Sixteen
Tuck had to fight a smile at the look of incredulity on Piper’s beautiful face. Man, did she look perfect this morning. Not that she didn’t always look great, but something about her practically glowed. He could only hope he was even partway responsible.
He shook his head, focusing on the conversation at hand. “Maybe I should explain a little.”
Piper nodded.
“I ended up talking to Lamont after a moment of crisis.”
“Wait.” She held up a hand. “Did you have a plan that involved telling me how you feel?”
“Yes,” he drawled, cheeks heating with embarrassment.
“So the moment of crisis was you realizing you deviated from that plan?”
“Yep.” His lips made a popping noise.
Yet censure didn’t come his way. Instead, Piper threw her head back and laughed. After a moment, she reached for the diner napkin to dab at her eyes, then motioned for him to continue.
“Like I was saying before someone so rudely mocked me—”
“Not mocked. Laughed.” She held up a finger. “There’s a difference.”
“Yeah, sure.” He nodded as if he believed her. “Does that difference involve laughing until tears appear?”
“Of course. I would never laugh while mocking someone. It’s impossible to do both.”
He rolled his eyes, then threw his balled-up straw wrapper at her.
“Boys. They never grow out of throwing stuff.”
“Do you want to hear my revelation or not?”
She batted her eyelashes. “Yes, please.”
This woman. She could make him laugh despite himself and make him feel like the most important person in the world all in the span of seconds.
“Lamont challenged me about making plans and not leaving room for God to act.” He sighed. “Kind of convicted me.”
Piper’s face turned serious. “I never thought about that. I mean, I know you believe in God and pray often. I guess I never considered your plans might be a barrier.”
“Same. But what Lamont said made a lot of sense. Then I talked to God about it until I couldn’t keep my eyes open any longer.”
She chuckled.
“This morning I determined to let God direct me. Hence the reason I didn’t pretend like nothing happened.” Though now that they were talking about it, his stomach was more knotted up than a fishing line.
What if Piper started dating him, then realized he didn’t have a whole lot to offer? Sure, he could train her horses, and sure, he could watch rom-coms with her. But he couldn’t pay for the suites they were currently staying in. Not if he wanted to get his farm paid off and make sure he also paid taxes and had health insurance and other basics.
“So...” Piper placed her chin on her hands. “Let’s talk about this kiss and your feelings.”
Oh boy. Did she expect him to bare his soul, or could he maintain a surface level until assured she was as gone for him as he was for her? Tell her he had more-than-friendly feelings, yes. Tell her he was pretty sure it was love, no.
“Tuck?”
He cleared his throat. “Let’s talk.”
“How long have you had more-than-friendly feelings for me?”
Now his insides felt like live bait was squirming around. “Probably since middle school at the end-of-the-year dance. Tommy Blake was supposed to take you, but he backed out when he discovered his mom didn’t like your mom. So I took you, which I wanted to do in the first place. But since I was in my freshman year of high school, I technically didn’t have a reason to go to an eighth-grade dance.”
Her mouth parted. “You’ve liked me since then?”
“Yes.” He blew out a breath. “You looked so pretty in your pink dress.”
“Tuck...” Her ebony eyes sparkled. “I had a huge crush on you then.”
“Before then ... or only then?” And dang if he wasn’t holding his breath while waiting for her to answer.
She bit her lip. “Before then....”
All this time? “Why didn’t you ever say anything?”
“Well...” A solemn expression covered her face. “I was afraid the difference in our race would be an issue.”
He sat back against the seat. “Piper, we’re best friends. If I had an issue, don’t you think it would have stopped our friendship from even happening?”
“People might be friends with someone outside their ethnic group, but that doesn’t mean they’d actually date them.”
“Darlin’...” He hated that she thought that. That she would ever feel any kind of lack. He was the one deficient. He was the one who couldn’t offer her the world.
Tuck reached for her hand and gazed steadily into her beautiful face. “I’m not eloquent in speech, so I’m asking the Holy Spirit to give me the words. I want to be crystal clear and pray you have ears to hear.” He paused. “You being born in ?l?r? Ilé is a non-factor for me. Not because I don’t see how beautiful the color of your skin is and don’t care how that’s shaped you, but because who you are on the inside is what matters the most to me.” His thumb stroked the back of her hand as words poured forth.
“You are faithful to Christ, loyal to family and friends, and you make me laugh as much as you make me want to be the man you deserve to have by your side. Your personality matters more to me than your looks. Like it says in the Bible, beauty is passing. One day, I may be bald with hair coming out only my ears and nose. But I hope you’ll still care about me because my personality had long since endeared me to you.”
Did that make sense, or was that another microaggression version of I don’t see color?
Piper stood and came to his side of the booth, perching half on the seat and half in his lap. Then she wrapped him in a hug, whispering softly in his ear. “Thank you for seeing me for me.”
“Always.” He kissed her cheek, then nuzzled his nose right in the crook of her neck.
