The Chocolate Garden (Dare River Book 2) (27 page)

When he suggested she take the bedroom closest to his since it was a softer tone of burgundy, she blushed, nodded, and ran off like her tail was on fire.

Yes, she knew he’d want to make love to her at some point. Part of her wanted to put it off as long as possible because she was still haunted by the ghost of her couplings with Sterling. Whenever she thought about how it might be different with John Parker, her ex-husband’s cruel voice taunted her, and she wanted to pound her head against the wall.

Why can’t you respond more?

Maybe if I’m rougher, you’ll like it.

It’s not my fault you didn’t enjoy it.

Every other woman I’ve been with loves this. What’s wrong with you?

And then she thought of all of the silent nights between them after he’d stopped reaching for her—how relieved she’d been even through the thick haze of guilt and shame about her failing as a woman, a wife.

It could be the same with John Parker, and the very idea sickened her. Would he stop loving her?

Part of her knew sex could…well,
not
suck, but she only knew that from books or movies, not from her own life. And everyone knew some women just didn’t care for it. Perhaps there was something wrong with her, something that made her eternally on that list.

But she was the new Tammy, and that meant discovering new things rather than succumbing to fear. She downloaded a few e-books on women’s sexuality and read them after the kids had gone to bed, almost worried someone would catch her, which was silly.

But books weren’t enough, so she summoned all her bravery and asked Tory to take a walk with her before she and Rye departed. Her sister-in-law just smiled and reached for her hand. The act was so loving and sister-like, Tammy knew she’d sought out the right person.

They strolled together to the river and sat on the bench Rye had installed there. On the rough wood, he’d carved his initials and his wife’s with a heart in between, a gesture both boyish and sweet. The heat was stifling, so much so it felt like it would give Tammy a glass of hot water for tea if she could wring it like a sponge.

“For a while now,” Tory told her, “I haven’t wanted to come out to the river, since this is how
he
got in. But Rye told me he wasn’t going to let that man take our favorite place away from us, so we came out here last night to go swimming.”

Tammy wondered if they’d gone skinny dipping. Part of her thought it might feel delicious, but she also feared some trout sucking at her skin with its ugly mouth. Or worse, someone catching her buck naked outside.

“So, I need to ask you something,” she finally said, and felt like her cheeks were as hot as the sun. “About…well, gosh, this is really embarrassing, and I’m beyond mortified…”

Tory turned on the bench and faced her. “Just spit it out. You know you can ask me anything.”

“Ah…well…it’s…about sex.”

Her sister-in-law’s mouth parted for a moment before muttering,
“Oh.”

She cleared her throat. “You see, we never talked about it growing up, and…being married wasn’t the best reference…and now with John Parker… I don’t have anyone else to ask.”

Tory’s cheeks matched her red top now. “I see. It’s okay, Tammy. Tell me what you want to know.”

All of the questions she’d come up with would have filled at least a dozen note cards. Right now they were all blurred like the slurry in the river. “Do you like it?” she asked, a tremor in her voice. “I mean…I…ah…didn’t, and Sterling made me think it was me, but…”

“Oh Tammy.” Tory’s mouth was grim. “Sterling was a horrible man, and I’m so sorry he made sex…”

“Suck,” she supplied, and they both laughed.

“Yes, suck. We didn’t talk about sex in my family either, you know. My parents died before I was old enough to know, and my grandparents were old-fashioned. What I learned I read in books until I tried it a few times in college. I enjoyed it okay, but I didn’t feel any of the fireworks I’d heard about, but with Rye…”

She got that dreamy look on her face Tammy sometimes envied.

“It’s like that with Rye and so much more. There’s warmth and love and fun and passion, and honestly, both of us hate to go even a day without being together in that way.” Her laughter was self-conscious, and it ended quickly.

Her assurances allowed Tammy’s fists to unclench in her lap. “I’ve heard you laughing down here,” she admitted, “and I see the way you and Rye look at each other. I…knew it didn’t suck for you two.”

This time Tory’s laughter was free and loud. “I’m glad you could tell…and that you felt comfortable enough to ask me.”

