Alone with You

by Debbi Rawlins

  “Is something wrong?”

  At the sound of her voice he jumped like a scared little girl.

  “Sorry,” she murmured, her voice muffled from behind her hand. She didn’t have to hide her laugh.

  “Nothing’s wrong. Why?”

  “It’s just that you always—” she gestured vaguely “—adjust your hat when you’re thinking hard or bothered by something.”

  “I do?”

  She nodded. “And if it’s something extra worrisome you rub the back of your neck, too.”

  “Huh.” Good thing he didn’t wear his hat playing poker. They fell into step heading for the truck. “What did the guy in the store want?”

  She frowned for an instant. “Oh.” Her chin automatically went up. “I simply peeked at the candy bars, and he told me that if I stayed away from all that nasty sugar I wouldn’t have to wear baggy men’s T-shirts.” She glanced down at the white variety-store shirt neatly tucked in her jeans. “Can you believe that? Some nerve.”

  Tanner did all he could to hold in a laugh at her haughty expression. Looping an arm around her, he hugged her to his side. “He was either blind or teasing because you look mighty fine.”

  “I think he was kidding, but still...” A smile tugged at her lips when he dropped a kiss on her upturned face. “It was rude.”

  “If he wasn’t thirty years my senior I’d go punch him out for you.”

  She batted her lashes. “You’d do that for me?”

  Grinning, he opened the passenger door and waited until she was seated. “So which candy bar did you get?”

  Her eyes narrowed to slits. “Snickers and Peanut M&Ms,” she admitted, albeit reluctantly, then sighed. “And Reeses’ cups.”

  “Dibs on the Snickers,” he said, and shut the door. If he had a brain he’d be worried how easily she distracted him. It plain wasn’t right that he could forget about his grandparents’ ranch for even a minute.

  Before he slid behind the wheel she informed him that he could have only half the Snickers or he had to go buy another one. He kissed her before starting the engine, and she passed the whole bar to him. He returned it and drove to the expressway.

  Fifteen minutes later his phone rang. He glanced at his hat sitting on the console, hiding the phone. Three semi-trucks had them boxed in so he didn’t dare try to answer.

  “Want me to see who it is?” she asked, licking chocolate off her fingers.

  After hesitating, Tanner nodded.

  “It’s your brother,” she said.

  “Tell him I’ll call back when I pull over.”

  She had to be shocked because he’d been so damn secretive about every conversation. “Hi, Doug?” She paused. “Yes, it’s Lexy. Tanner’s driving but he’ll call back in a few.” She laughed at something he said, then disconnected. “He said okeydokey.”

  He shot her a look. “Doug did not say that.”

  “No, the cashier at the convenience store did. I thought it was cute. Doug said okay.”

  Although he would’ve preferred the ease of a rest stop, Tanner took the next exit and pulled off to the shoulder as soon as he could safely do so. He’d explained early on to Lexy that he refused to talk and drive. Not completely true, and he figured she knew it had more to do with him wanting privacy. This time he’d surprise her. The auction was in two days. He had to spill the beans soon, anyway.

  Staying in the truck, he hit speed dial, aware she was openly staring. “Hey,” he said when Doug answered. “Tell me something good.”

  “Okay,” his brother drawled, and Tanner knew right then there’d be a flip side. “I found out from a law school buddy that Lesser County doesn’t require cash in full with a bid. Only ten percent earnest money and financials showing you’re good for it.”

  “All right,” Tanner said. “Better than I’d hoped. Wait. How would we know the amount in advance?”

  “We don’t.”

  Sighing, he rubbed the back of his neck. “Can we check past auctions and compare area real-estate prices? Do we have time?” No, he couldn’t afford to screw up. “I should just pull out everything.”

  “Everything? What, you want to buy the whole county?”

  “Okay, whatever, you know more about what we need. Just make sure it gets into my hands fast.”

  “Yeah, about that...” His brother hesitated. “Ready for the bad news?”

