Authors: Lauren Dane
Love you.”
“Love you both too.”
They left and Matt settled into the chair next to the bed. Reaching out, she touched the softness of his hair for a moment and he leaned into her hand.
“They told you about my father.”
He nodded. “Yes. God, Tate I don’t know what to say it’s so awful. I’m just relieved you’re all right.”
A tear rolled down her cheek. “I’m sorry. I didn’t know how to tell you, it was embarrassing. You…you don’t have to stay here anymore. I understand.”
His eyes widened and then narrowed. “Good God, Tate, what do you take me for? Have I given you any indication that I’m that shallow a man? I love you, damn it. Not your father. You. I want to be with you and continue to build something with you. If you weren’t suffering from a head injury I’d be offended.”
“Matt,” she sighed, “I worry that you’ll regret this.” He cocked his head. “Why would I regret loving you? You don’t seem to understand and that’s my fault I suppose. Tate, I’m old enough to know what I feel. Old enough to know this is very different than anything I’ve ever felt before. It’s you. You and me and it’s right. Surely you can feel it.”
“We come from very different worlds.”
“So you keep saying. And I keep saying—so? Seriously. Yes, you had a fucked up childhood. One I can’t even begin to imagine. But that doesn’t mean we don’t have a future together. Sometimes I’m going to do 116
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something stupid and thoughtless because I don’t know any better. I’m a guy, it’s what we do. And sometimes you’re going to react in ways I don’t understand and it’s going to piss me off or confuse me. We’ll get through it.”
Tate put her head against the pillow and closed her eyes. He was fooling himself to ignore the real fact of the situation. People in town were going to talk. They already were talking. He’d always been on the inside, how was he going to take it when he risked that to be with her? Still, she was too damned tired to deal with it right then. And she didn’t want to.
“Rest now, Venus. I’ll be right here. If you wake up and I’m gone, I’ve just nipped out to get something to drink or to make a call to fill in your family or mine.”
He kissed her forehead gently and she let herself fall into sleep.
By the time they were ready to release her the next morning, his normally good-natured Tate was a very grumpy woman. He didn’t blame her, they’d woken her up every hour on the hour and she looked dead tired.
He’d slept in her room all night, which meant he woke up every hour on the hour as well. And every three hours a new one of her siblings showed up and stayed in the room with them.
Shane had gone to Matt’s apartment and packed him a bag, bringing it by the hospital. They’d found Tate’s father and arrested him sometime overnight. Her mother had gone off to Dallas after trying to borrow some money from Tim, who’d refused.
Once the release papers had been signed, Matt and Tate got into a heated argument. He’d wanted to carry her to his truck and she’d looked at him like he’d lost his mind.
“I’ll do the wheelchair thing like I’m supposed to but you’re not carrying me.” She slapped his hands away as he’d tried to pick her up.
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“You’re insane. You can push the wheelchair.” He growled at her and she raised a regal, white-blonde brow at him.
Sighing, Nathan pushed his way into the discussion.
“As fascinating as it is to watch you two argue over stupid shit like this, let’s motor. Matt, push the damned wheelchair, she doesn’t want you to pick her up because she thinks she’s too heavy. You, Tate, sit your ass down and shut up.”
Tate did that cute little
hmpfi
ng thing and Matt thought about arguing over how stupid it was that she thought he couldn’t pick up a bitty scrap of a woman like her. He could carry two hundred pounds on his back up a ladder during a fire for God’s sake, but she really was cute when she made that sound.
They got her settled in at her house. He tucked her into bed with some magazines while one of her sisters made tea. His mother had wanted to come over but already Tate’s little house was bursting at the seams with Murphys so Polly agreed to bring over some food later that day.
Tate had fallen asleep by the time the tea had steeped so he left her to rest in the cool, darkened room and snuck quietly out to the living room where her family waited.
“Is she all right?” Beth asked, putting the tray with the tea on it down.
“She’s asleep.” Matt fell onto the couch.
“You need the sleep too. Do you need to go home? To work?” Tim asked from across the room.
“I’m good. I took the next three days off. I planned to stay here. Are you all okay with that?”
“More than okay with it. But one of us will stay here too.” Anne drank some iced tea, rocking slowly. The house was shaded by several large willow and oak trees and the air conditioning kept it cool as well. Still, it was July in Petal and the heat rose from the pavement out front in dizzying waves.
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“Mostly me, Anne and Nathan,” Beth spoke up. “Jill and Jacob have summer classes so they need to go home and William and Tim have kids and wives.”
