Chapter 14

"He's grown some."Manley Bridgestone took Hank from Scarlett's arms and cradled his grandson. The little guy kicked his legs and cooed as his chubby arms reached for him.

A lump formed in Scarlett's throat, and she stood back, taking in a picture she thought she'd never see. She and Manley had a complicated past, as did all the Bridgestone kids when it came to their father. Once she'd poured an entire bottle of bourbon over his head when she'd found him passed out on the porch in the middle of a snowstorm.

She'd been twelve.

Her father raised his head and a look passed between the two of them. It was a look of knowing. Of shame. Acceptance. Of forgiveness. She knew he was a different man and that he'd been to hell and back to get to where he was. He'd been weak. The bottle had been stronger than his need to be a father and she couldn't fault him for that. Not really. He'd lost the love of his life. He was, after all, only human.

Losing that kind of love was the cost of giving your heart away. And as young as Scarlett was, she'd already learned her lesson. It was why she'd sworn she'd never do it again. And that begged the question. Why in hell was she hanging out with Taz Pullman? She knew she was playing with fire, but she couldn't seem to help herself.

Scarlet blushed, thinking of the other day. Of what she let him do to her. Of how it felt. Crap, just envisioning him between her legs had her blood heating and a pulse throbbing and if she was alone, her hand would be exactly where his mouth had been.

"I'd give anything to know what you're thinking about." Rosie, the one woman who'd been in her life for the entirety of it, walked out of the kitchen with a big smile. "Because I'm betting it's something spicy."

Rosie winked.

Scarlett blushed.

And Ryland made a face as he passed by on his way outside. "I don't want to know," he said over his shoulder before disappearing.

"That boy is going to break a million hearts in his lifetime," Rosie said, shaking her head. She eyed Scarlett. "And look at you. You look beautiful, doesn't she, Manley?"

"Just like a princess, Auntie Scar." Nora appeared from behind Rosie, wearing a pink tutu overtop a green bodysuit, her look completed with baby blue cowboy boots.

"Thank you, sweetie." Scarlett leaned down and kissed her niece. "You look like one yourself."

"Daddy said I'm the prettiest princess in the world." She twirled and giggled. "Even when I'm naughty."

"He's not wrong about that," Manley said with a wink. His face softened and he walked over to Scarlett. "You look just like your Mama."

That knot was back in Scarlett's throat, and she couldn't speak. She ruffled the hair on Hank's head and kissed her father's cheek just as there was a knock at the front door.

Her heart jumped, racing inside her chest, and along with it was her ability to breathe apparently, because she had to take a moment to gather herself. No way could Taz see the effect he had on her. She wasn't ready for that.

Manley crossed the hallway and opened the door. He introduced himself, said a polite hello and stepped aside.

Taz appeared, an appreciative smile on his face as he looked her over and that's when Scarlett knew the game had changed. Again. Already she was thinking past dinner and the dance. She wanted dessert.

His hair was damp, like he was not long out of the shower, and he was dressed simply in a plain black T-shirt, jeans and boots. The T-shirt showed off his muscular chest and biceps perfectly, while the worn jeans fit his long legs and butt to perfection. He had that unshaved look she loved, and his eyes appeared luminous in the low light. When he smiled and moved toward her?

Her panties were on fire. Her lady parts singing. Her blood boiling.

All that and the man hadn't said one word yet. And, she had an audience. Get your shit together, she thought, exhaling slowly as she dared to meet his gaze.

"Hi," she managed to say without sounding like a complete idiot.

"Evening," he replied, turning toward Rosie. "I don't think we've met. I'm Taz."

"That you are," Rosie replied, eyes dancing as she snuck a look toward Scarlett.

"Hey, I know you." Nora pushed past Scarlett until she was in front of Taz and looked up at him, her hands on her hips. "You're Cameron and Ryan's daddy."

"I am."

"What are you doing here?" she asked, peeking around him. "Did you bring them for a playdate?"

"Actually, they're at their grandmother's. I'm here for Scarlett."

Nora looked over her shoulder and giggled. "Auntie Scarlett. You have a boyfriend."

"That's enough now," Manley said gently. "The adults need to head out." He turned to Scarlett. "Have a good time and don't worry about the kids. I aim to tire them out and they'll sleep like angels."

"Thanks, Dad." Scarlett dropped one last kiss to her son's forehead. "All the bottles are prepared in the fridge; you just need to heat them up. You know where his diapers are. If he's fussy he likes to listen to Hotel California, and?—"

"We'll be fine, hon. Now go."

"Have a good evening, Mr. Bridgestone." Taz nodded to Rosie. "Ma'am." He stood aside and Scarlett walked past him and didn't stop until she reached his truck. "Hey, stop for a second," he said, his voice dropping to that low rumble that make her insides quake. "You look beautiful."

She'd left her hair loose; it shone with just a hint of purple now and fell in long waves over her bare shoulders. She'd chosen a plain baby blue cotton dress, strapless, with an A line that fell a couple inches above her knee, and wore white flats. Her makeup was simple, no need of blush because she was in a constant flush these days, and soft pink gloss on her lips. She had used a bit more eyeshadow than normal with some smoky grays and added a second coat of mascara, which gave her a more dramatic look.

