Chapter 62

"I-I'm not sure…" Tahlia was busy trying to cover herself up since she was in her bra and panties in front of his kid, flushing deeply. "I don't – um – I don't need anything…" When Taker rattled off a few items he knew she would need, Gunner took off to let Sam know and shut the door behind him. "Oh my god…" Placing her head in her free hand, Tahlia shook her head and couldn't believe the boy had walked in with her exposed! "That's it, please dig me a hole so I can crawl inside of it and never come out again." As if being sponge bathed by her ex-boyfriend and the man she still loved wasn't bad enough!

Tahlia was officially mortified.

"No can do, darlin', Sam and I just redid the landscaping. He'd kill me if I dug a hole in that yard." Taker drawled, his eyebrows arching when he realized she was right. He had just gotten used to her semi-undressed state. "I don't think Gunner was really paying attention; it's no different than a bikini to him." Recalling the time she'd sunbathed on the deck by the pool, right before Amanda had called to tell them she'd gone to the hospital to have Abrianna.

"That is not the point and you know it." Tahlia grumbled, wincing when she moved her bad arm and shook her head when he asked if she needed more pain medicine. "Nope, just moved it the wrong way. I think it would be a very good idea if I got dressed now." She couldn't do anything on her own; this was the lowest of the lows for her. Blinking when he shook his head and gently but firmly pushed her back down on the bed, Tahlia sighed the moment his strong hands slid up her one leg with the lotion and then the other. "This really isn't necessary…"

"Shut up." He ordered, yet again, losing count of how many times he'd told her that recently.

Propping her foot in his lap, Taker worked his way up and down with the lotion. Now, the predicament where she might honestly be embarrassed is when she needed a leg and underarm shave. How would she manage that one? She didn't know what embarrassment was, not yet, and he smirked.

"Other leg, darlin'." He patted her other leg, flexing his fingers in anticipation.

He was enjoying this!

Tahlia narrowed her eyes at him, giving him her other leg and leaned back against the pillows, trying her damnest not to think of how amazing his hands felt on her body. After her legs and thighs came her stomach and Tahlia's abs clenched under his touch, her breathing changing a bit. Fighting back moaning became second nature to her; Tahlia had been a master at hiding her emotions for so many years, but Taker had managed to look right through her. He could read her like a book. When he asked if it felt good, she nodded with her lower lip once again trapped between her teeth. However, when his hands moved from her abdomen up to her chest, Tahlia's breath hitched again slightly and her eyes were nothing more than molten gold pools by now.

Like the gentlemen he pretended he was, Taker did not go anywhere covered by her little bit of clothing. He imagined, providing he was reading her correctly, the little things she couldn't hide, that only made things more intense and worse. Not doing himself any favors, this was a dangerous game they played. He could feel her muscles rippling under his touch, her skin heating under his caresses and, soon enough, he pulled himself away.

"I'll get you your clothes, darlin'."

OH THANK GOD, her mind screamed, thankful the torture had finally come to an end. With his help once again, she managed to slip on a black spaghetti strapped nightgown, knowing anything else would've been out of the question. Nightgowns were going to be her best friend over the next month until this stupid sling came off. So much appreciation and hidden emotions filled her eyes while staring into his, a soft smile spreading on her lips.

"Taker." She stopped him from walking out, reaching her hand out to him and took his extended one, giving it a gentle squeeze. "Thank you." Letting his hand go, Tahlia snuggled further against the pillows and closed her eyes, falling asleep in no time.

"You were in there an awful long time for a simple sponge bath, Mark." Amanda commented when he finally emerged, wrinkling her nose when he walked by her, smelling the lotion. "You bathe in it?"

"Maybe a little." He leaned against the kitchen counter, popping a piece of apple slice in his mouth. "Making another pie?"

"Mmmhmm…" She eyed him a moment before focusing on her task. "So… you two make up?"

"I messed up pretty bad, Mandy." Taker couldn't take back what he had said, but maybe…. maybe he could atone for some of it. This was a pretty good start, right?

Amanda raised a brow at him, suddenly looking concerned. "What happened, Mark? You can talk to me and tell me anything."

She reached across the counter to squeeze his hand, seeing the sorrow in his green eyes and cut him another slice of apple. She listened as he went over their last blowup at one of his other properties in Texas, not going into too much detail about why they were there. For work was all he'd said. However, when she discovered Tahlia had a child and gave it up for adoption, her heart hurt for the woman. Being a mother was all she'd ever wanted in life and she had a beautiful godson on top of an amazing baby girl.

