The January Cove Series: Books 1-5

by Rachel Hanna

  * * *

  The ride back to Adele’s house was quiet, and Tessa’s mind was racing. How was she already starting to feel things for Aaron? She barely knew him, yet here she was making a potentially stupid mistake by getting too close too soon. Was she just starting to rely on him because she had no one else? Was he really as great as he appeared to be?

  Tessa had had a lot of time to think during those three years locked in her basement. She thought about how stupid she was for trusting Ethan, and how she’d never make that mistake again. She’d never let a man “rescue” her and make her depend on him like Ethan had. She wouldn’t fall for charm or wit or kindness. She vowed to become hardened and tough and independent. The only problem was, she had no idea how to do that.

  “Everything okay?” Aaron asked as they drove into town.

  “Huh? Oh. Yeah. I’m fine,” she stammered, worried that he was reading her thoughts.

  “You’re awfully quiet.”

  “Just thinking. I do a lot of that,” she said looking at him and smiling.

  “I bet. Three years is a lot of time to think.” How did he do that?

  “It is. I’ve had plenty of time to beat myself up over the last few years.”

  “Can I say something?”

  “Sure.”

  “I’d be willing to bet that you think you don’t make good decisions. I’d also be willing to bet that you’re worried that I’m some jackass in disguise like your ex.”

  “Well, I…”

  “And that would be totally understandable,” he said. “But, here’s the thing. You’re gonna have to trust someone at some point. If you let that jerk taint who you are inside, he’s already won. He will have you imprisoned forever. Trusting is more courageous than walling yourself off forever, Tessa.”

  She knew he was right, but she wasn’t sure she could do it. Trust again? Dangerous, she thought.

  A few minutes later, they pulled into Adele’s driveway. Aaron walked around and opened her door, as usual. Before they could get into the front entryway, Tyler came bounding toward them with a grin on his face and chocolate on his cheeks.

  “Mommy!” he squealed as he hugged her waist tightly. She leaned down and picked him up.

  “Hey, sweetie! I’m guessing from the chocolate on your face, you had fun?”

  “Yes! We made cookies and took them to the fire department! Kaitlyn helped me too.”

  Adele came from around the corner with her apron on and a smile on her face. “He did great!” she said ruffling his hair as she walked into the foyer. “What a sweet boy he was. The firemen even let him climb inside their truck. He said he’d never seen a fire truck before. I was surprised,” she said with a hint of concern in her voice.

  “We lived in a small town,” Tessa said quickly before shooting a glance at Aaron.

  “Listen, Mom, can I borrow your phone? I dropped mine in the water.”

  “Aaron, you’ve always been a klutz, son,” she said shaking her head. “Sure, you know where it is.”

  As Aaron walked into the kitchen, Tessa stood there, unsure of what to do.

  “Dawn, would you like to sit down for a few minutes?” Adele asked. Tessa didn’t turn around at first. “Dawn?”

  Realizing her mistake at not recognizing her fake name, she turned around.

  “Who’s Dawn?” Tyler asked with his head cocked to the side.

  “Your Mommy’s name is Dawn,” Adele said with a laugh as she sat down in a chair in the front room.

  “No it’s not, silly!” Tyler said as he scooted out of Tessa’s arms and ran back into the kitchen where Kaitlyn was mixing more cookie dough.

  Tessa froze in place, a look of fear overtaking her face. Adele stared at her for a moment before patting the chair next to hers. “Come. Sit,” she said sweetly.

  “Aren’t baby boys wonderful?” Adele said.

  “Of course. Tyler is a hand full, but the biggest blessing in my life,” Tessa said as she sat down.

  “Well, Aaron is my baby boy, you know?”

  “Yes. I’m sure that love never changes, Mrs. Parker.”

  “And neither does the protectiveness a mother feels for her children, Dawn.” She raised an eyebrow when she said her name, and Tessa knew her cover was quickly being blown.

  “Tessa. My name is Tessa.”

  “Why did you lie, Tessa?” she asked softly.

