Handle with Care (Saddler Cove)

by Nina Croft

  Tanner searched her face. She looked pale but composed. And she’d managed to nibble off all her lipstick. He felt like he was the center of attention and everyone was watching, but when he looked around no one had noticed them yet. That wouldn’t last.

  He reached out, took her hand, and tugged her down the side street away from their audience. Once they were alone, he leaned down and kissed her. Because he wanted to make the worry disappear from her eyes, and this was the way they communicated best.

  For a moment, she was stiff against him, then she melted. He cupped her face, backed her up until she hit the wall behind her, and then he kissed her some more. He fucking loved the taste of her and the feel of her. Even her smell, like vanilla, so sweet.

  She was breathless by the time he raised his head. But the worry was gone from her eyes. “Say the word, babe, and we can forget this, head back to my place and—”

  She smiled. “You don’t have a place.”

  Shit, no, he didn’t. And no doubt Reese and Keira would be home by now. “Head back to your place?” he suggested.

  “Mimi is there. She doesn’t like to leave the horses in case they get spooked by the fireworks. And Josh is visiting. I think there’s something going on between those two.”

  No going there, then.

  He took a deep breath. He could do this. For her.

  “I got you something,” he said. He pulled the ring out of his pocket and held it out to her.

  Emily stared at it as though she had no clue what it was.

  “I know it’s not a real engagement or anything. But I thought it might make it more believable.”

  She reached out slowly and took it from him. She blinked a couple of times, and he had no clue what she was thinking. Had it been a stupid idea? Because it wasn’t a proper engagement. She was only with him because she was pregnant, and this might be the best way to keep her job. Otherwise she probably would have nothing to do with him.

  She slipped the ring onto her finger and lifted her hand. “It’s beautiful, Tanner. You didn’t have to.”

  He shrugged. “You should have a ring.”

  It was a sapphire—at least it matched her dress. Just a simple single stone on a white gold band. He’d thought the simplicity would suit her. It had cost more than a Harley, though he wasn’t going to tell Emily that.

  In the square, the music started up. He blew out his breath. “Are you ready for this, then?”

  “No.”

  “Me neither. Come on, let’s go shock the whole of Saddler Cove.”

  She hesitated as they reached the edge of the square, and he stopped and looked down at her. A little line was forming between her brows, and he had the distinct impression that she was screwing up her nerves to say something. She licked her lips and heat flashed through him.

  “What is it?”

  She swallowed. “Do you think you could…” She gave a little shrug. “When we tell people, can you sort of look as though you care about me. I know they’re going to find out about the baby soon enough. But it would be nice if they didn’t think…”

  “You’d totally trapped me into marrying you?”

  Alarm flared in her face. “You don’t think that. Do you?”

  It occurred to him then that she had her own insecurities. “Hell no. If anyone’s trapped, it’s you. Maybe that’s what we should tell everyone. That I used a dodgy condom to trap you into marrying me.”

  She giggled, and some of the tension went out of her figure. “Somehow I doubt they’ll believe that. Unless you were looking for a sensible wife, of course. Then I’m your girl.”

  “Yeah, a sensible wife who accosts a man in his own garage, strips off bare-assed naked, then kisses him senseless.”

  “I did, didn’t I?”

  Now was not the right time to think about her little striptease. He had to keep his wits about him tonight. “So you want people to think we’re in love?”

  Her eyes widened as though she hadn’t expected him to use the L word, and some expression flashed in her face, a hint of wistfulness, perhaps. “How good an actor are you?” she asked.

  “Let’s go see.” He wrapped his arm around her shoulder and pulled her close to his side as they walked out of the shadows and into the light of the square. The band was playing something slow. Christ, he didn’t think he’d ever danced with a woman before. “I don’t know how to dance,” he muttered as they halted and turned to each other.

  “Everyone knows how to dance.”

  “Not me.”

  “Just hold on tight,” she said. Then she slipped her arms around his waist, closed the space between them, and rested her head on his chest. For a moment, he just stood, paralyzed, then he wrapped his arms around her and held her close.

