While Jenni Beth and Cole were away on their honeymoon, the mice probably should have played, but they didn’t. The class reunion loomed far too close. Tansy couldn’t help but wonder what they’d been thinking when they chose the date.
A small committee had been meeting at Dee-Ann’s every week for the past month and a half, and this week was no different. Jenni Beth had given strict instructions they weren’t to wait for her return to wrap up the plans.
Tansy took a bite of the BLT she’d ordered, sans lettuce.
“Angus Duckworth is comin’,” Luanna announced. “His RSVP came today.”
“You’re kidding.”
“Nope.”
“That should be interesting.” Tansy laid down her sandwich. “Jenni Beth’s substitute prom date. Has anybody seen Angus since graduation?”
Nobody had.
“He practically pulverized Jenni Beth’s feet,” Moose said. “I’m no dancer, but compared to him? I’m a regular Patrick Swayze.”
Luanna snorted. “Seriously? You do know Patrick’s dead?”
“Not to my wife. She still watches Dirty Dancing once a month.”
Tansy sighed. “One of my favorite movies.”
“Angus’s wife’s name is Bertha.”
“Bertha Duckworth?” Quinlyn asked. “Try saying that without a lisp.”
“Not kidding. Angus and Bertha.”
A lot of eye rolling followed.
“They sound like a matched pair,” Moose said.
Since Cricket would be taking care of the flowers, Tansy had cajoled her into joining their meetings, wanting her to be involved in the process right from the beginning. Besides, it would be a great way for Cricket to get to know some of the townspeople she hadn’t met yet. It was working like a charm. Any outsider looking in would have no idea she wasn’t one of the class.
Cricket drew the line, though, at attending the reunion. “I’ll help wherever I’m needed, but I graduated from Blue Ridge’s Fannin County High School. Go Rebels!”
“Fine.” Tansy’s mind went back to Angus Duckworth. Did Jenni Beth know he’d married a Bertha?
* * *
Stepping out of Duffy’s Pub, Beck rubbed the back of his neck. A rare afternoon off. His dad and grandpa were both at the lumberyard, and he and his crew had finished their project early. He’d sent them home and stopped by for a late lunch.
What he really wanted was Tansy.
He stopped by Darlene’s Quilty Pleasures, then ducked into Tommy’s to fill his tank and chew the fat for a bit. Maybe he’d go home and grab a shower. He could check the TV schedule for tonight, then decide what to do. Earlier, he’d had a half-baked plan, but now he was having second thoughts.
Unlocking his front door, he stepped in and looked around. The house had too many bedrooms and too many baths for one man. What had he been thinking when he built it?
That it wouldn’t be too big for a family.
Had he unconsciously designed it with Tansy in mind? Secretly hoped that someday she and Gracie would live here with him, that he and Tansy would make children together and fill the house to overflowing, turn it into a home?
He flicked on the shower in the master bath.
After the water grew tepid, he threw on some clean clothes and figured he’d better feed the cat. He hadn’t seen her this morning before he left or this afternoon, either. Usually she was waiting on the porch to greet him.
A mental alarm went off. Had she had her kittens?
He walked outside, calling her name. “Allie! Hey, Allie Cat, where are you?”
Halfway across the yard, he heard something. He tipped his head and listened.
A soft mewling.
He followed the sound to some holly bushes where he found her curled up, feeding five tiny kittens.
“Honey, why’d you do this all by yourself? Why didn’t you let me know?” He dropped to the ground beside her, and her raspy tongue flicked out to lick his fingers.
She needed food and water. The usually well-groomed cat looked like she’d been through a war. He talked to her awhile longer before getting to his feet. He’d pad his laundry basket with some old towels, then gather Allie Cat and her kittens in it to carry them back to the house.
On his way through the yard, he decided he’d make a call, too.
* * *
Tansy dried the last of her baking pans and slid it into the rack. Placing a hand at the small of her back, she leaned into it. It had been a long day, and she still had so much to do. On top of that, she hadn’t set anything out for dinner. Maybe she’d pick up some pulled pork sandwiches at Fat Baby’s Barbecue.
