“Please let us stay at your house, Mr. McGuiness,” Rory pleaded. “We’ll be good. I promise.”
Tammy’s face bunched as she struggled not to cry. Oh, what could she say to them? Warm masculine hands settled on her shoulders, and she instantly knew they were John Parker’s.
“You can stay at my house, Rory. As long as you need. And I swear to you the bad man will never find you again.”
Tammy’s hands dug into her palms at the resolve in his voice. “John Parker—”
“Good,” her son said and knuckled tears away. He and Annabelle shared a glance, as if communicating an unspoken agreement. “Mama,
please
let us stay at Mr. McGuiness’ house.”
Like being swept away at sea, Tammy watched helplessly as Rory rushed forward and grabbed John Parker’s leg, burying his face against it, and Annabelle did the same. John Parker ruffled their hair, and when he raised his eyes to her, she saw tears in them.
Even though her throat was coated with nails, she finally found her voice. “John Parker—”
“It will be easier this way,” John Parker interrupted. “You won’t have to shuttle back and forth, working on my gardens, and Rory and Annabelle can help us.”
“I like helping,” Annabelle said in a small voice. She raised her arms to John Parker, who picked her up. “Can I bring my dolls, Kitty and Beth?”
Her kids seemed calmer now, and she took some solace in that, even while anger simmered on a back burner. Just like before, he’d taken over without asking for her opinion.
“Yes, bring your dolls and anything else you love,” John Parker told her. “Do you like having tea parties?”
She nodded her head quickly.
“Good, then you bring your tea set too. You can have one in your mama’s garden when it’s done.”
Satisfied, she ducked her face into his neck, sucking on her thumb.
“It’s for the best, Mama,” Rory said as if he were the adult, and she bit her tongue to hold in her emotions.
“Okay, then we’ll stay with him,” she said, like it hadn’t already been decided.
Amelia Ann stood and crossed over to the children. “Let’s go upstairs and take a bath, Annabelle.” Her sister gave her a pointed look, and Tammy could tell she was clearing the way for her to have that private talk with John Parker.
“I’ll help you,” Tory volunteered.
Annabelle reached for Amelia Ann after John Parker kissed her hair, the action so gentle it helped ease the sting of his slight.
Rory looked over at Rye. “Will you help me with my bath? I want to talk to you some more.”
“Sure thing, son.” He swung her boy into his arms and followed the others out of the room.
Once they’d left the room, John Parker put his hands on her shoulders and kissed the top of her head. She stood stiffly in his arms and then stepped away.
Sensing the way the wind was blowing, Daddy turned to Clayton and said, “Why don’t you join me in Rye’s study for another drink? I find my mouth has gone bone dry.”
Clayton inclined his head. “Funny, I was just thinking the same.” He put his arm around her daddy’s shoulders and led him from the room.
And just like that, they were alone.
The room was quiet, and Tammy and John Parker stood looking at each other until he broke the silence with a sigh.
“I know you’re upset right now, but what was I supposed to do, Tammy? Tell them they couldn’t come and stay at my house after they pleaded with me? You might as well shoot me right now with your brother’s gun.”
“That’s not the point, and you know it. How could you do this after what we talked about earlier? I thought you understood how I felt.” And that was the biggest betrayal. It was like he hadn’t heard her after all.
He shut his eyes and took a breath, like he was trying to calm himself. “I do, but did you see the fear in their eyes? Your son pleaded with me. Pleaded! I couldn’t refuse that, and if you’re worried people will talk about us living in the same house—”
“I don’t give a fig what people think, not if it’s what’s best for all of us.”
“Then what’s the problem?”
“I told you. I’ve let other people make decisions for me all my life. It has to stop, or I’ll never amount to anything.”
He shook his head in exasperation. “Honey, okay, now I don’t know what you’re talking about.”
“Me!” She pointed to her chest. “This…person. Tammy Hollins. I want to be someone who makes her own decisions, who’s strong, who’s…oh God…who’s not afraid to take on what needs taking on. I want to be someone my children can learn from and take pride in.”
“But they
are
proud of you, and they look up to you every day. Don’t you see the way they watch you?”
