certainly wasn't.

  "What do I do with him now that I have him?" Zachariah asked, amusement thick in his voice as if he could read her mind.

  Before Tess could answer, Bruce shook himself, sending a shower of water everywhere, peppering Zachariah down his front. Her gaze caught his, and she laughed. "What would you like to do with him?"

  "The dog catcher is a good friend of mine. I'm sure he wouldn't mind working overtime to relieve the town of this menace."

  The laughter in his eyes negated the words, but Tess realized she needed to take control of Bruce before there really was a need for a dogcatcher. She slowly rose, aware of the pain in her bottom, of the fact that her wet T-shirt was plastered to her, revealing her figure more than she thought was proper. "You can't possibly mean Bruce. He loves to greet people."

  "By bathing them?"

  "He got away from me when I was giving him a bath in the wading pool. I should have waited for Shaun to help me. I'm beginning to think Bruce was giving me one, not the other way around."

  "I don't mean the shower. I mean the tongue washing."

  "Oh, that. I'm afraid so. He's never met a person he didn't like. He's affectionate. The postman got it worse than you. Bruce had the man pinned to the ground, licking his face. When we left our last place, the man actually came over and helped me pack." She realized she was chattering again and finished with, "Once you get to know Bruce, though, he's no problem."

  "No problem?" Zachariah cocked one brow. "I can't wait to see that"

  The implications of his statement jolted her. Underneath his words, there was a hint of a future between them. Her nerves quivered with that thought. "Here let me tie him up out back so he can dry before going inside. I can't wait until I can afford to fence in Granny Kime's backyard. I hate having to tie him up."

  "You let him inside. What's the insurance company have to say about that?"

  "The problem would be if we didn't let him inside. He would cause such a racket the neighbors would all pitch in to help us move." She grinned. "We seem to have that kind of effect on people."

  Tess took the leash and tried to pull Bruce along behind her, muttering dire threats if the beast didn't follow her since she knew it would be impossible for her to drag one hundred fifty pounds of Great Dane across the grass. Clearly the dog didn't want to leave his new friend, but something in the tone of her voice must have alerted him to his precarious situation. Bruce took one last look at Zachariah, then bounded after Tess.

  While she hooked the dog to the rope used to keep him in the backyard, she heard the jingle of the ice cream truck as it came down the street. After the past week she thought she had convinced the young man not to come down Oakcrest.

  Tess ran toward the front of the house, her feet pounded against the ground like her heart was against her breast. She prayed her daughter was occupied and didn't hear the truck. As Tess rounded the corner, she saw Katie streak across the lawn into the street and lay down on the pavement in the path of the oncoming vehicle. As quickly as Katie moved, Zachariah moved faster once he saw her intention. He scooped her up in his arms as the truck came to a screeching halt a few feet away from them.

  The alarm in Zachariah's expression when he swung around to face Tess contrasted with the laughter bubbling up from her daughter's throat. Katie wound her arms around his neck and said, "Whee. I like dat. Twirl me around some more."

  Tess stopped, plunged her fingers through her curls, and held her head as she shook it. She counted to ten, trying to calm herself before she spoke to her daughter; Tess had to go straight for one hundred. As the young man behind the wheel staggered out of the truck, terror on his face, she said, "Katie, go to your room." Tess was amazed her voice sounded so level while inside she quaked.

  "But I want an ice cream cone."

  "You won't get ice cream for the next month, possibly your entire life. Go." Tess pointed toward the house as Zachariah placed Katie on the ground.

  Katie looked up at Tess, stuck her thumb in her mouth, and stomped off toward the front steps. "I never get ice cream. It's not fair."

  Tess waited until her daughter was safely inside the house, then approached the young man who was shaking like a flag in a stiff breeze. "Didn't Al tell you not to come down this street?"

  "No, ma'am."

  "My daughter has an unorthodox way of trying to get ice cream. She loves chocolate and once Al didn't stop so the next time she made sure he did by lying in the street in front of the truck. I'm sorry about this. Al and I had this understanding."

  "He was sick. I was just filling in for the day." The young man backed away from Tess as if she had a contagious disease he would get any second. He hopped into the truck and tore out of there with tires screeching.

  "I don't think he'll be filling in for Al again." Tess watched the poor driver take the corner way too fast and dangerously. "Shouldn't you go after him or something?"

