by Lori King
“No, I certainly do not remember writing them, because I didn’t do it. Someone forged those checks, Jan, and I have a pretty good idea who.” Zoey rolled over and sat up on the edge of her bed. Her mom hadn’t returned home last night, but that wasn’t a big shocker. It was most likely that Eve had found someone to shack up with for the night and was too drunk to get herself home.
“Oh my, I’m so sorry, Miss Car—I mean Zoey. If it’s fraudulent you need to go see the Sherriff as soon as possible and report it. I doubt the Merc has security cameras, but perhaps they will know more based on the signatures on the checks.”
Jan continued to patter on for a few moments about fraud, and the differences in how electronic and paper issues were handled by the bank, but Zoey wasn’t listening. She was staring at the bare corner where her mother’s suitcase had sat since she arrived. Eve had lit out. As usual, she had come just long enough to take what she wanted and left Zoey to clean up the mess.
“Jan, um, I need to go, but thank you for calling me. I will be in later to talk with Donny and see if I can get a loan. I am supposed to start my new job today, so I need to finish getting ready and get to work. I will call Sherriff Montgomery as soon as possible to make a report.”
She waited two full seconds after hanging up with Jan before she was dialing her mother’s cell phone number. For just over three weeks, Eve had been living in her home, eating her food, taking forty-five minute showers, and enjoying her hospitality rent free, only to disappear without notice. Zoey couldn’t decide if she was more angry about the stolen money, or the lack of a goodbye. Eve’s voicemail picked up and she had to force herself to hang up without leaving a message. She wanted to be sure to say everything she needed to in person, not on an answering system.
Zoey managed to put her phone down before her eyes filled with tears, but she fought to keep them in. She couldn’t let her mother have that. It was her own fault for allowing a junkie into her home, and giving her free reign amongst her things. So much for her perfect apartment, and all of the plans that had seemed to fall together so smoothly. Mr. Finch had already told her there was competition for the house, that’s why she had written the check for the whole security deposit and first month’s rent a week ahead of time. He was even going to let her move in over the weekend so she would have more time to clear out her old place before her deadline.
She swallowed hard as she picked up the phone again, and made the quick call to Mr. Finch to explain what had happened. As always he was kind but resolute about the fact he couldn’t hold the house for her, he had bills to pay after all. Zoey could feel her dreams drifting away on the fog of cigarette smoke her mother had left behind in her apartment. She was starting her new job at ten a.m. today, and she would officially be homeless in seven days. Not only were the walls crumbling around her, but she could feel the floor of her world caving in too.
It wasn’t enough that her dear old mother arrive on her doorstep out of the blue. No, she had to steal everything Zoey had, including her happiness.
Thirty minutes later, Zoey had made a verbal report with the Sherriff’s office and agreed to stop by there after work to sign her statement. The deputy on duty was pleasant enough as he explained that she may or may not get the funds back from the bank, and that if they were able to determine there was enough evidence to charge her mother with the crime, they would still have to track her down to arrest her. Unfortunately, it still wouldn’t bring back the money she had taken. Zoey knew that every penny was probably long gone or would be within days, and she wouldn’t show her face for a very long time if she was smart.
Slowly blending concealer over the red circles of stress that ringed her wide blue eyes, she debated calling Rachel. There was no way that she wanted to move in with the Brooks family, but she really had no other option at this point. Living with a newborn baby, her career successful-newlywed best friend, and her four smoking hot husbands was yet another slap in her face, but at least it wasn’t living out of her car. Rachel was still on family medical leave from having Juliet, but now she was juggling taking care of Sawyer after his knee surgery and handling the baby. A houseguest was probably the last thing she needed.
Picking up her phone again as she shook her hair out of the headband that had been keeping it out of her newly made up face, she placed the phone call to Rachel.
“Hey, Zoey! What’s up?”
Rachel’s voice triggered the monsoon of tears that she had been fighting, and before she could do anything to stop it, she was sobbing out the whole shitty story. She knew that no matter what, her best friend wouldn’t judge her for her mother’s bad behavior. If anyone understood what it was like to have a parent hurt them, it was Rachel.
