by Lori King
Zoey glanced back over her shoulder as the sound of an ambulance siren wailed down the drive to the house.
“You’ve done a bang up job on yourself, Brooks.” Silas White was an old school mate of the guys, and Tanner was actually relieved to see him and his partner coming through the door. There was no better paramedic than Silas.
Within moments they were assessing Sawyers injuries and relaying information back to the 911 operator. Somehow in those brief seconds, Zoey had managed to plant herself right in front of Tanner like a human shield between the tiny being in his arms and the painful situation for her father.
“Is he going to be okay, Si?” Rachel asked from her place against Parker’s chest. Despite her initial confidence, the pallor of her skin proved she was freaking out like the rest of them.
Silas looked up at her with a smile, “Of course he is, Rachel, but he’s going to have to go to the hospital in Austin. If I were to hazard a guess, I would say he’s torn something in that knee. We can patch up his head and give him something for pain at the clinic, but then we’ll have to transport him to have an MRI done.”
Rachel looked up at Parker and then back at Sawyer before her eyes landed on Tanner and her daughter. “I can’t leave Juliet.”
“Yes you can, I’ll watch her,” Zoey responded firmly, and just like that, the tiny woman took control of the situation. “I’ll stay here with Jules, while you two go to the hospital with Sawyer. Where are Rogan and Hudson at?”
Parker’s eyes came up to meet hers, and Tanner could see the concern in his glazed expression. “Austin. They went to take care of some business and won’t be back until late. They can meet Rachel at the hospital. I still have the evening chores to do and the animals can’t wait, but I would be grateful if you could stay to watch Jules.”
“I’ll stay with them so you can go, Parker. You need to be with Rachel and Sawyer, and I can handle your evening chores.” The words spilled off Tanner’s tongue before he could stop them, and the relief on Rachel’s face was blinding.
Zoey frowned, and for just a moment Tanner wanted to laugh at the annoyance on her face. So Miss Carson didn’t want to spend the evening with him. Well that was certainly a change from her words years ago. He wondered if he could change her mind.
“Thank you, Tanner!” Rachel said, pausing just long enough to press a kiss to her daughter’s forehead before she followed Sawyer and the paramedics out of the barn.
Parker stepped over and ran his finger over Juliet’s tiny head. “Thank you both. Rachel looks like she’s keeping her cool, but she’s falling apart inside. Knowing you guys have it under control will keep her a little calmer. Oh, and Tanner, you can help yourself to a shirt when you get in the house.”
He tipped his hat at Zoey and then disappeared out the door leaving Tanner and the two females alone listening to the sounds of vehicles leaving.
“Well that was a lot of excitement for one day,” Zoey said with a heavy sigh.
Tanner watched her as she pinched the bridge of her nose. “He’ll be okay, you know. If it’s torn they might have to do surgery, but it will heal up in a couple of weeks.”
Zoey’s smiled tightly, “Yeah, I know you’re right. I guess we better get Juliet back inside before it gets much darker.”
Tanner glanced toward the corral doors to find the sun was almost completely set already. “Alright, you take her and I’ll get the chores done as quickly as possible.” He passed Zoey the baby. Her gasp startled him, but the heat in her eyes as she stared at his naked chest had his cock hard as iron behind his zipper. Her gaze stroked over his wide shoulders to his light pink nipples and followed the line of dark hair that split his pecks and led the way to the waistband of his jeans. The moment her view tipped to stare at the bulge behind the denim, he stopped breathing.
Zoey still wanted him.
There was no denying the flames in her blue eyes, or the flush that crept up her high cheekbones, and inside he was a mass of confusion. Physically, he wanted to eat her up. To fuck her until she was hoarse from screaming his name. But nothing had changed. He was still too old for her, and way too perverted. Hell, the first time he told her to get to her knees and suck his cock, she would probably bite it off. No, Zoey wasn’t for him. No matter how much they physically set each other on fire.
He cleared his throat, and her blush darkened. “I better grab a shirt first. Can you manage her without me for a bit?”
Zoey tossed that curtain of black hair arrogantly and glared at him. “For your information I’ve been babysitting since I was twelve. I can handle one tiny human without your assistance, Superman.”