  “Because I’m in hiding. I’m protecting myself and my son, Mrs. Parker.”

  “Please, call me Adele.”

  “Okay, Adele,” she said with a slight smile as she looked down at her hands.

  “Someone hurt you?”

  “Yes. For a long time. And he’s going to try to find me. I ran away.”

  “Good for you, Tessa,” she said, surprising Tessa completely. “And my son?”

  “He found out and has been trying to help me. I told him not to, because it could be dangerous…”

  “I probably don’t want to know more. I had a mild stroke recently,” Adele said with her hand on her chest.

  “Oh, God, I’m so sorry. I shouldn’t have said anything. I didn’t mean to stress you out,” Tessa said sitting at the edge of her chair.

  “It’s okay, honey, I’m not that fragile. But no mother wants to think of her baby in danger. I’m sure you understand.” Adele smiled.

  “You’re right. I’m sorry I brought him into this, Adele. I’ll make it right, I promise,” Tessa said as Aaron walked back into the room. Adele opened her mouth to say something, but Aaron cut her off.

  “Ready to go?” he asked.

  “Everything okay?” Tessa asked.

  “Yep. Except I need to go get a new cell phone,” he said laughing. “Maybe we can stop by the cell phone place on the way out of town. See you soon, Mom,” he said, kissing her on the cheek. Adele looked at Aaron with such love, and it broke Tessa’s heart. She’d just dragged this wonderful woman and her family into the middle of her mess, and she had to do something to stop it.

  * * *

  “You’re being quiet again,” Aaron said as they neared the campground. Tessa had barely said a word all the way home, while Tyler jabbered on about everything he’d done all day.

  “Just listening to my son,” she said softly.

  Aaron didn’t buy it, but he wasn’t going to press her in front of Tyler. After stopping by the phone store and activating his new phone, they arrived back at the campground to pack up some things for their stay at the other house.

  Tessa went to the camper immediately and packed up what little they had while Aaron took care of Tyler and the dog. An hour later, they were on their way back to the other house. Still, she was quiet.

  “I think we should get some groceries so we can minimize our trips into the city,” Aaron said, stopping at a small grocery store just before they left town.

  “Sure. Good idea,” she said, glancing two doors down at the pawn shop. “Listen, would you mind taking Tyler with you? I wanted to look for something at the pawn shop.”

  “The pawn shop?” Aaron asked with a questioning look on his face.

  “Yeah. I’m looking for a lighted makeup mirror. Unless you have one?” she said with a smile.

  “Um, no. Just be careful, okay?” he said softly as he took Tyler’s hand and went into the store.

  “I will,” she said, and then she walked toward the pawn shop. Aaron wondered what she was really up to as she didn’t wear much makeup, but he had to get Tyler into the store.

  About fifteen minutes later, Tessa joined them in the grocery store like everything was fine. He decided not to press her on it. Maybe she was just feeling comfortable enough to venture out on her own for a few minutes since Ethan was being watched.

  “Anything in particular you want?” he asked her as they walked up and down the aisles. Tyler was bouncing around, eating a lollipop that Aaron had bought him at the front of the store.

  “I’d love some marshmallows,” she said with a grin.

  “Marshm
allows?”

  “Yes. They used to be my favorite guilty pleasure, but I haven’t had them in… years,” she said with a sad smile.

  “Then marshmallows you shall have, my lady,” he said with a wink as he grabbed three bags from the shelf.

  “Three bags? I’ll be a whale!” she said trying to put back two of the bags.

  “Listen, I want to make sure that Tessa Reeves never has to live without marshmallows again, okay?” he said holding them above her head. “Now, really, you’re making a scene!” Tessa started laughing, and he realized it was the most genuine laugh he’d ever heard in his life.

  “Y’all are gonna get in trouble!” Tyler said between licks of his lollipop.

  “Oh, yeah?” Aaron said picking him up and putting his nose against his. “Let me ask you something, mister. Have you ever heard of s’mores?”

  “Some mores? Nope.”