“That fucking bitch! Who does she think she is? When I get my hands on her—”
Zoey barked out a laugh, “Good luck with that, she’s long gone. I’m not sure if she took her stuff out yesterday while I was gone, or if she snuck in last night and got it, but she packed up and bolted.”
“Sweet Jesus. Is there no decency in her at all? I’m so sorry, Zoey. I can’t even imagine…what are you going to do?”
“I talked to the Sherriff’s office, and they weren’t very optimistic about me getting my money back. Even if I do, it will be awhile. Who knows where she is by now. I have seven days to figure out where I’m going to live, pack up my whole apartment, and move. Plus, I’m starting my new job in an hour, and now I have to do my makeup again. Goddamn her!”
“Oh no! The eviction! Oh shit, Zoey, I completely forgot you were on a time crunch!”
“Yeah, just another thing to add to the growing shit pile. Rach, I know it’s a lot to ask, but can I take you up on your offer of the guest room for a couple of weeks?” Zoey held her breath when Rachel hesitated. She felt the room start to spin and she sank to the floor of her bathroom with her eyes clenched shut.
“Zoey, my mom just got here yesterday and she’s in the guest room. She came down for a couple of weeks to help me take care of Jules while Sawyer is down from his surgery. I’m so sorry, if I had known…”
Zoey knew Rachel hadn’t planned it on purpose, but it sucked anyways. Rachel was Zoey’s plan B, and now that Plan A and Plan B were gone, she was royally screwed.
“That’s it then, I’ll be crashing in my car for a little bit. I might need to borrow your driveway to park in. I mean, I can’t imagine the school board will like it much if I’m parked in the parking lot every night, and I have no idea what kind of office I will have, so I can’t plan on sleeping there—”
“Stop it, Zoey! Right now!” Rachel broke through the panic that was growing in her chest, and Zoey inhaled deeply trying to calm her racing heart. “There is another option you know? I know it’s not ideal, but what if you rent Tanner’s apartment just for a couple of weeks and if you want to move here when Mom leaves, the offer is still open.”
Like a flash in her brain she could see Tanner sprawled out in the Brooks family living room asking her if she wanted to rent Dalton’s old apartment over the garage. Beautiful, dark, sexy Tanner. Could she live under the same roof with him and not make a fool out of herself? He had been kind enough to offer, and she was really desperate, but it seemed like the worst possible scenario for her heart.
“I don’t know.”
“Zoey, you don’t have a choice. You can’t live in your car and start a respectable career.”
Rachel was right, and at that moment Zoey hated her for it. Her brain was at war with her heart and as always logic won out. “I’ll call him when I get a break, but Rachel, it’s only until your mom leaves, okay?”
“You got it. The moment mom heads back to Oklahoma I’ll have the guys help move you in. Now, clean yourself up, and get your ass to your new job! You are going to rock it and those kids will love you.”
Her enthusiasm made Zoey smile for the first time all morning, and she forced herself to her feet after saying her goodbyes. Rachel was right. She was starting the road to the rest
of her life today one way or another, and this was just a little hurdle she had to cross before it smoothed out again.
Two or three weeks in Dalton’s old apartment wouldn’t kill her, and besides, Tanner was a rancher. He was in the saddle from sunup to sundown, so really as long as she made sure she was tucked safely behind closed doors before sunset, she wouldn’t even have to deal with him. It would all work out perfectly in the end. She was going to make sure of it.
*****
Tanner was just stepping onto the front porch of the house when the sound of a car coming down his drive caught his attention. He turned and rested one hip against the porch railing as Zoey Carson parked and threw open her car door. The melodic sounds of Kenny Chesney singing about addiction in his song “Demons” drifted on the breeze. A pang of hurt zipped through his heart for Zoey and the heartache he figured her mother’s problems had brought into her life. He didn’t know the details, but he did understand how hard the battle with addiction could be.
