“I want to thank you for your help this morning. That was ... that was incredibly cool of you.” Becky was not particularly good at eating humble pie, and this was a rather large piece. She felt like she might actually choke.
Tank simply stared at her.
She decided to move out of his way.
He trotted down the steps, sweatshirt in hand, and jogged to his vehicle. Becky watched, actually speechless.
Alex cleared his throat. “Well, that was ... interesting.”
Becky shook herself. “He is ... well, there’s just no describing him.”
“I think I can understand some of what Grace has been dealing with.”
Becky nodded, watching as Tank spun out of the small lot and onto the road.
“Okay, well, I’m heading out,” Alex finally said. “You okay?”
“Oh, sure. I’m used to this. He’s got his own place now, anyway, so I’m good.”
Alex nodded. “Right. Well, take care.”
“Breakfast is at nine. Coffee’s on by seven.”
“Sounds good.”
***
She was exactly what she said she was. Tank shifted into third and tried not to speed through the narrow streets. He couldn’t for the life of him figure out why it bothered him, but there it was. He’d suspected she was easy, he’d heard it from her own mouth that she was, and then not eight hours after he’d moved out, she already had someone to replace him.
Not that he was being replaced, of course. He wasn’t that guy. But she already had someone else in her clutches, and it sure didn’t look like she was fighting with him.
He pulled up in front of his little cottage and drummed his fingers on the steering wheel. He should never have bailed her out and made breakfast. He should have let her just wake up to angry guests and deal with it. Maybe Mr. Reynolds would have been a little less likely to ---
Who was he kidding? Tank got out of the Jeep and slammed the door. Becky was the type to attract any kind of guy, and as long as she made herself available, they’d keep coming. Why did he care?
He walked up the steps to his porch. He’d be happy if he never saw her again.
seven
Becky waved Maddy over to her table in the coffee shop. Her latte was half gone, and her sister’s drink was getting cold.
“I ordered for you. Thought you’d be here on time and I’d save you waiting in line. Busy day?”
Her welcoming grin took the sting out of her ‘Becky-direct’ greeting. Maddy smiled apologetically. “You have no idea.” She sat down at the table and exhaled dramatically. “I’ve spent a lot of time with Parker and Blake, but this is my first day waking up and being with them non-stop. They are full of energy,” she said with feeling, reaching for her cup. “Thanks for this.”
“Sure,” Becky smiled. “Maybe if you focused more on sleeping at night, you’d be ready for the boys, come morning.”
Maddy rolled her eyes.
“So, what are they doing now?”
“They dropped me off and they’re heading to the house to play in the attic.” She sipped her coffee. “I don’t know how John’s done it on his own for the last two years.”
“He’s had help - his sister, what’s-his-name with his crew. And he knows everyone in town.”
“Yeah, Karen and Frank have been great. People at church, too. Still, he’s on all of the time. And he’s so patient.”
“Well, give yourself time to get used to being a mother. Most people don’t do it overnight.” Becky considered her sister over her mug. “And I hate to break it to you, but John’s probably not always patient, perfect as he is.”
Maddy grinned. “So tell me how everything went here. I know you’re used to the routine, but was it okay on your own? Any problems?”
“Wait. No honeymoon details?”
“Haven’t we had this conversation?”
“Sort of, but there was nothing to discuss last time, remember? That time you got married and had nothing to say the next morning? I think you have something to say now, and I want to hear it.”
“Not happening,” Maddy said with a smile.
“Fine,” Becky replied. “That couple from Vermont showed up; had a great time. Missed their dog so they left early.”
“Really?”
“Weird, huh?”
“People and their dogs ...” Maddy shook her head.
“I know, right? And I told you about our unexpected guests.”
“How’d they find out about us?”
“Grace. She recommended us to her brother and to her new boyfriend. He’s the one who’s still there. Nice guy.”
“That’s great. I’ll have to thank her,” Maddy replied. “Is she here today?”
