Six years wasn’t that big an age gap. She had a whole list of questions, but they could wait. “You were seventeen then, when I met you.”
“Almost. Is this like in truth or dare where we take turns?” He winked.
“No. We should stop talking and start cleaning.” She was afraid she would embarrass herself answering his questions.
“Okay. But I don’t think that’s fair.” He chuckled. “I’m going to take a peek outside.”
Livvy hurried up behind him. “I’m almost afraid to see what’s out there.”
“You and me both.” He pulled it open and closed it again right away. “It’s worse than I thought.”
Livvy hadn’t even caught a glimpse. She stepped around him and opened the door.
Both his truck and her car were mangled and bent. A large tree rested on top.
Gasping, Livvy stepped back and bumped into Tanner. Spinning around, she glanced up, trying not to cry. Her car was ruined.
His arms wrapped around her, and he held her, without making silly promises that everything would be just fine. She didn’t need platitudes; she needed a car.
Shoving aside the despair, she went back to sweeping. Cleaning would keep her busy.
For over an hour, they worked together in the cabin. While he carried out the large debris, she swept and wiped down surfaces. It took both of them to hoist the branch off the mattress and shove it out the door.
“We should eat something.” Tanner opened the cooler. “I’ve got eggs—which we probably don’t want to eat raw—lunchmeat, cheese, and if it didn’t blow away, bread on top of the fridge.”
They slapped sandwiches together and dropped into the two undamaged chairs in the kitchen.
The reality of the situation weighed on Livvy. “Since the cars are both smashed, we just have to wait for someone to come find us?”
“Pretty much.” He rubbed his face. “Trouble is. I didn’t tell anyone I was headed to the cabin.”
“You can call someone on your cellphone, right?” Why hadn’t that occurred to her earlier?
“I tried. I think a few of the towers are down, but we’ll be okay for a few days.”
Days? She tried not to worry. Her mom would be okay at least for a while since she thought Livvy was staying the night with a friend. Livvy didn’t bother digging her own phone out of her bag. “Mine’s dead. I’d planned to charge it last night.”
He stepped in front of her and leaned down to catch her eye. “It will be okay. If the charcoal is dry enough, I’ll fire up the grill a little later. I won’t let you starve.”
She nodded. Trapped alone in a cabin with Tanner could either be the plot of a great romance novel or a terrifying horror movie—not that she thought him capable of anything horrible. She trusted him. But given the option, she hoped for the former.
“I was thinking. If we press towels onto the big wet spot in the mattress, then—since the rain has stopped and the sun is out—we can move it outside. If it dries, we won’t have to sleep in the tub again.” Her gaze rested on the couch, which had taken a beating in the storm. It needed more than to be dried out. It needed to be tossed.
“The porcelain gives a whole new meaning to firm.” He swallowed down the rest of his water. “Sounds like a plan. Clean towels and blankets are in the closet. I’m going to gather the debris and get it away from the cabin.”
“Well, you know where I am if you need me.”
His eyes twinkled. “I do.”
It was hard to regret following him to the middle of nowhere.
While Tanner worked outside, Livvy dragged most of the towels out of the closet. She left two, hoping that at some point, she might be able to shower. She stripped the blankets and sheets off the bed, then ran to the closet to check for replacements. If there weren’t any, she’d have to wash the mud off the others by hand and hang them to dry. Chasing Tanner into the woods had earned her a few days of impersonating a pioneer woman.
Thankfully, extra sheets and several quilts lay stacked on the top shelf. She’d get them later when the bed was dry. Her first task was to soak excess water out of the pillowtop.
Tanner’s whistling floated on the air, adding a strange calm to the horrific situation. After all the towels were soaked through, she carried them out and draped them over the front porch rail.
“Need me?” He popped around the corner as she turned to go back inside.
“I’m not sure I can drag that mattress by myself.”
