“Keep your damn lips off my wife, little brother,” Connor teased as he smacked Cole upside the head and wrapped his arm around Meg.
“You know where I live when you grow tired of this baboon.” Cole winked at Meg as she and Connor walked off.
“Hey, stud muffin.” Emma hugged him tight and stayed in his arms as she looked up at him.
“If I told you that you had a great body, would you hold it against me?”
“I am,” she said, non-phased by his line. “We still on for our annual New Year’s Day ride?”
“Annual? We’ve only done it once.” He laughed. “But yeah, my calendar’s pretty open.”
“Good. Let’s go eat.” She looped her arm in his and herded him into the kitchen. It smelled of a mixture of garlic and chocolate. Normally not a great combination, but his mother’s famous sauce sat simmering on the stove and Meg’s double fudge brownies were baking in the oven, so all was well. The counter couldn’t be seen under the array of vegetable platters, cookies, chips and dip, and fancy finger foods.
Gingerbread, popcorn garlands, and cookie cutters decorated the Christmas tree in the corner of the gigantic kitchen. Cole knew better than to eat one of the cookies off the tree. He made the mistake last year and his pain in the ass brother waited until he shoved the whole damn thing in his mouth before telling him there was glue and glitter and shit in it.
“Where’s Mason?”
“Playing hide-and-go-seek with Tucker. He started it about twenty minutes ago and the kid keeps hiding in the same place giggling like he’ll be impossible to find. He’s making everyone else crack up as well. I nearly peed my pants. Mason adores him.”
“They’re cute kids. My bro and your ma did real good.”
“Yeah, they did.”
They filled up their plates and Cole made his rounds greeting friends, neighbors and the rest of his family. He noticed the absence of alcohol in his family’s hands and some of the other adults noticeably hid their glasses when he entered a room. He didn’t think he’d make it to midnight being the subject of pitying looks. Five more hours to go. He kept a plate of food in one hand, more so as a distraction than to fill his stomach…which was definitely out of the ordinary. The jolly Christmas music playing in the background and twinkling lights in the windows should have put him in a better mood but he’d rather brood. He’d mastered the art of it lately.
“Mr. Tucker!” shouted a familiar voice behind him. Three heads swiveled toward the front door, but Cole knew he was the one being sought out.
Cole turned, shocked to see Sam and Levi standing in the living room. From the look of her shiny, full, pink lips hanging open with a gasp and her right eyebrow quirked high with surprise, she hadn’t expected to see him either. Damn, she looked fine. And his gaze hadn’t even left her face yet. Realizing they were drawing an audience, he turned his attention to Levi.
“Hey, big guy! I haven’t seen you since Christmas,” he said as he bent down on his knees to be eye level with the boy. “Did you see Santa? Did he find your Grammie and Grampy’s house okay?”
“Yeah! He did, and he put a giant million pieces of candy in my stocking. And I got a Spider-Man puzzle and a Batmobile and the Batcave. You can come over and play with it if you want. And I got new Batman pajamas with a cape on it that I’m going to wear tonight, but my mom says I have to take the cape off when I sleep so I don’t choke-d to death.”
“That’s a pretty smart thing to do. I don’t think Batman sleeps with his cape on either.”
“Batman is really Bruce Wayne.”
“That’s pretty cool to have a secret name.”
“Levi,” Sam interrupted. “Let Mr. Tucker finish his food.”
“Nah, I’m good. I’ve been eating all night. It’s probably time I took a break.” He set his plate on the counter and shoved his hands in his back pockets.
“Is Ms. Mimi here? She said she was going to be, but I haven’t seen her. Oh, look, Mommy, there’s Anthony. Can I go play with him?”
“Yes, but you use your manners and no running in the house.” Levi bolted into the next room and plopped himself on the floor next to his preschool friend and a bucket of Legos. Sam returned her attention to Cole. “I wasn’t expecting to see you here.”
“I could say the same.”
He hadn’t seen her since right before Christmas, not by choice of course. Sam turned down his offer to bring Levi to see the horses, and with no snow yet there hadn’t been any need for her to come to the house to pick up the snowplow. If he and Mother Nature had their way, she’d be coming over in the next few days to take the plow for a test run. And being the gentleman he was, he’d offer to go with her and show her the ropes.
