Always On My Mind Read online

  Teague had kissed her for the first time while they were sitting on that bench. Just leaned over in the middle of a conversation about the persuasive essay their eighth-grade English teacher had assigned that day, and put his lips on hers. Teague’s kiss had been infinitely more persuasive than the papers they’d turned in.

  Had his mom offered him the bench or had Teague asked for it? That possibility turned Jenny’s heart gooey.

  Teague answered the door wearing jeans, a red polo shirt and one of his trademark heart-exploding grins. It took all the strength inside Jenny not to lean in and give him a kiss right then and there. But that would surely confuse Grayson, who was standing beside her.

  And honestly, just the thought of kissing Teague again was confusing her.

  Instead, she motioned toward the nearest shutter. “Are you getting in touch with your feminine side?”

  “The lady who owned this house moved to Dogwood Ridge Assisted Living not long after I moved to Summer Shoals. She loved those darned shutters, and I haven’t had the heart to repaint them yet.”

  “How long ago was this?”

  “Going on three years now,” he mumbled. Then he grabbed Grayson up in a manly hug complete with a knuckle rub on the head. “Get into any trouble since I saw you yesterday?”

  “Mimi and me snuck some meat into Sera’s tofu last night.”

  “Attaboy.”

  Jenny sighed. “Apparently, you can’t take the alfalfa sprouts and chia seeds out of a California girl any more than I can take the brisket and potato salad out of my mom.”

  “Give your mom a little more time to work on her,” Teague said. “Sera hasn’t been in Summer Shoals a year yet. I bet by this time next year, your mom has her cooking up chili and chicken-fried steak.”

  “Eww, can you imagine eating chicken-fried tofu?” Grayson asked, but his attention was on a pair of corn hole boards on Teague’s porch. “Mom, can I play that?”

  Jenny lifted her brows at Teague. “Texas A&M vs. UT? You didn’t go to either of those schools.”

  “It was a gift from your mom,” Teague said. “So you can imagine which bags she tosses whenever she stops by for a game.”

  “Maroon, all the way.” Her mom was a loyal Aggie, even during the years when their defense wasn’t for crap. “Grayson, I don’t mind if Teague doesn’t.”

  “Have at it, dude.”

  Grayson dashed across the porch, and Teague reached over and caught Jenny’s hand. “Welcome to my home, Jenny Cady.”

  “Northcutt.”

  He frowned. “Why did you keep his name?”

  “Makes things less confusing for Grayson and me to have the same last name.” Besides, she wasn’t the same girl Teague had known as Jenny Cady.

  When he led her inside, his house was dark except for a faint flickering light.

  “Did you have a blackout?” she asked.

  Teague shook his head. “You obviously have no sense of romance.”

  “Romance? Teague, Grayson is right outside.”

  “Not that kind of romance.” Still, he leaned down and kissed the curve of her jaw as though he did it every day. “You smell like oranges and—” he sniffed her neck, tickling her skin, “—nutmeg.”

  “It’s ginger.”

  “Knew it was something you cooked with.” He led her through his neat living room and down a dim hallway to open a door on the right. Inside, a dozen candles of different sizes and shapes flickered around the edge of a deep tub. The steaming water had fogged up the mirror and released the scent of the pink rose petals floating on top.

  “You’re showing me your bathroom? And what’s with the bath and the—”

  “It’s for you, and there’s more.” He pulled her out of the room and shut the door behind them. When they passed through the living room, music suddenly began to stream from unseen speakers. Eric Clapton’s “Wonderful Tonight.” Her favorite.

  They walked through the doorway into another room, where a single place setting was arranged on the dining table. Two tapers flickered in glass holders.

  “Would you like to explain all this?” she asked.

  He turned to her, so close she could feel his body heat and smell the scent of sandalwood on his skin. “Jenny, what’s it like being a single parent?”

  “Change the subject much?”

  “Humor me.”

  Oh, God. Sometimes it was so exhausting and lonely that she wasn’t sure how she’d climb from her bed in the morning. Other times, it was the purest joy in the world. “It’s…demanding.”