“Hey, doesn’t mean I won’t do my duty here!” William grumbled.
“She’s mine too, damn it.”
“William, we know that. She knows that. But you know how she is.
She’d worry about Cindy being alone with the kids and you being here.
She’d worry about you not being at work. She’ll worry about Susan at the shop and Tim’s business if he’s not there. You can come by in the evenings. Back me up when I insist she take the rest of the week off.”
“She can’t mean to go back to work just yet anyway!” Matt looked at them all.
Tim snorted. “She’d have gone back today if we’d have let her. Tate views any kind of illness or injury as a weakness. She’s the hardest worker I know. We’ll have to wrestle her to keep her from going to the shop this week, crutches and all.”
“She’s going to do no such thing. She’s got four stitches on the back of her head, she had a concussion, she doesn’t need to cut hair just yet.” Beth waved it away. He recognized the gesture from Tate. “If you put it that way she’ll go back just to spite you. Anne and I have worked the schedule out. We’ve got it covered until Monday. That gives us four days.
Let us handle that part. Although I like that you put her first. I like that a lot.”
Pride swelled through him that her family approved.
He excused himself, going into her room and closing the door.
Quickly stripping to his boxers, he carefully slid into her bed, pressing himself against her before dropping into sleep.
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Tate chafed at the way her sisters watched her so closely. Every five minutes someone shoved a glass of water or some fruit at her.
“I’m not made of glass!” she growled through clenched teeth but Anne clucked and continued to hold out the glass of iced tea.
“It’s that mango green tea crap you like so much. Shut up and drink it or I’ll tell Tim you’re not taking care of yourself. You weren’t even supposed to come back to work until Monday. We agreed to let you work today because you said you’d take it easy.”
“Oh for heaven’s sake!” She took it and sipped. “Thank you. Now go see to your client please, mine is coming in two minutes and I need to take a pit stop.”
Tate hurried off but when she got back she recognized the lacquered blonde head sitting in her chair. Her eyes met Polly Chase’s in the mirror and there was no escape.
“Hello, honey. How are you?” Polly turned to look at Tate better as she approached.
“I’m fine, Mrs. Chase. How are you?”
“Well, just worried sick about you. But your color is back. You do have such pretty skin. I always wished mine was that creamy smooth.” Tate looked at the woman perched in the chair. Polly Chase was a total stunner for her age. Even with a hairstyle that pre-dated computers. She was tiny but all around tiny. Petite little hands and feet, always wore perfect clothes. Tailored suits, pretty dresses, spiky stilettos.
Her makeup was always flawless and her eyes, big and green, reminded 120
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Tate of late spring grass, vibrant. Tate would have bet her entire year’s salary that Polly Chase never envied anyone’s skin, much less hers.
“Mrs. Chase, I’m beginning to see where Matthew gets his gift with stretching the truth.”
Astonishment showed on Polly’s face a moment and then she laughed, delighted. “I sure do like you, Tate Murphy. Now come on over here and do my hair and we’ll talk about my son. And you’ll call me Polly.”
Anne met Tate’s eyes as she passed and they both had to hold back a laugh. The woman was totally incorrigible.
Beth gave Polly a shampoo and brought her back to Tate’s station.
“I’m going to go ahead and pretend I don’t know Anne normally does this so you can grill me on my intentions with your son. Would you like some tea?”
“Yes please. And I do so love it when people let me boss them around.
Makes a small woman feel mighty, know what I mean? Of course you do, you’ve pretty much raised your brothers and sisters. I see the way they are with you. A gift, having people love you so much, being part of something that means everything.”
Tate felt something click inside her at that moment. Polly Chase understood her better than anyone had, more than Matt, more than her own siblings. She met Polly’s eyes in the mirror briefly before beginning to towel and blow her hair dry. As she got the extensive backcombing and spraying process started, she had to wrestle back her emotions.
Other than her siblings, when had an adult actually cared about her?
Reached out the way Polly was doing? That broken little girl inside Tate’s soul wanted to grab it, take the hand Polly held out because damn it, she needed it.
“It’s all right, honey. What
are
your intentions with my Matthew then?” She knew. The amazing thing about Polly Chase was that she saw that little girl inside Tate and didn’t run. She
wanted
to comfort her and know her.
Polly sat back and Tate began to talk about Matt.
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As Tate worked on her hair, Polly absolutely fell in love with Tate Murphy. She loved all her daughters-in-law but none of them had ever really sat down and talked about her sons with her the way Tate did.
