Taylor Lynne: The Women of Merryton - Book Two

by Jennifer Peel

Thank goodness for Cheyenne. “I think you got your holidays mixed up.”

  “What do you mean?” Veronica snapped.

  “Since you’re wearing your witch’s costume, I assumed you thought this was Halloween,” Cheyenne replied, sounding oh-so-innocent.

  Veronica looked down at her short black dress and matching leather jacket. She looked back up with a withering stare, but it had no effect.

  “I think your broomstick is double parked,” Cheyenne called out. Veronica walked away as fast as she could.

  I had to admire Cheyenne’s audacity. I think the other ladies did, too. She didn’t even get smacked for her comments.

  I was trying not to worry about Veronica or Kathryn. What could they do? Well, I knew the damage Kathryn could do, but Easton was well over her and she lived in Denver.

  I looked at my bedside clock; it was well past midnight. I had texted Easton an hour ago that I would keep Emmy for the night. She was upstairs with Ashley in her room. I still hadn’t heard back from him—it must have been some emergency. I felt bad for him, but I knew he was used to it.

  I tossed and turned, trying to get to sleep. Easton was consuming my every thought. I was going back and forth in my mind on whether I should give him another chance. My heart was leaning toward it. I found myself wishing I were in his arms at that very moment. I wanted to hear him sing off-key in my ear and kiss his way down my neck, like he used to do.

  In the midst of fantasizing about Easton, I heard a rap on my window. I grabbed my heart and my phone. I was ready to call the police until I heard, “Taylor, it’s me.”

  I looked at my phone—1:32 a.m. I rolled out of bed and threw on my silk robe before I opened my curtains to see Easton standing outside my window. I knelt down and opened the old wood-framed window. It squealed like it hadn’t been opened in years as I pulled it up. I felt an immediate rush of cool air, but Easton’s presence had me feeling warm enough.

  “What are you doing here? And why didn’t you come to the door?” I asked.

  He leaned into the window and smiled like he was the happiest guy in the world, although I could see how tired his eyes were. He didn’t verbally answer me; instead he kissed me, hard and deep. He had my lips parting in seconds. He drank me in like a man that had lived through a drought. I ran my hands through his hair and pulled him as close to me as I could through the window that separated us.

  I hoped my neighbors weren’t watching.

  The kiss slowed until his lips barely lingered on mine. “Hi,” he whispered.

  “Hey there.”

  “I’m sorry it’s late, but I couldn’t wait to see you again.”

  “You could have come to the door.”

  “I thought this was more romantic, besides I didn’t want to wake up the girls.”

  “Are you trying to romance me?”

  “Definitely.” He had the sexiest voice ever.

  “You know I know all your moves.”

  “You haven’t seen anything; I have all new moves now.”

  “Is that so?”

  He lightly brushed his hand across my face. “I’ve missed you, Taylor. Please say you’ll give me another chance.”

  I breathed deeply and closed my eyes for a moment.

  Easton kissed my forehead and lingered.

  Breathing him in was calming my nerves. I had waves of emotion sweeping over me. Everything from courage to being scared out of my mind, but in my heart of hearts I knew I would regret walking away from him again. “I thought that kiss said it all.”

  “I need to hear you say it.”

  “But what if … what if it doesn’t work out?”

  “I’m not going to let that happen.”

  I placed my hands on his cheeks, the rough stubble scratching my fingers, and looked into his soulful eyes. “Okay, you win. I’m all yours, but don’t you think we should keep it to ourselves for a while? Not that the whole town doesn’t already think we’re together, but maybe we should keep it low-key. I don’t want the girls to get their hopes up.”

  He shook his head. “I don’t want to keep this from anybody, especially the girls. I want this to be above board. I want the world to know we’re together.”

  “Promise me we’ll take things slow.”

  He groaned and leaned his forehead against mine. “We’ll take it as slow as you need it to be.”

  I brushed my lips against his. He took that as an invitation and before I knew it my lips were parting. His kiss had never tasted so sweet. When his lips left mine I was longing for more.

