by Carrie Elks
“You see his final game last season?”
“Yep. I saw him try to start a fight with that lineman. He needs to control his temper.” Tanner softly kissed his cue against the white ball. “I swear it’s getting worse, on the field at least.”
“Cam was always uber competitive. You have to be to play football.” Gray shrugged.
“So how about you?” Tanner asked him. “How are you finding living back here after so long in L.A.? Is it driving you mad yet?”
The corner of Gray’s lips quirked up. “Yep, living in the house I’ve always dreamed of with the best girl in the world is a real bind. I’m longing for the days of misery on the West Coast.”
Tanner grinned as he sunk an orange striped ball smoothly into the middle pocket. “So when are you going to make it official?”
“With Maddie?”
“Yep.” The next shot was going to be tricky. All the striped balls left were pressed against the side or blocked by solids. He walked around the table, scanning it carefully.
“That’s between us.”
“But you’re gonna do it, right? I mean you’re not getting any younger. You don’t wanna be an old dad.”
Gray shook his head. “Have you been talking to Aunt Gina and Becca?”
“I might have overheard a few conversations.” Tanner gave him a wicked grin. “If I’m being honest, I might have encouraged it. I’ve always preferred the spotlight being on you.”
“Thanks, bro. And for the record, I’m only three years older than you.”
“Four.”
“Three right now,” Gray pointed out, his brow lifted.
“Ah yeah, but your birthday’s coming up and that’ll make it four.” There was a time when those years felt like a gulf. As the youngest brother, Tanner had longed to keep up with Gray, Cam, and Logan as they sat and plotted their next escapades. Maybe that’s why he’d been so drawn to Van on their first day at school. She was like the Hartson brothers on speed. The ultimate plotter of pranks.
“And not that it’s any of your business, but I’ll be asking Maddie to marry me in my own sweet time. Now are you gonna play that shot, or what? Watching you walk around the table is excrutiating.”
“Watch and weep, bro,” Tanner said, finally taking his shot. And when it careened off the cushion and potted Gray’s blue solid instead, he tried really hard to ignore his brother’s laughter.
Chapter Nine
Van hadn’t blinked when she walked out of her mom’s bungalow that morning, and spotted him standing there by the old oak tree. Instead, she’d done her usual stretches, her limbs long and lithe as she curled over them, and started her run along the lane toward the town square. He’d kept up easily, neither of them saying a word as the buildings gave way to fields and farms.
He’d spent at least half of their run looking at her from the corner of his eye, hoping Van wouldn’t notice. Out here, on the dusty road, with the sun shining down on her, she looked completely like the girl he used to know. Strong and determined, yet with a vulnerability only he could see. Of all the people in Hartson’s Creek, he was pretty sure only very few knew who she really was.
It had always felt like the most special of gifts, being Van Butler’s best friend. She’d been the sun his world had orbited. Without her, the world had felt colder. Lifeless. One of the reasons he threw himself into work the same way Gray threw himself into music. It was a way of pretending the pain wasn’t there.
Beneath her black shorts, her legs were firm and lean, the line of muscles beneath her tan skin illuminated by the sun. She was wearing that sports bra again, and he couldn’t help but glance at her stomach, his eyes roaming the lines of her abs until they reached the grey fabric covering her breasts.
Shaking his head at himself, he dragged his gaze away. “You wanna take a break here?” he asked, as they reached the old entrance of the drive-in.
“If you’re tired, I can wait with you.” She shrugged. Then she saw the bright white sign somebody had hammered into the field. “Sold?” she said, her brows pulled together. “I didn’t even know it was for sale.” She leaned on the old fence and looked at him. “Do you think a developer bought it? Ready to plow over all our childhood memories?”
His mouth felt dry. “No. I don’t think they did.”
Her eyes were pulled back to the sign again. “Fairfax Realty,” she murmured. “They’re everywhere, aren’t they?”
“I bought it,” he told her, waiting for her response.
