by Drea Stein
“She’s awfully possessive of you,” Tory pointed out.
He laughed. “That’s funny coming from you. You’ve got the former quarterback, your mother, the local cop and Mrs. A looking out for you. What are they protecting you from?”
He watched her for a moment, and then as she remained silent, nodded grimly. “I can assure you, it wasn’t like that between me and Eleanor.”
“So, she’s really just looking out for you. Like a mother?”
He stiffened, smiled ruefully. “Yes, kind of like a mother. Bobby Dean was like a father to me for a while. Mine wasn’t around, and when he showed up, turned out he was an ex-con and a mean drunk. Still I looked up to him, wanted his approval. My mother wasn’t around and my grandmother was old, failing. My dad, my real dad, taught me how to fix cars. And how to hotwire them, steal hubcaps, drink beer and smoke cigarettes. I was heading off in a bad direction for a while. And that was before I went to Europe.”
Colby ran a hand through his hair. “Maybe I made it seem a bit more glamorous than it was, but my momma and dad weren’t there. My grandmother raised me. And Bobby Dean stepped in when I needed it most. That’s it, Tory, I swear. The only woman I want to be with is you.”
Tory froze. He saw it, noticed it and eased into a smile. “Especially since I plan on taking you to breakfast. Can we just think about the moment, think about the now?”
She relaxed, smiled. “Let me take a shower. Meet you in forty-five?”
He nodded.
Chapter 39
He found her in the breakfast room of the Osprey Arms at the best table, one with a view of the harbor. She was sipping a cup of coffee and didn’t seem surprised to see him.
“Colby, darling, what are you doing here?”
“I gave you the job because I felt sorry for you. I know what it’s like to be all alone. But that doesn’t give you the right to have a say in my life. Stay away from her.” He tried to keep his voice calm.
“Sit down for a spell so we can talk.”
“I don’t want to talk, and I don’t want you talking to Tory.”
“What are you afraid of? We were just having a nice little chat.”
“Did you have to tell her about Kayla? What else were you going to tell her, the whole truth, about you, me? Say, ‘Hey, by the way, I ran off when Colby was a baby, tried to make it as a singer, failed, hooked up with an aging racecar driver and told everyone my son was my really my nephew’?”
“Colby,” she hissed, looking around. “I did what I had to do. I was fourteen and poor. Your daddy didn’t want anything to do with me or you. Yeah, so I ran away to make money. Couldn’t make shit in that small town. I sent every dime I could back to you and Momma.”
“I didn’t want your money. I wanted you.”
Eleanor sighed. “Then you’ve never gone to bed hungry and woken up hungry. You didn’t, did you? I wanted better for you, and I gave you better. You were going places, Colby. You promised me that you’d go to college, get out of that hick town. Next thing I knew I was getting a call from police that you stole a car and were arrested.”
“It was dumb,” Colby huffed. His dad had died, finally, and he’d taken the only thing he could think of he wanted to remember him by. The car. Except his dad’s wife hadn’t seen it that way and had called the police on him. It could have gone south until Eleanor had shown up at the police station with Bobby Dean and bailed him out. She’d sat him down, well out of Bobby’s hearing, and told him how they were going to play it. He was her nephew, and they were going to take him in for a while.
It had been good until he’d found out just how big an asshole Bobby Dean really had been.
“Ass backwards stupid,” Eleanor agreed, taking a sip of coffee.
“He treated you like shit,” Colby said. He still couldn’t get over it. Bobby Dean had been larger than life, and Colby had been sucked right into it. Bobby had taken him everywhere at first. And he’d seen just how large Bobby lived. And how unhappy it had made his mother.
“I wanted you to leave.”
Eleanor shook her head. “What, and be dirt poor again? I did that once, sugar, and I wasn’t going there again. Bobby took care of us.”
“Of you. You sent me away.”
