Be with Me

by Jules Bennett

  “Piper!”

  Jax’s yell had Piper cringing. “Oops, gotta go.”

  She took off running back toward the office. Once she disappeared behind the rusty office door, Tanner reached for Melanie’s hand. She turned and attempted to pull back, but he gave her a gentle squeeze.

  “Don’t do that.”

  Adjusting his shades, he asked, “Do what?”

  “That smiling thing when you think you’re getting away with something.”

  He hadn’t even realized he was smiling, but now he couldn’t stop himself. “I’m holding your hand, Melanie. I’ve gotten away with far more.”

  Her eyes widened a fraction before she tipped up that defiant chin in her signature move. Damn if he didn’t find that attractive, too. A woman who challenged him, who made him smile more than he had in a while, how the hell could he pretend he didn’t want her?

  “Let’s go,” he stated, tugging her hand and leading her toward the far hangar. “If you’re a good girl, I might even let you fly the plane.”

  “What? I’ve never flown a plane.”

  “Relax. You can take the controls once we’re airborne and I promise to talk you through everything. You think I’d let something happen?”

  “I’m a little cautious when it comes to trust.”

  “No kidding. I hadn’t noticed.”

  She glanced his way with a half grin. “You’re a smart-ass.”

  Tanner shrugged. “I’ve been called worse.”

  He released her hand and slid the large hangar door open. Melanie squealed and ran inside to the Cessna. Just as he was about to follow, his cell vibrated in his pocket.

  Please, please, don’t let this be work.

  He loved his job, loved helping where he could, but today he wanted to be completely selfish. After all the years he’d worked and put his personal life on hold, he deserved to take these stolen moments with Melanie.

  When Tanner pulled his phone out, relief settled as he swiped across the screen to answer. “Hey, Mom.”

  “Hey, sweetheart. Is this a bad time?”

  Tanner kept his eyes on Melanie as she slowly circled the plane. When she reached up and stroked her fingertips along the edge of the wing, he had to shut his eyes and focus on the fact that he was on the phone with his mother.

  “No,” he replied, turning away from Melanie and her tempting fingers. “What’s up?”

  “Thanksgiving.”

  That one word had him holding back a groan. Holidays were always a bone of contention. He worked and let someone else stay home with their family. Why should he take those days off when he didn’t have a wife or children to spend time with?

  This time next year would be a whole different scenario, though . . . and his mother still had no idea about the baby. Perhaps Thanksgiving would be the time to tell her she was getting a grandchild. Of course, he’d have to discuss that with Melanie and he wasn’t so sure how she’d handle the whole “meet the mom” scene.

  Raking a hand through his hair, Tanner sighed. “I’ll be there.”

  Silence.

  “Mom?”

  “I’m here, I’m just not sure I heard you correctly. You mean you’ll be here for dinner on actual Thanksgiving, or a week later when you can squeeze in family time?”

  He focused his attention back to Melanie, who stood next to the plane, her eyes on his from across the hangar. Family time was about to take on a whole new meaning and priority in his world.

  “I’ll be there on Thursday,” he assured her. “Just tell me the time.”

  “Oh,” his mother gasped, then sniffed.

  “Don’t cry,” he begged. Tears never did anything but make him feel awkward because he had no clue how to console. “It’s just dinner, Mom.”

  “It’s Thanksgiving,” she said in her tear-clogged tone. “This is going to be the best year ever. I won’t even ask about Christmas.”

  Tanner laughed. “We’ll discuss that next month.”

  He weighed his decision for about a nanosecond before he decided to jump face-first into this next conversation.

  “I’ll be bringing someone, if you don’t mind.”

  “Cash, or Jax and Piper?”

  He had brought his cousins in the past, and his mother doted on them. Family was so important, and considering she was the sister of their late mothers, she adored the guys.

  “Actually her name is Melanie.”

  Silence once again, followed by another sniffle.