Tate loved Matt. Not his name, not his looks or his money, she loved his laugh, the way he pitched in when anyone needed anything, the way he took care of her after the hospital. So many people looked at Matt and saw a pretty boy who had it easy, they didn’t see the rest of him, the compassion and love, the way he threw himself into everything he truly cared about. Tate saw that and Tate loved him for it. And Polly loved Tate for it.
The girl was fragile in many ways but she’d always be a good partner to her son. Polly would never tell anyone, but she’d always worried about Matt the most. He seemed so carefree and easygoing but he wandered around looking for something to challenge him. Women were easy, too easy. Which is why he never kept one very long. She’d had hopes for Liv, thought Matt was a damned fool for letting that one go at the time but now she knew Liv was for Marc. But Matt had started drifting again after Liv. He needed something to work for.
He did have it easy in other ways too. He’d been tested at school early on and scored off the charts, got that from his daddy. He’d never gotten less than an A in a class all the way through school, scored outrageously high on his SATs and then rejected college. Broke Edward’s heart that none of his boys wanted to go into the law.
But underneath it all, Matt wanted to make his own way. When he’d started the fire academy, Polly had known it was the right choice. Yes, he’d been at the top of his class but he’d had to work for it. And when he was out on the job, he worked, he had to focus and give it his all and that made it perfect for him.
He’d been fulfilled by his career and it made her and Edward proud to see Matt come into himself as a man through his job. But still, no challenges in his personal life.
Until Tate.
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Polly watched Tate as she worked on her hair and laughed, talking about Matt. Who’d have thought it would be this girl who stole her son’s heart? Matt had squired some of the most stunning women in the area around. None of them had been right for him and Tate was beautiful in a different way but it wasn’t apparent at first glance.
“So, tell me, has Melanie been keeping up with her nasty little campaign?”
“Blunt. What if I said I didn’t want to talk about it?” Polly thought about it for long moments. “Well, surely it’s your business and all. But you should know right up front that no one messes with me and mine. Certainly no twitterpated piece of fluff like Melanie.
And make no mistake, Tate, you’re one of mine. All your brothers and sisters and their children are too. I don’t take kindly to anyone threatening Matthew’s sweetie. And I really don’t like her attitude about you and your background.” She met Tate’s eyes straight on in the mirror.
“Because money doesn’t give you class or pride and your address or your parents don’t make you better than anyone else.”
“That’s not true, Polly. You and Edward made your sons better men.” Oh. That tore at Polly because the girl meant it and that was a shot straight to her heart. Reaching up, she took Tate’s hand and squeezed it.
“I do believe that’s the best compliment I’ve ever received.”
“Melanie hasn’t been back but several cancellations called up and rescheduled. Thank you.”
“Don’t thank me. I don’t like that sort of play on class differences. It puts my back up. I wasn’t raised that way, my boys weren’t, it offends me. Girls like Melanie after my boy offend me. You are coming to dinner tomorrow night, right?”
“No, Mrs.…Polly, it’s family dinner at my house this week. Last week at your house was pretty disastrous, I wasn’t sure you’d want me back.
I’m sorry. I didn’t get a chance to apologize for making a scene.” Polly saw the girl go pink. “Tate, I understand there are reasons that made you react the way you did. Matt, like his brothers and his father, is a very protective man. He wanted to help you when he knew you’d been www.samhainpublishing.com 123
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harmed. You know that I expect, as well as you know he wouldn’t ever hurt you or try to control you. We all have buttons, honey. Yours got pushed. It makes you human. Why don’t you all come to my house tomorrow? I’ll put an extra leaf in the table and we’ll eat in the formal dining room. We’ve got room for an extra dozen. Your brothers and sisters and those children are always welcome.” Beth strolled past and waved hello. “Afternoon, Mrs. Chase. No offense or anything, but you’re going to find it a hard proposition to talk a Murphy out of a dinner where Tate cooks. It’s the highlight of the month, those Sunday dinners at her table.”
“I’d heard you were a wonderful cook, Tate. Good enough to give me a run for my money even.” She winked to let the girl know it didn’t make her angry. “Tell you what, we can cook something together. How does that sound?”
Tate was quiet for a bit as she continued to do Polly’s hair.
“Tate, honey, it’s no secret my son loves you. He wants to be with you and eventually, our families will have to merge more. Why not start now?
In fact, why don’t we eat at your house this time, trade back and forth.”