“Good, because I left my cape at home,” he called out as she left with Juliet clutched to her shoulder. Tanner sat for a moment in the cooling evening air willing his erection away before he went into the house to grab a shirt. The sounds of Zoey cooing to Juliet in the nursery burned into his brain and made his hard heart clench.
He had already decided that Zoey wasn’t for him. Now he just needed to keep his distance. Even as he thought it, his inner voice scoffed.
*****
Zoey watched Tanner talking with the baby as if she was a regular little person and might respond back at any moment. Laughter built in her chest, overwhelming her discomfort at being alone with her dream guy. This wasn’t how she had intended the rest of her day to go, but then her day had been pretty fucked up from the beginning, so what difference did it make at this point.
“Are you going to stand over there all evening and just watch from a distance?”
Her head popped up and her blue eyes clashed with his in surprise and irritation. “I was just enjoying your rather adult conversation with an infant who hasn’t even found her toes yet.”
“Sure she has. She was sucking on them earlier. Weren’t you Julie?” Tanner bent his head and pressed a sweet kiss to the little girl’s tiny foot.
“You do realize that I would be fine with her by myself, right? You’ve already done the chores, so if you need to leave…”
“Are you trying to get rid of me?”
“Well, no, but I know how busy you are.”
Tanner’s lip curled up in a smile. “Do I make you nervous, Zoey?”
Zoey just snorted, refusing to respond to the question, but it seemed to please Tanner more.
“Good, I like knowing I keep you a little off balance. You seem to rock my world every time you get close to me.” Tanner spoke the words as he continued to play with the baby, and Zoey stared at him in shock.
“What?”
“Oh don’t play the innocent. You’re standing just out of reach, so I can’t accidentally touch you because you know that if I get my hands on you, you’ll come undone.” His tone changed and when he turned his head to stare at her pointedly, she could see his eyes were darker and his nostrils were flaring. He really was affected by her. It was a stunning revelation and one she wasn’t exactly sure she was ready to handle. “Don’t worry, I agree it’s probably for the best.”
Pain lanced through her heart, and she was reminded of the embarrassment and shame she felt when she approached him years ago. Stiffening her spine and tipping her head, she snapped at him. “I’m going to go see if there is something in the kitchen I can throw together for dinner while you keep her occupied.” Zoey spun on her heel and scurried away from the scene of domesticity that she craved more than anything else in the world.
She couldn’t watch Tanner playing with baby Juliet and not crave him. It wasn’t possible. So it was just better if she kept her distance. She could be civil for a couple of hours and then avoid him forever. Maybe she should rethink this living and working in Stone River plan.
Zoey managed to put together the ingredients for omelets pretty easily and before long she had two plates of fluffy eggs, ham and cheese ready to serve. Warming a bottle, she headed into the living room to find her charge.
Tanner was lying on his side on the floor dangling a pretty pink and purple butterfly
toy over Juliet, whose chubby legs and bare toes kicked for all she was worth. Her eyes weren’t even really focused on the toy, but he seemed to be enjoying their playtime. She almost hated to interrupt. Her eyes skimmed down the length of his long body, from the top of his buzzed hair to the bottom of his now bootless feet. He had a wide back that narrowed into a tight ass, and his legs looked a mile long in those faded blue jeans. If she wasn’t a lady, she would do terrible, nasty things to him like her pussy wanted her too.
As if sensing her, Tanner glanced over his broad shoulder and winked. “Hey, sweet cheeks, stop staring at my ass.”
She gasped and felt heat creep up over her cheeks. “What? I wasn’t!”
“Really?”
Juliet started to fuss and Zoey remembered the bottle in her hand. “I’ve got a bottle for her, and I have food ready for us if you’re hungry.”
Tanner climbed to his feet in a swift, gracefully sexy motion that reminded Zoey of a tiger slinking through a forest. “Are you hungry Julie-girl? Auntie Zoey wants to feed us, so best get our butts in there. I haven’t eaten a home-cooked meal for weeks.”
