Chapter Six
Tanner slowed the truck as he approached the lodge. He could see Everly sitting in one of the rockers, tapping away at her phone. He wondered who she might be talking to at seven o’clock on a Saturday morning. The thought caught him off guard – he wasn’t used to wondering if a girl he was interested in was talking to another guy. He certainly wasn’t used to caring.
He wanted to ask her about it. She looked so freaking sad and like she was a million miles away as she slipped her phone back into her pocket. That made him sad for her. Usually, with the girls he met at Chico, he set himself the goal of making sure they had a great night. As he watched Everly sitting there looking so sad and lost, he set himself the goal of making sure that she had a great week – if he could persuade her to stay that long and not go home.
He honked the horn and almost felt bad at the way she startled, but there was no way he could feel bad about the smile that lit up her face when she spotted him. He gave her a wave, and she laughed and waved back.
He watched her get to her feet and make her way down the porch steps before his brain kicked in, and he climbed out of the truck to go and meet her.
She met him with a shy smile. “Good morning.”
“Good morning, beautiful,” he said with a grin.
She laughed. “I feel like I should be the one saying that.”
He smiled through pursed lips. “Don’t go saying stuff like that, you’ll embarrass me.”
“Yeah, right! Don’t give me that crap. It’s true, and you know it. There’s no point in me being coy about it. I don’t even mind telling you that I was wondering if you’d look different this morning.”
“Different how?”
She laughed again. “I thought that maybe you’d look more like a mere mortal. I mean, I never understood the phrase impossibly good-looking before, but you’re the walking definition of it.”
“I’d love to take that as a compliment, but it sure as hell doesn’t feel like one.”
“Aww.” She patted his arm. “Don’t you go worrying your pretty head about it. It is a compliment, honestly. It’s just… I don’t know. I should probably shut up, huh? Should we get going? And where are we going?”
She took a step toward the truck, but he put his hand on her shoulder to stop her. “Not so fast, Miss Everly. You totally brushed off the part where I called you beautiful.”
She wrinkled her nose. “Thanks. Now can we go? It’s cold out here.”
He had to laugh. He rested his hand on the small of her back as he walked her to the truck and opened the passenger door for her. She climbed in and looked down at him.
“You don’t have to do that every time, you know. It’s kind of sweet but…”
He narrowed his eyes at her. “Unless it offends you – and if it does, you tell me – I’m going to keep doing it. I’m also going to open doors for you wherever we go, and when we walk down the street you can bet your ass that I’ll walk on the outside, closest to the traffic. If you tell me that you don’t want me to, I’ll respect your wishes. Other than that, my mama would turn in her grave if I didn’t treat you with the respect that a lady deserves.”
His heart was pounding when he finished – he didn’t even know where that little speech came from. It was true, but…
She held his gaze for a long moment and then nodded. “Okay. In that case, I’ll just say thank you.”
“Alrighty then. Are you good?”
When she nodded again, he closed the door and jogged around to the driver’s side. Once he was behind the wheel, he gave her a smile. “Sorry if that came off a bit strong, or weird, or something. What I said about my mama? It’s true. And apart from that, I don’t want you to go thinking that I’m putting on an act – you know, like last night you thought I was feeding you lines. I’ll tell you right now, neither of those is true. I don’t mind telling you that I don’t really know what I’m doing; this isn’t a situation I’m familiar with. But I’m not going to try to bullshit you in any respect. Whatever I say and do, it’s just me being me.”
He felt himself relax a little when she smiled. “Okay. You made your point – and I appreciate it. More than that, I apologize. It didn’t occur to me before, but I can see how – if you’re being straight up with me – me accusing you of putting on some kind of act is kind of insulting.”
“I wouldn’t have put it that way. I’m not trying to protect my feelings; I just want you to know where I stand.” He chuckled. “If I only wanted to get into your pants, I would have taken a different line last night.”
She raised her eyebrows. “Go on, what line would you have taken?”
“I would’ve fed you lines. Except, no, that’s not true. I wouldn’t have done that because you weren’t looking to play that game.”
“Are you saying that you only play players?”
“No. That sounds bad. And I don’t play anyone – at least I don’t think so.” He had to think about that for a moment. “No. I don’t. I play the game but only with women who are playing by the same rules.”
“Right. Sorry.”
“You don’t have a thing to apologize for.” He gave her a rueful smile. “But I’m more interested in talking about how things are going to go between us than I am in talking about my sordid past.”
She laughed. “It’s not sordid. I’m really not judging you.” Her smile faded a little as she added, “And it’s not your past – it’s your normal.”
“Right,” he said as he started the engine and backed away from the lodge. He wanted to say more, but he didn’t know what words to use. All he knew was that she had a strange effect on him. She made him want to leave his old ways in the past. Made him want to figure out what his normal might look like with her. But that was crazy. She was only here for a week – and there was no guarantee that she’d even stay for that long.
