Free Toss Up (The Toss Trilogy) by Susan Craig

bedroom. When Tyler fell asleep, Jim would come back out and they would talk. Until then, she would read and relax.
    Sally shook her head, scrunched her eyes, and looked at the clock. She’d fallen asleep waiting for Jim… for two hours. The coward really had gone to bed. No point in waiting longer. She got up and shuffled toward her bedroom, stifling a yawn. Dealing with the vet would have to wait until morning.
     
     
    Jim had to admit that Tyler’s bed, though narrow compared to his own pillow-topped king, was a darn sight more comfortable than Sally’s couch. The pale light of the waxing moon shone in through the bedroom window touching shelves piled with books and miniature cars, scattered toys that hadn’t quite made it back into the closet and the sleeping bag in which Tyler sprawled. His tousled head rested near the head end of the bed Jim occupied, and his flashlight lay close at hand.
    Jim smiled at the sleeping child. They hadn’t told scary stories, but Tyler had kept up a whispered monologue for nearly an hour before he finally wound down and fell asleep. Since then, Jim had been lying awake, listening to the creaking of the house, the swish of wind in the trees, and now Sally. The door to Tyler’s room stood open, but she hadn’t come down the hall to check on her son. Jim suspected he was the reason.
    He listened to the sounds of Sally getting ready for bed. She had turned off all the lights except those in her bedroom, and he could hear th e shower running. He pictured her wet and warm, soapy and slick, and felt the urge to get out of bed, pull off his boxers and join her. He smiled at the thought, but gave his body orders to stand down. She’d waited in the living room a long time, and he wasn’t the least bit tired. But he had come in here with the firm intention of staying away from her until morning.
    He kept seeing the look she’d given Smith. His body and his gut were in full agreement about what should be done. They wanted to settle the question. To simply walk in there, take her and make her his own. And… after her capitulation last night… body, gut and brain all knew that he could.
    Which is why he didn’t trust himself to be near her alone. His brain was outnumbered on this, but he resolved not to give in. He knew if he lost control and went to her, persuading her would be easy. She wouldn’t turn him away.
    Don’t think about that. It only makes it worse. He shifted restlessly on the bed and re-scrunched the pillow, wadding it between wrist and bicep as he lay on his side staring toward the unlit hallway.
    If he took her, he would never be sure of her. And more than an ything, he wanted to be sure of her. He wanted to know that she chose him not because she’d been too long without a man, not because he’d been there when she needed comfort and security, not because he was willing to die—or kill, he admitted—to protect her and Tyler, but because she knew him, because she trusted him, because she loved him.
    Stupid, pathetic sap. But it’s the best way. It’s the right way.
    Jim was honest enough with himself to admit his first attraction to Sally had been identical to what he’d seen in Smith’s eyes this afternoon. Undiluted lust. And becoming her friend had been only a step toward her bed, at first. But as he’d gotten to know her, he’d learned she was so much more than just gorgeous. He’d fallen in love so gradually, there’d been no opportunity to shy away from it. Completely clear about where his own heart was, and about where he wanted her heart to be, he wasn’t going to settle for less.
    And Tyler—hell, he’d fallen in love with Tyler even faster than with Sally. The boy had been seven when they’d first met, smart, inquisitive, energetic, and yet fragile—the legacy of his father’s tragic death. Tyler wasn’t fragile anymore, and Jim liked to think that he’d had something to do with that. Even if nothing ever came of his love for Sally, Jim knew