  “I better go before I can’t hit the brakes. Get some rest, my love. Tomorrow—or I guess later today—starts Taylor and Easton chapter two. And it’s going to blow chapter one out of the water.”

  I laughed at his playfulness. “Be careful driving home.”

  He kissed me gently once more.

  “Are you sure about this?” I asked one more time.

  He ran the back of his hand down my cheek. “I’ve never been more certain about anything in my life.”

  “This isn’t going to be easy, you know.”

  “It was never meant to be.”

  And maybe that was where we went wrong the first time. We thought it was supposed to be easy, not realizing marriage is probably the hardest thing we would ever choose to do. And it was something you had to keep on choosing.

  ***

  We tried to keep things low-key that first weekend. We sat our daughters down and talked to them about it, and they both gave their overwhelming approval. In fact, they had been trying their hardest to make sure it happened. I hoped it all didn’t end in heartbreak—there were now four hearts on the line.

  It was important for me to let the girls get used to the change before the town blew up, so we spent the weekend in Denver, just the four of us. Easton was a sport and trekked his way through a dozen shoe stores with us until Ashley found the perfect pair of silver strappy heels to match her dress. I noticed the girls watching us a lot as we held hands or kissed—we kept those G rated when they were around—but they both seemed happy about the turn of events.

  After the girls had gone to bed that night, Easton and I snuggled together on the couch in the hotel suite Easton had booked.

  With my head against his chest, he kissed the top of my head. “This was the best day I’ve had in a long time,” he commented.

  “Even though most of it was spent shoe shopping?”

  “We could have watched paint dry. As long as we were all together, that’s all that matters to me.”

  “You’re a good dad.”

  He wrapped his arms around me tighter. “Thank you for saying that.”

  “I mean it. The girls are lucky to have you.”

  He sighed. “I worry that Ashley will grow up and hate me because she’ll realize how much I really missed out on her life, and Emmy will resent me for what I put her through with Kathryn. You don’t know how painful it has been to hear from her therapist the damage Kathryn did to her. I thought I was doing my best to make up for Kathryn’s neglect, but I fell short and my daughter is suffering for it.”

  I rubbed his arms. “The good thing is Emmy’s young and you’re already getting her the helps she needs. Both girls know you love them. Ashley chose to come here. She chose you, even against my wishes.”

  “And what are you wishes now?” he whispered in my ear.

  He still had the touch. Goosebumps erupted all over my body. “Well, for starters, I think we should quit talking for a while.”

  I barely finished my sentence before his lips found mine. The kiss, while passionate and spine tingling, was brief. We had both decided we didn’t want a physical relationship getting in the way of a real relationship. We already knew we were physically compatible—more than compatible—which is why we were trying to be cautious. If we were going to make this work, we needed to be connected emotionally and spiritually in a way we never were before. Sex was not the glue we needed right now to make us come together.

>   “Do you know how much harder it is this go around not to make love to you?” Easton whispered.

  “Believe me, I know. Promise me this time we won’t end up engaged in front of a laundromat and married at the courthouse.”

  “Hey, that’s not why I asked you to marry me. Besides, I have my own laundry room now.”

  “I’ll be sure to stay clear of that room.” I teased.

  He laughed low in my ear. “I’m not going to lie and tell you I don’t miss that part of our relationship, but there are other aspects I missed much more.”

  “Like what?”

  “Like holding you in my arms after a long day and talking to you. You were the best friend I ever had. And I missed our little weekend adventures, and dancing in the kitchen.”

  I snuggled into him more. “I missed those things, too.”

  “I feel like I have my partner back, the best part of me; I feel whole again.

  I nodded against him.

  “Taylor?”

  “Yeah.”

  “I want you to know that you can talk to me about anything. Even if you don’t think I’ll like it or it may upset me. I want you to know there is nothing you can say to me to make me think less of you. I’m here for you.”