Zoey laughed as she turned to lead the way into the kitchen, “Well it’s not fine dining, just omelets.”
She stopped next to the dining table, but Tanner continued to move toward her with the baby in his arms. He slowed just inches away, staring into her eyes. “If you cooked them for me, I can’t believe they are just anything.”
Her voice box wouldn’t work, so they just stood there, staring at each other. However, Juliet wasn’t patient as she started fussing about her hungry belly. Zoey reached for her and tried not to think about the warmth of the man who brushed her fingers. Shushing the baby, she lifted the bottle for her, pleased when Juliet took it easily. Cradling her against her breasts, she sighed as the scent of sweet baby filled her nose.
Tanner still stood there watching them, and when Zoey looked back up at his face, she could have sworn there was a deeper emotion etched into his smile. It was gone in a flash, and he gestured for her to take a seat.
“So how are you going to eat and feed her at the same time?” he asked as he carried their two plates over to the kitchen table, and then searched out two glasses for tea.
“If I told you I would have to kill you,” Zoey joked, and Tanner’s immediate frown had her laughing. “Women have some sort of innate ability to multitask. We’ll be just fine. Can you pass me the salt though?”
Tanner handed her the tiny glass jar and Zoey flinched when electricity seemed to skitter from her fingertips up her arm and into her brain. He settled into his seat as though nothing had happened so she decided to just ignore it. His loud groan was her reward for the time spent cooking as he took a large bite of the steaming egg mixture.
“I’ll take that as a compliment,” she said with a smirk on her face as she tucked Juliet’s bottle under her chin and proceeded to take a bite of her own meal.
“Damn, woman, if I had known you could cook like this I might have kidnapped you and kept you chained in my kitchen,” he said between bites. Heat spiked in her veins and she had to remind herself that he didn’t know she liked bondage, so it wasn’t a come-on.
“I’m glad you like it. I don’t get the chance to cook for other people very often, but I enjoy it.” She took another bite and then sighed heavily. “I suppose I’ll get to cook a lot more until my mom goes back to wherever she’s been.”
Tanner looked up in surprise, “Your mom? What’s she doing in Stone River? I thought she left after the Sherriff arrested her for causing a nuisance.”
Zoey grimaced remembering the incident in question. Tanner and the Sherriff were the only two people besides Zoey and Eve who knew about that terrible evening. Eve had been on a bender and managed to drive Zoey’s car into a ditch between the Triple T ranch and town. Tanner had been the first one on the scene and he had been the one to pull her unconscious mom from the car. She still remembered the pity on his face at the scene when she explained how her mom was passed out drunk and not actually hurt.
“Yeah, she left for a bit, but she appeared on my doorstep this afternoon. I’m stuck with her until she decides to move on, or until I get evicted.” She took another bite of food, but it didn’t taste nearly as appetizing anymore. Dropping her fork, she shifted the baby to the middle of her chest and dropped a quick kiss to her tiny forehead.
When she looked up, Tanner was watching her with an odd look on his face. “Can’t you just tell her she’s not welcome?”
“Would you be able to tell Dalton or Clint that, if they showed up tomorrow at your door? She’s family. Anyways, it won’t take long before she’s bored with Stone River again and moves on.”
Tanner went back to eating and the only sound for a few minutes was the clink of a fork against a plate. When he had nearly licked his plate clean he settled back into his chair and ran his hand over his flat stomach.
“That was the best meal I’ve had in months. Thank you.”
Zoey laughed, “You’re welcome, but honestly it wasn’t much. You should try my French Toast, that’s heaven on earth.”
Tanner’s eyes flashed, “Was that an invitation to breakfast?” Zoey’s mouth dropped open and her heart skipped a beat, but Tanner took mercy on her and let it drop. “So tell me why you would get evicted? Because of your mom?”
“No, Carl Langley sold several of his properties to that new developer. Schmidt Properties or something like that. They are going to tear down the old houses and build new ones.” Zoey watched as Tanner stretched his thick arms up and over his head until he was bracing his neck. At that angle he looked arrogantly sexy, and she wanted to lick her way from his perfect lips down to his lean hips.