“Don’t think so. Boyfriend, remember?”
“Oh, right. Well, what’s her brother like?”
Becky sat back with a sigh. “Where do I begin? I thought he’d be okay, since he’s Grace’s family and all.”
Maddy’s brows creased as she sipped her cold coffee. “He left yesterday, right?”
“Yep. He’s still in town, living in a cottage somewhere down the beach. I don’t know if he’s going to be staying in the area, or just hanging around for a bit.”
“What does he do?”
“He played professional football.”
“Really!” Maddy almost dropped her cup. “Cool! John will be excited. Did you say, ‘played’?”
“Yeah, I think he’s retired due to an injury. Not too happy about it, either, which made him wonderful company.”
“Wow, not your typical guest, huh?”
“Please. I couldn’t get him to give me his name, much less a credit card. He finally paid for the two weeks in cash - can you imagine? Just came in and dumped it in front of me, all in twenties.” Becky bristled at the memory.
“That’s crazy,” Maddy replied, eyeing her with an all-too-familiar, expectant look.
“What? He was a jerk the whole time. So rude. Made cracks about me not being the real innkeeper, never thanked me for anything.” She crossed her arms and lifted her chin.
Maddy considered her. “He never gave you his name?”
“Calls himself ‘Tank.’ ”
“Tank, like ‘fill up my tank’ Tank?”
“Try ‘my tank is empty’ Tank. That’s the only name he’d give me. Well, his last name is Kimball. Anyway, it’s weird.”
“And he was difficult the whole time - the whole two weeks? What’s his deal?”
Becky knew she had to come clean about Friday night and Saturday morning, but she wanted to give Maddy a little more time to stew about how awful Tank was.
Maybe they needed more coffee.
“So, what does he look like?” Maddy asked, glancing over Becky’s shoulder.
“Just like you’d expect a tank to look. Big, boxy, obnoxious.” Becky’s phone buzzed and she reached for her purse to check the text.
“Six feet four or so - wide, wide shoulders?”
Where is my stupid phone? “Yeah. Wide everything - neck, head, you name it.”
“Hair?”
A job possibility near Boston? Cool! “What? Hair? No.”
“No hair?”
Have to deal with this one later. “Well, it’s so short, it might as well not be there. You can see his head,” Becky wrinkled her nose in distaste.
“More like a crew cut, really.”
“I guess,” she conceded, finally processing the fact that Maddy’s attention was elsewhere.
Oh no ...
“Maybe I should introduce myself; ask him how he liked Maddy’s Inn.”
Becky froze and slowly slid down in her seat. “Please, don’t!”
“Are you slinking?”
“Oh, please,” Becky replied, a whole different inflection on the word. She made an effort to appear comfortable where she’d landed. “I don’t slink. There’s just no need to engage with him.” She refused to look over her shoulder, but she could sense that he was coming clo
ser.
“I really think I should,” Maddy replied with a grin. She stood and planted herself in the aisle.
***
She had big blue eyes and light brown, wavy hair. Somehow she looked familiar, but Tank was sure he’d never seen her before. He wished she’d move out of the aisle. He just wanted to beeline it to his sister’s office without talking to anyone. If she didn’t move he’d have to slow down or run her over. Probably shouldn’t run her over.
“Hi, I’m Maddy Jac - oh - Fordham. Maddy Fordham.” She smiled and blushed becomingly. “I think you stayed at my inn?”
That’s why she looked familiar.
He shook the hand that she extended. Apparently, the sister had manners. “Tank Kimball. Nice to meet you.”
“Thanks, you too. So, did you enjoy your stay? I’m pretty new to the B&B business; any advice you have to offer would be great.”
He couldn’t help himself. He glanced down to his left and into the brown eyes he’d tried to avoid for the last two weeks. Not even twenty-four hours, and here she was, again. Avoiding her was not going to be as easy as he’d thought.
He focused back on Maddy. “You have a nice place. I appreciate your making room for me on such short notice.”