  “A holiday and a woman,” she squealed, and Tanner had to pull the phone away from his ear for a moment to save his eardrum. “I’m going to have to go back to the store and get ingredients for something special to make. Does she prefer chocolate or pumpkin for desserts? Or maybe I should pull out the recipe for my mother’s cinnamon cake with that glazed icing.”

  Tanner started toward Melanie, her eyes locked on his, and he flashed a smile . . . the kind he knew she didn’t want to see again. Too bad.

  “I’ll ask her.” He covered the phone with his hand and whispered to Mel, “What’s your favorite dessert?”

  “Um . . . I have no idea. I don’t recall the last time I had dessert.” Her eyes narrowed as she darted a glance toward his phone. “Why? And who is on the phone?”

  Tanner removed his hand. “She said to surprise her. See you Thursday. Love you.”

  He disconnected the call and slid the phone back into his pocket. Melanie’s bright eyes were still in dramatic slits, completely focused on him.

  “Who wanted to know about my likes and who do you love?”

  Tanner leaned his shoulder against the side of his Cessna. “Is that jealousy I hear?”

  “Of course it’s not jealousy.” Melanie rolled her eyes and crossed her arms over her chest. “But it’s rude, considering the mother of your child is standing right here and you’re on the phone telling someone you love them and—”

  “My mother.”

  Melanie’s mouth instantly snapped shut. “Oh. Well, then. Why was she asking about desserts?”

  “Because you’re coming to Thanksgiving dinner with me.”

  Tanner spun away, knowing full well she was about to explode, and he didn’t want to be standing too close. He wasn’t completely stupid . . . only when it came to bringing her home to meet his mother without asking.

  He started to circle the plane, doing his exterior pre-flight check, when a hand clamped around his arm.

  “What the hell, Tanner?”

  Spinning back around—yup, there was that anger if her pink-tinged cheeks were any indicator—Tanner removed his shades and hooked them on the V in his shirt.

  “My mother called about Thanksgiving and I figured it was the perfect time for you two to meet, and we can tell her about the baby. She has to learn sometime. Why not then?”

  Lips thinned, eyes widened, fists clenched at her sides. Maybe he was an idiot where she was concerned.

  In his defense, he had no idea how the hell to deal with taking a woman home to meet his mother. He’d done so once with his fiancée, and his mom had gotten all excited about the upcoming wedding and the grandchild.

  Damn it. He was indeed a complete and total moron.

  Tanner spun around and paced to the open end of the hangar. He hadn’t thought through the implications of taking another woman home, a pregnant woman, to meet his mother. Would she even be ready to jump on this roller coaster again? Because Tanner wasn’t so sure he was ready, either, but he damn well wasn’t going to allow himself the vulnerability of doubt. He had to be strong for Melanie, for the baby, for his own mother, who would no doubt be thrilled at the news.

  “Tanner?”

  At Melanie’s questioning tone, he shifted back around to face her. She’d followed him, but stood a few feet away. No longer was she staring at him with anger and disdain, but with concern and confusion.

  “What’s wrong?”

  When was the right time to tell her about his past life? The life he hadn’t planned,
but had been ready to grab hold of and live to the fullest. When did he tell her he was terrified, if he was being brutally honest?

  Never was the answer to that last question. He’d never admit that he was scared or worried. The last thing he needed was to cause Melanie any type of stress.

  As for the question of when to tell her about his former family . . . now wasn’t the time.

  “I should’ve asked you first.” There. He’d play it off like he was apologetic with regards to the holiday and his mother. “When she called she was so excited I was actually coming for dinner, I just asked if she cared about a guest.”

  Melanie pulled in a deep breath and licked her lips. She swiped her hand over the top of her hair and smoothed her fingers through her ponytail.

  “I’m not sure how to do the whole family thing,” she stated. “My father worked for my in-laws, so I always knew them in some way. I guess I never thought about your family or having to play the role of . . . I don’t even know what to play here.”

