A Helluva Man

by Sable Hunter

  I needed some closure. Returning to Belle Chasse was difficult for me. I couldn’t ever live there again, but I know how much your mother and her family loved the place. We loved it too. It was our home for many years. All of you children were born and raised there. I want to see it restored. I want the home rebuilt. There’s something else too…

  Several times, Jaxson had wanted to interrupt him. His father had his own way of explaining things. Their mother always said Christian was a master of beating around the bush and she was usually right. Lately, his understanding and patience with letting a person tell something in their own way and in their own time had grown because of Tamara.

  So much of his life was changing because of Tamara. And as for as he was concerned, it was changing for the better.

  While I was visiting Belle Chasse, Jed Vincent, the foreman you hired, came to me with a discovery he’d stumbled upon. Not just a burial mound, mind you, something much more. I called your brother to come check it out and he thinks this might be a significant find that would even rival the Cahokia site at St. Louis.

  Jaxson hadn’t needed to hear anymore. If what his father said proved to be true, there would be no grazing or farming on the land. Philip would want to preserve the history. Jaxson had expressed his concern over the preservation of the land. He didn’t want it dug up and tracked over by oil workers or countless archaeological crews.

  You won’t need to worry about that. As much as your brother loves history and archaeology, he loves the memory of his mother and his home more. He thinks they can do both. So, I guess I’m here to tell you that Philip will be taking over the development of Belle Chasse and you will be the one who manages Highlands.

  What his father didn’t realize was that his announcement had come as a relief to Jaxson. He’d been torn trying to figure out how to juggle everything. Attempting to find someone to replace him at the support group had been extra troubling. He was so invested in the people. Seeing improvements in their lives was the most rewarding thing he could imagine.

  Especially Tamara. Every new hurdle she crossed was cause for celebration. She was his heart.

  Belle Chasse was his past. Highlands and Tamara were his future.

  After finishing with the soap, he replaced it in the holder, then gave Memphis a carrot for good measure. As he started to leave, his phone rang. After glancing at the identity of the caller, he smiled. “Hey, love. How are you?”

  “Jaxson! He’s gone.”

  The panic in her voice caused him to start toward his truck. “Who’s gone?”

  “Chris. Missing. Police didn’t…understand. Help!”

  “Did he walk off from your house?”

  “Yes.”

  “And you called 9-1-1?”

  “Yes. No help.”

  “Okay, I’ll call them. I’m on my way to you. Just hold on.”

  …Tamara ended the call about the time Myra skidded to a stop in her driveway. She knew the woman would be upset. Who wouldn’t?

  “Did you…find him?”

  “No, I looked. Everywhere.”

  “Did you phone police?”

  “Jaxson did, he’s coming.”

  “Who’s coming? Chris?”

  “Jaxson.”

  “What did you – do?” She grabbed Tamara’s arms and shook her. “Your fault!”

  Tamara didn’t resist. This was her fault. “Just left minute. Water.”

  “He’s autistic!” Myra screamed the words more clearly than ever before. “This can happen. If not careful.” She shook her head, looking at Tamara. “Mistake!”

  Tamara felt horrible. Yes, she’d made a mistake. She’d known better. One of the things she’d read was a study confirming that wandering by children with autism is common. Researchers found that nearly half of children with this condition attempted to wander or bolt from a supervised area. Even scarier, more than half of those children go missing. She also remembered that Myra had warned her about this. His attention deficit disorder just made the tendencies worse.

  “He seemed. Fine. Tired.”

  “He’s just little. Boy!”

  Seeing Myra so upset and scared upset Tamara no end.

  “Going to look!”

  She watched as Myra stormed off to drive up and down the streets. Tamara wanted to go with her – but what if he returned? She also worried about Myra being behind the wheel when she was so upset. Chris’s mother had only recently regained her driver’s license.

  Not knowing what else to do, she walked out to the curb and set down, praying the young boy would come back safely.

  A few minutes later, she saw Jaxson’s truck heading her way. She stood up to meet him and when he whipped into her driveway, he was out of the truck and holding her tight in a matter of seconds.