She nodded, and he saw the flash of pain. “I regret it, Colby. I have every day since. I’ve made a lot of mistakes, but I always tried to do right by you. Bobby was jealous, so I asked you to leave. I gave you money. I’ve watched you. You’ve done ok for yourself. Wouldn’t have been able to do what you did without the help we got from Bobby.”
Colby looked out across the water. Sunlight danced and bounced on the surface of the harbor. It promised to be another amazing day. It was an amazing day. He sighed. His mother was right, had always been right even as he didn’t always appreciate how she’d gotten to it. He had a life – a great life – because Bobby Dean had talked to the cop, who’d dropped the charges. Bobby Dean had cleaned him up, given him some class, taught him how to carry himself.
And then, when he’d had to leave, Bobby Dean’s name and Eleanor’s charm had gotten him a place on the racing team. It was Bobby Dean’s money, through Eleanor, that he had used to get his business started. Sure he had paid it back, but he’d taken it in the first place.
He glanced back at his mother.
“Ellie, why are you here?”
“Sugar, I have no other place to go,” she answered simply, and whatever else he was going to say died on his lips.
“Colby, I’m not asking you to forget and not to forgive—at least not yet. Give me another chance, let me stay awhile and let’s see how it goes. Just, you know, one day at a time.”
He nodded. “Fine, but don’t talk to Tory. You stay out of that.”
“I’m worried about you. She doesn’t seem like your type. And, Colby, I know you. You play for keeps. Just watch yourself. She’s not the girl for you.”
“Ellie….”
“Fine, I’ll mind my own business. About her. But if she hurts you—”
Colby stood up. “I’m a grown man. I can handle it.”
Chapter 40
“I still don’t understand what we’re doing here.” Tory said, looking around, slightly surprised at where she found herself.
“I need an assistant,” Colby said with an impish grin as he pulled the Mustang onto a grassy spot.
Next to them, Joe drove a Dodge Charger, painted bright yellow. Yet another one of Colby’s guys had driven the truck, the REO Speedwagon, onto the field. It wasn’t quite in prime condition, but Colby had loaded it with hay and told Tory he intended to give rides around the field with it.
“I thought Eleanor was your assistant?”
Colby smiled at her arched tone. “Sure she is, but not for something like this. Come on; it will be fun. Think of it as doing your civic duty.”
Colby turned and smiled to her. After last weekend, they’d both had busy work weeks and had managed only snatches of time together until Friday night, when she had shown up with takeout and every intention of spending another weekend locked away in the cottage with him. So she had been surprised when he had woken her up early this morning with a kiss and a cup of coffee and told her they were going to baseball day.
“What do you think I’m going to do? Drape myself over the hood of one of these cars like a girl from one of those bad heavy metal music videos from the eighties?”
Colby smiled wickedly at her—and, for a moment, she felt just a little bit turned on. Then she shoved that thought aside.
“These are adolescent boys here, and I don’t think that’s what Officer Sisson had in mind.”
“Wait, are you doing this because of Uncle Hank?”
Colby nodded. “It’s ok, though. I mean, if I had a daughter like you…,” here he leaned in and nipped a kiss on her ear, “and a fishing buddy who was a cop, I’d definitely sic him on me. Just to make sure I got the message.”
“What’s the message?” Tory asked warily, not sure
how she felt about everyone taking an interest in her love life.
“Just that I’d better be on my best behavior around you,” he answered.
She grabbed his arms and pulled him to her. “I don’t know. I kind of like your bad-boy act,” she said as she kissed him.
Tory would have kept kissing Colby, while the sun shined down and the puffy white clouds skittered overhead, but Joe banged his good arm on the roof of the car.
“Ok, love birds, quit it. There’s a dozen twelve-year-old boys heading over here, and I don’t think that’s what the coach wants them to see.”
With a laugh, Tory pulled away. Colby reached in for one last kiss before he bounded out of the car.
Tory sighed, climbed out and stretched her legs. She looked around. Baseball day. She had gone a couple of times when she was a kid, but the whole thing had grown to be a town-wide event. Team moms were selling hot dogs and popcorn, and there were a few carnival games set up. A DJ was playing some music, and kids and parents all milled around the baseball fields.
