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  “An excuse?”

  “It doesn’t work with me. I’m pretty easy to get along with.”

  “So you think.”

  “I’m not?”

  “Well you used to be.”

  “What does that mean? Now that I kissed you, things have to be complicated? Why can’t I just like you and that be good enough?”

  This is what I wasn’t good at; I tended to over think everything. I did it for a reason—I chose to be cautious—but it also worked against me.

  “I’m sorry,” I said sincerely. “Can we just start over?”

  He actually had to consider it and that worried me. Especially when he said, “No, I don’t really want to start over.”

  I was crushed, even though we barely even knew each other in the first place. “I’m sorry,” I said again. “I have a problem questioning everything and sometimes it ruins a good thing.”

  “I know,” he smiled. “I’m kind of figuring you out. But that’s why I don’t want to start over. I’ll take everything just the way it’s happened.” He stepped closer to me again and brushed my hair away from my face. “I really like you, Taryn. Can we just go from there?”

  I smiled, and then eventually nodded my head. He leaned down and kissed me again, and it felt just as special as the first time. But I think he was alarmed when he touched my arms.

  “Oh hell, you’re freezing,” he said, wrapping me up in his jacket again.

  It instantly felt better, and I liked being that close to him again. “You put me here and I’ll never go home,” I told him.

  “Well that’s okay with me,” he lightly laughed. “But you really should get going since it’s so late. I’m sorry I kept you so long.”

  It was even harder to leave after that, but he did kiss me one more time and then we said goodbye.

  I had an interesting drive home. I spent the time thinking over my entire history with Zack, and in hindsight, I could finally catch the little things that should have clued me in about him. Yeah, he was used to being around little kids, and I knew without a doubt that he would have liked me whether I had a daughter or not.

  I got home that night and immediately began looking at the photos I’d taken. There were some great ones, and I was really excited to get started on them.

  However, I was unprofessional, and I sat in my room staring at all the pictures of Zack instead.

  Chapter Six

  “I don’t even know what you do for a living,” I said to Zack. He’d called the next morning around ten, and we’d been talking for a few minutes as I loaded my photos onto my computer.

  “You think I work? Pssh, yeah right.”

  I knew he was kidding, but I was more curious than ever. “Seriously, what do you do? You have to do something during the day, right?”

  “Do I? Why, or I’m not a productive human being?”

  “Zack, come on. I guess if you’re going to be difficult about it, then I won’t go out with you tonight.”

  “Ouch. You’d seriously punish yourself like that?”

  I laughed and shook my head to myself. “I guess so. Well, I’ll talk to you another time then—”

  “What? Oh fine, if you really need to know.”

  “Of course I need to know.”

  “Because you’ll run the other way when you find out I’m a male stripper?”

  I laughed really hard that time, and it took me a while to compose myself.

  “You done yet?” he asked after a while. “Thinking about my naked body is that funny?”

  “Maybe,” I said, continuing to chuckle. “So if you’re a stripper, then you have to promise to show me your signature move.”

  It was his turn to laugh. “Signature move, huh? Alrighty, but you might be a little startled.”

  “I’m ready to be startled.” I made a couple of clicks on the computer and then asked, “So how did your night end up? Get a little crazy with the boys last night?”

  “My night ended with you; best way to end a night ever.”

  I was happy to hear that but a little surprised. “You didn’t get together for the ‘after party’ party they were talking about?”

  “Nah. All they do is drink and gamble. I don’t do either, so I just went to bed and thought about you all night.”

  I was almost beginning to think this guy really did do something horrible for a living. Everything about him seemed too good to be true. What if he was full of jokes just to cover up the fact that he did do something out of the ordinary? What if he was just trying to prepare me for something terrible?

  “You still there?” he asked.

  “Yes, I’m still here. Sorry, I’m doing two things at once. I really hope your brother and his wife like their pictures because I think these are great.”

  “I’m sure they are. And I’m sure they’ll love ‘em.”

  I knew that to be true based on how much I liked being around them. It was probably why I was so excited for them to see the pictures. But they wouldn’t be home from their honeymoon for another week, so I had some time to wait.

  “So you really need to answer my question, Zack. What do you do for a living?”

  I expected him to give me the run around again, so I was surprised when he said, “I’m kind of a sucker for the mountain. Snowboarding is sort of a paying hobby.”

  It took me a second to understand, and I finally asked, “You’re a professional snowboarder?”

  “Past tense,” he replied. “I was a professional snowboarder. Up until four years ago.”

  “What happened four years ago?”

  “I broke my leg during a qualifying round. Kind of knocked myself unconscious too, but my leg… It pretty much ended my career before it really got started.”

  “Wow, I’m sorry. So does your leg bother you still?”

  “Mm, maybe a little. I still snowboard, but not as extreme. I just do it for fun.”

  “So if you don’t board professionally, how do you make a living?”

  He didn’t answer at first, and it made me curious. But finally he said, “I just, uh, picked up some work during my downtime and it’s kind of taken off over the past three years. I do consulting and stuff, and sometimes meet with other boarders and do product testing.”

  I thought about that for a few seconds and then said, “Hmm, that sounds interesting. Do you like it?”

