Yours Seductively

Chapter 5.2 (Part 1)

   Tyler was combatting guilt when he turned into Jane's driveway Saturday evening. As much as the kids enjoyed staying with their grandparents, he still felt badly about leaving them on a weekend after spending so many hours away from them while he worked during the week. It hadn't been easy for him to ask his mother to baby-sit, especially since he'd had to explain his reason for needing her. To her credit, Debbie's only reaction when he'd told her he was taking Jane to dinner was to tell him to have a good time.

   Whether she had said so or not, he knew his mother was pleased. She'd been urging him to get out more for the past five or six months.  She'd said it "wasn't natural" for a young man like him to spend so much time alone. When he'd reminded her that he had two young children to raise, she had replied that she thought he was a good father, but he still needed a life of his own. Stephanie, she had added as gently as possible for her, would not have wanted him to spend the rest of his life mourning.

   He wondered what she would have said if he'd told her he suspected Stephanie might have taken great satisfaction from having him do exactly that. Tyler hadn't told anyone, including his parents, the full story surrounding his wife's death. Debbie couldn't know that he had been dealing with a great deal more than grief during the eleven months that had passed since the accident.

   He had quickly realized that Washington, D.C., was no place for him to come to grips with what had happened—or for him to raise his children alone. He hadn't wanted his kids to hear gossip about Stephanie, or to be told just what their mother had been doing when she'd supposedly been involved in all her charitable activities. He had needed his family, a change of scenery and the company of people who had barely known Stephanie and hadn't heard the rumors that had sped like wildfire through the ranks of D.C. colleagues. He has found all of that here.

   But he hadn't expected to find Jane Doherty, it to be drawn to her as strongly as he had been in the past. This time, he'd decided, there weren't as many reasons for him to try to resist her. As long as he was careful not to let himself get too deeply involved—as long as he made sure his children weren't affected by his actions—there was no reason he couldn't take Jane up on some of the things she seemed to be offering. Things he had decided he wanted very badly.

   They were both young, single, and had only recently moved back to town. He doubted that footloose Jane was interested in a long-term commitment to a single father, which didn't particularly disturbed him since he wasn't looking for that, either. At this point, he had no plans to marry again—to ever trust another woman with his heart and, most importantly, with his children. As for Jane, he would actually be surprised if she stayed for the entire school year. As flighty as she seemed to be, she'd probably take off as soon as she had an acting offer. Either that, or she'd get bored again with small-town life and head back for the excitement of the Big Apple.

   But in the meantime...