Marry Me Again (The Second Chance Love Series, Book 1) (11 page)

He'd watched her with her wedding band, too, the only other ring she wore, and wondered how long it would be on her finger.

Tonight, when he'd held her hands and breathed in the rain-fresh scent of her hair, she'd worn only her grandmother's ring.

Not his ring. Not Brian's. Just her grandmother's.

Rebecca would wear her wedding ring if she were married. Tucker was certain of it. That was the kind of woman she was. So, if she wasn't wearing a ring, then...

It didn't make sense, he thought. It couldn't be. She couldn't be free. She was supposed to be married to Brian. He was supposed to be her happily-ever-after.

Brian had been there the first night Tucker called to speak to Sammy. He'd heard Rebecca talking with him in the background. And Brian had been in a lot of the pictures, the ones that Margaret sent of Christmases and birthdays. He'd been in pictures at the house, too, in a couple on the wall beside the staircase and another one on the end table in the living room.

So where was his ring? Why wasn't Rebecca wearing his ring?

Could they be divorced? Maybe Rebecca had found out that being married to Brian the wonder boy wasn't all she thought it would be.

Tucker's heart beat faster at the thought that she might be free again.

So, he was slow to go to sleep in the too-short, too-narrow hotel bed, and he was slow to wake up, too, until he remembered what he wanted to do.

He squinted at the bright sunlight shining through the narrow gap in the drapes, then turned to find the clock. Seven-twenty on a Sunday morning. It wasn't too early, he thought, and reached for the phone.

He punched out a phone number he knew by heart, then cursed when he got her voice mail. He needed to ask Margaret Harwell some questions that he should have asked long ago.

* * *

Rebecca was composed by the time Tucker pulled into the driveway that morning. She knew she'd faltered yesterday. She'd been weak and let him get behind her defenses, let him get too close, but she wouldn't do that again.

She'd been a little crazy, thinking that he'd come back to stay, that she would have to see him on regular visits with Sammy and that she might not be able to stand that.

But she was getting way ahead of herself. Who was to say Tucker really would be around for long? She knew what he was like—here today, gone tomorrow. She had no reason to believe he had changed.

He was probably just curious about Sammy and feeling a little guilty. It would pass, and he would go away again. She just hoped he wouldn't hurt her little boy too much in the process.

"He's here!" Sammy must have been watching out the window, because Tucker hadn't even made it up the steps to the door when Sammy flung it open. The boy positively beamed, and all his father had done was return to their house for the second time in years.

Okay, Tucker was here. She could handle that. She could be civilized for a few minutes. Rebecca had decided to skip the soccer game. There'd be plenty of others for her to attend, and she didn't want to spend the time with Tucker. So all she had to do was get him back out the door with Sammy.

Tucker grinned at his son, and they both stood there, happy to see each other and unsure what to do about it.

She waited, unsure of what to do herself. She honestly did want Sammy to have a good relationship with his father, but she was also terribly afraid that Tucker would let the boy down.

"Hey, sport." Tucker ruffled Sammy's hair as Sammy leaned against Tucker's right leg, then gave it a hug.

Tucker paused, his eyes closed and his arm gripping the boy's shoulder to hold him close.

It did something funny to her heart, just seeing them together this way. All her vows to keep her distance and maintain some emotional stability appeared to be in jeopardy again today. Her heart was right in the middle of this, as exposed as it had always been around Tucker.

Tucker opened his eyes and caught her staring. What did that look on his face mean? It was so serious, so intense, so unsettling.

She wondered if he realized that he'd been given a very precious gift—a little boy's trust, a chance to win his heart, to share in his life.

Sammy was ready to give him that chance. She knew from the conversation they'd had this morning when she and Sammy had snuggled together in her bed.

A child could offer an amazing amount of forgiveness. Sammy hadn't asked why his father had left or why he'd stayed away so long. Sammy was simply happy Tucker was back and hoping he would stay this time.

"Good morning," Tucker said.

"Morning," she said.

And before she knew what was happening, he was much too close. She had no time to back away. All she could do was put up her hands to ward him off.

Too late.
She was too late. His lips, warm and soft, brushed her cheek, lingering for just a moment too long, unsettling her more than she would have believed possible. He caught her left hand in his and held it for a moment longer than necessary while he studied it.

"Where's Brian?"

His voice was gruff, and danger glittered in his beautiful eyes.

She tugged on her hand, and he finally released it, but he didn't stop looking at her that way. What did he know? What was he after?

"He's in Naples."

She didn't want to explain he'd moved there, but Sammy jumped in.

"He moved far away, 'n' I miss him," Sammy said. "He was s'pposed to come to my game today."

"Moved?" Tucker turned back to her with a smile on his face. A dangerous smile.

If she didn't know any better, she'd swear that Tucker knew what happened yesterday between her and Brian.

It was wrong of her to want to use Brian as a shield from Tucker, but she was desperate. She would have done it, but now she couldn't.

"Yes," she admitted. "Brian took a new job in Naples a little while ago."

"Yeah, 'n' now he wants us to come live with him," Sammy added innocently.

Tucker didn't look so sure of himself anymore, and Rebecca, who'd been ready to strangle her son a minute ago, now gave him a quick hug.

"You guys need to get going if you want to grab something to eat before the game."

"You're not coming?" Tucker said.

She managed to smile at him, very sweetly. "I thought I'd give you two some time alone. Besides, it'll give me a chance to catch up on some work."