“Polly, my house bursts at the seams with fourteen as it is. But we can do something out back since the weather is so nice. It’s a huge yard with lots of shade. Play equipment for the kids although Nicholas isn’t quite big enough for most of it just yet. I don’t want Liv to be outside in the heat, though, being as pregnant as she is.” The girl was really a miracle.
“Livvy loves the heat, unlike Cassie and Maggie.” Polly chuckled. “But if we make it after seven when the sun is going down it’ll be fine. I worry that you’re taking on too much though so soon after the hospital. That’s ten extra people.”
Tate stepped back and looked at Polly’s hair, making sure it was even. She patted it and handed Polly a mirror.
“You did a great job with that, honey.” Polly spun the chair and checked out the back.
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Tate wanted to offer her the chance to change it with a new look but women like Polly identified strongly with their hairdos and Tate didn’t want to upset that applecart. Polly Chase had a strong enough sense of identity that she could ask for something new if she wanted it.
Tate was scared shitless over the idea of having ten Chases at her house. Her little house. But Polly was right, Tate and Matt had gotten a lot closer since she’d returned from the hospital earlier in the week.
Things between them were serious and if she meant to go on with him, they would have to bring their families together. It didn’t make sense to keep them all apart when both Matt and Tate were so close to their families.
“Well, if you’d like, you could come over early and help me cook.” Another woman in her kitchen, an alpha woman like Polly would be a challenge but Matt was worth it. Family was worth it.
Polly grinned. “Why that’d be lovely! I’ll come over at say, five? What are you planning to make? I’ll bring over some of the ingredients. No, don’t argue, you can do the same next week when you come to my house. Since you’re such a fabulous cook we can share duties. If that’s okay with you?”
Tate took a deep breath and let it out. “Sure.” She told Polly her menu plans and the two of them worked out a grocery list and a schedule.
Tate got out of her car and froze as she saw who stood on her porch, leaning indolently against the railing.
“What are you doing here?” She stood by the car, not wanting to get any closer to the man who’d landed her in the hospital just days before.
“I’m out on bail. Seems the prosecutor believes my story that it was an accident. Your mother had a convenient memory lapse as well. I thought I’d come here to mend some bridges.” Her father’s smirk belied his words.
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She leaned against the car, arms crossed over her chest. Nathan would be by in fifteen minutes but if she had to, she’d get in the car and drive away. She was done letting him hurt her.
“I’m not interested. Just go home. And don’t call me to fix your problems with my mother anymore.” Her voice shook a bit but it was a step.
“Well and see, here I was about to congratulate you for landing yourself a man at all, especially one with a wallet like Matt Chase.” He took a step off her porch but she put a hand out.
“Stay back. Don’t get any nearer.”
He stopped and jerked his head to the side. “I didn’t come here to touch you,
daughter
. I had no intention to have you fall down those steps. I don’t care enough about you to harm you.”
“Could have fooled me all those times you did harm me. Now what do you really want? We both know you’re not here to mend anything.”
“Money. You have it, I don’t. Give me some.” A sick feeling twisted through her. “Ah yes, I should have known. I suppose a job is too much energy to give when you could drink all day instead? How about I pay for rehab? You know I will.” She hated that she wanted to help him, he didn’t deserve it but she couldn’t make herself stop being concerned.
“I don’t need a job now that my daughter has her own business and a rich boyfriend, now do I? The way I see it, Tate, is you landed him, God knows how looking the way you do. And I should benefit from that. I supported you and those other brats, I should be reimbursed for that.” Incredulousness rode her. “You did
what?
I’m not arguing with you.
Nor am I giving you a cent. I work for my money and I don’t take anything from Matt. I don’t need to. We both
work
for a living. You ought to try it.”
The thin veneer slid off his face then and the man she’d feared settled into his features. Nausea threatened but she held back.
“Let’s put it this way then, Tate, since you’re being so ungrateful and all. I’m thinking I’d love to be part of your new life. Turn over a new leaf.
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I’d love to get to know your new family. Since I have so much time and all, I thought I’d come over more often. Maybe stop by the firehouse and visit with my daughter’s new beau.” He shrugged. “Or you can give me a few hundred bucks and I’ll keep scarce.” She sighed. The Chases seemed okay with her past but that was when they didn’t have to confront it face to face. How would it be if her father just showed up at Sunday dinner, drunk and belligerent? How would Matt feel then? And how would her brothers and sisters feel when they’d finally had a good life?