He hadn't seen the boys all week, and she'd been asleep already when he got home. Each night, she'd leave a note that there was a plate in the fridge. He'd eat dinner and go to bed. Then he'd get up early and be gone to work again. They texted here and there and left notes for each other when they needed to. Heath was exhausted.
His guys had just left for the day. He looked around to see what still needed done. When his phone buzzed in is pocket, he thought about letting it go. After a few minutes, he took it out to check it. He needed a break anyway.
Tara: Stop and get food on your way home.
He thought about how hard she'd been working on her book, with the boys, and taking care of his house. Leaving at a reasonable time one day wouldn't hurt, he thought. It would be nice to see the boys and talk to Tara.
Heath: I'll pick up food for all of us. We can have dinner and a movie in the front of the television. What do you and the boys want to eat?
Tara: We won't be home.
Heath: Why?
Tara: I'm taking Jordan to the hospital.
Heath read the text again and felt his heart drop as fear ran through his body.
Heath: What? Why?
Tara: I don't know. He's crying and has a raging fever. He never gets like this. It came out of nowhere. I have to go.
Heath: I'm on my way.
Tara: No. Do what you were doing. We'll be fine. I'm not sure if we'll be back tonight. I don't want him infecting your house. I have no idea what it is.
Heath: No. Stay there. I'm already leaving. Wait for me. I'm going with you.
Heath locked up her house, jumped in his truck, and took off.
Tara: No. We're fine.
Heath picked up his phone and called her. He could hear her voice shaking and could tell she was about to break down at any moment.
"Listen, Tara," he said calmly. "I'll be there in ten minutes. Wait for me. That way you can hold him next to you in the car. I'll have someone come over and watch Jason."
"I can't remember the last time either of them have been this sick. I know we've been lucky. Please don't come home for us. I'm so sorry."
"Stop," he said. "I'm on my way. Just hold him and hug him. I'll be right there. He'll be okay. Try and calm down so he's not scared. I have to call someone. We'll leave right away."
She went to speak but he could tell she was fighting tears.
"He'll be fine," Heath said. "I'm on my way."
Heath called the only person he could think of at the time.
"Hey, John," he said. "I need a favor. I know I owe you huge already. Jordan's really sick. Tara needs to take him to the hospital. I'm on my way to get them now. Is there any chance you can watch Jason? I know it's a lot to ask. I couldn't call Ethan, Gavin, or Josh. Their women are all pregnant or have babies. I don't want you to get sick either."
"Stop," John said. "Do you want me to meet you at your house or the hospital?"
"You're closer to the hospital," Heath said. "Can you meet us there? Maybe you won't have as big of a chance of getting sick if you're not in my house."
Heath could hear Sandy talking in the background. He heard John say Jason. She had just met him at Gavin's, so she knew who he was talking about. Heath couldn't hear what she was saying back.
"Pack Jason a bag. He can stay here tonight if you need him to. We are both home. We'll take good care of him," John said.
"I owe you," Heath said. "I don't know what I'd do without you."
"We'll see you there," John said.
Heath pulled into his driveway, jumped out of the truck, and took off for the house. As soon as he walked in, he felt his heart breaking. Tara was on the couch with Jordan in her arms. She had dried tears on her cheeks. Jordan's eyes were closed. He looked rough. Heath could tell he was burning up just from looking at him. Heath ran upstairs, grabbed a bag, filled it with clothes and toys for Jason, and ran back down the stairs.
"What are you doing?" Tara asked.
"This is a bag for Jason. John and Sandy are meeting us at the hospital. They are taking Jason to their house. John said he could spend the night if we don't get back early enough to pick him up."
Heath could tell Tara was just worried. Instead of arguing with him she simply nodded. Heath got Jason's shoes on and took him out to the truck. When he got back in the house, Tara had let a few tears slip from her eyes. He leaned down and rubbed her tears away before lifting her chin and looking into her eyes.
"He's going to be fine," Heath said. "They'll tell us what to do. We'll take care of him. I'll be right here with you."
