“Are you absolutely sure you want to do this?” Beth looked to Tate as they stood just outside the trailer.
“Sure? Fuck no. I know I don’t want to do this. But Jill and Jacob are in there and they need our support. If Mom and Dad don’t sign those papers, it’ll be hard for the kids to get their loans. We can pay for most of it but without those loans, it’s awfully hard. Plus, damn it, with their signatures they can keep getting state grants too. They deserve at least that from those two worthless assholes. So we do this once a year and thank the heavens it’s just that rare an occurrence.” Tate took a steadying breath and reached out to Anne on one side and Beth on the other. It fell to them because Tim, William and Nathan couldn’t be in the same room with their father without violence breaking out. They all played to their strengths and worked together. Dealing with their parents was her cross to bear.
The door opened up and Jill stood there, relief on her face. “Hi, guys, come on in.” Her eyes sparked a warning and Tate steeled herself for the inevitable.
Once she walked up and through the creaky door, the assault of her entire childhood plagued her like it always did. The cloying stench of stale sweat, cheap perfume and alcohol assaulted her. God, she hated that smell.
Her mother raised a hand in halfhearted greeting from her place on the tattered sofa. Tina Murphy had a drink in the other hand. Her hair was currently platinum-blonde with three inches of red growout at the roots. No matter that her daughters were excellent hairdressers, no, Tina had killed her own hair with repeated home dye jobs that rendered it to straw.
Bracing herself, she bent to kiss her mother’s cheek. “Hey, Mom.”
“Hey, honey. I like that color on you.” In her own way, Tina was closest to Tate. What passed for love in Tina’s world was a scarcity but she did seem to care about Tate when she could be bothered to come home.
“Too bad orange isn’t slimming. Those shoes are hideous. Trying to take the focus off your fat ass? You’re late as usual, Tate. Stop at a drive-thru on your way over? Let’s eat, we don’t know when your mother will decide to cat off somewhere else.” Her father’s words had already taken on a heavy slur.
Jacob started to speak but Tate shook her head once, hard. If anyone engaged with their father, it would make matters worse. If you just ignored him, he gave up after a while. Or he passed out. Either way, he’d shut the fuck up before she gave in to her urge to smack the shit out of him with a frying pan.
“Good evening, Dad.” She walked past him toward the tiny eating area. Her mother may have a lot of faults but when she concentrated for long enough she was a pretty good cook.
It was just a matter of holding out through dinner. Just finish, make nice and get the hell out of there before anyone cried.
“Did they sign the papers?” she asked Jill in an undertone.
Jill nodded imperceptibly.
Only one more year.
“Don’t pass the potatoes by lard ass. I told you to make her a salad, Tina.”
“Bill, shut the hell up already.”
Tate drank her tea and kept her head down. Finally, after bickering back and forth, her father shut up. She didn’t bother eating, it would only prolong the evening.
After strained small talk they all made an exit.
“Come back to my place?” Beth hugged Tate tight.
Tate shook her head and hugged Anne, Jill and Jacob too. “I need to be alone for a while. Shake this off. I’m not good company.”
“Yes you are. Honey, don’t do this alone.” Anne kissed her forehead.
“Look, I give you all most of myself but this is mine. I’m going to go and eat dinner. Alone. Please.”
“We’re going to stay at William and Cindy’s tonight. We still on for breakfast tomorrow before Jacob and I go back?” Jill asked.
Tate nodded. “Of course.” She needed to be alone, damn it. Quickly, she got into her car and headed back into town.
At The Sands, Ronnie was there with a smile and a cup of coffee, ushering her to a corner booth. It was already half past eight on a Sunday night so the place was pretty uncrowded.
“Evening, Tate.”
“Hey, Ronnie.” Tate opened her menu.
“Hey, fancy seeing you here.”
She looked up into Matt Chase’s face and only barely resisted taking a long glance down the rest of him. His face was enough of a treat. Made her feel tingly when all she’d felt just moments before was numb.