He couldn’t wrap his brain around any of that, so instead, he glanced over at her and asked, “Do you drink coffee?”
“I do, why? Oh, please tell me that there’s one of those little drive-thrus nearby or something? Is that what you mean?”
He jerked his chin toward the travel mug sitting in the console. “I brought that for you. I know whenever I’m staying at a hotel, even if the coffee in the room is decent, there’s never enough of it.”
“Oh my God, thank you! Aren’t you the sweetest?” She reached for the mug with a big smile on her face, making him laugh.
“Whoa! Slow down. That’s just straight black coffee. I didn’t know how you’d like it.” He retrieved the little baggie of cream and sugar packets from the door pocket and passed it over to her.
“What’s this?”
“Everything I thought you might need to doctor it up.”
“Wow! That earns you a double aww . How sweet is that? What a thoughtful thing to do. Thank you.”
He chuckled, even as he sat up a little straighter, feeling as though he grew a foot taller from her praise. “You’re welcome.”
He glanced over at her again as she took a sip from the mug.
“You don’t need the cream or sugar?”
“No. It was so sweet of you to think of it, but I’m a bit of a purist when it comes to my coffee. I don’t like to contaminate it.” She took another sip. “And this is some good coffee; it’d be a shame to mask the taste with anything else.”
He laughed at the way she put it. “I’m glad you like it. The guy who owns the local bakery also owns a coffee shop in LA. I don’t have a clue about what makes coffee special or not, I only know what I enjoy. I enjoy that stuff. I’ll have to take you to the bakery one of these days.”
“That sounds like the kind of place where we could get breakfast.”
“We could,” he said slowly. “But another day, if that’s okay with you. I have something else in mind this morning.”
“Of course, I’m in your hands.”
He opened his mouth to make a joke, but clamped it shut again.
She laughed. “I walked myself right into that one, didn’t I?”
“Yep, but aren’t you proud of me for not commenting?”
“Hm. Kind of. I am, but at the same time, this isn’t going to be any fun if you feel like you have to watch what you say.”
She was right, but …
She articulated his thoughts for him before he’d even figured out what they were. “I don’t want you to feel like you have to walk a tight rope. Like, on the one hand you can’t blow smoke up my ass, and on the other you can’t say the line when you see it.”
“Thanks, I do feel like I need to tread carefully, but I don’t mind. I’m just – it’s like I told you, I’m out of my depth here.”
“But I don’t want you to feel like you have to be careful. I want you to feel like you can be … real. Just be yourself. Relax. Treat me like … I don’t know, like your sisters. You seem to get along really well with them.”
He gave an involuntary shudder, and she laughed.
“Okay, so maybe not your sisters, but like Shayna or Callie. You know, women you like and get along with.”
“But it’s not the same.”
He could feel her gaze on him and turned to look at her before turning his attention back to the road. “I know what you mean; I am relaxed with them. We have a laugh. But you’re different from them.”
“How?” She looked so earnest as she asked the question that it seemed like she genuinely didn’t get it.
“Because I’m not attracted to them. You …” He glanced over at her again. “Do you want to know what Ty said when I saw him this morning?”
She frowned. “You’ve already seen him? You guys must get up really early.”
He laughed. “Focus, beautiful. You missed the point entirely there.”
“Oh, sorry. I … go on, what did he say?”
“He told our other brother, Ford, that you knocked me on my ass, that you have my head turned right around – and he’s right. It’s true.”
She gave him a puzzled smile.
“Say something,” he said after a few moments. “Put me out of my misery, would ya?”
“I’m thinking here. I don’t know what to say. Other than, well … I’m surprised.”
“Why?”
“You know why – we covered this last night. I’m not your type.”
“Wrong. You’re not the same as the girls I usually go for, that’s true. But damn, baby, you’re fucking beautiful!”
She blew out a sigh, and he carried on before she could protest.
“Not a line,” he assured her. “Not bullshit. Just God’s honest truth. You’re gorgeous. You were last night; I couldn’t keep my eyes off of you. And this morning?” He let his gaze travel over her before turning back to watch the road. “You’re stunning.”
“Now, that’s definitely bullshit. I’m not trying to put myself down or anything. I’m not bad, I know that. But I’m also tired, and my face is puffy, and I’m bundled up in this coat, and I’m …”
“Beautiful,” he interrupted. “Your eyes are this light hazel color that I’ve never seen before, and they sparkle.” He winked at her. “And yeah, they’re a little puffy, like you didn’t get enough sleep, but that just makes me want to hold you while you take a nap. And the way your nose tips up at the end makes you look a bit like a pixie – a mischievous one, who knows how to have fun. And when you wrinkle your nose when you’re thinking about something, you look … adorable.” He stopped when he realized that he was rambling on, and she was giving him a weird look. “I … You look real, your personality shines out. I’m making myself sound shallow as fuck here – but to be fair, you’re doing the same thing. We’re making it all about how a person looks, when at the end of the day that has so little bearing on anything that’s actually important.”