  He emptied his mind of everything but the feel of the woman in his arms. They weren’t dancing, just swaying to the music. She was all soft curves and warmth, and her hair smelled of strawberries. Her breasts pressed against his chest, and he felt himself harden. She raised her head, her cheeks were pink, and he gave a small shrug. “Sorry,” he murmured.

  “Don’t be. I like it.”

  She laid her head back and they swayed to the music. He was almost sorry when it stopped. A new song started. Faster. Time to go spread the good news. As he loosened his hold and stepped back, he became aware that they were the center of attention.

  He searched the faces. Most wore slightly stunned expressions of disbelief. He found Aiden in the crowd. His brother was grinning like an idiot. He held up a bottle of beer, and Tanner grabbed Emily’s hand and made his way over.

  “That was a first,” Aiden said, handing him the beer and a coke to Emily. “The sight of my big brother actually dancing. With a lady.”

  Emily peered at him as if asking permission, and he sighed and gave a small nod.

  She held out her left hand with the sapphire. “You can be the first to congratulate us,” she said. “We’re getting married.”

  Aiden glanced between the two of them. “You’re fucking kidding me.”

  Tanner shook his head and took a gulp of his beer.

  “You’re not fucking kidding me?” Now he sounded bewildered.

  “Nope.”

  “Holy crap.” He looked Emily up and down, and she squirmed. “You’re pregnant?”

  Jesus. Even his own brother believed a woman wouldn’t marry him unless she had to.

  “How the hell did that happen?” Aiden continued.

  “What?” he growled. “You don’t know?”

  “Not you and teacher lady? It’s beyond my comprehension. I think I might have to go lie down.” Then he started laughing.

  …

  Emily blew out her breath and pulled herself together. If she was perfectly honest, she found Aiden O’Connor more than a little intimidating. Frightening, even. In a way she’d never found Tanner.

  Aiden had been in the same year as her at school, though they’d moved in different circles, and he’d always been a little wild. Then after Tanner was sent down, he’d become a lot wild. It was common knowledge that his father had taken less than no notice of what any of his sons were up to. And she suspected that Tanner had been more of a father to his little brother than his real father ever had. After their father had died, Aiden had gone into the foster system and pretty much disappeared from sight. All sorts of rumors had surrounded him: he’d become a drug dealer, an arms dealer, joined a motorcycle club…

  And looking at him, she could well believe it.

  He was six-feet-four of badass attitude, with a ring through his lip and tattoos down his arms. In black jeans and a black T-shirt. Even laughing his head off, he looked lean, mean, and capable of anything.

  “Fuck off,” Tanner growled. He grabbed Emily’s hand and dragged her off. “Fucking asshole,” he muttered. She could still hear Aiden laughing as they walked away.

  “Well, that went well,” she said. “Who next?”

  It was clear that word was going around. She coul
d sense all the attention focused on her, and not in a nice way. Her skin prickled. She searched for a friendly face, finally found Susanne. She would have to do and was probably as friendly as she was going to find tonight. How would Tanner perform? She didn’t believe for a moment that anyone would believe that a man like Tanner could fall in love with a woman like her. She wasn’t in his league. But at least they could try. She knew she’d get a whole load of pity and disapproval once the news of the baby got out, but first, could they just pretend they had a normal relationship?

  She squeezed Tanner’s arm and urged him in Susanne’s direction, only realizing she wasn’t alone as they halted in front of her, and she almost turned around and ran in the opposite direction. Lanie stood by her side, a look of disbelief on her face as she took in their hands entwined together.

  Emily gripped him harder. “Hi,” she said brightly.

  There were a few seconds of silence, and then Susanne cleared her throat. “So, are you two together now?” she asked.

  Emily held out her hand and showed off her ring. It really was a beautiful ring. Both sets of eyes widened and then dropped to her stomach, and she sucked in her breath. Though she wasn’t showing yet.