  14

  TANNER HAD A split second to decide if it was a mistake to stay in the truck. But he’d parked on the shoulder so there was no other safe option. “Shoot.”

  “It’s impossible to liquidate enough of your assets in time,” Doug said, and waited for Tanner to finish cussing. “But we do have a small annuity check being overnighted, which, by the way, I had to forge your signature so I could fax the request pronto.”

  “I don’t care about penalties for early withdrawals if that’s an issue.”

  “No, it’s strictly a timing factor. Helen’s pulling comps now. At least we’ll have an informed estimate on that ten percent figure. Off the cuff, I’m thinking we might have enough cash to get reasonably close. Even if we have to raid piggy banks.”

  “Glad you can find humor in this.”

  “Come on, you know better. I’m just saying we’ll have to empty our checking accounts but we can do this.” Doug paused. “What about Alexis? You seem cozy with her. Maybe—”

  “No.”

  “I’m talking short-term loan.”

  “No.”

  “I understand it would be hard to ask her, but are you willing to risk Pop and Nana’s ranch for the sake of pride?”

  “Move on, Doug.” Tanner itched to punch something. He couldn’t ask Lexy even if he’d wanted to. Right now he couldn’t even bring himself to look at her. She was broke. And she might stay that way if he didn’t get his act together. He wasn’t about to let his grandparents down, but he wouldn’t fail her, either. Bad enough her father was using this stupid farce to put her in her place. Tanner had vowed to make it to Houston in time and he’d keep that promise.

  “I should have some figures in the next hour or two.” His brother’s voice dipped in defeat. “I’m assuming there’s been no word from Pop or Nana.”

  “I haven’t heard, but then I’m not expecting to.” He pinched the bridge of his nose, feeling bad for being unnecessarily hard on Doug, and trying to clear his head enough to think. “Look, you’re doing great. More than I could have done. Keep going.” A crazy thought started to form. Maybe not so crazy. It was only eighty miles out of the way. He glanced at the dashboard clock, hunched forward and turned the key. “I might have an idea.”

  “What is it?”

  Tanner inhaled deeply. “I’ll tell you if it works,” he said, then disconnected and pulled the truck into a U-turn and headed back to the expressway.

  Lexy remained quiet. She did make sure his phone was safely tucked in the cup holder so it wouldn’t go flying. Focusing his attention on accessing the on-ramp, he reached for her hand. It was cold. He hoped he hadn’t just frightened her.

  “I looked before I made that turn.”

  “I know,” she said. “I have no problem with your driving.”

  Ah, hell. He could almost hear her voice saying ...but you, however... Keeping his mouth shut, he waited for her to lower the boom.

  “Tanner?” she said quietly. “Whatever you have going on, I hope you know that I’ll help in any way I can.”

  Luckily, he had good reason to keep his face straight ahead as he checked mirrors and merged into traffic. He smiled and squeezed her hand then returned his to the wheel. “Thanks.”

  “Oh, God, you think I’m prying.”

  “I don’t. It didn’t even cross my mind. There’s this auction coming up in a few days... My grandparents are
involved... Doug’s handling things, and he doesn’t need me stepping on his toes. I have a bad habit of rushing in too soon.” He wasn’t lying. “I’m pushing the whole matter aside for a while, and concentrating on a surprise I have for you.”

  He turned his head in time to catch her slow, pleased smile. Unfortunately, he also noticed the upcoming sign for Texas via Oklahoma City. That route wasn’t part of his plan but he knew the exact moment she saw it, too.

  “Did you see that sign for Oklahoma City?” Her eyes lit up and she twisted around as they passed it.

  “It’s just telling us we’re going in the right direction, that’s it. We have a ways to go.”

  “But we’re doing well time-wise, and if we stopped there, I could pick up my new credit card, get you reimbursed and swing by my apartment for more clothes. Did it say how many miles?” She picked up her phone. “Where are we exactly?”

  He breathed in slow and easy, and closing a hand over her phone, stopped her from getting online. “You’re going to ruin my surprise.” Again, he wasn’t lying. He just wasn’t connecting all the dots for her.

