When We Met (12 page)

Jack frowned. “What are they? Monkeys?”

“Yes, and they bite. I checked them out on the internet. They're wild animals and we don't want them anywhere but in their natural habitat. Which is not your house, by the way.”

“Okay.”

Taryn glanced at him. “Really?”

Jack shrugged. “Sure. I can stand up to her.”

Taryn laughed. “Yeah, we've all seen that happen.”

“You're saying I can't?”

“I'm saying you won't. There's a difference.”

They walked into the old building. Taryn paused to take in the architecture. There were murals and a wide staircase. All very pretty when she wasn't there to deliver bad news and no doubt get sucked into doing something she didn't want to do.

“I blame you for this,” she told Jack.

“We're giving back to the community. That's a good thing.”

“I'll remind you of that later, when I'm beating you with a stick.”

He winked at her and pointed to the stairs. “Mayor's office is that way.”

“How do you know?”

“I'm a man of mystery.”

“You probably looked it up before we left.”

“That, too.”

They went up to the second floor. As they approached the mayor's office, a woman came out of another office and walked toward them. Taryn recognized the beautiful, pregnant redhead. Felicia Boylan was in charge of festivals in town. Taryn had met her when she'd first come to check out the town. Felicia was extremely intelligent and more than a little blunt. Taryn admired her for both qualities.

“Good afternoon,” Felicia said as she approached. “Mayor Marsha asked me to sit in on the meeting. If the town slogan is changing, we'll have to address that in our advertising for the festivals. Depending on what the change is, we can use it to our advantage. Although I must point out that there are costs involved. Printed material, banners, updating online.”

Jack looked startled by the information that accompanied the greeting. Taryn only smiled.

“Nice to see you,” she said. “I agree, there will be costs. The question comes down to value.”

“I like the slogan,” Felicia murmured, leading the way into the waiting area by the mayor's office. “I have my own Fool's Gold happy ending.”

Jack made a choking sound. Taryn looked at the other woman's baby bump and knew exactly what he was thinking. She elbowed him to keep him quiet.

As they approached the double doors leading to the mayor's private office, she saw an older woman sitting at a desk.

“Hi, Marjorie,” Felicia said, smiling at her. “Should we go in?”

Marjorie nodded and motioned to the half-open door.

Mayor Marsha was waiting for them. She shook their hands, then led them over to a small conference table by the window. The mayor was dressed in a suit, with her hair up in a bun and pearls around her neck.

“How can I help you two?” she asked when they were all seated.

Taryn glanced at Jack, who smiled back. She held in a sigh. Obviously he was going to make her do all the talking.

She wished she'd brought paperwork. Handing out files was always a nice distraction. But what was she supposed to do? Diagram out a “happy ending”?

“We're concerned about the town slogan,” Taryn began.

“So you said in your message.” The mayor looked pleasant but not overly interested. “Fool's Gold has been the land of happy endings for nearly a hundred years. I'm not sure we want to change now.”

Jack started to chuckle. Taryn glared at him.

“I agree with the mayor,” Felicia began. “People come here and fall in love. The happy ending is—”

She froze, her mouth still open, as if she were going to continue speaking. Then her jaw dropped and her green eyes widened. “Oh no.” She turned to the mayor. “They're right. The land of happy endings. ‘Happy ending' is a euphemism for a male orgasm. Like at the end of a massage. When the female masseuse stimulates the man's penis until he—”

“Thank you,” Mayor Marsha said forcefully. “I get it.” Color stained her cheeks. “None of us ever thought of the name that way, but now that you've pointed it out, it seems like something we should have noticed long before this.”

Taryn resisted the urge to squirm in her seat. “Yes, well, Jack, Kenny and Sam noticed it. For obvious reasons.”

“They're immature and driven by their need to ejaculate?” Felicia asked.

Taryn grinned. “Yes, that would be it.”

“Hey,” Jack said, sounded wounded. “There's more to us than that.”