"But, Mom! It's the first game." Sammy looked so distressed.

"I know, sweetie, but there'll be lots of others for me to see."

He slipped his little hand into hers and looked up at her with big, worried eyes.

She was trapped, Rebecca realized. Trapped by a pair of worried brown eyes and mother-guilt, one of the most powerful weapons a child had, one that Sammy wielded like a pro when it suited him.

"No," she said, feeling defeated and defenseless as she gave in, "I guess I can't miss the first one."

* * *

Sammy thought he probably shouldn't have eaten the hotdog. His tummy felt all fluttery at first, and then it started to hurt. He'd had a good time so far. He'd walked right beside his dad, holding his hand and introducing him to all of his friends at the ball field, even Jimmy Horton.

But now it was time for the game to start, and he didn't feel so good. He had trouble remembering where he was supposed to stand and what he was supposed to do. And he couldn't always keep up with the bigger kids.

Lots of people were here today, too, and he didn't like the way they were all watching. He felt like everyone was waiting to see if he messed up during the real game the way he did at practice.

He looked out across the sidelines until he found his mom. She smiled and blew him a kiss.

Then he found his dad, and his tummy started fluttering again. He didn't want to mess up in front of his dad.

* * *

It was a parent's nightmare.

Rebecca and Tucker sat on the sidelines in their folding camp chairs, each holding their breath, waiting and worrying.

Sammy had finally been sent into the game, and he seemed a little confused. He didn't know where to stand.

"What's the matter with him?"

"He'll be fine," Rebecca said, and hoped she was right. "He just gets a little confused in the game sometimes."

"But—"

"What?" Rebecca finally took her eyes off the field and looked at the man sitting next to her.

He was driving her crazy. If she had to introduce him to one more woman at the soccer field and watch them get all flustered and start worrying about their hair or their clothes, she would scream.

Tucker smiled and women went nuts. They were falling all over themselves trying to get an introduction, and then they gave her that look. A look that said, "You'd have to be crazy to divorce him."

"He just looks so—" Tucker shrugged, looked a little sheepish, but continued "—so little out there, so lost."

Rebecca watched him, brushed her hands across her eyes and wondered if she was seeing what she thought she was seeing. He still looked the same as he had a moment ago—worried, all because his son looked a little unsure of himself on the soccer field.

She found it positively endearing for all of three seconds.

Wait a minute, she reminded herself. This was Tucker. She knew this man. She knew what he was like, and he wasn't the kind of man to get all bent out of shape because his kid had a hard time on the soccer field.

"What's the coach doing?" he said anxiously.

The coach, Bill MacGuire, took Sammy by the hand, showed him his spot and pointed him in the right direction, then motioned to the referee to let the game begin.

Rebecca watched in terror as the whistle blew and every little boy but hers started scrambling down the field toward the ball.

Sammy just froze while the ball and the boys bounced all around him.

Rebecca leaned a little closer to Tucker, and she didn't object when he leaned toward her and put his arm around her.

Sammy still hadn't moved.

"Rebecca?"

"Give him a minute. It's the first game."

People on the sidelines were starting to notice now. They whispered and pointed at the sad little boy frozen in place on the field.

The ball whizzed past Sammy, and he didn't even try to get it. All the other boys circled around him, scrambling for the ball, and Sammy just stood there.

Finally someone kicked the ball out of bounds, and with a whistle, the game came to a halt again.

Rebecca reached out her hand, and Tucker grabbed it and held on tight.

One of the other coaches went out onto the field to talk to Sammy. He knelt down beside the boy to get down to eye level with him, and Rebecca prayed that the man wouldn't put too much importance on Sammy's problems.

The coach left the field, and Sammy stayed where he was. The whistle blew again, and for a minute she thought Sammy was going to move down the field toward the ball, but he didn't. He just stood there, looking so lonely that it tugged at her heart.

Tucker stood up and took a step forward.

Rebecca grabbed him. "Where are you going?"

"I'm going to get him."

"No, you're not."

"Rebecca! We can't just leave him there."

"You'll make it worse. Besides, the coach is handling it."

The coach made his way back to Sammy for another talk. Sammy nodded and looked down at his shoes, then into the stands to find them. Rebecca tried not to look worried but was sure she failed miserably.

"Smile," she told Tucker.

He groaned.

The coach walked away, once again leaving Sammy on the field.

Rebecca found her hand tucked back into Tucker's, and she gave his a squeeze.

"This happened at the beginning of practice, and I carried him off the field then. But at the next practice, all the kids made fun of him and called him a mama's boy."

Tucker cursed. "That's a hell of a way for kids to treat one another."

"Yeah, it is. But... "

"Of course, it's not anything like having your father turn his back on you and disappear for years, now is it?"

Surprise held Rebecca silent, that and not knowing what to say. He sounded almost as bitter as she was, and that wasn't anything she expected from him.

She liked it much better when she saw him as cold and unfeeling, unconcerned and unworthy of the child who had sprung from the ashes of their marriage.

So what had changed? She had no idea.

The whistle blew again, and they stared at the field together.

Why did everything have to be so hard for her little boy? He took things so seriously, and he worried so much. Sammy would be agonizing over this for months.

He'd never hear the end of it from the other kids. And he'd never forget that his father had witnessed the whole fiasco.

"He's not going to budge, is he?" Tucker said.

"I don't think so," Rebecca admitted, then checked her watch. "But I'm pretty sure the game's almost over."