  “That’s nice, really, but I need appropriate clothes. I can’t show up to the photo shoot wearing a T-shirt and jeans.”

  “We don’t have as much spare time as you might think,” he said, the alarm in her face making his chest tight. “Because of this family thing I’m dealing with.”

  She blinked, nodded. Then worried her lower lip, looking as nervous as a filly facing off with a rattler.

  Goddammit, he wished like hell he’d already told her about what was going on. He’d only talked to Crawford yesterday morning, even though it seemed a lifetime ago. Would she understand why he’d waited until he knew more details, that he hadn’t wanted to worry her? Would she understand what he was about to do? Or would she look at him with disappointment in those beautiful eyes?

  “We’ll still make it to Houston in time,” he said. “As far as your clothes go, we can do one of two things—have your suit laundered, or buy something at a mall.”

  She obviously wasn’t happy with the suggestion, but gave him a stiff nod. He felt some relief doling out another piece of truth. At least he’d meant it about the surprise. He had a nice hotel in mind, one that was sure to have a jetted tub and enough amenities to keep her busy while he played some poker. And won the pants off J.D.

  * * *

  LEXY MISSED THE MOUNTAINS. Parts of Wyoming and northern Colorado had reminded her of western Montana, but the terrain had been flat and dry for a few hours. Which described much of Oklahoma so she should be used to it. No reason for her to be in a funk.

  She needed to rally, perk up a bit. As soon as they left the expressway she saw the row of sad, dusty motels. Pressing her lips together, she suppressed a sigh. Her idea of a nice place diverged greatly from Tanner’s. She wasn’t being a snob about it. Her only issue was that given the choice, even if he had a four-star hotel in mind, she would’ve preferred going through Oklahoma City. It would’ve been on the way and solved a couple of problems for her.

  The pink stucco building with the flashing vacancy sign made her grit her teeth. She knew with a depressing certainty that Tanner would turn into the parking lot. A cosmic payback for ten miles of her snarky thoughts. But no, he kept driving. And driving.

  “What are we doing? Taking the back roads to Houston?”

  He turned to her with a lifted brow. “Someone’s cranky. You run out of candy bars?”

  “Hey...” Her phone buzzed, saving him from the tart remark she’d been about to deliver. She saw that it was Norma and answered.

  “Where are you?” Norma asked by way of greeting.

  “Still in Colorado, I think,” Lexy said, glancing at Tanner, expecting him to confirm or deny. He did neither. “But we’re not stopping in Oklahoma City, after all. I guess you can overnight my credit card to Houston.”

  “Listen, I’m calling to give you a heads-up,” Norma said, her voice just above a whisper. “The photo shoot has been moved up a day.”

  “What? No.” Feeling the panic well, Lexy double-checked the date on her watch. “Why? Who decided this?”

  “Your brother, of course. Why...I don’t know. I found out by accident. He and Karina had a meeting with marketing about an hour ago.”

  “Clearly he hasn’t told me yet.”

  “Well, he should be the one to tell you, so I’d appreciate you keeping this between us. He and Karina left the office so quickly that I worried he’d forgotten to let you know.”

  Or had decided to leave her hanging. No, he wouldn’t do that, but Karina might. Lexy knew Norma was thinking the same thing. Then Lexy had another awful thought. “Have they found someone else?” She couldn’t help glancing at Tanner. He acted as though he wasn’t paying attention but she knew better.

  “I don’t think so...but then they couldn’t proceed with the photo shoot without having filled the last slot...” Norma’s concerned voice trailed off. “I’ll see what I can find out.”

  “Don’t cause trouble for yourself.” Lexy had kept Harrison informed...sort of. He knew she’d located Tanner and would escort him to Houston. “I mean it, Norma. Harrison doesn’t know we’re traveling by car so he probably expects us there early.”

  “Don’t worry about me. Be safe. I’ll call again later.”

