new, unexpected development. But even before he finished asking the question, he realized he could already take a guess at the answer. He’d been doing some reno on the extra bathroom up there, but the plumbing was old and he hadn’t had the time or money to replace it yet. Had he done something wrong to cause it? He didn’t think so, but… “Did a pipe break?”
“Is everything okay?” Tara asked, coming up beside him.
He shook his head and turned away to focus on what Mrs. Crocker was saying. “Yes, I think so,” she replied. “I was able to find the main shut-off valve in your garage and turned it off, but you’ll need to call your insurance company and get someone in here right away to clean it up. Until then, you’ll probably need to find someplace else to stay. There’s an inch or so of water covering a good part of the second floor and I’d worry about mould and water damage. Why, a few years ago I had a similar issue and…”
She continued on with her story, but Clint had already moved on in his head to recovery mode. He needed to call his insurance agent, then contact a restoration service to get in there and start the clean-up. He’d do it himself, but it wouldn’t be a quick job, and it had to be handled right away. He’d already signed on to do security for Tara and he couldn’t walk out on her now when he’d just started. “Uh, okay. Thanks, Mrs. Crocker. I’ll phone people now. If I give them your number, can you let them in for me?”
“Happy to,” Mrs. Crocker replied. “Not sure what you want to do about a place to stay, though. It just won’t be safe there for the time being.”
Clint thanked her again for her help and ended the call, but his head was already concentrating on making the necessary arrangements, all the while aware of Tara beside him, watching him while he handled it all. Half an hour later, they were both sitting on the overstuffed leather sofa in her living room when she asked him where he was going to sleep tonight.
“I’ll call Levon. He and Olive have a guest room I can use until I get situated,” he said.
“Or, you can just stay here.” Tara leaned forward to grab her bottled water off the coffee table and took a sip, watching him over the rim of her bottle as she shrugged. “I mean, there’s plenty of space and it would make sense, right? That way you’re here in case I need my bodyguard, right? I know I said before that I’d be fine here on my own at night—but to be honest, I would feel safer with you around.”
“Oh, I don’t know about that,” he said, pushing to his feet to pace. Moving always helped him think better. “That’s probably not a good idea.”
“Why?” She got up too, blocking his path. “Give me one good reason.”
Because we’d end up in bed together.
He coughed to get those words right out of his mouth. Instead, he said, “Because I don’t want to get in your way. And I’ll have Ashley too and—”
“Fine with me. I love your daughter. It’ll give us a chance to get to know each other better,” Tara said, bouncing on her toes and looking more adorable than should be allowed by law. “Seriously. I don’t mind at all and I’d like the company. You won’t be in my way at all. Please?”
Clint sighed. It would solve all his problems, and Ashley did like Tara a lot. Plus, it would make his life so much easier to have them all under one roof where he could keep an eye on them both. A tiny voice in his head still told him he shouldn’t say yes, but dammit. He was going to.
“Okay,” he said, grinning at Tara’s squeal of glee. “But you’re going to find out soon that my daughter’s a handful and a half. Don’t say I didn’t warn you.”
6
Tara was feeling pretty good about her decision to have Clint and Ashley move in with her short-term. Or at least she had, until the six-year-old arrived.
She’d known from their brief meetings and chats before that Ashley had some strong opinions for such a young kid, but in truth “strong” didn’t begin to cover it. The questions started the minute Ashley walked into the house. She’d tossed her backpack on the floor of the living room,