Tara: Maybe you won't get dinner.
Heath: Feed the boys when they are hungry. I can reheat mine when I get there, or I can pick myself something up on the way.
Tara: Get back to work. Bye.
Tara got out some crayons and paper for the boys to color and draw on. They sat down at the table with her. She loved watching the two of them talk and play when they were getting along. It was the cutest thing she had ever seen. As they were playing, she was thinking about the book she was working on that she had been fighting herself about. Something popped into her head, and she grabbed some paper and a pen. It was a new story, and she was excited to start it.
Her pen moved over the paper as fast as it could go. She wanted to get her thoughts down before she forgot them. Some time had gone by when Jordan looked up at her.
"I'm done," he said, as he shoved his paper at her. "It's for Heath."
"Mine too," Jason said.
She looked at the silly pictures the boys had drawn. Sometimes she could tell what they made and sometimes she couldn't. The pictures were both full of color and made with love. They jumped down from their chairs and ran off to the living room to play. She ran upstairs to grab her laptop and hurried back down to Heath's office. When she opened the door, she set her laptop on his clean desk and looked around the room. It had a quiet, comfortable feel to it. There were pictures of houses all over the walls. He had filing cabinets against the wall and a computer on the corner of his desk. She turned on her laptop and began plotting out the book that had been filling her mind. Once the boys went down for a nap, she began filling in the rest of the blanks as they came to her. There was no way she wanted to forget any of it.
When the boys woke up, she fed them and took them outside to play. They loved going out back and sitting by the pond. There were fish and frogs all around. There were balls and toys to play with that Heath had brought from her house the week before. She played catch and soccer with the two little ones. They were running everywhere. She made sure to keep a close eye on them around the pond. Water had always been something that made her nervous. She'd never had any bad experiences or anything, but it was something that was important to her that she really feared. By the time the rain began, she was just as dirty as the boys. She took them in and cleaned them up before taking a fast shower herself.
Tara threw on a pair of sweats and a t-shirt. Her wet hair was hanging down her shoulders. She had about two hours before Heath would be home, so she gave the boys a snack. There was no way she was going to make him eat a dinner that had to be heated again. He worked hard. She had learned that in the short time they were around each other. As long as she was there, he was eating fresh, hot food. Once she went home, it would be his decision what he ate.
Since it was raining out, the boys were inside watching a movie and playing with their cars and trucks. Tara let herself sink into Heath's big, warm office chair. She tucked her feet up and began typing away with a smile on her face. It was the first time in weeks she'd felt passionate about getting her thoughts out and bringing new characters to life. A noise in front of her made her jump and her hand went to her chest. Heath looked down from in front of his desk with a smile on his face.
"You scared me," she said.
"Sorry," he said. "You had the biggest smile on your face just now. What are you writing about?"
"I'm writing a book," she said. "I can't tell you what it's about. That would ruin it."
"Are you writing about a hot, sexy man in his boxers? I could pose for you if you need me to," he said with a smile tugging the corners of his lips all the way to his eyes.
Tara burst out laughing, and he narrowed his eyes at her.
"Way to make a guy feel good," he snapped.
She closed the lid on her laptop and motioned to the pictures on the walls.
"What are all these houses?" she asked.
"Those are the ones I built for charity," he said. "It makes me feel good to see them when I'm in here. I told you, I don't like sitting at the desk working. If I see the pictures, it reminds why I'm sitting there. It gets me moving to build the next house."
"This desk and chair are awesome," she said.
"I know," he said. "I can see your stinky feet pulled up on my chair. You looked like you were concocting an evil plan in here."
"My feet aren't stinky," Tara said.
"Should I ask the boys?" he asked. "I bet they would agree with me."
She let out a huff and stood up from her chair.
"When are you building the next one?" she asked.
"When I finish working on the one I'm working on now. It's taking up all my time. This lady can't make up her mind. I don't know what I'm going to do with her."
"Can I work on one when you start it?" she asked, ignoring his comment about her.
"Are you serious?" he asked. "We'd never get it done."
She walked around the desk and smacked him on the arm, not missing how hard the muscle was beneath her fingers.
"I seriously want to help. I'll do exactly what you say," she said.
He let out a choking sound and pretended to smack at his chest.
"Why do I think that's not possible?" he asked. "It's a deal. You can help, but you have to do exactly what I tell you."
"Within reason," she said with a snort.
"You should have said that before. That's not part of the deal."
"What did you do to my house today?" she asked.
"Let me see," he said, with his hand on his chin. "I tore out a wall, tore out a tub, and started tearing out the back of the house."
Heath turned and walked out of the room. She was right on his heels as he walked into the kitchen.
"Wait," she yelled out. "What do you mean tearing out the back of the house? I'm coming over there, Heath. You can't just tear out the back of a house. Shit! You're joking right? Tell me your joking?"
She was a babbling mess. All she pictured was her house missing the entire back wall. He turned around with a smile on his face, wrapped his arms around her, and lifted her into the air.
"You should see your face right now," he said.
"That is not funny," she barked out.
