Her Wickham Falls Seal

Taryn concentrated on finishing the food on her plate and she thought about how her life was going to change within a matter of weeks. She would leave New York and go from teaching in a classroom filled with twenty-two third-graders to homeschooling a four-and five-year-old. Instead of getting into her car and driving fifty-five miles to a school building, she would get up and walk to her classroom.

And living under Aiden’s roof was definitely going to be an adjustment for her. The last and only man she’d lived with was James Robinson. When first introduced to each other, they had felt their meeting was predestined, the reason being that they shared the same surname. When she moved in with James, it was as a girlfriend. And once she moved in with Aiden, it would be as his daughters’ teacher.

“Leave everything,” Aiden said, as he clapped a hand on Taryn’s shoulder when she reached for the platter. “I’ll clean up later. I want to show you where you’ll set up your classroom.” His hand went from her shoulder to her arm and assisted her off the stool. “Right now the girls use the space as their playhouse. If you want, I can store their toys, dolls, bikes and dollhouse in the shed.”

Taryn didn’t know what to expect but the area down the hallway off the kitchen was much larger than she had anticipated and comparable to the average Manhattan studio apartment. It was at least five-hundred square feet. She walked over to the floor-to-ceiling windows with built-in pale-gray woven blinds. They were raised, allowing her a glimpse of an expansive backyard beyond the patio and outdoor kitchen. It was the perfect place for recess, where the girls could run around.

“What do you think?”

She shivered slightly when Aiden’s breath feathered over her ear. He hadn’t made a sound when he came to stand next to her. Taryn had a mental picture where she would place desks, bookcases, worktables and set up art, science and music corners.

Taryn turned to face Aiden. “It’s perfect. Do you know the exact dimensions for this room?”

He nodded. “It’s four-hundred and seventy-five square feet. Why?”

“I don’t know if you have a set budget for furnishing the classroom, but I want to order a rug that’s no larger than eight by twelve for my reading and library corner. My students always enjoy sitting on the floor whenever we have read-aloud.”

* * *

Aiden stared at the terra-cotta floor. He had debated whether to cover the floor with indoor/outdoor carpeting once the sunroom was installed, but then he’d dismissed the idea when the floor installer suggested the stone because it was maintenance-free.

“You can buy whatever you need. Come with me and I’ll show you your bedroom.”

The salary he’d earned when employed as a private military contractor allowed him to pay off his mortgage, upgrade and enlarge the house, and put money away for his daughters’ college education. He didn’t think of himself as wealthy, but financially comfortable.

“How many bedrooms are in this house?” Taryn asked.

“Five. And that’s not counting the one in the attic that doubles as my home office. When I first bought this place, it was only twelve-hundred square feet. Before Livia was born, I had a construction crew expand it on both sides, add the sunroom, mother-in-law suite, raise the attic ceiling, finish the basement and install central air and heat. Allie and Livia play in the sunroom whenever it’s too hot or cold to play outside.”

“Did you live here during the renovations?”

“No. We stayed with my aunt and uncle. It was a little cramped but we pretended it was an extended sleepover.”

“How many bathrooms do you have?”

Aiden paused, counting. “Five. A half-bath off the kitchen, one in the basement with a vanity and commode, a full-bath in your suite, a bathroom in the attic with a commode, vanity and shower stall, and the original full-bath on the second story.”

Taryn gave him a sidelong glance. “Should I assume you spend most of your free time in the basement?”

He smiled. “How did you know?”

“If you finished your basement, then it’s obvious it would double as a man cave.”

“Dudes need a place to drink beer, watch sports and trash talk without being censored.”

“You can do that at a sporting event.”

“That’s true in big cities like New York and Philadelphia. Remember, West Virginia doesn’t have any professional teams.”

“Don’t you go to high school and college football games?”

“Not really,” Aiden admitted. “I enlisted in the navy right out of high school.”

“How long did you serve?”

“Fourteen years.” He had taken an oath at eighteen to protect his country and he’d fulfilled that commitment as a navy SEAL. Being away for extended periods of time had placed a strain on his marriage and whenever he returned home it was to a house in crisis. Nothing he’d done for Denise was ever enough and after a while he stopped trying to please her. She had complained bitterly that the house was too small for four people, so to appease her he used the money he’d earned as a private military contractor to expand it.

