Sunshine and Whiskey: A Garden Falls, TN Romance

by Allie Kay

  Sean raised his eyebrows in question when I tilted my head in his direction. Leaning close, I grazed his lips with my own before turning back to my father.

  "We haven't kept anything from you, Daddy. Today, things changed. Neither of us wants to be 'just friends' any longer."

  My father looked ready to explode when he got the unwanted confirmation that we were dating, but whatever it cost him, he held his tongue for the moment. A little muscle in his cheek twitched. He managed a grim smile that didn't make it to his eyes. "I think maybe we should discuss this over dinner one night soon. Not at midnight, and with your mother present, perhaps? Let's go home for now, and you and your mother can plan something."

  I beamed at my father for the effort. We still had work to do to get our relationship back on solid ground, but he was trying. And since he was trying, I would too.

  "Now, I've got work in the morning. Think we can head home soon?" He stood and rubbed his back. “I’m getting too old to pull an all-nighter.”

  I sighed. I didn't want to leave Sean when he'd finally given in, but Dad was right. It was late. And I had class in the morning. “Okay,” I agreed. I turned and gave Sean a big hug and a brief kiss at his jaw line. “I guess this is goodbye.”

  Sean walked us out to Jess’ car and pulled me into a quick embrace. "That went better than I expected," he whispered.

  "I know, right?"

  "Let me know if he blows up in the car?"

  Dad stood watching, so Sean only brushed his lips across my forehead. He tucked me safely into the backseat. "Goodnight."

  I smiled up at him as he shut the door. Peering out the window into the dark night, I saw him silhouetted by the streetlight, watching the car drive away. He hadn't moved when we turned the corner and I lost sight of him.

  Dad and Jess stayed quiet, and I smiled the entire drive. My persistence had paid off.

  22

  Sean

  I dragged myself out of the car with the last of my energy. Everyone in town under the age of thirty had been in Garden tonight. I’d worried we might run out of liquor before closing time. We’d had to turn people away at the door just to keep the fire marshal happy. We’d pushed capacity all damn night. My shoulders ached from all the boxes of liquor I'd carried. Not to mention all the drunks I had poured into cabs.

  I wanted a sandwich, a shower, and bed. Preferably in that order. I hadn't had time to get food. The growling and rumbling coming from my stomach made food a priority. But I couldn’t hit the sheets without a shower since I smelled like vomit and stale whiskey.

  I walked into the breezeway of the apartment building and Talia stood there talking to my drugged-out neighbor. What the hell was she doing here at two a.m.? I unlocked the door and grabbed her hand, pulling her inside the apartment without saying a word. My jaw clenched so tight that it hurt. Shutting and locking the door, I flung my keys across the room. They clattered down the wall onto the little kitchen table.

  I tried to keep my cool. I really did. But shit. She wasn't stupid, so why would she be waiting outside in this neighborhood in the middle of the night?

  “What are you doing here?”

  She stared at me blankly.

  "Damn it, Talia. Answer me!"

  I expected her to yell back. Throw a book at me. Slap me in the face. Anything but cower in the corner with tears pouring down her face. Fuck. I walked toward her and damned if she didn't put her arms over her head like I was about to beat her. If I ever got my hands on that bastard Caleb, I would break the little shit's arm off and beat him half to death with it.

  I sank down on the floor next to her. Not touching her because I wasn't sure how she would react. I hung my head in my hands and took several deep breaths before speaking. "Sunshine, I don't know what I did that provoked this reaction. I'm sorry. I didn't mean to scare you. Shit."

  After rubbing my hand over my face a few times, I peeked over at her. She had uncovered her head and stared at me with a deer-in-the-headlights look. I deserved to be shot for putting it there.

  I reached a hand toward her. God, it hurt when she flinched away. My stomach twisted. Great. We’d barely started dating and I’d already terrified her. I knew, deep down in my gut, it wasn't me specifically. Tonight's reactions were a direct result of what Caleb had put her through. I'd seen the signs. I just hadn’t realized how much of it would carry over to me. I stood up and got a beer and sat at the table staring at it. I didn't even open it, just rolled it around in my hands.