She shook her head, her mouth clenched shut.
His sigh was long-suffering as he took her hand. “I’m sorry I didn’t talk to you before agreeing. I was only trying to support those little kids. And you, by giving them what they need.”
Part of her knew that. “But it’s too much, staying at your house for heaven knows how long. You’ve never lived with children. They take over everything.” She thought quickly, assessing her financial situation. She didn’t have enough money to rent and furnish the kind of place she wanted, but if she could count on more jobs trickling in at a steady rate, perhaps she could make it work. “Maybe I can quickly find a house to rent. That way, I can ease Rory’s mind about the bad man finding us without inconveniencing you.”
His face darkened. “Is that what you think? That having your kids see my house as a haven is an inconvenience to me?”
And here they were again. “No. It’s like I said, John Parker, I can’t be a good person unless I stand on my own two feet.”
“You think accepting help from the people who care for you makes you less of a good person? That’s the stupidest thing I’ve ever heard. You’re already a good person. Only people without families stand alone in times like this.”
She shook her head. “But, John Parker, you’re not family.”
He leaned his head in, his eyes glowing like the deep, blue flame of a blow torch. “No, dammit, I’m not. But I’d like to be.”
His words made her heart gallop in her chest.
He blew out a tortured breath. “Don’t you get it, Tammy? I’m in love with you. And if you think I’m leaving you to face this alone, you’re just plain crazy.”
He loved her? Oh dear God in heaven!
He walked hastily to the French doors leading to the backyard and jerked one open. “If you’re not willing to stay at my house for yourself, do it for the kids. They know I love them enough to keep the monsters away. At any cost.”
Tammy pressed a hand to her chest as he slammed the door, rattling the glass frame. His words kept playing through her head, the music of them an unfamiliar sound.
“Tammy?”
She swung around.
Rye walked over to her and held out a scotch. “Sounded like you could use this.”
“You heard?” she asked, appalled.
“Yes, hard not to. You know, J.P. doesn’t get upset often, but he seems to be on a hair trigger with you.” He pushed the drink into her hand. “Knock it back, honey.”
“But that’ll be my second today.” She’d turn into a drunkard at this rate.
“Well, saints preserve us, the world might end. Do it.”
He was right. The world felt like it had been turned on its ear already; what was the harm? She made a face after downing it and handed him the glass. “It still tastes like melted tires.”
Rye pulled her into a hug, and she settled easily against him.
“He loves me, Rye,” she confessed, the words new and fragile on her tongue.
“Of course he does, honey. He has from the beginning. Why else would he be acting like this?”
She struggled out of his arms. “What do you mean?”
“Sometimes it happens that way, you know. You don’t really see it coming. Don’t even know it’s there until it hits you like a freight train.”
“But—”
Rye pressed her puzzled face back against his chest. “J.P.’s a traditional man. He wanted to give you some time after the divorce, but why do you think he’s been hanging around here so much? I mean, I love him like the brother I’ve never had, but
seriously.
The man’s never spent so much time here before.”
Tammy shoved away from his chest at that. “But the gardens?” It came out like a gasp.
Oh, God, she was a fool. She should have trusted her suspicions about his motives. What man really cared about flowers? “It was only a ruse to get me to spend time with him.”
“Yes. Do you know why I asked you to design the gardens here? Because I knew you loved it, and I thought it would make you happy when you were so lost and sad, as sad as I was being apart from Tory. I couldn't have cared less about this place looking better. Honey, we’re men. The only plants we know a darn thing about are roses because those are the ones we remember to buy for special occasions or to help us get laid.” He cleared his throat. “Sorry about that last part. The gardens also gave you and me something to work on together, helping us find some common ground. It was my way of fixing things. Hell, J.P. originally gave me the idea. He told me to find out what you liked and help you do it.”
John Parker had seen her need for self-discovery even then? Before she had? “He did?”
Rye’s mouth tipped up. “He sure did. But I can promise you one thing. You have a talent that staggers me, and I wouldn’t change one little bit of the gardens, not for the world. Besides, the work makes you happy, and that’s all I really want.”
She squeezed him tighter than usual. “Oh, Rye, thank you. Thank you for everything you’ve done for us.”
