Authors: Lisa Heaton
Until that point, Tuck hadn’t felt so nervous, but after he knocked on Hailey’s door, panic set in. What in the world was he doing? He didn’t know how to date.
Hailey swung the door open wide, grinning so much her face hurt. Ever since Tuck came back into the bank that day, she had been looking forward to this night. It was all they discussed at work. She reluctantly agreed to give updates via text over the course of the evening. If at all possible, she would, but only if she had a moment alone, but she would never be one of those women who sat at the table and texted. Who would when sitting across from a man like Tuck?
Although she was normally attracted to the jock type, she found Tuck to be not only attractive, but incredibly kind. When she helped him through the loan process, she had become fascinated with him. He had this slow, shy smile that made her feel happy. That was a silly thought, but it was true. She felt happy when he was around, something she had not felt in quite some time.
At dinner, conversation came easily for them both. Tuck learned that Hailey had been divorced for nearly two years, and they had no children together. Her ex was a sales manager of something or another in Tulsa, but Tuck missed the specifics when he peeked at his phone. As Hailey spoke, he had gotten a text from Lucy – actually, it was a photo of her and Sara Beth dressed up in Chelsea’s clothes, not her ordinary, everyday clothes, but her nice L.A. clothes. He had to grin.
“I’m sorry. I shouldn’t have even looked.”
He held his phone up for Hailey, saying, “These are my girls.”
“Designer girls, I see.”
“Yeah, I guess.”
He looked back at the photo, wishing he were there with them. In his mind, he could hear the thud of Sara Beth’s boots as she clopped across the hardwood. Even with a cocktail dress on, she wore boots. That was
his
girl all right.
“Tell me about them.”
By the look on Tuck’s face, he was having a hard time being away. Maybe talking about them would help. She didn’t mind. As a matter of fact, she loved kids. That was what ended her marriage. She wanted kids and her husband didn’t. It became such a source of contention, he finally walked away. There at the end, she was willing to drop the issue, but by then, he had already distanced himself enough that counseling didn’t help; nothing did. He just walked out one night. Soon after, however, he was in a serious relationship, leading her to believe that was really the issue all along. Had that have happened a year earlier, she would have been devastated, but after the last months of fighting, she had become rather cold toward him. Somewhere along the way, she just shut down.
“The oldest is Lucy. She’s eleven, going on forty. She’s like this little lady in a girl’s body.” Those were Chelsea’s words all those years ago to describe her.
“She’s crazy smart and talented like her mom.” Why did he say that?
“The little one is Sara Beth, the cutest little cowgirl you’ve ever seen. She’s more like me, loves to ride and tend to sheep.” He paused and sighed, admitting, “She not mine biologically, but she’s like mine.”
Another reminder. Those were often Lucy’s words when describing Chelsea. She was
like
her mom. He was
like
Sara Beth’s dad. He felt suddenly sad.
“We’re kind of an uncommon family.”
Sensing his shift in mood, she asked, “How’s that?”
Hailey felt disappointed; things had started off so well. This was not a man who was ready to be in any relationship beyond his family. It was pretty obvious.
Tuck grinned. “If I tell you the story you’ll get up and walk right out that door.”
She propped both elbows on the table and rested her chin in her hands, waiting for the story. “No way. I don’t even have a car.”
This slight upshift in his mood gave her a glimmer of hope. His grin affected her deeply, making her want to believe there was a chance.
“Chelsea and I have been great friends since we were kids. We dated in high school. Once I went off to college…” Tuck paused and was about to say he started seeing someone else, but that wasn’t at all true. “I messed things up with her. I um, I got a girl pregnant. Lucy’s mom.”
He waited to see her reaction, and when she didn’t seem to react to that, he went on. “After what happened, Chelsea went off to UCLA, and when she came home, for whatever reason, she and Lucy hit it off. Lucy’s mom was never a part of her life, so I guess Lucy was kind of starving for that relationship. Before you know it, they were like mother and daughter, so Chelsea adopted Lucy.”
Hearing their story condensed down to one paragraph certainly didn’t convey the sweetness of their relationship, so he added, “Chelsea is an incredible mom to her. I’m grateful for it.”
“I think ‘uncommon family’ is an understatement.”
Smiling, he admitted, “Yeah, I s’pose you’re right.”
“Sara Beth, she’s Chelsea’s daughter?”
“Yes. Chelsea and John’s. John died year before last. So now, I’m kind of Sara Beth’s stand in dad.”