  “Close enough. Well, they are just about the yummiest thing on the planet. But, you have to make them over a campfire or else they aren’t the good kind. They have marshmallows and graham crackers and chocolate…”

  “Yum!” he said wiggling in Aaron’s arms.

  “Yep. Super yum. How about we make some tonight when we get to the other house?”

  “Okay!” he squealed as Aaron put him down.

  “Operation Show Tyler Everything is officially underway,” he whispered into Tessa’s ear with a grin.

  “You’re gonna spoil him in the next week, aren’t you, Aaron Parker?”

  “I’m going to try my best,” he said bumping her shoulder as they continued down the aisle.

  * * *

  It all felt so amazingly normal. A woman walking with a good looking man and her adorable child through the grocery store, planning cookouts and buying ingredients for s’mores. But it wasn’t normal at all. It was a facade that was going to be shattered at any moment. She was sure of it. Her life was going to explode at some point, and the last thing she wanted was for Aaron to get shrapnel all over him.

  She watched him with Tyler, and they seemed like father and son already. It was good for Tyler to see a real man. A good man. A loving man. He carried her son on his shoulders just like he was carrying her metaphorically. He was carrying all of them, and she wished it could last forever. She wished that she could erase the past and her fears and her memories. But she couldn’t. It was an impossible situation.

  They made their way back to the house and settled Tyler into his temporary bedroom which overlooked the pasture behind the house. He was ecstatic to see the ocean off in the distance, and was having a fun time playing with the blocks that Aaron had bought him at the store.

  “Make yourself at home,” he said to Tessa as he unloaded groceries into the kitchen cabinets and refrigerator. She walked around, touching the thick moldings in the kitchen. “I meant to ask whether you found the makeup mirror you needed?”

  “Huh?”

  “The makeup mirror? At the pawn shop back there?” He cocked his head at her like she was crazy.

  “Oh. No. They didn’t have what I needed.”

  “Is it something I can order for you online?” he asked as he set aside the s’more ingredients on the counter.

  “Nah. No big deal. I don’t wear much makeup anyway,” she said without thinking.

  “You certainly don’t need it,” he said softly as he smiled and looked back down at the three bags of marshmallows on the counter.

  “Thanks,” she said. He was so nice. She’d never met a man who was so kind. He was the type of guy who’d rescue a turtle from the road or save a ladybug trapped in the window screen. At the same time, he seemed fiercely protective of those he cared about, and she knew that his family came first. She and Tyler weren’t his family, and she couldn’t cause him to put his mother or the rest of his family in danger by having her around at the wrong time.

  No, she’d have to take matters into her own hands. She’d have to do the thing she was most afraid of in the world. When the time was right, she’d have to trust Aaron with her most prized possession and trust herself with her own life.

  * * *

  The night air was crisp and cool, and Aaron built the bonfire right by the springs. After setting up chairs, he brought Tyler and Tessa outside. Both of them looked like it was the first time they’d seen a fire. Amazement glazed across their faces, and it made Aaron happy to see them happy.

  “Wow!” Tyler said jumping up and down.

  “Now, listen up, buddy. That fire could really hurt you if you get too close or trip near it, okay? You gotta stay back behind this line,” Aaron said drawing a line in the sand with his foot.

  Tyler nodded, and Aaron started setting up his skewer with a marshmallow. “We’ll do s’mores in a minute, but let’s start going through some of these marshmallows your mother bought.”

  “Hey!” Tessa said laughing as she smacked Aaron on the back. It stung a little, but he kind of liked it.

  For the next hour, they chatted and laughed and ate more marshmallows than Aaron had eaten during his whole life combined. He showed Tyler how to make a s’more, and the kid became a wizard at it within half an hour. He showed him how to catch a lightning bug and explained how the ocean tides work.

  Aaron felt like a one man show aimed at one goal - teach Tyler everything he could. He was desperately trying to catch Tyler up on all of the things he’d missed in his short life so far.

  Still, after an hour, Tyler was tuckered out. He curled up in one of the folding chairs with a blanket around him. A few minutes later, he was out like a light.