  “Jaxson. I am terr-ible. I lost. Chris.”

  Cradling her close, he rubbed Tamara’s back. “You aren’t terrible. This could happen to anybody.” As she cried, he kissed her hair. “Don’t worry. We’ll find him.”

  Once he made sure she was okay, he took off to look for Chris himself.

  To Tamara’s relief, Jaxson found the boy about an hour later wandering a side street without shoes. Although the police didn’t find him, they spoke to all parties involved. No fault was found, but Tamara couldn’t shake her guilt.

  “Myra won’t…let Chris. Come back,” she told Jaxson later as he gave her a ride to the stables.

  “Oh, she will. Just give her time.” He cupped the back of Tamara’s neck, kneading the tightness he found there.

  “Worried.”

  “Let me do the worrying around here.” He kissed her before she slipped from the truck. “That’s my job.”

  “Okay.” She gave him a grateful smile. “Thank you.”

  He winked at her. “I’ll pick you up at six. Okay?”

  She nodded, feeling better. “What would I…do. Without you?”

  “Don’t worry.” Jaxson winked at her. “You’ll never have to find out.”

  Tamara nodded, but knew he was wrong. She’d lived through losing him before and she didn’t know how she’d survive that pain again.

  * * *

  The next couple of days put things to right. Things returned to an even keel. At the next meeting, Myra came up to Tamara after the meeting.

  “I apologize.” She touched Tam’s arm. “Not your…fault. Chris said he hid. From you. Played game.”

  Tamara nodded. “Still. So sorry.”

  “He wants to come…back. Okay?”

  “Oh, yes.” This made Tamara very happy. Not just for the opportunity, but for the chance to preserve her friendship with Myra.

  After they made arrangements for Chris’s next session, Myra left. Tamara remained in the back of the room with Owen while Jaxson advised a new member of the group on locating a physical therapist.

  “Hey, guess what?” Owen whispered in her ear.

  “What?”

  “Today’s my birthday!”

  Tamara hugged him. “I know. Think Jax…son has surprise. For you.”

  “Really?”

  “Yea, really,” Jaxson agreed as he joined them. “How does a big, juicy hamburger sound?”

  “Yay!” Owen jumped up, grabbed their hands, and they walked side by side from the clinic. The trip to the restaurant was filled with the young boy’s happy chatter. He told them what his mother gave him for his birthday and about the cake she’d baked.

  “It was chocolate, but it’s gone. My friends ate it up!”

  “Is chocolate – favorite?” Tamara asked, knowing she’d baked him a three-layer monstrosity for his very own.

  “Oh, yea, I love it.” Owen was so excited, he could scarcely be still. “I love birthdays!”

  “Yea, me too,” Jaxson shared. “My birthday’s next week.”

  Tamara’s ears perked up. How did she not know this?

  “Really?”

  Putting on his blinker, Jaxson pulled into one of his favorite places to eat. Rev. Ji
m’s Dam Pub. The place had changed hands between a couple of different biker/religious types, but the joint retained its unique atmosphere. “Yea, I’ll be…”

  “Old!” Owen announced as he climbed from the truck.

  “True,” Jaxson agreed, reaching in the back seat to get the gifts they’d bought for their favorite young man. Coming around to Tamara’s side, he switched with her. “Here, you take this bag and I’ll carry the cake.”

  “Cake?” Owen yelped. “More cake? What’s in the bag? Is it for me?”

  “Calm down, shortcake,” Jaxson told him as they made their way into the restaurant.

  “I hope…Jim…okay. With cake.” Tamara didn’t want to offend the owner when they brought in the special dessert.

  “I’ll handle it,” Jaxson assured her – and he did. Tamara felt she was getting spoiled, depending on him more and more.

  Once they were in a booth overlooking Buchanan Dam, they placed their order and let Owen open his gifts.

  “A Nintendo switch! And games! Wow, thanks!”

  Jaxson and Tamara beamed at him. She hadn’t been able to contribute a great deal, but she’d given what she could.

