Loving Tessa (January Cove) (10 page)

They went out to the car and he opened the door for her. “We have to drive there?”

“This is a huge property, so walking would take too long and we’d be tired before we even got there.”

“Okay,” she said as she slid into her seat and watched him walk around the vehicle.

They drove down the long gravel driveway deep into the woods behind the house. A few moments later, she could see an opening and what appeared to be a body of blue water.

“What's that?” she asked with all of the enthusiasm of a small child seeing the ocean for the first time.

“That is a blue spring. At least that's what we call it. Some underground springs come directly from the ocean and feed into this small pond.”

He walked around and opened the door for her before she could get out. She wasn't sure if she'd ever get used to the chivalrousness of a true Southern gentleman, but she was sure willing to try.

“This place is beautiful,” she said as she looked around and tried to take in all of the scenery. With the lushness of the green trees and the beauty of the sparkling blue water, she’d never seen anything like it.

“We used to come down here and fish when I was a kid sometimes. The cool thing is that some of the aquatic life from the ocean filters to the springs over here so sometimes I'll see things like little crabs running here along the shore,” he said pointing to the ground.

“It's like your own private oasis,” she said. She thought to herself how nice it would be to have a private spot where no one could find her, but she also knew that it would be short-lived. She wasn't about to put Aaron or his family in harms way, so she couldn't tell him that she planned to get the heck out of Dodge before her ex found her.

Aaron wasn't used to having a woman to care for like Tessa. Natalie had never really needed him, but it felt good to be needed. As the youngest of his siblings, he’d always longed to have a brother or sister to care for, but he was the baby. It was kind of nice to be able to comfort Tessa and tell her everything was going to be okay.

It'd only been a couple of days since he’d known her, but he felt a fierce sense of protection that went far beyond just being a Southern gentleman. Of course, his mother had instilled in him that he was supposed to be chivalrous and protective of women in general, but this was something else entirely.

He also wasn't accustomed to feeling such strong feelings for someone in such a short period of time. Even with Natalie, it had taken years to get to the point to where he wanted to propose marriage. A part of him would always believe that he only did it because he was getting older and felt like it was time to settle down.

He thought to himself how strange it was that those feelings of anger that he had toward Natalie had dissipated in the last two days as his focus had shifted. She no longer seemed relevant to him, and he felt ambivalent about her even taking up space in his mind anymore. Maybe it was just a good distraction to have Tessa and Tyler around, but he couldn't convince himself of that.

"So what are we going to do?" she asked with a smile on her face.

"See that canoe over there?" She looked across the shoreline and then back at him.

"Seriously?"

"Why not?"

"I've seen a lot of people tip over in those things! What if we fall in?" she asked with a giggle.

"Then we’ll dry off." He laughed and then realized that she really was a little bit scared of going out on the water with him in a canoe. Maybe he shouldn't push her, he thought, but he really wanted her to have an afternoon to enjoy herself before his sister called back with whatever news she would have about Tessa's ex. “If you don’t want to…”

“No, it’s okay. I want to,” she said nodding her head as if she was trying to convince herself.

“Don’t worry. I go out in canoes all the time. I’m an old pro,” he said as he walked backward down the shore to get the canoe. Not looking where he was going, he tripped on a rock by the shore and hit the ground like a sack of potatoes.

“Aaron!” she yelled as she ran toward him, but she also tripped and fell right on top of him, both of them just inches from the water nipping at the land.

“Are you okay?” Aaron asked, pulling her long hair away from her face as she struggled to hold up her head. “Tessa?” he said softly. She was laughing so hard that she couldn’t speak and then buried her head in his chest. He joined in her laughter and put his arms around her.

“I’m so sorry…” she said between breaths. “I thought you were hurt, and then I tripped…”

“It’s okay. This has been the best thing to happen to me in months,” he said with a chuckle, and that only send her into further hysterics. “You have the best laugh I’ve ever heard,” he said softly as she turned her face up to his. Never in his life had he wanted to kiss someone so bad. He could almost taste her full lips, and he wondered what those lips could do to him in other places. As if she sensed his inappropriate thoughts, and maybe the inappropriate things his body was starting to do to him, she slid backward and up onto her knees next to him.

“Um, maybe I should help you get the canoe this time,” she said with a nervous giggle.

“Tessa,” he said as he touched her arm and sat up. “It’s okay. I’m not expecting anything from you, okay?”

“I wasn’t… I didn’t…” she stammered.

“You’re beautiful and funny and sweet and smart, and I’m a man. But you don’t have to be nervous around me. I don’t take what isn’t mine like that jackass of an ex did. You belong to you, Tessa. Don’t you ever let any man take that control from you again, you hear me?” he said with more intensity than he meant to project. Her eyes welled up, and there he was again - about to make a woman cry.

“You’re like a Hallmark card. How do you know the right thing to say every single time?” she said softly as she blinked her eyes quickly to stop the tears.

