Her lawyer went back and forth with his about what he wanted. She sat across from the man she thought she would be with forever. Tara thought he loved her, but she could see how wrong she'd been. He had the biggest smirk on his face and never took his eyes off of her. She looked him in the eyes and felt nothing. There was nothing left in her heart for him. How could she have ever been so dumb, she wondered? He never loved her. If he did, there would be no way he could do what he was to her. She couldn't believe his behavior. He was the one that cheated on her, but she was being made to look like the bad guy. She couldn't take it anymore. When she stood up, his eyes narrowed.
"You need to sit down. We aren't done here," he commanded.
"You don't have the right to speak to me like that anymore," she said. "That's one of the things you can't take away from me."
Tara looked over at her lawyer and let him know she'd be back in a moment. She walked into the bathroom and felt like she was going to break into a million pieces. All she wanted was her boys and a fresh start. Why couldn't he give her that? He was sleeping with someone else. Maybe more than one other woman. She had no idea. Why did he even want to keep her? She just couldn't understand. He hurt her. She was the one that was devastated. She walked back into the room and stood at her chair.
"Why?" she asked.
Both lawyers stopped talking.
"Excuse me?" he asked.
"Did you ever love me?" she demanded.
"What?" he replied.
"I loved you. I gave you everything. You cheated on me. All the money in the world can't make you a good person. You're a nasty man. I can't believe I ever loved you. The only good thing about those years are the boys. I was devastated by what you did to our family. You may be able to walk around and flash your money everywhere you go and get what you want, but you will never be able to change what you did to me. I don't think you even feel bad. I just think you're upset that I'm not letting you control me. After everything you've put me through for this divorce, I could never see you as a good person. I don't know how I was blinded by it before. All I want is my life and my boys. I give up."
"What do you mean you give up?" he asked with a smirk.
She looked down at her lawyer.
"I'm done. I want nothing from him. The house I live in is mine. I get my car. He can have everything else. The other houses, cars, and money," Tara said.
Her ex looked up and shook his head.
"Are you really that stupid?" he asked with a laugh. "You'd give up your half of the business and money. What are you going to do? You can't live in the woods in that dumb house you had to have forever. Do you think those little books you write are really going to do anything for you?"
"I want two hundred thousand as well," she said, ignoring his comments. "I will give up everything else. You can have it all. The only thing I want you to do is sign over the boys. You haven't seen them and you don't want to. That's all I want."
She looked down at her lawyer and smiled.
"Let me know what he says," she said.
Tara grabbed her purse and keys and walked out the door. The last thing she saw was her ex sitting at the table with wide eyes. For once, he had nothing to say.
She felt lighter but wasn't sure why. Seeing the nasty man sitting in front of her made her realize that part of her life really was over. If she wanted to start over without him near her, she needed to do it alone. She would've expected to be scared to do that, but she wasn't. Well, part of her was, but a huge part of her felt so much satisfaction in seeing the look on his face when she said she wanted nothing from him.
Chapter 8
Tara
Tara picked up food for all the guys on her way home. She felt horrible for being such a cranky woman. Her feelings about the house were still the same. When she looked around it, she didn't want to see any of him in it. She wanted it to be her own.
She pulled up her drive and parked her car. The guys were working, but all she could see was Heath. He seemed so strong and confident, but she could tell there was more to him. Through the few conversations they had, she could tell he was hiding just as much deep inside as she was. He pounded away on the porch with his tool belt hanging from his hips. She laughed as she watched him. Who would have ever thought she would go from a multi-millionaire to watching a guy working with his hands and wanting to know more about him. The life she was used to was gone, and she honestly never wanted it back.
Tara got out of her car and opened her trunk. She was lifting a couple of heavy bags out when Heath came walking up with sweat dripping from his forehead. He reached up with the sleeve of his t-shirt and wiped across the sweat. All Tara could think about was tasting his skin. She shook her head to bring herself back to reality. That wasn't like her. She'd never even thought like that before. Her relationship with her ex wasn't like that. They never really had an exciting sex life. It was pretty simple. Get him off, and then roll over. He never put time into making sure she was satisfied. As soon as he got what he needed, he was done. She never really thought about it. That was all she'd known. They met in college and had been together ever since. She had been with one guy before him, but that was awkward. It had been his first experience as well.
"Let me help you," Heath said.
"No," she answered. "I'll get it."
He shook his head and took the bags from her anyway.
"I don't want to stop you from working," she said.
"I haven't worked that hard in a long time," he said. "I need a break. I think maybe I had forgotten just how hard my guys work."
Tara felt a strange feeling cross her skin when Heath rubbed against her. When his fingers touched hers to take the bags from her hands, she jumped. He looked down at her, and she smiled.
"Sorry about that," she said. "I brought lunch back for all of you."
"You didn't have to do that," he said.
"I know," she said. "I guess it's my way of saying sorry for being such a pain-in-the-ass. I've had a lot going on and am having a hard time with certain things. It didn't give me the right to take it out on you or your men. Hopefully after today, I can get my life in order. Do you think we could paint the porch instead of rebuilding it?"
