by Carrie Elks
“I win!” Maddie shouted, standing and doing a twirl. “Did you see that, Tanner?”
Van immediately pulled her hand from his, her cheeks flushing as though afraid somebody might have seem them touching. Tanner smiled at Maddie, then glanced back at the beautiful woman next to him.
“You okay?” he asked.
This time she didn’t quite meet his gaze. “I’m fine. I should see how Zoe is doing.” She glanced at her watch. “It’s late and we both need some sleep.” She exhaled softly as she stood, putting down her empty glass of wine. “Maybe I shouldn’t have been drinking either. I feel a little light headed. Good thing we walked over.”
“I’ll walk you back.”
“There’s no need.” A calmness seemed to descend on her, like she’d flipped a switch and turned everything off. “Zoe?” she called out. “Are you ready to go?”
Chapter Twelve
As she walked across the soft lawn, Van could feel her cheeks blazing. Even though her back was to him, she could still picture Tanner perfectly. His dark hair falling over his brow, his strong jaw covered with the perfect amount of scruff. And his mouth. All night her gaze had been drawn to it. Remembering how sweet his lips had felt against hers all those years ago. How he’d known just the right way to touch her, until her skin was on fire and her heart was clammering against her chest.
It had been a struggle to keep her cool in front of him.
“Aunt Gina? We’re going. Thank you for a lovely evening.” Van hugged her tight.
“Don’t be a stranger, sweetie,” Gina told her. “You and Zoe are always welcome here. No need for an invitation.”
“Van, can we make s’mores at home some time?” Zoe asked, skipping over from where she’d been sitting with Becca by the fire. “They’re so good.”
“Sure.” Van ruffled her hair, then wrinkled her nose. “You smell like smoke. You’re gonna need a shower when we get home.”
“Oops, sorry. My fault.” Becca shot her a smile.
“Ah, she needed one anyway.”
One by one, Van and Zoe said their goodbyes to the Hartson family, all smiles and hugs as they promised to come back soon. And then she was standing in front of Tanner, his warm eyes gazing at hers.
“Can I call you tomorrow?” he asked. “We need to talk about the drive-in.”
“I thought you’d forgotten.”
He slowly shook his head. “Just didn’t want to rush you. Or talk about business at a social occasion.”
She took a deep breath in. “Yeah, you can call me.”
“I’ll need your number.” He handed her his phone.
Taking it, she quickly entered her number in the contacts and passed it back. Their finger tips brushed, and she felt a jolt of electricity rush through her. She smiled shyly at him, and he winked back, as though he knew exactly the reason for her shiver.
“Okay then. We need to go. I’ll speak to you soon.” She glanced at him again. Should she hug him? It would look weird if she didn’t when she’d hugged every other member of his family. Yet she still hesitated. Not because she didn’t want to, but because it meant too much. She was already on edge. It could tip her over.
“Come here,” his voice was velvety soft. He reached for her, his arms circling around her shoulders and his palms flat against her back as he pulled her against him. The sudden movement took her by surprise. She wasn’t ready for it. She didn’t have her defences up. Her heart started to hammer in her ribcage so hard she swore he must be able to feel it. She was so aware of the way his fingers felt against the fabric of her dress.
Slowly, she lifted her head, looking up until her gaze met his. For a moment his eyes burned into hers. He swallowed, the prominent lump in his throat undulating with the action. All she could think about were his lips. The need she had to feel them on hers. He’d kiss her hard, the way he once had, then slide his mouth softly down her throat. Her body tensed at the thought, her nipples hardening against his ribcage.
If he’d kissed her, she would have let him. In spite of everybody around them. His family, Zoe, all of them. But instead he stepped back, releasing his hold on her, shifting awkwardly.
“Bye, Van.”
Her body felt icy without him pressed against her. Still, she forced her lips into a smile. “Bye.” And if her body felt like it was on fire? Well she’d have to live with that.