“I’ll do this for you on one condition.”
“Name your price.”
“Come with me to game night.”
“Game night?”
“Lynn, Phoebe, Chase, Jackson and I get together every once in a while and play games.”
“What sort of games?”
“Board games, silly.”
“You want me to go and play board games with you?”
She waited, wondering if he was going to laugh at her.
“Why, Miss Somers, you’re asking me out on a date, aren’t you? How sweet.”
“It’s not a date,” she said, and she could feel panic start to set in. He’d been doing that, teasing her, testing her, trying to get her to admit to something, that they were something. So far she had resisted.
“Not a date, ok,” he said it calmly, but she could tell there was a coolness in his voice. “Well, whatever you call it, I’d be honored to go with you.”
“Great,” she said, jamming her hands in the pockets of her shorts. That was settled. She had a date for game night. Didn’t mean she was dating.
“Why don’t you go see who wants a hayride?” Colby said as the kids surged around them. “Why do you wear cowboy boots?” She heard one boy ask.
Colby leaned down and said something too low to hear. The rest of the kids laughed, and Tory smiled. Colby had turned on his Southern charm with these kids, too, and they were eating it up. She noticed a few of the moms were eyeing him appreciatively, too, so when he looked over in her direction, she blew him a big kiss. He did everything right, she thought, from the easy way he handled the kids to the way he handled her. She took a moment, thought about that, about the way her stomach flipped at the thought. Colby Reynolds. He was just the type of guy a girl could fall head over heels in love with.
Chapter 41
“I didn’t know a game night would be so serious,” Colby whispered in her ear. The feel of his lips, warm and soft, along the skin behind her ear had her stomach doing flip-flops, and she was reminded of how they had spent the afternoon, the tangle of sheets that they had left on the bed as they raced over to Phoebe and Chase’s house so they wouldn’t be late.
“Chase is pretty ruthless when it comes to winning. And Jackson’s not exactly about to let his big brother beat him.”
Colby had pulled away from her ear just a bit, but his arm was slung around her, and she liked the comfortable way it rested there.
“So, tell me, what’s our strategy?”
“Hmm.” Tory narrowed her eyes and thought. “I think if we play it cool, they’ll be so focused on destroying each other that they won’t pay any attention to us. That’s when we sneak in and destroy them.”
“I like that way you think.”
“I’m sure I can come up with some other devious strategies if you like.”
He looked down at her, a slow, sexy grin spreading over his face. “I think you can be devious with me anytime and anywhere.”
His lips touched hers just briefly, and she wished, fiercely, that they had decided to stay in bed, made their excuses. She wished they were anywhere but here, surrounded by other people.
“I know what you’re thinking,” he whispered.
“You have no idea,” she whispered back. Then she blushed when he whispered exactly what he was thinking.
“Ok, you two, no getting hot and bothered in our living room,” Phoebe said. She was elegant in slim black pants and a simple cream tunic-length sweater. Her blonde hair was pulled back in a ponytail, and her green eyes flashed with laughter.
Chase came in, grabbed his fiancée and dipped her down low as if in a dance. “Who’s all hot and bothered?”
“Those two.” Lynn came in, holding a platter of chips and guacamole.
Tory shot her a look as Chase looked over at the two them, speculation in his eyes. Then he looked at Phoebe. “So, that’s why Jake isn’t here tonight. Tory has a real date. So Colby, now that you and Tory are a thing, does this mean I get a friends and family discount on my next purchase?”
Phoebe shook her head. “No more cars.”
If Colby felt uncomfortable, he didn’t show it, just laughed and smiled. He gave a big wink at Phoebe and drawled, “I am sure we can work something out.”
Jackson Sanders, tall and lanky, came in, holding a couple of bottles of beer. He passed one to Colby. “Is it time to start playing?”