  “Yeah, I love it. I’m really busy, but I work my own schedule. I do most of the business aspect during the workweek, and I can even take care of a lot of it from my laptop from almost anywhere. I try to keep days open for family, but I travel about three weekends a month once September hits.”

  “Are you at work right now?” I asked for some reason.

  “Yeah, I am. Why?”

  I chuckled. “No reason. Just flattered that you’d take the time to call me.”

  “Of course I would. Shaun White could walk in here and I’d rather talk to you.”

  “Oh yeah?” I smiled. “Have you met Shaun White?”

  “Uh, yeah, I have. I’ve boarded with him in Silverton and Park City.”

  “Really?”

  “Uh-huh. So about tonight… Can I pick you up around seven?”

  “Yeah, that sounds great. I’ll text you the address.”

  “Perfect. Okay, I gotta get back to work, so I’ll see you tonight. I can’t wait to see you.”

  “Likewise,” I said with a big smile.

  It took me a while to get back to work because all I could think about was Zack. While I was at the computer, I decided to Google him. If there was information about his snowboarding days, I wanted to see it.

  I typed in Zack McClain and waited a few seconds for the results. I wasn’t surprised that a lot came up, but I wasn’t sure how much was actually relevant to my Zack McClain. It didn’t take me long to figure out that most of it was relevant to him.

  I was particularly interested in the photos right away, so I clicked on those first and ended up browsing through at least fifty pi
ctures of him. Based on a few captions with the photos, and a couple of articles I ended up skimming through, it was obvious that Zack had talent.

  “It’s no wonder McClain’s career ended after a devastating crash in Park City,” one article said. I read further, only to learn that he’d broken his leg in four different places and dislocated his shoulder. And he received a pretty bad concussion that kept him in and out of consciousness for several days. He tried to get back into it a year later, but his body just wasn’t the same anymore, and he decided to call it quits.

  It made me really sad to read so many things that stated how good he could have been. I guess life changes for everyone though, and Zack certainly seemed happy despite his setbacks.

  I went to read another article with his name in it, but when the page opened, it was only a website for a snowboard company and I closed it. I chose another article just as Maggie entered the room and said, “Taryn, I’m bored.”

  “You’re bored, huh?” I asked, spinning around in my chair to face her. “What do you feel like doing?”

  She shrugged. “Play Barbies?”

  “I thought that’s what you were doing?”

  She shook her head no.

  I wished Maggie had more interaction with other kids besides just soccer once a week. Bethany had a little boy, and sometimes she watched another child or two when she had Maggie, but those kids were two-year-olds.

  “Okay, how about you give me five minutes to close up my work and I’ll come play with you.”

  She nodded and left the room.

  I did find a good stopping point for my work and I found Maggie in her room. We played with Barbies for almost an hour, and then we read a couple of books. I knew I needed to get some more work done, but she seemed really disappointed when she agreed with a gloomy, “Okay.”

  What Maggie needed was preschool. She needed to be somewhere she could play with kids and learn things. I’d already told Rachel that, and she said, “Yeah, I know, I’ll get her in somewhere.”

  Of course it never happened.

  I did go back to my computer for another hour, but when I had a few errands to run, Maggie was happy to come along for something to do. I took my memory card to my favorite photo shop, and while we waited for my order, Maggie and I did a little shopping across the street. We had a fun time, and my niece even felt pretty pleased to pick out the wedding album I was going to use to make a special gift for Melissa and Jason—it was something I liked to do as a bonus. When we made it back home it was almost six, and I knew I had to hurry if I was going to be ready for Zack to pick me up for dinner.

  By the time it was six forty-five, my sister wasn’t even home yet. I got that familiar feeling again and I just knew she was going to come home late that night.

  Zack arrived right on time, and even though I was so happy to see him, and so happy to kiss him again, I had to tell him that I couldn’t leave yet.

  “She always does this,” I grumbled quietly, so Maggie couldn’t hear. “I should have warned you but…”

  “It’s okay,” he shrugged. “We can hang out until she gets here. What’d she say?”

  “I had to leave a message, which means she hasn’t even left the office yet. Based on her history, we’ll be waiting for an hour or two.”

  He only nodded, but his attention was drawn to Maggie when she sat down at the coffee table with her crayons and a coloring book.

  “Hey Maggie, I’m thinking we should go get pizza and then go to the movie theatre to see a movie,” he said. “What do you think?”

  Her eyes lit up and she said, “Rapunzel?”

  Zack made his excitement match hers and said, “Sure! Sounds fantastic.”

  So Rapunzel it was, and even though neither of us cared about watching that particular movie, Maggie was pretty thrilled. I could tell that Zack was just as happy about making her night as I was, and that made me feel good. And it was a lot more fun having him there with us.

  Rachel’s car was in the garage when we got home. I had texted her when we got to the theatre to let her know where we were, and halfway through the movie she texted back: that’s fine; I’ll probably be asleep when you guys get back.

  Ugh, she made me so furious. It was like she was doing me some kind of favor by allowing me to come home late.