His shirt draped over the porch rail, he sauntered up in front of her. “Careful walking over that way. Lots of debris.” He pointed over her shoulder, making it impossible to miss the well-defined bicep right in front of her nose.
“I won’t wander.” She moved her gaze from his arms to his chest. “You’ve been busy. Where did you put stuff?”
“Dragged it down the hill. In case we have more weather coming, I don’t want it anywhere near the house.”
Livvy resisted the urge to touch him, and it took all her willpower. “Ready to move the mattress?”
When he laughed, she tore her eyes from his chest and met his gaze.
He grabbed her hips and moved her to the side. “When will it be my turn at truth or dare? I have a few questions of my own.” Is he flirting or making fun? He lifted the mattress off the bed, then motioned for her to help. “If you can lift it even a little, that’d be good.”
After lifting the mattress off the floor, she tucked her toes underneath it to keep it off the ground. That was the best she could do. After a lot of wrangling, the mattress rested against the side of the porch, where it had the benefit of the direct sun. She prayed it would dry completely so that she didn’t have to choose between a damp bed or a bathtub. However, she hoped that using Tanner’s chest as a pillow was an option in either place.
She’d decided that was enjoyable and not as awkward as she thought it might be.
He reached into the cooler for a bottle of water, and temptation won out.
She rested a hand on his back. “Don’t grill today. I don’t mind a sandwich again.”
“Works for me. I’m tired and nowhere near done.” He drank down most of the bottle, then wet a paper towel and wiped his face. “You can rub on my back more later if you want. I’ll need it.” He laughed and strolled out the door.
So much for subtle.
Chapter 5
Tanner enjoyed flirting with Livvy. Her eyes sparkled, and her breath hitched when he got close, and the look she gave him when he had his shirt off definitely boosted the ego.
On the porch, he tugged on his gloves. For every branch he moved away from the cabin, five more littered the ground. He shaded his eyes against the sun and watched as a hawk dove toward its prey. If he’d been stranded out here alone, he wouldn’t have concerns about surviving until help arrived. If he got hungry, he’d fish, and the well had plenty of water. With Livvy here, concern grated on him. He didn’t want her frightened or even uncomfortable.
He sawed dangling branches off trees, gathered the downed limbs into one place, then dragged them down the hill. While he worked, he thought about the day he’d met Livvy so many years ago. If she’d only mentioned that her dad died, Tanner could have done something, or at least his parents could have. From the little Livvy had said, it had been rough the last ten years, and Tanner was determined to help her. He couldn’t bear the thought of her sleeping in the library.
He grimaced when he imagined his mom lecturing about making wise choices. That’s what she’d warned when he called to tell her about Angela. Mom and Grandfather had very different views of the world.
Courting a possible business partner, Grandfather had suggested that Tanner invite Angela, the owner’s daughter to lunch. They’d hit it off for the most part, continued to see each other, and after a year, he’d proposed.
Looking back, problems in the relationship were more obvious. Hindsight was special that way. He guessed that Angela continued with the relationship for the same reason
he did—because it had been good for business.
He shook his head. How could he have been so stupid? When he got home from the cabin, he’d have a talk with Grandfather. Being around Livvy reminded Tanner that business wasn’t the most important thing.
“Need water?” Blonde hair danced around Livvy’s shoulders. Still wearing his t-shirt, she cocked her head as she held out the bottle.
“Sure.” He studied her even as he guzzled down the cool liquid. “Thanks.” He handed back the empty bottle.
“Figured you’d be thirsty.” She trotted back inside.
He stared until she disappeared through the door. No one else had ever been so attentive to his needs, and there were people on staff paid to do that.
He closed his eyes, and an image of Angela sweeping up glass and scrubbing the mud off the walls after the storm popped in his head, which made him laugh. No way would she have been as calm as Livvy about being stranded at the cabin without electricity or phones.