He waited patiently as she climbed out of her twenty-year-old car, and took a few measured steps toward him. Her eyes darted around for a few seconds without meeting his, and he bit his tongue to keep from smiling. It was good to know that he kept her as off balance as she did him.
“Hi, Tanner.”
“Well. Well. Well. What brings you all the way out to the Triple T?”
She cleared her throat, and took a deep breath. Her knuckles were white where she gripped her tiny purse at her hip, and she shoved her other hand into her hair in a nervous gesture. “Actually, um, do you mind if we go inside? It’s awfully hot out here.”
Tanner stepped back and held his arm out gallantly for her to lead the way. As she brushed past him, her long black hair swished against his arm and sent a spiral of need straight to his groin. It was like silk against his skin, and he could just imagine what it would feel like draped over his chest as she rode him to a screaming orgasm.
Her round hips swayed as she stepped up inside the front door, and he saw her shoulders droop slightly when the chill of the air-conditioned house hit her. She moved over to the sofa and perched her lush ass daintily on the edge of the tufted suede with that miniature purse in her lap.
Tanner turned and dropped his hat on the table next to the door before bending to tug his boots off with his back to her. For a moment he thought he might cut his own cock in half when he bent over, but by the time he was in his socks and comfortable, he felt under control again. Until he turned around and caught Zoey’s eyes on his backside. Instantly he was hard as stone again. This time he spread his thighs and narrowed his eyes on her.
Zoey’s gaze landed on the bulge beneath his zipper for just a breath in time before she blushed and turned away. So that was the way of it. Well good, at least this time she wasn’t half drunk and begging him to take her to bed.
A picture of her spread out on his bed with her dark hair on his crisp white pillow and her pretty pink lips open and gasping for air hit him hard, and he grunted, startling her. “Did you need something, Zoey, or did you just come here to sit on my sofa in silence?”
Her jaw clenched in irritation but she seemed resolved to whatever she had to say. “I need a favor, Tanner.”
Tanner felt his eyebrow lift and he let his eyes run over her stiffened spine and knees clenched tightly together. This might get more interesting after all.
“Okay, is this a whiskey kind of favor or a beer kind of favor?” He turned and moved toward the kitchen that opened up on the other side of the living room.
“What?”
“Just trying to determine how strong of a beverage I’m going to need for this chat. What’s the favor?”
“I need to know if I can stay with you for a couple of weeks. I mean, in Dalton’s apartment. Can I rent it for a couple of weeks?” She held her breath when she was nervous, and there went her hand running through her hair again. When she let loose, it fell in a gentle wavy pattern that looked downright sexy on her.
“Why?” Tanner tugged the fridge open and pulled out a bottle of beer, holding up with a questioning look to Zoey. When she shook her head no, he grabbed her a bottle of water and moved back into the living room.
“If you recall my place was bought by the new developer who moved to town, and I only had thirty days to move. Unfortunately, some things have happened and the house that I put a deposit on…well it fell through. Rachel would take me in, but her mom is staying with her for a couple of weeks while Sawyer recovers from his surgery, so it leaves me without a place to stay.”
Tanner took a seat on the sofa next to her, even though he knew he should probably keep his distance. She looked so nervous he reached out and patted her arm. “Come on, it didn’t hurt that much to ask me, did it?”
Her lips curled up in a small smile, “You would be surprised.”
“Normally, it would be no big deal for you to use the apartment, but I just got word that Dalton will be home this weekend.”
Her gorgeous blue eyes widened and she looked as stunned as Tanner had felt when he picked up the phone the evening before. Dalton hadn’t been home since their Dad’s heart attack, and Tanner had begun to believe the next time he would see his younger brother would be for a funeral.
“Dalton? But, I thought he was in Africa doing charity work with Borders for Doctors?” Zoey’s hands twisted the cap on the bottle of water as though tightening it would help hold her spine straight while she asked for his help.
“Doctors without Borders. Yeah, he has been. For nearly a decade. However, the MSF organization is pulling out of Somalia. It has something to do with the safety of the workers. He called yesterday and asked me to pick him up at the airport Friday. Shocked the shit out of me too.”