Felicia nodded. “Yes, of course. You have emotional depths. It's just the male drive for orgasm is very powerful. It can cause focus problems and poor decision making.” She leaned toward him. “I've noticed that falling in love and making a long-term commitment tends to redirect a man's sexual energy. When a man has a partner he truly loves, he is more able to direct his energies in positive ways.”

The mayor cleared her throat. “Perhaps we could keep on the topic at hand. The town slogan.”

“We're working on several options,” Taryn said. “If you want to hear them at a later time. Or you could brainstorm in-house.”

“I think I'll leave this to the professionals. Do you have any idea what direction you'll be going in?”

Jack started to speak, but Taryn glared at him again. No way she wanted him telling the mayor anything like Fool's Gold—Where Men Are Finally Coming.

“It's early yet,” Taryn said instead. “Let me put together a presentation.”

“That would be helpful,” Mayor Marsha told her as she rose. “The work will be pro bono.”

The words were a statement, not a question. Taryn nodded. Later she would take up the matter with the boys. But as they'd created the problem by noticing it in the first place, she didn't think they would be in much of a position to complain.

They all shook hands again and the three of them left. Once they were in the hallway, Felicia turned to Jack.

“I have to discuss a matter with Taryn. It's female in nature and will upset you. I suggest you leave now.”

Jack glanced between them. “You don't have to tell me twice,” he said. “Call when you want me to come get you.”

He practically flew down the stairs.

Felicia pointed to a bench in the open hallway. Taryn sat next to her and waited. She couldn't imagine what the other woman would want to talk to her about. Especially under a “female nature” topic.

Felicia angled toward her. “As you know, I'm pregnant.”

Taryn glanced at her baby bump and nodded. “You're past the point of hiding that from anyone.”

Felicia smiled. “Gideon and I started trying in December. I believe I got pregnant right away. I took the test the morning of our wedding and it was positive.” Her smile faded. “I'm having a girl.”

“I don't understand. You wanted a boy?”

“No. I would have been equally happy with a child of either sex. My concern is Gideon has a son. Carter is very helpful and informative. I had thought to draw on his memories of his childhood to help me be a better mother. But he's concerned his experiences as a boy won't give me enough information when it comes to raising a girl.”

Taryn didn't know Felicia's whole story. She'd heard bits and pieces—that Felicia had been so intelligent as a young kid that her parents had been afraid of her. As a result, she'd been raised in a university lab. Somehow she'd made her way to the military, where she'd been a logistics expert for a Special Forces team. Now she ran the festivals in town.

While her background was extraordinary, Taryn could see how Felicia would feel unprepared to be a parent. “How can I help? I don't have kids of my own. Or a lot of experience with them.”

“That is true. However, you and Angel are working together with a new FWM grove. I've talked a lot to Patience about raising Lillie, but I would like a more robust amount of information. I would like very much to come to a meeting and observe the girls. I thought spending time like that would help me understand them better.”

Had the request come from anyone else, Taryn would have told the woman to suck it up and get over it. That having a child would be an on-the-job training experience, as it had been for millions of women. But she knew Felicia was different. Taryn knew all about never quite fitting in. Felicia had experienced it because she was so intelligent. Taryn had been an outsider growing up because no one could be allowed to get close enough to guess the family secrets.

She lightly touched Felicia's arm. “There's going to be a mother-daughter tea. Angel just texted me about it.” She smiled. “He's totally freaked, which is pretty fun. If you came to that, you can see the girls and how they are with their moms.”

Felicia nodded. “That would be wonderful and very informative. Thank you so much.” She paused. “I'd hug you, but I'm not sure our relationship has gotten to that level of intimacy and I don't want to make you uncomfortable.”

Taryn laughed, then reached for the other woman. “Let's be wild,” she said.

Felicia flung herself at Taryn and held on tight. When they'd both straightened, Felicia was wiping away tears.