  I put Maggie to bed while Zack waited on the couch for me. I hated feeling so torn when I spent so much time with my niece. I loved doing it, but I was so mad at my sister for not fulfilling her role as a parent. I didn’t realize that I was going to be such a major part of Maggie’s life when I moved from California, but once I saw that she was with a babysitter for more than ten hours a day, I just couldn’t let that happen. Bethany knew Maggie better than Rachel did, and that made me really mad.

  Zack didn’t say anything when I joined him in the family room. I think he was trying to read my mood first, and since I didn’t want my evening with him to go to waste, I didn’t dwell on my frustrations over my sister.

  We started kissing as soon as I was next to him, and that was therapy enough for me. Gradually we stretched out on the couch together, and I enjoyed lying there with him in a dark room. We talked a lot, kissed a lot, and I was very comfortable in his arms. I guess I was a little too comfortable because when I woke to something touching my face, Maggie was smiling at me, and Rachel was standing there with her arms crossed over her chest.

  Chapter Seven

  “Oh,” I think I said.

  I moved slightly, and then I felt Zack wake up behind me. Even though I only glanced at him, I knew he was concerned when he saw my sister and niece staring at us at six in the morning. The last time I’d looked at the clock, it was almost three a.m.

  “Were you sleeping?” Maggie asked me.

  “Yes,” I replied, playfully scowling at the ribbon she must have touched my face with.

  “With Zack?” she giggled. The way she said it made me smile, but even though she was only four and was giggling for other reasons (boy germs), Rachel’s disapproving scowl was annoying.

  “I’d better get going,” Zack said, standing up from the couch. I stood up with him and he kissed me on the forehead. “I’ll call you later.” He tugged on a piece of Maggie’s dark hair and said, “See ya, Rapunzel.”

  That made Maggie laugh, and it was enough to make Rachel mind her own business and finish getting ready for work. I followed Zack to the door and waved when he left, and then after almost knocking Maggie over because she was trying to watch him leave from behind me, I scooped her up and dropped her on the living room couch.

  “NO!” she squealed when I tickled her.

  “That’s for tickling me on the face and waking me up.”

  She laughed some more and then said, “I tickled Zack and he didn’t wake up.”

  “You did?” I chuckled.

  She nodded, like it was the sneakiest thing she ever got away with.

  “Well we’ll have to do it again some other time,” I said quietly, pretending to share the secret.

  “Okay,” she whispered with a huge smile.

  Later that afternoon I got a phone call I wasn’t expecting. Maggie and I were making paper bag puppets when the caller said he was Jared Miller.

  Who?

  “I met you at the—”

  “Oh yeah,” I remembered, before he could finish. “John’s son. Um, what can I do for you?”

  Why he’d be calling was a mystery to me. I had thought of him a couple of times, just because he’d been so nice to me and of course, had the most gorgeous eyes I’d ever seen. But there wasn’t a casual way to bring his name up to my sister, so I completely bagged my curiosity about him.

  “I hope it’s okay to call you,” he said.

  For some reason his voice spoke to a corner of me that wasn’t normally so stirred. His voice was deep, but not too deep, but it had a measure of smooth calmness to it that intrigued me. Of course, I was interested in his reason for calling; maybe that’s why I was so hyperaware of his s
peaking manner.

  I realized I hadn’t replied when he slightly cleared his throat. “Uh, I helped myself to one of your business cards you had at the lunch thingy. Was that okay?”

  I swallowed, just so I could find my own voice. “Oh. Uh, of course.” After all, I do set my cards out for the taking. I couldn’t exactly pick and choose who took them. I felt fortunate because of this particular recipient, though.

  “Uh, anyways, I have a job offer for you. It’s kind of last minute though, but if you can head to the Showbox tonight, there are two bands that need shoots done for the same venue poster. I recommended you, so I hope it’s something you can do.”

  A photo shoot? That sounded intriguing. “Tonight? Uh…” I thought about it. Okay, I thought about it for two seconds and answered, “Yeah, I think that works okay. What time?”

  He paused. But I thought I heard humor in his voice when he asked, “Aren’t you going to inquire who the bands are? Or what the pay is? I mean usually that’s the first thing people want to know.”

  I smiled and said, “Well I’m assuming the pay will be fair since you’re personally involved somehow. I must have a lot of faith in you. And I don’t really care who they are as long as you trust them to be cooperative. I really don’t want to lay the smack down on anyone, punk ass musicians or otherwise.”

  That amused him and he chuckled. I could tell I said the right thing. But I wasn’t expecting the amount of money it was actually going to be, and when we confirmed a time and some other details, I was stunned that I got such an amazing offer. I was excited, and I looked forward to doing something different.

  I did have plans with Zack that night, but he understood and insisted that I take the job. I actually invited him along, being that I wasn’t willing to be in downtown Seattle late at night by myself. He agreed to my professional terms and became my assistant, even helping me haul my equipment, which was nice.

  I kind of hoped that Jared would be there too, but he’d informed me over the phone that he regrettably wasn’t able to be. He even said that we’d have to get together another time, but I was smart to avoid that conversation. But I guess it was better that way since Zack was with me, and knowing myself, I was grateful I wouldn’t have another set of eyes to make me nervous while I worked.