One Summer in Santa Fe (11 page)

N
OT
having made any firm plans with Taylor for the park on Wednesday, Piper drifted toward the place after work. Changing into her walking shoes was about all the energy she had left after three grueling days at the hospital. Twelve-hour shifts weren’t for sissies. Every cell she had seemed to have had gone on strike. Even her eyelashes hurt. But she supposed that a little exercise and fresh air was going to do her good. She certainly couldn’t feel any worse than she did now.

Summer evenings were longer now, but remained somehow cool, though July was nearly on them. She supposed that was one of the perks of living at high elevation in the desert. Warm days and cool nights were just about perfect to her. She stretched her muscles while waiting for Taylor, but he didn’t show. So she started her first lap around the track, continuing the warm-up without him. Somewhat disappointed that he hadn’t come, deep down she’d known that he was going to revert to his normal life at some point and leave her behind. Seemed like that was the story of her life. She was just a side dish in life’s buffet, something to keep a man from starving but not enough to sustain him. Though disappointment churned in her stomach, she
kept going. That’s always what she did, she just kept going forward no matter what.

The quick footsteps of a runner behind her made her move over to let the person by.

“Hi, Piper!” Alex said as he jogged in place beside her. He was red-faced and sweaty, but he looked like he was enjoying himself.

“Hey, kiddo. What are you doing here?” Where Alex was, Taylor was sure to be close by. Anticipation hummed in her belly and some of her fatigue mysteriously evaporated, as did the disappointment and her somber mood.

“Uncle T. tortured me until I came.” He grinned, jogging backward so he could see her.

“Tortured you? With what, a book?” She laughed.

“Oh, man, you guessed. It was either read or come to the park. At least this way I might see a rabid coyote.”

“Not if you’re going backward,” she pointed out with a laugh.

“Oh, yeah.” He turned around, glancing at the path ahead of them.

Piper laughed, suddenly glad that she’d pushed herself a little and come. Glad for the company of a child who didn’t expect too much from her and had a way of looking at things that was totally foreign to her. Alex was a great kid. When she had children, if she had children, she hoped they would be as nice as this one.

“So where is he?” She glanced ahead on the trail, but didn’t see the familiar form.

“Right behind you,” Taylor said.

Piper jumped. Her nerves shot to full alert, but she congratulated herself on maintaining a calm facade. “There you are. I thought I beat you here. I had decided you weren’t coming, so I started without you. Then
when Alex caught up with me, I realized that you’d started without me.”

“I am a man of my word. I never break it,” Taylor said, and slowed his pace to match theirs.

Piper cast a doubtful glance his way as they rounded a sharp curve in the trail covered with river-bed rocks. “Really?”

“Really.”

“He’s right, Piper. Uncle T. never breaks his word. And sometimes that’s not good.” He gave her a serious look.

“What do you mean?” she asked.

“If he says I get punished for something, he means it.” Alex’s eyes went wide. “He never forgets.”

Laughing, Piper put her pace into high gear, but the boys easily caught up with her. “That’s good to know in case I ever need punishing.”

“I hope that never happens to you, ’cause he’ll never forget. Ever.” Alex pointed off the side of the trail. “Jackrabbit. I called it.”

Piper watched as the animal skittered away from them in a crazy pattern and disappeared in the brush. “Why are you calling jackrabbits?”

“We’re playing a game. Whoever sees the most wildlife wins and the loser has to do the dishes,” Taylor said.

“Did either of you catch that raven sitting on the fencepost over there?” she asked, and pointed to the large black bird watching them with dark, dark eyes.

“It’s mine!” Alex yelled.

“Mine.”

Piper laughed at their banter and the remainder of their walk raced by until they could no longer see the trail in front of them.

The evening ended with three happily exhausted people who went to Taylor’s house and ordered pizza.
The dishes were forgotten as were the stains on the couch. And the carpet. And the wall.

Taylor sat on the floor with the other two and stretched his legs out in front of him, oddly content. Relaxing at home in front of the TV was something he rarely did. Too much energy boiled within him to have downtime very often. But this was nice, this was comfortable, and something he could get used to in the right circumstances. He took one last bite of the pizza crust and tossed it into the nearly empty box. Piper sat cross-legged on a pillow beside Alex and watched as he showed her the ropes of his latest video game. He enjoyed watching the two of them and listening to their conversation.

