TUCKER WATCHED HER steadily, as if searching for something in her eyes. Then he said, “Ted was my teammate. One day in practice…”
She put the fingers of her good hand over his mouth. “Stop,” she said. “You don’t have to tell me this.”
He pulled her hand away from his mouth and curled his fingers around it. “You have a right to know.”
“No, I don’t.” She untangled her hand from his. “I have no right to make demands of you.”
“You don’t think so?” His eyes were unreadable.
Her heart twisted painfully. “I know I don’t.”
“You’re wrong, Claire,” he said, leaning forward to tuck a lock of hair behind her ear. “You have the right to ask me anything you want.”
“What gives me the right to pry into your life?” she whispered.
He studied her, one corner of his mouth curling up. “I think you know.”
Her heart skipped a beat, then began to race. She couldn’t speak. Her skin warmed and her throat swelled.
He bent his head and captured her mouth with his. Beneath the tenderness she could taste the heat, the passion. And a promise she prayed she wasn’t imagining.
When he lifted his head, he said, “I wanted to tell you. You have the right to know all the ugly parts of me, all the parts that I’m ashamed of. But I was afraid to tell you. I was afraid of what I’d see in your eyes. I was afraid you’d run away and never come back if you knew who I really was.”
“I do know who you are,” she said. “And I…” She swallowed the words. “I care about you.”
“No one has ever known who I really was. No one has known the person underneath. No one has ever wanted me, warts and all. All they see is the celebrity, the guy with all the money. I want to make sure you know the real me.”
“Tucker, I already know the real you. Nothing you can say will change the way I feel about you.”
He looked away. “Maybe you should hear what I have to say before you start making rash promises.”
Before she could respond, he took her hand and examined the backs of her fingers. “I’ve always had a problem with my temper. It got me into trouble more times than I can count. One day while I was playing for Chicago, I lost my temper with one of my teammates at practice. Ted Bromley was a good football player and a good guy. I took him down and blew out his knee. He’s had three different surgeries and countless hours of physical therapy. He’ll never be able to play football again. I took his life away from him.”
She turned her hand to grip his. “Why don’t you tell me the rest of the story? You didn’t just go crazy and attack this guy.”
He tilted his head. “How can you be so sure?”
“I know you,” she said, her whole body quivering with intensity. “I know you wouldn’t just attack someone for no reason, temper or no temper. What did this Ted do?”
“Whatever he did, he didn’t deserve to lose his livelihood and the ability to play the game he loved.”
“Of course not. But I’m sure you don’t deserve to carry a burden of guilt, either. Tell me, Tucker. What really happened?”
He stared into the distance for a long time before he sighed. “We were both too competitive, even during practice. He was trying to catch the ball and I was trying to prevent it. It started out slow—I’d bump him, he’d push me. I’d grab his jersey, he’d give me an elbow. At the end, we were pretty much beating the crap out of each other. Then he grabbed my face mask and used it to yank me to the ground. I lost it and made an illegal tackle. That’s when his knee went out.”
“So he’s partly to blame,” she said quietly.
“I went on to play football for two more years. He spent the next six months on crutches,” he retorted.
“Every football player takes chances when he steps on the field. Isn’t that what you told us parents at the beginning of the season?”
He scowled. “That’s different.”
She smiled, happiness unfurling inside her. “We can debate that later. What is Ted doing now?”
“He’s on one of those pregame television shows. He analyzes the games and the players.”
“Is he enjoying it?”
“Yeah. Last time I talked to him, anyway.”
“He found his post-football niche. Just like you.”
“I chose to retire. He didn’t.”
“You retired for different reasons. Maybe you’re both where you’re supposed to be.”
“You know, I see what you mean.”
“What are you talking about?”
“You’re as stubborn as a Missouri mule. I might as well be talking to one.”
“Don’t you forget it, Hall.”
He’d come back to her and she didn’t intend to let him go. “Tell me about the man who almost died.”
She saw real sorrow in his eyes. “That’s when I realized I had a problem. It was during a game and a guy from the other team was playing dirty. Carl Jones.” He sighed. “I should have ignored it. I should have walked away. But he made an illegal tackle and I snapped. I ran him down and he hit the ground hard, broke two vertebrae in his neck. He was in the hospital for over a month.”
“What happened?”