  “Which means you don’t get a lot of time for yourself, right?”

  She laughed, a sharp exhalation that escaped before she could contain it. In response, she rubbed a hand over her mouth because now she felt fragmented, as though she’d somehow been disloyal to Grayson. “I love my son.”

  “Of course you do.” Teague ran his hands up and down her arms, a soothing reassurance that she wasn’t the most horrible mom in the world. Her body slowly reassembled itself into one piece. “But you can love someone and love yourself at the same time.”

  She raised her brows at him. “Please tell me that’s not a euphemism.”

  “Jesus.” He pulled out the chair in front of the single place setting. “Sit.”

  “I don’t—”

  “If you don’t put your pretty little butt in this chair right now, I will paddle it.”

  She automatically rubbed her rear but did as he demanded.

  “This is the deal,” he said, scooting in her chair. “I’m about to serve you dinner. Once you’ve eaten, the bath should still be hot and the wine should still be cold. You’ll find a few mysteries and romances on the shelf by the towels. Grayson and I are heading to the last high school basketball game before holiday break. We should be gone two hours minimum. I figure that’ll give you enough time to enjoy the food and a little peace and quiet. Stay as long as you like, and I’ll bring Grayson back to Summer Haven later.”

  “This is your idea of a dinner date?”

  “This is my idea of taking care of the woman I love,” he said softly. Simply.

  Jenny’s heart swelled in a way that threatened to cut off her air supply. How should she respond?

  She certainly couldn’t say those words back. She had no idea how she felt about this man. Her chest felt as if someone had set off a can of Silly String inside her, her emotions a jumble of tangled strands. Resentment, lust, longing, fear. “I don’t know what—”

  Teague leaned in and kissed her, effectively cutting off whatever inane thing had been about to come from between her lips. His strong hand cupped the back of her head, allowing her to give away some of the responsibility she felt 24/7 these days.

  PICK YOUR PASSION™

  Sweet - continue to next page

  Heat - skip 1-2 pages

  Chapter 4 - Sweet

  Giving up some of her control felt unfamiliar, but freeing.

  He must’ve sensed her surrender because his kiss became more than a tender meeting of their lips. He pulled her closer, their kiss turning urgent.

  Jenny’s body was eager to feel Teague again. He’d been a passionate lover when they were barely adults, and she could just imagine his touch now. He made her feel desirable, something she hadn’t felt since way before her divorce.

  As if reading her heated thoughts, he smoothed a hand over her shoulder and ran his hand through her hair, pausing only to drop a kiss in the crook of her neck, sending chills down her body like a hundred tiny promises.

  “God, Jenny,” he groaned. “I want…”

  Oh, yeah. She wanted too.

  Skip 2-3 pages to Remainder of Chapter 4

  Chapter 4 - Heat

  She’d never realized that giving up some of her control could feel so delicious. So freeing.

  He must’ve sensed her surrender because his kiss became more than a tender meeting of their lips. He angled his head and took them both deeper. Lips sliding, teeth nipping, tongues playing.<
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  But the rest of Jenny’s body was eager to get in on the action too. Her nipples hardened inside her bra, and a sweet ache throbbed between her thighs. God, when was the last time she’d felt this? Felt like a desired woman?

  For a flash, she imagined what it would be like to rip off her clothes, shove the dishes out of the way, and let Teague do her on the dining room table.

  As if reading her heated thoughts, he smoothed a hand over her shoulder and covered her breast.

  “God, Jenny,” he groaned. “I want…”

  Oh, yeah. She wanted too. Wanted to boost herself onto the table, lay back and open her body to him. Open her heart to him.

  The ache between her legs took on a jungle-drum beat, and she rubbed her thighs together.

  Continue to next page

  Remainder of Chapter 4

  It had only ever been like this with Teague. He was the only man who made her wild. Made her wanted to do things that were sweet and dirty at the same time.

  “Hey, Mom,” Grayson yelled from somewhere too close by, “I won!”

