Tate (12 page)

I slid back on the bed beside her. “Maisie,” I said, touching my forehead to hers. “I’ll be careful and gentle, because I want this to be special.”

“Tate! For God’s sake, stop talking!”

“I can’t rush this, as bad as I want to. I have to take my time, Maisie. There’s an emotion here that I want to make sure we both feel. I want to experience you. It’s taken us a while to get here, so let’s take our time. First, this is all new to me, and I need to admire. I need to explore.” My hands roamed a body that I’d fantasized about and it was better than I could have dreamed. She was beautiful.

I felt soft, gentle touches as she appreciated my body and finally, she gasped, “I can’t wait any longer. If you’re going to make love to me, do it now.”

“I like this command,” I said, touching her in a way that had her squirming beneath me.

“It’s not a command, Tate. I’m begging,” she whispered and pulled me on top of her. As she did, she arched for me. I slid the condom in place and slowly entered her body as she cried out in pleasure. I rested my body on top of hers. Finally, we made love.

***

Maisie

The next morning when I woke, I rolled over to find Tate looking at me. I felt an unexpected feeling came over – happiness.

“You’re awake already?” I asked.

“For a while. I woke up and thought I was dreaming,” he smiled and pulled me closer. “But there you were, sleeping just inches from me and I just couldn’t take my eyes away. I kept reliving every moment of last night because I didn’t want to forget a second of what we shared.” His kiss was passionate and I could feel myself allowing it to seep deep into my soul.

“I didn’t know how bad I needed you, Tate.”

“Maisie,” he said against my lips, kissing me senseless. “Was it the sex that you needed?”

“No,” she said quickly. “You said we wouldn’t have sex; you said that we’d make love. That’s what I’ve been waiting for. That’s what I needed from you. Thank you for staying with me.”

“I’m not sure you really understand that there isn’t another place on earth that I want to be.”

I wrapped my arms around him and said, “Me neither.”

He drove me to work. I was floating on a cloud. Making love with him was not only amazing - it was life changing in so many ways. Dion was there when I entered the shop. Tate followed close behind me.

“I saw your car here when I pulled in, and thought you were sleeping in the back again, but this,” he said, grabbing my face with one hand and pinching my cheeks together, “this says everything without saying anything at all.” He crossed his arms across his chest and looked at Tate. Dion gave him one of his mmm hmmm looks and said, “This paints a whole different picture!”

“Shut up, Dion,” I laughed.

“I think I’m gonna cry,” he said, dramatically. “The Ice Queen has melted. I won’t miss that bitch!”

Tate just stood there, not knowing what to say or do. “I need to go,” he said, “But I don’t want to miss any of this!” Laughing, he came to me. He wrapped me in his arms and kissed the top of my head. “I’ll call you in a little while.”

After he was gone, Dion plopped his butt on the corner of my desk and handed me a cup of coffee fixed exactly the way I liked it. “Girl, you got something to tell Dion?” He was speaking in his sassy voice, and wore a smirk.

“I know if I don’t, you won’t shut up the rest of the day, and neither of us will get anything done,” I laughed. “First, did you get my notes on another dress for Ami?”

“Yeah, sure. Dress for the bitch. Now spill, sister!”

I sat quietly a minute, gathering my thoughts. Dion knew. He’d been with me for a long time. He came along just after everything with Kitty. He’d been there through my courtship with Blake, and through my devastation after the accident. When he thought I’d had enough time grieving, he started calling me the Ice Queen. I knew he did it to help move me forward from my self-imposed exile. Both he and Carlene nagged me like old biddies. He was a good friend and I was blessed to know that.

“I’ll start by saying he’s persistent.” As I said the words, I felt a smile cross my lips – it surprised me. Dion saw it too. “The afternoon he picked up the suits and tux, he followed me home. I saw him, it was like he wanted to make sure I got there – protective, I think.”

“Oh girl! Tres Doux!”

“Oh, Dion, I love when you say that, it sounds so much sexier than ‘very sweet’! When I finally gave into his persistence and agreed to go to dinner with him, he did the same thing. I saw him sitting across the street in his truck. After a while I called him and told him if he was going to sit outside and watch over the house he might as well come in. I told him about Blake. We talked for a long time, and I guess I fell asleep. He covered me with a blanket and left me. When I woke up, I found a note beside me.”