  “We’re getting married.” She squeezed Tanner’s arm and willed him to say something. She cast him a quick sideways glance and almost groaned. He’d adopted his sullen, fuck-you attitude.

  Lanie glared at her, though Emily couldn’t quite decipher the expression in her eyes. Hatred, certainly, but also fear. Finally, she shook her head and turned and walked away without saying a word.

  “Sorry,” Susanne muttered. “But you know…”

  Of course she knew. Tanner had supposedly killed Lanie’s brother. Or so everyone said. Emily couldn’t even begin to imagine how that must feel. They’d accused him of stealing the car, but that had never stuck. The car had belonged to Jed Forrester, Dwain’s father, and it was much more likely that Dwain had just “borrowed” the keys as he had done many times in the past. Usually so Sawyer could drive it.

  Now she could well believe Sawyer had stolen it and driven while under the influence. He already had at least one DUI under his belt at eighteen, and he’d been stopped for speeding countless times. Only the fact that his uncle was the sheriff had stopped him getting in greater trouble. But Sawyer hadn’t been there that night. He’d been out of town.

  Tanner, on the other hand, had always been more interested in two wheels than four. Back then he’d had a great big monster of a bike.

  Dwain had a broken arm at the time, in plaster up to the elbow from an accident on the football field, so no way was he driving. Which meant it had to be Tanner. And he’d not denied it. At least not in court.

  He hadn’t been drinking, but all the same they’d got him on aggravated manslaughter. And everyone had nodded their heads and said it had only been a matter of time. Emily had cried her eyes out when he’d been sentenced. Mimi had found her and asked her what was wrong, but she’d just sniffed and said a boy at school had upset her.

  “Yes, we’re together,” she said, keeping the smile on her face. When Tanner remained silent, she nudged him in the side with her elbow.

  “Oomph.” He cast her a surprised look, and she had to fight the urge to kick him in the shins. She guessed his sullen look was totally ingrained in his character now and he was hardly aware he was doing it. An automatic response when he met…well, anyone. He was indiscriminate with his scowling. Young, old, they were all on the receiving end of Tanner’s sweet nature.

  “You’re a crap actor,” she muttered under her breath.

  His eyes widened at the words, as if he’d totally forgotten that he’d promised to at least look as though he cared. He wrapped his arm around her shoulder and pulled her close. “Emily has made me the happiest man in the whole world. I never for a moment believed that someone like Em could love a man like me.”

  “Me neither, bro.” Aiden had come up beside them, drawn, no doubt, by the small crowd who had gathered at a distance. He was still grinning, eyes twinkling with amusement. Susanne was looking decidedly skeptical, and there was a lot of negative energy wafting across from the onlookers. Maybe it was up to her to do the acting.

  “Of course I love you, baby,” she cooed. “There’s so much of you to love.”

  “Are you saying I’m fat?” He smiled down at her, his eyes crinkling in humor. He knew exactly what she thought of his body, and her cheeks heated at the memory.

  She dug her fingers into the lean muscle at his waist. She doubted there was an ounce of fat anywhere on his body. “No.”

  “Or were you talking about some other part of my anatomy? If you’re not careful, you’ll be shocking these good people with your forward nature.” He dropped a kiss on her forehead. “They probably think you’re a good girl, but they don’t know you like I do.”

  He was teasing her. It was sort of cute and very un-Tanner-like. She had a quick peek around. There were a lot of open mouths. She was betting that Saddler Cove had never seen this side of Tanner before.

  She turned her attention back to him—his eyes gleamed down at her as if in challenge. He thought she was going to back down. “I am a good girl. Isn’t that how you like them, Tanner?”

  She shifted a little, so she faced him, then rested her hand on the soft cotton of his T-shirt, right over his heart. He winked at her, then lowered his head and kissed her. She knew it was supposed to be an act, but the second his lips touched hers, she melted. Her surroundings faded as his other hand came up to frame her face, and his big body curved over hers as he deepened the kiss. His tongue pushed inside for the briefest moment, filling her mouth, sending heat flooding every corner of her body, and her knees went weak, so she clung to his shoulders.