“It wasn’t something I could talk about to Amelia Ann. She’s well…I think she’s still a virgin, and Rye…”

More laughter from her sister-in-law. “I would almost have paid money to hear what Rye would have said. He’s come a long way from when I first met him. I think he might have surprised us both, but it would have made him want to kill Sterling again. Not that I don’t. I just won’t.”

She couldn’t imagine how mortified she would have been trying to talk to Rye about
that.
“I know John Parker isn’t Sterling, but I still…”

“Get afraid? Tammy, being truly intimate with someone is the scariest and most exhilarating feeling in the world. When Rye and I first…ah…came together, I thought it was temporary, but I cared about him so much, I was willing to risk it. After we’d been together for a while, I was even more afraid about losing him because I didn’t know how he felt. With you and J.P….well, you know he loves you, and that changes everything.”

Her sister-in-law had a good point. Knowing that did change things.

“Tell John Parker how things were with Sterling. Trust me. He’ll love you and heal you at the same time. And you’ll see how different everything can be when there’s true love between two people.”

Healing through sex? Wasn’t that a brain freeze?

“But I don’t know if I love him.”

“Are you sure? I see the way you two look at each other.”

“But everything has happened so fast…”

“He seems like a man who will give you space when you say you need it. Now Rye…”

The laughter they shared was freeing, and they held hands as the river rushed past them, muddy brown and soothing.

“Thank you, Tory. I know this was horribly awkward...”

Tory pulled her in for a hug, “Nothing’s awkward between sisters.”

As they walked back to the house, Tammy realized that, for the first time in as long as she could remember, her body felt as open and lush as the land stretched out before them, basking in the sun’s rays.

Chapter 29

Rye was hefting Rory and Annabelle’s bikes out of his truck when John Parker walked outside.

“Tammy wanted to talk to Tory before we left,” Rye said, “so I thought I’d pop on by with more of the kids’ stuff.”

Sensing there was more, John Parker just nodded and wheeled the pink bike to his garage. Rye would say his piece when he was good and ready.

“I’m keeping the guards at the house so no one will think it’s abandoned,” his friend said.

“Sounds like a fine idea.” It was understood they were both frustrated by the police’s lack of progress in finding the intruder.

He opened the door with the side panel by inputting the code, and inside they went. This room was like all the rest in his house—filled with signs of the woman he loved and her children. Everywhere he looked, their things were sitting next to his, and the sight of it swelled his heart.

“Why do I have a feeling all this is a baby step toward you marrying my sister?” Rye said, leaning against John Parker’s truck.

“You have a problem with that?” he asked, not bothering to deny his intentions.

“You know I don’t, especially since I know you’ll treat her with respect.”

They shared a glance. The whole big brother protectiveness thing was thick in the air between them, and John Parker wondered how he’d feel when his sisters finally found long-term partners. He probably wouldn’t be too different from Rye when it came down to it.

“You know I will.”

“Okay, now let’s go see if they’re ready to come over. Tory and I thought it might be easier on the kids if we got them settled before saying our goodbyes.”

“Sounds like a good plan.”

They rode in Rye’s truck, and when Rye’s song, “Country Heaven,” came on the radio, he said, “I am one lucky man,” and turned up the music and started to sing.

As John Parker listened to Rye’s account of his love story with his now wife, he wondered how his and Tammy’s own story would turn out. Every moment with her and the kids made him feel like he’d found his true home.

When they pulled up to Rye’s house, Rory came rushing outside with Annabelle. Both of them had their backpacks on, one pink and the other blue. Hampton wasn’t far behind, and he was carrying Bandit, who was still sore and stiff, but was finding his feet again.

“We’re ready to go, Uncle Rye,” Rory said. “Hi, Mr. McGuiness.”

“Hey, Rory.”

“Hey, Mr. McGuiness,” Annabelle said and held her arms out.

John Parker pulled her up, and she kissed him on the cheek. “Thanks for letting us stay at your house so the bad man can’t find us.”

Part of him wanted to assure them that the bad man would never find them, but since the police still didn’t have a suspect, he couldn’t. And he would never lie to them. He caught Rye’s gaze and nodded.