He could have happily stayed that way for hours, but she moved back to her seat in a matter of seconds. A moment later, their server brought their food.
Tuck offered to say grace, thankful he could say the blessing as a couple now. Wait, were they a couple?
“Lord God, please bless this food and please bless our relationship. Amen.”
“Amen,” Piper echoed. She tilted her head. “So what are we?”
He grinned. “Best friends.” That he could say without a doubt.
“Is that it?” Her gaze narrowed.
“Is that all you want it to be?” Tuck could barely contain his amusement as a glower flared her nostrils.
This time, Piper threw something at him. He caught her napkin in midair and handed it back.
“Piper McKinney, I’ll be whatever you want me to be.” If that wasn’t the truth.
“Then boyfriend it is ... for now.”
His heart quickened at the “for now” comment. “Okay ... girlfriend.”
She grinned and took a bite of her food. “Oh my word. We have to eat here every morning until we leave.”
“That can be arranged.”
“Thank heaven.” She took another bite, shimmying with delight.
Tuck didn’t know what he’d been expecting, but the rest of their breakfast was much the same as their time together had always been. They joked and laughed, talked about Dream and the other contenders for the Jeff Ruby Steaks, and then left after paying for their meal. The only thing different was the amount of hand holding and shared looks.
He actually really enjoyed the change even though panic wanted to creep into his mind here and there. Like when Piper mentioned something her mom had said. Immediately, he wondered what Mrs. McKinney would think. Would she believe Tuck was good enough to date her daughter? Have a serious relationship that would—God willing—lead to marriage? Or would she urge Piper to pick some other man just like she managed to get her to wear something she wasn’t comfortable in?
Not to mention how a win with Dream at the Derby would change things. He’d always assumed he’d needed Dream to win that race before Piper would even think of him in a more-than-friends kind of way. Now that he knew that wasn’t the case, he wasn’t really sure what to do next.
Remember, God will lead.
Piper tugged on his hand, pulling him from his thoughts quite literally. He followed and told his brain to relax.
“Will Gabe be at the track this afternoon?” Piper asked.
“Yeah. He wants to work the colt once over the track.”
“How’s your other horse doing? The one who has a chance at going to the Kentucky Oaks?”
Tuck smiled. The filly was doing really well. “She’s great. I can’t wait to see how she places.”
“I’m so happy for you.” Piper squeezed his hand. “It’s about time the world found out how great of a trainer you are. I’m only sorry my parents never offered the lead trainer position to you.”
He wasn’t. He liked owning his own farm. Liked choosing who he worked for. Basically liked everything there was about working for himself. “I think it was for the best.”
“You think?”
He nodded. “I really do. I wouldn’t get to direct my own hours if I were still working at Bolt Brook.”
“That’s true.”
“Plus, it’s showed me that a change of plans isn’t always a bad thing.” He winked.
In truth, Tuck had been worried that leaving his position as associate trainer at Bolt Brook when Piper asked him to train Dream would be a foolish move. Still, he gave her offer some serious consideration. After praying and praying, God had told him to move forward with Piper and not her folks’ farm. Now he could see how much better being his own boss was.
See, you laid down your plans for God’s will.
“I’m so glad you decided to train my Thoroughbred. Honestly, you were my only choice. I’m not sure who I would have asked if you’d said no.” Her nose scrunched up as she peered up at him.
“I’ve got a question.” She nodded, so he continued once they were both in the truck and he had started driving. “Did you pick your farm because it was next door to mine, or was that a mere coincidence?”
“Sort of a coincidence.” She twisted in the seat to look at him. “I was looking for farms with specific criteria, and Maisha Farms was one of three I found. One was outside of Eastbrook, which was a little strange to me. I mean, I was open to the move, only the land was in rough shape, and the buildings needed a lot of reno work. The other farm was also in Eastbrook, but honestly, it was too close to my folks. So I chose the one next door to yours.”
“Me or your folks, huh?” Whoa. Now that he heard it out loud, it almost felt like a premonition.
“Well, my folks will always be my folks. But before that kiss, I always figured my time with you was limited, so having you as a neighbor would be better than nothing.”
“What do you mean limited?”
She huffed. “Tuck, I thought you’d fall in love with some girl and marry her, and then I’d be forced to pretend I liked her. Not to mention that once she realized how much time you spent with me, she’d quickly squash that. What girl wants her man to be besties with another woman?”
“No woman?” he said cautiously.
“Exactly.”
Tuck laughed. “Good to know you were a little jealous.”
“You call it jealousy, I call it smarts.”
“Well, in this case, it might be the same thing.”
He wanted to promise he’d never give her a reason to be jealous, but who knew what went on in a woman’s mind when that feeling arose? He once saw a girl get jealous of another girl because they were wearing the same shirt. Looked different on each of them, but that didn’t matter to the one turning green.
Instead, Tuck squeezed Piper’s fingers and continued his way to Turfway. They’d get Dream out of the stables and acclimate him to the track, so he’d be ready for the race on Saturday. And he and Piper ... well, one step at a time.