Yours, Mine and Ours (Second Chances)

by Daley, Margaret

  "What was it?"

  "True Love by Elizabeth Arden."

  "Interesting name."

  "Well, I suppose it's better than Doomed Love or Unrequited Love."

  "What a cynic you are."

  "A realist. And you can't tell me you're a policeman and don't have a—more realistic outlook on life."

  "Believe it or not I've not only seen the very worst in people but also the very best."

  A man and their waitress approached them with their salads, making a big production out of serving them. Tess was sure everyone in the restaurant was watching as the couple, dressed like Romeo and Juliet, sang a love ballad at the end. Tess was thinking about moving the potted plant over several feet to block her totally from view as the pair finished with a bow and curtsy.

  "They do like to call attention to us," Tess commented when they were alone again.

  "They're just warming up."

  "I was afraid of that" Tess stabbed a piece of lettuce with her fork. "You're enjoying every second of this."

  "Yep. I figure by tomorrow it will be all over town we're an item." Zachariah surveyed the patrons, every table occupied in the large restaurant "It looks like half the population of Crystal City is here tonight. This is a very popular place and Saturday night at that."

  The sparkle of laughter in his eyes infuriated Tess. She didn't want to be linked with him; she didn't want to be the object of people's gossip. She'd had more than her share when Brad walked out on her and the children so suddenly. She could still remember the pitying looks she had received when she went to the grocery store or to Shaun's school.

  The rest of the meal was like the salad course. The personnel of the restaurant had decided that Tess and Zachariah were the new couple in town and were making sure everyone else knew it, too. She must have heard every love song that had been written in the past fifty years. The next time she ever took someone out she would investigate the place before going to it.

  As they were leaving Flanagan's, a rubber suction cup arrow shot past Tess and stuck to the wooden door two feet from her. She glanced back to see a person dressed up as Cupid smiling at her and putting another arrow in his bow. Tess hurried out of the restaurant. She heard the thud as the door closed behind her and Zachariah. He laughed. She frowned.

  "Do you think someone is trying to tell us something?" he asked as he drove out of the parking lot.

  "No," she answered way too quickly.

  "My favorite was the heart shaped piece of cake."

  She looked at him without saying a word. Why couldn't they have been harassed like the people next to them? It had obviously been that man's fortieth birthday. The mortician and the nurse would have been a whole lot better than Rhett and Scarlet serving their main course.

  When Zachariah pulled into the driveway and cut the engine, Tess heard the click of the lock on the doors. She pulled on the handle, but nothing happened. When she tried to unlock the door, she couldn't.

  "Child proof," Zachariah said in answer to her unspoken question when she glared over at him.

  "Well, unlock it. It's late. I have—"

  He reached over and placed his fingers over her mouth. "Shh, Tess. Relax. It's only nine. I'll flip the lock open when you promise not to bolt the first chance you get."

  It occurred to her that she should be afraid, but she wasn't. She knew she would always be safe and protected with Zachariah. "Katie will probably still be up. She doesn't go down well unless I read her a bedtime story."

  "What are a few extra minutes? I patiently sat through an hour and a half of singing, ribbing, dancing and juggling. The least you could do is sit for a while and talk. I'm starved for an adult conversation after spending all day with Lance and Emily."

  "What do you want to talk about?" she squeaked, her heart starting to beat fast.

  "Oh, we could try the weather, television or the national debt, but I think we've already covered those topics." He snapped his fingers. "Hey, I have a novel idea. How about you? We've barely touched that one."

  She stiffened. She had learned painfully that when she let someone into her private world she opened herself up to be hurt. "You know all the important stuff."

  "Do I? Why are you afraid to trust me?" He moved closer, his arm resting along the back of the cushion.

  "I do. If I didn't I would be screaming right now."

  "It's not the same thing. You know I'd never hurt you physically, but you think I will emotionally."

  "If you already know the answer, then why bother asking the question?"

  "Because there's much more to this, Tess."

  Zachariah grazed his thumb down her cheek, the caress so soft she wondered if he had touched her at all.

  "What did your ex do to you?"

  She flinched back out of his reach. His probing questions demanded too much of her. "Open this door. Now."

  Zachariah sighed heavily and threw the lock. As she bolted from the car, he was right behind her, his long strides matching her hurrying ones. Before she had a chance to escape into the house, he grasped her arm and whirled her to face him.

  "What did your ex do to you?" He thrust his face close to hers, the silver glint in his eyes diamond hard.

  "He left me. He was there one day and gone the next. He took everything with him. He cleaned out our savings and disappeared. He left me to explain to three children why their father didn't want them anymore. He left me to wonder how I was going to feed, clothe and care for them. This from a man who was supposed to love us." Her chest rose and fell rapidly with each breath she dragged into her burning lungs. The pressure in her chest was tight, painful. "Are you satisfied? Now do you see why I don't trust easily?"

