by Claire Adams
“What have you heard?” he said in a paranoid tone.
I had to laugh; it was clear that Bryce wasn’t putting any extra effort into his relationship at all. Even though I didn’t have a long-term relationship, I did know women, and I knew they liked to be wanted. In my opinion, it didn’t matter if it was the first date or you have been married for 50 years, a woman liked to know her man wanted her.
“I haven’t heard anything; I’m just giving you my love advice.”
“Oh, okay. Dude doesn’t even have a girlfriend and is giving me marriage advice.” He snickered as we went back to playing cards.
Luckily, after a late night of playing cards, I was able to sleep in until nearly noon the next morning. It was by far the longest I’d ever slept since back home I hardly took a day off of work at all. Even when I did have a day where I wasn’t at the office, I was still at home working.
As I rolled out of bed and grabbed some coffee, I dialed Marcus to check in with how everything had been going. He had forwarded a few emails to me, but other than that, Marcus had let me relax more than I had imagined he was going to.
“I just got out of bed.” I laughed as he answered his phone.
“Now that’s weird.”
Marcus knew me well and knew I was always up and in the office before most of the staff. Even on Sundays, I was up and going for my run before most people made it to church. But I enjoyed the relaxed life I had in Rainbow; it was certainly growing on me.
“How are things going?” I asked.
“Things are going really well. I hate to tell you this, but I really like being in charge.” He laughed.
“That’s a relief. I really like not being in charge. How are the clients doing? No big complaints or anything like that?”
“Nope, I’ve got the account reps working hard to keep everything on time. The department heads say everyone is doing well and I even brought in a new client earlier this week.”
“Wow, I’m impressed. Thanks for taking the lead and running with it, I appreciate it very much.”
“How is your father doing?”
“He’s doing as well as can be expected. We got him up and outside yesterday, and I saw him smiling more than I’ve seen since I got out here.”
“Are they sure there isn’t anything else that can be done for him? I mean, if he’s doing so well, maybe his doctors could find a cure.”
I had to laugh at his comment and how similar it was to Kelsi’s and many other people’s. It was a natural human instinct to want to save someone who was ill. I know I had fought with that instinct for months after my father was diagnosed. Only after I had finished an exhaustive research and reviewed his case with several doctors had I finally succumbed to the reality of the situation.
“It’s just part of the illness. He has good days and bad. You make sure and call me if anything goes crazy. I’m still around, you know. I haven’t totally retired yet.”
“Sure thing, boss. Take care of yourself and your family.”
By five o’clock, I had visited my father and was on my way over to Kelsi’s house. Dad had spent most of our visit asleep, but it was still nice to sit with him. His number was growing smaller and smaller, and I wanted to take advantage of each day he had left.
I was almost 20 minutes early to Kelsi’s house and decided to pull into the driveway anyways. As I did, I saw her mother sitting on the porch reading a book. She looked exactly as I remembered her from my high school days when I’d come over to pick Kelsi up on the weekends. Déjà vu wrapped around my brain as I walked up the steps and gave Mrs. Sullivan a hug.
“Now this makes me feel old,” she said as she looked up at me.
“Me too.” I laughed. “Is Kelsi around, Mrs. Sullivan? I’m here to pick her up for a date.”
We both laughed at how similar our conversation was to so many we had had years before. Time was a tricky thing: one minute you were young and full of life and then with a blink of an eye, you were a grown up with 15 years of experience.
“She’s out riding one of the horses that needed breaking in. She was supposed to be back a while ago, but no sight of her yet.”
“Do you mind if I wait with you here? Or should I come back?”
“Oh, darling, you wait here with me. I’m not going to send you away. Although, when the girls find out you’re here, they will probably come and talk your ear off. You have caused quite the stir around here.”
“Really?” I said, suddenly very interested in the gossip that Mrs. Sullivan had to share with me.
“Yes, those girls sure do love having a handsome man around here. It reminds me of…” She trailed off.
“What was his name? Clyde’s father?”
Mrs. Sullivan smiled and then shook her head at my question. It was clear she wasn’t going to tell me about the guy. She just continued to shake her head and then made a motion like she was zipping her lips shut and throwing away the key.
“Oh, you’re throwing away the key?” I laughed. “I guess he must have been really handsome to cause so much secrecy.”
Mrs. Sullivan laughed and shrugged her shoulders before she finally gave in and responded to me.
“He was really handsome,” she said softly. “But he wasn’t a great guy. Not good at all.”
“So, tell me more about what the girls have been saying about me?” I said as I playfully raised my eyebrows.
“Oh, no, don’t you tell him anything,” Kelsi said as she walked up from the side of the house. “Sorry I’m late, and I’m filthy. Do you mind if I take a quick shower?”
“No, not at all. It will give me more time to interrogate your mother,” I teased.
“Don’t you tell him anything, Mom. I’ll know if you’ve talked. I’m like the National Security Administration; I know things.”
“Your mom and I will just enjoy the porch here. No worries. Go take your shower.” I laughed.
