Page 52 of Piece Of Me

He placed a plate of food in front of Scarlett and grabbed the stool beside her.

“Why did you get into bull riding?” She munched on a piece of bacon while Taz took a sip of coffee.

“That’s a complicated answer.”

She leaned into him with her shoulder. “I’ve got time to listen.”

Taz seemed to be considering what to say and then sat back with a shrug. “My mom is a Temple; her family has ties to Texas that go back generations. Temple Holdings is the family business, and we’ve got our fingers in most every pie that you can have, real estate and oil being the two big ones.”

“Temple Oil?” This surprised her. “I had no idea.”

“It’s not something I generally advertise on account of those complications.” He picked at his eggs. “My mother met my dad at a rodeo when she was seventeen and he wasn’t much older. They fell in love. Or rather, she did. I don’t know if he can appreciate the concept. My grandfather wanted her to end things. Told her that my dad was a no-good son of a bitch who would hurt her and leave her. She refused to give him up and Granddad Temple cut off all contact, both financial and physical. She went from living the kind of life that came with being a Temple, to holed up in a trailer with a man who cheated on her every chance he got. By the time she figured out he was the bastard her father had told her he was, she had me and Taylor.”

Taz gripped his fork tightly and she knew this was still fresh for him. But then the pain of family never goes away. It might lessen in time, but the wound was always there, waiting to open and bleed.

“She was a goddamn Temple and worked two jobs—cleaning a motel and serving in a diner—to make ends meet. I hated my grandfather for that, but I hated my dad more. I started rodeoing when I was sixteen and by the time I was eighteen I had more sponsors than I needed. I won my first championship and didn’t look back. My father rode bulls the same way he fathered, without passion, gumption, or talent.” He looked at Scarlett. “I didn’t ride because I loved it. I rode because my grandfather hated it, and because my dad was jealous of my success.” He shrugged and got back to eating. “But I made a lot of money, and I was able to support Mom and Taylor and we had a good life.”

“It was a means to an end.”

“Yeah, I guess it was.”

“Do you talk to them?”

Taz pushed his plate away and got up from the table. He took hers and ran them under water. “My grandfather died a few years back. We had a relationship in the end. I mostly played nice for my mother, but when he died, he shocked us all by leaving me in charge of Temple Holdings.”

“That’s why you take trips to Texas.”

He nodded. “As for my dad, I haven’t talked to him since I was twelve, though I did spot him in the crowd once, when I was competing. I locked eyes on that man and told myself I’d never acknowledge him again.” Taz placed their dishes in the dishwasher. “I hear he’s still in Texas, outside of Dallas I think, living with some woman and her pack of kids. Using her for what she’s got to offer him, no doubt. He always was a charmer.”

“Something you inherited from him.” They both turned as Martha Pullman walked into the kitchen. Dressed simply in a pink sleeveless silk top and cream-colored linen shorts, she was an attractive woman. Her hair was pinned back, showing the kind of bone structure most women wished for, the waves soft, blonde with a hint of silver. She wore minimal makeup: a brush of soft pink on her lips, and some neutral shadow on her eyes. Eyes which, looked from Taz to Scarlett and back to Taz.

“The girls ran upstairs, they thought you’d still be in bed.”

“We didn’t hear them,” he replied, lazily, walking around the kitchen island to give his mother a hug.

“I see that. You might want to get dressed,” she said dryly.

He chuckled and headed for the laundry room, and more than a little embarrassed to be found with her half-dressed son, after the night she’d spent with him, Scarlett offered a small smile.

“Nice to see you again, Martha.”

“You too,” Martha replied. “You must have had a good time at the dance last night.”

“We did.”

“I’m glad. It’s been too long since Taz has been so…amiable.” She winked. “I’m assuming you’re the reason.”

Just then Taz walked back into the kitchen. He’d pulled on a pair of jeans and had Cameron in one arm, Ryan in the other.

“Gammy, we found Daddy! He was in his underwear.” They giggled uncontrollably, but stopped when they spied Scarlett. “Is baby Hank here?”

“No,” she said, suddenly feeling like she should be anywhere other than where she was. “I should go.”

“Let me pack up the girls and I’ll take you home.” Taz set them down and walked over.

“Don’t worry about it,” Martha said. “I can take Scarlett home. I’m headed that way.”

He frowned. “To the Triple B?”

---