All it takes, p.3
All It Takes, page 3
part #1 of Light My Fire Series Series
“Has he said anything about his parents?” Tiffany asked, her tone soft.
“I told him I was sorry,” I explained. “All he said was he was too. I’m not sure he’s really absorbed what’s happened.”
Tiffany nodded. “I get it intellectually, but I’m still in shock that Sarah is gone. I keep thinking she’ll text me, and I’ll realize it was a mistake.”
“Do we need to sign anything?” I asked.
Tasha nodded. “You do. I have all the paperwork drawn up. Something to consider in the long run is adoption. You can remain his guardians, but that’s an option.”
“How is that different?” Tiffany prompted.
“Guardianship can be contested at a later date. Adoption can’t,” Tasha replied.
“Who would contest it?” I heard myself asking.
Tasha shrugged. “You just never know. I don’t recommend making a decision about adoption today. I’m just letting you know the option is there for the future.”
Tiffany and I glanced at each other and then back at Tasha with Tiffany replying, “Okay.”
A short fifteen minutes later, we were walking out together with our official guardianship paperwork in hand in two separate manila envelopes. Eileen was going to go with us to introduce Tiffany to Ross. The plan was for him to stay with me for the weekend while Tiffany got a room ready for him at her place.
Tiffany stopped beside my car, tapping the key fob in her hand. “Your car?” I nudged my chin in the direction of the car beside my SUV.
She nodded. “I’ll follow you?”
“Sounds like a plan.”
Chapter Seven
Tiffany
Those big brown eyes blinked up at me. Ross had his hand buried in Nilla’s thick white fur. He was holding that sweet dog like she was a life boat in choppy water. I suppose she was. Eileen had just left.
“This is a lot to take in,” I offered softly.
Ross blinked, looking down at Nilla. “Can Nilla come with me when I stay with you?”
I looked over at Wes. This was another question in the long line of inquiries that I felt as if I’d been pummeled by since the phone call yesterday evening.
Wes nodded, mouthing, “As long as it’s okay with you.”
“Of course,” I said quickly, relieved that Ross was focused on Nilla and not me and Wes.
Ross’s eyes lifted again, and I saw the sheen of tears there. I didn’t know how it was possible that I could be so fiercely protective of this little boy inside of only half an hour, but I was. I wanted to take care of him, to keep him safe, and to make sure nothing bad ever happened again in his life. I loved dogs, and Alice had been joking with me that I had to adopt one soon. I just hoped I wasn’t stealing Wes’s dog.
Wes was sitting beside me on the couch. His elbows were resting on his knees with his hands laced loosely together. I was beyond relieved he was here. We’d been thrown into this together.
“You can count on us,” he was saying to Ross. “We know this may feel strange and big and probably more than you ever expected to deal with, but we’re here for you.”
Ross looked over at Wes, asking, “Can I play video games there too?”
I deduced they’d played some video games.
Wes’s voice was gruff when he replied, “Absolutely. I promise. Tiffany’s fun too. She might even know how to play video games.”
“Actually, I do,” I offered quickly. “I have an older brother who works with Wes. He taught me how to play video games. I might not be as good as Wes, but I can hold my own.”
I made a mental note to check with Wes about what kind of game console to get. I did know how to play a few, but I wasn’t a serious gamer by any stretch.
Ross looked between us, nodding solemnly. “Where will I stay tonight?”
“You’re with me for the weekend. Tiffany is going to get a room all set up for you. I need to work on that too.”
“You already got a bedroom ready for me,” Ross said.
Wes shrugged. “I let you stay in mine. I’ll get the spare room here furnished so it’s all yours.”
My heart felt like it might crack when Ross wrapped his arms around my waist before I left, squeezing me tight for a moment. I smoothed my hand over his hair and realized this little boy probably felt so lost.
