“Don’t worry about a thing,” Dana said, waving him off. “I can handle anything that comes up. You two just enjoy your evening.”

  “Did I tell you I sold my car?” Taylor asked as they passed through the front door on their way back to his house. “Since I’d already decided it wasn’t worth fixing, I asked your mechanic friend to have a look at it to see if he might want to buy it for parts or whatever. He said he’d give me a thousand bucks for it.”

  “That’s great. How’s the truck working out for you?”

  “I love it.” She tipped her head back, smiling at him. “Thank you again for that. It was incredibly generous.”

  “My pleasure.” There was nothing he wouldn’t do to make her light up like that.

  As they walked into his house, she said, “So, um, I’ve been meaning to talk to you about something.”

  He could tell she was wary, which made his gut clench. Please don’t tell me you’re leaving. “Okay. What is it?”

  “I got a large life insurance settlement when Trevor and the kids died.”

  “You did?” He frowned. “Then why are you working here? And why were you driving that old car—”

  “I didn’t want to spend the money. It didn’t feel right. But I know it’s crazy to have it sitting in some bank account when it could be doing some good.”

  “So what did you have in mind?”

  “Well, they’re still trying to raise money for the library at the elementary school, right? Sage said it burned down and they’ve been trying to raise the funds to rebuild it, since it’s not in the municipal budget and the insurance wouldn’t cover it because—”

  “Yeah, I know the story. But what does that have to do with…” Rush gripped her shoulders as he looked her in the eye. “You can’t seriously be thinking about donating your money to the school?”

  She shrugged, looking uncomfortable. “I’m a teacher, Rush. Who knows better than I do how much kids need books? Besides, my kids used to love it when I read them bedtime stories. It was always our favorite time of day. What better way to honor their memory?”

  “God, I love you,” Rush said, pulling her hard against his chest. “You are so incredible.”

  “Then you think it’s a good idea?”

  “I think it’s an amazing idea, if you’re sure you won’t need the money?”

  “I won’t.” She shook her head emphatically. “I don’t need much to get by. I can’t go on living here forever, but when it’s time for me to move, I can get a little apartment, and if I decide to go back to teaching, I’ll have no problem living off my salary.”

  Rush knew he couldn’t expect her to go on living and waitressing at the inn forever, but he loved spending every day with her, knowing he could catch a glimpse of her whenever he needed a pick-me-up. Just because she was considering a move into town eventually didn’t mean they couldn’t go on dating, did it?

  “Tell me what you’re thinking,” she said, patting his chest. “And don’t say nothing, Rush Davis. I know you better than that.”

  “It just, uh, sounds like you’ve been thinking a lot about what your life will look like if you decide to stay in Vista Falls. The teaching job, the apartment in town. Any chance you see a boyfriend in that plan?”

  Her lips twitched before she threaded her hand through his, leading them back to his place. “You honestly think I’d consider staying on here if I didn’t see you as a part of my life?”

  He knew this was all happening fast, and he didn’t want to take anything for granted. “I want you to do whatever feels right.” He kissed the back of her hand, his fingers still linked with hers. “Whether that means staying on here or moving into town and taking a teaching job, I’ll support you.”

  He didn’t want to give her any more to think about, especially since her mind must already be swimming with possibilities, but biting his tongue had never been his go-to response when something was on his mind.

  “So Dana’s been thinking about retiring for a while now.”

  “She has?” Taylor looked up at him, taking his breath away with a natural beauty he’d never expected to find in a woman with a heart as honest and pure as hers. “What would you do without her? Isn’t she pretty much your right hand around here?”

  “You can say that again.” He bit his lip, wondering if he was going out on a limb when he should be clinging to safety instead. “I guess I’ll have to look for someone to replace her. It won’t be easy, since she knows this place so well and doesn’t really have a true job description. She does a little bit of everything, whatever’s needed, but basically she helps me run the place.”

  “Like a manager then?”

  “Yeah, but more than that. She’s filled in for waitresses, housekeepers, hell, even the cook a time or two when I was in a real fix.”

  “Sounds like you need a Jack or Jill of all trades to replace her,” Taylor said, climbing the three steps leading to his front porch.

  “And someone I can trust.” He never would have guessed he could learn to trust someone in the short time he’d known Taylor, but he had. “I guess I need a partner.”

  He held his breath as she stopped in her tracks before turning to face him. “A partner? You’re thinking of selling part of the inn? But you’re working so hard to pay it off. Why would you do that?”

  “No, not a financial partner,” he said, shaking his head. “I guess I was hoping to find someone who loves this place as much as I do, who’s as invested in it as I am.” He glanced at the RV still parked in his lot. “I always imagined running this place with my wife, the way Ray and Helen did.”

  “Oh.” She stepped back, gripping the wood railing behind her.

  “Are you okay?” he asked, reaching out to steady her when it looked as if she might stumble.

  “Yeah, I’m fine. I just…” She rubbed her temple. “Um, do you think I could get a glass of water? It just occurred to me I haven’t had much to drink today. With this heat, I must be getting a little dehydrated.”

