“Whoa, girlfriend, I know that look,” Nan said as Connor glanced her way while stroking the jittery horse, his grin still cocky, the slit of his eyes, just visible beneath the brim of his lowered hat, lit with a blue flame. “We expected to see you two last night at The Barn.”
Tamara grew warm, pleased and excited he wasn’t hiding the shift in their relationship from anyone. The insecure part of her who had waited for years to get him to see her as more than a friend had worried he would want to keep their new relationship between them as he continued to think it over. She’d been only too eager to spill the beans to her friends when they’d met up for their weekly tea, knowing she had their support.
“He wanted to stay in. I forgot to ask. Did you get in trouble for covering for me last week?” Dragging her eyes away from Connor, Tamara cast her friend a worried look as Nan grimaced with a rueful smile.
“Uh, yeah a little. Master Connor left it up to Master Dan. But, don’t fret.” Nan laughed, waving an airy hand. “You know me. I loved every swat.”
Sydney leaned around Nan, saying, “Boy, did she. There’s no way you’d catch me letting Caden lock me in that medieval torture device and giving anyone interested the chance to whack my butt as they walked by.”
Tamara winced. “Torture device?”
“Stocks. A new purchase the guys are way too excited over,” Avery answered. “I got off easy.” A flush stole over her face. “Master Grayson gave me my punishment himself.”
“I can see that was okay with you, Avery, but Nan, your punishment sounds awful.” Tamara shuddered at the thought of such a public, painful humiliation.
“It wasn’t.” Nan smirked. “Master Dan made every swat worth my while afterward. Man, that guy can fuck.”
They all burst out laughing because, really, who could argue with such logic?
“What’s so funny, or do we want to know?” Connor interrupted as he and Caden strolled over.
“Oh, you’d love to know, but it’s girl stuff, so, not telling.” Sydney took Caden’s outstretched hand and hopped off the fence.
“Come on.” Caden tugged her next to him. “I have to start the grill and grab a burger before I run out serving them to everyone else, and I’m more than ready for a large scoop of those homemade fries I smelled you making all morning.?
?
“We’ll catch up with you shortly. Tamara and I are up at the pony rides.”
Several eyes swung Connor’s way at his use of her full name, and it was Tamara’s turn to blush as Grayson joined them with a crooked grin around the toothpick nestled in the corner of his mouth. “Tamara?”
With a shrug, Connor looked at her. “Ask her. She’s the one who insisted we were past nicknames.”
When he phrased it that way, it did sound dumb. “Hey, I just wanted him to quit seeing me as a kid,” she defended herself before flicking Con a sheepish glance. “But I kind of have to admit I miss you calling me Tam.”
He draped his arm around her shoulders and steered her toward the pony ring, saying loud enough for everyone to hear, “You can always dress up as a school girl when you want to hear your nickname again.”
“I got one!”
Connor grinned at Tam’s squeal as she gripped her new fishing pole with both hands and struggled against the yank on the line from under the water. “Okay, Tam, reel it in, nice and slow, just like I showed you.”
Her little face scrunched with a now familiar look of determination as she pulled up on the line. He moved behind her and could feel her small, eleven-year-old body shaking with her excitement and efforts. “Look at that, you’ve landed a nice-sized brown trout. Way to go, sweetie.” He tugged her long black braid and got a beaming smile in return that lit up her gray eyes. “Let’s toss it in the bucket and head back for your birthday dinner.”
She looked at the flopping fish on the bank and shook her head. “No way, Con. I’m tossing the poor guy back in.” She reached for the trout and wrinkled her nose at the slimy feel. “Uh, you do it.”
He caught the fish she thrust at him with a laugh. “Wimp. Watch, this is how you remove the hook.” He gave her a quick lesson and then flung the fish back in the pond with a teasing grin. “There. Safe from the grill for another day. Come on. I want cake.”
She took his hand with a look of gratitude. “Me too.”
Connor glanced over at Tam as she squealed and brought in her catch, the look on her face this afternoon the same as the first time he’d taught her to fish in this same pond. This fishing contest was just one of the activities going on as their friends and neighbors mingled and enjoyed Caden’s labors at the grill. Connor and Tam had already helped give pony rides to the kids and participated on opposite sides of a volleyball game before entering the fishing contest. Setting his own pole down, he strode over to her, admiring her skill in reeling in the large trout wiggling on her line.
“You may have the winner there, Tamara.” Damn but it was difficult to remember she now preferred he used her full name instead of the abbreviated nickname he was the only one to ever call her. He wasn’t surprised when she wrinkled her nose as she pulled the hook from the trout’s throat and placed it on the scale. It was the same cute expression she’d worn when she’d handled her first fish. “Thirty-five inches. That’s definitely a contender.”
“It’s been ages since I’ve gone fishing.” Picking up the trout by its tail fin, she tossed it back into the two-acre pond.
“That hasn’t changed,” he drawled, tugging on her braid. He was glad her hair was still long enough to plait. “Your catches never have made it to the grill.”
“And never will. What do you want to do next?” She looked up at him with a beaming smile, her eyes alight with expectation. Connor’s thoughts shifted to the lustful intentions he’d planned for some time today.