  Some time passed before Talia got up. I didn't look up. She was going to walk out that door and out of my life. We hadn't been dating long, so I shouldn't care if she left. But I did, damn it. I didn't want her to leave, but after I'd scared her like that… Well, who could blame her?

  The soft touch on my shoulder astonished me. I jerked my head up to meet her eyes. The confusion in her eyes tugged at my heart.

  "What? Aren't you going to leave?" I turned my gaze back to the bottle in my hands. I didn't look up when the other chair scraped the floor as she pulled it out to sit next to me.

  "I thought you'd be happy to see me." Her whisper was so soft I strained to hear it. I looked up to see her picking at a divot in the worn table, staring at the little dent like it held all the answers.

  "You could've been hurt. My neighbor was high. You realize that? People do stupid shit when they are high."

  "I wanted to see you. I didn't think I was in danger—"

  I interrupted her. "Promise me you will not come down here alone at night again. Ever. Talia, please. If you got hurt because of me…" I twisted the top off my beer and took a big mouthful. "I'm falling for you. And it really fucking hurt to see you curled up on the floor like I was about to take a swing at you."

  She looked up at me then. Tears filled her big green eyes and she launched herself out of the chair so fast it clattered to the floor behind her. She wrapped her arms around my neck so tightly, I had to gasp for air. I pried her arms loose so I could breathe and slid the chair back. Pulling her down into my lap, I kissed her softly.

  I cupped her cheek and brought her face nose to nose with mine. Staring directly into her eyes, I reminded her, "I don't hit girls. Ever. I swear to you that you will always be safe with me."

  She nodded before kissing me again. The growl from my ignored stomach interrupted us. She cocked one eyebrow at me questioningly.

  "I skipped dinner," I said with a shrug.

  She hopped off my lap and peeked into the fridge, offering to make some food. Wrapping my arms around her from behind, I whispered thanks and went to get a shower while she made an omelet. I made quick work of the food and pulled her to the couch.

  Holding her, the soft vanilla scent from her shampoo lingering in her hair and the warmth from her body made me drowsy. I kissed her a few slow, lazy times. "Stay with me?"

  She nodded and I led her into the bedroom. Giving her one of my shirts to sleep in, I turned down the blankets and was nearly asleep when she came out of the bathroom. I heard the sweet sigh of contentment when my arms slid around her. She trusted me enough to sleep in my bed and that was enough for tonight. I drifted off to sleep holding her.

  I woke with her hair tickling my nose. Shifting, I brushed her hair away from my face. A groan escaped me when she sighed a soft, sexy little sigh and snuggled closer. Would she push me away if I woke her with kisses? Did we have time for that? I grabbed my phone from the nightstand. Still early. I didn’t want to push for more than she was ready for, so I closed my eyes, but couldn't fall asleep again.

  When she started to stir a little while later, I grazed a kiss across her forehead. "Morning, sunshine. How'd you sleep?"

  Talia giggled and tilted her face up toward me. "I could get used to this."

  "Good." I captured her lips with mine. She moved even closer, wrapping her arms around me. I nibbled my way down her throat and rubbed one hand up and down her bare thigh. When I moved to slide my hand beneath the oversized shirt she wore, she tensed so I
eased back.

  "I don't want to rush things, but I was certainly enjoying that. I could kiss you all day," she reassured me with a giggle.

  She ran a finger around a scar on my ribcage. Raised and roundish, it had what appeared to be a surgical line running into it. "What happened there?"

  I stiffened under her touch. Finally, I released a ragged breath. Staring up at the ceiling, when I did speak my tone was clipped and tight, "My brother happened. He nearly killed me. It's a long story and I'd rather not get into the details right now. I… it's not pretty, let's leave it at that."

  She stopped her exploration of my scars and ran her fingers through the dark hair covering my chest.

  "What time is it?" I finally asked, not being able to think of another topic of conversation. We had lain there in silence for some time with only a few comforting kisses and caresses. The urgency from earlier had been lost.