“Can I join you? I’ve been on a call. Warren and Pearl Jervis’s place. I wish they’d leave each other, but they won’t. He set fire to their couch tonight. Made me miss dinner at my folks’.”
“Sometimes it’s because they don’t know any other way. Other times, it’s because they don’t give a shit about anyone else and can’t be satisfied until they bleed their misery on you.”
“Wow, sounds like there’s a story there. I’m sorry for bringing you down. You can tell me. Or, I promise to entertain you with happy stories if you let me sit with you.”
She rolled her eyes and laughed. “Sure, have a seat.”
Instead of sitting across from her, he slid into the booth beside her, stretching out his long legs next to hers.
“I’m absolutely convinced that Polly Chase will have a plate set aside for you in the oven as we speak,” she said dryly to hide the tremor working through her at his nearness.
He grinned. “Probably. But I’d rather be here with you.”
She narrowed her eyes at him but Ronnie came to take their order. “I’ll have the roasted chicken with the rice and a salad. Vinegar and oil please, Ronnie.”
“Give me the pork chops and mashed potatoes and a salad with ranch, and a beer.”
“Oh yeah, that sounds excellent. Beer for me too, please.”
Ronnie smiled at them both and sauntered back to put their order in.
“Rough night?” Tate looked at him, liking the way his nose looked from the side.
“Why do you say that?” Matt asked warily.
“Because you had to go on what amounted to a domestic call, which can’t be much fun. But you’re here and avoiding your mother’s cooking, which I hear is legendary. Is something up?”
He chuckled and took a long pull off the beer Ronnie dropped off along with the salads. “Polly is a mighty fine cook, yes. And I don’t know how Shane does it. These domestic calls are awful. I don’t have to deal with them often but when I do, it’s hard to take, you know?”
“Yes, I do know.”
He turned and their faces were just inches apart. She could see the beginnings of a beard on his cheeks and chin.
“Too close to home?”
“I really don’t want to talk about that right now. Until about five minutes ago, I was having a very crappy night. It’s looking up so don’t screw with that.”
“Tell me about your night and why it’s been so bad.”
“Dinner with my parents.”
Matt nodded, wanting to know more. He’d only heard bits and pieces around town and from his mother. He knew the old man drank and the mother kept running off.
“I won’t pretend that I don’t know a little bit about your history. That’s not who I am and it doesn’t seem like who you are either. He been drinking?”
“Is that a rhetorical question? I’m sorry. I shouldn’t be disrespectful of him. And it’s not just him.” She shook her head and waited while Ronnie put the food onto the table.
“Once a year I have to endure dinner with them. It’s for my youngest brother and sister. Because they’re still young, they need my parents’ signature on their federal financial aid forms. We pay for most everything, my siblings and I. But it’s expensive and they can get loans at reduced interest and grants. Anyway, it’s just once a year. I go over there to check on him, my dad, every month or so but dinner there is just the worst. I sit and don’t eat, for an hour, and we all dash out the back door and run for it.”
“You don’t eat?”
“So, how did you end up as a firefighter anyway?” she asked with a grin as she changed the subject.
He allowed it, for the time being. “I considered being a cop like Shane but the police academy was not my cup of tea. One of the instructors there suggested I try firefighting instead. I did.” He shrugged. “I like it and the people of Petal. Well, most of them anyway. It’s nice to find something that makes you feel fulfilled, you know?”
“Yeah, I do know. When I first got out of high school, I did all sorts of odd jobs to pay the bills. Tim and I got an apartment in town, big enough for everyone. After a time, I got into beauty school and I realized I’d found what I was good at. It isn’t police work or anything, but I like making people feel better about themselves. So many women have crappy lives or bad days or never get a chance to feel pretty or special. It’s amazing what a bit of hair color and a nice cut can do. Makes you walk out of the salon like you’re on air.” She smiled as she said it and Matt felt it like a blow to his gut.
“You have such a pretty smile.”
She blushed charmingly. “Thank you.”