He let out a loud breath and shook his head.
"Forget it," she said. "We can talk about that later."
Heath grabbed everything from the trunk in one trip. She held the front door open for him to walk through.
"Are you one of those?" she asked.
"Of what?" he questioned.
"One of those who take it all in one trip no matter how much you have."
Heath laughed.
"I am," he said. "It's never good when my bread makes its way into the house."
She laughed as she began taking everything out of the bags.
"It really was nice of you to buy us lunch. They're doing a great job. It's nice to see my guys treated well."
Tara had everything out on the counter. She got plates out and began pulling drinks from the fridge.
"I have something cold for them to drink. Tell any of them to grab something when they're thirsty. It's warm out there today."
Heath called the guys in to eat. They all thanked her for the food. She had sandwiches, salads, and chips. It wasn't a lot, but she hoped it made up for some of what she had put them all through.
She sat down at a bench next to Heath while he ate. The kids were running around like crazy outside. They were both looking over at the yelling boys.
"I'll feed them once the guys go back to work. They'll think they're missing something if I take them in now."
"You seem different than when you left," he said. "Hopefully your meeting was a good one."
"It wasn't actually," she said.
He looked over at her with his head tilted slightly to the side and waited for her to answer.
"When I was sitting there at the meeting, it made me realize some things I hadn't seen before. It was eye opening I guess. I made some big decisions
while I was there. I'm just hoping they were the right ones."
He nodded.
"What is it about the house?" he asked.
"What do you mean?" she asked.
Before he was able to answer, Tara heard a loud cry and Heath was already half the distance across the yard. She took off after him. Somehow she had missed whatever happened but he hadn't. Heath scooped Jason up in his arms and headed for the house. Jason was crying hard, and Tara could see blood on his knee. She grabbed the stuff out of the cabinet. Heath walked into the bathroom and set the little one down on the sink. He turned on the water and splashed it over Jason's knee. Tara moved to wipe it with a cloth, but Heath took it from her hand to clean the cut. She put medicine on it and Jason winced.
"It'll help, little man," Heath said in a sad tone. "It'll keep all the bad stuff out of it and help it feel better."
Tara thought it was cute watching Heath. She could tell he hadn't had to clean too many cuts or scrapes. The poor guy looked a little shaken and it had only been a tiny scrape. He carried Jason outside and sat down on a chair with him in his lap.
"I bet your mom has an ice-cold popsicle for you," he said.
Tara looked down at Heath with narrowed eyes. He tilted his head to the side and shrugged. Tara couldn't help but smile when she saw the innocent smirk on his face. She shook her head, walked inside, and came back out with two popsicles. Jordan, who couldn't be bothered before, was there in seconds. She handed them each a popsicle. Jason wiggled down from Heath's lap, and both of the boys were off running around the yard while licking away at their snack.
"You're a bad influence on them," she said.
"How's that?" he asked, pretending to be offended.
"They haven't even eaten lunch yet. That is a definite no-no. You let them order whatever they wanted on both sides of the pizza too."
"He cut himself," Heath said. "I think that calls for a treat. You were the one letting them eat in front of the television."
"It was a small scrape. If that counted for a treat, that would be all those boys would eat. They would probably fall on purpose. You haven't been around many kids have you?"
He shook his head.
"No," he said. "My best friend has a little boy, but I've kind of distanced myself from her."
"Your best friend is a woman?" she asked.
"What's wrong with that?" Heath asked.
"Nothing," she answered. "Did you distance yourself because you don't like children that much?"
"No," he answered. "That had nothing to do with it. Well, I guess it had something to do with him, but it's much more than that."
When Heath looked down at the ground, Tara knew there was so much more to the story and let the subject fall. Heath stood up and looked down at her. Jason and Jordan came over and handed her their sticks from their popsicles.
"Come inside," Heath said to the boys. "I'll make you two special sandwiches. You still have to eat your lunch."
Heath opened the door and the boys ran into the kitchen. She watched him work with the boys next to him. The way he ran over and grabbed Jason had her heart melting. Their dad never helped her at all. He never spent time with either of the boys. The sandwiches were shaped like hearts by the time Heath was done. Tara was surprised they looked so nice. He got the boys set up in front of the television with lunch and drinks and headed back out to get to work.
Tara grabbed his arm before he stepped down from the porch but let go instantly. What the hell was that, she wondered? Her fingers felt like little sparks had shot up them. She didn't mind the feeling of his muscle under her fingers, but that feeling was too much for her.
"I need to talk to you for a minute," she said.
"Is it about the popsicles?" he asked.
"No," she said. "You're going to kill me."
"What do you want to change?" he asked. "I do have to admit that you are testing my patience more than anyone has in a long time."
Her head dropped a bit, and she looked down at her moving fingers. She was so nervous about telling him she needed to change things again. She'd been such a pain and changed so many things already. There was no way around it though. She had just gotten back from giving up pretty much everything and still wasn't sure she'd made the right decision.