  “And that’s not all,” Jaxson told him with a mysterious grin on his face.

  “Really?” Of course, Owen was intrigued. He was on a natural high. “What?”

  “When your mom says it’s okay, you can come to the ranch and I’ll show you.”

  “Oh, boy! I can’t wait!”

  Tamara knew the little boy was going to flip out when he learned Jaxson had bought Owen’s pet horse, Henry, from the farmer his mom had sold him to after his accident.

  Midst all the excitement, they ate their hamburgers, then finished off the evening with cake.

  “What about your birthday, Jaxson? What are we going to do to celebrate?” Owen asked, his mouth circled by a ring of chocolate icing.

  “Yea?” Tamara chimed in, anxious to make plans for that big event. She already had some ideas that included sexy lingerie.

  “Well…” Jaxson looked between two of his favorite people in the world, a distinct twinkle in his eye, “I was thinking a camping trip – just the three of us.”

  “Oh, boy! That would be great!”

  Jaxson licked icing from his fingers and smiled. “There’s a great place about eighty-miles away called Reimer Wilderness Area and we can hike, fish, swim, whatever we want.”

  Tamara wasn’t so sure. “Slow you down. I’m a lot…of trouble.”

  Jaxson nodded. “That you are, but trouble I refuse to do without.” He kissed her reassuringly. “We’ll be fine.

  “I want you to go, Tamara. It wouldn’t be the same without you.”

  Jaxson gave her a meaningful glance and repeated what Owen just said. “No, Tamara, it wouldn’t be the same without you.” Watching her with the little boy, knowing what a sweet and kind person she was, he was more convinced than ever that they were meant to be together.

  “Okay. Agree.” She held up her hands in surrender.

  CHAPTER THIRTY-NINE

  After they took Owen home, Jaxson returned with Tamara to her house. “Wanna have a slumber party?” he asked as he walked her to her door.

  A thrill surged through her. “I didn’t…know if you’d stay. Won’t. Family wonder…where you are?” She knew they often gave him a hard time.

  Jaxson took her key and opened the door. “I don’t really care.” Once they were inside, he locked up, then took her in his arms. “You’re my priority now.” Kiss by kiss, he backed her down the hallway toward the bedroom.

  “I’m glad,” she responded between smooches. “Just don’t upset…family. They don’t. Understand about us.”

  “As long as we understand, that’s all that matters.”

  “Okay.” In her heart of hearts, she wished they could be a couple for real. No matter. She loved him enough to agree with whatever he wanted.

  “One of the things I understand is how much I need you.” He took Tamara’s head in his hands. “I need you so much.” From the moment he crashed his lips to hers, Jaxson felt all the tension residing in his body begin to fade. Drawing her even closer, he felt immense satisfaction when she slipped her arms around his waist. As they moved slowly down the hall, he removed their clothing – one piece at a time.

  “I love…” The halting way she spoke let the two words hang in the air for a moment or two. Long enough so Tamara felt him stiffen in her arms. This crushed her, but she managed to say what she originally planned. “Having you here.”

  “Good.” He kissed her mouth, her cheek, her throat, then buried his face in her neck to breathe in the sweet smell of her skin. “There’s nowhere else in the world I’d rather be.”

  After removing her top, he let his lips wander over her collarbone, then over the top swell of her breast. Tamara loved him so much, that she pushed aside her concerns and just let herself enjoy him. Running her palms up his chest, she whispered, “let’s go…to bed.”

  She took him by the hand and they moved to her room. He flipped on the light, his reticence over being seen had been outvoted by his desire to admire Tamara’s gorgeous form. “You’ve moved things,” he noted, recalling the way the living room and hall had looked too. “There’s stuff missing.”

  “Yea…gave junk to Mom.” After the ordeal with Chris, Tamara decided it was time to turn over a new leaf. She needed to put the past behind her and realize those days were gone. So, it was all put away or given away. Awards. Photos. Even the gold medal. “Time to make new. Memories.”