“Hormones are very powerful. I find myself crying at the littlest things. It's disconcerting. On the other hand, my sexual desire is significantly increased. Gideon says I'm exhausting him.” She smiled. “Which he adores.”

“You're really weird,” Taryn said. “I like you, but you're strange.”

“I know, but I've learned to live with it.”

CHAPTER TWELVE

A
NGEL
DISCOVERED
THAT
being a Grove Keeper took a whole lot more time than he had expected. It wasn't the meetings with the girls that were the problem—it was how he was expected to attend biweekly Grove Keeper meetings. This time he'd dragged Taryn along. He'd said it was so he got all the details for the upcoming mother-daughter tea right, but the truth was he wanted the distraction of having her near him.

He liked being around her. Not just looking at her, but breathing the same air. He liked how she moved, how she spoke and how she laughed. Over the past few years, he'd discovered that he liked strong women with attitude. Marie had been like that, in her fiery Cajun way. She could cuss at him in languages he'd never heard.

Consuelo was tough, which was why he enjoyed rooming with her. She had simple rules, and if everybody followed them, life was smooth. If not, the offending party had a fifty-fifty chance of waking up with a scorpion in his bed.

Taryn was just as powerful, but on a completely different plane. She ran a multimillion-dollar business, kept former football players in line and then could spend an afternoon teaching seven-year-olds how to French-braid their hair.

As they walked into the conference room, he leaned close. “You ditched the power suit.”

“I wanted to fit in.”

He held in a grin. Her idea of fitting in was white capri pants with a black leaf design, a fitted short-sleeve white sweater and black wedge sandals with a bunch of straps. An outfit, he would guess, that cost more than the average car payment. Her handbag had a big bow on it and was made by somebody called Valentino. He didn't know who Valentino was, but Angel would guess he or she had never come to Fool's Gold.

They took their seats at the large table. Taryn leaned toward him. “The ladies like you.”

He glanced around at the other participants. They were mostly women, but that was to be expected. “There are a few dads who come to the meetings.”

“Yes, but you're getting the special smiles.”

He flashed her a smile. “It's the scar. Chicks dig scars.”

Her eyebrows rose. “Do they?”

Denise Hendrix walked to the front of the table, took her seat and called the meeting to order.

Each of the Keepers had to report on his or her grove. Angel waited until it was his turn, then stood and said the girls were doing well with their community service project. The puppies were responding well to the attention. He sat down as quickly as he could.

Taryn leaned close and patted his leg. “Well done,” she whispered.

When everyone had updated their grove status, Denise shuffled a few papers, then smiled broadly.

“I have some exciting news. As those of you who have been Grove Keepers before know, we try to arrange an all-grove campout. For logistical reasons we didn't think we were going to be able to pull it together this year, but the campsite we like best has become available and I say we go for it.”

Several of the women cheered. Taryn's mouth straightened.

“Camping?” she asked quietly. “As in sleeping outdoors on purpose?”

He chuckled. “Think of it as good practice for your Living Life at a Run weekend.”

“I'd rather not. You and I are planning to go hiking. Isn't that enough?”

He grinned.

“I'll be emailing each of you the particulars this afternoon,” Denise continued. “As we've done in the past, there will be a separate camping area for the parents who wish to stay close.” Her brown eyes found him. “Angel, this affects you particularly. You have the youngest grove. For many of the girls, this will be their first camping experiencing. Except for sleepovers, it may be their first night away from their family. That can create emotional reactions.”

His pleasure at the thought of a weekend camping out fizzled. “Emotional reactions?”

Several of the women giggled.

“Nothing you can't handle,” Denise told him.

Want to bet?
But he only thought the question rather than saying it out loud.

“I would suggest you encourage the families to take advantage of the nearby camping area so they can be close if there's any crisis.” She paused. “With the girls.”

Crisis? Why would there be a crisis?

Denise moved the meeting on to other business. Fifteen minutes later, they were done.

The rest of the group quickly left, but Angel stayed in his seat. Taryn sat next to him. Her violet eyes were bright with amusement.