"Something happened while I was gone today," she began.
"At the lawyer?" he asked.
She nodded and took a deep breath. He motioned for her to sit down and sat next to her.
"Is everything okay?" he asked.
"Of course," she answered. "I still want work done on the house. I don't want it to the look the same. I want to feel like it's different. I can't explain it all, but I'm going to have to cut back from what I told you. Not just a little either."
Heath shook his head and let out a sigh.
"How much exactly?" he asked.
"Half," she answered in a whisper.
She heard his breath catch when she said it. There was stuff in her yard he had already purchased. His guys had already done a bunch of work and had other things torn apart. She could feel the tension in the air. Just as he went to open his mouth, one of the guys called him.
"We'll talk about this later. You need to make up your mind. I'm not sure how we are going to make the place look that different with the money you're talking about. You want to stay here, but you want to rebuild the entire house. It doesn't make sense. I'm just not sure what to do."
"If you don't want to work on it anymore, I'll understand," she said.
"I didn't say that. My guys are here, and I've bought a ton of stuff already. I'm finishing the job. I've never backed out in the middle of a job. I always make my clients happy. This is no exception. I'll figure it out."
Heath walked away from her and began talking to the guy that had called him over. She could hear the aggravation in his voice just before he walked away and felt so bad for what she was putting him through. He couldn't help who she was and didn't deserve to be jerked around. She hadn't really thought about it too much when she was telling her ex he could have it all. If she put all of the money into the house, she would be putting the boy's lives in jeopardy. She was in the middle of writing a novel that wouldn't be out for another two months and needed to make sure she could pay the bills. Her other books were doing well, but she never knew when that could change and needed to feel safe in her decisions. There would be no way to ever ask her ex for a dime. Nothing ever came free with him. There was always a price. It was one she wasn't willing to pay.
Chapter 9
Heath
He went back to work and grumbled to himself. She was the most undecided woman he had ever seen. It was no joke how often she changed her mind. How the hell did she expect him to make her home look like a different house with hardly any money, he wondered? How could she give him one amount, let him buy supplies, and then cut the budget in half? It didn't make any sense. Was she playing him, he thought? He'd never worked with anyone like her. He knew he should've turned the job down in the beginning. Heath felt bad for his guys and figured it was better to have them working. He didn't like when they had to collect between jobs. Unemployment didn't pay nearly as much as he did.
Heath took his aggression out on Tara's house. He had forgotten how therapeutic building was for him. It was the one thing that always remained the same. He could build a house from start to finish and loved doing it. When he did it, there was no pressure from a boss and nobody standing above him. He knew what his clients wanted and made it happen. Why was she so different, he wondered? How was he going to give her the home she wanted when she didn't even know what that was? Heath had the biggest feeling that he was going to do whatever it took. She was going to be happy with the house when his team was done. He just wasn't sure how hard the hit was going to be to his pocket. There was way more to her than she was showing. He just had to figure out her deal with the house so he could finish the job and be rid of the stress of it all.
He would have worked all night i
f he could. It gave him time to think about so many things. He couldn't help but think about little Jason crying on the ground and wanting to help the little boy. Heath wanted to take his pain away. He never liked seeing anyone hurt. Then when the little boy was on his lap, he knew Jason felt safe. He had felt him relax into his chest. It made Heath think about Lisa, Josh, and little Jack. Then his mind went to her and the fire. He was so glad Josh had been there to save her but so sad that it wasn't him. He should have been watching her. He should have kept her safe. When she was in the hospital and he saw her, his heart broke. He could have lost her. It hurt ten times worse that he wasn't the one she wanted to take care of her. She wanted to stay with Josh. He was her best friend. It should have been him. When he realized she'd never feel the way about him that he did for her, he felt like his world crashed down around him. Everything he had ever wanted was gone. It took all he had to get through their wedding, baby shower, and her having Josh's son. That was supposed to be him, but it wasn't. He stayed away after that, and things were a little better for him.
Heath didn't love Lisa in that way anymore. He knew she belonged with Josh and couldn't have asked for a better man for her. That guy worshipped the ground she walked on and would never let anyone hurt her. She was where she belonged. He just wasn't that fond of watching it all play out. It made him think about what he thought he'd have one day. It made him realize it would never happen. He'd never be with the one person he was meant to be with. He would never be a father running after his children. He would be alone forever.
That was why he worked even harder at his business. If he kept himself busy, he wouldn't be lonely. He had a beautiful home, a thriving business, more money than he would ever spend, and amazing friends. His life was awesome. It really was.
Before he knew it, his guys had all left and it was dark. He knew Tara would be putting the boys to bed before long, and he knew he needed to face his friends in the morning. They were having Becky's baby shower, and he promised Lisa he would help with whatever she needed. She was the one taking care of the shower. With her being pregnant again, he really wanted to try and lighten the load. Josh would be there every second, he knew that. He still wanted to be there for her. She would always be his best friend.
Built for Love (Bachelor Billionaire #5) Page 3