  "Yes, finally we're getting somewhere." He pulled her over to the porch swing and pushed her down onto it. "Not everyone is like your ex, and I'm going to prove that to you." He sat next to her, his arm about her shoulder.

  Tess didn't pull away. She was too tired suddenly to do much of anything except stare straight ahead. All her suppressed anger toward Brad swamped her, threatening to shatter what composure she had left. One shudder then another rippled down her length.

  Zachariah's hold on her tightened as he brought her up against his hard contours. His hand ran up and down her arm as though he were trying to warm her. "Have you tried to find your ex?"

  "Try?" She could hear the hollow ring to her laugh. "When you have no money and little resources there isn't much you can do."

  "I could help. I do have connections with the police."

  "We've had this conversation before. I will make it on my own. I don't want Brad's help anymore. He walked out on us. He has no right to be apart of our lives now."

  "Is that fair to your children?"

  "Fairness went out the door the minute he left." Even though the night still held the heat of the day captured in the air, cold embedded deep inside her. Shivering, she snuggled against Zachariah's warmth, knowing in one part of her mind the danger in doing that.

  "Let me be your friend, Tess."

  "Is that all you want?" A wariness, honed from betrayal, crept into her question.

  "No, but I will be content with that if that's all you can give right now."

  She didn't know what to say. In her previously town she had had a few female friends but never a male one.

  "I'm a good listener. Laurie taught me well. If you want to rant and rave about the problems of the day, I can take it."

  A laugh bubbled to the surface. "That's an enticing offer."

  "It was meant to be."

  She placed her arm around him, seeking the comfort of his embrace. She needed a hug; it had been so long since she had had one. "Okay, but you must realize I don't have much more to give."

  "Fine." He encircled her with both arms and held her close as though he sensed her need and sought to fulfill it.

  The sounds of the night floated to Tess as she sat holding Zachariah and feeling at peace. She heard a dog bark somewhere down the street. Sh
e saw a car pass the house. Life went on, but for her she felt a shifting deep inside of herself. Since coming to Crystal City, she had missed having someone to talk to. She had tried not to worry Granny Kime so Tess had kept things as light as possible with her grandmother. Maybe she could trust Zachariah to be her friend and give her the room she needed, Tess decided as she felt his even breathing, his steady heartbeat

  "Maybe this talking thing will work." Tess pulled away from him, allowing his arm to lie loosely about her shoulder. "I usually like to run when the little things in life become overwhelming, but it's becoming harder to run in the evening since the days are starting to get shorter. By the time I'm ready to exercise it's getting dark. I thought about running with Bruce, but frankly I don't relish chasing a dog around the park."

  "Then let's do it together. I like to run, too. We'll arrange a time convenient for both of us and just do it. Great stress releaser for two single parents."

  "I usually can't until seven thirty or eight."

  "That's okay. Nora has a daughter who can sit with the children while I run in the evening."

  "Are you sure? I was beginning to think I would have to give it up or run alone in the dark, something I never would have considered where I lived before."

  "Yes, I'm sure, Tess. With soccer practice two days a week, it's becoming harder for me to do it earlier. And I don't want you to run alone." He tugged her to him and put the swing in motion.

  She heard the protective ring to his last sentence. "The park is well lit and this is Crystal City, not a big town," the imp in her said.

  His foot came down to stop the swing. He straightened and stared down at her. "Promise me you won't ever do something foolish like that. I've been a police officer too long not to be concerned."

  "This is a passionate subject for you?"

  "You're darn right it is. When I was a rookie, part of my territory was the park. One summer there was a rapist who attacked young women jogging in the evening. He used a knife on them." Zachariah gripped her upper arms, bringing her close. "Just promise me."

  She nodded, surprised she wasn't upset at his highhandedness.

  "Good." He relaxed back. "I'll pick you up at eight tomorrow night then."

  Tess couldn't believe the evening was ending with them making plans to see each other almost every day to run. She knew she certainly needed a running partner. She had vowed earlier to sever ties with Zachariah and now she was tied to him even more than before. Surely she could control her physical reaction to the man. She hoped she knew what she was doing, but doubts festered in the pit of her stomach.

  Chapter Six

  Zachariah stood in Tess's doorway with Emily in his arms and Lance behind him and drew in a deep breath, then releasing it slowly. "Are you sure about this, Mrs. Kime? Tess and I don't have to run tonight if you have any doubts."

  "Young man, I'm sure. I don't offer to do something I don't want to do. Now you two run along."

  "Granny Kime, that's rich. Run along, Mom. I'm gonna show Lance my Lego sets." Wesley motioned to Zachariah's son to follow him.