They finished up and he ordered a slice of pie.
“I should go. I have an early breakfast with my family tomorrow morning. It was nice having dinner with you, Matt.” She scooted out of her side of the booth and stood.
“Wait, have some pie with me.”
“Oh, I can’t.”
“Can’t? You allergic to peaches? If so they’ve got cherry and lemon meringue too.” He grinned.
“No, I can’t do pie. The crust goes straight to my butt and it’s big enough as it is.” She laughed but it sounded brittle.
“Tate, I happen to like your butt. In fact, it’s pretty darned stellar. Come on. I know you want to,” he sang out softly. He loved her shape, soft and lush, all curves and dips.
“Look, I have bad enough self-control as it is, don’t tempt me,” she whispered and he stood. Thank goodness she had on some spiky heels or he’d have towered over her.
“It’s just pie. It’s supposed to be tempting.” He grinned.
“I said no! It’s easy for you. Stop it. I’m not laughing.” The vehemence of her voice was laced with something else, pain and shame. Matt did not like the way it sounded one bit.
Tate let out a surprised gasp when Matt stepped to her, banding her waist with his arm, hauling her close. “Let me tempt you with something better then,” he said in a near growl, so low it strummed along her spine. Her nipples pebbled against the front of her blouse and every other part of her called to attention. The heat of him buffeted her, nearly made her sway with want.
“Wh-what would that be?” Confusion swallowed her. What was he doing? This felt distinctly sexual and even more mutual. But it couldn’t be. Matt Chase could not be...holy shit was that his cock poking into her belly?
“...a movie? Watch it at my place? Your place? Any place?”
“Huh?” God, he’d been speaking and she missed three quarters of it. The grin he sent her in response was so wicked an involuntary moan slipped from her lips.
“Would you like to come back to my apartment now? Have a drink or kiss? A lot?”
“Don’t tease me like this, it’s not nice.” She tried to push away from him but he wouldn’t let her go.
“I’m not teasing you, Tate. God, you have no idea how much I want you.” He rolled his hips. “Here’s a little clue though.”
“I don’t know.”
“I do. Come on. Your place. Your rules. I promise to behave. Or well, to not push but I don’t want to leave your company just yet and I’d really like to be alone with you.” His lips skimmed over hers briefly and her resistance melted.
He reached into his pocket and tossed a wad of cash onto the table before all but pulling her outside into the warm June air.
At her car he stopped and spun her into his embrace, watching the way her skirt swirled around her legs. “I love this dress. And this color, it reminds me of orange sherbet. I do so love to eat orange sherbet.”
She swallowed and felt like Alice fallen down the rabbit hole. Was Matt Chase rubbing his cock on her and inviting her to make out? She must have hit her head or something. It had to be a dream.
“I...this is a bad idea. You can’t really want to hang out with me. You just feel guilty or something. Why would you want me like this?”
Matt exhaled in frustration. His damned cock was so hard it throbbed. It sure as hell didn’t feel guilt. He wanted to fuck her so badly he was just barely holding himself together. Grinding his cock into her body, he felt triumphant when her eyes partially closed with pleasure. “I want to. I feel several things, Tate. Turned on. Hot for you. Desperately in dire need to kiss you. I want to touch you and be alone with you. I really truly do. Guilt isn’t on the list of things I’m feeling for you.” He grinned and she gave him a small smile in return.
She paused for long moments and finally nodded. “All right. You can follow me home then.”
* * *
He’d been driving to his parents’ from that fucked-up scene and her hair caught his eye as he’d spotted her through the windows at The Sands. A brief phone call to his mother to say he wasn’t going to make it and he’d headed toward her. It wasn’t like he could have done anything else. She called to him.
Feeling like a teenager, Matt’s hands shook as he drove to her house. Not a bad neighborhood. Not fabulous but solid working class. He knew which one was hers even before she turned into the driveway. The little bungalow was unique, just like she was.
He parked and tried not to shove her to her front door and pin her to the first available surface. Instead he took her hand, smiling at her that she’d waited at her car for him.