  Slowly, she became aware of her surroundings, the music in the background, the utter silence of the people around her. The fact that Tanner’s erection was pressing into her belly.

  Holy moly.

  She’d nearly lost it in front of the whole town. She’d been ready to lie down right there in the middle of the square and…

  She cleared her throat, edged away, hoping that a little space between them might get her brain working again. Tanner shifted a little, so he stood slightly behind her. “Don’t want to embarrass you, baby,” he whispered in her ear.

  In front of her, Susanne was fanning herself. Aiden was still grinning, but there was a look of speculation in his eyes.

  “Can I see the ring?” Susanne asked, and Emily held out her hand again. “Oh. My. God. It’s huge. And real pretty. So how long have you two been dating?”

  “A few months. Since I split up from Ryan.”

  “Oh my God, Ryan is going to be totally gutted.”

  “Good,” Tanner muttered.

  “That’s why you warned Reese off her,” Aiden said. “You had your own eyes on her. And more than eyes, I’m guessing.”

  What did that mean? Why would he have had to warn Reese? She must have looked a little confused.

  Aiden grinned. “Keira likes you. That’s enough for our big brother to get a hard-on these days.”

  “Shut up, Aiden.”

  “Anyway,” Aiden continued, taking no notice. “He said he was going to ask you out, and Tanner here nearly bit his head off. Now we know why. He had the hots for you himself. He should have just said.”

  “If you don’t shut the fuck up, Aiden, I’m going to shut you up.”

  “You could try.”

  She slapped him on the arm. “Tanner. Play nice.”

  “For you, baby, anything.” He shook his head and grinned down at her, and she almost lost it again. When he smiled like that, the hard lines smoothed away. He looked years younger. An image of what he would have been if his life hadn’t gone to shit. She wished she could somehow keep him that way.

  “Congratulations,” Susanne said. “Maybe we can meet for coffee tomorrow, and you can tell me all about it.”

  “Yes, of course. I’ll give you a call.
Now I think we’re going to circulate and maybe dance again.” And then maybe run away and hide until it all the speculation was over with. Except it was never going to be over. She might as well get used to it. But she’d never felt comfortable being the center of attention. And you didn’t get more centerstage than this.

  They made their way around the outside of the dance floor. No one actually spoke to them, but everyone watched.

  Tanner got another beer and a coke for her, she held it tightly clutched in her hands as though it might give her some protection. They found an empty chair and Emily sat down—she was already noticing that she tired easier than she used to—Tanner taking up position behind her, one hand resting possessively on her shoulder. Finally one or two people got up the nerve to come and say hi, and she smiled, showed off her ring, tried to ignore the looks of curiosity. John, the second-grade teacher who’d been with them on the field trip to the ranch and who she suspected had been trying to get up the nerve to ask her out, was the first. He was a nice man, good-looking in a nerdy sort of way. Nerdy men had never done it for her.

  The contrast couldn’t have been more clear. John, clean-shaven, glasses, short hair, suit and tie. Tanner with his faded jeans, T-shirt, hair in a ponytail, and short beard. But Tanner was the one who made her melt, filled her with longing, made her fingers itch to loosen his hair, stroke her fingers through the silky strands, press herself against him. She was losing it again. Hormones, that’s what it was. Baby hormones. But why would they make her weak with longing? Surely with a baby inside her she should have lost the urge to procreate.

  “I think he likes you,” Tanner said as John walked away.

  She shrugged. “He’s not my type.”

  He looked down at her, his gray eyes gleaming in the darkness. “What is your type?”

  “You are.”

  He hunkered down beside her, took her hand, played with her fingers. Clearly he had something on his mind. “Shit, you make me want…” He trailed off, released her hand, and scrubbed his fingers through his hair. “I never wanted anyone like I want you. Girls were always easy to get.”