  Zachariah placed Emily on the floor with the diaper bag. Before he had a chance to turn toward the door, Katie came up to Emily, took her hand and led her away. He paused, still not sure he and Tess should go to the park. He looked toward her with a question in his gaze.

  "They'll be okay. Shaun's studying in my room. Wesley and Lance will play with Legos and won't even know we're gone." Tess offered a smile even though at the moment she still felt wrung out. She inhaled deeply of the pine-scented air and let the aroma soothe her, but even its effects weren't working as she wished.

  "They aren't the ones I'm worried about." Zachariah watched while Katie started walking around the living room with Emily in tow.

  "You can't touch dis. Dat's off limits." Katie pointed to two objects on the bookcase, then moved to an end table to continue her dictates.

  Tess clasped Zachariah's hand and pulled him out the door. "Katie told me she wanted to show Emily her toys in her room. She's been dying to play house all day and Emily has been elected to be her daughter. It's only an hour."

  "Tess, you and I both know all that can happen in an hour's time. For that matter in five minutes' time."

  She opened the door to his van. "I need this. Believe me Granny Kime wouldn't have agreed if she didn't want to. She told me once she was too old to do anything unless it suited her."

  He started the engine, then glanced at her. "Are you sure you're up to this? You look tired."

  "Gee, thanks," she said with a laugh that felt good. "Tired isn't the right word. Stressed is more like it."

  "I have to admit you have the most interesting smelling house. Obviously that is what a pine aroma relieves."

  Tess's eyes widened. "Why, yes. When you had a day like I did you will do almost anything to combat the stress."

  "What happened?"

  "I had a conference with Wesley's teacher again today. You know a few weeks back my son was too quiet and withdrawn in the classroom. Well, now he is too disruptive and actually aggressive on the playground. He got into a fight with a boy during recess. He bloodied his nose and made the boy cry. He is suspended for the rest of the week. A first grader!" The tension she'd felt since the meeting intensified. Tess rolled her shoulders and rubbed the back of her neck.

  "Lance did mention it."

  "I don't understand what's going on with that child. I can't believe I actually miss the child he was a month ago. He comes out of his bedroom now, but all he does is fight and get upset at everyone. Thank goodness he and Lance are becoming friends. Maybe your son's influence will settle him down."

  "Do you want me to talk with Wesley? See what's bothering him?"

  "No," came automatically out before Tess had time to think. Then she remembered the last time he had wanted to help with Wesley and quickly added, "I appreciate the offer, but he's my son. I need to have that talk with him. I've tried but obviously not hard enough." Offering to help was as much a part of Zachariah as his heart was. She couldn't accept that kind of assistance, just as obviously he couldn't accept the word no.

  He pulled into a parking space at the park. "We'll run an extra lap. Maybe that will help."

  Tess climbed from the van and immediately started stretching. "Since we started running regularly, things seem easier to deal with. I've always known exercise is good for stress, but without someone to do it with, it was easy not to run when something little interfered."

  "Yeah, when someone else is miserable right along with you, it's so much better." He placed his left leg on the bumper of his van and bent over, touching his foot and holding the position.

  "Right. When I'm about ready to give up, you force me to go an extra lap or two."

  He bowed. "Simon Legree at your service. Ready?"

  "Not just yet. I'm really tight tonight."

  Tess felt Zachariah's gaze on her as she finished up her last series of stretches. Under the light of the street lamp, she could see the golden cast to his hard features. On the cool breeze she could smell his particular scent of musk and her body responded with a faster beat of her heart as if she had completed several laps.

  While she twisted from side to side, she thought back over the past three weeks. Every evening that the weather had been decent they had run and talked. She knew everything about him. And she liked what she knew. She had even found herself "ranting and raving" when she had needed to because something hadn't gone right that day. He would listen, sometimes offer his help as was his nature. Brad had never listened, had always told her what he thought then stormed away. And above all had never supported her. It was nice to have someone to talk to besides her family and have her feelings validated.

  "I'm ready now," Tess announced when she realized her body was beginning to react to him watching her with a sexual tightening in the pit of her stomach.

  Zachariah set a grueling first three laps, and Tess thought she wasn't going to make it. But by the time s
he started on the fourth one the earlier stress melted away, leaving in its wake a calm acceptance. Wesley was moving through moods. Perhaps this recent anger was closer to what he was feeling than his passiveness of the past year. If so, then what was happening was good. Hopefully before long he would open up and tell her what was bothering him. She felt it went much deeper than Brad walking out on them.

  When they completed their four miles, they walked around in circles to cool down. With her breathing evening out, Tess stopped finally and stared up at the dark sky. She found the first star and made a wish that Wesley would be all right, that she wouldn't have a juvenile delinquent on her hands at the ripe old age of six.