“I’ll also set up a phone call with your mom so you can hear that she is all right. I have already talked to her and taken a statement for things here on my end. She was very nice, and she said that she was fine, just a little tired.” At the mention of her mother, Tana began to cry again.
“Thank you, Sawyer—for everything,” Torren whispered. Sawyer nodded and went to collect Lorna and Henry. They packed up and headed out, leaving Tana feeling alone and scared. Torren must have picked up on her insecurities and wrapped her tighter in his arms, kissing her forehead. He was so sweet and caring, she didn’t know what she would have done without him through all of this.
“Thank you, Tor,” she whispered.
“Any time, honey.” He pulled her up for a soft kiss, causing her heart to stutter. She knew that sooner or later she was going to have to come clean with Torren and confess that she was not just falling for him—she was in love with him. He took the leap and admitted that he was falling in love with her, and she owed him that same honesty. The girls came running into Torren’s family room and jumped on the couch, cuddling into her and Torren. They stayed like that for a couple of hours, watching cartoons and laughing. Her daughters were thrilled to be camping at Torren’s, and honestly, she was too.
Matt watched as the local authorities scrambled to post guards at Tana’s new boyfriend’s house. As if her mountain-sized boy toy wouldn’t be able to protect her. He chuckled to himself when he saw that they posted an officer in Tana’s house—like he would fall for that. He knew exactly where she was and who she was with. It pissed him off that she soeasily moved on from him—hell, they were legally still married since he never signed the divorce papers. He planned to become a widower and not a divorcee, but first, he needed a better plan.
He had to admit, finding Tana’s giant boyfriend at her house this morning threw him off his game. He thought that one of the twins would answer the door and that he would be able to surprise Tana, maybe even find his wife in bed. But that big oaf opened the door, and he knew that his wife was still in bed—she was just tangled up with the wrong guy. The thought of the two of them in bed together made him grind his teeth. Matt decided to head to the next town over, lie low for a few days, and let everyone get comfortable. People were always so much easier to surprise when they felt that there was no threat. Tana and her mountain of a boyfriend wouldn’t know what hit them, not until it was too late for anyone to come to their rescue. Sooner or later, they would need to go out, and when they did, he would be waiting for them and make their deaths look like an accident. No one would ever be able to tie him to the crime, and he could find another town and start over, this time with the right woman.
CHAPTER NINE
Torren needed to go into work for a few hours, but the thought of leaving Tana and the girls terrified him. Things felt too calm with no word from her ex for the past few days. He was starting to worry that Matt had taken off to lay low for a while and that he would show up, catching them all off guard. He couldn’t let that happen. Tana was able to talk to her mom every day, and after her mom’s release from the hospital, she started talking about going to see her. Torren nixed that idea, but she wasn’t happy about him telling her that she couldn’t go visit her mother. He let her go to the library to work, but insisted that Sawyer post a guard in the building to watch her. If the girls needed to leave the house, he and Tana went with them. But they cut all frivolous activities from their daily schedules, and everyone, including Tucker, was getting more anxious by the day.
What they needed was some distraction from the chaos that surrounded them, and Sunny’s wedding was just the ticket. She and Aaron were getting married in just a couple of days, and Torren decided that taking Tana and the girls shopping for new dresses would give them all a chance to relax and get out of thehouse. Torren convinced Tana to go into his store with him, even setting up a little play area for the girls. It was Tag’s idea, kind of like a nursery and playroom all rolled up into one little room that formally functioned as a storage area. Tag knew that Piper would want to bring the baby into the store, and he wanted to have them both with him. Torren had to admit, he was thankful that he had a place to bring the twins to keep an eye on them.
After he put in a few hours doing inventory and booking a few trips, he and Tana were going to surprise the girls with a trip to the mall two towns over. Harvest Ridge didn’t offer a lot of choices when it came to clothes shopping. The town’s main economy revolved around quaint little stores where shoppers could find trinkets to take home from their trip to Colorado, a few little diners, and a few outdoor stores, like his and Tag’s. People mainly came to the area to spend time outside, not to go shopping.
Tana was sitting next to him at the front register. The store was pretty quiet all morning, probably due to the mini heatwave they were having. Colorado had extreme weather all year long. Usually, summers saw a few hot days, but they had a string of hotter-than-normal temperatures, and people weren’t lining up to go hiking in the heat. Torren couldn’t blame them—as hot as it was, the last thing he wanted to do was climb up the side of a mountain.
“You’re sure it’s safe for us to go all the way over to Monroeville just to go dress shopping?” Tana looked worried, and he hated that her ex still had that power over her. If he could somehow convince her that he wouldn’t let that asshole anywhere near her or her girls, he would. But Tana was hurt one too many times by her ex-husband, and she wasn’t quite ready to completely trust Torren with her or her daughter’s safety, and that bothered him.
