The Sweetest Thing

out into the hallway.

“Hey,” Tara said. “Smells good in there.”

“It’s the oatmeal and honey mix in the facial. It smells delicious when it’s warmed. Don’t panic; I realize the inn doesn’t have a license for a spa, but I’m not charging; it’s a freebie. I’ll make sure to have Maddie start applying for the right licenses before I ever think about charging anyone.”

“I wasn’t going to say that.”

“Okay, what were you going to say? Let me have it. Or should I save you some time? Yes, I stole your heavy cream, but I replaced it this morning. It helps make the facial smooth.”

“I don’t mind,” Tara said.

But Chloe was on a roll. “And yeah, okay, I ate the last of your Not Yo Mama’s Apple Pie. But…” She flashed her poker-face smile. “You’re getting sex, great sex by the look of you, so in all fairness, you don’t need the pie, right? And I made brownies to replace it anyway. You can add them to your picnic dinner.”

Tara felt a little dizzy with the quick subject changes, not to mention that this Chloe-a non-lazy, responsible Chloe-was a welcome surprise. “You did?”

“Okay, no. Mia made them. That girl most definitely inherited Ford’s talent in the kitchen.” Chloe waited a sly beat, just long enough for Tara to frown before laughing softly. “And yours, of course. Anyway, the husband’s allergic to a lot of veggies, did you know that? So instead of veggie oil, Mia used applesauce, of all things. And the brownies came out fantastic. If I hadn’t seen her do it with my own eyes, I’d have sworn you made them.”

Tara shook her head. Definitely dizzy. “Chloe…”

“Yeah, yeah, yell at me for all of it later, okay? I’ve got to get back in there.”

“No, Sugar. You don’t understand.” She reached for Chloe’s hand. “I’m not mad at all. Are you kidding? You used your own spare time to do my job, you covered my ass, and you’re making the inn a day spa on top of it? You’re a lifesaver.”

Chloe narrowed her eyes. “You take some of Ford’s pain meds?”

“What? No!”

“You sure?”

“Yes! Chloe, I’m trying to say that I’m impressed. And that maybe I was too harsh when I said you never grew up. I shouldn’t have said that.”

Chloe arched a brow. “Well butter my butt and call me a biscuit. Did you almost- almost, mind you, but not quite-admit you were wrong about me?”

“Listen, I know I’ve been hard on you-”

“You were wrong,” Chloe said flatly. “Say it.”

Tara sighed. “Okay, fine. You’re right. I was wrong.”

“Wow. And you didn’t even choke on it.” Chloe grinned. “Now if only you’d get that stick extracted from your ass and admit that you’re also over your head in the love department, we’d all be able to enjoy ourselves.”

“My relationship with Mia is a work in progress.”

“I meant Ford.” Chloe leaned in and sniffed at her neck. “You smell like him, you know.”

Tara felt the heat on her face. “You should probably get back to the guests.”

With a soft, knowing laugh, Chloe headed into the sunroom. Tara blew out a breath and moved into the kitchen to get the picnic dinner together. She was planning on ham pinwheel sandwiches with brie, herbs, and nuts. She was going to call them Pigs-in-a-Wheel Delectables.

Mia came in and silently began chopping the herbs and nuts. Tara felt a little burst of pride and affection fill her. They really did work well as a team. She smiled, then felt her smile congeal when she caught a good look at Mia’s face. “You’ve been crying.”

“No.” Even as Mia said it, her eyes filled. She sniffed and swiped angrily at her eyes. “I’m not crying.” And then she burst into tears.

Crap. Shit. Damn. Tara very gently took the knife out of Mia’s fingers as the teen babbled something in a long watery string. The only words that Tara caught were “stupid ass,” “thinks he knows what’s best,” and “going to hunt him down.”

Tara nudged the knife farther out of their way and risked both her heart and the silk of her dress by hugging Mia in close.

Mia slumped against her. “H-he said that when the s-summer’s over and I go to S-Spain, we won’t see each other anymore. Ever.”

Ah. Carlos. “Well, Spain’s pretty far away and expensive to get to, but I’m sure when you’re back in Seattle, you’ll-”

“No, it’s not the distance. He says that he’ll hold me back. That I need to go and have the whole college experience. He thinks it’s unrealistic to expect… he says it’s easier to break clean now. Like ripping off a Band- Aid.”

“And you said…”

“I said that’s the stupidest thing I’ve ever heard! That he’s just a big chickenshit! That if he loved me, it wouldn’t matter how far away I was; we’d make it work.”

Oh God, the irony, Tara thought. “Maybe he’s trying to protect you. Maybe he wants to make sure you get everything you deserve out of life. And the only way he thinks he can make sure you do that is to push you away.”

“Well, that’s just stupid,” Mia cried. “I’ll get what I want out of life on my own. It’s not up to him to get it for me, or to make my decisions.”

Tara hugged her as the girl sobbed with the abandon of a despairing teenager. God knew Tara herself had cried buckets when she’d been this age, but then again, she’d been in a different situation.

Sort of.

She thought about Carlos trying to protect Mia and felt her heart squeeze for him. For the selflessness…

And then closed her eyes as her heart nearly stopped beating. Back in Ford’s hospital room, when she’d been eavesdropping on him and Mia, all the reasons he’d given their daughter for the two of them not being together- they’d all been for Tara.

To protect her.

His answer was like a knife to Tara’s gut. His unselfish answer. She’d accused him of letting her go because he hadn’t cared enough, but that hadn’t been it at all. He’d let her go, thinking she deserved better.

What was it that she’d told Mia way back when? That she’d never spent any time in a small town, that she was used to more… God. All her reasons for leaving Lucky Harbor had been about herself.

She was made for better things than being stuck with me, Ford had said.

Carlos was doing the same thing, cutting off what he wanted and yearned for in order to give Mia the life he thought she deserved. Because in his eyes, she deserved more, not realizing that he deserved it, too.

She thought of Ford and physically ached. Because what about now? They were no longer seventeen, and she could decide for herself what she wanted, what she deserved.

What they both deserved.

How about we give each other everything we can and not blame each other for what we can’t, he’d said. She’d assumed he’d been talking about himself, that he didn’t want her to blame him for what he couldn’t give.

But he’d meant her, she realized. He wouldn’t blame her for what she couldn’t give.

Tara waited until Mia was reduced to hiccups before offering her a kitchen towel to mop her face.

“Mascara check,” Mia said, lifting her raccoon eyes to Tara’s. “Am I a wreck?”

Tara took back the kitchen towel and swiped beneath Mia’s eyes herself. “You’re beautiful.”

There was a knock at the back door. Carlos stood there wearing his baggy jeans and tight T-shirt, piercings glinting, eyes hooded, holding a case of cranberry juice. “Jax sent me over with this from the bar. They got a double shipment. He thought you might get use out of them.” He glanced at Mia, and his mouth went grim. “You’ve been crying.”

“Yes,” Mia said. “It’s what happens when a stupid guy dumps me.”

Still holding the case of juice, he grimaced in misery.