“It’s a bit of a mess. I left in a hurry earlier today.” She fumbled with the lock and her scent hit him hard when the door swung open. He couldn’t even pinpoint what she smelled like, it wasn’t perfume, she seemed too much a ball of raw energy to take the time to dab a bit of scent behind her ears. It reminded him of earth, not dirt, not musk, but vibrant, essential, heady.
“I like it. It feels like you in here. Colorful.” He looked around and took the place in. Bright framed prints hung on her walls. “Frida Kahlo right?” He motioned toward one of the prints.
She nodded with a smile. “I love her stuff. Her husband, Diego Rivera, got more attention but I think her art is startling and disturbing as well as just plain gorgeous.”
“I don’t know much about art. Do you know Cassie? Shane’s wife? I think you’d like her. Your tastes are similar.” If what Matt suspected about Tate’s childhood was correct, Cassie’s experience as a victim’s advocate might be really helpful as well. If anyone could understand Tate’s perspective, Cassie would.
“I don’t. I mean, I’ve seen her around town. Who could miss her?”
“What do you mean?”
“Uh, hello? It’s not like you can miss a nearly six foot tall woman who looks like Cassie. I’m as straight as they come and I think I have a crush on her.”
Matt laughed. Cassie was startlingly beautiful but the woman he was with right then was a thousand times more precious and she didn’t even know it. “She’s a pretty woman, yes. I’m sure you’ll meet her soon. Come and sit down here. I can’t kiss you if you’re all the way over there.”
He plopped down onto her couch and she stopped, looking at him, surprised. “What?”
“Yeah, not so good with the woo, am I? I’d love for you to come here and sit with me.”
Tate didn’t know quite what to do. Matt Chase flustered the hell out of her. A sense of unreality settled into her. The guy, the donut of her dreams, sat on her couch and wanted to kiss her? Did she hear him right?
“Tate? Did I say something to upset you? I want more than a kiss.” He stopped and shook his head. “What I mean is I want to take you out too. This isn’t just some fun way to spend my Sunday. Although, I’m certainly enjoying being with you. God, I’m usually more smooth than this,” he mumbled and she laughed, kicking off her shoes and moving to the couch.
“I don’t know what to say.”
Scooting so that his body pressed full against hers, he put a finger over her lips. “Then don’t say anything just now. I really need to kiss you, Tate. So I’m gonna.”
His hand slid up her arm and cupped her neck, holding her, tipping her chin up. Before she had much of a chance to register anything but the delicious heat of his palm, his lips found hers.
Slow. Incrementally building up the heat, he gently led her to open up to his tongue. She’d never been really crazy about kissing but she realized it was just that she’d never been kissed by someone who knew what he was about before. All the difference in the world lay right there.
He didn’t jam his tongue in her mouth and down her throat, he teased her with it, tasted her, tickled her with the tip. His teeth joined the action, coming in to nip her bottom lip from time to time until she nearly panted with wanting him more.
The heat of his mouth moved from her lips, skating along her jaw to the hollow just below her ear. A gasp ripped from her gut when he sucked there, the wet, warm sensation shooting straight to her nipples and then to her pussy, flooding her with moisture.
Needing more of him, she adjusted, sliding her hands up into his hair.
Matt had never wanted a woman more than he did as the taste of her rushed through him. She was soft under his hands, smelled right, felt good. These little sounds kept coming from her, little moans and sighs of need, and it drove him crazy. He didn’t want to scare her but if he didn’t get inside of her sometime soon his cock would explode.
Before he knew it, her hands had slid from his hair to his chest and she was opening the front of his uniform shirt. Hesitantly but with some strength, she pushed him back enough to get on her knees and part the front of his shirt. When she leaned down to brush kisses over his collarbone before moving to flick a tongue over his nipples, he jumped, breathing her name like a prayer.
Her hair was like silk over his superheated skin. Needing to see it all, he reached back and undid the clasp holding it up. It tumbled down in a sweet-smelling wave.