“Carl recovered. He admitted that he’d been making illegal tackles, but it didn’t matter. I knew I had to get away from football. I had an anger problem and football was making it worse. I made a deal with the league—I retired and they let the whole thing drop.”
“That must have been awful,” she said. “Both for Carl and you.” Claire took a deep breath. “You’re a different man now, Tucker, and I love you,” she said. “I love everything about you. And that includes your past. Your past made you the man you are today.”
Slowly he turned to look at her. His gaze devoured her face, stared into her eyes. “You mean that,” he said slowly, as if he couldn’t believe it.
“Yes.” She touched his face, leaned in to kiss him. “I love you.”
He pulled her into his arms, buried his face in her hair. “I was scared to death I’d lost you,” he said. “Scared to death to tell you who I really was.”
He eased away from her, touched her cheek, her mouth, her neck, as if he couldn’t believe she was real. “I love you, too, Claire. I never knew love could be like this.” He cupped her face in his hands. “Will you marry me? Tomorrow?”
“Tomorrow?” She tried to put on a serious face. “I don’t know about that, Tucker. I’m not sure I can wait that long.”
He wrapped his arms around her and kissed her, a promise and a pledge. Holding her carefully, protecting her arm, he slid his hand down her back, playing with the flannel shirt. “This is my new favorite shirt,” he murmured. “When I saw you wearing it, I knew I had a chance. I figured you wouldn’t be wearing my shirt if you were going to tell me to go to hell.”
He led her to the back porch stairs and settled her next to him. Touching her face, her hair, her mouth, he leaned forward and kissed her again. “I’ve started looking for a teaching job in Chicago,” he said. “I’ve got a couple of interviews lined up already.”
“Sorry,” she said, grabbing his shirt and pulling him close for another kiss. “You’re going to have to cancel them.”
“Why would I do that?”
“I don’t believe in long-distance marriages. If you move to Chicago, I’m going to be lonely here in Monroe. And I want you in my bed every night.”
His eyes heated. “Did I say something about getting married tomorrow? I changed my mind. We’ll get married today.”
She gave him a scorching kiss. “Yes,” she said, breathless. “Today. Now.”
He glanced at the house, his hands tightening on her. “Where’s Nick?”
Desire pulsed inside her, an all-consuming need that urged her to wrap herself around him, fuse them into one. She forced herself to ease away from him. “He’s at Booger’s. He’ll be back any minute.”
“I’m taking another rain check,” he whispered, his mouth crushing hers.
Finally he stood up, moved away from her. “I need to get my mind out of your bed before I embarrass both of us. Tell me why you want to stay in Monroe. You’ve been counting the days until you get back to Chicago.”
“I’ve made mistakes since I came back to Monroe,” she said quietly. “One of the biggest was refusing to look at this town through an adult’s eyes. I was afraid of committing to you because I was afraid of committing to Monroe.”
She took a few steps toward him. “I’m not afraid anymore. I’m going to hold on to what I want. I want you, and I want Monroe. It’s the best place for Nick, it’s the best place for you and it’s the best place for me.”
He leaned back to look at her. “You have a business in Chicago. I can teach anywhere.”
“I can move my business to Monroe, but I can’t move my friends to Chicago,” she said quietly. “I have neighbors I want to get to know better. Nick has friends in Monroe.” She kissed him. “And you have a football team that needs you. Who else is going to keep their parents in line?”
Happiness swept through her as she saw the relief he tried to hide. She had no doubt he would have pulled up the roots he’d established in Monroe and moved to Chicago for her. And she had no doubt that staying in Monroe was the best thing for all of them.
“Tell me again about having me in your bed every night,” he said, easing his hand beneath the flannel shirt.
“Out here? In the backyard?” She angled her body in front of his, let her hand trail down over his chest, his abdomen, below his waist. “Where do you want me to begin?”
“You’re doing just fine,” he said with a groan.
He swept her into his arms, devoured her mouth with his. Their hearts beat in rhythm, their whispered sounds of pleasure melted together, and he moved against her with undisguised hunger.
When she fumbled with the button on his jeans, he set her away from him. “Out here? I’m shocked, sweetheart.” His mouth curled up in a hot, wicked grin. “What will the neighbors think?”
“They’ll think I’m the luckiest woman in Monroe,” she said, her fingers curling into the waistband of his jeans.
“I knew you were trouble the moment I saw you.” He brought her hand to his mouth, held it there. “Promise you’ll still be shocking me fifty years from now?”