Her head whipped around. “What? Why?”
“To stop a developer from plowing over all our childhood memories,” he said dryly.
She laughed. “Jesus, Tanner. How rich are you?”
“Enough that buying this didn’t make a dent in my account.”
The smile slid off her face when she realized he was serious. “I don’t get it. I know software pays well, but…”
“I sold my company.”
Her eyes widened. “You did? Why?”
“Because it would have been crazy to do anything else. And my co-owners wanted to take the money.”
“Wow. I didn’t know.” She shot him a smile. “Congratulations. And now you’re set for life.” She shook her head, the ghost of a smile playing on her lips. “I knew I should have paid more attention in school.”
“I did tell you that,” he pointed out.
She laughed, and he loved the way it transformed her face. God, she was beautiful. “We both know you’re the only reason I graduated at all,” she said, her eyes warm as she looked at him. “All those times you made me study when all I wanted to do was have fun. Those nights when you’d explain the same damn equation over and again until it finally clicked.”
“I had an ulterior motive.”
She lifted an eyebrow. “And what was that?”
“I didn’t want to go to college without you.”
The smile slid from her lips. Yeah, well look how that turned out. She looked away, over her shoulder, at the field as it stretched toward the screen. The grass was almost knee high. Beneath it some of the little wooden markers remained, that guided the cars to the right spot for them to park and watch the show.
“So what are you going to do with this place?” she asked.
“Fairfax thinks I’m planning on building a house here.”
She eyed him carefully. “But you’re not?”
He slowly shook his head. Then he put his hand on the top of the peeling fence and vaulted over it, landing on the field with a soft thud. “Come on,” he said, holding his hand out to her.
A wicked grin formed on her lips. “Are you getting brave, trespassing in your old age, Hartson?”
“It ain’t trespassing if I own it, Butler,” he said. “Now are you coming or what?”
She rolled her eyes and started to climb the fence, clearly preferring that to vaulting over. Impatiently, he grabbed her waist when she reached the top, then lifted her over until she was in front of him.
Damn, she was light. And warm. And now his hands wanted to feel more of her. The long grass was swaying like corn in the field, the fresh smell wafting up as they made their way through it.
“You’re gonna need a good lawn mower,” Van told him. He reached for her hand, and she slid it into his without protest, her head moving from left to right as she took it all in. The ticket booth, whose roof had fallen in, the white wooden screen which was covered in graffiti thanks to the youth of Hartson’s Creek. Even the swing set remained, though it was so rusty it looked like it could crumble at any moment.
“I can’t believe you bought this,” she said. “What a dump.”
This time he laughed, low and deep. “You have no vision,” he told her.
She lifted her chin up and looked at him with narrow eyes. “Good thing you’re rich,” she said softly. “Otherwise I’d feel sorry for you wasting your money. What are you going to do with it?”
“I’m going to restore it.”
She blinked. “As
in make it a drive-in again?”
“Yep.”
“Jesus, Tanner, you’re crazy. Who the hell wants to go to a drive-in anymore?”
He shrugged. “If we build it, they will come.”
She eyed him carefully. “Did you just misquote Field of Dreams to me?”
“I might have.”
“And who’s this we you speak of?”
“You and me.”
The amusement drained from her face. “There is no you and me,” she said quietly. “There hasn’t been for a long time.”
And he wanted to change that. So badly. The only thing worse than losing his best friend would be to lose her all over again. “I need you, Butler. I can’t do this on my own. You were always the ringleader, the one with the ideas. I was your sidekick.” He gave her a lopsided smile. “The muscle.”
She shook her head. “You don’t need me. You could do this in your sleep. You have enough money to employ somebody to restore it. People who know what they’re doing.”
“I don’t want someone who knows what they’re doing. I want you.”
The words sent a shot of pleasure through her. Ugh, he didn’t mean it like that. She let out a laugh, trying to recover her equilibrium. “Don’t sweet talk me.”
“Wasn’t going to.”