  "Eight-fifteen, time for me to start getting ready for work, unfortunately." She pressed a kiss to my shoulder. "I'm sorry I upset you, Sean. I was curious, that's all."

  "I'm not upset with you. You have every right to ask questions and someday I will answer them all. It's just… my past is just that. It's in the past. And I'm trying so damn hard to be the man I am now, not who I was then. It's almost like talking about a different lifetime, about a different person. Telling you about it… that's not who I am anymore."

  With tear-filled eyes, she pulled me in for another kiss. "I know the man you are now, Sean. That's all that matters to me. I'd like to hear about your history at some point, but I won't push."

  We shared one last lingering kiss before rising to get ready for work. It felt homey, her changing in the bedroom while I showered. It was nice. It felt right.

  23

  Sean

  The crowd was quiet. The music still blared, but the people themselves just kept the volume down. Typical week-night. People would come in after work, have a couple drinks, a few dances and be done. I stood behind the bar and joked around with Jack in the down time.

  Something stirred the crowd's interest and the buzz of conversations rose. Turning around to see what had caused the uptick in noise, I cringed at the two uniformed officers heading up to the bar. Even though I had been clean for years now, seeing cops in my place of business always made my heart race. I knew Officer Jess Taylor, but not her partner.

  Leaning on the bar, I tried to project a calmness that I sure as hell wasn't feeling. I nodded in greeting and plastered a fake smile on my face. "Hey, Officer Taylor, what can I help you with tonight?"

  "Sean, you don’t have to be so formal with me. Just Jess is fine. But I need you to come with me to the hospital," Jess said, her tone businesslike and expecting no arguments.

  "What happened? Is it Talia? Is she okay?" Hearing the word hospital, I could no longer maintain the fake smile. I tried to choke down the ball of dread that lodged in my throat. If something had happened to Talia, I didn't know how I would bear it.

  Jess was quick to reassure me. "No, honey, it's not Talia. As far as I know, she's fine. It's your mama though. We got a call on an overdose. She's at the hospital, but it doesn't look good. I think you ought to go over there."

  A brief moment of relief filled me. Talia was the most important person in my life and knowing she was okay helped dislodge my heart from my throat. A surge of guilt washed up before I tamped down all emotion. I shouldn't feel relief that my mother was in the hospital. But it wasn't as if the woman had ever really been a mother to me. Leaving the club in Jack's capable hands, I followed the two officers.

  Jess insisted on driving me to the hospital. While I tried to hide it, my hands were shaking and she could probably see that I didn't need to be behind the wheel. She kept the conversation to a minimum during the drive across town and I was grateful for that. I didn't feel like talking.

  All I could think was that I was about to see my mother for the first time since I was sixteen years old. I didn’t even know she was in town. It surprised me to hear that she was. She’d run with a rough crowd out of the next town over for a long time. Last I’d heard, she’d moved a couple hours away with some asshole who was probably her dealer.

  As she dropped me off in front of the emergency room, Jess offered to swing by and let Talia know what had happened. Nodding numbly at her, I agreed, mumbling that Talia was working tonight. The car moved away but I stood at the curb, staring at the mechanical doors.

  Each step closer tugged another memory free. Memories of visits to this very ER as a child. Painful memories. It only took a moment, and just like that, the weight of my past returned full force. My feet seemed fifty pounds heavier than when I left the club.

  The harsh voice in my memories cussed me and told me to leave. She wouldn’t want me here. She’d never wanted me to start with.

  But then I’d changed. Maybe she had too.

  Finally gathering the nerve to walk through the door, I gave my name at the front desk. They sent me into a windowless little room off to the side. I paced the tiny room waiting for someone, anyone, to give me some news. Would she be able to talk? Fuck, would she even recognize me? I hadn't seen her in so long I wasn’t sure I’d even recognize her.