The phone rang, and she checked caller ID. Beck.
Her heart kicked in her chest, then settled into a Kentucky Derby–winning pace. The man made her feel like a teen again, complete with the soaring ecstasy and the plummeting angst. Lately, she’d been wallowing in the angst section of the bleachers. She hadn’t seen or heard from him, other than a couple texts, since the wedding four days ago—well, since the morning after the wedding.
And she’d lay naked on an anthill before she’d let on she’d even noticed.
Answering, she forced out a cheerful, “Hey, Beck.”
“Back at you, beautiful.”
Her toes curled inside the sensible clogs she’d stuffed her feet into that morning. He sounded masculine, carefree, and vibrant. Even over the phone, he made her feel alive.
“Have a good day?” he asked.
A curl fell over her forehead, and she blew at it. “I’ve had a tiring day that started before dawn. But, yes, it’s been good.”
Silence.
“Beck? You still there?”
“Yeah. I was gonna ask if you and Gracie wanted to come over tonight for pizza, some popcorn, and a movie.”
“And you’ve changed your mind? You’ve decided not to ask us?”
“I’d love to have you, but you sound beat. If you want a rain check, I’ll understand.”
She debated with herself. Did she stick with her original plans, as pathetic as they were, or pack up Gracie and head over to Beck’s? Have dinner alone or with a hunk?
She bit back the laugh that bubbled up. “What movie are we watching?”
“Pocahontas.”
“The Disney version?”
“Yep.”
“You have that?”
He chuckled. “No. I threw myself on Darlene’s good graces this morning, and she borrowed a copy from Dixie and Trixie when she ran home for lunch.”
“Ahhh.”
“So what do you say? Yea or nay? Am I gonna spend the evening alone or with two gorgeous ladies?”
Now it was her turn to laugh. “You drive a hard bargain.”
“Hard enough?”
“Yes, hard enough. We’d love to come.”
“I have a surprise for Gracie.”
“What is it?”
He snorted. “I’m not tellin’ you. You’d tell her, then it wouldn’t be a surprise.”
“I can keep a secret.”
“Maybe.”
“But you’re not going to tell me.”
“Nope. You’ll have to wait.”
They ironed out the details, and Tansy did a little happy dance when she hung up. Tonight she’d spend some time with Beck. Even better? He’d invited Gracie to be part of their evening.
Tansy went to the window and stared out over her incredible backyard. Beck made her happy, and that scared her.
* * *
Two and a half hours later, Tansy strapped a hyper Gracie in her car seat. Five minutes later, she asked for the fifteenth time how much farther it was to Beck’s house.
“Baby, we’re almost there. Please don’t ask me again, okay?”
“’Kay.” She stayed quiet for all of three seconds. “Does Daddy Beck have any kids at his house?”
Jealousy, raw and unexpected, burned its way through Tansy. How would she feel if he did have a child or two with another woman? Awful. Beyond awful.
Yet he’d accepted Gracie with no fuss. He hadn’t said anything hurtful to her or her child. Just the opposite. Once in a while, she saw naked longing in Beck’s eyes when he watched her little girl. Did he wish he really were Daddy Beck?
They’d talked about having children—once upon a time. Before she’d screwed up. Did he still want kids, want to be a daddy? He was so good with Gracie.
“Mama?”
“What, sweetie?”
She sighed. “You’re not payin’ ’tention. Does Daddy Beck have more kids?” she repeated.
“No, he doesn’t.”
“Just me?”
Tansy opened her mouth, then closed it again. How could she answer that? Her daughter had fallen in love with Beck. And her daughter’s mama? She was afraid she had, too. Or more honestly, she’d never fallen out of love with him.
Oh, what a tangled web she’d spun. Could Beck ever truly trust her again?
“Mama—”
“Yes, it’ll be just you there, honey.”
“’Kay.”