“You killed me!” she cried, and gave Alex a playful shove with her elbow.

“You were just standing there, so I had to take advantage of the shot.”

“Oh, I give up. I’m no match for you. I’ll just watch, okay?”

“Okay. Is there any pizza left?”

“I’ll check.” She turned back to Taylor and her breath refused to go in or out of her lungs. He was simply the most devastating-looking man she’d ever known. Sitting with his legs extended and crossed at the ankles, leaning toward her on one elbow, it made her want to crawl up every inch of him and have her way with him. Then his eyes darkened and a seductive smile curved his lips up at one corner.

“Your mouth is hanging open, Piper.”

She clamped it shut and redirected her gaze to the pizza box. “Alex wants something.”

“What?”

“What do you mean, what?” She blinked, trying to
bring her brain into focus. She was supposed to do something, wasn’t she? Think, woman, think.

“You said Alex wanted something. What was it?”

Dammit, did she have to lose her mind right then? “Another slice of pizza.” She reached for it, but he moved swiftly and caught her wrist, and she gasped.

“What do you want, Piper?” His voice was low and hypnotic, and she had to look up at him, look into those piercing blue eyes. And she was lost. She was falling for Taylor, right here, right now. This was so not good, but she was helpless to avoid that impulse deep within her that longed to be free, longed to reach out and take something, even if it wasn’t right for her. She had a right to be happy, didn’t she?

“If Alex weren’t sitting right beside us, I’d show you.” That hadn’t just come out of her mouth, had it? She never spoke like that, was never so bold. The memory of their time in the jacuzzi flashed through her, and she bit her bottom lip, desire throbbing low in her belly. His gaze dropped to her mouth and she licked her lips.

“If Alex weren’t sitting right beside us, I’d let you.”

“Pizza?” Alex asked, without taking his attention from the game.

“There’s one slice left.” She picked it up and was forced to drop her gaze from Taylor as she slid the slice onto Alex’s plate.

With his hand still a band on her wrist, Taylor tugged her closer. “Come here,” he whispered.

“Taylor.” Unable to resist, she allowed him to draw her closer, closer, until she was just inches from him.

Electricity hummed between them. “Can you stay tonight?”

Reluctance heavy in her sigh, she shook her head and indicated Alex. “I can’t.” Her body came alive at
Taylor’s touch, and she wanted to re-experience their shared passion. It was a seductive lure that she was highly susceptible to. She doubted she’d ever develop a resistance to Taylor. Every night she went to bed with her body aching for his, for the heat and the hardness that made her body come alive as it never had before. The way she wanted it to again. Cooling things between them was going to be the best solution for both of them. They couldn’t go on this way. They each had different goals, different objectives in life that were poles apart. Her mind knew that, but the thought didn’t stop her body from responding to Taylor’s touch.

With one hand, he cupped his hand behind her neck and drew her forward. Nuzzling her ear, his voice was hot and warm, sending shivers across her skin. “I want to make love to you, Piper. We’re good together, and I don’t just mean in bed.”

Closing her eyes, Piper let his voice, his words swirl through her. Those cherished words raced through her and nearly had her on her knees. No man had ever said those words to her, so why would Taylor? She was so close to falling for him that it wouldn’t take much to send her over the edge and into the abyss of heartbreak. She knew it. She had to resist the thought that he could be her forever man. The man she’d spend the rest of her days with. As her mind took an imaginary leap forward, there was no other man she wanted to stand beside, only Taylor. Maybe it was already too late for her, and she’d fallen and not known it.

Pulling back a little, she looked into his eyes and that was a mistake. When they’d first met, she’d thought he had eyes that saw right through a person. Now, watching him, looking deep into those depths, she knew it was true.

The phone rang, breaking the spell of desire between them.

Alex jumped up and raced to the kitchen. “It’s probably Mom.”

Piper watched Alex go, then let out a surprised little scream that was quickly silenced by Taylor’s hot mouth on hers. He pulled her onto his lap and then rolled, pinning her beneath him.