  When the door opened, a tiny bald doctor strode in. He looked up at me and his eyes softened. I knew then, before the words came out of the doctor's mouth, she was gone. This time, the drugs had got the best of her. I listened to the man's condolences and hospital procedures. When the little man walked out, I followed.

  I was going to have to call someone to come get me. I stumbled into a chair in the waiting room and took a ragged breath. It shouldn't upset me that she was gone. The last time I'd seen her, she'd thrown a glass at my head and cursed me. But fuck if I could stop the tears running down my face.

  Running through all my childhood memories, I tried to remember a positive. Something happy for when I thought of her. The closest I had would be of the smile on her face when she shot up, or the euphoric laziness that came over her when she was high. At least it was an improvement over when she couldn’t get drugs and the withdrawals made her sick, or worse, mean.

  Maybe in death, she found the peace missing in her life.

  24

  Talia

  Jess’ presence in the store drew attention but my boss had no problem letting me leave early, given the circumstances. I headed straight over to the hospital to find Sean.

  Sitting with his head down, face buried in his hands, Sean still stood out among the folks in the waiting room. I hurried over to him, wrapping an arm around his shoulders as I sank into the chair next to him.

  He raised his head at my touch and I could see the tears in his eyes. He pulled me into a tight hug, crushing me against him until I was sure the armrest between us was going to bruise my ribs. His tears fell into my hair and I held him as he cried.

  "She's gone," he finally croaked out. "I hadn't seen her in over a decade. She was never even a good mother to me. Why does this hurt so bad?"

  "Because she was still your mother. I'm so sorry. Do you need to stay here for something? Or can I take you home? Can I do anything for you?"

  "I can go. They were going to have the funeral home pick her up and call me in the morning." He swiped at the tears running down his face with the back of his hand. I had to suppress a sob of my own. Sean had never said much about his family. But to see him in so much pain… it just hurt.

  But it was my turn to be the strong one now. "Let me take you home then. Come on. Let me take care of you tonight."

  Sean remained quiet for the entire drive to his apartment, apart from an occasional shuddering breath. I didn't try to engage him in conversation. He unlocked the door and I shoved him toward the bathroom for a shower. Once the water turned on and Sean stepped under the spray, I called Mom.

  "Hey Mom. I wanted to let you know that I won't be home tonight. So don't worry. I'm at Sean's."

  "Talia, I'm not sure that's appropriate—"

  "His mo
m died tonight. I'm not leaving him." No amount of anger or argument from my parents was going to budge me from his side. Not tonight.

  "Oh! I... Well, tell him we are sorry for his loss."

  We chatted for a few more minutes. While she didn't sound pleased about me staying with Sean, she kept her opinion to herself thankfully. The shower turned off and a few minutes later the pad of bare feet came up the hallway toward me.

  "I've gotta go, Mom. I'll talk to you tomorrow."

  I dropped the phone into my purse and turned to see him standing there in nothing but a pair of black boxers. My mouth dropped. I'd known he was muscular and I'd seen firsthand how nice his chest was when I had gotten his shirt off of him before. But wow. I was staring, but my eyes refused to look away.

  He cleared his throat and joked, "Hey, my eyes are up here." I could still feel the heat in my face when Sean wrapped his arms around me, laughing. "Is that pretty blush because of me?"

  I slipped my hands around his bare waist, laid my head on his chest and inhaled his fresh from the shower scent. My cheeks burned with embarrassment, but at least I'd made him laugh.

  "I can go get dressed if you want?"

  "No!" I exclaimed. "It's fine. You should be comfortable."

  With gentle hands, he tipped my face up to look at him. "But not at the expense of your comfort."

  "I'm fine with it, believe me! I can't quit staring though."

  "I don't mind if you stare, sunshine. Hell, I don't mind if you touch. Not as long as I can touch back anyway," he said, his voice deep and low. Seductive. That was the best word to describe it.

  His lips touched mine and I lost the ability to have rational thought. When he swung me into his arms and carried me to his bed, I knew that this time we wouldn't stop at a few kisses. I didn't want to stop. An undeniable hunger had rose in me that only Sean would fulfill.