Chapter 8
[Taxi]
Stone Sylver.
He’s the Stone Sylver.
Talk about a plot twist.
And how the hell did I not know this about him?
The initial shock of seeing him again immediately wore off when I remembered why I should not be excited to see him.
That ongoing war within me, battling over the best kiss I’d ever had and the unexpected betrayal from the next morning.
The continuing skirmish between feeling a deep-seated gut instinct that he was different, and then finding out he wasn’t, and yet still being conflicted by the obvious.
I saw him with another woman the following morning.
You don’t get a more meaningful message from the Universe, even if a teeny tiny niggling sensation tells me I might have had it all wrong. I ignore that miniscule smudge of unease because the broader picture is that Stone wasn’t who I thought he was.
And now I’m really discovering he isn’t who I believed him to be—just a random man I met in Knoxville and haven’t stopped thinking about for months.
Because he’s a fucking Sylver!
Let’s take his name out of the equation for a second and focus on the uptick in my pulse at his nearness behind me. His breath against my neck and the edge to his voice, as if I’m the one who’d done wrong in this situation.
What am I doing here? he asked.
I haven’t the faintest idea. One minute Aunt Trudy invited me to visit Sterling Falls for a few days over the holiday, and the next thing I knew, I was attending a baseball game slash barbecue at the home of a well-known family . . . and one of my best friends from high school.
I briefly glare in the direction of Judd, but first I have another brother to approach.
Trudy already explained the basics. Two teams led by the oldest two brothers.
Stone. His name whispers through my head again, but I shake the thought along with a shiver as I sense his presence still behind me.
I wasn’t particularly athletic. Didn’t even know the rules of baseball, but I knew one thing: I could not be on Stone’s team.
Walking directly to Clay, who looks just like he did as a kid only a little more weathered and a lot more silvered, I stick out my hand.
“Taxi.” I boldly reintroduce myself. “I want to be on your team.”
I haven’t seen Clay in years, although I know he runs the Sylver Seed & Soil, a new destination in our small town, putting Sterling Falls on the map.
His blue eyes are similar to his older brother’s. Soft and kind, but more playful, less guarded, and I hate that I catalogue all this information with a mere glance. Hate that I remember so easily how Stone looked at me. With hunger and restraint. With desire and reserve.
Clay glances around me.
Stone’s continues to linger behind me even though I wanted to leave him in the dust, crossing this baseball diamond as quickly as I could without making more of a scene.
When we shook hands, mine trembled within his hold.
Attempting to act unaffected by his touch, my body betrayed me, especially when Aunt Trudy shared that little nugget about painting her old shed.
I clutched at Stone like I needed him to ground me when I don’t want to be grounded.
I revel in being permanently untethered, or so I tell myself every few days.
And Stone is still behind me, staring at me, whispering more questions he isn’t speaking aloud.
I have my own set of questions that don’t really need answers.
I thought you were different.
Well, he wasn’t, I remind myself, ignoring the pitch in my belly.
Gazing back at me, Clay chuckles and shakes his head. “Sure, darlin’. What position do you want?”
Since I haven’t played baseball in . . .
ever . . . it’s probably best to put me at .
. . “Shortstop is good.” My quick recall of the position from a mandatory session during high school physical education classes surprises me.
I’ll be between two bases and able to let either of those basemen cover any ball hit my direction.
“You got it.” Clay winks at me and glances around me one more time. Then he laughs harder. “Oh boy,” he mutters to himself, passing me and heading toward his older brother.
I will not look. I will not look. I will not look.
Instead, I focus next on Judd Sylver. Once upon a time, Judd had been my best friend, running around this yard, like Aunt Trudy shared. He was quiet to my loud. Soft to my hard, but I adored him because he was one of the first friends I’d made when I arrived in Sterling Falls at ten years old.
The greasy-haired, hand-me-down-wearing kid who loved math and poetry eventually turned into a brooding heartthrob, sporting dark-rimmed glasses and tight-fitting, dark tees in high school. But math geeks and art nerds didn’t always cross paths, and eventually Judd and I went our separate ways.
We’ve only recently reconnected. Because of Simon.
I don’t know Simon well as he’d only come into Trudy’s life a little more than a year ago but with this visit, I’m making it my mission to learn more about the young boy left behind, like me and my sisters once were. I intend to assure him about who I want to be in his life—Aunt Taxi.