She wanted him. The exhilaration rushing through her was enough to tell her that. But she also knew what that kind of need brought. The low after the high.
She’d let herself fall for him once, and look what happened. This time, she was determined they’d stay friends.
“Can I ask you something?” Zoe said as they turned the corner into their street. It was almost nine o’clock, past Zoe’s bedtime, and she looked suitably excited that Van let her stay up late on a school night. The sun had dipped below the mountains and the street lamps had come on, flooding the road with light.
“Sure. Shoot.” Van glanced at her sister from the corner of her eye.
“Which one was Tanner and Becca’s mom? Was it Aunt Gina?”
Van shook her head. “No. Their mom died when they were little. Aunt Gina is their mom’s sister. She moved in to take care of them.”
“Is she married to their dad?”
The moon was glowing softly above the tree line. “No,” Van told her. “They’re just friends, I guess. But she’s taken care of all of them like she was their mom.”
“He’s scary.”
“Tanner’s dad?”
Zoe nodded. “He looked angry all night.”
It was strange how perceptive kids could be. “Yeah, he’s never been very happy. Not since their mom died.”
“Did you know their mom?”
Van’s brow wrinkled as she thought. “Sort of. We were just kids when she died, so I can’t remember her that well.” She could remember the night she died though. The frantic rapping of Tanner’s knuckles on her window in the middle of the night. His tear stained face as he climbed into her bedroom, sobs wracking his tiny body as he tried to tell her what had happened. It had been the middle of the night, and Van was dressed in her favorite sheep pajamas, her brain full of sleep as she tried to make out his words.
His mom had died less than an hour earlier. Tanner had been the only one of his brothers not to sit by her bedside as she passed. It had taken him years to admit he’d been too afraid to watch his mom die, and instead he’d run away and hidden in the summer house, his eyes scrunched closed as he prayed to a god he hoped was listening.
He’d only known she’d died when he heard Gray walk into the garden and let out a haunting scream. Gray had been almost twelve. The oldest of the five. Tanner had never heard him cry until then.
That’s when Tanner had run to her house. And without asking, she’d lifted her covers and they’d curled up together on her bed, their tiny frames nestled together in the scant comfort he’d sought.
His dad had knocked at the door some time before dawn and somehow Van’s mom had been sober enough to let him in. He’d grabbed Tanner’s hand and scolded him for running away, not hugging him, or ruffling his hair, or asking if he was okay.
At least Aunt Gina had changed all that when she moved in with them. She’d turned out to be like their mom but on acid, constantly chiding, chasing, and feeding them.
“If mom died, would you look after me?” Zoe asked. “Or would I go and live with Craig?”
They’d reached the bungalow. Van stopped and turned to Zoe, smiling softly at her as she reached to cup her sweet face. “Mom isn’t going to die,” she told her. “But I’ll always be here for you. No matter what happens. And I know Craig hasn’t been here much recently, but he loves you, too.”
Zoe’s bottom lip wobbled. She was such a deep thinker. “I don’t want to be alone.”
Van reached for her, hugging her tight. “You never have to. I promise. We’ll always take care of you.”
It was the one thing she knew,
more than anything else. She’d protect her sister forever, the way she’d never been protected. From nastiness, from speculation, from gossip. She’d never have people teasing her because their mom brought home a random guy, or because the rumor about her stealing from the Fairfaxes had finally reached the school gates.
Kissing her sister’s head, Van promised herself she’d always be Zoe’s protector. Nothing else mattered. Not the way their mom was almost certainly still curled up in bed, nor the way her heart skipped every time she saw Tanner Hartson.
She was here for Zoe. Nothing else.
“How about you call your brother once in a while?” Logan complained over the phone to Tanner later that night. “I just spoke to Becca. She told me you bought the drive-in. How the hell didn’t I know this?”