Wes followed me out to my car, stopping beside the door. He rested his hand on the top of the door after I had opened it. My pulse felt as if someone had spurred it in the flanks, urging it forward faster and faster. I took the moment to study Wes. This man was all that and then some with his rumpled dark-honeyed hair and espresso eyes. Also, nature had been ridiculously generous with his mouth. His face was all hard sculpted features, his nose a little prominent, and his cheekbones strong as they angled down. His lips were warm and inviting. My eyes dropped down, tracing along the lines of his broad muscled shoulders and the way they filled out his shirt.
Wes cleared his throat, and my eyes whipped up. “Sorry, just zoning out,” I murmured, my voice coming out raspy. It wasn’t exactly a lie. I was zoning out. I was completely overwhelmed with my life suddenly involving shared parenting duties with a man I didn’t know all that well. I was still trying to absorb the fact that one of my closest friends had died.
“There’s a lot going on,” I pointed out.
Wes pressed his tongue on the side of his cheek as he nodded, his lips kicking up in a wry smile. As if prompted, my belly did a quick flip, one with a flourish.
“That’s one way to put it. So Nilla is a rescue I was fostering because we didn’t have room at the shelter. I hope you don’t mind that we’re adopting her. Conveniently, since my mom runs the shelter, she already formalized the paperwork for me,” he offered.
“Of course I don’t mind. I work at a vet clinic. I love animals. She’ll be Ross’s dog and she can just go with him wherever he is. That’ll be okay, right?”
“I think it’ll probably help him. Maybe we could plan to get together this weekend and take him pet shopping. We could get dog beds and all the things to have at both of our places,” Wes suggested.
I felt my lips stretching into a smile. “You’re a smart man, Wes Stuart.”
He smiled back at me, and butterflies took flight in my belly, sending a scatter of sparks through me.
“I try. This whole thing is kind of… unexpected.”
“No shit,” I said flatly. “Look, I’m guessing we have a lot to talk about that maybe shouldn’t happen in front of Ross. We’ll have to talk about school and more.”
Wes’s eyes widened. “I didn’t even think about school.”
I nodded vigorously. “We need to enroll him, like yesterday. Eileen mentioned it’s best to get him started on a normal schedule as soon as we can. I’ll call the school on Monday. Let’s plan to go talk to them together.”
“Whatever you think.”
“It doesn’t have to be whatever I think.”
“I know, but I’m trying to be agreeable here.”
I took a quick breath, closing my eyes before opening them as I let it out slowly. “I know. You’re going to get to know me real quick, Wes. Rumor has it I can be bossy.”
His gaze studied mine, his eyes crinkling at the corners when he smiled again. “I don’t mind that.”
I felt so flustered inside, heat blooming from my chest outward and climbing up my neck into my cheeks. “So, uh, I’ll go. Today’s Friday…” I paused. I could be the queen of obvious sometimes. “So tomorrow? Maybe we could take a drive to Anchorage with Ross for pet shopping.”
“I think that’s perfect. We’ll make it a thing. I’ll have to figure out who’s gonna watch Nilla while we’re gone.”
“I’ll ask Alice. She’ll be happy to help.”
Chapter Eight
Wes
Ross blinked up at me, and my chest hurt. Maybe I hadn’t seen his dad in person in over two years, but I had continued to count George as one of my closest friends. We’d been in touch via text several times a week and chatted when we played online games together. Every time I looked into Ross’s eyes, it stung a little. They were so much like his father’s.
“Okay,” Ross said slowly. “Where will Nilla go?”
“We’re dropping her off at a friend’s place,” I said.
I was relieved Tiffany had thought ahead. She was going to be here any minute, and then we would drive over together to drop Nilla off at Alice and Jonah’s place.
“There’s a lake and everything there,” I added.
“She’ll be okay?” Ross prompted.
“Absolutely. Alice is a veterinarian.”
He eyed me skeptically before nodding his approval. “That’s cool.” He looked over at Nilla, who thumped her tail on the floor.
A short while later, Ross was in the back seat with Nilla, and Tiffany was in the passenger seat beside me as I drove toward Alice and Jonah’s house. “You work with Jonah, right?” she prompted.
