Chapter Seven – Cynthia

The bus pulled up to the stop, red and amber lights flashing. Cynthia dropped to one knee to make sure that Tamara’s bag was shut and that she still had her barrettes in her hair. Around them, parents or other guardians were saying goodbye to the kids as they streamed onto the bus.

“Remember to be good. That means no spitting on other students. I don’t care what game you’re playing, that’s not appropriate. Listen to your teacher and please stay out of mud puddles.”

“What if they’re dry?”

“Then they aren’t mud puddles.” Cynthia wagged a finger in Tamara’s face before she embraced her. The stream of kids entering the bus was getting thinner, and the bus driver, a kind man named George, tapped his watch as he grinned at her. He liked to tease her about how long it took to say goodbye to Tamara. “Have fun at school, sweetie.”

“Thanks. And don’t burn the cookies today.” Tamara gave her a serious look as she pulled back. She stepped toward the bus, paused, and looked back. “Love you, Cynthia.”

“Love you, too.” The words came automatically. Her heart warmed as the grin on Tamara’s face turned to an all-out beaming smile. She skipped onto the bus, greeted the driver, then found her spot.

Even though Cynthia couldn’t actually see her anymore, she continued to wave until the bus was out of sight. By then, the others had all turned back to head to their respective homes. Cynthia stood watching, feeling warm and glowing all over. How did she manage to get so lucky? When she had headed to the island she expected an adventure. A fresh start, a way to start living life on her own terms. And then the disappointment of realizing that she wasn’t wanted…

It had all worked out, though, and she wouldn’t change her choice to stay here for anything.

Cynthia shook her head, smiling still, and headed back to the farmhouse. She had gotten a lot out of the bargain. True, the money wasn’t so great but she was working on developing crafts and improving her sewing skills so that she could sell stuff online to increase her income. She didn’t need a lot of extra money, not when Tyrell supplied her with the basic necessities.

Thinking of Tyrell made heat rise in her cheeks, while what felt like a fire swirled in her core. Since that first night in the shower, it was like they couldn’t keep their hands off each other. True, they had to be careful, but Tamara was in school for a significant portion of the day. That left lots of time open for Tyrell and her to get crazy when he came home for lunch.

She had never had a relationship like this before, where neither of them expected anything from the other. It was… strange. They lived together, she took care of his daughter, and they had amazing sex, but they weren’t a couple. Not really. Even if she did find herself daydreaming about what it would be like to have this forever, to slowly move into his room and then have a surprise proposal…

But Cynthia wasn’t interested in that, at least not right away. It was just the fantasy of romance that she wanted. She was quite happy with how things were. No expectations. It freed them both up to enjoy themselves without worrying about how things were going to end between them.

She found herself wondering if that meant that she was a slut but shoved that thought away. If she was a slut, then so was Tyrell. After all, he didn’t expect or want any emotional connection between the two of them, either.

She could just imagine the look on his face if she called him a slut, too. Amused but stern about not using that word. That was one thing she was very surprised about on the island. People didn’t seem to have any hang-ups about casual sex. If two people wanted each other, they’d sleep together. Nobody thought anything of it. It took some getting used to, but Ruby had told her that they had next to no teenage pregnancies—and that could only be a good thing, right?

When she got back to the house, she heard the phone ringing inside and jogged to answer it. As soon as she picked up, she heard her mother’s voice, worriedly wondering why she wasn’t answering.

“Because I was with the little girl I look after, Mom,” she laughed. “It’s eight in the morning, I had to see her off to school.”

“Oh, Cynthia!” Her mother’s voice was full of relief. “We haven’t heard from you in a week, is everything okay?”

She thought about Tyrell, about his grin and the way he nibbled at her neck while they made love. Ruby and her knowing glances, but not pushing into territory that Cynthia was uncomfortable with. Tamara’s saying that she loved her before getting on the school bus and laughter burst from her throat.

“I’m great, Mom. Everything out here is going fantastic.”

“Oh. Oh, that’s good.”

To her surprise, her mother sounded disappointed. The smile started to slip off her face. “What’s up?”

“Well… I don’t want to cause any trouble for you, dear, but Michael stopped by the other day.”

What a way to ruin an otherwise beautiful morning.