“Oh! A gentleman!” he said, with an exaggerated sigh.

“When I went to Florida with him, we went to Disney World and I swear, Dion, there were more fireworks than Mr. Walt Disney ever dreamed! Disney’s fireworks were nothing compared to what I experienced with Tate. I slept with him, Dion…”

“Girl!” he exclaimed.

“Slept, Dion. Slept. I thought about it. Dreamt about it. I wanted to, but I wasn’t ready. He held me all night, and I cried. Not for Blake,” I added quickly. “I
was
thinking about Blake, but I was thinking about how to let goo - how to let Tate in. I think letting Blake go is why I cried. I didn’t feel guilty. I felt gloriously happy. I’d forgotten that feeling.”

“So romantic,” he said, thumping his chest. “Does Carlene know?”

“Not about last night. Dion?”

“Yes, my sweet friend?”

“I like him.”

“Be a free spirit, Maisie! It’s been too long. Have fun. See where you land. If he’s not the one, then you’ll have an experience behind you to carry you to the next one.”

“But Dion,” I said in a quiet voice. “I told Carlene that I’m praying he
is
the one.”

“Then I will, too,” he said with a smile. “Lets look at ideas for Ami’s dress.”

Chapter Five

Tate

When I left Maisie, I felt as though I’d left a piece of me behind. My heart and my arms felt empty. I was already anticipating when I would see her again. I wondered what she and Dion talked about after I left, but I didn’t care as long as she and I were still good when I called her. I didn’t have to wonder for long. Just after noon, my phone rang. I looked at the display and found her beautiful face looking back at me. It was a picture that I’d taken of her in front of Cinderella’s Castle, and I smiled.

“Hello, beautiful lady.”

“Stop,” she laughed. “I called to see if you have plans for dinner…”

“Missing me already?” I teased.

“I reckon,” she said in the softest voice. I could feel the blush on her cheeks radiate through the phone. “I was thinking about doing something that I haven’t done in a really long time.”

“What might that be?” I chuckled.

“Cook.”

“Oh, I see, and you need a guinea pig for this experiment?” I joked.

“Only if chicken and dumplings sound good to you. The temp keeps dropping and they’re calling for snow, lots of it. Chicken and dumplings feels warm just thinking about it.”

I hesitated and finally asked, “Am I bringing clothes with me?”

“Do you want to?”

“Don’t play, Maisie. I need to know. This is important to me,” I told her.

“Pack a bag. We’re supposed to get 5 or 6 inches.”

“You’ll get a bonus, then,” I teased. “I can’t wait to see you.”

“Me too.”

I heard the smile in her voice as she replied. I knew that sometimes my taunts embarrassed her, but I could feel her opening up.

It was after six when I arrived. The snow was falling hard, accumulating rapidly. When she answered the door, she was wearing sweats and had pulled her hair into a ponytail that seemed to sprout from the top of her head.

“Sexy,” I said, and she laughed. “Dang. Something sure smells good.”

She motioned me toward the living room. I dropped my things at the end of the sofa and had a seat. Maisie went to the kitchen and returned a moment later with two snifters.

“Brandy – I believe that it warms the soul.”

“Maisie,” I said as I watched her. “Can we just sit here and talk for a little while?”

“Sure. That’d be nice.”

“Are we OK?”

“What on earth do you mean?” she inquired.

“Timing. Am I moving too fast for you? Am I rushing you?” I asked, hesitantly.

“Am I moving too fast for
you
?” she replied. “I thought the pace last night was just right, but maybe you wanted it slower?”

“Oh, now
you’re
taunting
me
,” I laughed.

“Just my way to let you know that I like this pace.”

“Maisie, the pace last night was perfect. Slow and steady out of the gate and then fast and furious the closer we got to the finish,” I replied, and I swear the blush on her face warmed the entire room.

We talked about the day, and finally, cautiously, I asked, “Will you tell me about your dad?”

“I can’t.” She looked up at me with wide eyes filled with sadness. “I don’t even know his name. Honestly, I don’t even want to. I was raised with my mom’s maiden name – Evans.  Maisie Lee Evans. Maybe his name was Lee,” she said as she shrugged her shoulders, “but I seriously doubt that she even knew his name.”