His hand was on her chin, and she looked up at him, her reaction visceral. "I've been looking forward to this since Wednesday," he murmured, sweeping a kiss across her lips. "But I think we have an audience, so we'll have to continue this later."

Scarlett knew Rosie and her dad watched from the parlor window, heck if the positions were reversed, she'd be right there with them. Taz opened the passenger door and helped her into the truck, this touch warm and lingering while he leaned across and did up her seat belt. When he was buckled up beside her, he put the truck in reverse and shot her a questioning look. "Your brother left already I take it?"

She nodded. "Cal and Millie Sue met up with Benton in town. They had business or something, I wasn't paying attention."

"Where are we meeting them?"

Shit. She was really doing this. Going on a date with Taz Pullman. With her family. "Big Rock Eatery."

"Fancy," he said with a grin. "You ready?"

No.

"I guess we'll see," she replied lightly.

They chatted about nothing and everything on the ride to Big Bend. Taz was funny, charming, and witty. The man had her laughing until she was in tears by the time they made it to the restaurant. But the laughter dried up as soon as he helped her out of the truck. His touch was electric and her breath hitched at the feel of his hand on her hip.

"I was thinking an appetizer would be good right about now." Taz crowded her against his truck, his mouth at her neck, his breath hot. "Just to get me through. What do you think, Peaches?" He pulled her, his scent spicy. Seductive.

"A kiss?" she replied throatily.

She all but felt him smile against her. "How about a kiss and maybe a little feel."

Scarlett didn't get the chance to reply. Taz's mouth was on hers, the kiss aggressive and hungry. One hand at her hip held her in place, while the other roamed up and down her body, and pinched her nipples through the fabric of her dress.

She groaned at the sensation and would have fallen if not for that hand on her hip. Thank God she'd been weaning Hank for several weeks now, or who knows what kind of mess she'd have. As it was, her nipples were still sensitive and when he applied pressure once more, she tore her mouth away, breath ragged.

"We can't, out here."

He rested his forehead against hers. "Damn, I'm sorry. You make me lose my mind without even trying." Taz held her gently, the both of them struggling to get their breathing under wraps, and when her heart rate was somewhat normal, he dropped one last kiss on her mouth and winked.

"This place sure does serve up good appetizers."

Feeling confident and fierce, Scarlett grabbed his hand and they started for the restaurant. "The appetizer was good but I'm waiting on dessert."

"I don't suppose we can skip this dinner and the dance and head back to my place and get to the dessert part."

"No," she smiled lightly, enjoying herself.

"It's going to be one hell of a long night," Taz groaned, opening the door. His hand grazed her hip possessively as she walked inside Big Rock Eatery, then settled at the small of her back. He guided her toward a private room at the back of the place. They stood in the doorway for a moment, taking it all in, and she wondered if he was as nervous as she was about dinner with her family and friends. But then Millie Sue spotted them and there was no going back.

"You guys are late," she said, walking up to them.

"Only a couple minutes," Scarlett replied.

"We were busy checking out the appetizers," Taz winked.

Millie Sue looked at them both, eyes shrewd, expression shuttered. "I don't want to know." She pointed to the large table. "Come on, you two are over there."

They joined a large dinner party that not only included Millie Sue and her brothers, Cal and Benton, but Ollie and the rest of the boys in Cal's band, Dallas their ranch foreman, and Ivy and Mike Paul. Ivy however, sat at one end of the table, deep in conversation with the guitarist in Cal's band, while Mike Paul was at the other, slumped back in his chair, face dark, body language darker. Scarlett frowned. And here she thought the two of them had finally gotten their act together.

She sat down beside Ollie while Taz took the chair across from her, squarely between Ivy and Millie Sue. She accepted a glass of wine and tried to relax. But how could she? Her brothers, while polite, were not wholly committed to the idea of her and Taz, and Millie Sue kept whispering into his ear. She really didn't like her sister-in-law whispering into Taz's ear. She knew they were friends, but still…wasn't there some kind of girl code for that?

"Everything okay?" Ollie asked bumping her with his shoulder.

"I'm great," she replied, voice bright. Or she would be once she had Taz all to herself. All she had to do was get through dinner with her over-protective family, make an appearance at the dance, then convince Taz to take her back to his place and have his way with her. Shouldn't be too hard to do. Should it?

"This Taz guy, are you two serious?" Ollie asked quietly, leaning close so no one could hear their conversation.

"I've only known him for a few weeks, but it feels, when I'm with him...it's different. I can't explain it." She looked at the drummer. "Am I crazy?"

"Life is crazy." Ollie shrugged. "It's what you do with the craziness that matters. You either grab hold of it, embrace the crazy, or you run from it. But if you run then you'll never know."

"Never know what?"

"If it was worth it or not." He raised his wine glass. "Cheers to the crazy."