“Yeah, I’m sure we will be safe, honey. I would never do anything to put the three of you in jeopardy.” He gently brushed his knuckles over her cheek, and she leaned into his touch. Over the past few days, they settled into a domestic scene that Torren didn’t know could even exist for him. He didn’t remember his parents together before his mom died, so he didn’t have a frame of reference. But, if he had to guess what Tana, the girls, and he had going on sure felt like a family.
Tana admitted that she was falling for him when the whole mess with her ex happened, but nothing else. He was a coward when it came to pushing Tana to admit that she felt anything more for him, wanting her to admit her feelings on her own. He didn’t want to have to pry the fact that she was in love with him out of her. But he could see it in her eyes every time she looked at him. When they made love, he felt like he would nearly explode holding in those three little words, but he could see them in her eyes, staring right back at him.
The girls came running from the back of the store, giggling about something that they had made in the back room. Torren listened to them go on about some silly, made-up creature that Elizabeth drew and that Sarah made up a story for. Tana’s girls had such vivid imaginations, and he loved the way they included him in their games. Honestly, he was in love with all three Cahoon girls, and the sooner he could tie Tana to him, the happier he’d be.
“How about we go and grab some lunch and then buy some pretty dresses for Sunny and Aaron’s wedding?” The girls’ smiles and even Tana’s smile lit up the room.
“Will we get to dance at the wedding?” Sarah asked, twirling around once, showing off her moves. Torren chuckled as both girls started dancing around the front counter.
“Yep, lots of dancing, and I heard that Sunny is even making the cake for her wedding, so I’m sure it will be good.” The girlsstopped spinning around to clap and squeal at the mention of cake. “We love cake,” they cheered in unison.
“I know—and donuts?” Torren smiled down at them.
“Yes,” they cheered. “We want donuts for lunch.”
Tana groaned, “Great Tor, now they want sugar for lunch, and we’ll never corral them into trying on dresses. They’d crash from their sugar high before they tried on even one dress. How about we have a nice sandwich for lunch, and we can discuss donuts for Saturday if you girls can be on your best behavior.” Both girls stopped cheering and clapping long enough to promise their mother that they were going to be absolute angels. Torren couldn’t help his laugh, sure that they were making false promises, but also knowing that he’d break down and get them all donuts for Saturday anyway.
Tana turned to face him. “You need to stop trying to fill them with sugar and spoiling them.” She pointed her finger at his chest, and he used that opportunity to grab her hand and pull her into his body. He loved the way she always snuggled into his hold, needing him as much as he wanted her. “I love it when you get all hot and bothered, baby. You can take it out on me later,” he whispered. Torren gave her a quick, hard kiss while the twins sang a chorus of “gross” and “yuck," causing him and Tana to laugh.
“No more kissing,” Sarah insisted.
“We want to go shopping,” Beth chimed in. Torren sighed and released Tana. He made sure that his manager had the full list of what needed to be ordered for the store, and then he loaded everyone into his truck. Going shopping with his girlfriend was another first for him, but he had to admit that he was looking forward to the whole experience. Besides, how hard could it be to find three girls the perfect dresses for a wedding?
Tana watched as Torren yawned for what had to be the hundredth time since they got to the store. Her poor guy wasn’t used to shopping with so many indecisive girls, and she almost felt bad for him.
“You know, we can just call it a day and head back home,” she offered.
Torren stubbornly shook his head. “Not until the three of you each find a dress. The wedding is in a couple of days, and we are going to stay here for as long as it takes.” Tana sighed, knowing that there was no way around Torren buying them each a dress. She was hoping that her ploy of not finding anything might work in her favor. Honestly, she felt like she was never going to be able to repay Torren for everything that he did for her, and she was always one to take care of herself and her girls. Having Torren pitch in, even with the girls’ everyday care, felt foreign to her. She was so used to relying on only herself, she wasn’t sure how to accept anyone else’s help.
“Fine, then I guess I should let you off the hook and tell you that we each picked a dress a few outfit changes ago.” Tana looked down at the floor, worried that Torren would be angry at her. Another way good old Matt conditioned her to fear all men—he would be jovial and loving one minute and pissed enough to slap her around the next. She knew that Torren would never hurt her or her girls; it was just a hard habit to break. Waiting for his anger felt natural to her. Torren stood from the little sofa that he was sitting on and crossed to where she stood.
“Look at me, Tana.” She couldn’t seem to do as he asked, afraid of what she would see in his eyes. “Baby, I’m not him. I would never hurt you.” How did he always seem to know exactlywhat she was thinking or feeling? Her eyes darted up to find his, and she found only love and compassion staring back down at her.
“Why didn’t you just tell me that you found something?” Torren pulled her into his arms, and she willingly let him.