Kelsi just shook her head as she made her way into the house. She looked a little worried that her mom was telling me all sorts of wild stories, but Mrs. Sullivan didn’t tell me a thing. We sat quietly and talked about the weather mostly until Kelsi finally reappeared at the front door about 20 minutes later.
“I thought women were supposed to take a long time to get ready? That was speedy fast.”
“I’m not high maintenance.”
“Should we head out? I don’t want to be too late.”
“Yep, I’m all yours,” she said.
“Now that is music to my ears.”
“So, tell me, what exactly we are doing at this art studio?” Kelsi asked while I drove us toward the city.
“It’s a surprise,” I said as I grabbed her hand and pulled it up to my lips. “I think you’ll enjoy it, though.”
“I think so, too. You know, I’m going to get used to having you around, and that’s totally not fair.”
“I’m a horrible person.”
“Just like that? No argument at all? No defending yourself whatsoever?” Kelsi said as she giggled. “I would have thought you had some smooth answer for how you were going to deal with all these emotions you’re stirring up.”
“Nope, I’ve got nothing. I didn’t even have a plan going into that visit at your house the first time. All I knew was I really wanted to see you again.”
“Aw, you’re sweet.”
“Now I’m sweet?” I questioned. “I can’t be a horrible person and also be sweet, that just won’t work. We are going to have to decide on one of them.”
“After tonight,” she said softly as she pulled my fingers up to her mouth.
Kelsi let her tongue play with the tip of my middle finger and then seductively slid it around her lips. Instantly, my body hardened with desire. I wasn’t exactly sure what had happened, but it appeared that Kelsi was making a move on me. I certainly wasn’t going to complain about it; I was more than happy to be the recipient of any moves she wanted to make.
“You’re going to have to stop that or we wil
l never make it to the art studio,” I said through deep breaths as I tried to calm the desire that was filling me quickly.
“I’m sorry, is this distracting you from your driving?” her husky voice said.
Kelsi pulled my wet finger out of her mouth and let it trace a trail down her chest and to the center of her cleavage. Now, I really was getting distracted and a little worried I wasn’t going to be able to keep my eyes on the road.
“Five minutes,” I said firmly. “We have five minutes until we get there.”
“Then do I get to paint you? Are you going to get naked and let me sketch you?”
“Naked?”
“Yeah, wasn’t that what you were going to do in high school?” She laughed.
“How did you know?”
“You took your shirt off, and then I saw your hands go to your belt, but you paused and then changed your mind. I was a little disappointed. I’d never seen a penis before, and I wanted to see yours.”
“I’ll show you anything you want,” I offered.
“Well, now it’s not as much fun. A penis is a penis; they are all pretty much the same.” Kelsi had an attitude of disappointment in her voice.
I still remembered my thoughts exactly during that night at the art studio. I was going to suggest she paint me naked, but I thought it sounded too cheesy and I didn’t want her to see how excited I was to be there with her. Instead, I just left my shirt off and went back to painting my own picture.
“I’ve missed you.” I laughed. “There aren’t many women in the world who could make a statement like that on a date.”
“You know, I hate to admit it, but I missed you, too. This is the most fun I’ve had in years. I’m glad you came home for a bit. I’m just sorry that it’s because your father is sick.”
“Okay, before this conversation gets all sappy and sad, let’s get into the art studio because I have something I want to show you.”
“Did you paint a giant picture of your penis?”
“No, but that does sound like a fun project.” I winked as I hopped out of the car and ran around to open her door for her.
Chapter Fourteen
Kelsi
I couldn’t stop thinking about Tyler. His face was all I saw as I went to bed and then the whole day while I did all my work. It was as if the last 15 years hadn’t happened at all and we were right back where we had left off.
Obviously, I knew that time had passed, but the relationship we had seemed stronger because we were both stronger people. Tyler had found his way in the world, and although I hadn’t left Rainbow yet, I still felt like I’d grown a lot since my high school days. When I saw him sitting on the porch with my mother, I knew Kendall and Hannah were right. I needed to take advantage of this time with Tyler.
If we only had a few weeks together, that was better than no time at all. I didn’t want to live my life regretting not going after him. I certainly didn’t want to be thinking about these moments 15 years farther down the road and wish I would have given him a chance.
“So, I lied to you again,” Tyler said with a huge smile on his face as he pulled a set of keys out of his pocket and unlocked the door to the art studio. “I actually already talked to the owner and have the key. So, we get this whole place to ourselves tonight.”
“I suspected you had some sort of sneaky agenda.”
He flipped the lights on and there were two easels sitting in the back of the studio with all the supplies we would need to paint. I couldn’t help but get excited. I loved to paint; it was one of my favorite things to do when I was younger. I often thought I’d get around to doing it again as an adult, but life always seemed to get in the way and I never got around to buying the supplies.
“So, should I get naked for you to paint me?” he said jokingly.
“Yes,” I replied as I tried not to look at him and the shocked look on his face. “I think that’s a great idea. Get naked and climb onto the stage; I’ll paint you.”