“That’s pretty much the story I’ve heard.” Hailey left off the part where she had heard that Tuck and Chelsea were this epic love story and how most of the town was still rooting for them.
“You’ve heard, huh?”
“It’s a small town. I work with a lady who goes to your church. Women talk.” She smiled at the embarrassment on his face. “Plus, Chelsea was married to John Keller. Like I don’t know who he is – was. He was older than Chelsea, right?”
“Much older.” Tuck added, “And a really great guy.”
“You know what I think?”
“What?”
“I think you are a really great guy too. Maybe a weird kind of family man, but a great guy.”
Relieved to have shared his odd story, Tuck found he was more relaxed with Hailey than he had anticipated. At the bank, she had seemed a bit nervous around him, but tonight, she was much more at ease. As a matter of fact, she was downright fun. She didn’t take herself as seriously as he had imagined with the way she looked. She really knew how to laugh at herself. Her casual response to his and Chelsea’s intermingling of children was a great relief. If things continued on the way they were, he would definitely ask her out again.
Chapter 13
S
ara Beth was napping on the sofa, a rare occurrence anymore, while Chelsea made a few phone calls. Recently, she had a stirring within to get outside of herself and her life. In the past few months since life had taken such a turn with Tuck, she had done little but miss him and regret the way things ended. Though he had never mentioned it to her or to the girls, she knew he was seeing someone. You couldn’t live in a town their size and not hear things. Actually, she heard it from several people, the first being her mom. It seemed working in a church office made her the conduit through whom much information flowed. Unless it was public knowledge, her mom never passed along anything juicy, but when the subject of Tuck and the girl from the bank came up, Gail never even made it home before calling Chelsea.
Chelsea wanted to be the bigger woman and be happy for him, and in a way, she was, but deep down, she felt hurt, which was selfish and ridiculous. She was just as in love with John as when they married five years before. What did she expect from Tuck, to hang around and play pretend family? That’s what he once said he felt that they were doing.
One night when he dropped off the girls, a conversation began that they both regretted afterwards. All Chelsea said was that the girls were upset that he wasn’t around at night. She hadn’t meant to try to make him feel guilty. If anything, she wanted him to know how much he was missed. They all missed him. When she said it, though, he blurted out that sometimes life wouldn’t turn out as Chelsea wanted, as if to say the world didn’t revolve around her. It hurt her feelings when he suggested that. Her only response was that she was sorry if that was how he felt. Clearly he felt badly about how abrupt he was with her. He apologized and tried to explain that he just couldn’t go on playing fake family. That term hurt her even more. It never felt
fake
to her. They truly were her family, Tuck included.
In the spirit of getting outside of herself and her feelings regarding the Tuck situation, Chelsea was working on a new arm of the Keller Foundation. It was an organization that would help single moms, something she had meant to begin when she fell to pieces instead. Never had Chelsea’s heart gone out to anyone the way it did for them. Having had an unending supply of money, her life looked totally different than that of most women who raised children alone, and she was blessed to be home with hers. Even with those two benefits, it wasn’t easy. To imagine how life was for other moms, Chelsea knew she had to do something to help.
Irene had flown in for some of the earliest planning sessions. Together, they had met with Chelsea’s pastor at church and got the ball rolling. They were hoping to meet basic needs such as food and housing assistance, all the way to education for women who needed to get their GED and learn general office skills. Early on, they organized a clothes closet where women could get work clothes that were received through donations. Men in the church were volunteering to change the oil in their cars. All in all, it was becoming a beautiful ministry.
In the beginning, Chelsea was handling most everything, but soon enough, things were growing at a rapid pace, outgrowing Chelsea’s willingness to be away from home and Sara Beth. She remained involved, but eventually hired someone to manage the day-to-day details. With enough involvement to feel as if she were serving the kingdom, she still kept enough distance to be a mom. Balance was something that didn’t come easily as she found that the needs in the community far outweighed anyone’s ability to meet them. No matter how much money she threw at the problem, she found that money often wasn’t the solution. The loneliness of single moms couldn’t be solved with money. It required warm arms to hug them and someone willing to invest time in their lives and the lives of their children. Those were the people they were trying to get engaged with the ministry, people willing and able to get involved on a one-on-one level.
As she finished her call, Chelsea hung up the phone and rushed to the door, hoping to get there before the knocking woke Sara Beth. Swinging the door wide open, she found Tuck there, hands shoved in his pockets, looking rather sheepish. Since it was way too early for Lucy to be home, she knew he wasn’t there on a kid related visit.