  "The boy's long gone by now. Besides, with the scare he just had, I doubt he would hear a word I said."

  "Yeah, I guess you're right. His face was as white as the vanilla ice cream he sells."

  "Tess Morgan, I must admit you have an interesting family, and I've only met one of your children."

  "I can't say that I ever have a dull day. I'm glad I don't care about a routine schedule."

  "Go with the flow?"

  "And then some." Tess pointed toward her car. "You got it fixed."

  "For the time being, but there are no guarantees."

  "How much?" She tensed, expecting to hear the national debt quoted.

  "Two hundred."

  "Is that all?" Relief trembled through her.

  He handed her the bill for the parts. "Yes, Mack and I have an arrangement. You can pay him off in installments over the next several months."

  She noticed the name of the store was Mack's Auto Park. "Thank you. Come on in and have something to drink."

  "Is it safe? Where's Bruce?"

  "Tied securely out back." Tess smiled at the light tone in Zachariah's voice. She suspected he had taken care of a lot worse threats than a Great Dane named Bruce.

  "Well, in that case, I'd like something to drink."

  Tess began walking toward the house. "I have lemonade and iced tea. Which will it be?"

  Giggles erupted right before first one balloon then another sputtered in the grass next to Zachariah's feet drenching his tennis shoes and socks. "A towel first then a glass of iced tea," he replied without missing a beat as though he had unexpected things thrown at him e
very day.

  Tess stopped, blew out a breath of air, and scanned the limbs of the oak. "Shaun Franklin Morgan, you get down here right this minute and bring your friend." As the two boys clamored down the tree, she muttered to Zachariah, "My children really do know how to behave—most of the time."

  When Shaun and Freddie stood in front of her, she placed her hands on her hips and a stern expression on her face. "What's the meaning of this." She gestured at the remnants of the red balloons in the grass."

  "It was on accident. I swear, Mom."

  "Oh, I see. Water just appeared in the balloon and it just slipped from your fingers not one time but twice."

  "I was handing both of them to Freddie to hold. We're stockpiling for our war."

  "What war?"

  "The Roberts brothers down the street."

  "You're fighting?"

  "No, playing, Mom. We were lying in wait for them to come over. We're going to ambush them." Shaun's tone conveyed that mothers didn't know anything about the fine art of warfare.

  "Well, you're going to have to ambush them somewhere else. We have a guest. Shaun, I would like you to meet Officer Smith. And this is my son's cohort, Freddie, who lives down the street." Tess gestured toward the boy next to her son.

  Shaun's eyes grew round. "A policeman?"

  Zachariah nodded, holding out his hand to shake with the boys'.

  "Where's your gun?" Shaun asked, moving closer to Zachariah.

  "I'm not on duty. It's at home."

  "Can I see it sometime?"

  Zachariah glanced at Tess, a question in his gray eyes.

  She put her hand on her son's shoulder and turned him toward her. "We'll see about that some other time, Shaun. You boys clean this mess up. And don't use the oak tree as your base. People walk by here. We're new in town. We have to at least make a good first impression."

  "Nice to meet you, Shaun, Freddie," Zachariah said, the corners of his mouth twitching in silent laughter.

  Tess resumed walking toward the house, praying Wesley didn't jump out from behind the bushes in front of the porch. When Zachariah and she safely made it up the steps and to the door, she breathed easier. After they were inside, she indicated a seat in the living room while she went into the kitchen to get the iced teas and towels for both of them.

  When she brought the drinks into the room, Tess found Katie sitting on the couch next to Zachariah, staring at him while she sucked her thumb. He had said something to her, but she hadn't responded.

  Tess placed the glasses on coasters on the coffee table, then handed Zachariah one of the towels. "I don't remember telling you to come out of your room, young lady."

  Katie removed her thumb from her mouth, her gaze still glue on Zachariah. "What's your name? Why are you here? Do you have any children? Do you live near here?"

  "Excuse me," Tess said and took her daughter's hand. "I'll be right back." She marched Katie down the hall and opened the door to her daughter's bedroom. "You will not come out until I say so. Understand?"

  "But, Mommie, I'm hungry. I won't do dat anymore. I promise." Katie looked up at her with her big brown eyes and a sad expression on her face.

  Tess could swear her daughter practiced "that look" in front of the mirror. "We'll talk later." Tess guided Katie inside her room, then shut the door, hoping after the kind of day she'd had that her patience would last past dinner and the discussion she would have with her youngest.