His mouth was hot and urgent against hers, and she let him take her deeply. The pressure of his body against hers made her want to reconsider staying with him. He could take her to heaven, she knew that. The crash back to earth was going to be painful, she knew that, too. Easing back from the kiss, she tried to cool the passion raging between them. He was like one giant overdose of chocolate. Just because she wanted him, it didn’t make him good for her.

“What’s wrong?” he asked, and sat up. “I can feel you pulling away.”

Piper sat and curved her hair around one ear and avoided his gaze. “I’m just not comfortable with Alex in the other room.”

Taylor stared at her, his eyes hard and assessing. “I’m not convinced. Something else is going on. Is it Elizabeth again?”

“Taylor, what are we doing together? You know I’m not the type of woman you usually go for.”

“So what? I happen to like being with you.”

“And that surprises you, doesn’t it?”

“Again, so what? I’m willing to go with the flow a while longer, see where we get to.”

“And that’s where we differ.”

“Are you saying you want to know my intentions toward you?”

“No. I’m saying I already know your intentions, and they won’t coexist with mine. We have some things in
common, but in the long run you’ll be moving on, and I’ll be left holding my heart in pieces. I’ve done it before. I don’t want to do it again.” She stood and walked toward the door just as Alex entered the living room.

“She wants to talk to you,” he said, and held the phone out to Taylor.

“Piper, wait. Just a minute,” Taylor said, and took the phone.

Though his gaze remained on hers, he spoke to Caroline.

Without knowing what else to do while he was on the phone, Piper started to empty the dishwasher. She hadn’t gotten far when Taylor’s hand on her arm stopped her. “Don’t. This isn’t why I want you here.”

“It’s okay.”

“No, it’s not.” He pulled her away and shut the dishwasher. “We need to talk.”

The hairs on the back of her neck stood up when she heard that phrase. It was always the beginning of bad news, the end times were near. Protective instincts jumped into high gear as her heart raced and her breathing came too fast. “Taylor, it’s okay. Really. I understand.” Did she ever. This was the part where he said he didn’t need her any longer, thanks for a good time, now have a nice life, and I’ll get back to mine. Echoes of the past bombarded her. Just like her ex. She extricated her arm from his grip as bursts of anxiety jumped across her skin. “I’m sure you have things to do, and it’s been a long week for me. So I’ll just get going.” Before I humiliate myself more.

“Caroline’s coming back. A week early.”

“Is everything okay?” She moved away from him and leaned against the counter while she caught her breath.

“Yes. The company feels she’s ready to start at this
point, and she’s flying into Albuquerque the end of next week.” He glanced away and ran a hand through his hair, his gesture of nerves.

Forcing a smile, Piper tried to keep her emotions from her face, but the telltale blush crawling up her neck betrayed her. “That’s great news. I’m sure Alex will be thrilled to have his mom back.”

“Yeah. I’m sure.” Taylor stuffed his hands into his pockets and turned away from her, not sure how he was going to feel about Alex going back with Caroline. It was certainly the right thing to do, for them to be a family again, but, damn, he was going to miss the kid, miss that feeling of family that he had wanted but never had when he’d been a kid. “It will be good to have my life back again. Back to my usual routines. The way it used to be.”

He looked at his watch, still ticking down the last few days. May as well shut it off now. No point in—

“Taylor?”

Distracted, without finishing the small task, he turned back to Piper. She stood by the door, looking like she was ready to bolt. Regret had replaced desire in her eyes, and he didn’t like it one bit. This thing between them was more heated than his past relationships, and something he didn’t want to let go of yet. Despite her reservations, he really liked her company and didn’t want to stop seeing her now. This relationship hadn’t imploded the way so many others had. The why of it he didn’t explore too deeply at the moment. “You’re going to go, aren’t you?”

“Yes. You’re obviously capable of handling Alex without my help, so I think it’s for the best. You don’t need me.” She curved her hair behind her ear and moistened her lips, avoided his gaze.

“Best for you or me?” Anger snapped inside of him. This wasn’t what he wanted, wasn’t how he wanted to end things between them. Hell, he didn’t see any reason to end anything between them at all. They were adults, and if it worked, then so be it.