  “Yeah, sure. Come on in.” Rush knew she was trying to avoid his suggestion, which told him she wasn’t ready to talk about what their future might look like. She only wanted to consider what her future might look like.

  Chapter Fourteen

  Rush offered to walk Taylor back to her room instead of suggesting she spend the night with him. That was when she knew for sure they were in trouble, but she had a plan to get them back on track.

  When he tried to end their night with a brief kiss at her door, she pulled him in, deepening the kiss until he had her backed against the wall.

  “Come in,” she whispered, gripping his black T-shirt in her fists. “I need you tonight, Rush.” She could tell he was torn when he flattened his palm on the wall beside her head.

  “It’s not that I don’t want to. I do. It’s just…”

  “You’re just confused. You’re wondering why I blew you off earlier.” She knew they had to talk about her hesitation, but now was not the time. “I get that. And we’ll talk about it, I promise. Later.”

  She turned and unlocked her door before holding it open for him. “Please. Come in.”

  When he accepted the invitation, backing her into the small foyer with a scorching kiss, she sighed contentedly as she reached for the hem of his T-shirt, pulling it over his head. As her nails grazed his abs, she gave her eyes the pleasure of drinking him in while she licked her lips.

  “Keep lookin’ at me like that and we’re not even gonna make it to the bed,” he warned, reaching for the side tie of her denim wrap dress.

  “I love that you want me so much.” She was embarrassed to admit that her sex life had become stale before Trevor died. They’d both been so busy with work and kids and their commitments to their friends and the community that they’d been lucky to reconnect once a month.

  “You have no idea how much I want you. I can’t get enough of you.” He opened the dress slowly, groaning when he saw her pink floral bra and matching panties. “I think about you all day, every day, counting down the hours ‘til I can get you alone again.”

  They’d made love every day since that first time, sometimes several times a day, and she couldn’t remember having that kind of physical chemistry with anyone, not even Trevor. By now she should be getting her fill of Rush, but it seemed sex with him only fueled her hunger for more.

  “Me too.” She reached for his belt buckle. “There are so many things I want to do with you.”

  His blue eyes darkened with lust as he watched her remove his jeans, revealing navy boxer briefs. “Oh yeah? Like what? We’ve pretty much done it all.”

  “Not all.”

  She led him into the bedroom then pushed him down on the bed while she crawled on top of him. Running her hand down his muscular chest, she hooked her fingers into his boxers, drawing them down his thighs as she sank to her knees on the mattress. Lacing his hands behind his head, he closed his eyes.

  She loved that he wasn’t forcing her to do anything or trying to set the pace. He seemed content to lie back and let her take the lead, which she appreciated, since she was seriously out of practice. He drew in a deep breath when she took him in her hand, and she felt a surge of power and possessiveness. She wanted this man and never wanted another woman to have him.

  Giving him pleasure gave her more pleasure than she thought possible. By the time he reached for her, his voice raspy when he commanded her to stop, she practically groaned with disappointment. She wanted to finish what she had started, but he was having none of it. He flipped her onto her back on the mattress.

  “Why’d you stop me?” she asked, trying not to pout.

  “Because I’ve got other plans for you.”

  He rolled on a condom while she tried to get her bearings. She was so turned on, so desperate to find out what he had in store for her, that her hands roamed over her body while he watched.

  Rush pulled her to the edge of the mattress until her butt was hanging over the edge while he pressed her knees into her chest, positioning his body between her legs. “You turn me on, Tay. But even more than that, you turn me inside out.” The penetration was slow and deliberate as his eyes locked with hers. “I lose focus. I lose control. I forget who I was before I met you.”

  Her breath stuttered at his slow, sensual invasion, but even more from the intensity behind his words. He was telling her that she’d changed him. For the better. And she realized he’d done the same for her. Before, she had been someone’s wife, daughter, mother, teacher, and friend. But she’d forgotten who Taylor was when all of those titles were stripped away. Rush helped her remember.

  He made love to her slowly while she savored every second. Her body finally erupted while her heart thudded, reminding her she was alive.

  Pulling him close, feeling the tension in his body while he wrapped his strong arms around her, she whispered, “You brought me back to life. You know that, don’t you? Before I met you, I was dead inside. You revived me.”

  Rush seemed shocked by her words before his body finally gave way to the mounting pleasure that had been building. Lying against her, breathless from exertion, he kissed her temple. “I want to go on giving life to your dreams, Tay. Just tell me how to do that.”

  There were times in her life when she’d felt inexplicable love for another person: when she and her husband exchanged their wedding vows, when she looked into the eyes of her newborn babies for the first time, when she would tuck her kids in and they’d tell her they loved her just before she closed their door…

  But the love she felt for Rush right now was so intense and unexpected it took her breath away. “You already have.” She speared her hands into his hair as she smiled at him. “I dreamed of getting my life back someday, and you’ve given me that.”

  He closed his eyes before lowering his head to the crook of her neck. “I’m so scared you’re going to leave me.”

  Her heart broke when she thought of not being with him. “I can’t imagine leaving you.”

  “Earlier when I told you about my dream for the inn, finding someone to help me run it, not as my business partner, but as my life partner, you kind of shut down on me. What was that about?”