“I don’t. Trust me. Several women might disagree with you on that one,” he said with a wink as he pulled both of them to their feet.

“Well, apparently some women are too dumb to know what they have,” she said quietly as she walked toward the canoe. Aaron’s heart quickened for a moment, but he pushed the comment to the back of his mind and helped her slide the canoe into the water.

***

She was beautiful. No doubt about it. And he was going to get screwed again. Somehow, some way, she would break his heart just like Natalie did, but it wouldn’t be her fault. It would be some jackass abuser named Ethan’s fault, and he’d like to put his fist into his…

“You okay over there?” she asked, breaking his thought - which was probably a very good thing.

“Just enjoying the scenery,” he said, looking directly at her.

“Yeah, it’s stunning out here. The trees, the blue water…” She seemed oblivious to the fact that he was talking about her. She thought so little of herself, and it pained Aaron. How did some idiot get so much power over her for so long? “You love the outdoors, don’t you?”

“Yes. I’m definitely the outdoorsy one in our family. I was always outside as a kid, finding bugs and building tree houses. Broke my arm twice in the same year falling out of trees.”

“Seriously? Ouch! I’ve never broken a bone. Not adventurous enough, I guess,” she shrugged.

“Breaking bones is for idiots, and I was definitely an idiot as a kid. I have three older brothers, and they loved to dare me to do stuff. One time, Kyle dared me to climb onto the roof to get a Frisbee he’d thrown up there. My Mom came outside just in time to see me fall into the bushes. I was all scratched up, but I only broke a toe that time. Miracle.”

“That is a miracle! It must have been nice to grow up with siblings. Someone always has your back,” she said as she watched the oar he was rowing with glide back and forth in the water.

The trees shaded the pond just enough that only slivers of sunlight were coming through, and the breeze was just enough to blow the soft waves of her hair across her bronzed shoulders. Afraid she would catch him staring at her, he finally spoke. “Siblings are great, except you have to share everything with them. Like Christmas. When we were struggling for money, Christmas could be very slim pickings, and my mother would have to spread the gifts out between five kids. She was far too proud to ask for help from anyone. Sometimes, I’d get jealous of friends at school who had both parents and got lots of gifts…” Suddenly, he felt like a jerk. Here he was complaining about not getting enough Christmas presents as a kid when Tessa had lost both parents and been abused. “Damn, Tessa, I’m so sorry. I should have thought before I spoke,” he said, putting the oar down and running his fingers through his hair.

“Why?”

“Because I didn’t have it anywhere near as bad as you did. What am I complaining about?”

“Aaron, we all have things that make us upset or sad from our pasts. We all have stories. No one person’s story is any less legitimate than another’s. I wasn’t thinking anything bad about what you were saying at all. I was just enjoying your stories.” She smiled the most genuine smile at him, and it made his heart ache for her. How could any man have had a woman like this and spent every waking hour trying to make her
not
smile?
Not
feel loved. It was beyond his comprehension.

“Do you have any good memories from your childhood?”

“Oh, of course I do. Before my mother died, we had a great family. I was their only child. My mother was told she could never have kids, so I was a miracle.”

“You still are,” he said softly without thinking. “Oh, crap, did I say that out loud?”

She giggled. “Yes, you did. And thank you. That is the nicest thing anyone has ever said to me in my life.”

“Really?”

“Really. You’re such a sweet guy, Aaron. How could that nasty woman have done what she did to you?”

“Not everyone thinks I’m sweet, Tessa,” he said as he picked up the oar again. “I’ve got my faults. I’m stubborn and opinionated at times.”

“I see that as strong minded and self directed.”

“How do you do that?”

“Do what?”

“Still see the good in things after all that as happened to you?”

“Because I have to, Aaron, or I’d go crazy. There is good in the world and in people. You just have to find it.”

He stared at her for a moment, wishing he knew what to say. There was no way he could take her painful memories away or make things better. He could only wait for Stan to call back with an update. He felt helpless, yet he knew he was all that was standing between her and total despair.

***

It was all getting too close and personal, but she couldn’t help but feel comfortable around Aaron. He seemed kind and sweet and generous, but then again she’d thought Ethan was a decent person. She never thought of him being particularly kind or sweet or generous for that matter, but he seemed okay. He seemed safe. Oh, how wrong she’d been about that.

Aaron had been quiet for a few minutes, rowing against the calm of the blue springs. She’d never seen a place so beautiful in her life. It was the most peaceful place on Earth, she was sure of it. She felt very secure here, like no one could ever find her. Yet she knew that Ethan could find her anywhere on the planet if he wanted to.

“Whatcha thinkin’ about?” Aaron finally asked.

“About how this must be the most peaceful place on Earth,” she said, recounting her thoughts.

“It definitely ranks at the top. Sometimes I come here when I need to think.”

“Did a lot of that recently, huh?”

“Oh, yes. If these trees could talk,” he said with a wink. “The thing is, you can come out here and yell at the top of your lungs and no one is going to hear you. Why don’t you try it?”