#
Colby had never been to a game night before. When Tory had asked him, he hadn’t been quite sure what to think about it. He’d thought it sounded lame, and had been surprised that the other guys would be into it. He hadn’t expected to enjoy it, but of course he went. That’s what you did when your girl asked you to go someplace. He’d been hoping she’d ask for a little more, but if game night was all she was ready for, then that was ok, too. And now that they were here in the midst of all these very couple-like couples, she seemed perfectly comfortable with it, snuggled up on the couch next to him.
Maybe, just maybe, he was pushing her toward something more than causal. Which was fine by him. Somewhere, somehow, things had moved beyond casual for him. He just didn’t know how to tell her that without spooking her.
He watched her, the way the light caught the highlights in her hair, the sparkle in her eyes as she played the game. She was a pretty fierce competitor too he decided, especially when they split the teams across the gender divide, made it men versus women. Chase and Jackson didn’t seem happy to have lost, but Colby was smarter than that and just smiled as the ladies high-fived themselves in congratulations.
“I’m so glad you’re going to be at the wedding,” Phoebe said as she handed over a beer to Colby. He took it and toasted her.
Beside him, Tory stiffened, and he had to fight back a smile. Chase had sent him his own invitation.
“Oh, you’re going, too?” she said, and he saw the glare she shot at Phoebe, who merely smiled and moved on, going over to Lynn to ask her something.
“Chase sent me an invite. I hope that’s ok, that I’ll be there,” he said. He’d hoped that maybe she would ask him, but she hadn’t, and he’d had to fight his disappointment that she seemed so diffident about it.
“Of course, I mean, I was going … well, I was going to ask if you wanted to, you know, come with me.”
He looked down at her. “Why, Tory Somers, are you asking me on a date? That would be twice this month. And here I’d heard you were the kind of girl that didn’t do dating.”
She blushed. “Oh, I think I’ve already broken a lot of my rules where you’re concerned,” she said as she took a sip of own drink.
He leaned down and whispered to her, “I think I like it when you break the rules. And I would be happy if you’d go with me.”
“Go with you? But I asked you! I’m a bridesmaid; I have to be there. I mean … not that I don’t want to be there.”
Colby sighed. “Let me guess, you don’t do weddings either?” he sai
d.
She looked at him. “Seems like an awful lot of fuss for one day when the real part starts the day after.”
“Couldn’t agree more. The wedding’s just for show, but the fun part comes later.”
“Fun? Marriage is fun?” Tory said. “I don’t think guys think that. They just say that because they want us women to think that’s what they want. It’s nothing but a big hoax.”
She was about to get up, but he grabbed her and stopped her. The evening was winding down. Chase and Phoebe were together, looking at something, heads bent over it, perfectly in sync. Jackson and Lynn were standing by the window, which had a view out over the bluff, watching the lights of the harbor, Jackson’s arm holding Lynn close to him.
“I don’t think either one of those guys thinks marriage is just a hoax.”
She looked at him and, for a moment, he thought he saw a tear glisten in her eye. Then she pulled away, saying, “I need some water.”
The evening broke up after that, and they all went their own ways. Tory agreed to come back to the cottage so he could let Princess out for her nightly business. When he got back, Tory was already in bed, lying on her side, away from him.
He slid in between the sheets and waited. She moved closer to him, and it was a moment before she began to talk. He stroked her hair while she did.
“In high school I was the classic nerd. I didn’t want to be, but I was. A little chubby, always wearing jeans and t-shirts, never really caring about what to wear. I was on the Academic Olympics Team and tutored other kids. I was pretty sure that I wasn’t going to get asked to the prom and I was trying hard to not care.”
“Toward the end of senior year, I was supposed to tutor the captain of the lacrosse team, Stevie Wilder.”
“Let me guess, all-America, polo shirt wearing type of guy.”
“Something like that. But not very good at math. He was going to lose his scholarship for college if I didn’t help him with calculus.”
“Let me guess, he turned out to not be such a bad guy.”