  Tanner quickly realized Melanie was trying to figure out how to fit in. Had this been an issue in her previous life in Atlanta? Clearly, and that filled Tanner with rage when he thought of that asshole Melanie had been married to.

  “Listen,” Tanner stated, closing the gap between them. “My mother won’t care if you burp at dinner or know which fork to use and have your napkin in your lap. There’s no right or wrong.”

  Melanie stared back, unblinking. “There’s always right and wrong. But don’t worry, I know how to handle mothers.”

  “You’re not listening.” He reached for her hand, but she held them both up.

  “I’m listening,” she assured him. “I’m meeting your mother and we’re telling her about the baby all while having Thanksgiving dinner. It sounds a hell of a lot more serious than I was ready for.”

  Tanner swallowed and shot a grin. “And here you just thought you needed to find some other term for today other than date.”

  Melanie laughed, which was exactly the response he wanted to pull from her. “This still isn’t a date. Now, are you taking me up in this plane or not? I believe I was promised a flying lesson.”

  Tanner gestured back toward the plane. “Lead the way.”

  “You know, you are really good with Piper,” Melanie said as she reached the side of the Cessna. “You guys are her family, aren’t you?”

  Tanner nodded as he reached into the cockpit and pulled out the pre-flight checklist. No matter how seasoned a pilot was, the checklist was of the utmost importance.

  “Jax gave up everything for her when his ex skipped out,” Tanner explained. “There’s nothing Cash or I wouldn’t do for them.”

  “She’s one lucky little girl.”

  “Now that Livie is staying here, I’d say Piper hit the mother jackpot.”

  Melanie let out a laugh. “A year ago I never could’ve imagined Olivia in that role, but she’s perfect here. Playing hostess and mommy. She smiles more than I’ve ever seen. Her job back in Atlanta was sucking the life out of her.”

  Tanner propped one arm along the wing and met Melanie’s eyes. “And what about you? Was Atlanta sucking the life out of you?”

  “I’m not sure I had much life left there,” she murmured. “But today isn’t about that, right? Let’s go for a flight and leave our problems down here.”

  Tanner wanted to press her for more. He wanted to know everything she came from, everything that still haunted her. He wanted to slay every damn one of her dragons and make the rest of her world puppy dogs and rainbows.

  Since when had he turned into such a sentimental guy? He was always quick to ride to the rescue, but after that he moved on to the next job.

  Melanie wasn’t a job, though. She was the mother of his child and the woman in his life whom he vowed to protect at all costs. Soon he would find out about her ex and what she was still dealing with there.

  “Leaving our problems down here sounds like the perfect day,” he agreed. “Now why don’t we start your first lesson with the standard pre-flight check?”

  Chapter Nine

  Be somebody nobody thought you could be.

  —Mel’s Motivational Blog

  Tanner eyed his Harley Fat Boy in the corner of his garage. Perhaps he should sell the thing. He hadn’t found time to ride in too long, and with a baby coming he should probably start putting funds back for . . . hell, he didn’t know. But getting a nest egg started sounded like the smart move to make.

  He wasn’t struggling for cash, but he was realistic enough to know that children weren’t cheap and he didn’t want Melanie to have to worry about anything. He had no clue what her financial status was, but he did know that when she was married she’d obviously had money . . . if Neville let her spend any.

  That was just another aspect Tanner had no clue about.

  Regardless, he would provide for Melanie and their child. He never wanted her to have to worry about anything like that.

  After a hellish day at work, Tanner needed an outlet. He’d tried the punching bag in the basement, but he was still restless.

  Being on the force meant no day was the same. Today wasn’t anything too crazy, just one fender bender after another, and then some teen thought he could hold up the local bank with a water pistol in his jacket.

  Tanner wasn’t in the mood to head to Cash’s gym and see all the people. Besides, his inside guy was working tonight and so far had come up with some tips that indeed drugs were being pushed through the gym.

  Tanner wasn’t going to Cash quite yet. Knowing Cash, he’d beat the shit out of the guys and then the system couldn’t process the criminals. And Tanner really didn’t want to arrest his own cousin for assault.