"Sounds like you both said things you didn't mean. Her about Gunner, which I don't agree with at all. I don't think you should've given him up because he's the happiest almost 10-year-old I've ever seen. And I'm sure she had a very good reason for giving her child up, which you shouldn't have thrown in her face. You both are in the wrong and now it's time to heal those wounds." She was never one to sugar coat her feelings and often spoke her mind. "The question is: who is going to take the first step? You or her?"

"Me. Obviously." He said with a snort. "I was the one who went there first. I don't even know why we were fighting in the first place anymore. It all seems so trivial now. Not to mention she threw herself into an oncoming blow from a sledgehammer, Mandy, just to protect me." Taker groaned, unsure of what to do anymore. "Hell, the best I can probably hope for is her forgiving me. I doubt she wants anything more than a professional relationship and I can't blame her. Not after everything." Everything being Gunner, their 9 months apart and then that fight they had.

"Do you know what that's called, Mark?" Amanda asked, smiling widely and touched the side of his face in a purely platonic way. "Love. She loves you so much to throw herself in harm's way to make sure you're safe. I don't know of any other woman who would do that for the man they love. I don't know if I could even do something like that when it came to Sam." She admitted, pure truth in her tone of voice while she cut up more apples for the pie. "I can see it in her eyes whenever she looks at you. No matter what you said to her, she loves you and that type of love doesn't die easily, if ever. Give it sometime and then talk to her about it."

"Yeah, you're probably right, darlin'." He sighed, dropping a kiss on the top of her head. "You sure you don't want to leave your husband and run off with me? I'm rich."

Amanda waved her knife at him threateningly. "Get the hell out of my kitchen, Calaway… you smartass."

Laughing, Taker vacated, his laughter deepening when he heard her chuckling behind him.

Gunner poked his head in Tahlia's room, not surprised to find her asleep. Quietly, he crept up alongside the bed, studying her. She looked a little better. Being careful not to knock anything over, he set down the wildflowers he had picked on the nightstand before creeping right back out, closing the door behind him.

Sometime later that day, Tahlia slowly opened her eyes and immediately felt the pain in her chest again, taking slow breaths. The doctor had warned her it would be difficult the first week, but then the pain in her chest would cease, hence the painkillers. She really didn't want to get addicted to them and would try to push past the pain, turning her head, feeling her eyes widen at the sight of the flowers. Did Taker do this? They were beautiful and it made her smile despite the pain she was in. Slowly and carefully sitting up, Tahlia accidentally knocked the bell on the floor and winced, the ding echoing throughout the room.

"S-Shit…" She stammered, moving to stand from the bed to pick it up.

"You're not supposed to be out of bed, Dad said!" Gunner exclaimed, being the one to come flying in.

Amanda and Sam were outside with Abrianna, and his Dad had fallen asleep on the couch. He had been sitting, curled up in a chair, flipping through comic books when that bell had gone off. Gunner moved to pick up the bell, looking at her intently.

"You need a pill? Dad said you probably wouldn't. Mandy thinks you need the rest they'll let you get." He had no idea what the deal with the pills were. His Dad had said something about addiction when discussing it with Amanda. "Tahlia? Are you okay?" He asked, staring into her face and could tell she was in a lot of pain. "Can I get you something?"

"I-I'm okay, I j-just…"

Bending down had been a BAD idea all around and it'd knocked the breath out of her temporarily. Once she was back on the bed, sitting upright, her chest didn't hurt nearly as bad and managed a weak smile at Gunner. Tahlia couldn't scare the boy and right now he looked completely freaked out.

"I-It's okay, G-Gunner…" The stammering would get on her last nerve as she leaned back against the pillows to alleviate some of the pressure on her chest.

"You sure?" He reached for the pitcher of water on the nightstand, slowly and carefully refilling her empty cup. "Want a heating pad?" Gunner offered suddenly, an idea springing to mind. "I sprained my ankle and Dad put it on it, and it helped a little." He knew a sprain was a lot different from a break, but maybe the same principal applied.