  Jenny pushed Teague away when her body was begging her to pull him closer. “I…we can’t. I didn’t mean to…”

  Teague passed a light hand over her hair. “You’re a mom, but you’re also a woman. Have you forgotten that?”

  Apparently, all the body parts but her brain hadn’t forgotten that for a second. They still wanted to dirty dance with all this man’s body parts. Instead, she called out to Grayson, “Nice going, bud.” Then she said to Teague, “Maybe I should just—”

  “The only thing you should do while we’re gone is relax.”

  With this man’s hands on her body, with his lips on hers, relaxation was much easier said than done.

  Chapter 5

  An hour later, Teague’s stomach was still jumping from that kiss. His stomach? Hell, the thing twitching was a few inches lower than that. And now he understood the conflict Jenny must feel, balancing being a mother and a woman. One was about doing for someone else. The other was about taking for yourself.

  And God knows, Teague was more than willing to give everything he had to her.

  But that didn’t mean she was ready. So tonight, he was wooing both mother and son. Truth was, he’d enjoy hanging out with Grayson even if he wasn’t in love with his mom.

  The high school gym was packed with people all hollering and waving at the players and the mascot, a six-foot tall red barracuda. The sound of sneakers squealing on hardwood floor and the smell of adolescent BO permeated the place.

  Grayson stuffed a handful of popcorn into his mouth, and mumbled around it, “Can we get ice cream after the game?”

  So far, Grayson had eaten nachos, a Frito pie—claiming it was epic—and now the popcorn. If this kid puked all night long, Jenny would come after Teague with one of her momma’s guns. Jenny in pursuit sounded pretty good, but if she was packing Abby Ruth’s AR-15, it wouldn’t be quite so sexy.

  “Why don’t we save that for next time?”

  Grayson’s eyes widened. “You mean we get to do this again?”

  “Well, probably not basketball, but we could do something else.”

  “Like what?” More popcorn shoveled in.

  “What do you like to do up in Boston?”

  One skinny shoulder went to the kid’s ear. “Sometimes I go to the country club with my dad. He got me lessons with the golf pro.” Grayson leaned close to Teague to say, “But I stink, so most of the time I just sit and drink Shirley Temples.”

  Shirley Temples? What happened to something more manly, like root beer? This kid was in for a long haul if that was the kind of dad he had. “Anything else you do with your dad?” Teague might think Daniel Northcutt was a pansy-assed pretty-boy, but he was probably a decent dad. What man wouldn’t love to have a kid as awesome as Grayson?

  “Sunday brunch at the club too.”

  Jesus.

  “The eggs Benedict are good.”

  Teague couldn’t help but laugh. Kid obviously had a tapeworm. “How about hunting or four-wheeling?”

  “Dad says that stuff is too redneck.”

  Of course he did. “Well, I say we need guy night a couple of times while your mom and you are here.”

  “Really?”

  “Hey, I brought you tonight, didn’t I?”

  “Yes, sir. Thank you.”

  Sometimes Jenny might act as though all her Texas roots were gone, but it was a lie. Otherwise, her son wouldn’t say “no, ma’am” and “yes, sir.” She was bringing this boy up Southern whether she realized it or not.

  Grayson looked up at Teague, “Can I ask you something?”

  “Sure thing.” Propping his elbows on the bench behind him, Teague relaxed back.

  “Why do you think parents get divorced?”

  Teague’s brain stalled, and his gut froze. Relax? Hell, he should know better than to think a guy could ever relax around kids. “Well…” Thoughts crashed around in his head. Who was he to talk to this kid about why his parents split? Surely Jenny had explained it to him.

  “Do you think it’s because the mom and dad don’t love each other anymore?” The kid’s lips were terrifyingly close to quivering. “Because they love someone else?”

  Teague had never been in a quicksand pit before but surely it felt like this—chest pressure, short breath and booming head.

  “Because doesn’t that mean they could maybe start loving some other kid instead of me?”

  Forget the pressure. A ravine the size of Miller’s Pass ripped right through Teague’s heart. But somehow, he didn’t think coddling and sympathy was what Grayson needed. “Seriously? Who would want some other kid over you?”