  Lexy kept the phone to her ear long after Norma had disconnected. Nerves had her insides jumping. She didn’t want to think her brother would purposely sabotage her. The thought was horrible. She had to believe what she’d told Norma. He’d expected her to arrive early. She was bound to get a call from him at any moment. Unless Norma had gotten it wrong. That was certainly possible. Though if Lexy didn’t hear, she’d phone him. Just to ease her mind. That she felt compelled to double-check depressed her all over again.

  Lowering the phone to her lap, she stared out the windshield. The arid, colorless landscape did nothing to improve her mood. Finally, she turned to Tanner. He shot her a concerned look.

  “That was my office. You just might be off the hook.”

  “Meaning?”

  “Don’t set your hopes too high.” She forced a smile. “It’s possible the woman in charge of the project found someone else for the calendar.”

  He didn’t seem as thrilled as she’d anticipated. “What does that mean for you?”

  She shrugged. “I probably shouldn’t have said anything yet. I won’t know for sure until I hear from my brother.” Still perplexed by his subdued reaction, she added, “You do understand it means they wouldn’t need you, right?”

  “This isn’t about me,” he said. “I told you straight off I’m just riding out my contract. Tell me if I’m wrong, but isn’t this whole thing supposed to be your beat-down, comeuppance or whatever you wanna call it? Before they let you back in.”

  “That was my assumption.” She sighed, glanced at her phone to make sure she’d left the ringer on. “If they’re still expecting us, that means we have to hustle. They moved the photo shoot up a day.”

  Tanner navigated a curve in the road, then turned to scowl at her. “You’re kidding?”

  “No.” She studied his tense shoulders and the pulse ticking like mad at his neck. “Is that a problem? I thought we were close to Texas.”

  “We are. Don’t sweat it. We’ll cross the state line in the morning.”

  “Maybe we should keep driving,” she said, a bit on edge from the tension he was radiating. “It’s still early.”

  He shook his head. “Gotta make this stop.”

  Perfect. She couldn’t tell if her nerves were a result of her brother’s possible subterfuge, or the fact that Tanner had told her not to sweat while that’s exactly what he was doing.

  * * *

  THEY HADN’T NEEDED a bellman to carry up their two small bags, but Tanner had deci
ded to go all out, spoiling Lexy. That, and she wasn’t likely to take a swing at him in the elevator in front of a witness.

  The doors slid open. Smiling, he gestured for her to go ahead of him and the short, cheerful fella carrying her brown designer carry-on and Tanner’s ratty canvas duffel. Silly as he felt not handling his own bag, he had a much bigger problem to fret over.

  Man, he’d blown it. Big time. If he’d confided in her sooner, he wouldn’t have to tell her about tomorrow’s detour while she was as jittery as a hooker in church. He wasn’t looking forward to that little sit-down. And yet he had to keep his head clear and ready to play some serious poker tonight.

  Jose, according to the bellman’s nametag, led them to a door at the end of the hall, then used Tanner’s card-key to open it. The room was large, flooded with sunlight and lots of beige and blue from the striped couch to the pictures hanging on the wall.

  “This is the parlor and wet bar,” Jose said, still smiling. “I’ll show you the bedroom.”

  Lexy frowned at Tanner. “This is a junior suite.”

  “Yep. That’s what the woman at the front desk said. Don’t you like it?”

  “But why?”

  Tanner slid his Stetson off his head and smoothed the stubborn ridge in his hair. “I wanted a room with a Jacuzzi like I promised you. It was this or the big honeymoon suite.”

  “You didn’t have to do this.” She went up on her toes and briefly kissed his mouth before they followed Jose into the bedroom.

  “Hey, buddy, we can take it from here.” Tanner pulled a ten out of his pocket and passed it to the man.

  “I can explain how to use the remotes for the television and drapes,” he said, the wide, toothy grin still in place.

  “No, thanks,” they said at the same time, and then exchanged a small laugh.

  “All right, you folks enjoy your stay. Call the front desk or the bell captain if you need anything.” He bent in an odd bow and started for the door.