"Oh, it is," he said with a laugh.
She smacked at his shoulders from above him.
"Watch it, woman," he said. "Smack me again and I'll give you a spanking you'll never forget."
"Yeah right," she said. "You'd never spank a woman."
He looked up at her with a daring smirk.
"Do you want to find out?" he asked deep and rough.
She looked down at him as thoughts of him spanking her ran through her mind. His eyes were dark and demanding. Just looking into them had her clenching her thighs together. She'd never even considered those thoughts before.
"You wouldn't," she whispered.
"Only if you wanted me to," he said, as he slid her down his body until her feet were on the floor.
She turned quickly to try and catch the breath that had been stuck inside of her chest. Her body was on full alert. She rubbed the bumps that had formed on her arms and moved to start cooking. Her body was filled with heat. She closed her eyes tight for a second to fight the desire that was building inside of her. When she grabbed a pot and put it on the stove, he stepped in next to her.
"What are you writing about?" he asked. "Can I read it?"
"What? No way," she said quickly.
"Why not?" he asked. "Why are you so nervous?"
"I'm not," she said.
"You are," he said. "If you're writing about me, you can tell me."
"It's not about you, and you are not reading it," she said. "The boys drew you pictures today. You should have seen how excited they were."
"Really?" he asked. "When I walked in, they acted like I didn't exist."
"You can't interrupt their movie. They've seen it a million times, but each time they act like it's the first."
Heath walked over to look at the pictures. He didn't say a wor
d, as he walked over the fridge and placed magnets over them to hang them there. Tara watched from the corner of her eyes as he smiled at the pictures before turning back to her.
He walked over next to her and to help her make dinner. She couldn't believe how much fun she had doing something so simple. They laughed and joked the entire time. He seemed different than he had when she'd first met him. She wasn't sure why, but he seemed more friendly and less stressed. They all sat down together, and the boys went on to Heath about their day. She looked around and knew she was going to want to keep Heath as a friend long after her house was finished.
Chapter 18
Heath
Tuesday morning, Heath got up early and quietly got ready for work. He looked around the house at the toys and shoes in the living room, and a smile crossed his face. It wasn't that long ago that he was sitting back on the couch, with a beer in his hand, soaking in the silence and thinking about how much he enjoyed it. He never realized just how nice it would be to have his house filled with noise and craziness.
He was looking forward to pulling his truck up at Tara's house and getting started on another day. There was so much he wanted to do, and he knew she was going to love it when he was done. If she saw it early, he knew she would second guess everything, and he wasn't going to give her the chance of ruining things for herself. She didn't say it, but he felt like she didn't think she deserved happiness and the dream home she had always pictured. He was going to give her just that, and she wasn't going to know what hit her when she saw it.
Just as he stopped the truck, he saw it.
"Fuck!" he yelled out into the empty air of the truck.
He jumped out and slammed the door behind him. The closer he got, the more his blood boiled. He felt his muscles tighten as his hands clenched at his sides.
"I'm going to get that asshole," he barked out. "He's going to pay for this."
Heath's crew pulled up just as he had finished looking around. The place was trashed. Every single thing his guys had worked on the day before was ruined. His eyes widened as he ran for the front door. It was locked, and he quickly let himself in. He took off up the stairs to the master bedroom and let out a relieved breath that nothing was different. Whoever it was hadn't been inside the house. It verified for him what Tara had thought all along. It was most likely her ex. Heath had changed the locks and could only imagine how pissed the guy was when he couldn't get in.
When he played the footage back from the camera, he couldn't get a good enough look at the guy. The person's face was covered with a hoodie. It was only one person though, which made Heath feel a little better. That didn't mean the guy wasn't a thug with nothing to lose. It didn't make him any less dangerous. Heath wanted so badly to figure out if it was Rick or someone he hired.
He went outside, locked up, and walked over to his crew. Slamming his foot down on the ruined wood, he cursed into the air.
"Who the fuck would do something like this twice?" One of the guys asked.
"An asshole," Heath yelled. "Go home. I'll call you guys later. I'm going to get this guy, and he's going to wish he hadn't done this."
The guys left, as Heath hopped into his truck and spun his wheels in the gravel on the way out. He felt the blood pumping through his veins. Anger moved through him like never before. With his knuckles white from his hold on the steering wheel, he turned his truck around and headed for the store. Once he picked up two additional cameras, he went home to pick up a few tools he needed from his garage.
As soon as he walked through the door, the boys came running. He plastered his best fake smile onto his face and said hello. Tara was just putting lunch on the table. She walked out of the kitchen and smiled.
"Do you want some lunch? I made some amazing sandwiches and soup," she said with a laugh.
"Sure," he said. "I'll just take a sandwich with me for the road."
"Why don't you sit down and rest for a minute. You look rough. Is everything okay?" she asked.
"I'm fine," he said more stern than usual.
"You look pissed. What happened?" she asked, as she turned around and walked back into the kitchen.
"Nothing," he said harshly. "I'm just going to get what I came home for. I'll grab something to eat later."