“You bet, sweetheart,” he said. “Is your mama ready?”

“Almost. She and Aunt Tory were laughing outside.”

“It was nice to hear them that way,” Hampton said, trailing after the kids.

Sure enough, when Tammy and Tory finally emerged from the woods arm in arm they looked like they’d been laughing. There was a bounce in their steps.

“I hear everyone’s ready to go,” he said, trying not to stare at Tammy like he wanted to swallow her whole.

“Yes,” Tammy replied, and in her eyes, there was something soft and open he hadn’t seen before.

“Now who wants to ride with Uncle Rye and who wants to ride with Mama?” Rye asked.

Rory went with Rye and John Parker, who bundled the rest of the dogs into the back of the truck. Annabelle went with Tammy, and Tory joined Hampton since he would be leaving straightaway as well. Amelia Ann had said her goodbyes the night before.

When they arrived at the house, the kids kicked off their shoes by the door at Tammy’s request, though John Parker told her not to worry about tracking in dirt.

She only looked at him and said, “We won’t be muddying up your house, John Parker,” and he immediately fired back, “My house is y’all’s house.”

There was a shift between them, almost like the first shot had been fired on a battlefield, and he knew she was going to do everything she could to remind herself, the kids, and him that this situation was temporary.

Well, Rye had read him like a book. He was of another mind.

The kids dropped their backpacks on their small beds, one with a comforter decorated with dancing sunflowers, and the other with puppies playing. They looked around, as if taking in how the new space had been redesigned for them. All the adults’ eyes were on them to see how they reacted. Rye settled Bandit into his bed in the corner, and Charleston, who had led them into the room as though she’d been hired as their personal valet, plopped down beside him. Barbie trotted beside Annabelle, who immediately picked up her blond princess doll, which had been waiting for her at the head of her bed, and clutched it to her chest.

Bullet and Banjo were off playing in the woods since Rye had already said goodbye to them, and John Parker prayed they would be on their best behavior.

“Your uncle and I have a surprise for you,” he told the kids finally, and Tammy glanced at him, a look of wonder in her eyes. “It’s outside. But you’ll need to put your shoes back on, and let’s leave your dogs here to keep Charleston company.”

A short while later, everyone was trekking through the woods near his property. The kids spotted it at the same time, “
Oh, my gosh.
”

Nestled between two giant oaks, the tree house he, Rye, and Hampton had constructed with the help of the carpenter who’d built the mill, stood six feet off the ground. Freshly painted red, the white door on the front was a whimsically designed landscape with gumdrops, candy cane flowers, and a sunflower for a sun, his sister’s artistic work. There was a long ramp leading up to the house, and Annabelle was already halfway up before she turned around and asked, “Is it safe, Rory?”

Her brother had hung back, but he looked up at Rye, who nodded. Then he said, “It’s okay, Annabelle,” and ran to join her, grabbing her hand as they walked inside.

“The kids love their tree house so much,” Rye said, “I couldn’t bear for them to have to give that up too. Come on inside, y’all. Amelia Ann decorated it for the kids with John Parker’s sister, Susannah.”

Tammy had her hand over her mouth like she was trying not to cry. Then she firmed her shoulders and lowered it. “So this is what y’all were crawling off to do in the early mornings this week. It’s so beautiful, and I love y’all so much right now. John Parker, please thank Susannah for me too.”

“I expect you’ll see her around the house sometime soon, but she was happy to help.”

He kissed her cheek, something he hadn’t done in front of her family, and her eyes widened for a second before going all soft again. Yes, things were definitely shifting between them.

The adults followed the kids through the door, and Tammy said, “
Oh, my goodness
,” just like the kids had, losing the composure she’d assembled.

They’d painted the large room inside the tree house a happy yellow and added some white trim to the square holes they’d cut to serve as windows. They’d stained the floor a honey brown, and Amelia Ann had added a simple navy rug. His sister had painted hearts on one wall and sunflowers on another. On the remaining two, her brush had given life to a castle and a knight crossing a drawbridge. Susannah had always been a talented artist, and it felt good to have his family’s imprint on the tree house, like they were already embracing Tammy, Rory, and Annabelle.