Chelsea was caught off guard by how the sight of him affected her. It was an unusually warm April and already Tuck had the makings of a nice tan. His cheeks were brown, making his teeth look even more pearly white than usual. She felt her own cheeks grow warm just at the sight of him.
“Hi. Mind if I come in?”
“No, not at all. Sara Beth is napping.”
“Napping? She never naps for me.”
“I know. She usually doesn’t here either. A fluke I guess.”
As he passed by the living room, he couldn’t help but stop in and peek at her. One leg was hanging off the couch, and he was tempted to lift it back up, but Chelsea gave him a look like,
if you wake her you’re dead
, so he let her alone. He followed Chelsea on into the kitchen.
Curious, she asked, “So what’s going on?”
“I was hoping to talk to you about something.”
“Sure.” Moving toward the refrigerator, she asked, “Want something to drink?”
Waving his hand, he said, “Naw. I’m good.”
He was anything but good. He hated to even begin such a conversation with Chelsea, but Hailey had been asking for weeks.
“I’m pretty sure you know this, but I’ve been kind of seeing someone.”
“Kind of?” Chelsea grinned. He was sweet.
Grinning in return, he said, “Not kind of. I have been seeing someone.”
“Yes, I know.”
She was about to say how happy she was for him, but that wasn’t exactly true, so she said nothing.
“Yeah, well she’s really been wanting to meet the girls.”
Chelsea didn’t expect that. She wasn’t exactly sure what she expected, but not that he would want to take her children to meet a woman he was dating, maybe even sleeping with. The more she considered it, the more she was certain he was. He was this big scrapping guy. What girl wouldn’t want to jump in the sack with him? Embarrassed by such a thought, she wondered where that came from.
“Chelsea?” Tuck was waiting for some kind of response from her; instead, she blanked out.
Trying without much success to get the image of him with Hailey out of her mind, she mumbled, “Um, I don’t know. I guess I need to think about it.”
Wrinkling his forehead, Tuck asked, “What is there to think about?”
“I don’t know. It’s just kind of weird.”
“What’s weird about it?”
“I don’t know her. It just feels weird, the thought of my girls around some woman I don’t know.”
“Are you kidding me?” She was unbelievable. “I didn’t know John, yet I let you have Lucy around him.”
Chelsea knew he was right, but that seemed entirely different. She wasn’t sure how exactly, but it was. Wasn’t it?
“Look, I’m just blindsided by this. I don’t mean to sound like a…” What did she even sound like? A jealous ex? Exactly.
“Hailey is someone I care about. She’s been asking and I’ve been making excuses, but now I think it’s time.”
He cared about her. He said he cared about her. What exactly did that mean? Was he saying he loved her? Was he planning on marrying her? Finally, unwilling to respond to the fact that he cared about her, Chelsea only stared at him.
“I’m sorry if I’ve upset you.”
The look on her face, some odd mixture of confusion and possibly a little bit of jealousy, took him back a little, nearly made him regret asking.
“And I’m sorry to sound like a lunatic.”
Tuck laughed. “You’re not a lunatic, just a really great mom.”
For the first time, he wondered what it would be like if the tables were turned. If she were dating some guy and wanted to introduce his girls to him. That would make him crazy. It really was different with John since at that time, Chelsea and Lucy were just really good friends. Tuck quickly dismissed the idea of Chelsea dating since she would likely never move beyond John, but what if she did? It was a question he would have to put a little more thought into.
Tuck left having assured Chelsea he would pick the girls up at five for dinner. They were going to his house so that they would be in a place where they would feel comfortable. Also, it would give them the option of going up and playing in their room if they felt at all uneasy. He had been thinking and re-thinking the entire thing for the past week. Most likely, he would be the most uncomfortable one there. Already, he was a nervous wreck about it. It was a big deal to introduce the two girls he loved most in the world to Hailey, a step that said something significant. It said that he and Hailey were getting more serious. Maybe that was what made him most nervous.
Lucy and Sara Beth were playing in the yard when Hailey drove up. When they saw her car, they both stopped and watched her. Lucy understood more of what was going on, but Sara Beth was oblivious.
“Hey,” Hailey called as she stepped out of the car.
She was less nervous than she imagined. Being the youngest of four kids, she already had a whole slew of nieces and nephews. Always, she had been the Pied Piper of children.
“Hey,” Tuck called back as he walked out to meet her.
