Page 5 of Piece Of Me

“Why are you wasting time with women who will never be right for the girls? We both know Nikki is only your flavor of the month.”

“First off, I’m not wasting time. When I head over to Nikki’s we get down to business right away.”

“Taz Pullman, stop that kind of talk right now.”

“You brought it up,” he retorted. “Look, Nikki knows the score. I’m not looking to get serious or land my butt in a relationship. We’re careful. I don’t go there when her kids are around. And if me paying visits to Nikki’s house keeps the town gossips busy, well, I guess I’m killing two birds with one stone.”

His mother tapped her toe and shook her head. “Why won’t you find a nice woman to settle down with?”

“You know why.” Taz got to his feet. “I’m not the settling down type. I’m happy with my life.”

“You’re a single man raising two little girls.”

“And you don’t think I can do the job?”

“That’s not what I mean.” She sighed. “Don’t twist my words.”

He tossed the rest of his apple in the garbage bin and faced his mother. “The twins are happy and so am I.”

She walked over to him, stood on her tiptoes, and smoothed away a lock of hair from his forehead. Her expression softened, and as always, it pulled at him.

“Are you?” she asked.

“Mom,” he groaned. Lately, this was becoming a repeat performance every time he saw her.

“Are you happy?” she repeated.

“Yes.” His answer was automatic because it was the truth. He was happy. Settled. He didn’t answer to anyone but himself and he had two little girls to keep him grounded. Gone were the days of drinking and screwing around. Hell, he was fine with his visits to Nikki. She scratched his itch when it needed scratching. Besides, he was too busy for a damn relationship. An image of the Bridgestone girl flashed through his mind, but he batted it away just as quick. She might be worth getting to know, but from what little he’d seen, she was a whole bunch of trouble and would be hard for any man to handle.

And she was obviously taken.

The girls saved him from any more questions from his mother. They flew into the kitchen and made a beeline for him. “Let’s go, Daddy,” they shouted.

“Give Gammy a kiss goodbye.”

His mother gave them each a big hug and kiss and then stepped back. He saw the love in her eyes. The concern. And the sorrow for what was lost. Taz pulled her into an embrace and whispered. “I’ll see you tomorrow. Love ya.”

With that he led the girls back to his truck and once he got them secured in their car seats, drove to the other side of town where the Sundowner was located.

It was midafternoon and already the parking lot was filling up. The twins held hands and skipped in front of him all the way to the door, and once inside continued their singsong until they spied Millie Sue Jenkins. Wrong. She was now a Bridgestone. His friend had up and married her soul mate on New Year’s Eve.

“Auntie Millie,” Ryan exclaimed, and then giggled. “Your belly.”

Cameron twirled in a circle. “It’s so big.”

“Well,” Millie said, hands on her hips, staring down at the two of them. “I’m growing a baby.”

“Looks like there’s two in there,” Ryan said seriously.

“Just like us,” Cameron joined in. “Does it hurt?”

Millie laughed, “No, it doesn’t.” She glanced up at Taz and smiled. “Your order will be ready in five minutes or so.” She bent lower. “Why don’t you two go with Jennifer and she’ll let you pick out some sweets to take home.”

The server appeared with a smile and the girls squealed so loud that Taz winced. He made a mental note to limit any sugar intake to the bare minimum between now and their party. They jumped up and down, and tugged on Jennifer’s hand, leading the woman toward the kitchen.

“They’re a going concern,” Millie said, moving behind the bar as Taz sat on a stool in front of her.

“I didn’t expect to see you here.”

---