“You're happy,” he grumbled.

“I'm amused. There's a difference. Now I'm not the only one worried about the all-grove camping trip.”

“I don't want my girls crying.” He couldn't handle the tears. “Or being upset. Camping is fun. We'll go on hikes and learn about nature.” He had a few simple survival skills he could teach them.

“I'm sure they'll be fine. Denise was simply offering ways to make sure it all goes well. Having the parents nearby is a good idea.”

He agreed with that, but still. Crying.

She stood. “If it makes you feel better, we have to get through the mother-daughter tea first. That will be fun.”

He rose and put his hand on the small of her back. “That's your idea of helping?”

“You don't like tea? There'll be cookies. Cookies help.”

“I'm not five. You can't change my mood with a cookie.”

“Good to know.” She paused in the doorway and looked at him. “What would change your mood?”

He thought of what she'd been like by the river. How she'd taken all he had to offer and had left him gasping for air. He thought about their weekend together and no matter how many times he reached for her, she was eager to play the game again.

He thought of her in her damn heels, the way she was both bossy and feminine, how sweet she was with the girls. If he was ever looking to break the rules, it would be with her. But that would never happen.

She leaned in and lightly kissed his mouth. “Good to know,” she murmured in his ear.

“Good to know what?”

“How I can change your mood.”

He was still chuckling as they went downstairs and out onto the street.

“What's your afternoon like?” he asked.

“I have some work to get done. No meetings.”

“You have time for lunch?”

“Sure.”

He took her hands in his and guided them toward Fifth. “You been to Margaritaville?” he asked. “Great food.”

“Powerful margaritas,” she told him. “Not that I drink at lunch.”

“You could make an exception.”

“I'd never make it back to the office.”

“I know.”

She laughed. “Trying to get me to be bad? It wouldn't take much.” She pointed to the flower boxes in the storefronts they passed. “They change the flowers constantly. They're always blooming and completely right for the season. When the guys first dragged me here, I thought I'd fallen into some 1950s sitcom form of hell.”

“You didn't like the town?” What was there not to like?

“I thought it was small and provincial,” she admitted. “The people were way too friendly. No one needs to be saying hi to me every fifteen seconds. I couldn't believe I'd been outvoted and this was where we were going to be.”

“And now?”

She looked around. “It's growing on me.”

“Like fungus?”

She laughed. “Kind of. But good fungus. It's like truffles. An acquired taste.” She squeezed his hand. “You, of course, liked it from the first.”

“Sure. Ford grew up here and he talked about it all the time. Justice spent a year here as a teenager. What they said reminded me of where I grew up. By the time Justice asked me to join CDS, I was looking for a place to settle in.”

“Roots?” she asked.

“Something like that.”

He understood that accepting Fool's Gold as home meant letting a part of what he'd had with Marie and Marcus go. They wouldn't be a part of this. But she would have loved it here. As for his son, well, there was no letting go there. Marcus was with him always.

Taryn drew him to a stop and eased him toward the building so they weren't standing in the way. Then she touched his cheek. “You okay?”

“I'm fine.”

Her violet eyes met his. “I meant, can I help? You're getting lost in the past. Thinking about Marie and Marcus?”

He kept his expression neutral, because he could. But inside, he was slack-jawed. How had she guessed?

“It makes sense,” she went on. “You were together a long time. You were a family. She'll always be a part of you. Like Marcus.” She gave him a soft smile. “I know there are things about the girls that freak you out, but I think it's probably easier on you to be dealing with little girls. Teenage boys might bring back a lot of memories. That could be hard.”

He touched her hair. “When did you get so smart?”

“I've always been smart.”

He nodded. “I do miss her. I feel guilty.”

“For being happy? For moving on? Wouldn't she have wanted that?”

“She would. It's not that. Marie was practical. She wouldn't expect me to stay stuck.” He hesitated. “It's my fault they died.”

