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hurt this family.
    Jesus Christ, Taylor, Jesus. Her name on his lips as he came, filling her mouth, filling her heart. Lord, he
was right. They hadn’t finished what was between them. They’d barely begun.
    And Evelyn was staring at her with
another of those assessing looks.
    Taylor knew she shouldn’t. It was
insane, risky. She could rip her family apart. But she needed one more taste of
Jace. Just one more, then she’d stop. Swear to God.
    “I was wondering if you could take
the kids Friday night. For a little while.”
    Her mother-in-law gazed at her,
then blinked and said, “Sure. You know we always enjoy having the boys over.”
    Her stomach tied itself into guilty
knots. “Thanks. I appreciate it.”
    “Need more alone time?”
    Twice in a week, Taylor had asked.
Saturday night, she’d said she needed some alone time. The lie hadn’t set well.
This was so much worse because it was Jace. Still, she searched for an excuse.
“Actually, I have a meeting with Brian’s teacher.”
    After Lou died, she’d had a lot of
teacher meetings. Brian went through a bad time, acting up in school and
picking fights with bigger boys. Things had gotten better, though, when Jace
stepped in, spending much of his spare time with the boys.
    “Is everything okay?”
    “Yeah. It’s sort of an end-of-year
meeting. Like a checkup.” She felt like she was digging her own grave.
    “In the evening?”
    “The teacher will be out of town
for the day. He asked me to meet him at 8:30. Is that okay?” Lame, but Evelyn’s
reaction to the truth worried her. She didn’t feel comfortable saying she had a
date. Let alone that it was with Evelyn’s own son.
    Evelyn sipped her coffee. “Sure.
All right. Do you want them to spend the night?”
    If she really had a meeting with a
teacher, Evelyn wouldn’t need to take the kids for the whole night. “No. I
should be able to pick them up before ten. No later than ten. Promise.”
    “I really don’t mind having them
spend the night.”
    “I wouldn’t think of it, Evelyn.
You had them on Saturday. Jamey said he beat his grandpa at checkers twelve
times.”
    Don’t wear any panties. The
husky whisper tingled along her spine. Her cheeks heated, her body warmed, and
her breath quickened.
    Good Lord. She was talking to her
mother-in-law about her kids and checkers and their grandpa.
    But the taste of Jace was on her
mind and on her tongue. Not even hot coffee nor the trace of guilt could wash
it away.
    She started to babble, and when
Evelyn left, she couldn’t remember a thing they’d talked about.
    Except the lie and Friday night.
    And Don’t wear any panties .
     
    * * * * *
     
    The girl was giddy. Now, Connie was
giddy, and Rina was equally as bad as her mother. But Taylor always had her
feet on the ground. Good heavens, Connie, the little matchmaker, was right.
Something was going on between Taylor and Jace.
    Not to mention that story about
Friday night. Meeting Brian’s teacher? School was almost out for the year. Why
would a teacher ask for a meeting at this late date? And at night?
    No, it was Jace who asked for the
meeting. Or a date. Or an assignation. Evelyn had been watching out the window.
Taylor had stayed on the front path as he drove away. Watching.
    Heavens above.
    Arthur would have a heart attack.
To him, Taylor was the epitome of a mother. The mother of his eldest son’s
children. In Arthur’s mind, she would always be Lou’s wife. He wouldn’t
understand if Taylor turned to another man. To Arthur, no one could replace
Lou. No one. Not even Jace. Especially not Jace.
    She didn’t want to believe that
Arthur blamed Jace for Lou’s death. He’d never said it, not once. Except one
small hint the day they put their boy in the ground. The worst day of her life.
Burying Lou made it all real. Arthur had held her hand and whispered, almost to
himself, “If only Jace had done what he said he was going to do.”
    The words themselves were blame
enough.
    Taylor and Jace