“You’re crazy, Tanner Hartson. Completely and utterly twisted. Have you thought of getting some therapy?”
He leaned forward, tucking a lock of hair behind her ears. “Say yes,” he said softly. “Work with me. Let’s make this place into something amazing.”
She looked around again, her eyes widening as though she was seeing the field in a different light. That’s when he saw it. The spark of interest that made her lips part and her chest lift up and down.
How many times had he seen that before – when she had an idea and couldn’t wait to share it with him? It was her tell, the same way a bad poker player would give away the fact they were holding two aces. He had her, he knew it.
“I still think you’re crazy,” she said softly, licking her bottom lip as she brought her gaze back to his.
“Is that a yes?”
She laughed. “I have no idea if it’s a yes, a no, or a stay the hell away from me.” She breathed out heavily. “Do I have a choice?”
“There’s always a choice.”
Van wrinkled her nose. “Not with you there isn’t. When we were kids you always knew how to wrap me around your little finger. Just a little bat of those pretty eyelashes and I was a goner.”
He gave her a speculative look. It was the first time since he’d been back that she’d admitted he had a hold on her. It was hard to ignore the hope flaring up in his chest.
Leaning in closer, he kept his eyes trained on hers. “Say yes,” he whispered, curling his fingers beneath her chin, lifting it until their mouths were only a breath away from each other.
Van swallowed hard, her skin flushing as her gaze remained on his.
“I’ll think about it.”
Chapter Ten
Van hated the way her stomach kept contracting as she stood on the Fairfax’s doorstep, waiting for somebody to answer the bell. Somebody – Regan, probably – had decorated the porch with yellow streamers and balloons. Shifting on her feet, Van looked up as the door opened, and Nora Fairfax was staring at her, her face impassive as she stepped to the side.
“Come in.”
Van smiled at her, but Nora’s expression didn’t move an inch. “I have a gift, is there anywhere to put it?” She held up the sparkly gift bag she was carrying. It was filled with soft toys and toiletries – the type of things she could remember her mom getting when she was pregnant with Zoe.
“We said no gifts,” Nora said tersely.
“I know. But I felt wrong arriving without something in my hands. Oh, and I brought a bottle of wine to say thank you for having me.” She lifted the green glass bottle from her bag and passed it to Nora, who took it but held it at arms’ length, as though it was a grenade.
“Come in.” She sighed. “Everybody is in the living room. Would you like a glass of lemonade?” She glanced at the bottle again. “Or I can open this if you’d like something stronger?”
“Lemonade will be fine.”
Giving her an unsmiling nod, Nora led the way down the hallway. Van could hear the low-level buzz of conversation echoing from a room at the back of the house. As Nora peeled off into the kitchen, Van walked inside, taking a deep breath when she saw how packed it was in there.
Her skin prickled up as everyone turned to look at her. Walking into that living room with its perfectly polished wooden floor and whitewashed walls felt like walking into her senior homeroom. She caught one of the women in the far corner looking her up and down as though she was something the dog had brought in.
“Savannah! You made it.” Regan struggled to standing, and Van had to grit her teeth together when nobody offered to help her. “Girls, you remember Savannah Butler, right? From school?”
“I brought you a gift,” Van said, trying to ignore the way some of them were leaning in and whispering to each other. “I know I’m not supposed to, but you deserve something for carrying a baby around for nine months.”
“That’s so sweet. Thank you.” Regan gave her a quick hug. Why don’t you take a seat? There’s a free one over there.” She pointed at a chair by the fireplace.
Nora chose that moment to enter the room, carrying a glass of iced lemonade in her right hand. “Savannah,” she said, passing the glass to her. “I expect you remember Chrissie.” She inclined her head to her daughter. “I know she remembers you. Or her face does at least.”
Van took a deep breath and formed a smile onto her lips. “Hi.”
“Hello.” Chrissie was sitting between two women Van recognized from school – though she couldn’t recall their names. “I heard you were back in town.”