  I sat up and looked into his sincere eyes. I ran my hand across his cheek. “Thank you,” I said, barely above a whisper.

  “We’re going to make this work,” he promised.

  ***

  We made our foray into public life at the homecoming game. Believe me, everyone in town knew we were a couple by then but we hadn’t been seen together until that night.

  October arrived and along with it came a cold front. I was trying to figure out how many layers I could wear to the game and still walk and sit normally. Poor Ashley and the whole homecoming court were supposed to wear their dresses as they were being presented at halftime. Spencer was going to be her escort. So far, I was impressed with the kid. He had been polite and respectful anytime he had been over. And apparently his kisses weren’t slimy. I wasn’t sure that was a good thing. I hadn’t mentioned that to Easton, yet.

  Easton, Emmy, and I headed to the game together. Ashley went with a group of girlfriends, because how cool is it to show up with your parents? At least Emmy still thought we had it going on, along with the rest of the town, though they did their best not to stare at us while totally staring at us. One person that did not make any attempt to cover up the fact she was studying us was Veronica. Did she and Landon have to come to every event in town? I knew he was the mayor and all, but please. When I noticed her I scooted in closer to Emmy, who sat between Easton and me. Easton easily put his arm around both of us.

  “I already can’t feel my face,” I complained a few minutes before the game started.

  Easton leaned over Emmy and whispered in my ear, “I’ll warm it back up after the game.”

  I shook my head at him and smiled. At least I think I did, my mouth didn’t seem to be working right. I was missing the South more than ever. I wasn’t sure how I was going to survive the winter if this was what October was like.

  Ashley sat a few rows ahead of us with her friends. Being the best big sister ever, she motioned for Emmy to come sit with her and her friends. Emmy’s face lit up like a Christmas tree at the inclusion. Easton beamed, too. I loved how much the girls loved each other. And I had to admit I didn’t mind getting to snuggle into Easton. It was so cold I almost threw propriety out the window and sat on his lap with the blanket we brought wrapped around us, but I behaved.

  “I like this arrangement.” Easton pulled me close.

  “Hey, lovebirds,” Shane, Abby’s husband, said when they sat next to us.

  Abby rolled her eyes at her husband and greeted us as well.

  “Where are Jessie and Blake?” I asked

  “Maddie’s not feeling well,” Abby replied.

  “That’s too bad,” I responded.

  “That’s what our son thought, too,” Shane added.

  Obviously the Parkers were dealing with the fact Connor liked Maddie a lot better than Blake was handling it.

  I noticed Rachel with her son, Drew, on the front row with Rachel’s dad. It was weird how I recognized these people as my friends, and how much comfort it gave me to see them. When I moved back I’d had no intention of making friends. I certainly had no intension of getting back together with Easton, but like he said, I was beginning to feel whole—not “again,” because I wasn’t sure I had ever really been whole. I had pretended really well, but I didn’t need to pretend anymore. I was finally letting Easton into my life the way I should have before. We spent most nights talking into the early morning hours discussing everything from our own shared past, to my past—the past I had tried to forget, the one that had never really left me alone. Easton listened to every gory detail without judgment or trying to fix it. He just listened and let me get it out of my system, safely in his arms.

  He, too, had his demons, and though it was difficult for me to hear, he needed to talk about his life with Kathryn and what a train wreck it was. He was careful about what he said, but I think he was desperate for me to understand what his life had been like after we were separated.

  Tonight, though, was all about our daughter, not ex-wives or traumatic childhoods. I honestly couldn’t have cared less about the game, but when Ashley and Spencer took to the field during halftime, I felt like my heart was going to burst. She looked like frozen perfection as she waved to the crowd.

  “Can you believe we made that?” I asked Easton through my tears—tears that were probably going to freeze on my face.

  He smiled down at me. “It was all you.”

  Chapter Thirty-One

  “So I’ve moved on from Easton,” Cheyenne announced to us during girl’s night at Jessie Belle’s.