  “I’m game in the making memory department.” His hands went to the fastening of her bra. She made no protest, just helped him divest them both of every scrap of clothing that remained. When she went to her knees to help Jaxson take off his prosthetic, he stopped her. “I want to try something new, leave it on.”

  “Okay.” Tamara rose, opening her arms to him in welcome.

  He kissed her repeatedly, running his palms over her breasts, playing with the nipples. When he skated a hand down to test her readiness, he found her warm and wet. “You always want me, don’t you?”

  “Al…ways.”

  To her surprise, he asked her to lean over the end of the bedstead. “I’ve been thinking how good this would be.”

  She complied, then moaned with arousal when he blanketed her back, cupping her breasts to massage and milk her nipples. Between them, she could feel his erection, pressing into her back with urgent heat. Tamara moaned as he held her, she loved the way it felt to be completely under his control. As his hands and lips moved over her body, she bent over, tilting up her bottom, inviting him to come inside. “Oh!” She clutched the bedspread as she felt the sudden sweet thrust of him inside her.

  He groaned at the intense sensation of being enveloped within her body. Every time he loved on her, the feeling of sheathing himself in her velvet heat took his breath away. “Hold on, love.” Jaxson widened his stance and used his hold on Tamara and the bedstead to anchor himself. He just needed to know if he could do this. Giving her pleasure in every way possible was so important to him.

  For Tamara, this was indescribable. She bowed her back, placing her face in the covers, grinding back against him with aching delight. Her body quivered with his driving thrusts. She tightened around him, matching his rhythm, circling her hips as he found just the spot. “Yes! Right. There!”

  “You like this?” Ecstasy surged through him in slow waves with every thrust of his hips. Bending to her ear, he whispered sweet words and dirty words, chuckling at how she responded. As he pumped into her, his hand slid down to cup her mound and play with her clit. “Fuckin’ glorious.” He closed his eyes, clenching his jaw as it suddenly became urgent. Placing a palm on her back, he held her down, kissing a trail of fire up the sweet path of her spine.

  “Love it.” Love you. Her body shook with his driving thrusts. She pushed back, the tension mounting and mounting. Although she never wanted this to end, she knew utter ecstasy awaited.
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  Jaxson groaned as he pounded into her, driving for release, frantic for satisfaction, reveling in the joy of being accepted and wanted by someone whose opinion of him mattered more than anyone else on earth.

  “Jaxson!”

  Her passionate cry was followed by a whimper so sexy his cock jerked in response. Wrapping an arm around her, he cupped Tamara’s breast, kissing her neck and moaning as each penetration pushed him higher and higher. There was no stopping as he gave her everything he had. When the tension broke, Jaxson bellowed his pleasure, arching over her as he felt himself explode.

  “You okay?” he asked, as they shuddered together, his body still moving lazily against her.

  “Perfect,” she purred. “Hold…me. Tight.”

  Keeping their intimate connection, he banded his arms around her, holding her until their heartbeats quieted and their breathing calmed.

  “You know…” He placed a soft kiss on her neck. “I think you’re right.”

  “A-bout what?” When he pulled away from her, she scooted up on the bed, then turned to look at him. As always, the sight of him made her heart swell. The man was a walking dream.

  He stepped into the bathroom to wet a cloth to clean them up. When he returned, he came to her and wiped her softly between her thighs. ‘I think its time my family understands what’s going on. I’m tired of dodging them. I want you to come over for supper tomorrow night.”

  “Are…” She swallowed, amazed. “You sure?”

  He returned to the bathroom, then joined her on the bed, kissing her tenderly. “I’m crazy about you, Tamara. I want to spend the rest of my life with you.”

  Hearing him say the words she’d dreamed of hearing for so long, Tamara threw her arms around his neck and began to cry. “Oh, I love. You. So…much.”

  He kissed her and kissed her, then held her tight. “I fell in love with you before my accident and I acted like a fool because I thought I was protecting you. I don’t ever want to be parted from you again.”

  “I’m…never – moving. Hold me. Forever.”

  When he realized she was crying, he kissed the tears away. “Will you marry me, baby?”