He could feel Becky’s reaction, didn’t have to look at her to know that she didn’t buy his effort at polite conversation. He probably shouldn’t enjoy irritating her so much.
“We’re glad you stayed.” Maddy glanced down at her sister, who was no doubt itching to disagree.
“Saturday morning’s breakfast was especially good.” Tank made a point to lock eyes with Becky, and she colored appropriately. He almost smiled; it was satisfying to see the tables turned and have Becky be the trapped, uncomfortable one. He liked the speechless part best.
“Oh, great. Nice to hear,” Maddy replied, undoubtedly unaware of what had happened. “Well, we hope you’ll recommend us if you get the chance.”
***
“So, what’s going on?”
Becky drained her drink and jumped up. “Let’s get out of here. I’d rather not run into him again.”
“Okay, we’ll talk back at the house. But we will talk.”
Becky shrugged and made her way through the coffee shop. She had never experienced the ridiculous, polite act that he’d just performed for Maddy. Apparently he’d duped Otis, too, and probably the Reynolds couple, while he’d played chef for them.
She slowed as she left the building and started down the block toward her car. Tank seemed to be friendly with everyone, except her. Is it me? She racked her brain for memories of his interaction with anyone else. He avoided people like the plague, so she could hardly come up with any examples.
He’d been rude to Alex, that’s for sure, and Grace seemed to expect him to behave badly. Becky breathed a little easier, though she really couldn’t say why. It was still a matter of fact that she brought out the worst in a man, and she never brought out the worst in men. She wished it didn’t bother her so much.
***
“Okay. What’s up? He didn’t seem so bad.”
Becky pulled into the very limited flow of traffic. “That’s because he was in public. He had to pretend to be human.”
Maddy smiled. “Seriously, what is it between you two? I’ve never seen you back down with anyone.”
“I did not back down! I just didn’t want to deal with him. You don’t know what a jerk he can be.”
Becky could feel her sister’s eyes on her, evaluating. She knew her next question before she asked it.
“What did you make for breakfast on Saturday morning?”
“Funny you should ask. I didn’t make breakfast on Saturday morning.” She kept her eyes on the road.
“What did our guests eat, Becky?”
“Pancakes and sausage, I think.”
“I see. Was it a serve yourself kind of deal? I thought we’d make the breakfast, since it’s in the name of our business.”
As convicted as Becky felt, she liked that Maddy kept using the plural pronoun. She sighed. “Tank made breakfast on Saturday morning.”
The sudden tension was palpable. Becky finally ventured a look at her sister, and crumbled a little inside.
They drove the remaining few minutes in silence. Pulling into the drive, Becky parked her car and turned to Maddy. “I’m really sorry. I drank the better part of a bottle of wine on Friday night, without having really eaten much of anything during the day. I didn’t wake up until almost noon on Saturday. Tank knew, well, he figured out what happened, and I guess he made breakfast.”
Maddy stared at her sister. “You got drunk and let one of the guests make breakfast? Becky, I trusted you to take care of things! How could you do that?”
The look on Maddy’s face hurt far more than her words. Becky was used to being a disappointment, but it hit hard to let her sister down this way. She fought to speak past the lump in her throat, but there was really nothing she could say.
“When were you going to tell me?”
The lump dissipated a little. “I figured you had enough on your plate right now. I would have told you in a couple of days.”
“Really?” Maddy’s voice was laced with doubt.
“Yes, of course I would. It was stupid; I know that. It was a ridiculous, irresponsible thing to do.”
Maddy sighed. “Why did you do it?”
Good ol’ Maddy. Somehow, there was mercy mixed in with the disappointment in her eyes.
Becky leaned her head back against the seat. “You know how I told you to watch out for Mr. Reynolds?”
“The couple that left today?”
“Yeah.” Becky ran her finger around the steering wheel. “Well, he hit on me after they checked in. Kind of suggested we meet later on Friday night.”