“It was a car accident. You weren't even there.”

“And I should have been. I should have kept them safe.”

There it was—the truth. Spoken unexpectedly. It was his job to keep people safe, yet he hadn't been able to save the two he loved most. A cliché, he thought, accepting the truth of it.

He waited for Taryn to say he was wrong, or try to talk him into thinking something else. Instead she kissed him, then tugged him along to the restaurant. When they were seated, she talked about her meeting with Mayor Marsha and had him laughing at her description of Felicia Boylan explaining what a happy ending meant.

She might not understand what he'd gone through, but she accepted his truth and the consequences that went with it. A rare combination. One he'd been lucky to find.

* * *

A
FTER
HER
LUNCH
with Angel, Taryn was too restless to go back to the office. She strolled through town and found herself in front of Paper Moon. Staring at the familiar logo reminded her of Dellina's story of the stored wedding gowns and Sam's reaction to them. She was still giggling when she stepped inside.

The new entrance was boarded up, which meant she had to step into the refined world of all things wedding. There was a young bride on a raised platform in front of five mirrors. She wore a ball gown confection of white lace and tulle, with what looked like her best friend, mother and grandmother hovering nearby.

Isabel spotted Taryn and hurried over.

“Save me,” she murmured. “Everything in that family is precious. She's their precious daughter. They want her to look precious on her wedding day. The groom's family is—”

“Precious?” Taryn asked.

Isabel groaned. “Exactly.” She waved at Madeline, her associate. “I'm leaving them in your capable hands.”

Madeline grinned. “I'll make the experience as precious as possible.”

“You do that.”

Isabel made a quick call, then motioned for Taryn to follow her to the back of the store. They parted thick plastic covering a doorway and headed into the space next door. Taryn paused as she took in the changes from the last time she'd visited.

The walls had been painted a pale blue-gray and most of the permanent fixtures were in place. The office space in the rear still needed to be finished and the floor was concrete, but otherwise it looked good.

“You're nearly there,” Taryn said.

“I know. They start on the floors next week. We're laying down extra padding so all the walking isn't so hard on our legs. The sound system is finished. Ford and I cranked it up last weekend.”

“And partied until dawn?” Taryn asked.

Isabel wiggled her eyebrows. “Something like that.” She pointed to a portable clothes rack. “Come on. I have a few things to show you.”

Taryn followed eagerly. Isabel had contracted with several new designers for clothes and accessories. The pieces were fresh, the styles appealing. Some were too avant-garde for her, but a surprising number of them were completely wearable.

Isabel held out an emerald-green leather jacket with narrow tucking at the waist. There was a flame-red dress with cutouts at the waist and two tailored suits—one with what looked like snakeskin trim.

“Color me impressed,” Taryn said. She stepped onto the towel Isabel tossed on the floor and pulled off her sandals. She stripped out of her shirt and capris, then reached for the red dress.

“Hey, it's me,” someone called.

Patience Garrett, Justice's wife and the owner of Brew-haha, came around the corner. She saw Taryn standing in her underwear and came to a stop.

“Oh, sorry,” she said, starting to turn her back.

“You're in the right place,” Isabel told her. “I pulled out a few things for Taryn and I still have that great little black dress for you.” She grinned at Taryn. “Justice and Patience are going out for a romantic evening. He told her there would be a nice dinner out and I'm helping her spruce up her wardrobe.”

Taryn moved over to make room on the towel. “Please, join me,” she said as she pulled the red dress over her head and shimmied until it settled in place.

When she looked up, Patience was gnawing on her lower lip. Taryn wondered if she was upset she wasn't getting a private showing of the dress.

“I can come back,” she said quickly.

Isabel looked at Patience, who blushed.

“It's not that,” Patience assured her. “It's just you're so comfortable standing there in your underwear.”

Taryn sighed. “Sorry. It's the boys. They've walked in on me in the locker room a bunch of times. I used to get upset, but they wore me down.”