“Umm…thank you for the Christmas gift. That was…thoughtful.”
Cole chuckled. “Thoughtful isn’t exactly the response I was looking for, but okay. Have you watched it yet?”
“The movie? No, I haven’t had a chance to see it without Levi being around.”
“Iron Man 2 has less violence and the language is toned down compared to the first. I think when they made the first one, they weren’t expecting so much of a young fan base. They really marketed the second movie toward kids.” He didn’t normally ramble but his tongue needed to keep moving or he’d be tempted to use it to lick the bottom lip she’d been chewing on.
“You’re a kid in a grownup’s body, aren’t you?” She smiled and the front of his jeans suddenly seemed to shrink as other parts of him swelled. Heart and head.
Both heads.
He grinned. “Is that a bad thing?”
She shook her head and laughed. “I have absolutely no idea. But you’re just as draining as Levi.”
He decided to take that as a compliment and not an insult. “How about I come over some night after Levi is asleep, and we watch the movie. You can let me know if it’s too much for the little squirt.” He saw her start to close down. “That wasn’t a come on. You’d know if it was, trust me.” He smiled and winked at her. “Think of it as research. I have a little nephew and niece, and I’m their favorite uncle. I need to spoil them, but I’m not sure what’s appropriate and what’s not. I’ll take Levi for a test drive and see how I do.”
“I don’t know, Cole…”
“Rejection can lead to emotional stress for both parties involved and emotional stress can lead to physical complications such as headaches, ulcers, cancerous tumors, and even death! So for my health and yours, say yes.”
She laughed again as Levi came running into the living room. “Mommy! I found Ms. Mimi. And Ms. Meg and Tucker and Hannah are here. And Anthony and I are playing Legos.”
“Hi, Sam. Happy New Year. I’m so glad you and Levi made it.” Betsy hugged Sam. “And I see you’ve met one of my sons,” his mother said as she rubbed his arm affectionately.
“Your son? Cole, you never said Ms. Mimi was your mom.”
“Ms. Mimi? I don’t know about her, but my dear ol’ ma here usually goes by Betsy.”
“Yes, well, all the children at daycare call me Ms. Mimi. It’s pretty cute.” His mother smiled a mischievous grin at him and then looked back at Sam. “I never told you Tucker Properties was part of our family business?”
“No. And I never made any connection because the twins’ last name is McKay. I assumed they had their father’s last name, so I didn’t think of you as a ‘Tucker.’”
“Connor is from my first marriage. He’s a McKay, but Cole and Mason are Tuckers. Hmm, interesting that I forgot to mention that. Must be we’re always so distracted with the kids.” She patted Cole’s arm again. “You two have a fun night.” She sauntered into the next room, scooping up one of the other children and kissing her on the cheek.
“I had no idea she was your mother. She’s one of Levi’s favorite people. In fact, she’s watched him twice now while I’ve worked late. I would have thought she would have brought it up.”
Cole knew exactly why she didn’t say anything. Déjà vu settled in. Sh
e did the same thing to Meg and Connor a few years ago, playing matchmaker. It didn’t bother him one bit, but he felt bad for sideswiping Sam.
“Hey, I’m sorry. I had no idea that Levi went to Happy Hearts.”
“Oh.” Sam looked apologetic. “You don’t need to apologize for anything, Cole. I guess this is what happens when you live in a small town.”
Emma came over and blessed them with her bubbly, friendly chatter. “So, I hear you’re working for this stiff. Has he hit on you yet? Duh.” She smacked her forehead with the palm of her hand. “Stupid question. Rather, how long did it take for him to lay a line on you?” She looped an arm through Sam’s and led her to the noticeably under-stocked mini bar. “Drink?”
“Um, about two seconds and no, thank you. I have to drive Levi home soon.”
“How about soda. Diet or regular? You look like a regular girl. Cola or sprite?”
“I’ll have a diet. Are you sure you’re not related to Cole? You’re just as pushy as him,” Sam joked.
