Chapter Eleven
The men dropped off Tasha and the puppies at her place, carrying in the new crate, the dog toys, and all the other gear they’d bought. Once inside, they marveled at what she’d accomplished on her own, and Daniel loved seeing her bask in the glow of their compliments. Unfortunately, she turned down their offer to join them at his place for drinks and a barbecue dinner, insisting they’d come to have a guys’ weekend and she’d only cramp their style.
“I still can’t believe Tasha did all of that by herself,” Will said as the five of them sat on the back deck drinking beer. “And from watching your DIY videos, no less.” His grin took away any heat Daniel might have otherwise felt from the dig.
“But that roof—it’s still a total mess.” Sebastian shook his head. “I’m surprised she was willing to buy a place like that.”
“We can’t let her do it alone.” Matt clearly couldn’t believe Daniel wasn’t fixing her roof right this minute.
“She’s extremely independent,” Daniel said. “The only reason she’s accepted my help at all so far is because of the puppies.” He would have done so much more for her if he didn’t believe his actions would chase her off.
“She can’t refuse all of us,” Will insisted.
“But why the need to be so self-sufficient?” Evan mused. “Seems to me that she doesn’t want anyone getting too close. And I can’t stop wondering about the reasons.”
Sebastian immediately overrode him. “The why of it doesn’t matter. I’ve only known her a day and I’m already certain she’s a great person. Everyone has their issues, their demons, and we all deal with them in our own ways. The five of us know that better than anyone.”
“We sure as hell do,” Will agreed. “But regardless of whether she’s dealing with demons or not, one thing is certain—it’s going to take more than some videos and determination to fix that roof anytime soon.” He smiled broadly. “Good thing she’s got a handy group of guys hanging out nearby.”
“We could have it done by the end of the weekend.” Matt agreed.
They weren’t saying anything Daniel hadn’t already thought. But they didn’t know Tasha like he did. “You guys really aren’t getting just how badly she wants to take care of herself.”
“And you really aren’t getting just how badly we want to help her,” Will said.
“Besides,” Sebastian added, “Mom would read you the riot act for not helping someone in dire need.”
“Mom understands independence.”
“She sure does.” Will whipped out his phone and pushed speed dial. “But that won’t stop her from agreeing that we should put a new roof on Tasha’s cabin tomorrow.”
Even as Will held the phone to his ear, Daniel had the glimmer of a plan. The guys might be right. Tasha wouldn’t feel like it was him pressuring her if they all offered to help. And hopefully, she wouldn’t feel there were strings attached either. If you couldn’t accomplish a task one way, he’d always thought, you found another. And this way just might work.
“Mom, what are you up to tonight?” Will winced at her response. “You’re watching John Wick: Chapter 2? That is a seriously violent movie.” He rolled his eyes at her retort. “I’ll let you get back to the mayhem in a few minutes, but right this second, Daniel needs your encouragement to help his neighbor fix her leaky roof.” He nodded. “Yes, we’ve all met her and she’s great.” Grinning at Daniel, he added, “Really great.” He laughed at something Susan said. “I’m handing the phone over right now. Love you. Give a big hug to Dad.” Then he shoved the phone at Daniel while the others snickered.
“He’s in for it now,” Sebastian said in a gleeful tone.
“I’ve been waiting for an update on your neighbor,” Daniel’s mother said when he took the phone, scowling at the others. “Good thing Will decided to call.”
Daniel would have called earlier, but he’d still been chewing on her remark about bumpy relationships—and the ring of personal experience in her words. Standing, he wandered back into the house, away from the others.
“Were you ever serious with anyone before Dad?”
“No. Your father is the only man I’ve ever loved.”
So much for hoping she’d been talking about someone else. He waited for her to question why he was asking, but she didn’t. It was, honestly, kind of weird how silent she’d gone.
“So,” he said into the empty space, “it’s been a busy couple of days up here in the mountains.” He told his mother about Tasha finding Darla, Spanky, and Froggy in the cave, how together they’d hand-fed them every few hours through the first day and night, then outfitted them with a new crate and chew toys galore.
“Tasha sounds so sweet and caring.”
“She is, Mom. Fixing up her cabin, helping the puppies, the work she used to do as a graphic designer—all of those things light her up and make her happy.”
“She sounds amazing, Daniel. The boys seem to love her. She’s wonderful with puppies. And she loves your videos. If you ask me, you should snap her up right now. And of course you and the boys should fix her roof.”