He kissed her cheek. “Well, you took the steps, honey. Besides, if not for you, I wouldn’t have gotten Tory back, now would I?”
“No, you pretty well had made a mess of that one,” she said with a small smile.
“Then let me help you a little with J.P. Stay with him. You might not like the way he approached the situation, but you can work on that with him. You won’t find a better man, and if it makes the kids feel safe again, what harm could it do?”
“Yes, we’ll do what they want,” she said in a whisper.
“Good. I’ll go tell Rory it’s all settled. He made me leave him in the bathtub because he didn’t think you were convinced in spite of what you said earlier. We need to keep him young, Tammy, because he’s as old as dirt already.”
She knew that. “I’ll talk to him too when I put him to bed.”
“You can trust John Parker, Tammy,” her brother said.
And as he pulled her in and rocked her back and forth, she only whispered, “I know that,” and even though it scared her, the words came straight from her heart.
Chapter 22
John Parker threw another log onto the massive woodpile and reached for the axe. He stilled when he saw Hampton Hollins walk past Clayton, who was talking on his cell phone on the patio, and head across the yard toward him, something carried aloft in his hand. Using his T-shirt, he wiped off the beads of sweat trailing down his face.
When Hampton neared, John Parker realized he was holding a shot.
“Thought you could use another drink.”
John Parker rested the warm axe against his thigh and knocked back the liquor in one gulp, welcoming the burn. “Thanks.” He handed the glass back to Hampton. “So you overheard.”
Hampton’s mouth twitched. “It was hard not to with both of you raising your voices. I’ve never known Tammy to do that. It was nice to hear.”
Well, he was glad it made someone happy. “I lost it. I simply lost it. No disrespect to your daughter, sir, but sometimes she really pushes my buttons.”
“Indeed.” Hampton walked over to the woodpile. “That’s an awful lot of cut wood for July.”
“Yes, sir. Rye and I needed to hit something, so this had to suffice.”
“I can understand that.”
Since he wasn’t sure what Tammy’s daddy wanted to say, he went for the direct approach. “Are you planning on putting me in my place for talking to your daughter like that?”
Hampton crossed his arms over his white polo shirt, looking unaffected by the heat and humidity like only a traditional Southern gentleman could. “No, I think you were completely right. It’s horseshit for her to worry about inconveniencing people at a time like this.”
The mild swear word had his insides relaxing. “And what about the other thing I said?”
“Well, she’ll have to decide for herself about that, won’t she?” A slow smile appeared. “Any reason I should worry about you, son?”
He’d never been ashamed of his roots, but he wanted to spell things out. “Well, I suppose some would say I come from across the tracks. Had my daddy take off. My mama raised us alone for some time. We’re not what you’d call blue-bloods, and I know where Rye’s from.”
“None of that so called fine upbringing made my children happy growing up. In fact, it mostly made them miserable. We’ve all learned a lot about being a family in the year since my heart attack, but I expect you know that.” He traced the rough lines of a piece of kindling on the woodpile. “When I look at you, I see a man who loves my daughter and treats her children like his own. Not to mention that my son thinks of you as a brother. How could I think you weren’t good enough?”
John Parker picked up the axe. “Well, Rye thought it might be too soon for her.”
Hampton extended his hand, and John Parker handed the axe to him. “There’s not a lot of clear-headed thinking going on right now.”
Sound advice to his mind. “You’re not what I expected, sir.”
“That pleases me to hear, son. I’m tired of everyone knowing what to expect from me.”
John Parker could only admire how much Hampton was willing to adapt at his age. Men from his generation didn’t often compromise.
“Tammy told me you’ve separated from Mrs. Hollins. I’m deeply sorry, sir.”
“I appreciate you saying that, son.”
Hampton’s face fell, and even though he disliked Rye’s mama, John Parker couldn’t help but feel compassion for the man. Separations were hard no matter how right they were.
“It meant a lot to Tammy, sir, you standing up for her against her mama.”
“So, she told you. That’s telling, don’t you think?”
When he felt her pushing him away, he needed to remember how much she’d confided in him. Her daddy was right. It
was
telling.