When one of her hands slid down his belly and her nails scored over his cock he moved back into action.
He took her arms so he could see in her face. What greeted him, passion-glazed eyes and kiss-swollen lips, made him suck in a breath. Holy shit she was beautiful.
“Tate, I want you. Are you with me?”
Swallowing, she nodded before licking her lips.
“Bedroom?”
She stood, held out a hand and led him toward the back of the house. He felt her tremble a bit, but as he was shaking too, it was hard to tell where he began and she ended.
Her room was messy and it made him smile.
“God, I’m sorry. I...well, it goes without saying I wasn’t expecting to bring a man back here.” She motioned toward her unmade bed and turned out the light he’d turned on.
For some reason, that comment only made him want her more.
“Good.” He used his body to push her toward her bed until she fell back and looked up at him, her hair a brilliant corona around her head. “Tate, I want to see you.” He turned on the bedside lamp before moving to unbutton the bodice of the dress she wore.
The blush was back and she put her hands over his, stilling them. “Turn the light off, please.”
“But I won’t be able to see you that way. Tate, I’ve been fantasizing nonstop about your body for weeks now.”
“I can’t. Matt, please.”
Instead of turning the light off, he lay down on the bed and pulled her to him. “Tate, are you changing your mind about making love to me?” She shook her head but he saw the glimmer of tears in her eyes. “What is it, sweetness? Am I scaring you? Moving too fast?”
She buried her face in his neck and he burrowed through her hair to hold her. “I don’t want you to see me naked.”
“If you’re not naked, how can I be inside you?” That’s when it occurred to him he didn’t have any condoms.
“Just leave the lights off!”
“Tate, I want to see you. Would you deny me that pleasure?” He pulled his head back to see her face, hoping she’d smile, but he got confusion, anger and a bit of embarrassment too. What the fuck? “Tate? What is it?”
She pushed at him and jumped up, pacing in front of the bed. “I’m not one of the women you’re normally with!”
“I know.”
She stopped and sneered.
“I mean,” he added quickly, “yes, you’re not like them. And that’s a good thing. Tate, you’re important, special.”
“Matt,” she sighed, sounding impatient. “Are you going to make me spell it out?”
“You’d better, sweetness, because I have no fucking idea what the issue is.”
“Dolly, Melanie, Lisa, Kelly—what do these things have in common and what do I not have that they do?”
“They’re vapid and shallow and you’re not?” Standing and going to her, he kissed her lips quickly, tossing his shirt to one side blindly.
“Okay, well, you have a point there. Although what the hell were you doing with them if so?” The air left her lips in a soft whoosh when he pushed her gently back down to the bed.
“Well, you have a point there too. We can talk about the ramifications of that later because it’s totally getting in the way of me putting my cock into your body. And speaking of that, we’re not getting naked again why?”
“Because you go out with women who are drop-dead gorgeous and I am not! They’re all tall and thin and cheerleaders. I am, aside from having breasts and a vagina, nothing like them.”
He tried not to laugh, he really did but she was hilarious.
“What are you laughing at?”
He rolled and pinned her to the bed with his body, raining kisses down her chest, over the fabric of her dress. Pulling her skirt up, he traced the soft skin of her thighs with his fingertips.
“I’m laughing at you, Tate Murphy. I’ve never heard anyone but Maggie say cheerleader like it was some sort of disease. Frankly, I find it hard to find fault with women jumping around in tight sweaters and short skirts but I don’t think it has a damned thing to do with why I’m dying here for you and not with anyone else. I’m here because you’re here. I don’t want them, I want you. I want to see your body, I think you’re beautiful.”
“I can’t concentrate with the lights on.”
There was so much panic and emotion in her voice he let it go. Reaching out, he turned out the light.
“Better?”
“Yes.”
He found her mouth again and she relaxed, melting into him, hooking one of her thighs around his ass, arching her back to bring her pussy into contact with his cock.