“Count on it, Hall.”
“I’m counting on a lot of things,” he murmured against her palm. “Including that I’ll love you forever.”
He hugged her and turned her to face the house. “Do you want to live here? For Nick’s sake?”
“Oh, Tucker. You’d give up that beautiful house of yours for us?”
“I’d give up anything for you.”
Tears shimmered in her eyes as she leaned into him, kissed him. “I love you.” She swallowed, smiled through her tears. “And you love that house. I won’t let you give it up for us. We’ll make a fresh start there, away from all the ugly memories of this house from my childhood.”
“My house needs a family,” he said, gazing into her eyes. “And that’s what I want with you. A family. A home filled with love and a bunch of kids.” He brushed her lips with his. “Nick is going to be a great big brother.”
“Yes,” she whispered. “That’s what I want. I can’t believe I didn’t want to come back to Monroe. Everything I want and need is here.”
He studied her. “Are you sure?”
“The only thing I’m more sure of is that I want to marry you. The snotty city girl is gone for good.”
He gave her a mock frown. “But I love my snotty city girl.”
“You’ll have to get over it. I’m not a city girl any more. I’m a hometown girl now, and I’m here to stay.”
NICK APPEARED out of the woods in the back of the house, stopping when he saw his aunt wrapped in Tucker’s arms. After a moment, he walked toward them.
“Did I give her enough coffee, Coach?” he asked.
“Absolutely,” Tucker said. “Great job. You got her softened up just right.”
He grinned at Nick and gave him a wink, and Nick relaxed. “I came back because I forgot to feed Joe this morning.”
“You should have called me,” she said. “I would have fed her for you.”
“Nah. I want to feed her.”
The screen door slammed behind him, and she heard him open the can of cat food. After a moment, Nick began calling for the cat.
“That’s odd,” she said, easing away from Tucker. “Joe usually comes running as soon as she hears that can open.”
She headed for the house, but before she was through the door she heard Nick yelling.
“Aunt Claire! Aunt Claire! Come quick!”
She and Tucker exchanged worried looks, then Tucker surged to his feet and followed her into the house.
“Where are you, Nick?” she called.
“Up in my room.”
She hurried up the stairs with Tucker close behind her, stopping at the sight of a grinning Nick. He was on his knees next to a pile of dirty laundry.
“Joe had her kittens!” he said. “Look!”
She knelt down next to Nick and saw four tiny kittens huddled next to Joe. One was an orange tabby, one was a gray tabby that looked like its mother, and the other two were black-and-white. Joe watched the humans carefully for a moment, as if assessing their intentions, then turned and began licking the closest kitten.
“Can we keep all of them?” Nick asked. “Please?”
“Five cats is a lot of cats,” she began.
“I’m not sure my house is big enough for five cats,” Tucker said.
Nick tossed a puzzled look over his shoulder. “What does your house have to do with it?”
“Tucker and I are getting married,” Claire said. “We’ll all be living in his house.”
“You’re marrying Coach?” Nick sat back on his heels, studying both of them.
“Would you mind if I married your aunt?” Tucker asked.
“Mind?” Nick’s eyes lit up and his face glowed. “Nah. That’s awesome.” He gave Tucker a sideways glance. “So what am I supposed to call you?”
“Whatever you’re comfortable with.”
“Do you want me to call you Dad?”
Claire saw the sheen of tears in Tucker’s eyes and tightened her grip on his hand. “I’d be honored, Nick. You’re a great kid and I’ll be proud to be your dad.”
Nick’s face filled with sudden anxiety. “I am going to live with you and Aunt Claire, aren’t I?”
“Of course you are,” Claire said. “We’re a family.”
“Then that settles it,” Nick said. “We can’t give away any of the kittens,” he said, a sly look on his face.
“Why is that?” Claire asked.
He gave her a triumphant smile. “Because they’re a family, too. Just like us.”
Tucker’s arm tightened around her. “A smart kid can be a real pain in the rear,” he said.
Nick grinned at him. “Aunt Claire said the same thing once.”
He turned back to look at the kittens just as Joe settled into position on her side and the kittens began to nurse. “Isn’t that the coolest thing ever?” Nick asked, staring at the kittens.
“Almost,” she said, looking at his face, love swelling inside her. She turned to Tucker, pulled him close. “The only thing better is being a family.”