Chapter Eight
Tim woke Tasha a couple hours later and took her back to his house. He had a small house in a quiet part of town, but by the time they got there, Tasha was so tired she didn’t notice much of anything.
Tim carried her to his bedroom, then laid her in his bed. He quickly removed his clothes and then hers and cuddled up to her, sleeping the rest of the night with her in his arms.
When they woke later that day, the sun was bright, and the day was beautiful. Tim brought Tasha breakfast in bed, then showed her his home. It was full of life and energy, just like Tim. Not at all like a bachelor pad, which she told him.
“Yeah, when I bought it, my mom and aunt came out and helped me decorate and stuff, but I like it. They made suggestions, but I had final say. I like color, not drab and dark,” he proudly told her.
“I can tell. This is great.” She laughed, looking around the spacious living room. It would be a great house to have kids in.
Tim left her in the living room for a few minutes, and Tasha took the time to check her phone. With her mother in poor health, she didn’t like leaving it off for long. She had turned it off after she got the message from Jason, though, and forgotten to check it later.
There were four missed calls, all from the same number. Jason. Blocking the number, she set her phone to vibrate. She would have to get another new number if he kept calling. She debated if she should tell Tim what was happening, but didn’t really want to involve him. If it kept up, she was going to have to move…again.
The day passed quickly, and soon it was time for them to go to work. Soon they settled into a routine, working and spending time together for the next few days.
When Sunday came, Tasha decided she needed to go home. “Tim, I love being here with you, but it doesn’t make sense for me to stay here when I have a perfectly good apartment. I miss my home.” The club was closed for three days, and Tasha needed to go home and do some things.
“Okay, baby, no problem,” Tim answered, upbeat as usual. This threw Tasha for a loop. She had been sure he would put up a fight and refuse to let her go.
A little confused, Tasha went and gathered the few things she had brought with her. It didn’t take long, and soon she was ready to go.
What she didn’t know was that Tim had no intention of leaving her alone in her apartment. She was either coming back to his house with him or he was staying with her, and that was all there was. Tim knew something or someone was bothering Tasha, and he was going to get to the bottom of it one way or another.
He had seen her check her phone a couple times, and one time she had a very upset look on her face. He could tell she didn’t want him to know, so he didn’t say anything, but something was up, and he was going to find out what.
Driving back to her apartment, Tim was casual in the conversation and didn’t say anything about not leaving her alone. That would come later, after he found out what was going on.
When they got to Tasha’s apartment, at first she seemed fine, but as they walked up the stairs, the hair on the back of Tim’s neck started to stand up. Tasha was holding his hand even tighter. She was walking slower and slower, too, as if she didn’t really want to go home.
When they got to her door, she let out the breath she had been holding. She had been worried that Jason had found her and would be waiting for her. Crazy.
Relaxing, she laughed and turned to Tim. “Do you want to come in for a while?” she asked as she guided him in.
They sat and talked for a while, and even though she had spent the last few days with him, it felt awkward having him in her home. She was nervous. Something wasn’t right, but she couldn’t tell what.
“Tasha,” Tim started, when a pounding came at her door.
Tasha jumped up to get it, and Tim followed right behind her.
“Flower delivery,” came the answer when she asked who it was.
Not expecting anything, she opened the door to find a deliveryman there with a dozen purple roses. Purple roses were what Jason had always gotten her. They had been her favorite flower before she left him.
Taking the flowers and thanking the man, she closed the door and took them straight to the trash without looking at the card. She didn’t have to.
Tim watched her and gave her a few minutes to settle herself.
She looked at him. “I suppose you want to know what’s up and why I threw those away?” she asked as she turned to him, hands on her hips.
Reaching for her, he pulled her to sit on the couch and turned her to face him. “I would like to know what has you so upset,” he said quietly, not wanting to upset her more by demanding she tell him.
“It’s my ex-fiancé, Jason,” she started. Then she proceeded to tell him the whole story. “Three years ago, I was engaged to Jason Childs.”
Jason Childs was the son of one of the most influential families in Ohio. His race for the Senate, and the scandal when his engagement broke up, was national news for a week. Tim hadn’t paid much attention to it, but he did remember the story. He nodded, acknowledging he knew who she was talking about.
Tasha told him how Jason had treated her and was always putting her down and saying terrible things to her. Then she had found out that he was seeing other women during their engagement, several other women.