  He had every right to expect an explanation, but she couldn’t put into words the emotions tumbling around inside her when she thought of the scariest word in her vocabulary: forever.

  When she looked away, he rolled off the bed, promising to be right back. As she watched him walk into the bathroom, she knew she had to say something when he returned. If she didn’t try to make him understand, he never would, and the gap between them would continue to grow as he became more and more confused and disheartened.

  “Come here,” she said, holding out her hand when he returned. “We need to talk.”

  He looked wary as he took her hand, lowering himself to the bed beside her. “In my experience, when a woman leads with that, the news is never good.”

  She took a deep breath, staring into his clear blue eyes for a full minute before she said, “I love you.”

  “I love you too, baby.”

  “No, I mean I really love you. I love you the way I’ve loved the people who mean most to me in the world.” She wasn’t sure if she was making any sense, but she hoped she could make him understand. “I understand love, Rush. Some people don’t. But I do. I love my parents and grandparents. I loved my husband. And I loved my kids more than anything.”

  “I know, sweetheart,” he said, running his calloused palm over the slope of her shoulders. “I know it killed you to lose them.”

  “It did, but that’s not what this is about. This is about us. When I lost them, I thought I could never, ever love like that again. But I was wrong.” Helping her to realize how wrong she was… that was the greatest gift Rush could have given her, whether he realized it or not. “I love you like that.” She rested her hand over his pounding heart, smiling. “You’re one of those people that I would do anything for.”

  “I feel the same way.” He bent to kiss her shoulder. “I may not have the kind of experience you do with love. I’ve never been married or had children, but I do love my family, and I know what it means to be willing to go to the mat for someone you care about. I’d sacrifice anything, everything, for you.”

  She couldn’t believe Rush had been in her life such a short time, yet they felt so much for each other. Sometimes it felt scary, but at moments like this, it just felt right, like meeting him had been the next logical step in her life. “I can’t pretend I’m not terrified of being a wife and mother again, because I am.”

  “I understand that. When you lose as much as you did, especially all at once, it has to change you. Forever.”

  “I know it sounds crazy, but I’m having a hard time trusting what we have.”

  He reared back, frowning. “You don’t trust me?”

  “It’s not you,” she said, touching her jaw. “It’s this.”

  “I’m not following.”

  “When I got everything I wanted—the husband, kids, great job—I’m ashamed to admit I may have taken it for granted. I mean, getting married, having kids, getting a job, those are things everyone does, right? They’re not that special.”

  “I don’t know about that,” Rush said. “I think finding the one person you were meant to be with and creating a life from that love is pretty special. I also think that finding something you’re passionate about is pretty special.”

  And because Rush saw things the way she wished she had, she loved him even more.

  “You’re right, and I’ll never take that for granted again.” She pulled him close, inhaling deeply as she hugged him with all her might. “I’ll never take you or us for granted, I promise.”

  “Neither will I.” He kissed her neck.

  “But I will need some time to build trust. Not in you, but in what we have.” She knew that didn’t come out the way she’d intended when she felt him withdraw, shifting back on the bed.

  “Okay…”

  “That’s not what I meant.” She sighed. “I had faith that Trevor and I would be taken care of, that nothing bad would happen to us. I know that sounds silly because no one has the right to expect that. Maybe it was because we’d never been touched by tragedy. I’d never had someone close to me die, so I never spent much time thinking about how it would affect me.”

  “It’s not something any of us like to dwell on.” He bit his lip, looking hesitant. “But, baby, you can’t go through life wondering when you’ll lose the people you love. It will happen. Death is inevitable. But so is life. This day, every day, is a gift, and we have to treat it as such.”

  He was right, but she wasn’t quite ready to jump on board just yet. At least not without a lifejacket. “Everything you’re saying makes sense. It does. But—”

  “You need a little more time before we decide where to go from here?” She nodded before he kissed her forehead. “Lucky for you I’ve got time on my side.”

  ***

  Gabby and Taylor were messing up Sage’s kitchen while she dropped her son off at the high school for a game of pick-up basketball with some friends.

  “Where’s Wes?” Taylor asked, popping their first tray of cupcakes in the oven.

  “Sage said he had to work late, so we’ll have the place to ourselves tonight.”

  “Huh,” Taylor said, reaching for her glass of wine. “So you and Dave seemed to be getting pretty friendly at Rusty’s the other night. Did he ask you out?”

  “He did.” Gabby swiped at a stand of hair stuck to her cheek before breaking a couple of eggs into her cake batter. “But I’m not sure if I’m ready to date yet.”

  “Because of the divorce?”

  “It’s not the divorce.” Gabby sighed as she sat on a tall stool at the breakfast bar. “It’s Colt. Ever since we… hooked up, I haven’t been able to get him out of my head.”

  “Some men have that effect, don’t they?” Taylor said. Rush would undoubtedly fall into that unforgettable category, assuming she ever had to forget him.

  “They sure do.” Gabby added her premeasured sugar and salt to the mix before combining the ingredients with a wooden spoon. “It’s not that I haven’t tried to forget him. I have, believe me.”