That worked. An answer that really wasn’t an answer.
She turned into his drive.
Opening the back door, she released Gracie from her seat, then reached into the back for the baker’s box of goodies she’d brought for dessert. She’d tried a new recipe this afternoon. Once again, Beck could be her guinea pig.
* * *
Smiling, he met them at the door.
Curious, Tansy stepped inside. She had no idea what she’d expected, but this wasn’t it.
“Aren’t you the tidy one?” Surprised, she turned to him.
“I have to confess to a cleaning marathon. Well, not exactly a blitz, but almost. The middle’s clean, but don’t look too close. I ran the vacuum, swiped a dust cloth over most everything, and hid my clutter.” He grinned, looking like a young boy trying hard to hide a multitude of sins…and badly wanting praise.
“You shouldn’t have admitted that, Beck. Let me believe this is how you keep house.”
“I can’t lie to you, Tanz.”
All the air left the room, and she suddenly felt breathless. No, he wouldn’t lie, and he wouldn’t cheat. He never had.
Gracie broke the tense moment by throwing herself on the emerald-green sofa. “This is pretty, Daddy Beck. I like it.”
“Good.” He ruffled her hair. “This is where we’re gonna sit to watch our movie.”
“After we eat pizza,” she shouted.
“You bet. Hungry?”
She bobbed her head up and down. Tansy had pulled her long, dark hair into a ponytail, but strands of the baby-fine hair had come loose and curled around her face.
A quiet mewling came from another room.
Gracie instantly stilled, and her bouncing stopped. “What’s that?”
“That’s a surprise.”
The little girl squealed. “I love ’prises. Don’t I, Mama?”
“You do.” Tansy had a sneaking suspicion about this surprise. She gave Beck a look that held a touch of censure.
He held up a hand. “It’s okay. I’ve got it figured out.”
Gracie looked like a racehorse at the starting gate. “Can I go see?”
He nodded and started out of the room behind her.
“Beck, we can’t—”
“I know. Trust me.”
There was that word again. Trust. It came hard and, from the look on Beck’s face, his demand covered several situations on multiple levels.
Hadn’t she fought the trust battle on the way here? Hadn’t Beck won? Still…
In the next second, all worry disappeared when Gracie’s delighted cries reached her.
“Mama! Mama! Come look. Hurry!”
She did.
There in the corner of the kitchen, in a laundry basket turned on its side, was a mother cat and her five newborn babies. Tiny, high-pitched cries came from the kittens as they crawled and scrambled blindly over each other.
Gracie knelt beside the box, her mouth open in amazement.
“Can I touch?”
Beck got on his knees beside her and took her hand in his. “Very gently.”
He guided her hand to a kitten and stroked it with one of her fingers.
“He’s so soft,” she whispered, turning her face up to Beck’s. A world of wonder shone on it.
“He is.”
She watched a small, black, fuzzy ball crawl over the others, his tiny feet slipping and sliding.
“Why’s he walkin’ on the other ones? Doesn’t it hurt them?”
“They all do that, sugar, to keep warm. Little kitties are cold, so they cuddle up together.” He shot Tansy a meaningful look, and her temperature spiked. Oh, yeah, she desperately wanted to cuddle with this man who was such a puzzle—brisk and curt at times, incredibly tender and gentle at others.
“Why aren’t they looking at us? They all have their eyes closed. Like this.” Gracie scrunched her eyes shut, mimicking the babies.
“Baby kittens can’t see or hear till they’re about four days old, so they keep their eyes closed.”
“Oh.” She closed her own and stood, hands out in front of her. Feeling her way, she walked around the kitchen till she bumped, laughing, into a chair. “When will they open their eyes?”
“It’ll be a few days. They were just born today.”
“Today’s their birthday?” Gracie’s voice rose another octave.
He nodded.
“Can we have a party?”
“We are. That’s why you’re here. Why we’re havin’ pizza, popcorn, and a movie.”
“Pocahontas.” She looked serious now.