“Yup. Alice’s grandmother Bea is a friend of my mom’s too.”
“If you haven’t been to their place, it’s on one of the glacier lakes. It’s a tiny lake, but it’s beautiful,” Tiffany added.
“Is it frozen?” Ross’s voice reached us from the back seat.
Tiffany turned in her seat, glancing over her shoulder. She rested her arm on the edge of the seat as she angled to look at Ross. “It is frozen. Come summer, we can take Nilla there and she can go swimming with Alice’s dog.”
After we dropped Nilla off, I caught myself stealing glances at Tiffany again and again while we drove to Anchorage. I kept absorbing little details about her. The tiny freckles on her cheeks, the way the wind tousled her hair when she asked to crack the windows even though it was cold out. When Ross started asking curious questions about the mountains and the glaciers, Tiffany provided him with a running commentary. She promised to take him to the town’s transfer station for the “best eagle viewing,” and he was thrilled.
Once we arrived at the pet store, Tiffany glanced down at Ross. “Okay, have at it. Should we make it a race?”
Ross blinked up at her, a furrow forming between his brows. “A race?”
She waggled her eyebrows with a mischievous glint in her eyes. “That’s right. I get a cart, you get a cart, and…” Her eyes slid to me, and I tried to ignore the sizzle of electricity crackling in the air between us. “Wes might go for it. We have ten minutes to see how much we can get.”
A look of glee entered Ross’s eyes as he smiled up at her. “Yes!”
Before I had a chance to offer any feedback on this plan, they were grabbing carts and dashing through the store. I snagged a cart, jogging alongside Tiffany. “You’re crazy,” I offered.
She grinned at me. “No, I’m not. He needs some fun, and this is a thing the store does. You have ten minutes, and it’s only a hundred bucks for whatever you get, not counting the food. You’re in charge of the food.”
I hustled over to the food section, stocking up quickly on treats and food. When I turned out of the aisle, Tiffany and Ross were neck and neck in a race for the checkout.
Tiffany threw her hands up in the air, letting her cart roll forward as they reached the registers. When I caught up and looked toward Ross, I understood exactly why she did that. It was fun, and he needed something silly. His smile was wide and the sort of numb look in his eyes had disappeared.
I stopped behind them. “Who is the official winner?”
The guy at the register grinned as he glanced over at us, thumbing toward Ross. “Maybe by a foot.”
Tiffany lifted her hand, slapping it to Ross’s palm. “Rock on, dude. Maybe we should sign you up for track when it starts.”
“Track?” Ross prompted as the guy began ringing us up.
“Running. Did you do any sports before?” she asked.
“Soccer,” he offered.
“Do you want to play soccer this spring?” I asked.
When Ross glanced uncertainly back and forth between us, my heart gave a painful squeeze that was becoming familiar. Even though we had both known his parents, we didn’t know him that well, and we weren’t familiar with his childhood.
“Okay,” he said with a quick dip of his chin.
Tiffany slid her arm around his narrow shoulders, her palm curling over his upper arm and sliding up and down in a comforting gesture. Somehow, we were in charge of this kid. Ready or not.
After we loaded everything in the car and piled back into my SUV, Tiffany suggested we get lunch. A few minutes later, we were seated at a table at a burger place. Her knee brushed against mine. A layer of denim and the fleece from her leggings was between us, and I was still acutely aware of the subtle touch.
Her eyes caught mine, and it was all I could do not to lean over and kiss her. Her mouth was—well, I paid way too much attention to the plumpness of her bottom lip, the way her lips curled at the corners when she began to smile, and the way she had a habit of biting the corner of her lip, just two teeth denting the plush surface.
I forced myself to look away. I glanced out the window of the café, commenting, “It’s clouding up. Looks like snow.”
Tiffany chatted with Ross, asking him questions about his favorite classes as she explained he would start school next week in Willow Brook. When we walked out after lunch, she took a deep breath and glanced at Ross. “It smells like snow.”