  "Sorry about that," Tess said, sitting down across from Zachariah after toweling herself as dry as possible. "I doubt the mother on the Brady Bunch ever had this kind of problem."

  "My role model is Robert Anderson from Father Knows Best. How does a father live up to that?" He took a long sip of his iced tea. "All problems solved within thirty minutes."

  "Being a parent is the hardest job around, and you don't have to have any qualifications to apply."

  "If it's any comfort, I felt right at home out in that front yard. I know my daughter, Emily, is only eighteen months, but she's so curious the only way I can baby proof the house is to remove everything."

  Tess laughed. "I once found Katie up on the top shelf of the bookcase because she wanted to look at the figurine I had put up there. I soon discovered there was no 'out of reach' zone in my house with her. She could climb like a monkey."

  "And I'd always heard boys were the active ones. I thought Emily would be a cinch compared to Lance. I'm finding out I thought wrong."

  "We're having spaghetti tonight. You're welcome to stay for dinner. I can't tell you how much I appreciate you getting my car to run again."

  "Not tonight. Lance has soccer practice," Zachariah looked at his watch, "in thirty minutes. I'm the coach. But I'll take a rain check on that invitation. I sure get tired of cooking, especially when all my children eat are macaroni and cheese, peanut butter and jelly sandwiches, and pizza, the big three at the Smith household."

  "Wait till you get to add things like hamburgers and French fries and bologna sandwiches. You'll think you died and gone to heaven."

  "Oh, something to look forward to. I can hardly wait"

  She picked up her iced tea and held it cradled in her lap. "Well, then I promise when you come for dinner I'll have something to dazzle your taste buds for us grownups."

  "Now that really is something to look forward to."

  The smile he gave her melted her insides. The look in his eyes warmed her outside, two patches of red staining her cheeks. The promise of things to come hung in the air between them. Tess gripped her glass tighter and downed half her ice cold drink, her eyes never leaving his.

  "I think I'd better get going or the coach will be late for practice. I would hate to have to run laps."

  "Wesley was on a team last fall. He showed promise. I wish he would play again."

  "Have him come to practice one day. We haven't been working out very long. The season just got under way. We could always use another player." Zachariah rose and started toward the door.

  "He tells me he doesn't want to play. He doesn't want to do anything but build with his Legos in his room by himself," Tess said, following Zachariah to show him out.

  He turned suddenly at the door, only inches from her. "I have a great idea. Why don't I take you and your children on a fishing expedition and picnic this Saturday? It'll give Lance and Wesley a chance to get to know each other outside of the classroom."

  She hesitated. One part of her wanted to grab at the chance to be with this man, to have Wesley get to know Lance, but the other part warned her of the danger of getting involved with the Smith family and especially one Zachariah Smith. She never did anything halfway. She tended to throw herself wholeheartedly into a project which would only cause her pain later because she would not turn her life over to another person ever again and Officer Smith was a take charge kind of guy.

  "There's a neat fishing hole I discovered at Beaver Lake. I'm willing to share the secret with your family."

  Share. Something Brad had never done. She had to do it for Wesley, she told herself. "Okay. What time?"

  "Nine. I'll pick you all up. I don't know if your car would make it and mine seats eight"

  "Do you want a ride home? You don't have much time before practice."

  "Nah. I like to run. It's only four blocks. It keeps me in shape," he said as he opened the screen door and jogged down the steps, waving good-bye.

  Again Tess thought of that body that was in better shape than most. The constriction in her chest tightened, the beat of her heart increasing. And she would be near that magnificent bod for a whole day. "Thank goodness for five children. The best chaperons in the world," she muttered, watching him disappear down the street.

  * * *

  Zachariah knew she was watching him as he jogged away. He felt her eyes on him as though they physically were touching him. He missed a step, throwing himself off rhythm. She had a way of doing that. Saturday should be very interesting. Sort of like running through a minefield, he decided as he turn
ed the corner to his street, remembering feeling that way when he had first arrived at her place.

  He loped up to his neighbor's house to get Emily. Nora opened the door and called out to his daughter who raced toward him.

  "Da Dee." Emily threw her arms around his legs and held on. "Pick up."

  He scooped his daughter up and whirled her around and around. Latching onto his neck, she giggled and planted a big kiss on his cheek

  When he stopped, she said, "'Gain, Da Dee."