Tyler stood for a minute and pondered what I was asking of him. He probably thought I was joking, I mean I hadn’t given him much reason to think I would give in to his advances. But I liked the idea of getting to paint him. I really liked the thought of him being more vulnerable than I was, because since I’d seen him again, I’d felt constantly vulnerable around him.
“I’ll do it,” he threatened. “Don’t think I won’t.”
“Then do it,” I said as I smiled and turned away from him.
“You think I’m joking and won’t get naked, but I will. I have no problem at all getting naked. Do you really want to paint me?”
“Yep.”
I could hardly keep my face hidden as I tried not to look at him while I heard his pants buckle being taken off. Quickly, I went to work setting up my easel and trying to avoid the nagging urge I had to turn around and peek at him. My adrenaline was pulsing through my veins, and I could almost hear my heartbeat in my own head I was so excited by the situation.
Not only had I not painted in a very long time, but I hadn’t been around a man who I wanted since Clyde’s father. I’d pretty much sworn off men altogether until Tyler came back into town and ruined all my plans for living a long a celibate life alone.
“On the stage, like this?” Tyler asked as I peeked over the canvas and looked at him.
“No, I was thinking more like this,” I said as I walked over and repositioned him how I wanted him to sit. “I can’t do a lot of angles, so keep your legs straight and lay back on one arm.”
It took every bit of self-control I had not to kiss him right there, but I did it. I walked away from him without throwing myself on top of him. However, I did manage to get a pretty good glimpse of his package, and he seemed to have quite the piece of equipment to work with.
“You should get naked, too,” Tyler said as he made himself a little more comfortable.
“How on earth would that work? I’m the one doing the painting.”
“I know, but it would make me happy to watch you painting while you were naked,” he joked.
“I have a better idea. You stay there naked, and I’ll stay here with my clothes on. Okay, great, yep, that sounds like the best idea.”
“Your hair looks amazing in this light,” Tyler said as I started to draw out the figure I was going to paint. “I bet you have tons of guys throwing themselves at you around here. I know you have Clyde to think about, but why haven’t you dated anyone since his father?”
“How do you know I haven’t?”
“Your mom told me.”
“Damn her,” I swore. “She doesn’t know. Maybe I went on a date and didn’t tell her. She doesn’t know everything about my life.”
“Have you dated since his father left?”
“No.” I laughed. “Now stop talking so I can paint you. I need to concentrate.”
“Don’t blame me if I get excited; I’m just going to lie here and think about that amazing dress you had on the other night.”
“Tyler Pace, no erections. Erections aren’t allowed in figure art.”
“Tell that to the big guy; he’s got a mind all of his own, and I have no control over how excited he gets or when he gets excited.”
“Shhh, I’m trying to concentrate,” I said as I looked at each curve of his body and precisely drew it onto my canvas.
It was as if I was right back in high school and my art class. I had loved art so much and missed the level of concentration that came from delving deep into a project. Tyler must have noticed my level of concentration and stopped talking so I could work on drawing him and then adding my paint. It was going to be a long process, probably a couple of hours, but I was so excited to be doing it.
The last couple of days with Tyler around had reminded me how little I had been taking care of myself and my needs. Yes, I was a mother now and needed to make Clyde my priority, but he had to come second to myself. If I wasn’t taking care of myself, I wasn’t going to be able to take care of him. Part of taking care of myself
had to be doing things I wanted to do. Even after Tyler went back home, I was going to make an effort to get out more. I was going to buy tickets to the theater and even get my art supplies purchased so I could paint at home again.
Kendall and Hannah were right: having Tyler around wasn’t a waste at all. He was teaching me how I could be even better at parenting if I made myself happier. He was also giving me the attention I hadn’t had from a man in a really long time.
There was something special about a nice man who wanted to pay attention to me. I didn’t need it to feel good about myself, but it sure did help a lot. I felt prettier than I’d felt in a long time and that also lifted my mood and made me happier.
“Are you doing all right? Do you need a break?” I asked as Tyler adjusted his position.
“No, I’m good. How’s the painting going? Want to show me what you’ve got so far?” he asked, knowing darn well I wasn’t going to show him.
“Do you want me to get you a drink? I could grab you a glass of water if you’d like?” I replied and totally ignored his request to see what I was working on.
“I’m okay for right now.”
“I was thinking about what your life is like in Alabama, and I realized I have no idea. Tell me a little more about your life.”
“Well, I work a lot. Probably a little too much. It took me a long time to build the business to the level it is now, and I still feel like it could slip away from me at any moment. Isn’t that weird? Even with all the money I have, I still worry.”
I continued painting as he talked. It was cathartic to listen to him, and he seemed to need to talk through some things as well.
“I’m going to keep painting; you just tell me more about your life. Now that I’m done with the drawing part, I don’t worry as much about my concentration for the painting.”
“Okay, well I’ll be honest with you. I was going out on a lot of dates. It was weird, though; even the women who were really nice never seemed good enough for me. Not like I felt like I was some huge catch or anything like that. I just wasn’t willing to change anything about my life to make a relationship last longer than a short period of time. For the longest time, I was convinced I just wasn’t the relationship sort of man.”