  With his own little makeshift gym in the back of his garage, Tanner did several dead lifts, some pull-ups with the bar, and his free weights. With his shoulders and back burning, especially after he’d done the punching bag, Tanner took a hearty swig of water and dumped the rest of the bottle over his head to cool off.

  The second he turned around, he spotted another item in the corner he hadn’t touched in years. The rocking chair. After his fiancée and baby died, he’d covered the damn thing with a sheet.

  This old wooden rocker had been the one his mother had used when he’d been a child and she’d passed it to him. It needed to be repaired and painted, but once he’d lost everything, he hadn’t seen the point.

  He also hadn’t been able to bring himself to get rid of the silly thing. It wasn’t like it was some heirloom passed down through generations. His mother simply thought he might like to have it.

  Swiping the sweat from his forehead with the back of his arm, Tanner crossed to the rocker. With a swift jerk, he sent the dusty white sheet silently to the concrete floor. The rocker shifted, swaying back and forth from the sudden movement after years of being still.

  He ran his hand along the rough edges of the arm. Maybe he could start working on this for Melanie. Did she have a vision of what she wanted in the nursery? Hell, where would the nursery even be? If he had his way, he’d put Mel in his home so he could keep an eye on her and the baby, but he hadn’t been able to keep his own fiancée safe, and he knew Mel well enough to know she wouldn’t just come because he asked. She would see him as overbearing. . . which, when it came to this, he was.

  For good reason, Melanie wanted to stand on her own right now. After years of hell, she wasn’t going to take commands from him and he didn’t expect her to. He respected the hell out of her and it was past time she understood that she should expect such admiration from a man. She deserved no less.

  From the workbench across the garage, his cell chimed. Tanner turned from the rocking chair and crossed the space, circling his truck and reaching for his phone.

  “Hey, Jax.”

  “Dude, are you busy?”

  “Not at all.” Living with his memories and struggling to compartmentalize them so he didn’t screw up his future wasn’t busy at all. “What’s up?”
<
br />   “How soon can you get over here?”

  Already moving toward his truck, he hopped in and hit the garage door opener. “Less than ten. What’s wrong?”

  “Nothing major, I just need another set of hands.”

  Relief settled over him. “Damn it, man, I thought something was happening.”

  “Relax, copper. Piper flushed something down the toilet and I need help getting it out and cleaning up this mess.”

  “Shit.”

  “Exactly.” Jax laughed.

  Tanner turned off his street and headed toward Jax’s house. “I’m suddenly busy.”

  Jax’s laughter grew louder. “See you in a few.”

  He disconnected the call, leaving Tanner muttering another curse and setting his phone into his cup holder. Did five-year-olds flush things down toilets? Obviously, but Tanner would’ve thought Piper was beyond that stage. Not that Tanner knew much about stages of childhood.

  Damn, how the hell was he going to parent? The entire process was scary as hell, and that was once the baby actually arrived. Tanner’s anxiety had soared since finding out Melanie was expecting his child.

  His heart beat faster in his chest as he gripped the wheel tighter with one hand and cranked the radio up with the other. He needed to relax and think in this moment. Not the past, not the unknowns of the future.

  Tanner pulled into Jax’s drive moments later and had calmed himself. As soon as he stepped from his truck, Livie stepped outside. Regal and poised as always, she had her blond hair pulled back and a nervous smile on her face.

  “Anything else and I would’ve helped,” she stated as Tanner made his way up the sidewalk. “But toilets are a hard no for me. I’ll buy you any amount of beer, bourbon, steak, whatever. Just unclog the toilet in the master bath and leave me out of it.”

  Tanner placed a hand on her shoulder. “Relax, Livie. It’s a toilet, not a bomb. What did Piper put down there, anyway?”

  “I bought her a little bath set and she didn’t want the shower gel so she said she tried to get rid of it, but didn’t want me to see it in the trash.”