“So where does that leave you?”
“On the streets if I don’t find a new place I guess. I just found out today, so I haven’t really figured it all out yet.” Looking down, she realized Juliet had drifted off to sleep and the bottle was now just resting in the corner of her mouth, milk dribbling down her tiny chin. “I better get her into bed. Do you mind clearing away the dishes? I’ll come wash them in a minute.”
Tanner shook his head no, “Go put her to bed and then sit down in the living room. You cooked, I’ll clean up. I might just be a backwoods rancher, but I have a few manners left in me.”
She let out a laugh as she took the baby to bed, refusing to acknowledge the warmth building in her belly. Just being around him felt right, and this whole playing house scene did nothing to curb the longing she felt. She was going to have to get a grip on herself, before she got hurt again.
Once Juliet was settled, Zoey flipped on the TV and stretched out on the sofa. Tanner reappeared wiping his hands on his jeans. “Kitchen’s cleaned up. Thank you again for cooking for me.” He flopped down on one of the chairs and rested his sock covered feet up on the coffee table, making himself at home.
“Anytime,” she responded without even thinking and immediately wanted to kick herself.
“So, I was thinking, I have Dalton’s old apartment over the garage that’s empty and I’ve been planning on renting it out. I could rent it to you until you find another place.” Tanner didn’t even look at her as he spoke. His head was tipped back so he was looking up, but his eyes were closed.
Zoey didn’t know how to respond. Every instinct in her wanted to accept so she could be close to him, but her brain was rebelling. Being close to him was just asking for more rejection. He might be playing the nice guy tonight, but he hadn’t always.
“Thank you, but I’m sure I’ll find something soon. I have thirty days to figure it out.”
Tanner’s head tipped down slowly and his amber colored eyes nailed hers in place. He looked speculative and slightly disappointed but he shrugged. “Suit yourself. It’s there if you need it. You know where to find me.”
Zoey sighed with relief as he let the subject drop and they both focused on an old movie playing on TV. It was for the best, even if her heart and her libido dis
agreed. She had enough emotional turmoil to face between her mom being back, a new job, and house hunting. No, this was just the way it had to be. Zoey Carson needed to keep her distance from Tanner Keegan. Period.
Chapter Three
Three weeks later…
“I’m sorry, Jan, but for a moment I thought you said that my checking account was overdrawn.” Zoey closed her eyes instead of staring at her ceiling, as she spoke with Jan Kostecki at Community Bank.
The indrawn breath was measured, as though Jan was expecting Zoey to blow up, or worse yet cry, and Zoey knew instantly that she had heard her correctly. “Yes, Miss Carson. First thing this morning, a check came in for eleven hundred and eighty dollars and I was unable to clear it for the gentleman because you are overdrawn by thirty-four dollars. With the overdraft charge of twenty dollars, that will make you negative fifty-four dollars.”
“Jan, I can do the math, but I can’t figure out where the money went. I have over five thousand dollars in there. It’s money I’ve been holding onto from my last set of student loans. I planned to use it to help me get going in this new house.” Zoey was trying to hold onto the thin string of calm that she had left. Somehow every penny she had pinched was mysteriously gone. And that gentleman that Jan was talking about was Mr. Finch who was going to be Zoey’s new landlord.
“I’m sorry, Miss Carson, but it seems there is some confusion. You had three separate withdraws for fifteen hundred dollars over the last three weeks that used up the bulk of your funds.” Jan was speaking, but Zoey was no longer listening. Three weeks was exactly the length of time that her mother had been in town, and in her apartment.
Somehow Eve had managed to steal Zoey’s money right out from under her nose, and do it without ever letting on that something was amiss. “Jan, my name is Zoey, not Miss Carson. You’ve known me my whole life, please don’t talk to me like I’m just a random customer. Now, can you tell me how those funds were withdrawn?”
“Oh, well uh, the first was a check cashed at the Merc, and…oh wait, yes all three were cashed there. Three checks in the same amount cashed at the Mercantile’s guest service desk, but dear, don’t you remember writing them?” Jan sounded perplexed, and Zoey snorted as she let out a sharp laugh.