This wasn't the same troll she'd dealt with a year ago, Tahlia surmised, tilting her head at how attentive he was being and smiled softly. "Y-You s-shouldn't worry about t-this…" He was a kid for god's sake and should've been playing video games or outside throwing a ball around. The memory of playing basketball with him flittered through her mind, making her smile a little wider. "I-I'm not sure a h-heating p-pad will help, b-but I c-can t-try it…" Maybe she could put it against her chest since that's where the pain stemmed from. It was really strange how the human body worked. "T-Thank you f-for the f-flowers…" If he'd rushed in here to check on her, then chances were, he'd been the one who picked them for her. "T-They're b-beautiful…"

"You're welcome." He said shyly, shuffling one foot from the other. "There's a meadow across the crick, I went and picked them there." His pants were still a little muddy and stained from his wading venture. "I'll go get that heating pad." Gunner rushed out of the room, scratching behind his ear. He knew Tahlia didn't like him and that was his own fault. But he felt like he needed to make it up to her, and his Dad. When he returned a few minutes later with the heating pad, Tahlia patted the seat next to her on the bed and watched him plug it in.

"S-Since you h-helped me out, h-how about w-we watch a m-movie t-together?" She suggested, testing the waters with the little boy and set the heating pad on her chest.

Immediately feeling relief, Gunner made himself comfortable on the bed beside her near the nightstand. If she needed anything, he would hand her the bell so she didn't have to reach or stretch. Handing him the remote, Tahlia gave him free reign of the television in her room and wrapped her arm around his shoulders, raising a brow when he put on Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles.

"Raphael is my favorite. Which one is yours?"

"Raph, too, I like his weapons… and he's funny, mean but funny." Sarcastic was the word, but Gunner wasn't fully aware of that. He yawned, making sure to steer clear of her arm. "Need a pill, Tahlia?" He asked yet again, not wanting her to be in any pain. When she shook her head no, he sighed. "You're stubborn."

"You're not the first person to tell me that. The heating pad is working wonders, so you're my hero." Thank the stars she could talk without stammering again.

She winked down at him, chuckling softly at his eye roll and couldn't believe they were being civil to each other. Just a year ago, this little boy wanted NOTHING to do with her and now he was being extremely nice to her. What had changed? Usually kids didn't change their minds on a dime or drop of a hat, at least she didn't think they did.

"Thank you for helping me, Gunner."

Gunner cleared his throat, sitting upright and turning so he was facing her. "Uh, Tahlia? Can I… can I tell you something?" He asked softly, his entire face beginning to turn red. When she nodded, he swallowed hard. "I'm sorry for last year, the way I acted." His eyes were down so he didn't see the look of surprise flit across her face. "I know I was a jerk, and I'm sorry."

Indeed she was surprised and shocked this near 10-year-old -she guessed what his age was- just apologized to her. The way he lowered his eyes sheepishly was adorable and she didn't have the heart to be mad at him. Taking his small hand in hers, Tahlia gave it a squeeze and forced his eyes back up to meet hers, fighting back tears.

"It's okay. Just you coming to me and telling me this makes it all better. And the flowers are a nice touch." She winked, squeezing his hand again and touched the side of his face gently. "You don't need to blame yourself for what happened, Gunner. I should've…been more patient and waited for you to come around. I should've had more patience with the situation." It was her turn to look sheepish and lower her eyes from him. "I shouldn't have left…"

"Maybe, I don't know." He'd turn 10 in just a few weeks. "I just know you left… and my Dad changed, a lot." His Dad had been… smiling and brushed it off, but there was something fundamentally different in him. If he thought nobody was around, he looked so… sad, something in those green eyes was gone and it had taken Gunner a long time to realize what it was. "I just want things to get better."

"They will." Tahlia lied, knowing things between her and Taker wouldn't get better because he thought she was pathetic. Granted, she'd called him that first, but…he'd been the one to bring up the sore subject of her giving her baby up first. "I know you don't know me very well, but I hope you believe me when I say that." At his nod, Tahlia breathed a sigh of relief and ruffled his fiery red hair with her good hand, pure adoration shining in her eyes for the boy. "Come on now, enough with the heavy. Sit back and watch some TV with me. It's been a long time since I've watched TMNT." When he snuggled against her good side, Tahlia draped her arm around him and rested her cheek against his hair, both of them watching the movie.

Taker woke up with a jolt. It took him a moment to realize it was dark. His living room was pitch black and he cocked his head, hearing nothing immediately. He gathered everyone must've been asleep, a bit surprised no one had woken him up. Especially Gunner, now that was weird. Frowning, he swung his legs off the couch and stood up, stretching and listening. He heard something, it was faint and coming from the hall leading to the bedrooms. Following the noise, Taker halted at Tahlia's door. It was dark inside her room minus the television, which was playing some infomercial. He peered at the bed, his eyes widening when he realized what he was seeing. Tahlia was sound asleep with Gunner right next to her. There was a pillow between them and, from the way Gunner was laying, he gathered his son was trying to make sure he wouldn't hurt her.

They both looked so peaceful… he was smiling.