After the entire house was renovated Denise wanted to leave Wickham Falls and that’s when he put his foot down. There was no way he was going to pick up and move after giving her what she’d called her dream house. Once their arguments had escalated to screaming matches, Aiden knew their marriage was in serious trouble. He’d suggested counseling, but Denise refused to go with him.

Aiden stopped at the end of the hallway. “Here’s your room, also known as the in-law suite.”

* * *

Taryn entered the sun-filled bedroom suite and felt as if she had stepped back in time when she saw the honey-toned, queen-size, hand-painted sleigh bed with a white goose-down comforter, lacy, sheer dust ruffles and mounds of matching pillows. She opened the door to a massive armoire to find a large flat-screen television and audio components. Stacks of linens, comforters and quilts were stored in the drawers of a smaller ornately carved armoire. A double mahogany dresser with a gilt mirror contrasted to the other pale furnishings. Taryn thought of the space as a lady’s bedchamber and sitting room, with a sofa set on a straw rug and covered with yellow polished cotton and two flanking armchairs with hunter-green suede seat cushions. The suite was a quiet retreat where she could relax, sleep or just escape from the world around her.

Framed photos of Audubon prints were set on the mahogany desk and bedside tables. She walked over to French doors, which led out to the porch. It was the perfect place for her to begin the day with a cup of coffee or end it while watching the sunset. Pale yellow silk drapes could be closed to provide privacy or left open to take in the view of the distant mountains.

“I hope it’s to your liking.”

Taryn turned to find Aiden in the doorway, arms crossed over his chest. “It’s more than I could’ve imagined.”

His pale eyebrows lifted slightly. “You like it?”

“I love it.” Taryn didn’t say she would love it even more once she added her personal touch. She walked across the room and opened a door to a closet with overhead shelves. It wasn’t as large as the walk-in closet in her Long Island bedroom but it would be adequate if she donated clothes she hadn’t worn in years instead of packing them up and bringing them to Wickham Falls.

She opened another door to find a bathroom reminiscent of those in spas. Taryn could imagine herself whiling away time in the black marble garden tub with a Jacuzzi. A dressing table and chair were tucked under an alcove, while a vanity, freestanding shower with a large showerhead, commode, bidet and mirrored walls made the bathroom appear larger than it actually was.

“The suite gets an A-plus,” she told Aiden once she returned to the bedroom.

He inclined his head. “I’m glad you’re pleased with it. Now, are you ready to see the rest of the house?”

“Yes.”

“We’ll take the back staircase.”

There was something about Aiden’s body language that also prompted her to recall Langdon’s, who’d bragged that all special ops had a particular swagger identifying them as military elite. She did not want to ask Aiden about his past because she didn’t want to open the door for him to ask about hers. Taryn wanted their relationship to remain strictly professional.

Her single focus was educating his daughters and nothing beyond that. She had no intention of becoming his friend or replacing his wife as a mother for his children. She’d given up her condo to move in with a man who’d deceived her, and now she was giving up her home on Long Island to move in with a man who would become her employer. And she had a hard-and-fast rule never to engage in an affair with a supervisor or coworker. She had witnessed firsthand the fallout and embarrassment when a first-grade teacher had been dating the school psychologist, who hadn’t disclosed he was married, and was confronted by the man’s pregnant wife after she showed up unexpectedly at the school building to threaten her husband’s lover.

She climbed another flight of stairs with Aiden until they came to the third-story landing and his home/office/bedroom. A king-size platform bed, bedside table and a brown leather love seat were positioned under an eave, while a workstation with a desktop and printer was placed in front of a window overlooking the front of the house. An entertainment stand held a television and stacks of DVDs. Taryn walked over to the credenza to study several framed black-and-white photographs. The image of an elderly couple sitting on a bench holding hands captured her attention. There were other photos of the same couple with the tall thin man dressed in his Sunday finery, while the short dark-skinned woman by his side wore a Native American beaded dress and moccasins.

“The woman is my maternal grandmother,” Aiden said as he moved closer to Taryn. “Grandma Esther belonged to North Carolina’s Eastern Band of Cherokee Indians. My sister is named after her.”

Taryn’s eyes went from the photographs to Aiden’s features, noticing he’d inherited his grandmother’s high cheekbones. “Is she still alive?”

“No. She died eight years ago, exactly one month to the day my grandfather passed away. My mother claimed she died of a broken heart.”

“How did your grandparents meet?”