“I know that he was a bus driver for some country band that drove through Nashville in the fall of 1983, and they hooked up. I would assume that Kitty thought he was part of the band. Granny said she was an incessant groupie. She followed every band that came through town into a bar, looking for a ticket out. She was a looker, so it was easy for her to catch their eye.”

She rose from the sofa and went to a cabinet, returning with a picture. I took the picture Maisie handed me, and looked. The woman in the photograph was a beautiful blonde. I saw the shape of Maisie’s face, the full, pouty lips, but I didn’t see the same beauty I saw when I looked at Maisie. She was stunning; her mother was just beautiful in a different way. I looked up and she must have read my mind.

“No one in Granny’s family had any sign of red hair, so I guess my father must have had some redheads in his, or maybe he had the red hair that gave me the hint of dark auburn. Granny said my mom was trouble her whole life. Kitty - she wouldn’t even let me call her Mom - left me at Granny’s so she could party. She wasn’t around much at all. As I got older, I found my life in books. One summer, I read the original thirty-four books in the Nancy Drew series. Granny had a cedar closet and I sat in that closet to read them because I loved the smell. There was a single light bulb with a string to pull it on. It was my sanctuary. I devoured those books sitting in that closet.”

“And then Granny introduced me to a sewing machine. She taught me to sew, and I made aprons like a fool. I sold them at a church bazaar and the ladies loved them so much that they asked for more and more. They bought them as gifts and for holidays. I saved every penny that I didn’t spend on supplies and bought a second-hand sewing machine that did more than Granny’s old one. That was when I began to explore my creativity.”

“I made my own clothes, and then I started making vests, and they weren’t just any old vest - they were elaborate and fun. You know about Carlene and me. When I met her my whole life changed. When Kitty was killed,” she said, and paused, looking down at the pillow she’d been fiddling with on her lap. “When Kitty died, I was sad because I knew I wouldn’t even miss her. She was looking for Mr. Moneybags. I was nothing to her. Granny and Carlene – they were my family.”

I noticed as she spoke that she talked of Kitty as just another person, like a stranger that she was only aware of. There really was no emotion, no familial hint. I thought about my mama and the love and kinship we shared, and it saddened me.

Quiet a moment, she finally rose from the sofa and said, “Goodness, I’ve rambled on long enough. I need to go check the chicken.”

I stood and reached for her hand, pulling her to me. “Maisie, you are beautiful – inside and out. You’re strong, and I’m glad Audra thought of you as the one to tailor me.” I drew her closer, wrapping her in my arms. I held her, drinking in the smell of her – a smell that was becoming part of me. It was warm and sugary, and I knew that I wanted to smell it forever. Whether she was ready or not, she had become an integral part of me, a piece of me that I didn’t think I could live without.

“I’m glad, too,” she said, and pulled away to go to the kitchen.

She filled bowls with the chicken and dumplings – a small bowl for her, a much bigger bowl for me – and carried them to the living room.

“We can eat right here if you’d like. It’s comfy,” she suggested.

“I like comfy,” I said, and watched to see where she’d sit. She sat Indian style, curled up with a blanket at the other end of the sofa with the bowl on her lap.

“Tate, I don’t want what I told you about Kitty to sound like I had a horrible life. I just had a horrible mother. She should have had an abortion,” she said wistfully.

“But Maisie, the beautiful gift that you are is the result of her not making that choice.”

“Granny made me beautiful. She had the biggest heart, and she loved me enough for both of them.” She paused, thoughtful, and then said, “Tell me about
your
mom. Talking about mine exhausts me.”

“She’s little,” I said, shoveling a bite of the chicken and dumplings in my mouth. “Not like you. Wow, this is good. She’s a firecracker, and she’s got the best laugh I’ve ever heard. It’s a big, loud, belly laugh coming from this little bit of a woman. When you hear it, you know she means it. When we were kids, my dad was hardly ever home. This is really good,” I repeated and shoved another spoonful in my mouth.

“Mama worked really hard to keep us busy. She planted a garden that we had to tend to and got us pigs. She named the damned things Bacon and Eggs.”

