Page 34 of Piece Of Me

“She’s the woman you were in a relationship with for two years?”

“No.”

Puzzled, Scarlett wasn’t sure where to go from there, but Taz was feeling talkative.

“We’re still friends. Rachel that is. I talk to her from time to time. She up and married a guy from Tennessee and she’s got four kids of her own. What about you, Scarlett? Were you in love with Hank’s father?”

She bowed her head, as memories and feelings crashed through her mind. “I thought I was. I mean, he was older and sophisticated and me made me feel like a woman.” She looked up at Taz. “I’d never felt that way before. But I don’t think it was the kind of love that sustains a person. He was too selfish and I...” She picked at the corner of the chair. “I’ve never thought about it that way. I was too deep into his rejection. Into his lies and how they made me feel to realize I was better off without him.”

“I’m sorry he hurt you.” Taz got up and reached for her. She grabbed his hand, and he pulled her to her feet. Then, wrapped his arms around her. She took that moment to savor the sensation. His strength. His warmth. His maleness. She could stay in his embrace forever.

And that thought was concerning.

“Daddy we’re done.” The girls yelled and the spell was broken. Taz’s hand was on the side of her cheek and for one moment in time she was lost in his eyes. Lost in him.

Scarlett cleared her throat and stepped away. “You should…”

“Yeah.”

While Taz got Cameron and Ryan out of the tub, dried off and into clean pajamas, Scarlett got busy packing up her son’s toys and diaper bag. Luckily, she had one diaper left and quickly changed her sleepy boy. She held him closely, inhaling his baby scent, her heart playing a song only for him.

When Taz appeared, she smiled, suddenly shy. “I think I should go.”

Taz nodded. “I’ll take you now.”

The girls skipped along ahead of them, happy to avoid bedtime even it meant riding in a truck for thirty minutes, while Scarlett and Taz were quiet, each seemingly lost in thought. When he finally pulled up in front of the house, the twins were fast asleep, and she waited for him to come around and open her door. She slid from the truck and hooked her diaper bag over her shoulder while Taz removed the car seat and handed over Hank.

She took a few steps, feeling silly and unsure, like that fifteen-year-old out behind the football stadium with Robbie Davis. Taz moved closer and swept a kiss over her forehead. It was the lightest touch and invoked such longing that it brought tears to her eyes.

“We’re doing this again, Peaches.” His breath was warm, cascading over her skin, leaving a trail of goosebumps in its wake. “Because I had one hell of an evening and because I need to know.”

“Need to know what?” she managed to say as she took a step toward the porch.

Taz held her gaze for a heartbeat. “If you smell like peaches all over.” His voice dropped. “And then I’m going to find out if you taste as good as you smell.”

He held her gaze for nearly a full minute, and she wondered if he could hear her heart banging against her chest. Then with one last smile he turned and climbed into his truck. Taz slowly accelerated and she watched the truck until the taillights melted into the surrounding darkness. Then when her heart had slowed enough for her to gain control of her legs, she made her way up onto the porch and let herself into the silent house.

With Hank cradled against her chest, she started for the stairs but froze when she heard Bent call out from his office. She hadn’t realized he was still up.

“You have a good time?”

“Yes,” she answered, eyes on the shadows as he came into view. Bent leaned against the wall, hands stuck into the pockets of his jeans. “You waiting up on me?”

“I suppose I am.”

The love she had for her brothers was fierce and she was overcome by the enormity of it. They’d all been there for her when she’d returned from Europe, pregnant, alone, and broken.

“Thank you,” she said simply. She took exactly one step when Benton spoke again.

“Promise me you’ll be careful with him. You give yourself away so easily.”

Her brother wasn’t wrong.

She glanced over her shoulder and smiled. “I promise.”

After Scarlett tucked in her slumbering baby, she stood back and watched him, awash in the silence that was her life. It was a silence she was used to. A silence that, in and of itself, was comforting. Then she thought back to dinner, to a man and his girls and his obvious love for them. It made her heart swell, full of melancholy and a maybe a hint of sadness for what she’d never had. Malcom had made sure of that.

Silence was fine. It was safe.

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