Where She Least Expects It

Chapter 9

When they got to the ranch, they separated like nothing was going on between them.  Becky went over to her mom while Tom stopped in the kitchen where the men were standing and grabbed a cup of coffee for himself. 

Sean and Tripp looked pretty rough while the others looked pretty good. 

"How's the hangover boys?"  Tom asked grinning.

"What are you smiling about?  You drank just as much as us, and my sister made you drive her home too.  She can be a real cockblock sometimes." Sean groaned.

Mike looked at his son, "really?"

Tom froze, his eyes went wide, and the drink of coffee he was taking went straight to his windpipe at that moment. He started sputtering and coughing. 

Brock started patting him on the back, "geez Tom, you act like it's the first time one of those two immature idiots said something stupid or inappropriate."

He looked over at Becky, and she was trying not to laugh, so she must have heard the comment.  "Excuse me, I think I'm gonna take this as my cue to leave," he managed to choke out before going to the bathroom.  It was harder than he thought to be around them all and not let it show what he was feeling. He finally stopped coughing and came back out and everybody was sitting while Brandon and Alli opened presents. 

Becky was on the couch next to her mom with a notebook for writing down presents.  The only empty spot was next to her.  He supposed he'd just have to deal with it.  Truth be told, he probably would have been better off in the kitchen by himself, but she'd probably yell at him later for acting strangely.  How the hell did she go from being like his little sister to the slightest look or touch making him hot? 

If he thought about it too long, he would probably have to admit that she never really was like his little sister...not in the same way that her brothers were like his own.  He began to realize that the part he played in trying to protect her may have been for selfish reasons. 

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Becky heard Sean's comment and wanted to punch him...or, at the very least, tell Tom to correct them.  Unfortunately that thought was quickly squashed by the fact that she would prefer Tom alive.  She wanted to go and check on him too, but every time she thought about something pertaining to him, she realized that she had to leave him alone.  She was going to have to do some serious thinking and figure this out for both of their sakes.

He came back out and she saw the concerned look on his face when he realized that he'd have to sit by her.  When he sat down, she may have intentionally brushed his leg a few times to watch him squirm.  She wasn't sure if it was worth it though, because it made her squirm too. 

When presents were done, Brandon and Alli got ready to leave on their honeymoon.  Her parents and Brock would both leave tomorrow. She told them to come over for supper that night then got in her truck and headed for home.

While she straightened up her apartment and tried to make sure that any traces of Tom or sex were gone, she thought only of him. She still couldn't quite wrap her head around any of it. She desperately wanted to talk to Alli about it, but that wasn't an option at the moment. Maybe after the honeymoon she would, but not now.

This was the problem with her never having really dated anyone before.  She didn't know what to say to him or to anyone else. 

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Tom left the ranch and decided to pay his parents an overdue visit.  Since he hadn't stayed there the previous weekend, they had been bugging him about coming over.  He texted his mom and then headed that way.  Of course the thirty minute drive only gave him more time to think about Becky.  The more time they spent together, the more intense his feelings for her became.  It was more than a little unnerving to realize that you had feelings for someone you had known all of your life. 

They were very alike in their ambitions.  He had always admired Becky's resolve.  When she set a goal, she achieved it, come hell or high water.  Apparently it even applied to the two of them that first night.  Her work ethic mirrored his own in a lot of ways.  Just looking at the two of them and forgetting her family, they made a good match.  The kind of match that came out of two people that didn't give up.  That in and of itself scared the living daylights out of him.  He knew that even if just Becky set her mind on the two of them having a relationship, he wouldn't be able to stop her.  Of course, he wouldn't want to stop her, not in a million years.  He was starting to wonder what a future that included the two of them together would look like.

He also realized that he hadn't once felt lonely since that first night with her.  Even just the thought of her warded off any loneliness.  He knew his thoughts were running into dangerous territory.  For heaven's sake, this was Becky's first anything on this level.  He pulled up to his parents' house and hoped it would provide a suitable distraction.

John and Holly Jackson were fairly simple people.  They had always worked in Austin, but when Tom was a child, they lived in Trumont because they didn't want to raise him in the city.  They loved their son unconditionally, and he had never done without anything growing up.  The only thing he missed was siblings and being around the Stones filled that void. 

He walked into the house and his mom immediately came to him and hugged him.  "Oh honey, it's been so long!"

"Mom, I stayed overnight when I had court a few weeks ago," he chuckled.

"Well you were going to stay last weekend.  I was worried sick when you said you were driving home."

"Now dear, leave the poor boy alone.  He's a grown man.  Do you want some coffee?" His dad asked as Tom followed him into the dining room.

"Sure dad."

His mom sat across the table from him.  "So what's been going on?  Any big cases?"

"Not really, you know I prefer to stick to contracts, wills, etc."

"Well, that's how it is in a small town...you have to be a jack of all trades."

His dad sat down too with coffee for everyone.  "Any new houses?"

Tom took a drink, "Well I've got my eye on one in town, but I'm not sure about it.  It's a pretty big undertaking.  The owners rented it out to some shady people from out of town.  They trashed it pretty good."

"It would keep you busy since Brandon's house was in such good shape."

His dad loved talking about houses with him. He would help him with some of the bigger projects too, while his mom would help by picking fixtures and colors. It gave them more time together and also gave him help.

"That's true."

His mom looked at him closely, "are you seeing anyone?"

"Mom," he warned her.

"Did you hear that John? It wasn't a no." She smiled suspiciously at him. His dad just nodded. "Well?"

"Mom..." he could tell she wasn't going to let it go.

"You always say no, this is a good sign."

"Mom, don't get ahead of yourself. I don't know what it is or where it's headed."

"Hmm, usually you say no or that you are but it's nothing serious."

"Mom."

"What? Can you blame me? You're all alone in Trumont. I'd just like to know that you aren't lonely."

He couldn't help the grin that took over his face, but he almost cursed it.

"I knew it! Who is she and why don't you know where it's headed?"

"Look, mom, it is different, but I don't think I can tell you now. Please?"

She nodded, "well it's just nice to know that you like her enough to keep it to yourself. You never bothered before. No one could ever cut through that determination of yours."

"What does that mean?"

"Well...girls have always wanted you, you just never cared long enough to keep one around or put forth the effort. She must be really special." Again, the grin spread across his face before he could stop it.

His dad smirked a little, "she must be really something."

"She is."

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