Normally, he would have greeted her with a kiss on the cheek, but he wouldn’t dare in front of the girls. Sensing that Hailey understood, he took her hand and led her over to where the girls were.
“This is my friend Hailey.”
“Hi,” Lucy said quietly.
She hadn’t expected Hailey to be so pretty, but she was, and she seemed nice enough so far, but she wasn’t as pretty or as nice as her mom.
Sara Beth looked up at Hailey and smiled. “I’m a cowgirw.”
Hailey giggled. “I can tell by your boots. I hear you have your very own pony, Lollipop.”
Excited that the lady mentioned Lollipop, Sara Beth nodded. “Do you want to wide him?”
“Someday, I would love to. I don’t think I can today.”
Tuck sighed in relief as things seemed to be off to a good start. Hailey was great with Sara Beth, and he hoped that Lucy would open up a little. She had not been pleased about the idea at all. Still, she was being polite, and he was proud of her for that.
As the evening wore on and Tuck watched Hailey interact so naturally with the kids, he felt something different than relief. He felt unsettled somehow. It didn’t feel right. For Chelsea’s daughters to be trying to make room in their lives for this other woman seemed off to him. Sure, they would adjust, but only because they would have to in order to accommodate what he wanted. He felt suddenly selfish, like some dead-beat dad who left his family in search of the bigger and better deal. With that thought, Tuck stood from the table and the board game they were playing and excused himself, mumbling, “You girls finish. I’m going to load the dishwasher.”
“Do you need any help?” Hailey offered.
Without responding, Tuck merely shook his head and kept walking.
Hailey couldn’t read the odd expression on his face. As far as she could tell, things were going well so far. The girls seemed to receive her well, but clearly, Tuck was upset. No more had the thought crossed her mind when Sara Beth threw up right there at the table, and immediately she began to bawl.
Tuck came rushing back into the dining room. “What happened?”
“I don’t know. She was fine one minute and then threw up.”
“Daddy, I’m…” Before she could say she was going to throw up again, she did.
“Baby.”
Tuck grabbed her and took off to the bathroom. He sat on the side of the tub and held her in his arms. Every time she began to heave again, he would lean her over the toilet, constantly caressing her hair and face.
“I want to be at Mommy’s house,” she said as she leaned her head on her daddy’s chest. “She can fix me.”
Tuck looked up at Hailey who was standing helplessly in the doorway. “I’m sorry. I think we should call it a night.”
“Of course. I understand.”
To Hailey, the moment seemed awkward; Tuck was clearly unsettled by more than Sara Beth’s illness. “I hope everything is okay.”
Smiling softly at Sara Beth, she said, “Feel better soon, sweetie.”
She turned to leave and passed Lucy in the hallway. “It was nice to meet you, Lucy.”
“It was nice to meet you, too.”
Lucy wasn’t glad Sara B. was sick, but she was sure glad that Hailey was leaving. Once Hailey passed and started down the stairs, Lucy leaned against the wall and began to cry. She wanted her mom and dad to be together, and prayed for it over and over every day. She had once prayed for John to come for Chelsea’s sake, and he did. Now she wanted her dad to come back for her sake and Sara Beth. Didn’t God hear her?
Finding Lucy in the hallway crying, while still holding Sara Beth, Tuck knelt before her and whispered, “What is it? Do you feel sick too?”
Lucy just shook her head. “This wasn’t right.” She turned from him and started down the steps. “I’ll wait in the truck to go to mom’s.”
Chelsea was waiting on the front porch when Tuck carried Sara Beth up the stairs. As soon as she was near enough, Sara Beth reached for her mom and began to cry again. Chelsea took her from Tuck and walked with her into the house, whispering softly into her ear. “Mommy’s got you, baby.”
The minute they stepped over the threshold, Sara Beth threw up again. This time, it was projectile vomiting and the entry was splattered with it.
“Go on up with her. I’ll get this.”
Tuck was still wearing a vomit covered shirt, so what did it matter if he cleaned up a little more?
“Lucy, help your mama with Sara Beth until I get there.”
He noticed Lucy walked by him with little acknowledgement. She was more upset with him than he had ever seen her, maybe even a bit angry at him. Obviously she felt the same thing he did after dinner, the impropriety of allowing another woman into their lives.
He got the majority of the mess cleaned up, deciding he would come back later once he knew Sara Beth was okay. Jogging up the stairs, he found all three of them sitting on the bathroom floor. Stepping over Lucy, bending down to kiss the top of her head as he did so, he knelt in front of Sara Beth and brushed her hair out of her face.