Tara nodded. Heath took Jordan from her arms. She stood up and went out to get in the truck. He placed Jordan next to her and belted him in. Tara wrapped her arms around him and rubbed his back. Heath locked the house and got in the truck.
When they walked into the emergency room, John and Sandy were there waiting. Heath held Jordan while Tara went to the desk. Sandy leaned down to talk to Jason, as she took his bag from Heath's arm.
"Would you like to go out to dinner with John and me? We can go wherever you want. Then you can come back and watch a movie with us."
Jason seemed excited. John's phone rang. As soon as he answered it, Heath could hear Julie talking and quickly grabbed the phone from John.
"Hey, Julie," he said.
"What's wrong with Jordan?" she asked.
Heath told her what he knew. She assured him that it was a virus and started rattling off things to do. He let her know that they had just gotten to hospital. She told him that she was texting him a bunch of information for when they got home. Tara walked back over to let Heath know they were ready for Jordan. She hugged Jason and told him to behave. The little one hugged Heath's leg and smiled as Sandy took his hand and walked him out of the hospital.
"Julie's texting me a bunch of stuff. She was going on but I couldn't concentrate on what she was saying."
Jordan was asleep on Heath's shoulder, so he sat down on the table.
"They can work around me," he said.
"You should put him down," Tara said.
"I'm good," he said. "We'll be fine."
When Jordan woke up crying, Heath cuddled him in his arms and rocked back and forth. There was no way he was putting him down on the hard table. They gave Jordan medicine and a popsicle while they waited. Heath could feel Jordan's sweat soaking through his shirt. After two hours, they were able to leave. Heath took them back to his house and then ran back out to get his medicine, more popsicles, juice, a few things Julie had said to get, and food for the two of them. Tara wanted him to pick Jason up, but he talked her into letting Jason stay with John for the night.
Heath and Tara took shifts staying with Jordan and watching him. She argued that he didn't have to, but he wasn't having any of it. In the end, Heath ended up bringing Jordan to his bed so they could each sleep next to the little guy. When they woke up, Jordan was in much better shape than the night before. He stayed on the couch all day and watched cartoons. Heath sat with him as much as he could before going to pick Jason up. He stopped and got pizza on his way home, and Jordan managed to eat a few bites.
Three days later, Heath woke up with sweat dripping down his forehead. He shut his alarm off and pulled his covers up over his face. When Tara knocked and walked into his room, he looked up at her.
"Oh no," she said.
That was it. Jordan spent the final two days of his sickness in bed with Heath. They watched television and slept. Tara waited on them every moment. Heath tried to get her to stay out of the room, but she kept going in to check on them. Julie called to check on Jordan a couple of times a day. Heath felt bad for the little guy. He thought it was sweet that Tara still took care of him after Jordan was back to his normal self. Heath could never remember someone being there for him the way she had been. It took an entire week for Heath to feel human again. He thought about how awful it had been, but he knew he would have done it all over again to make sure Jordan was fine.
Chapter 25
Tara
When Tara's book was finished, she was so proud. A couple of months before it hadn't even been a thought in her mind. She had been stuck in a rut feeling sorry for herself. Her man had cheated, she was going through a divorce, she couldn't make herself write, and she had no idea how she was going to make life work for her and her two sons. What a difference such a short time had made. Her house was being fixed up, and she hoped she was going to like it. She had a new friend who was absolutely amazing. Her boys were happier than she had ever seen them. Her new friend had brought other new friends into her life. She had just finished a novel she was passionate about.
As she clicked the publish button, fear ran through her body. Her mind worked hard to scare her. Would people buy it? Would they like it? Would she get good reviews? Would they want to read another one written by her? She was so excited and scared at the same time. Every emotion possible ran through her within a matter of hours as more questions and concerns came to her. Once the book was live, which felt like forever, she spent as much time as she could promoting it everywhere she could possibly think of.