Despite his mom’s edict, he ran a hand through his hair, thinking of his earlier concerns. Questions that had been echoed by Evan, although in a much harsher form. “I agree, we should definitely help with her roof. We’ll start tomorrow, even if we have to think on our feet to convince her.” He’d made up his mind on that before he even took the phone from Will. “But what bothers me is that I still haven’t figured out what drove her to give up her career and come here to live in a run-down dump in the woods. And why she’s so intent on going it alone.”
“I’m sure she has her reasons for wanting to be left alone and to keep herself closed off to everyone,” his mother said, echoing Sebastian’s thoughts. “Very good reasons, I’m guessing.”
Though his mother was talking about Tasha, Daniel couldn’t help but wonder if she was also referring to herself—as if she’d once been in a similar sticky position where she’d thought she needed to hide out, away from everyone she cared about and who cared about her.
It was that weird note of personal experience in her tone that made him antsy.
“But maybe,” his mother continued, “what she really needs is the right person to come along and show her that it’s safe to open herself back up. Someone who isn’t going to run when she gets scared and tries to push him away, even if it’s the last thing she really wants to do.” She paused for a moment. “Take it from me, I know all about it.”
Daniel’s heart pounded loudly, pulsing in his ears. Was she going to divulge something about her relationship with his father that he’d never known?
“How do you know?” The words croaked from his throat.
“Will was so tough. Matt was so desperate to show he didn’t need us. Sebastian wanted to hide his artistic talent for fear of ridicule. And Evan couldn’t admit how badly he needed a mother. None of my boys were anywhere near ready to open up when they first came to live with us. Your father and I had to be so persistent, even if it sometimes felt like our love was driving them away, rather than bringing them closer.”
But what about Dad? Did something happen between the two of you?
Though the questions were on the tip of his tongue, they never made it all the way out. Not only because he was nervous about hearing her response, but also because something told him his mother wasn’t ready to completely confide in him.
And if there was anything to confide, was it his business to dredge it up all these years later? Especially if it changed everything he’d believed to be true for so long…
“What if I think I’m helping,” he finally said, “but really I’m only mucking things up more for her?”
“You might make things worse.” His mom was always cheerful, but never sugarcoated. “Or maybe that’s just the excuse you’re giving yourself, the worry you’re clinging to, so that you don’t have to risk putting your heart out there for her.”
He’d taken risks in a dozen different ways—he’d put his money on the line, gambling with his patents, hoping he could actually sell the products, risking the whole operation by going global, overextending his resources. Even the DIY show had been a gamble. He thought of the moment Tasha had paused the video on that first day, leaving his mouth gaping. That was all people might have seen, just a gaping mouth. It had been wild speculation.
But the truth was that in all his risk-taking, his heart had never been up for grabs.
“What’s really holding you back, Daniel?”
He wanted to ask her the same thing. Instead, he answered the question about Tasha. “I’m just wary because she’s wary. I can’t help feeling she’s hiding something.”
“Maybe she is. When you’re young, you don’t always make the right decisions. You get yourself all mixed up. You’re not even sure what’s right or wrong anymore. You do what your family thinks you should do.”
“Your family?” He stressed that one word. His grandparents had been gone by the time he was a toddler. He’d never known them. And oddly, now that he thought about it, his mom never talked about them.
He could hear her breathing, as though she’d been running. Or was panicking about something. “I meant Tasha’s family. I’m just being hypothetical. You know what I mean. You just…” She trailed off into nothingness.
But he no longer believed that she was being hypothetical. Or was simply talking about Tasha.
“Mom—”
“I have to go now, Daniel.”
“But, Mom—”
“I said I have to go.” If he wasn’t mistaken, she’d actually snapped at him. His mother, who never snapped, who always had words of wisdom, who always knew exactly what to say. Then she did the weirdest thing of all. “I’ll talk to you later.” She didn’t even say his dad was calling her back to watch the movie. She was simply gone.
Daniel stared at his phone, half expecting the line to still be open, that she was coming right back. But his screen went blank.
This was more than mere bumps. His mother had fumbled and over-explained. Then she’d hung up on him.
Something had happened in his parents’ marriage, he was nearly certain.
And he was very much afraid that whatever it was would bring into question all his beliefs about the very foundation of what marriage and love were supposed to be.