“Oh my goodness,” Maisie roared. “That’s just so wrong!”

“And yet you laughed! After my dad left, the girls were pretty much grown, so Mama worked harder to keep me outta trouble. Did I say this was good?”

“Once or twice. Would you like some more?”

“I would never be rude and decline such an offer,” I replied with a wink. “I’ll get it.”

“You’re funny,” she said, “and cute, but mostly sweet. I’ll get it.”

She went to the kitchen and returned with another bowlful for me. We chatted a while longer and finally, I took my bowl to the kitchen, rinsed it, and placed it in the dishwasher.

“It’s piling up out there,” I said, looking out the window. I made my way back to the sofa. Kicking my boots off, I sat closer to Maisie and pulled her blanket across my lap too, slipping my arm around her shoulder.

“Go to the release party with me at Dean Schomann’s. It’s a week from Saturday.”

“I can’t.”

“Other plans?” I asked.

“No. I’m just…” she stammered.

“You have to go out with me some time - might as well be the release party.” I scooted closer and whispered in her ear. “I’d be proud to have you as my date. Andy and Marco will be there.”

“Oh, my. What on earth happened to my quiet life?”

An hour later, she said she was ready for bed. I looked out the window. “Come look.”

She stood beside me to peek. “Looks like we might get snowed in…”

I crawled in bed and waited while Maisie was in the bathroom. When she came out, I threw back the covers for her to join me. She turned to face me.

“Thank you for being here.”

“I love here,” I said, and drew her to me for a kiss.

“I want to go to the party with you but I’m nervous.”

“Why?”

“What if I don’t fit in?” she asked.

“I don’t want you to ‘fit in’. I want you to be the beautiful Maisie that you are. I want you to join me and have fun.”

She started to say something but I wasn’t done. “You don’t have to answer me now. Think about it, Maisie. Besides, there’s something else I want to do with that beautiful mouth.”

Pulling her closer, I pressed my lips to hers. My tongue slipped in and I felt her body let go, melting into me, and I held her closer. She arched her body to meet mine. I felt her hands on my back, pulling me even closer.

“Maisie,” I whispered. “We aren’t going to make love tonight. I want to hold you. I want you to think about what you want. I want inside you in a different way tonight.”

She pushed back and looked at me with questioning eyes.

       “I want inside your head. I want to take over your thoughts – your heart.”

***

Maisie

I didn’t reply because he was already in control of my mind, body and soul. My heart was all that was left.

The next morning, I slipped from Tate’s arms and out of the bed. I went to the kitchen to start coffee. While I waited, I peeked out the window to find the snow was almost to the middle of the tires on his truck. It would be awhile before a plow came through. I knew we weren’t going anywhere anytime soon. When the coffee finished brewing, I fixed two cups. I carried them to the bedroom and set them on the table beside the bed. I just stood there looking at the beautiful man sleeping in my bed. Suddenly, like a soft breeze, I felt my trepidation and anxiousness float away. I felt my heart beating just for him. Slowly, his eyes opened and he saw me standing there.

“Get back in here. It’s cold,” he said in a sleepy voice.

“Do you need me to turn the heat up?”

“Just body heat,” he said with a sleepy grin, pushing his hair away from his eyes. “Is that coffee I smell?”

I nodded, and he sat up a little. I handed him the cup and crawled in beside him.

“What were you doing just then?”

“Letting go,” I replied.

***

Tate

The roads hadn’t been cleared and the sun refused to show itself, so we were snowed in all day Thursday. I could have gone home, but Maisie didn’t appear ready for me to leave. Finally, on Friday morning, I told her I needed to go.

“I don’t want to leave, but I have to go get Sadie.”

“Sadie?” she asked.

“She’s my girl. She’s been with me for almost ten years,” I smiled.

“Your girl?” she asked, with a look I couldn’t quite explain.

“My eighty-five pound chocolate lab. You will love her,” I said with a grin.

“A dog? Where is she now? You’ve been here for a couple of days.”

“I called Deidre when it looked like the snow might get bad. My office is close to home. She went to my place and picked Sadie up to take home with her. She hangs out at the office when I’m gone all day.”