She heard Heath walk in the front door. When she looked out the window, she noticed it was dark. The boys were running between her bedroom and theirs playing together. Oh shit, she thought! She hadn't made dinner yet. Tara was so excited about the book and hadn't realized so much time had passed since she sat down in front of her laptop. Just as Heath came up the stairs, she closed the laptop and stood. When she walked out into the hallway, he had both boys in his arms. Her heart melted every single time she saw him showing her kids love.
Nothing had happened between Tara and Heath since that night on the couch. She'd made sure to avoid any situations that could've lead down that path. There was no way she was setting the boys or her up for getting hurt. Every day she reminded herself that he was letting them stay there until the house was done. They were just friends. She'd heard him say it so many times to Lisa and everyone else for that matter.
"What has you so deep in thought?" he asked pulling her from her thoughts.
"Nothing," she said just before a smile covered her entire face. "I published my book today."
"Really?" he asked.
She nodded. Heath put the boys down, walked to her, and wrapped his arms around her.
"That's awesome. Congratulations! Since it's published, I get to read it," he said, as he picked her up and swung her around.
"No, sir," she said. "That is absolutely not happening."
He put her down, lifted her chin, and looked into her eyes.
"Why not?" he asked. "Is it about me? Do you not want me to find out how madly, deeply in love with me you are?"
Heath laughed, and Tara felt like she was going to be sick. He turned to walk to his room.
"Maybe you talk about how a muscular, sexy man made you the perfect house and finished it today," he said, as he walked in his room and shut the door. "Not sure how you plan to stop me from reading it. I'll just buy my own copy."
Tara took off down the hall and tried to turn the knob on his door, but it was locked. The boys were already back in their rooms playing.
"Heath," she said, as she pounded. "Let me in right now. Don't you dare buy my book. Are you serious? Are you really done?"
"I am," he said. "See if your mom can watch the kids tomorrow for a few hours. I'll take you to see it. You can let me know if you need any changes. I'm sure you'll come up with something."
"That is not funny, Heath," she said.
Heath opened the door, and Tara lunged in after him. When she tried to push him, he picked her up and threw her down on the bed.
"It's very funny," he said with a laugh. "You're going to be bored without me when you go home. You know that, don't you? You're going to miss washing my boxers and dirty work clothes. How am I going eat without you? I may starve."
Heath fell over on the bed with a sad face.
"I'm sure you'll do just fine. You managed before I was here. Are you kidding? I bet if I come over the night after we go back home, you'll be having a party. You'll have your clean, quiet home back. You'll be able to watch something besides cartoons. You'll be able to eat in front of the television every night. You'll be able to walk around in your boxers without anyone around. There won't be two loud kids running around your feet or sliding down your stairs. You'll probably need new carpet once we're gone."
The more Tara said about the perks for him of her and boys being gone, the sadder it made her. His life would be better once she was gone, she thought. He'd be happy.
"I'll wait at least a week to throw a party," he joked. "I don't know how I'll sleep without hearing that loud ass snoring coming from down the hall. The first thing I'm doing is taking a bath in my tub."
Tara shook her head and pushed off the bed.
"You're such a punk. You could at least pretend you'll miss us," she said, as she moved to walk away.
She didn't get three feet before a huge pair of arms wrapped around her and pulled her back. She felt his chest against her back and it felt like lightening shot through her body. When she tried to pull away, his arms held her tighter. Heath leaned down, and she shivered when she felt his warm breath against her ear.
"You have no fucking idea how damn bad I'm going to miss the three of you."
He place a small kiss right behind her ear before releasing his hold on her.
"I'm going to order pizza. We're having a movie night," Heath said.
He walked passed her and out of the room. She fell down onto the bed and cried. Why she was crying, she had no idea. She wasn't sure if it was from the excitement of the book, the fact that her house was done, or something else entirely. Tara called her mom about watching the boys the following day. Then she washed her face and walked down the stairs just in time for the pizza to arrive.
