Free Loving Tessa (January Cove) by Rachel Hanna Page A
Authors: Rachel Hanna
ex?"
"Partially, I guess. I didn't have a good sense of direction when I was a teenager or in my early twenties. I didn't have a mother to teach me what to look for in a man, and I didn't have a good father to show me the kind of man that I should be looking for. I guess I was just lost, and I didn't have a lot of self-esteem. I suppose I don't have a lot of self-esteem right now either, but at least I realize it."
"Here we are," Aaron said as he pulled onto a long gravel driveway.
"What is this place?" she asked as they went around the big curve and faced a large, white antebellum house.
"This is a place that my mother owns. It's actually an investment property that used to be a bed-and-breakfast. Right now it's empty, with the real estate market being what it is. I thought we could come here and spend some time talking without being interrupted. There are few people who even know this place is back here these days," he said.
"It's beautiful. I've never seen an antebellum house up close like this. It's very majestic," she said.
"I've always dreamed of living here, but that would require me to move away from the campground which I really can't do right now."
"Why can't you move away?
"Well, first of all I have no one there that I trust to run it by themselves. And secondly, I don't feel like I need a house this big unless I'm going to have a family of my own. Now I seem to be further away from that goal than I ever was, so I really don't need all this space."
"Maybe things will change. I hope they do, Aaron, because you deserve all good things."
"Thank you," he said as he reached over and squeezed her leg lightly. The touch of his hand sent shock waves up and down her body. She’d never felt such a spark from a man's touch before, and it almost made her shake.
"Shall we go in?" she asked trying to break the tension in the car that was building. How was she so attracted to this man that she'd only just met, and how could she ever be sure that her ability to choose a man was correct?
Aaron unlocked the front door and waved Tessa inside. The home was beautiful and ornate, and a bit sad from being empty. The winding staircase in the foyer reminded her of Gone With The Wind, and she could imagine the regal parties that were hosted in this house during the Civil War era.
“Let’s go into the parlor. We still have some furniture in there,” he said pointing to a room on the right.
“The parlor?” she said with a chuckle.
“Hey, that’s what my mother calls it. I don’t feel very manly saying it, but…” he said with a shrug. Tessa sat down on the red velvet sofa and Aaron sat down next to her, putting his leg up onto the couch so he could face her.
"Okay, I guess this is as easy as it's ever going to be for me to give you this information. My biggest concern is that you're going to think less of me, and I wouldn't blame you if you did. My story only shows what a weak woman I am."
"That can't be, Tessa. I've already learned so much about who you are, and your past doesn't matter to me. As far as I'm concerned, you have a clean slate with me."
"Thank you for saying that, but I'm not sure you'll feel that way once you hear the story," she said as she took in a deep breath, steeling herself for a moment. "I met Ethan when I was nineteen years old just after my father died in prison. He was ten years older than me at the time, so I guess I looked up to him. Ethan was a new officer on the police force in our town, and he had run ins with my dad on multiple occasions. My dad hated him, and I hated my dad at that time. I felt like he'd screwed our lives up and he made my name mud in our small town by all of his antics.
Right after my father passed away, I was living in this little efficiency apartment that I could afford while waitressing at the local diner. That's when Ethan came by one day to express his condolences, or at least that's
"Partially, I guess. I didn't have a good sense of direction when I was a teenager or in my early twenties. I didn't have a mother to teach me what to look for in a man, and I didn't have a good father to show me the kind of man that I should be looking for. I guess I was just lost, and I didn't have a lot of self-esteem. I suppose I don't have a lot of self-esteem right now either, but at least I realize it."
"Here we are," Aaron said as he pulled onto a long gravel driveway.
"What is this place?" she asked as they went around the big curve and faced a large, white antebellum house.
"This is a place that my mother owns. It's actually an investment property that used to be a bed-and-breakfast. Right now it's empty, with the real estate market being what it is. I thought we could come here and spend some time talking without being interrupted. There are few people who even know this place is back here these days," he said.
"It's beautiful. I've never seen an antebellum house up close like this. It's very majestic," she said.
"I've always dreamed of living here, but that would require me to move away from the campground which I really can't do right now."
"Why can't you move away?
"Well, first of all I have no one there that I trust to run it by themselves. And secondly, I don't feel like I need a house this big unless I'm going to have a family of my own. Now I seem to be further away from that goal than I ever was, so I really don't need all this space."
"Maybe things will change. I hope they do, Aaron, because you deserve all good things."
"Thank you," he said as he reached over and squeezed her leg lightly. The touch of his hand sent shock waves up and down her body. She’d never felt such a spark from a man's touch before, and it almost made her shake.
"Shall we go in?" she asked trying to break the tension in the car that was building. How was she so attracted to this man that she'd only just met, and how could she ever be sure that her ability to choose a man was correct?
Aaron unlocked the front door and waved Tessa inside. The home was beautiful and ornate, and a bit sad from being empty. The winding staircase in the foyer reminded her of Gone With The Wind, and she could imagine the regal parties that were hosted in this house during the Civil War era.
“Let’s go into the parlor. We still have some furniture in there,” he said pointing to a room on the right.
“The parlor?” she said with a chuckle.
“Hey, that’s what my mother calls it. I don’t feel very manly saying it, but…” he said with a shrug. Tessa sat down on the red velvet sofa and Aaron sat down next to her, putting his leg up onto the couch so he could face her.
"Okay, I guess this is as easy as it's ever going to be for me to give you this information. My biggest concern is that you're going to think less of me, and I wouldn't blame you if you did. My story only shows what a weak woman I am."
"That can't be, Tessa. I've already learned so much about who you are, and your past doesn't matter to me. As far as I'm concerned, you have a clean slate with me."
"Thank you for saying that, but I'm not sure you'll feel that way once you hear the story," she said as she took in a deep breath, steeling herself for a moment. "I met Ethan when I was nineteen years old just after my father died in prison. He was ten years older than me at the time, so I guess I looked up to him. Ethan was a new officer on the police force in our town, and he had run ins with my dad on multiple occasions. My dad hated him, and I hated my dad at that time. I felt like he'd screwed our lives up and he made my name mud in our small town by all of his antics.
Right after my father passed away, I was living in this little efficiency apartment that I could afford while waitressing at the local diner. That's when Ethan came by one day to express his condolences, or at least that's