“Right. You like that movie?”
She nodded, setting her ponytail swinging.
Tansy watched the exchange with interest. Beck was handling this really well, so much better than Gracie’s biological father would have. This, she realized, was what a real father did. He shared the miracles of the world with his child.
Daddy Beck was earning himself a big fat A plus.
“What do you think, Mama?” Beck asked playfully. “You like the kittens?”
“They’re adorable.”
“So here’s the thing, kiddo.” Beck sat and drew Gracie onto his lap. “You get first choice. Which one would you like for your very own?”
When Tansy opened her mouth to protest, he shook his head. “Remember, though, sweetie, it has to stay here. You can come over to play with it anytime you want. But no badgering your mom to take it home with you and no tears. Deal?”
Gracie, full of disbelief that she could actually have one, nodded vigorously.
“Can it come to visit me if it wants to?”
Oh, Tansy thought, her daughter was no dummy, and she knew how to work all the angles.
“We’ll see. Right now, though, she’s way too little to leave her mama.” He grinned at Tansy and raised a brow, asking without words how he’d done.
She gave him a thumbs-up and mouthed, “Thank you.”
“You’re welcome.” His eyes burned into her, so hot, so sexy that she felt it to her core. The man was supercharged. He made her tingly whenever she was near him.
“You want to pick now, or do you want to think about it?”
She crawled off his lap and lay down on the floor to study the kittens again.
“That one.” She pointed to a tricolored calico. Three of the five were solid orange, the last all black.
“You sure?”
Gracie nodded. “That’s Bitty.”
“Bitty?” Tansy knelt and studied the calico.
“Uh-huh. ’Cause he’s itty bitty.”
“She,” Beck said.
“Bitty’s a girl?” Gracie asked.
“Yep. Almost all calicos are.”
“And she’s really mine?”
“All yours.”
She threw her arms around his neck, nearly strangling him. “Thank you, Daddy Beck.”
He buried his face in her hair. “You’re welcome, sweetie. Now, didn’t you say you’re hungry?”
“Yes.” She pulled away, dancing around the room. “I’m starved, huh, Mama?”
“Always. Wash your hands.”
“Where?”
“Down the hall, on the left.” He held up her left hand. “This is your left. Why don’t you go with her, Tanz? I’ll pull things together here.”
She nodded and followed a dancing, chattering four-year-old with her left hand held high. No doubt about it. Christmas had come early this year.
* * *
They ate pizza and drank ice-cold milk seated around Beck’s big oak table. Gracie rubbed her stomach. “I’m full.”
“After three pieces? I don’t doubt it.” She looked at Beck. “Want to wait on dessert?”
“Yeah. I’ll brew a pot of coffee in a bit, and we can eat your experiment while Pocahontas does her thing. Maybe I can even find a birthday candle around here to celebrate the kittens’ birthday.”
“Goodie!” Gracie bounced up and down in her chair.
Within ten minutes, the dishwasher was loaded, leftovers stowed in the fridge, and the kitchen put to rights. Gracie’s hands and face were cleaned, all traces of tomato sauce removed. At Beck’s insistence, all three of them curled up together on the couch, Tansy on one side of him, Gracie on the other. She managed to sneak beneath his arm so that she cuddled into his side. They decided the popcorn would have to wait, since they’d overindulged on the pizza.
Oh, this would be easy to get used to, Tansy thought. Danger here.
* * *
The movie started and Beck winced. A musical? Hell, he’d thought it was a cartoon. Well, he’d get through it. The girls were enjoying it, both of them singing along with the songs. Apparently they’d seen it more than once.
As they settled into the story of John Smith and Pocahontas, Beck asked, “It’s a romance?”
“Yes,” Tansy sighed.
“Okay, I can do romance.”
She looked at him, her eyes half-shuttered. “Yes, you can.”
His body reacted instantly. “Behave yourself,” he growled.
“Sssshhh. I can’t hear the animals,” Gracie complained.