  “You think he’s warm enough?” Tessa asked standing over her son.

  “Yeah. That blanket is pretty warm,” Aaron said as he stoked the bonfire. “Come sit down,” he said patting the seat beside him. He’d dragged an old two-person swing up next to the fire.

  Tessa sat down and let out a little sigh as she smiled at him.

  “What?” he asked nudging her with his shoulder.

  “How did I get so lucky?” she asked softly.

  “Lucky?”

  “Yes. I must be the luckiest woman alive right now.” She shook her head and laughed.

  “Seriously? After what you’ve been through?”

  “I’m not talking about that. I’m talking about you, Aaron. What a blessing you’ve been the past few days.” She reached over and took his hand. “Seriously. Thank you.”

  “You don’t have to thank me, Tessa,” he said softly.

  “I do. You’re making Tyler happier than I’ve ever seen him. He’ll never forget this night. You're going to make a great Dad one day. Some woman will be lucky to have you as the father of her children.”

  “Well, now, that's the nicest thing anyone has ever said to me, Tessa.” Inside, he could hear his inner voice shouting that she should be that woman, but he tried to stifle it.

  “No matter what happens, I just want you to know how thankful I am.”

  “No matter what happens? Why are you talking like that, Tessa?” He had a feeling in the pit of his stomach that told him something was wrong. She was acting strangely, and it seemed to have started after they picked Tyler up from his mother’s house.

  “Do you have any wine?” she asked out of the blue.

  “Wine?”

  “I haven’t had a glass of wine in three years,” she said with a smile.

  “Then a glass of wine you shall have,” he said touching the end of her nose with his finger as he got up and trotted into the house.

  * * *

  Crisis averted, at least for now. She couldn’t believe she’d said something so stupid right in front of him. Here he was helping her and her son, and she was making such questionable statements. She would do better, she decided.

  “This is so good,” she said holding onto the glass of wine like it was the most precious thing on Earth.

  “Glad you like it. It’s just grocery store wine, but it’ll do in a pinch,” Aaron said. She stole a glance at him between sips
. He was amazingly beautiful for a man, but strong and rugged at the same time. He was staring at the stars above them, a blanket of silver and black across the endless sky.

  With his blond hair and striking blue eyes, Aaron Parker was fun to look at. The wine was sinking in a little too much because Tessa’s thoughts were getting dirtier than she would’ve liked. Then she noticed a tattoo on his left arm for the first time. It was on his bicep and said “Never Forgotten”.

  “Is that for your Dad?” she asked.

  “Yeah. I got it when I was seventeen, much to my mother’s dismay,” he said with a wink. “Adele Parker is not fond of tattoos, but I wanted to honor my Dad in some way.”

  “I think it’s cool,” she said running her fingers across it without thinking. The wine was lowering her inhibitions, and she didn’t care that she was touching him. He froze for a moment and looked at her, but she continued to touch the tattoo.

  And that’s when it happened. He reached out and took her hand, pulling her gently to him. She slid across the swing, turning slightly toward him.

  “Remember I said that I don’t take things without asking?” he whispered. She nodded, and she was sure he could hear her heart pounding. He turned to face her.

  “Yes,” she said, the air sucked from her lungs.

  “I am asking you right now if I can kiss you, Tessa. But it’s okay if you say no…” he was saying before she suddenly leaned forward and brushed her lips across his. She could feel his warm breath and smell the scent of grocery store wine, and her pulse quickened.

  “Tessa,” he growled as he placed his hands on both sides of her face. Holding her there, he pulled back and looked at her. “Are you sure you’re okay with this?” he asked, his blue eyes darkened by a mixture of lust and concern. She nodded frantically, desperate for him to cover her mouth with his. And then he did. His full lips began their work, their tongues dancing together as she struggled to regain her breath. Years of loneliness started to wash away. Both of them were wild, uninhibited and like two people who hadn’t kissed anyone in years. In reality, she had never kissed anyone like this. With this passion. With this emotion.