“So he’s just going to move back here and live in Stone River after all this time?”
He shrugged and took a drink of his beer. He had been asking himself the same questions and still hadn’t come up with any answers. There was a small clinic in Stone River, but the closest hospital was in Austin. It didn’t make sense for a qualified doctor to settle in a small town unless he was opening his own practice, and Dalton had never wanted a private practice before.
“I don’t know. We didn’t have much time to discuss his plans. I guess I will find out when he gets here.”
For several moments they sat in silence as Zoey chewed on the new information. Tanner waited her out because he wasn’t sure she would accept the alternative anyways. When her chin quivered and her blue eyes filled with tears, his heart lurched in his chest and he inhaled sharply like he had been sucker punched.
She started to stand up, and pull her purse strap over her shoulder, “Okay, well thanks anyways.”
Unable to control his own hand he reached out to grab her wrist. “Wait a second. I didn’t say no.”
Zoey looked down at his fingers wrapped around her tiny wrist. It felt as thin as a twig under his callused skin, and he had the distinct urge to wrap her up and protect her.
Clearing his throat, he continued, “I just said you can’t stay in the apartment. This house has another unoccupied bedroom, and you’re welcome to use it. Free of rent.”
Her pretty face went pale and then pink spots appeared on her cheeks. “Stay here, in the main house, with you?”
“I’m not going to molest you, Jesus. What kind of a man do you think I am?” Tanner dropped her wrist and surged to his feet, stomping to the front door. “You know what, never mind. I wouldn’t want someone here who is scared of me anyways.”
“No! I’m not scared of you! I just—look, the truth is, I’m kind of having a really shitty day. My mom took off sometime last night with all of my money and my groceries, and I started my new job today, only to find out that I’m a glorified secretary for the real school counselor. I get to bring her coffee and pick up her dry cleaning, all the while filing and typing up her letters. I only have seven days to figure out where to live or I will be living in my car, and my best friend has the perfect
life with her perfect family and no room to help me out right now. I need the place to stay, and before I have a nervous breakdown let me say, yes. I will gladly accept it with the free rent, as long as you let me do something to help out around here.”
Tanner stood back watching her fall to pieces and then pick herself right back up again. She was absolutely amazing. Not only had her mother betrayed her and stolen from her, but she had left her to clean up the shambles that were left behind. Somehow, Zoey was managing to hold herself together when Tanner wasn’t sure he would have been able to do the same. For being so young, she certainly had a strong backbone. Another clue that she was not the submissive woman he needed for his lifemate.
He knew that he should probably ask her about her mother, but the strain on her face had him backing off, and instead he gave her a smile to break the tension. “Are you any good at mucking stalls?”
She snorted out a laugh in an unladylike way, and he chuckled. “No, and I’m not an expert at riding a horse either, but you know that I can cook, and I can clean. You’re a bachelor, so surely that means something to you?”
He groaned, “Sweet Jesus, if you’ll cook for me you can live here forever.”
Realizing what he said, he grimaced, but Zoey only smiled brighter. “It’s only for a few weeks. I’ll either find another place, or move in with Rachel as soon as her mom leaves. Thank you, Tanner!”
He forced himself to shrug nonchalantly. “Do you need a hand moving? Like I said, Dalton will be back sometime Friday night. I’m sure we can come over to your place to help move boxes Saturday.”
She looked surprised but pleased, and he felt a funny warmth in his chest at her happiness. “That would be amazing! I’m going to have to cook my ass off to repay you.”
“That’s not necessary, just a home cooked dinner every now and then will suffice.” She reached out and gave him a quick hug, her breasts pressing against his ribcage, and her hair brushing his chin. His cock was instantly trying to burst out of his jeans, and he barely resisted wrapping his arms around her and drawing her closer. What would it be like to reach around and grab that perfect ass, pulling her off her feet so she had to wrap her legs around his hips…a rush of heat shot from his brain to his balls and he cleared his throat again, stepping back. She released him, and her teary eyes looked up at him as if he had just rescued her from a nightmarish dragon.