Chastised by a four-year-old. Beck grinned. He couldn’t remember a better evening.
Halfway through the movie, Gracie shifted so that her head lay in Beck’s lap. A tug so strong it hurt yanked at his heart. He wanted this. He wanted Gracie and, dear God, how he wanted her mama.
Fight as he might, the feeling wouldn’t go away. Somewhere along the way, he’d given his heart to Tansy and her daughter. But then maybe it hadn’t been his to give. He wasn’t sure Tansy had ever returned it to him. His heart had been hers for years.
If he told her, what would she do? Toss it back at him again?
“We should go.”
Tansy’s quiet words brought him back to the present. “What?”
“Gracie’s sound asleep.”
She was. He reached down and brushed a strand of hair from her face.
“God, she’s beautiful, Tanz.”
“She is, isn’t she? I love her so much it hurts.”
He nodded, up close and intimate with that feeling. Did Tansy guess how he felt about her?
“Stay awhile longer. Let me put her to bed in a spare room. I’m not ready for the night to end. Heck, we didn’t have our popcorn or dessert yet.”
“I don’t know. I—”
He leaned into her and kissed her. One hand came up to wrap around the back of her neck and pull her closer still. The low hum she made set off fireworks inside him.
“Don’t go, sugar. Stay with me.”
“A little longer, but that’s all.”
He nodded and stood, cradling Gracie in his arms, her head on his shoulder. Leading the way upstairs, he stopped at one of the rooms.
Tansy stood a moment, drinking in the sight of Beck and her daughter, then moved past him and turned down the bed. “You surprise me, Beck. Your house isn’t at all what I’d expected.”
“What? You expected black leather? Beer cans strewn over the coffee table? Underwear in the middle of the living room floor?” When she said nothing, he shook his head in mock disbelief. “You did. That’s exactly what you expected.”
“I wouldn’t say exactly. Since Gracie was coming over, I figured you’d pick up your underwear.” She chuckled. “I’m sorry.”
He laid Gracie down and pulled the covers over her, then dropped a light kiss on her forehead.
And that’s when Tansy raised the white flag.
The last doubt evaporated. This man was unbelievable. So hot, so sexy, and so good with her daughter. The daughter who should have been his.
He straightened, and the gleam in his eyes was enough to have her backing up.
“Beck.” She held out a hand and laid it on his chest. “What are you doin’?”
“Oh, honey, if you don’t know by now…”
How someone so large, so muscular could move with such speed and grace amazed her. He was like a cheetah, able to go from absolute stillness to full speed in the blink of an eye. Before she had time to escape, he scooped her up in his arms.
She laughed. Why put up even a token protest? This was exactly where she wanted to be.
“Beck—”
“Tansy—”
They laughed, and he kissed the tip of her nose.
“I’m tired,” he said. “How about you?”
Heart in her throat, she nodded.
“Do we have to worry about her wakin’ up? Being scared in a new place?”
“No. Once that child falls asleep, she’s out for the night.”
“Good to know. What about her mama?”
“Her mama sleeps well, too.”
“Sleeping’s not quite what I have in mind.”
“Thank God,” she breathed.
His room was at the far end of the hallway, and he stumbled into it, still holding her tight.
“I feel like Scarlett O’Hara.”
“Really? Can’t say I’ve read Gone with the Wind, but I’ve caught the scene you’re talkin’ about in the movie. Mom loves it. My guess is that Rhett Butler made Scarlett a pretty happy woman that night.”
“He did.”
“I want to do the same for you.”
It was a good thing he was carrying her because her legs wouldn’t have held her.
A lamp was on low beside the bed, which looked the size of an ocean, covered in a splash of sunshine yellow. The walls were navy blue, the furniture white. The room was sparse save for the pile of books on his dresser.
Beck lowered her to the bed, following her down, and she quit thinking. His weight pinned her. She should have felt confined, claustrophobic, but she didn’t. Instead, she felt oh so good.
She ran her hands over his back.
“Take off your shirt,” she whispered.