  Easton was taking Emmy out for their monthly father-daughter date and Ashley was out with Spencer, so I decided to join Jessie, Abby, Cheyenne, and Rachel for a little women time.

  Cheyenne’s bold statement got all of our attention, but all the ladies turned toward me to gauge my reaction. I smiled at Cheyenne. “That’s great. Who’s the lucky guy?” It’s not like I was worried Easton was going to leave me for Cheyenne.

  Cheyenne wagged her eyebrows. “Andrew Turner,” she purred.

  “Who’s that?” Rachel asked.

  “I can’t believe you don’t know who he is,” Cheyenne exclaimed. “Hello, he’s the best pitcher the Colorado Bears have ever had. And he’s gorgeous.”

  I wondered if he was really gorgeous, or if his fame made him seem so.

  “Where did you meet him?” Abby asked with skepticism.

  “Last weekend when you homebodies all refused to go out with me, I went to Evergreen to check out Rob’s dance studio. You know Rob, right, Jessie?”

  Jessie threw her a dirty look.

  “Am I missing something?” I asked.

  Cheyenne’s eyes lit up. “He teaches Zumba here at the rec center, and he totally has the hots for Jessie. So much so, Blake had to rough him up.”

  Jessie and Abby smacked her.

  Jessie turned toward me. “What she means by ‘roughed up’ is that Blake stared at him hard once. Rob is married to a very lovely woman, and he has no interest in me.”

  “Uh-huh,” Cheyenne disputed. “Anyway, Rob and his wife teach a salsa class in Evergreen, so I went to check it out. And guess whose mom lives in Evergreen? Yep, Andrew Turner’s. I just happened to run into them as they were coming out of the restaurant next to the dance studio.” She stopped there.

  “And?” Abby said.

  “And that’s it, but I found out that he takes his mom there all the time, and he totally checked me out. So guess where I’ll be hanging out?”

  “Well, good luck with that,” I said uneasily.

  All the other ladies looked at her like she was a little off, but in true Cheyenne fashion, she didn’t care what the rest of us thought.

  “So, how are things going wit
h you and the good doctor?” Jessie asked me.

  I could feel myself grin. “Very well, thank you.”

  “Oh come on, you have to give us more than that. Easton told Blake it’s the happiest time of his life.”

  “We can go with that,” I teased.

  My friends all laughed at me.

  “I’m happy with where we’re at, but we’re taking it slow,” I added.

  “Are you sure?” Rachel asked. “From the looks of it you guys are a done deal.”

  I blushed. “We’ve only been back together a month.”

  “Is that all?” Jessie asked. “Seems like a lot longer.”

  “It’s probably because Easton’s been stuck to her like glue ever since she got here at the beginning of June,” Cheyenne added with a hint of jealousy.

  “We do have a child together,” I reminded her.

  “It looks like you have two,” Abby sweetly commented.

  I smiled to myself. I did love Emmy.

  “You’re way better for her than her own mother,” Jessie said.

  We all nodded in agreement. I was grateful Easton had full custody of Emmy. I was about to respond when Blake crashed through the front doors of the café with a harried expression.

  “Jess,” he said, practically out of breath. “I’ve been trying to call you.”

  Jessie jumped up. “Is everything okay?”

  His eyes lit up. “It’s time,” he announced.

  Jessie put her hands to her mouth and I swear it looked like she was tearing up, but they looked like happy tears.

  “Time for what?” Cheyenne asked.

  Neither Jessie nor Blake responded. Jessie gathered her bag with this nervous energy. “Where’s Maddie?” she asked Blake.

  “In the car waiting for us. Hurry,” he said kindly. He reached for her hand and they rushed out the door together.

  “What was all that about?” Rachel asked.

  Abby and Cheyenne shrugged their shoulders, but Abby said, “They have been acting weird lately, almost secretive.”

  I smiled inwardly. I had a feeling why, but I kept it to myself. I hoped I was right.

  ***

  The evening ended with Emmy asleep on my couch and Easton slow dancing with me in the kitchen while we waited for Ashley to come home from her date.