Cynthia bit on her lip, trying to prevent herself from demanding to know exactly what her mother had told her ex-husband. It had been a long time since she and Michael divorced. For a while, she had wondered if she had made the worst mistake of her life. Michael was a good guy. He was smart, funny, respectful and supportive. But they had married far too young, and only because they wanted to have sex. At the time, they thought that having sex would mean they’d be in love with each other forever.

It was a mistake, one that ended up hurting both of them. If they had been more open with each other and themselves, things would have been different. The truth of the matter was, it was one big mess and they had no idea who they were themselves, let alone who the other person was. Separating had been for the best.

They had agreed to divorce together. So why was Michael seeking her out now?

“What did he want, Mom?”

“He wanted to get hold of you.”

“Why?”

Her mother huffed. “Does he have to have a reason for wanting to speak with his wife?”

“Ex-wife.” Cynthia’s hand curled. “Let me talk to Daddy.”

She thought that her mom might refuse, but within a moment her father’s voice came over the line. She let out a soft sigh of relief and leaned back into the chair. Her mother had never understood why she had wanted to divorce Michael. She only saw how good he was and bemoaned the fact that she didn’t have grandkids, despite the fact that Cynthia wasn’t even thirty yet. She didn’t understand that Cynthia wanted a different life than the one her mother had.

“Dad, what did Michael want?”

“I don’t really know, sweetheart. He said he wanted to talk to you, and that was it.” He hummed for a moment. “Don’t mind your mother, you know how she felt about your divorce. You two were always such good friends.”

Cynthia sighed. “But I didn’t love him.”

“I know, Sweetheart. Now. How are you? Are you keeping busy?”

She considered telling him that she was trying to start up an online business but decided against it. He’d only start with his passive-aggressive disdain for her work as a nanny and try to encourage her to go back to school to be a vet.

That was the thing he had never understood, how she had gotten so far into it and then decided that it wasn’t for her. Even after all these years, she could feel the sting of his disappointment, just as she felt her mother’s disappointment for not staying in a marriage she was miserable in.

“I’m really busy, Dad. I’m working on the farm here. Oh, and we had a little calf born the other day that I helped with. You should see him, he’s so cute. All black with white stockings. We’re calling him Boots.”

“Good, that’s good. So does this mean that you’re going to go back into veterinary practice?”

Cynthia sighed. It was a mistake to bring it up, apparently. “No. I don’t want to be a vet, Dad.”

“But you did so well and there will always be—”

“There will always be a demand for childcare, too,” she snapped, unable to stop herself. “You are always going on about how women have such a high calling, and how motherhood does so much for the world, but when I, a childless woman, decide that I want to work with children in a role where I nurture and teach them, suddenly I’m wasting my life?”

“That isn’t what I’m saying, Cynthia—"

“The man I am working for has a little girl who has no mother. Her mother is dead, Dad. I’m giving her something that she otherwise wouldn’t get. So don’t start talking about me going back to vet school as though this work that I find personally rewarding and challenging and fulfilling is something that I should be ashamed of.”

Her father chuckled, which only made her more upset. “Oh, getting uptight, are we? I wasn’t saying anything about your work, Sweetheart. I just meant to say that you always seemed to find working with animals rewarding. Plus, the pay is good. But I’m glad that you’re happy with your babysitting.”

“Nannying,” she snapped.

Her mother’s voice came over the line again. “And what about the little girl you’re watching? Is she a good girl?”

Cynthia inhaled deeply, held it, and let it out. “Yeah. She’s great. And we live out on a farm, so that’s nice. It’s nice to be out of the city. Fresh air and all that.”

“Good, good...”

They talked for a while longer—longer than Cynthia really wanted to after they had brought up what they saw as her two biggest failures in life. She loved her parents, but they drove her insane.

They had so little things in common to talk about. Not just because they had no similar interests, but because their ways of looking at life were so different. By the time the conversation had ended, Cynthia was vaguely unsatisfied and grumpy. She wanted to be able to tell them about everything that was happening in her life, but she was tired of the negativity that they tossed her way if they weren’t one-hundred percent behind her choices. She could only imagine what a fit they’d throw if they knew she was sleeping with a man she had no intention of marrying.

Or sleeping with a man I’m not married to right now.

She would have liked to be able to talk to them about Rex. How much it hurt when he said those crude things about her, trying to get a rise out of Tyrell. She wasn’t certain how much he meant the things he said, but the fact that he said them at all was enough for her to cut whatever relationship they had off.