With an armload of branches, he headed down the hill. After dropping them in the pile, he wound his way back up hill on a different path. A few paces ahead, pale grey lace twirled in the wind, caught on a branch.
He jumped up and grabbed the lowest branch of the tree. With a little effort, he hoisted himself up, then climbed higher and higher, until he made it to the flyaway lingerie. He shimmied out to the end of the branch, snatched the lace off the end—careful not to snag it—and worked his way back down to the ground.
Clouds rolled in, and the sky darkened. He wasn’t sure the cabin could weather another storm.
He hurried back, grabbing his shirt as he stepped onto the porch.
Chapter 6
Livvy pulled the clothes out of her bag and folded them.
Tanner stepped up close behind her. “I’m pretty sure this isn’t mine.” A bra dangled in front of her.
“You found it!” She snatched it out of his hand and hurried toward the bathroom. “Thank you.”
“It was hanging on a tree outside.”
Glad to have at least one bra, she closed herself in the bathroom and put it on. Where her others ended up might forever remain a mystery. She smoothed her shirt as she stepped back out into the room. “That’s better.”
“You’ve been a good sport about all of this.”
Livvy ran back to the kitchen and turned down the flame on the burner to avoid burning the food. “A bad attitude would only make it worse.”
“True. Smells good in here. What happened to sandwiches?” Tanner yanked his shirt back over his head.
She pulled the skillet off the camping stove and piled the food onto two plates. “There was a camping stove in the cabinet. And fuel.” She passed him a plate. “It’s only a scramble with whatever you had, but it’s hot.”
“It’s perfect.” He dropped into a chair, clearly exhausted from all the work.
The line of his jaw and the wrinkle in his brow left little doubt he was concerned about something.
She kept quiet, letting him eat. But as soon as he finished the last bite, she asked, “What’s wrong?”
Eyeing her, he sipped his water before responding. “Am I that obvious?”
“Just tell me.”
He gave a half-hearted chuckle. “Skies don’t look good.”
“But it was sunny.” She ran out to the porch. “Oh, no. We need to get the mattress inside.”
His chair skidded backward when he jumped up. “Crap. Sorry. I didn’t even think.”
In a matter of minutes, the mattress lay back on the box spring. The only thing worse for wear were her legs, which somehow collided with anything near their path. Trees rustled overhead, and when they looked up, their efforts seemed fruitless because of the gaping hole in the ceiling.
“I think I have a tarp in the truck.”
“You can’t get up on that roof!”
“I have a ladder, so technically, I can.” He whistled as he strolled out to the shed.
Livvy began to think that he did that to calm himself, not so much because he was relaxed and happy.
After hauling tools and supplies up to the porch, he pulled on his work gloves.
She paced as he leaned the ladder against the side of the house, climbed up, and disappeared on top with the tarp in tow.
A minute later, he peeked over the edge. “Hand up those strips of wood, will ya?”
She did as she was asked. “How is it you have all the stuff you need?”
“Could we maybe discuss this when I’m not on the roof, trying to beat a storm?”
“Sorry.” She wore a groove in the dirt, staring up at the roof, until her nerves were so frayed she almost couldn’t breathe. Her slight issue with heights may have created unreasonable worry about him being on the roof. She ran back inside.
While he pounded and hammered the blue tarp into place, she cleaned up the kitchen and prepped sandwiches for later, anything to keep occupied while he worked so far from the ground. Surveying the cabin, she tried to spot anything else that needed to be taken care of before nightfall. The wind picked up, blowing through the broken windows, and she discovered something else to occupy her time.
“Where did I see that duct tape?” Talking to herself, she yanked open drawers and opened cabinets. Once she located the roll, she set about creating make-shift covers for the windows.
She was just finishing up the last of the curtains when Tanner let loose a string of curses. Scraping against the roof preceded a loud thud. Livvy tore out the door, blinking back tears, her heart racing. She scanned the ground. Where is he?
“Tanner!”