Busy hands found the buttons on her bodice and made quick work of them, exposing her bra to him. He wished he could see more in the dim light that came from the open bedroom door but there’d be time for that later.
There wasn’t a catch between her breasts so he helped her to sit up to get the back hooks undone.
Sweet mercy, her breasts, even what he could see in the low light, were beautiful. Large, heavy, juicy, dark nipples.
While she sat up, he helped her get the dress off and tossed his pants, socks and boxers before returning to her. She’d slid under the sheets, which agitated him, but he began to really understand some of what Liv had said a few weeks before about what some people might think about Tate. Apparently Tate herself felt some of those things too. Well, that’d be next, showing her just how damned beautiful she was—cheerleader or not.
When their bodies came together, skin to skin, he thought he’d lose consciousness it was so deliriously good. Fuck! Condom.
“Tate, uh, I have a problem. Shit!” She grasped his cock, giving a few slow pumps with her fist.
“What is it?” She nibbled on his ear and he lost his train of thought for long moments until she smeared her thumb over the wet slit at the head of his cock.
“Condom. I don’t have one. Please, please tell me you do.” He caught a nipple between his lips, swirling his tongue around it.
“I, ohgod, I don’t. I don’t bring men back here for sex.”
He rested his forehead on her chest a moment, disappointed but not in her comment that she didn’t bring men back for sex. “Okay, well, I’m not leaving to go get one either. We’ll just work around it. We can do other things for tonight.”
“Other things? Oh, yesss.”
His fingers found her pussy, wet and swollen. He kicked back the sheets and kissed his way back and forth between her nipples as his fingertips teased around her swollen clit. She was slick and ready and he needed more.
Kissing a trail south, he marveled at the soft swell of her belly as he insinuated himself between her thighs. He felt her muscles tense but before she could object, he spread her labia and took a long, deep taste of her and they both sighed.
She was sweet and savory all at once. Her clit bloomed under his tongue and he realized he was quickly becoming addicted to making Tate feel good.
Tate could not believe she was in her bed with Matt Chase’s mouth on her pussy. Naked. Naked! She wished it weren’t so dark so she could see his body, she knew it would be gorgeous. She certainly hadn’t had a complaint when she grabbed his cock and found him nice and thick.
No condom, fuckadoodledoo. She added a trip to the drugstore after breakfast to her mental to-do list. She wasn’t sure there’d be a part two to this interlude but if fate was that kind to her again, she’d be ready.
Oh, almost there, just a bit... “Fuck me!” she exclaimed as he sucked her clit into his mouth and pressed two fingers into her pussy at the same time. Orgasm hit her hard, stealing all speech but a long hard exhale.
Moments later, he kissed the inside of her thighs and moved to lie beside her. “I’d love to fuck you, by the way,” he murmured into her ear and she laughed.
“Sorry, I have a fuck habit. That’s to say I say it too much.”
“I haven’t noticed it.” He kissed her shoulder and she pushed him back and kissed down his chest.
“I’ve been trying to watch my mouth around you.”
“Something I hope will end right about now,” he groaned as her tongue traced his navel.
The man had the hardest, flattest belly she’d ever licked. He smelled so good she wanted to take a bite but resisted, being so close to his cock and all.
A cock that by any indicators she’d been acquainted with, was quite pleased at her presence. Especially when she ran the flat of her tongue across the head and around the crown.
Sliding her hair over his abdomen and thighs, she took him into her mouth—all she could—and pulled back only to suck him back inside again.
“Tate, oh, yeah, right like that. You’re...holy...oh.”
Triumph and pride bloomed within her. She’d reduced Matt Chase to incoherence. Her, Tate Murphy, the girl most likely to not be remembered by anyone. It wasn’t like she’d given a thousand blow jobs or anything, she just wanted to please him and she couldn’t get enough of him.
She’d never considered fucking without a condom but damn she wanted him badly. Still, she’d seen the results of thinking with one’s pink parts. Tate did not want to end up like her mother. Or her father, whoever the hell he was.