It was a good thing that she knew she could now simply erase Rex from her mind and enter into this no-strings relationship with Tyrell.

The door opened and Cynthia grinned. Speak of the devil.

“Looking for lunch?” she called as she padded to greet him.

Tyrell, looking sunburned and dusty, shrugged. “More like looking to cool down for a couple hours before I have to get back out there.”

“Ah.” She swayed her hips as she walked up to him and put her arms around his neck. “And here I was hoping that we could heat things up a little.”

Tyrell gripped her hips and chuckled. “Oh really? Are you trying to seduce me, Miss Jones?

She hummed and nodded. Tyrell kissed her lightly, ending with a nip to her lower lip, before pulling out of her arms. She sighed in disappointment but headed into the kitchen with him. When he opened the door to the fridge, she remembered that Tamara expected to have cookies when she got home and groaned.

“What?” Tyrell glanced at her with sparkling eyes. “Are you really so disappointed?”

“What? Oh, no. Sorry. Not about that. I was just thinking, I promised Tamara cookies but it’s already so hot. I don’t want to turn the stove on. And I was going to get some sewing done today. Not that I can’t sew and make cookies...”

Tyrell pulled out a can of coke and opened it. “I have to go into town to pick up some supplement for Boots. I’m concerned that Baby Girl doesn’t have enough milk for him. I’d like to wean him off her as soon as possible, actually. It’s not good for her to put so much of her energy into producing milk when she’s still growing herself.”

Cynthia nodded, but her brow furrowed. “What does this have to do with cookies?”

“I’ll pick some up while I’m in town. I can get some hamburger buns, too, if we want to have a barbecue for supper.”

“Oh!” Cynthia shook herself, laughing. “Yes, that would be great. Thanks. But you know...” She glanced at him, at the dust clinging to his sweaty skin and his dirty clothes. She took the can of soda away from him and then looped her fingers into his belt loops. “I can’t let you go to town looking like that. People’ll say I’m a terrible housekeeper.”

Tyrell laughed but allowed her to pull him toward the bathroom. “I’m just going to have to shower again later.”

“I’ll help you wash your back then, too.”

“Are you determined to see me utterly exhausted and at your mercy, woman?”

“Well, I can certainly think of some fun things to do with you if you were.”

“Hmmm.”

She tugged him into the bathroom and started the water running before turning back to him. She arched a brow at him and put her hands on her hips. “Well, you did want to cool down, right? What better way to do that than in a cold shower?”

“I have a feeling that this is going to be anything but cold.” Tyrell’s eyes sparkled as he began to unbutton his shirt.

Cynthia leaned against the tub, a big claw-foot thing next to the shower. She greedily soaked up the image of his big, strong fingers undoing one button at a time, revealing skin that was so bronze it made his red hair look like a fire. Her tongue flicked over her lips and he chuckled in return. His muscles bulged as he removed the shirt. Then he stuck a hand into the shower and adjusted the temperature.

“Come on.” Cynthia pointed at his pants. “Take those off, too.”

“Bossy little thing, aren’t you?” Tyrell eyed her. “Maybe I want something in return first.”

“And what would that be?”

Tyrell tapped his finger and put an over-exaggeratedly thoughtful expression on his face. “I think… perhaps a taste of those creamy breasts of yours.”

Heat flashed through her skin. Cynthia toyed with the neckline of her shirt for a moment before she lifted it over her head. Tyrell’s gaze raked over her body, his hands on the waistband of his jeans. When she unhooked her bra and dropped it to the floor, he actually let out a small moan. His eyes darkened with desire as he closed the distance between them. Hands on her waist, then sliding up her back. His mouth sought hers out first, kissing her hungrily. She answered with the same fever as he sucked on her lower lip.

Cynthia gasped, flinging her arms around him. Fireworks built in exquisite tension under her skin and she found herself all but tearing at his pants, wanting them off. His mouth dropped to her breast, causing a tingle and snap deep inside of her. With one deft move, he pulled off her pants and underwear. He was slightly clumsier with his own pants, but then he spun her into the shower. A shock of cold water made her gasp, but then Tyrell was there. His big body blocked the spray as he pressed her again the glass, his mouth seeking out hers again.

“Tyrell,” she moaned, welcoming the heat radiating off his skin combined with the chill mist of the shower. “I want you.”

He chuckled once more. “Good thing you have me, then.”