He glanced over at her again and was relieved to see that she was looking at him differently than she had before.
“You’re right,” she said eventually. “I totally judged you on how you look. That was wrong of me, and I apologize.”
“You don’t need to. I get it. We’re humans – that’s what we do. But we’re past that stage now. Now, we can put all that aside and get to know each other as …”
“Friends?” The disappointment in her voice was easy to hear.
He reached across the console and waggled his fingers. She placed her hand in his and he wrapped his fingers around hers. A rush of warmth filled his chest. Her hand felt small, warm, soft … right.
“More than friends.”
He glanced over at her, and she looked serious as she met his gaze. He waited, wondering what she might say, but she didn’t speak. Instead, she gave him a slight nod and squeezed his hand.
~ ~ ~
Half an hour later, Everly held the travel mug tight in both hands as the truck bumped down a rutted dirt road. Tanner had given her the choice of driving up to a restaurant in town for a sit-down breakfast or picking something up from the bakery. Since the bakery option would mean more of the amazing coffee, and he said that if they got a to-go order, he could take her to see a lake in the mountains, it had been an easy decision.
She’d driven around the valley a little since she arrived, and it was stunningly beautiful just from the highway, but she couldn’t wait to see more of it.
“Nearly there,” Tanner told her. “You don’t have to wait; you can eat your burrito on the way if you want.”
“I’m good. Do you want me to unwrap yours for you?
“No thanks. I can wait.”
A few minutes later, the road, which was more like a trail now, turned away from the base of the mountains, and she gasped at the sight of the lake.
“Wow! It’s so beautiful. I would never have guessed that this was here. Everywhere seems so dry and parched, and then … there’s this.”
Tanner nodded happily. “I love this place. We used to come here all the time when we were kids. I’m glad you chose this option.”
“Me too.”
He drove past a few picnic tables that were scattered around and finally parked the truck next to the very last one. There wasn’t another soul to be seen. At least, not another human.
Tanner tapped her arm and pointed through the windshield. She looked in the direction he was pointing, but she couldn’t see anything unusual on the sage and juniper-dotted slope of the foothills.
He beckoned for her to come closer, and when she leaned in, he pressed his cheek against hers and held his finger out in front of her face. Following the line of his finger, she easily spotted them – a herd of elk!
“Wow! They’re so beautiful.”
“Right?” He nodded his agreement.
“Do they – don’t laugh at me. Do they just roam the mountains and go where they please? Or is this some kind of nature preserve or something?”
“They just roam free. I mean, Yellowstone’s only thirty miles down the road, and of course there are plenty that live there. And bison, too. In the winter they come down from the high country to where it’s warmer, but these guys live here year-round.”
Everly watched them. They weren’t stupid; they moved rapidly across the open country, and more slowly as they made their way along the tree line. After they’d all disappeared into the trees, she realized that her cheek was still pressed against Tanner’s.
She turned to look at him, and found his big, green eyes smiling back at her. “Cool, huh?”
“Incredibly cool! Although, you surprise me. I would have thought that it was an everyday kind of thing for you to see them.”
“It is, but it never gets old. And it’s awesome to share it with you. You should see the look on your face.”
She shrugged. “I’m not going to deny it. I’m blown away! To see those great big creatures like that – and so many of them – and to know that they’re just wild, and free. That they’re living their lives out here, undisturbed by humans. I … It’s amazing! As a species, we’ve screwed up so many things; I love seeing that this …” she swept her arm out in front of her “… is still out here. That even while we’re going about our busy lives in our busy towns and cities, life here is still unaffected by it all.”
To her surprise, Tanner leaned in closer and brushed his lips over hers. When he pulled his head back, his eyes seemed to twinkle.
“What was that for?” she asked.
“For being awesome. For getting it. For seeing the world the way that you do.”
She smiled. “Thanks.”
He held her gaze for a long moment, looking as though he was about to say something important, but then he smiled and turned away to reach into the back for the bag they’d picked up from the bakery.
“Do you want the sausage?” he asked.
Everly couldn’t help it, she burst out laughing.
He rolled his eyes at her. “You can’t blame me for that one – that’s all on you, seeing innuendo when there’s none there.”
She pushed at his arm. “You’re right. But if we’re going to be real with each other, I’m not going to hold back any more than you are.”
She was enjoying laughing at him, but there was no missing the way the air in the cab of the truck crackled between them when he handed her a burrito and said, “If you want it, I’ll give it to you.”
They stared into each other’s eyes for a long moment. Everly’s heart raced. If he said that he wasn’t joking, she’d take him up on the offer in a heartbeat.
He ran his tongue over his bottom lip, sending shivers down her spine. Then he laughed. “We’re playing a whole different game here, aren’t we?”
There was no point in pretending that she didn’t know what he meant. “It sure looks that way.”