I might leave, but I’ll be back.
“Hey you,” I greet Judd, going in for a hug that would have once made him uncomfortable. Now, he easily embraces me, confident in our connection as old friends.
“Hi, Taxi.” With his arm only momentarily around me, he leads me toward a spunky-looking girl with short hair in loose brown and blonde waves.
“Genie, this is Taxi.”
Judd releases me and steps over to Genie, pulling her into his side, and smiling in a way I’ve never seen Judd smile. Aunt Trudy told me about Judd’s recent girlfriend, a reunion between him and a different friend he had in high school.
My quiet, aloof, best-friend-from-childhood looks really fucking happy.
Genie steps out from underneath Judd’s arm and right up to me, hugging me like I’m a long-lost friend. “It’s so nice to finally meet you.”
“You, too.” My response sounds hesitant at first because her embrace startles me.
Again, I’m not a person who likes unexpected touches, so I’m taken aback, especially considering Genie and I never connected when we were younger.
Virginia Webster, AKA Genie, is younger than Judd and me and from a crowd I never crossed paths with in high school—the rich kids.
The new money of Sterling Falls did not mingle with those of us who had less than.
However, Genie’s warm welcome feels genuine, and too easily, I melt into her hug, finding myself reciprocating it. Her attention endears her to me on Judd’s behalf.
When we pull apart, Genie additionally surprises me by capturing my hands. “I’ve heard so much about you.” She smiles pleasantly. “We need to be fast friends.”
A statement like that could be off-putting, but Genie is just too bubbly to deny her sincerity. She focuses on me, like she won’t let me go as a potential friend. It’s a heady sensation.
People don’t tend to hold onto me.
And my thoughts fling to a man somewhere on this baseball diamond.
He played me, and I’ve never been more grateful not to invite a man into my hotel room. He was exactly what my heart tried to guard me against. Acting a fool, like my mama. Getting my hopes up that another random man would be different.
This time, Mama said too many times.
And Stone turned out to be just like a lot of other guys I’ve encountered over the years.
A cheater. A liar. A thief of hearts.
Thankfully, I hadn’t quite given my heart, or my body, as the two have issues separating themselves and this time, I was grateful.
Still . . . the way Stone had looked at me.
So intently. So interested in my art and my work with the students.
He listened to me mention Mama and jail without passing judgment or asking for details.
Then, the way he went into superhero mode, helping that young co-ed.
He appeared so solid, in control, protective even, and I leaned into that sensation.
Something inside me said you’re safe with him, Taxi.
But I couldn’t trust my head or my heart. And my body? Forget about it.
That goodnight kiss has haunted me for three months. The command of his lips. The tenderness in them. The whisper of a promise in them.
My man-free diet hit a plateau after that night. I didn’t hunger for anyone else because a phantom kiss lingered on my lips. A ghost of a snack that was decadent and rich. Like a sweet potato cupcake and cream cheese frosting. A little spice. A little sweet. In combination, perfection.
That night I took care of myself as I’ve done too often in the past year, and I came like I’ve never come before. The release was so powerful, I still remember it as well, when I used to hold the belief that an orgasm was an orgasm.
Duly noted from that night henceforth, not all orgasms are created equal.
And it was only the mental image of what Stone could do for me that brought about the release.
Imagine what the real man could do for you?
I refuse. Because I wasn’t seeking something physical from a man like him.
And that was the crux. I thought he was different.
When I finally glance in his direction, giving in to the temptation, like it’s okay to look at the delicious cookie display as long as you don’t take one, my brows crease when I witness Stone looking back at me with equal irritation.
How dare he be annoyed with me!
“You two playing or what?”
Sebastian Sylver, the youngest brother in their family, pulls my attention away from the oldest, but I can’t ignore how my pulse still races.
Sebastian had been a real wild card, from what Aunt Trudy told me, and he eventually got into trouble with the law. He even did some jail time.
I shiver at the thought, knowing where my mother spends her days.
The reminder yanks my gaze back to Stone, who is watching his youngest sister, Valentine—Vale—kissing a man just beyond the baseball diamond confines.
Apparently, Sebastian was not addressing Stone and me, but the couple who appear madly in love with one another.