“Snow smells?” he asked, looking up at her curiously.
She nodded. “I forgot all about how snow smells when I lived away from here for a few years. It’s the quality of the air. It smells good, kind of crisp. I don’t know how else to explain it.” She looked over at me. “Do you know what I mean?”
I breathed in the snow-scented air, nodding as I smiled over at her, my pulse revving like a restless engine. “I do.” Looking at Ross, I added, “You’ll see. After it snows a few times, you’ll know what we mean.”
Light snow began to fall as we drove home, but it quickly grew heavier. I glanced at Tiffany. “Was a storm supposed to come in?”
Her worried eyes bounced from me to the view out the windows. “It was a twenty percent chance when I checked my weather app this morning. It didn’t say it was going to snow like this, though.”
Ross straightened, leaning forward to look out the window. “Wow. I’ve never seen it snow like this.”
By the time we exited the highway for Willow Brook, visibility was poor. Ross was worried about Nilla. Having grown up in Alaska, I was accustomed to driving in bad weather, but I was relieved Alice and Jonah lived on the way to my place.
I glanced at Tiffany, and as if she read my mind, she offered, “I’ve already texted Alice. She’ll walk up to the road and meet us.”
In short order, we had picked up Nilla and drove to my house. After we unloaded the new pet supplies and Ross took Nilla out for a walk, I looked over at Tiffany.
“I don’t think you should drive in this,” I said.
She spun around. “You just drove us here. Are you serious?”
I gestured to the windows. “I kept driving because we were already on the road. I wouldn’t choose to go back out. There’s like zero visibility, Tiffany. I’m just relieved we got here. How far is your place from here?”
“About fifteen minutes.”
“In good weather?” I prompted.
She rolled her eyes, but nodded. “Fine I’ll stay here.”
Chapter Nine
Wes
A few hours later, Ross was sound asleep in his bedroom with Nilla on the foot of his bed. With a little help from my mother, I’d gotten bedding for the spare bedroom for him last night. I wanted him to be able to pick out his own stuff, but that could wait.
I felt as if the universe had set out to torture me. I’d been battling my arousal for hours by this point. Spending time with Tiffany in close quarters had short-circuited my discipline and willpower. She was standing in the kitchen while my eyes were lingering on the curve of her hips.
I had started a fire in the woodstove, which was all fine and well, except it made the house hot. She had stripped out of her jacket and the flannel shirt she wore over her tank top. Turning, she was drying her hands on a dish towel when she looked over at me.
“I wasn’t prepared to stay over. I hope you have a spare toothbrush or something,” she said.
“Well, you got a whole pack of toothbrushes for Ross, so you can use one of those,” I offered, thinking this was a safe topic.
She draped the towel over the oven handle and walked over to where I stood by the counter, my hand curled on the edge. She rested her hip against it and crossed her arms. Not a helpful move because her arms plumped her breasts up slightly. My eyes had a mind of their own and dipped down, lingering on the curves. I wanted to trail my fingertips over her skin. Hell, I wanted to drag my tongue into the valley between her breasts and tease her ruched nipples.
She cleared her throat, and I lifted my eyes. Her cheeks were flushed pink. We studied each other. “Wes…” she began. She gave her head a little shake, biting her bottom lip.
My cock throbbed in response. “Yes?” I prompted.
She muttered something, followed with, “Fuck it.”
The next thing I knew, her arms unfolded, and she stepped closer, staring up at me. I felt as if she were daring me.
“What are you doing?” I rasped.
“This is crazy. This whole situation is crazy,” she said, throwing her hands up as she took another step closer.
I could feel the heat of her body, and her breasts pressed against my chest. “What’s crazy?” I could barely hear my own voice over the thundering beat of my heart. My need was tightening, digging spurs into my side, urging my pulse faster and faster.
“Well, we’re guardians to Ross. I know we’re not technically his parents, but for all intents and purposes, we are because his parents are gone.” She blinked quickly, sadness and pain flashing in her eyes. “So there’s that, and then this.”