“Oil and vinegar, girlfriend. That’s what we are.” Emma pulled two sodas from the fridge and handed Sam a bottle. “It’s kind of sick, but I think that’s why Mason fell in love with me. ’Cause I’m kinda like his twin. It would freak me out more if he weren’t so hot. Mason, not Cole. Cole is the ugly one.” She smiled over her shoulder at the ugly one who was in earshot, and currently eavesdropping on their conversation.
“Well then, I’d sure like to meet your fiancé,” Sam teased and Cole tensed. An unfamiliar twang of jealousy clenched his gut.
“Not a chance in hell. You’re too much his type, cute and sweet and the kind of girl a guy wants to take home to mama. I’m keeping you as far away from him as I can.”
Sam laughed. “What makes you think that?”
“First.” Emma paused to take a drink. “You’re wearing cute bootleg jeans over an amazing pair of cowboy boots and a tasteful, red, turtleneck sweater.”
“What’s wrong with my outfit?”
“Oh, nothing! You look perfect. That’s the problem.”
“Oh?” Sam sipped her soda and looked around for Levi, Cole assumed. “What makes that a problem?”
“You’re innocent-looking but mature, you’re a mother so you obviously have a caring, compassionate side, and lastly, you’re five-feet-nothing and look like you couldn’t harm a fly.”
Cole crossed his arms and continued to lean against the sideboard in the living room, enjoying the conversation way too much.
“I bet I could take you on,” Sam edged.
Oh yeah, Cole really enjoyed listening in. Now he had visions of Emma and Sam rolling around in a pool of mud. Or Jell-O. Yeah, he really liked where this conversation was going.
“Really, now?” Emma had a familiar glint in her eye. Cole knew how much she loved being challenged. “Do you ride?”
“Ride?”
“Horseback ride.”
“Oh, no. I’ve never ridden before.”
“Hmm, well, we’ll have to go some time, but that would be an unfair challenge. How about a run?”
Sam polished off the rest of her soda and looked deep in thought. Damn, she had a cute face. Cole had never been into cute before. As Emma had said, Sam did look like the type of girl you’d bring home to your mom. His usual type had long legs, ample cleavage, a loud laugh, long hair and a passion for fun. Kind of like Emma. Except she was too…too much like him.
“Well, I used to run quite a bit but haven’t done much lately. Your legs are twice as long as mine. If you give me a month to get back in to shape I bet I could beat you.”
“You’re on, girlfriend.” They shook hands and laughed at something Emma said.
Their voices turned softer, and he had a hard time listening in. Unsure whether to intrude on their girly talk or to take a hike, Cole stayed in his lurking spot and looked around the room. Everyone seemed to be paired off either in boyfriend/girlfriend, husband/wife mode or by parent/child. He was the only one without someone to partner up with. Again, something out of character for him.
Mason had to be somewhere, going nuts without Emma at his side saving him from having to make idle conversation with people. Although, lately he’d started looking more comfortable hanging out with others since Emma came into his life. Before Cole could move to the game room, where Mason probably was hiding, Levi came charging in on a mission.
“Mamma, can I have another cookie? Please? They’re the ones I made with Ms. Mimi yesterday-yesterday-yesterday when she babysitted me. I really need to have one now ’cause all the other kids are.”
“Well,” Sam said as she squeezed Levi’s cheeks, inspecting his face. “It looks like you’ve already been into the cookies.”
“No, I swear. I haven’t had any.” His mother raised an eyebrow. “I only had the brownies.”
She sighed and kissed his nose. “One cookie since you helped make them and then we need to go. It’s way past your bedtime.”
“Oh, man.” Levi slumped his shoulders.
“You made those cookies?” Emma asked, her blue eyes sparkling at Levi. “Well, I need to try one too. Want to show me which ones you made?” She grabbed his hand and stepped into the kitchen.
Sam was finally alone; although she could still see her son in the kitchen. Cole walked up to her and tucked his hands in the back pockets of his jeans, trapping them so he wouldn’t be tempted to stroke her soft skin or cup her cheek in his palm.
“He’s a great kid.”
“I know.” She sighed as she watched him point out cookies to Emma. “I mean, thank you. Sorry, that was rude.”