She sat down on the couch and watched everything around her. Heath and boys ate and talked during the entire movie. It wasn't the first time they had seen it, so they knew exactly what was going to happen. Tara wasn't sure why, but she wasn't hungry. She never took one bite of her food. It was really time. They would be moving back home, she thought. She knew it would happen eventually, but it seemed liked the time had flown by. Watching the boys cuddle in next to Heath made her heart melt. She wanted that for them. She wanted that for herself one day. Tara did her best to memorize every moment of that night.
Once the boys were in bed, she went to bed without ever going back downstairs. She knew she couldn't face him. There was no way. It wasn't going to be as easy for her as it was for him. She hadn't been in bed long when she heard her door open. He stepped into the room, but she wasn't ready to face him. She was facing the opposite direction, so she knew she was fine as long as she didn't move. The tears poured from her eyes, but she bit her lip to stop any sound from escaping.
"Tara," he whispered.
She didn't say a word.
"Are you sleeping? I wanted to talk."
Again, she stayed silent.
"Shit," he whispered.
She heard him turn and leave the room. Just before he shut the door, she could have sworn he spoke.
"I don't know if I can let you go."
That was what she thought he said. As soon as the door closed, she sat up in her bed and rubbed her hands over her wet face. Did he say what she thought? It wasn't possible. What did he mean if that was it? What the hell? He'd said they were only friends so many times. Did he like her for more than a friend? Sure, they had that one intimate interaction, but that was a long time ago. She thought it was just an in the heat of the moment thing. Maybe that wasn't what he said. Maybe it had something to do with the boys. They'd grown close to Heath. She knew she would let them see him. Her mind was going nutty thinking the craziest things. It was late. She knew she'd probably imagined it. He didn't say anything like that. It wasn't possible, she thought. She knew she needed to get her head together by morning. Tara fell back onto the bed and cried until she finally fell a
sleep.
Heath was gone when she got up. There was a note on the table telling her he wanted to finish something. Once she dropped the kids off, she needed to go to the house. He wanted her to text him before she pulled into the driveway. She was supposed to wait for him at the bottom.
She got the boys ready and dropped them off at her mom's house. Tara had butterflies in her stomach the entire drive. Each mile she drove took her that much closer to not seeing Heath anymore. For some reason, that thought ripped her apart.
He'd worked so hard every single day. There was no way she was going to ruin his excitement. She stopped at the bottom of the drive and pulled out her phone.
Tara: I'm here.
Heath: I'll be right there. Wait for me.
She put her phone back into her purse and waited. It seemed like so much time had passed before she saw him walking down the driveway. She shook her head and laughed. He had the biggest smile on his face.
"Move over," he said, as he opened the driver's door.
"What?" she asked.
"I said move over."
He looked down at her with a look of warning. She crunched her nose up at him and stuck her tongue out. Then she moved over as he requested. He got in the car and looked over at her.
"Close your eyes, and keep them closed," he said.
"Yes, sir," she said.
He shook his head.
"Smart ass," he mumbled.
He watched her close her eyes before she felt the car moving up the drive. When the car stopped, he got out and opened her door. He took her hand and helped her step out. She followed him. When he finally stopped, she felt him standing behind her.
"Open your eyes," he said.
She opened her eyes and let out a loud gasp. Her hands went right to her mouth.
"Wow," she said.
The porch wrapped around and looked exactly how she had always wanted it. There was a swing hanging from the porch to the left. It was beautiful. He grabbed her hand and pulled her into the house. Words could not describe the amazing job him and his team had done. It looked like a completely different place, and it was perfect. There were small differences everywhere. She had no idea how he had finished all of it that quickly. When he pulled her up the stairs to her room, she couldn't stop the tears. Tara crossed the room in seconds. She opened the new door and walked out onto her new balcony. There was a table and three chairs on it. The tears poured even harder, as sobs began to escape her. He'd put three chairs. One for her and each of the boys. It was that moment that it hit her like a ton of bricks. He wasn't going to be a part of her life anymore. There wasn't a chair for him. She knew she was being ridiculous, but she couldn't get her heart to understand that.
Built for Love (Bachelor Billionaire #5) Page 15