Her comment was met with silence. Maddy was no doubt trying to figure out if she had invited or welcomed the suggestion.
Becky closed her eyes. “You have every right to think that I was asking for it, but, believe it or not, this time I wasn’t.” She opened her eyes and faced her sister. “It came out of the blue. I showed them to their room, and I thought they were all happy, so I went back downstairs.” She sighed. “He followed me right back into the office. I figured he’d forgotten something.”
She laughed without humor. “I guess I was right. He forgot that he was married.” She shuddered. “He was just so nasty - made my skin crawl.”
“I’m sorry, Becky.”
“You don’t have to be sorry. I still dealt with it stupidly.”
There was no arguing that. Maddy held her tongue.
“I was just going to sit on the porch and have one glass of wine. Everyone had gone to bed. I figured - I hoped - the guy had been full of hot air and would leave me alone.” Becky shook her head. “One glass became two, and then I started thinking about things I shouldn’t have, and I just kept drinking.”
Maddy processed this for a moment. “How did Tank know you needed help on Saturday morning?”
“Well, lucky for me, he came out to the porch in the middle of my little party.”
Maddy’s silence pulsated with unasked questions.
“He sat with me for a bit - I think he was actually kind of nice for a few minutes - and then he must have helped me to bed, ’cuz I sure don’t remember getting there myself.”
“Oh, Becky.”
“That’s how he figured out that I’d be good for nothing the next morning. He must have gotten up and just, I don’t know, made breakfast, I guess. I still don’t get it. We never really talked about it.”
“You never thanked him?”
“I tried to - it didn’t go over well.”
“And that was all yesterday morning.”
“Yeah. He left before I had a chance to talk to him. He stopped back last night to pick up a sweatshirt, and was as rude as ever. Didn’t even respond when Alex introduced himself. Just glowered.”
“Who’s Alex?”
“Grace’s boyfrien
d. He’d stopped back to change before going out again. We were talking on the porch when Tank showed up.”
Maddy was quiet for a moment, then Becky thought she saw a bit of a sparkle begin to light her eyes. It was almost more unsettling than her disapproval.
“Don’t even think it. He’s an animal and he hates me.”
“Right. Of course.” A very tiny smile started to form.
“Besides, I’m done with men forever.”
“Really?”
“Really.” Becky ventured a look at her sister. “You wouldn’t understand. Come on, let’s go see your perfect husband and your perfect step-sons. Maybe Parker will tell me how ugly my sweater is.”
eight
Tank walked from one end of his cottage to the other in about fifteen steps. How did his childhood vacation home get so tiny? He surveyed the kitchen, contemplating how his mother had cooked for four people in that little space. They must have eaten at the small table occasionally, but he remembered having most of their meals on the porch. Well, the porch wasn’t going to be an option in the upcoming winter months. He wondered if this house was going to work for him after all.
Grace had been so excited to find it available for rent. He’d gone along with it, not caring where he ended up as long as he got out of the inn and away from the innkeeper’s sister. Now that he was prowling the tiny cabin, he had his doubts. It had two small bedrooms, one bathroom with a tiny cubicle of a shower that he could barely turn around in, a kitchen, living room and the porch. Even the yard was minuscule, but all of that hadn’t mattered when they were kids. They’d always run down to the beach, anyway.
Stepping out onto the porch, Tank looked down the street toward the water. He wanted something closer to the ocean. Rolling his shoulders, he jogged down the steps. He’d go for a run and look for rental signs. He had nothing better to do.
It felt good to stretch his legs, and he opened his stride when he hit the beach. He should be running sprints at practices right now. This time of year was always about football and nothing else. It was just as well that he didn’t have any kind of television reception at the cottage. It was painful to follow his team and be helpless to do anything. They were supposedly having a “rebuilding year.” He shook his head and picked up his pace. He should be on that field doing his job, not running aimlessly down the beach on the coast of Maine.
Done With Men Forever (Clairmont Series Book 3) Page 5