He smiled down at her from the roof. “Hey. Will you hold the ladder? I’m coming down.”
Her body shaking, she squeezed her eyes closed and tried to hold the ladder still. When denim brushed her arm, she stepped back letting him descend the last few rungs.
As soon as his feet hit the ground, she threw her arms around his neck. “I thought you’d fallen.” She clung to him, relieved.
His damp shirt smelled of sweat and dirt, but she didn’t care. She’d fully expected to find him injured or worse when she darted through the door. The thought of being stranded at the cabin with no way to help him prompted tears.
He held her and rubbed her back. “It was just the hammer.”
Blubbering, she felt an overwhelming sense of childishness. “Okay.” She wiped her eyes.
He cradled her face in his hands. “Hey, I’m okay. Please don’t cry.” Warm lips pressed to her forehead, and he pulled her close again. “It slipped out of my hand when I banged my thumb.”
Nodding, she backed up.
“I need to gather tools before the rain starts. You okay?”
“I am. It was stupid.” She avoided eye contact and hurried back inside, the feel of his lips on her skin forever emblazoned in her memory.
After finishing the last of the window covers, she taped them into place, then added small nails for extra hold.
With that project completed, she moved on to getting clean bedding ready for the night. She opened the closet and reached up, her fingers barely brushing the sheets. If she stretched just a little more, she could avoid dragging a chair across the cabin. Pushed up on her tiptoes, she strained to catch the edge of the sheets between her fingers, just enough to pull them down off the shelf.
A hand touching her hip and a warm body behind her were the first clues that Tanner had come back inside.
“Let me get those for you.” He reached around her, lifted them, and handed them to her.
Clutching the linens to her chest, she spun around.
He didn’t move. “It’s kinda nice to have someone worry about me. I didn’t think it was stupid.”
She braved a glance at his face. “Thank you.”
“I brought up a few buckets of water. It’s all clean, but with the power out, we’ll start losing pressure here in the cabin. I’ll put it in the bathroom, and then you can go wash up. I’ll get the bed ready.”
“You need it worse than I do.”
“That’s true. I’m pretty rank.”
“You go first.”
“I will, but . . .” He wandered into the kitchen and grabbed a chair. “I’m moving the bed. I don’t trust my temporary fix enough for you to sleep under it during a storm.”
They shuffled furniture around until the bed was in the kitchen nook and the table and chairs were near where the bed had been.
She pulled a towel out of the closet and set it on the bathroom counter. “You do smell a bit ripe.”
He disappeared into the bathroom, carrying the water buckets, and she spread the fitted sheet across the mattress, fighting with the corners. Once the sheets and blankets were on, she squeezed the pillows into fresh cases.
After a bit, when the bathroom door opened, Tanner stepped out with a towel wrapped around his waist. “Forgot to grab clothes.”
Staring was impolite. She did it anyway.
He rummaged through his dresser, pulled out a t-shirt and shorts, and then winked as he swung the bathroom door closed again.
She grinned. There were worst places to be trapped, but no one she’d rather be stranded with.
“You don’t smell like roses either, you know.” He somehow managed to move almost silently in the cabin.
She spun around. “Watch what you say. I might cry again.”
“I definitely don’t want that.” He handed her the last clean towel.
Livvy padded into the bathroom but rushed back out and grabbed her bag. “I’ll need clothes.”
He only grinned.
She pretended the water was hot as she soaped up and cleaned off. She skipped washing her hair, because she didn’t want to use up all the water. There was no lingering like she would in a hot shower.
When she stepped out of the bathroom, the last of the sunlight streamed in through the open front door, casting a warm glow through the room. Tanner sat at the table.
“Happy Birthday to you . . .” He sang the tune as he lit a single candle stuck into an open Double-stuff Oreo. “Bet you thought I forgot.”
“I forgot.” She blinked the mist out of her eyes.
Next Door to the Billionaire Page 4