Chapter 13 #3
“I understand your concerns. Can you give us a few days to investigate this?” Mr. Autry asked.
“Yes, sir. My family and I are leaving for Tennessee tomorrow, and we’ll be back in five days,” Tate said.
“Excellent. That will give us time to come to a decision. Call me when you’re back, and safe travels,” Autry said.
“Thank you, sir,” Tate said, and went back outside.
“Did you get in touch with Mr. Autry?” Lilith asked.
“Yes. He’s doing some digging for me while we’re gone.”
Before Lilith could ask any more questions, Micah joined them on the porch. “Good morning.”
Lilith smiled. “You’re up! Biscuits are done. Bacon is fried. How about some eggs to go with that?”
“Yes, please,” Micah said.
“It won’t take long,” she said, and hurried inside.
“Your mother is an amazing woman,” Micah said.
Tate nodded. “It’s been hard on her here. I’ll be happy for them to move home.”
“What are your plans? Are you coming with them?” he asked.
“No. They want to go back where they grew up in, but I have no roots there. I’ve never lived anywhere but in this holler between a mountain and a river, among people who cursed my existence and spread gossip about Mama because of me.
The world is a big place…a place so big that a whole lot of people get lost in it, one way or another.
My purpose on this earth will be to help them find their way home.
When I leave here for the last time, I will never come this way again. ”
“What about your girl?” Micah asked.
“I’ll never lose touch with her. She is my future, and I am hers.” Then he glanced through the window into the kitchen. “Looks like Mom has your breakfast about ready. I’ll be gone for a time today. See you later.”
They walked in the house together, but Tate paused to send Briar a text, then glanced up. “Mom, is it okay if I borrow your car to go see Briar? I need to let her know what’s going on.”
“Of course. I don’t need it, so take your time, and give Briar our love.”
“Yes, ma’am,” Tate said. He lifted her keys from the hook and walked out the door.
“He’s pretty attached to his girlfriend,” Micah said.
“Best friends since first grade, and now the love of his life,” Lilith said, and refilled Micah’s cup as he sat down to eat.
* * *
Briar’s response to Tate’s text was a heart emoji, but he knew what it meant, and what she meant to him.
Then, as he was driving across town, he had a moment of déjà vu and flashed back on the crazy drive to get her the day of the storm.
That day he’d been afraid of losing her, and now he was coming to say goodbye.
Even if it was only a few days, the dread of their separation was coming closer, and he wasn’t ready to face it.
He parked in the drive and headed for the front door, but before he could ring the bell, the door swung inward, and she was there.
She saw the shadows on his face. “Oh, honey,” she said, then pulled him inside and threw her arms around him.
Tate kicked the door shut and pulled her close. Her hair smelled as good as she did. “Who’s gonna talk me off the cliff when you’re not around anymore?” he asked.
She looked straight into his eyes. “It will still be me, on the phone…still loving you no matter what. I won’t lose you, and you’re not going to lose me. Come upstairs with me, Tate. Make love with me now. Give me something to sleep on while you’re gone.”
They went up the stairs and into her room. The air conditioner was humming. The shades in her room were closed to keep out the heat of the day, and the citrus scent of her bath salts still lingered.
She paused, locked the door, and then walked into his arms. The kiss was inevitable—tentative, testing, and then became an urgent signal for more. Pulling at each other’s clothes, tossing them with abandon; hearts pounding, pulses racing as they fell onto the bed.
“Tate…please…” she whispered.
Hard and hurting, he moved over her, slid inside her. Time moved with the motion of their bodies, teasing the climax building between them—ebbing and flowing. Believing it would never stop. Needing it to end.
When Briar suddenly stiffened beneath him and uttered a soft moan, Tate lost the last of his control—shattering into a thousand different pieces, until Briar’s arms slid around his neck and put him back together again.
His heartbeat skipped, then slowly eased into a normal rhythm.
She was his poison, but she was also the cure.
He kissed the hollow at the base of her throat and pulled her close.
Briar sighed. “Love is dangerous, isn’t it? It’s all mixed up in sex, devotion, promises, and needing someone to give you a reason to breathe.”
He brushed a kiss across her lips. “That’s you for me, all in one perfect body, with a beautiful soul. If I could bottle you up, I’d take you with me.”
Briar heard the tension in his voice. “You are dreading the trip, aren’t you?”
He rolled over, taking her with him, then kissed the top of her head. “Yes and no. I know I am supposed to do this. I also know it’s going to change my life…our lives.”
“For the better?” she asked.
He sighed. “Definitely, but at a cost.”
“You mean…us being apart?”
“Yes. I just need to make sure I don’t drag you into my life until I know for certain you’ll be safe.”
She clasped his hand and held it to her heart.
“We’ve talked about this before. Whatever it takes, you’re worth the wait.
Now stop fretting about me, and start planning for you.
I’ve been living under this roof, taking care of myself for as long as I can remember.
Nobody read me bedtime stories. Nobody rocked me when I was sick.
I never had parents show up for parent day.
I won awards at the end of school and took them home without a single accolade.
I’m tough, Tate Bandy. I will miss you like crazy and be grateful for the rare times we do see each other, but you can’t disappoint me.
” And then she smiled. “And you can’t escape me either. ”
Tate grinned. “Was that a warning or a promise?”
“Whatever you need it to be,” she said. “Go visit with your cousin. I met him yesterday. The family resemblance is there. I can’t imagine what it will be like when you go back to Tennessee and see the Bandy clan waiting to greet you. It will be a homecoming, my love. Enjoy it.”
Tate kissed her, then got up, went to wash up, and came back to get dressed.
Briar was still stretched out in bed, watching. “You are so beautiful, Tate Bandy.” She got up to get dressed when he stopped her with a look.
“You are my heart. This is how I want to remember you. I’ll let myself out,” he said.
Words failed her. She was still standing as he walked out of her room. It wasn’t until she heard him driving away that the tears began to fall.