Page 8 of Brazen

I figured a place with lots of outdoor space was best, so I found a job in Texas Hill Country.

That had been a mistake. The men there couldn’t accept me as a mechanic, and their obsession with wild game hunting made me nervous about what would happen if JT ever shifted. As it turned out, he got into a little preschool tiff that should’ve been normal and harmless, but with his super strength, he had pushed the three-year-old trying to pull him out of the giant plastic car, and the kid had flown three feet and hit his head on the playhouse.

JT got labeled as a problem child, and I took it as a big-ass neon sign we should get out of Texas.

Then we moved to Northern California. I made good wages there, and JT loved the trees.

But he loved them a little too much. I couldn’t stop him from climbing them. Every time I turned around, he’d run to a tree and scamper up.

I hadn’t thought it was a big deal until he fell and broke his arm. I hated it, but even that was normal kid stuff.

Taking the cast off by himself three days later wasn’t.

Hence, the third move.

Cooper Valley was a beautiful Montana town. The other kids here seemed rambunctious, too. There was lots of space for him to run and do all his wolf-y things. A small community to be a part of. I hoped it was a great place to hide his inner wolf. No one in this town would suspect, right? They loved the outdoors. There were plenty of mountains to climb and space to run around for a little boy with endless energy. We’d blend right in with all the normal, quiet, kind residents.

“Mommy, I’m ready to get shooed.” JT turned away from me, breaking me from my thoughts.

“Right.” Shampooed. I poured a dollop of shampoo on his wet head and started to lather it up.

If Sexy Sam was any indication of Cooper Valley’s residents, I’d say they were all outdoorsy and highly physical.

Physical. Strong.

And tan. With six packs.

Ugh. I wasn’t interested.

He was too cocky. Definitely a flirt. Young. He reminded me of Ted, so that was a hard pass.

I grabbed the plastic cup I kept on the side of the tub. “Tip back,” I said and rinsed the suds from his hair.

“Mommy, can Sam come play with me again? We had fun.”

My heart leapt in an unfamiliar way. Sam.

“He was really nice to help you get down, but we don’t want him to get hurt either, right?”

Sam seemed way too confident to get hurt, but JT had to understand the things he did could impact others, too.

Fortunately, Sam had kept a level head earlier, which was great because I lost my mind seeing JT up on that rafter. Sure, my son healed quickly, but that didn’t change his getting hurt. I didn’t want my baby hurt for anything. Besides, the last thing we needed was a witness to an accident that healed too quickly, especially one as bad as falling from a height onto concrete.

I couldn’t move again. Leaving everything and starting over three times had done me in. I just didn’t have it in me.

After they’d gotten down, Sam had given JT a high five and me a wink before he got back in his truck and drove off, only after saying, “Later.”

It wasn’t until hours later that I realized he never gave me the part number for his tractor. Or his number.

Which, as he’d said, had been his plan all along. I had no doubt he’d be back–later–offering again to show me around town.

The answer would still be no.

No matter how hot and droolworthy he might have been, he was a terrible option for me–a single mom with a new job in a new town. No doubt, I was a terrible option for him, too. I was older by at least five years, maybe ten! I had a baby when he was still only a teenager. What young twenty-something wanted my kind of baggage?

But him showing up and having interest had been a good wake up for me. Wake up in my vagina, more like it. I had needs that I’d neglected for a long time while I focused on raising a tiny human. Well, half-human.

Meeting Sam was a reminder that I needed to get back out there and date.