"Did I do something?" she asked.
"I can't talk right now," he said, as he walked back out the door and toward the garage.
He didn't want to tell her what happened. Tara would get upset, and the boys would know something was off. He didn't want to scare her any more than she already was. It was no secret that she was worried about being back at her house with the boys. It would only make it worse if she knew that whoever had done it had come back. She would just fight him more about spending the money on her house.
"Here's your food."
Heath jumped when Tara spoke. He was shocked by the aggressive tone in her voice. She turned to walk away just as he stood from where he was going through a box of tools.
"I'm sorry," he said. "Thank you for the sandwiches. I've had a rough morning."
"You'll need to pick yourself something up for dinner. I can leave you something to heat up if you want."
"You won't be here?" he asked.
"I'm taking the boys to my mom's house tonight. We'll be back sometime tomorrow. The house will be clean when I leave. You get the house to yourself tonight," she said.
"I'm sorry," he said. "You know I don't care about what the house looks like."
"I'm just telling you in case you want to have someone over or something."
"That's not happening. Are you staying at your moms with them?" Heath asked without thinking that it wasn't really his business.
"No," she said. "I'm going to be with Lisa. She called me earlier. Josh is going out of town for a conference. We thought we'd catch up a bit. Have a good day."
She walked away, and Heath walked out after her.
"You're going to Lisa's house?" he asked.
"Don't worry," she said, as she turned and looked into his eyes. "I won't say a word to her about anything you said. I won't tell her I'm staying here either."
"What?" he asked.
"I need to check on the boys," she said.
"I'm sorry. This morning didn't go the way I hoped it would. Come back here tonight."
Heath knew he sounded like a pussy. What the hell was he doing, he wondered? He didn't give a shit what she said to Lisa.
"What happened?" she asked.
"Nothing," he said.
"Fine," she said before walking back into the house.
He walked back into the garage grumbling the entire time. With the tools he needed and the bag with his food in it in his hands, he stomped back to his truck and took off.
"I don't give a shit where you stay," he said, as he pulled down driveway.
When he got back to Tara's house, he wired up the new cameras he bought. There was no way the guy was getting away with another thing. Heath grabbed his phone and dialed John's number. They jumped right into conversation about what Heath was thinking.
"You really should call the police," John said. "They need to put on record that it happened again."
"For what?" Heath asked. "So they can say they don't know who's in the video. What happens when the guy comes back again? I'm not having it. This is her house. Those two boys live here. He's messing with them. My tools and money are being destroyed and wasted. I'm sick of this asshole. He's getting the kicking he deserves if he shows up again. I want to be able to tell exactly who it is before the cops come back."
"Heath," John said.
"You know if it is her ex he'll get out of it. I'm tired of him trying to scare her. It's bullshit. I'll call the police once I can prove it's him."
"You know I'll be there in a second if you need anything. Let me know if you find anything in the morning."
"Thanks," Heath said. "It has nothing to do with her. You know that, right? I just can't stand for someone to be bullied like this. It's horrible. Y
ou know how I feel about kids."
"I know, man," John said. "It has nothing to do with her."
"Screw you," Heath said, as he hung up the phone.
He finished what he was doing and pulled up a new text message.
Heath: Don't cook. I'll bring dinner home.
It wasn't thirty seconds later that his phone buzzed.
Tara: I already told you we won't be here.
He took a deep breath before typing back.
Heath: Don't be so stubborn, Tara. I said I was sorry earlier.
Tara: It has nothing to do with earlier.
Heath: That's bullshit and you know it. Where are you?
Tara: I told you earlier what I was doing. You have the house to yourself. Enjoy it. I mean it. Get some rest.
Heath: Are you coming home tonight?
He looked at his words right after he hit send.
"Shit," he said into the empty air surrounding him.
What was he thinking? He didn't want it to sound like he was saying it was her home. She was probably going to leave and not come back, he thought.
Tara: I'm already on my way to Lisa's house. Get some rest and relax. I think you need it.
Heath: You are so damn stubborn. You're driving me crazy, woman.
He put the phone down on the dash and headed home. Maybe she was right, he thought. He needed some peace and quiet. It had been too long. He stopped for food and was looking forward to putting his feet up, having a cold drink, and watching the game he had missed while the boys were watching a movie over the weekend.
When he walked in the house, he looked around. There were shoes lined up nicely next to the door. He walked to the kitchen, grabbed a beer from the fridge, took that and his food to the living room, plopped down on the couch, and turned on the television.
A cartoon appeared on the screen, and he found himself singing along to the opening song. He shook his head and laughed before quickly turning on the game. With his food on his lap, he sat back to enjoy the quiet. Not even an hour had passed when Heath found himself looking around for something to do. He looked at the toys lined up in front of the television stand and smiled. They were usually spread around the floor with the boys sprawled out in front of them. He would step over the kids to sit down on the couch. They'd fuss when he turned their cartoons off but would quickly crawl up next to him to watch whatever he turned on.
Built for Love (Bachelor Billionaire #5) Page 9