“It only happened last week. The ink on the contract isn’t even dry.” Tanner shook his head, though he couldn’t help but smile. Of his three other brothers, he’d grown closest to Logan over the years. Maybe because Gray had been so busy touring the world and Cam had been chasing his football dreams, leaving Tanner and Logan to spend more time together. It had been Logan who was there for him when Van had told Tanner she never wanted to see him again and followed through with her threat.
And as they both built their own businesses – Tanner in New York, Logan in Boston– they’d become confidants. Bitching at each other about how hard it was to please their employees. Talking through business options when they needed somebody they could trust.
It was natural Logan was a little taken aback that Tanner hadn’t discussed the drive-in with him. Tanner couldn’t help but feel bad about that.
“I bought it on a whim,” he confessed. “I don’t have a business plan or anything. Just signed the contract and now here I am.”
Logan laughed. “That doesn’t sound like you.”
No it didn’t. “Yeah, well I had money burning a hole in my pocket. And I was bored.”
“There’s always a job for you in Boston,” Logan reminded him. “I could use somebody I trust.”
Tanner lifted a brow. “I think I’ll stay in Hartson’s Creek for now, but thanks anyway.”
“So what are you planning to do with the drive-in?” Logan asked.
“I’m gonna rebuild it.”
“Seriously?” Logan sounded skeptical. “How the hell are you gonna do that? You don’t have any experience of the hospitality industry.”
“I know. But I know some people who do.” He grinned. “Like you.”
“Yeah. I’m a bit busy to be playing movies with you. Seriously, bro. I thought you weren’t supposed to be doing any work for a year? Wasn’t that part of the conditions of your sale?”
“Only in a competing company,” Tanner told him. “And I’m not planning on doing much work anyway. I’m going to get somebody to do it for me.”
“Who?”
“Van Butler.”
“What?” Logan chuckled. “As in Van Butler the girl you used to hang around with, then you dicked over until she was in pieces?”
“Shut up.”
“Come on,” Logan said, his voice disbelieving. “I heard you tell Becca you weren’t interested in seeing Van again. And now you’re talking about employing her? How long have I been gone? When did the two of you reconnect?”
“It’s a small town.” Tanner shrugged. “We’re friends, that’s all.”
Logan was silent for a moment. “Friends?” he asked, as though he couldn’t quite believe it.
“What else would we be?”
“You tell me? She’s always felt like the one who got away.” There was a shrug in Logan’s voice. “There was a point I thought you’d never get over her. Or what happened. It just feels… I don’t know… weird, that you’re talking about her like you don’t have a past.”
“Maybe I grew up,” Tanner said. “We’ve bumped into each other a few times. At the diner, running… that kind of thing. And then Aunt Gina invited her to dinner this evening. We’re okay. What happened between us is water under the bridge. I think we can be friends again.” And if he wanted more? Well, they’d see what happened.
“Just be careful, man,” Logan said softly. “I remember what you were like ten years ago. The situation broke you. I don’t want to see you get hurt again.” He cleared his throat. “And she doesn’t deserve to get hurt either.”
“I won’t hurt her.” Tanner was certain of that. “We’re both adults, we know what we’re doing. And thank you. It’s good to know you’ve got my back.”
“Always.”
“You okay?” Tanner asked his brother.
“Yep. Busy as hell at work, but surviving.”
“Any women on the horizon?” he teased.
“Nope.” Logan’s voice was sure. “No time for one if there was. The women of Boston are probably sighing with relief.”
“I doubt that.” Logan was a good looking guy, or at least that’s what Tanner’s female friends told him. “But whatever gets you through the day.”
“Talking of which, I’d better go. We got a party of forty in this evening. And the wine is flowing a little too fast. You take care of yourself, bro. And don’t go breaking anybody’s heart. Especially not your own.”
“Wasn’t planning on it,” Tanner said, his voice light.
“Yeah well. We never do.”
Chapter Thirteen
“Hey,” Tanner said, his voice warm as it echoed through her cellphone. “I was wondering if you’re free for lunch today. To talk business,” he added quickly. “I thought we could meet at the diner around one.”