“It’s kind of like a reunion, isn’t it?” Regan said, oblivious to the way Chrissie was staring at Van. “You must remember Sarah and Marianne.” She pointed to the girls on either side of Chrissie. “Why don’t you sit over there, Van? Next to the fireplace?”
“Sure,” Van said softly, sinking into the chair and taking a sip of the lemonade. She glanced at her watch. It was just after one in the afternoon. Maybe she could escape in an hour if she was lucky.
She could last that long, couldn’t she?
“Hey, did you hear Tanner bought the drive in?” Chrissie asked Marianne. “According to Dad, he’s planning to build on it.”
“Tanner Hartson?” Marianne said. I thought he was something big in technology.”
“Well he was. But he sold and now he’s deliciously wealthy.” Sarah raised an eyebrow.
“Is he single?” Marianne asked, and they all laughed.
Van wished Tanner was here. He’d be making faces surreptitiously as they all talked about him. She thought she was beyond this feeling of complete inadequacy by now. What did it matter that she wasn’t as educated as them, or that her mom didn’t have a perfectly beautiful house in which she loved to play hostess? She was twenty-eight years old, that stuff shouldn’t matter.
Yet she still found herself shifting on her seat, her chest tight, every time one of them looked at her.
“I’m Ellie,” the girl on the other side of the fireplace said, leaning forward and holding out a hand. “Regan’s cousin. And I don’t know a single soul here.”
Van smiled and slid her palm into Ellie’s. “I’m Van. I went to school with Regan about a hundred years ago, and I haven’t spoken to anybody in here for about ten years.”
Ellie lifted an eyebrow. “Thank god you’re here.”
Van almost managed to escape without anybody noticing, if it wasn’t for her damn adherence to Southern manners making her walk into Mrs. Fairfax’s kitchen to thank her for hosting.
Nora was standing in the corner, a glass of something that looked suspiciously like wine in her hand, leaning forward to talk quietly to Chrissie who wa
s scrolling through her phone.
“I’m heading out. I just wanted to say thank you for hosting,” Van said, hovering in the doorway. “It was a lovely afternoon.”
“Come in.” Nora turned her hand and beckoned her.
Van took a deep breath and stepped inside.
“I was just talking to Chrissie about you. We were wondering if you had a boyfriend.”
“No. I’m happily single.” Van kept smiling, no matter how much her cheek muscles fought it.
Chrissie looked up from her phone, her eyes flickering over Van. “You never got married?”
“No.”
“Hmmm.” Chrissie lifted her phone to show her mom something. “How about this one.”
“That’s pretty,” Nora said, leaning over the screen. “But too short.” She gave Van a smile. “It’d make you look cheap, sweetie.” She glanced at Van from the corner of her eye. Standing completely still, Van smiled back, refusing to give her the satisfaction of seeing her pull at the hem of her dress. Yeah, it fell at mid thigh, but it was pretty.
She felt pretty, and she wasn’t going to let the Fairfaxes ruin that.
“Speaking of short skirts, I heard Doctor Tamlyn came out to see your mom yesterday.” Nora’s lips curled up, but it couldn’t be described as a smile. “I guess all that hard living has finally caught up with her.”
“It was nothing important.” Van’s hands curled into fists, her arms hanging by her side. “But I’ll be sure to pass on your kind wishes.”
Nora said nothing. Just looked at Van the way she always had.
“I’ll see you out,” Chrissie said, flipping her glossy dark hair over her shoulder. Slowly, she rose from the high stool she’d been sitting on, and walked around the oversized kitchen island. “I’ll be right back, Mom.”
“Okay, sweetie.”
When Chrissie held the kitchen door open, Van stole a glance at her face. It was beautiful, the same way it always was. At school, Chrissie had been the first to get a figure – okay, the first to grow breasts. And boy did they all know it. In gym, she and her friends would giggle in the corner at the ‘pancakes’ who hadn’t developed yet. Van had been one of them, and it had aggravated her to no end.