“Rude? Agreeing that your kid is great? If I have a kid like that, I’d be bragging it up to everyone I know.”
Her sometimes-somber gaze moved to his and lit up lighter than the star at the top of the Christmas tree. He expected another thank you, and when she stared at him and smiled, his heart tugged and pulled, a sensation he’d never experienced before.
Getting sucker-punched by Connor after making a pass at his girlfriend back in high school had knocked the wind out of him for a few seconds, but the glint from the lights that reflected in Sam’s eyes sucked every breath and then some from his body. He couldn’t move, couldn’t breathe, couldn’t think.
“Are you going to die?” Levi’s voice resonated from the kitchen. The twinkle in Sam’s eye vanished and her body tensed.
“No, sweetie, I’m not going to die. But I have a disease called diabetes. I have to give myself a shot every time I have sugar.”
“Wow. I’d never ever eat sugar again.” He watched Emma turn the dial on her pump attached to her stomach. “Dark Vader had a mask so he could breathe so he wouldn’t die.”
“As long as I’m very careful and eat mostly healthy food and exercise a lot, I won’t die from my diabetes, so you don’t have to worry, okay?” Emma hugged him and picked up a cookie.
“My daddy and my sister died. But I wasn’t born yet.”
The room became silent as eyes turned to look at Sam. Other than moving her hand to cover her mouth, she stood motionless. But he could sense the tension in her body.
“They’re both in heaven. Will you go to heaven when you die?” Levi asked Emma.
Emma smiled sadly, hugged Levi, and looked pleadingly over his head at Cole. Quickly, he walked over to Levi, picked him up and put him on his shoulders. “Hey, big guy, let’s go down to the man cave and see what the boys are playing. Have you ever played darts before?” He winked as he looked at Sam who still stood in shock. “Just kidding,” he said at his poor attempt to change the mood of the room. “How about poker? Pool?”
“There’s a Batcave here? And a pool? But I didn’t bring my bathing suit.”
Cole held on to the little legs that draped over his shoulder and continued to crack jokes as they walked out of the room; he couldn’t help seeing Sam’s expression while her son talked about their dead family. She obviously still harbored a lot of pain from their deaths. His heart bled for her, and h
e wished he could have whisked her away instead of Levi, but no one else in the room had the relationship he had with the little guy.
He cursed to himself and broke out into a sweat. Relationship, yeah, he had one with the darling little family of two, only he didn’t know what kind of relationship it was.
Chapter 7
Dozens of sympathetic and pitying gazes were on her. The move to New Hampshire had been her attempt to avoid such stares and muffled, “Oh, the poor thing” and “How will she ever move on” comments. In Newhall, New Hampshire, Samantha Chase was supposed to be anonymous, without a tragic past.
Being open and honest with Levi when the questions about his father came had been hard at first, but he’d accepted his father’s fate as just another fact of life. Levi was too young to fully comprehend what death meant, but the adults in the room understood. And now the whispers and saddened eyes would be directed her way.
Instead of appreciating Cole coming to the rescue and taking Levi away, she wished he hadn’t. Now there was no buffer, no way she could escape the barrage of questions that were sure to come her way.
Meg stepped up first slipping her arm through Sam’s. “I heard you’re taking Emma on in a road race. Now, normally I’d want my daughter to win, but she’s too competitive and needs someone to take her down a notch, just like Cole needs it every now and then. And so does Connor. So, here’s a tip. Emma hates hills. Hates. Absolutely hates them. If you start your run from the farm and go down Meadowbrook Terrace, that will bring you over to Hill Road and back to the farm. It’s about a three-mile run. Don’t tell her I told you,” she whispered.
Sam wiped a tear she didn’t realize had slipped and nodded.
“Did Betsy tell you to bring your bathing suit?”
“My what? No, Cole said he was bringing Levi to play pool. I figured he meant the game.”
“Oh, yes, they’re down in the game room. But we have a hot tub. That’s usually where the women end up. Boys in the game room, grandparents watching the little ones and women in the hot tub gossiping and drinking champagne. I have a suit you can borrow if you’d like.”
False Impressions Page 6