Damn. “I can’t make lunch. I have to take my mom for an appointment. Can we meet later?” Because she really wanted to talk to him. “Maybe four?”
“At the diner?”
“Why don’t we grab coffee and walk?” she suggested. “It’s a beautiful day.” And maybe if she was surrounded by fresh air she wouldn’t be quite so aware of him. All those gas molecules might dilute his essence.
“Sounds good to me. I’ll get the coffees and meet you in the town square. We can walk down to the creek.”
“I’d like that a lot.”
“See you at four.” His voice was soft, and it held a promise that made her heart ache.
“See you there.”
“Are you ready?” Van called out to her mom, grabbing her car keys and purse. “We have ten minutes to get there.”
Kim walked out of the bedroom in a pair of tight, bleached jeans and a navy tank, her light blonde hair tumbling over her bare shoulders. She wasn’t wearing any make up, but she looked better than she had in days. Van gave her a tentative smile, and Kim smiled back.
This was already going better than she’d expected.
The drive to town took less than five minutes. Van would have suggested they walk, but she knew her mom wouldn’t have gone for it. She was too fragile to deal with meeting people in the street. They’d head straight for the doctor’s office, then home again.
“Here goes nothing.” Kim followed Van out of the front door and down the steps. A warm breeze rustled through the trees and lifted her hair, the golden tips dancing in the wind. Van looked at her mom, taking in her warm, smooth skin and pale blue eyes. Right now she looked like she was in her twenties, not her forties.
She’d always been a good looking woman. And she’d relied on those looks to get her through life. They’d been her blessing and her curse, bringing her joy and pain at the same time.
Parking outside the doctor’s office, Van opened the car door, then walked around to help her mom out. Kim blinked as she emerged into the bright afternoon sun. “You can wait here,” she said, her voice low. “I won’t be long.”
“You sure you don’t want me to come with you?”
Kim shook her head. “I only need a prescription. It’ll take no time.”
Van watched her mom walk into the doctor’s office, then leaned on her car, enjoying the feel of the sun against her skin. She was wearing a dark blue shirt
dress, belted at the waist, the hem skimming her mid thighs. Like her mom, her hair was freshly washed and flowing. She felt good today. Maybe it was the fact that things were finally falling into place. Her mom was feeling better, Zoe seemed happy, and she had a job offer that she was almost certain she was going to take.
“Look at you leaning on that car like some kind of model.”
Van grinned as Becca walked toward her. Tanner’s sister was wearing a sleeveless blouse and a black skirt, her dark hair twisted into a messy knot.
“Hey. What are you doing here? I thought you worked at the distillery.”
“I do.” Becca held up a piece of paper. “I’ve been sent on a lunch run. Because my boss is an asshole and thinks I’m his assistant.” She rolled her eyes. “On the plus side, it means I can enjoy the sun instead of being cooped up inside. And if it takes Murphy an hour to make up the order?” She shrugged. “I guess they’ll have to deal with that.”
Van couldn’t help but laugh at Becca’s expression. It was somewhere between disgust and satisfaction. “Well enjoy the break. I’d recommend sitting outside while he makes up the order.”
“I might just do that.” Becca winked. “Thanks.” She pulled her lip between her teeth, her brow dipping as though she was thinking about whether to speak. “So, it was good to see you on Sunday.”
“It was good to see you, too. Thanks for spending so much time with Zoe. She enjoyed it.”
“You and Tanner seemed close.” Becca shifted her feet awkwardly. “It was nice… seeing you talk again like old times.” She looked up at Van. “Do you think you two can be friends again?” she asked.
Van felt her chest tighten. “Yeah,” she said, nodding. “I think we can.” Even if part of her yearned for more.
“Do you have a boyfriend?”
Van started to laugh. She couldn’t help it. Becca was so damn obvious. “No, I don’t.”
“Nor does Tanner.” Becca frowned at her own words. “I mean he doesn’t have a girlfriend,” she added. “You’re both single. That’s interesting.”