Matt’s thigh bunched and flexed beneath her palm as she loved him with her mouth. Her nails lightly traced his balls as they pulled tight against his body. He made a small sound at the back of his throat and then said her name as he came.
Sometime right after, he pulled her up and encircled her with his arms. “Condoms. Next time there’ll be condoms.”
She laughed, totally happy.
Until her phone rang. She picked up the receiver and looked at the caller ID window. “I’m sorry, it’s one of my sisters.” She hit the on button. “Yes?”
“Are you all right?”
“Beth, I’m busy. I’ll talk to you tomorrow. I’m fine.”
“You know, you can’t run off after these dinners, the twins blame themselves.”
“Beth, I don’t want to talk about this right now.” She sat up and grabbed a robe from the nearby chair and pulled it on as she stood and headed for the hall.
“Tate, you take the brunt of dealing with them and then you run away. We all feel guilty about that. Why don’t you let us help?”
“Beth! For fuck’s sake! Let it go. You can’t have everything. I give you all ninety-nine percent but I’m allowed to have my own feelings about dealing with them. I wouldn’t do it if I didn’t want to. I’ll see you in the morning but I’m warning you, don’t bring it up again.”
“Tate...”
“Good night, Beth. I’m hanging up now. I love you.” She hit the off button and turned off the ringer. When she turned, Matt stood there in the doorway to her bedroom and yep, he looked better naked than in clothes.
“Is everything all right?”
“Yes. Family.” She shrugged. “I expect you know what I mean.”
He moved to her, pulling her into his arms. “I do indeed. Can I help?”
She laughed, tossing the phone on the couch. “I think you’ve done your part in my stress relief.”
“Well, come back to bed, I’ve got a few more tricks up my sleeve.”
* * *
He’d stayed until nearly two but as both of them needed to be up early, she talked him into going home. Not that it stopped her from sleeping on the side of the bed he’d been in, loving his scent.
Not only that, but he’d asked her out on a real date for the following Saturday night and she’d agreed.
She headed into town to the Honey Bear where her siblings were all meeting for breakfast before the twins headed back to Atlanta. They were taking summer classes to finish school early.
Ignoring Beth’s frown, she kissed everyone and took the seat they’d been saving. A full house, so full they’d had to push two tables together to fit all eight siblings, two spouses and four children.
They had coffee and talked around the dinner the night before. Things had eased up by the time they’d all eaten and headed their separate ways. Anne, Beth and Tate all walked to the shop to open up.
“I had sex with Matt Chase last night.”
Anne, who’d been cleaning her scissors, looked up, surprised. “You did?” Plopping into Tate’s chair, she put her hands on her lap. “Do tell. And don’t dream of skipping a single detail.”
“What’s going on?” Beth wandered past.
“Tate was just going to give me all the details of her sexual encounter with Matt Chase last night.”
“What? That’s what busy meant? Shit, I’d have hung up on me too. Tell us.”
“I didn’t hang up on you. I told you I was hanging up.”
Beth rolled her eyes. “Details I don’t care about. Matt Chase, naked, in your bed? That I care about.”
Tate made sure the place was empty and told them all the details, including their plans for a date that Saturday.
“It’s about time. He’s only been looking at you like a hungry puppy for the last month.”
Tate looked to Anne. “What do you mean?”
“Tate, you’re so clueless. He shows up where you’re going to be as many days a week as he can. You two have lunch together what? Three days a week? He calls here just to say hey. You make enough food for two when you bring your lunch. He likes you. And that’s no surprise to me.”
“He’s out of my league, Anne. So far out of my league I’ve made a pact not to think about it overmuch until it comes crashing down around my ears.”
Anne looked angry. “Damn you, Tate. Why do you have such a low opinion of yourself? Why do you let Dad make you feel this way?”
“Okay, we’re done now. I have a client in about five minutes.” Tate shooed them all away from her station and looked out the window at the fire station across the street, wondering if Matt was inside.