  “Probably my mom,” he said miserably. “Sometimes I forget to brush my teeth and she gets on to me.”

  Teague made a come-on motion with his fingers. “Go ahead. Give it all to me. I want to hear how horrible you really are.”

  “Back when we had a dog—before Champ went to doggie heaven—I used to feed him my broccoli under the table.”

  “Bet he had some major farts.”

  Grayson giggled. “I rip the knees out of my jeans.”

  “Makes ’em more comfortable.”

  “I don’t always say my prayers.”

  “Dude.” Teague shoulder-bumped Grayson. “God listens when you talk to him in your head.”

  That made Grayson’s mouth drop. “Does that mean he hears everything I think?”

  Well, he’d walked right into that one, hadn’t he?

  The kid went pale. “Because sometimes I think bad things, mean things, and—”

  Teague wrapped an arm around Grayson’s shoulders, pulled him in tight. “God’s busy, dude. He doesn’t have time to spy on every little thought you have.”

  “Whew.” When Grayson’s head drooped against Teague’s chest, relief and love as clear as a spring-fed creek streamed through him. He would do whatever it took to convince Jenny this was the right place for her. For her son. And for them to all have a future together.

  Sure, that future might be a little cobbled together. But whose life wasn’t a bit of a patchwork quilt these days? Made everything more interesting. Kept a man on his toes.

  “Grayson, I can promise you this.” Teague rubbed a reassuring palm on Grayson’s back. “Your parents splitting didn’t have a single thing to do with you. Because, let’s face it, you’re the number one greatest kid in the world.”

  “Uh…I don’t feel so…” Grayson’s shoulders hunched, and his thin body shook. And then came the sound of a cat huffing up a fur ball. Then something hot and wet hit Teague’s thigh, soaking through his jeans. “…great,” Grayson moaned.

  Teague closed his eyes for all of two seconds. Yeah, because he knew that sound. That smell. He’d been there a few times himself. Once after riding the zipper four times in a row after a half-dozen corn dogs. Several times in college after out-of-control frat parties. The night he’d heard Jenny was having another man’s baby. />
  Excellent news was it was now doubtful that Jenny would be up all night with a sick kid.

  Not so excellent news was Teague had to get them both cleaned up before he could take Grayson home.

  Over three hours after Teague left Jenny to a dinner of homemade chicken enchiladas and a warm bath, he still hadn’t returned to Summer Haven with her son.

  Jenny paced from the parlor’s china cabinet to the mahogany grandfather clock in the foyer and back again, the pine floor cool even through the thick socks she’d filched from one of Teague’s drawers. And if she’d skimmed an eye over his boxers at the same time, who was to know?

  Wearing Teague’s socks made her remember all the times she’d nabbed his clothes while they were dating. In fact, he’d complained that she’d packed half his closet when she left for college in Boston and he stayed in Texas to attend Sam Houston State. She’d just grinned and pushed one more of his baseball practice shirts into her bag. She’d slept in that shirt, printed with their high school’s cardinal mascot, every night until he’d taken something precious of hers and broken it. Her trust.

  And now he had her son. And he was late.

  Sure, she’d been apart from Grayson plenty over the years. After all, she worked full-time. But he was normally with his dad, a teacher, or possibly a friend’s mother. Her son didn’t go on bro-dates.

  And especially not with the man Jenny couldn’t get a handle on. What was Teague’s game in all this? He had to understand that her life was complicated, that she couldn’t simply think of herself.

  The kiss they’d shared earlier had been a total panty-burner. Delicious, yes. But scary. Maybe too scary.

  “Jenny, stop hovering by the windows,” her mom hollered from Summer Haven’s dining room. “We need you to pony up your money for this dice game Sera’s so hot for.”

  “You don’t understand,” she called back.

  Her mom stomped into the parlor, wearing a pair of snip-toe cowboy boots Jenny had been admiring since she hit town, and leaned against the piano. The keys let out a bonging sound as her butt hit them. “I understand perfectly. Don’t you think I ever worried when I left you at day care or after-school care?”