He did. One yank, and he flung it across the room.
Muscles rippled beneath her fingers as she played them over his skin. He worked right alongside his men, lugging, hauling, and hammering, and his body was proof of that. This body had been earned—not in some pricey gym, but by sweaty, honest hard work.
She traced the line of muscles on his back and felt the ones in his arms. Ooh la la! She’d struck the mother lode.
* * *
Thoroughly satisfied, she drifted off to sleep, Beck spooning against her, a smile on both their lips.
Sometime later, she felt the dip of the mattress, then a chill as Beck slipped from bed. She heard a drawer open and close, the rustle of him slipping into pants. The bedroom door quietly opened and snicked closed.
He was gone; he hadn’t wanted to spend the entire night with her.
Hurt jabbed at her and brought tears to her eyes.
Why?
A few hours later, a wide-awake Gracie crawled into bed with her, and Tansy said a silent prayer of thanks that, after Beck left the room, she’d scooped his T-shirt off the floor and slid into it. Then she added another quick thanks that Kitty was opening the bakery today.
“Morning, Mama. Where’s Daddy Beck?”
“I don’t know,” she mumbled, turning to cuddle her daughter.
And then there he was, leaning against the doorjamb, sweats riding low on his hips, all sleep tousled and sexy.
Her mouth watered, and she nearly whimpered.
“I let your mama have my room. I slept in the one by you.”
“Because your room’s bigger and she’s a guest?”
Beck’s eyes met Tansy’s, a smile in those beautiful blue pools, and he winked.
“Yep.” Totally at ease, he sat on the edge of the bed and smoothed her hair with his big hand.
And she understood. He’d gotten up in the middle of the night for her. For her daughter. The tumblers in her heart rattled, rolled, and opened. She loved this man. And she always would.
Beck picked up a giggling Gracie and slung her under one arm. She giggled louder. Leaning toward Tansy, he said, “There’s a new toothbrush in the bathroom if you want it. Should be a comb and fresh towels, too, if you’d like to take a quick shower.”
When she made to protest, he shook his head.
“Gracie and I’ll be fine. We need to go check on those kittens.”
Gracie gave an ear-splitting scream of delight. “The kitties! Let’s go see the kitties, Daddy Beck! I want to say good morning to Bitty.”
Beck threw her another wink, and he and her daughter left the room.
She heard them laughing and chattering the whole way down the stairs. She lay on her back, breathing deeply.
Everything had changed. Her entire world had shifted, and she absolutely loved where she was right now—where she and Beck were.
* * *
After she’d showered and dressed in last night’s clothes, she sneaked down the stairs. Peeking into the kitchen, she spotted Gracie sprawled on the floor watching the new kittens and their mother. Beck stood at the counter mixing batter. From the smell of it, a fresh pot of coffee was brewing.
How did he do it? Make it all look so easy, so ordinary?
He couldn’t be used to waking up to a litter of baby kittens, a four-year-old girl, and her mother. Yet he was totally unruffled. No chaos, no confusion. The man was rock steady.
Yet the passion was there. Oh yes. Over and over last night, he’d shown her that. And he had a temper, too. Hadn’t she witnessed that these last few years? Yet he’d never deliberately or unfairly hurt her, though she couldn’t have blamed him if he had.
Leaving them there, she walked back into the living room. She took a few minutes to study the books and pictures and other memorabilia that spread over the bookcase behind Beck’s sofa. Very eclectic. Books about birds, motorcycles, woodworking, and the meaning of dreams mixed with fiction by Michael Connelly, James Lee Burke, and Robert B. Parker.
And while his walls were white, the man certainly wasn’t afraid of color. The green sofa dominated the room with its bright throw cushions. A large, white chair had a navy afghan tossed over the back and a multicolored cushion. The white coffee table showcased a rather large red model airplane. And his artwork? Bold and intense.
What could have been a stark room felt like the inside of a box of Gracie’s crayons. Tansy liked it.
She liked Beck.